5. Signora (11)
A new object of God Barbatos has been discovered. The rumor quickly spread throughout Mond. Even the owner of that sacred item was an honorary supply officer of the Knights of Pevonius, who had recently caused an uproar in Mond.
Even so, he was a hero of Mond who solved the Wind Demon Dragon incident, a fellow honorary knight, and a person who had meritorious actions against the Chuchu people who invaded Mond Castle while Leader Jin was away. He stabilized prices in Mond, which was suffering from high prices, by providing daily necessities at reasonable prices, and also had friendly relations with the Knights of Pevonius and the Cathedral. Moreover, he recently became the first person to start regular commercial flights after the Wind Demon Dragon incident and became a big name in the Mond commercial world in name and reality.
When they heard that such a person had suddenly discovered a new object of God Barbatos, the people of Mond could not help but be intrigued. There were even rumors going around that high-ranking officials from the Knights of Pebonius and the cathedral were in contact to purchase the sacred item.
Once a rumor took root, it never stopped. The rumor that spread throughout Mond was not the kind of thing that the Woindan could not hear just because they did not want to hear it. No matter how much they could not afford to monopolize Mond’s supply chain, if this rumor spread to Snezhnaya’s home country, they had to make some move.
So, the Woindan will soon have no choice but to contact the protagonist of the rumor, a merchant with ‘the pride of the sky.’ And who that ‘merchant’ was, of course, me. ‘Baek Si-woo’, a different world who has now completely melted into Mond, that is, a man known as ‘Si-woo’ on the Tibat Continent.
Mond was abuzz with rumors about me, but I was actually enjoying some free time for the first time in a long time. Most of the work at the top was handled, and all that was left was to set up an office for the top. There were also many merchants who went bankrupt due to the Wind Demon Dragon incident, so it was not difficult to find a building.
Minor tasks are now being handled by the working staff, and there is no need to stay up all night working like before until the first regular business returns. Nevertheless, there was still a lot of work to do.
But what a luxury it is to be able to have dinner and sleep. Mona was up all night again, working on the manuscript for an astrology column for Fontaine’s Steambird Newspaper, but I was out with Lumine for the first time in a while.
The place I headed with Lumine was ‘Angel’s Share’, a bar in Mond run by Mr. Dyruk. ‘Angel’s Share’ has always been considered one of the two major bars in the bar industry along with ‘Cattail Tavern’ in Mond, and has always been very popular, but for some reason the crowds have been a little quiet recently.
Of course, it wasn’t something I had to worry about. Mr. Dairuk was not someone who was suddenly rich enough to be shaken by the fact that a bar was not doing well. He was the head of the Lagen Panda family, which had a long history and tradition, and the owner of the Daun Winery. Rather, it was better if there were fewer customers because I could talk comfortably with Mr. Dyruk.
It was the ‘angel’s share’ that I had heard about countless times, but today was the first time it came with Lumine. I felt a little shaken. I was worried that I might get scolded by Lumine for drinking and talking nonsense. And what made today’s outing special wasn’t just because it was my first time going to a bar with Lumine.
Today was the day Lumine decided to buy me a drink. To be honest, no matter how good an adventurer Lumine was, there was no way she could make better money than me. In the first place, it was difficult for labor income to exceed the income obtained from operating capital. This was because the scale was different.
But for some reason, Lumine’s income seemed to be quite good today. Lumine had been humming his tune since she returned to her dorm today.
“Siwoo, why don’t you go somewhere nice today? “I happened to find another treasure chest, so my pockets became full.”
“…… Well, Paimon’s reaction would have been worth seeing.”
Lumine said nothing in response to my reaction and pointed behind her with her eyes. There, she could see Paymon hugging her money bag and rubbing her cheek.
“hehehe, shiny Mora… If this is the Honey Carat Grill at Deer Hunter Restaurant…….”
That’s right, if you want it, I’ll give it to you as much as you want. The more I looked at Paimon’s obsession, the more it fell into an area I couldn’t understand. Whether it’s food or mora, I’ve never been disappointed since I started the business.
I ended up shrugging my shoulders. Even though I have more money, Lumine also wanted to feel that way sometimes. I was not a tactful person who would say to someone who offered to pay, ‘That bag of money doesn’t even amount to a handful of my assets.’
“Okay, then let’s go for a walk for the first time in a while.”
Paymon’s ambition to use the treasure chest to buy Honey Carat Grill at Deer Hunter Restaurant ended in failure. Lumine and I left the depressed Paimon at the dorm and enjoyed a walk alone for the first time in a long time. Then, the place we arrived at was ‘Angel’s Portion’.
It was too late for dinner, and if we just went for a walk and returned, our plan to treat ourselves to Lumine was likely to fall through. So, the only restaurant that came to mind at this time with a good atmosphere was ‘Angel’s Share.’
Lumine surprisingly knew the location of the ‘angel’s share’ well. I had a relationship with Dairuk since the time of the Wind Demon Dragon incident, so that might have been the reason.
The door opened with a clanging sound. Mr. Dairuk was standing inside. These days, there have been many days where Mr. Dairuk has been keeping the ‘angel’s share.’
Mr. Dairuk cast his gaze towards the door and slightly furrowed his eyebrows as if he was a little surprised.
“…… “It’s strange that you two come together.”
“Siwoo is my colleague, so that could be the case. “Then Siwoo, where would you like to sit?”
I put my hand on the back of my neck with a shy face, but Lumine spoke without saying anything and held my hand and led me. However, even when we went up to the second floor of ‘Angel’s Share’, the seats were already full, and Lumine ended up sitting at the counter with a dissatisfied look on her face.
There were no customers these days, but there were a bit more today. I wasn’t so lucky.
“Hmph, I won’t do anything unpleasant to get between a man and a woman, so you don’t have to worry.”
“…… Who, who was worried about that?”
Lumine responded by flinching and trembling at the words Dai Ruk-san sneered at her. At the same time, her face turned a little red, which was her reaction when something pricked her.
It was worth it. After Lumine lost her twin brother, the first companion she made was me. She probably wanted to spend her private time with me too. Actually, so did I.
However, she couldn’t kick out people who were already seated and drinking, so she had nothing to do. I ordered from Mr. Dairuk.
“For now, please give me ‘dandelion wine.’ “Lumine is ‘cider,’ right?”
Lumine looked a little worried at those words. She muttered, closed her eyes for a moment and rested her chin, then shook her head.
“…… No, I want to try ‘dandelion wine’ today too.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
I asked Lumine in a worried voice. She was Lumine and she didn’t like to drink. Even in the dorm, whenever I smelled strongly of alcohol, they would hit me. Besides, I’ve never once seen Rumine drink her drink. According to Rumine, she didn’t feel the need to drink alcohol.
However, Lumine only playfully asked back with her characteristic eye smile.
“Why? “Are you going to do anything when I’m drunk?”
“…… Well, that can’t be possible.”
I stuttered after being pranked for the first time in a long time. Rumi’s eye smile as she glanced aside at her was so charming that her heart trembled slightly. It seemed like I still had a long time to get used to Lumine’s pranks.
But what interrupted our conversation was Mr. Dyruk’s shaky voice.
“I apologize for the conversation between you two, sir, but our store does not sell alcohol to minors.”
That polite expression, which had no pitch and was extremely awkward, was used by Mr. Dairuk when he was showing a straight face. Or maybe they want to kick me out when I’m drunk.
Mr. Dairuk was casting an overtly suspicious look at me and Lumine. It was clear that I was an adult both externally and internally, but Lumine actually looked a little younger. She still had the fresh charm of a girl.
But that was only a human standard. Lumine was a kind of divine being who traveled to numerous worlds. It was strange in itself to apply the standards of adulthood and minor to such a being based on human standards.
I hit Rumi’s head before she could say anything. Hmm, a hushed voice came out of my throat.
“Dairuk, even if it’s like this, Lumine is an adult. I will guarantee that. She said I was the first person to meet Lumine on the Tivart continent. “You don’t really think that I was such an incompetent bastard that I depended on a girl who wasn’t even of age, right?”
Hearing those words, Mr. Dyruk quietly avoided my gaze without saying a word. My expression immediately fell at that reaction.
“Mr. Dairuk?”
“…… “Then order two glasses of ‘dandelion wine.'”
I felt like I was crying at that moment, but Lumine comforted me with an awkward laugh as if she was embarrassed.
“Ahahahaha… Siu? Don’t be too disappointed. “I like Siwoo like that too.”
Why is the perception of me so extreme? Of course, at the time, I was just being carried around by Lumine without doing anything, but I thought I was doing my part quite well now.
But I couldn’t argue with the issue. To begin with, neither Dyruk nor Lumine were in a serious mood. It was probably just a joke between close friends, so I sighed and accepted the dandelion wine Mr. Dairuk poured into my glass.
Lumine looked at Dandelion Ju with a slightly nervous face. For her, this would be her first challenge. Still, I thought that dandelion wine would be a delicious drink.
Lumine lifted her glass with both hands and took a sip of her dandelion liquor, but then she frowned.
“…… Ugh, it tastes bad.”
When I saw that reaction, I burst out laughing. Mr. Dai Luke was shaking his head as if he knew that too.
The smell of alcohol is unpleasant if you don’t get used to it. No, in fact, even after I got used to it, when I drank cheap alcohol, the smell of unrefined alcohol sometimes made me feel nauseous. They say that when you drink alcohol for the first time, even if you drink beer, it doesn’t taste good, but since you drank dandelion wine, which has an alcohol content four times higher than that beer, it was worth it.
Lumine looked at me with her dissatisfied face. Even her appearance was cute.
“Why does Siwoo drink this because he likes it?”
“I understand, you just drink it because you get used to it.”
I then drank the alcohol in the glass. Around that time, Mr. Dairuk brought out some simple snacks such as beef jerky on a plate. I soothed my bored mouth with beef jerky.
In fact, beef jerky was expensive as a basic snack, but it was a so-called regular service.
“Now that I think about it, Lumine, it seems like you’ve been to ‘Angel’s Share’ once or twice. If you hate alcohol so much, why did you come here? “Mond Castle is so messy and dangerous these days.”
Lumine glared at her dandelion wine with a frown on her face, and put down her drink, probably embarrassed by my question. And she stuttered and opened her mouth.
“Uh, huh? It’s no big deal! And for fear of misunderstanding, I only have a simple cooperative relationship with Elder Dairuk. I’m the type of person who only looks at one person no matter what. Yeah, yeah. “You can ask Paymon!”
“…… ?”
Who said what? I cast a questioning look at Mr. Dyruk. Then Mr. Dairuk sighed and answered.
“…… There’s a lot of information left out, but an honorary knight has been helping me with my work recently. But since I’m only free at night, I’m doing this out of fear of causing misunderstanding.”
“What do you mean by ‘misunderstanding’?”
Mr. Dairuk’s gaze became uncertain. He put his hand on his forehead and seemed to think about it for a moment, but eventually he brought up a new topic, as if he had decided to avoid this topic.
“Then what about you, Siwoo? “I heard there’s a conflict with the Wooin Dan, but I’m not sure if it’s okay to walk around the streets so confidently.”
Rumi nodded her head as if she completely agreed with those words. As she did so, she sipped dandelion liquor. Lumine’s face seems to be getting more and more flushed, so I’m sure she’s not already feeling drunk.
Although exaggerated gestures were a precursor to intoxication. I looked at Rumine with slightly anxious eyes, but she quickly answered as if it was no big deal. I was wondering if I was already intoxicated.
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen. “Unless the Signora is a fool.”
And then I sipped dandelion wine. Lumine and Dyruk were waiting for my next words. I began to recite my thoughts verbatim.
“The reason the Wooindan was able to attack Venti last time was because there was no reason to attack Venti. Since not many people know that Venti is the god Barbatos, even if the ‘Heart of God’ was taken, the motives of the Woin could not be revealed unless it was revealed that Venti was the god Barbatos. But it’s different now. “If I were to die, who would be most suspicious right now?”
Mr. Dai Ruk seemed to understand what I said as he nodded his head. I decided to continue talking while I was left out.
“Wooindan’s top goal is to collect the ‘Heart of God’, and that has already been achieved. In the end, all that remains is to control Mond’s supply chain and exert influence over Mond. But if you immediately touch me, who has ties to the Knights of Pebonius or the cathedral, and it develops into a diplomatic issue, wouldn’t that plan be in vain?”
“…… But the opponent is Wooindan.”
I closed my mouth at those words. Mr. Dairuk casually picked up on the weak point in my words and stabbed me.
That’s right. The opponent was Wooindan. He wasn’t a being with common sense, and if he really wanted to kill me, I couldn’t do anything about it.
However, if I always have a bodyguard with me, it means that I am afraid of the Wooindan. That was something that had to be avoided at all costs. I am now in a position to fight against the Wooindan on behalf of Mond, and that image was immediately projected onto the image above me.
So I had to be confident. I couldn’t go into hiding just to prepare for an emergency.
“…… Yes, that’s right! “Siwoo always does things that are too dangerous!”
I was sipping dandelion wine because I had no idea how to respond to Mr. Dairuk’s words, when I heard a voice next to me. It was a cute voice, but you could tell the pronunciation was a little twisted.
Ah, this is drunk. I quickly turned my gaze to Lumine.
Lumine was looking at me with a slightly embarrassed face. That gaze seemed very dissatisfied. Lumine’s flushed cheeks were adding to her charm as if they had been painted over with delicate brush strokes by an excellent painter.
“Siwoo, huh? “You don’t think about me at all, do you?”
Lumine came close to me. I took a quick look and saw that Lumine had already finished a glass of dandelion wine. Her alcohol content was quite high, so she was likely to get drunk the first time she drank alcohol. She says Lumine may be weak in her drinking.
I decided to calm down Lumine, who came right in front of me. They were so close that their breaths were already mixed.
“Hey, Lumine? I’m giving you advice as your colleague, but I think it’s better to stop now so you don’t regret it tomorrow morning. And don’t drink alcohol from now on.”
“…… How long will I be a ‘colleague’?”
I was struck speechless by that voice that penetrated into my arms. When I looked at her with puzzled eyes, Lumine was still frowning her face as if she were dissatisfied. She began to let out her feelings that she had been bottling up.
“Fisle is a colleague, and Mona is also a colleague… Then what about me? My heart aches just thinking about Siwoo disappearing. I feel like I’ll go crazy if someone even touches Siwoo. It’s still like that. Si-woo is so special to me, but why do I call him ‘colleague’… ….”
It was that moment. Mr. Dyruk’s hand moved like lightning and hit Lumine on the back of the neck with a thud. Lumine fell into my arms and fainted.
I looked at Mr. Dyruk with astonished eyes. And, unable to control the emotions that rose up in the moment, I growled at Mr. Dairuk.
“No matter how drunk he was, he stabbed Lumine with his hand…… !”
“It’s just a leftover trick I learned accidentally. It’s closer to a massage than a handshake. “It looks like you’re getting even more drunk because you weren’t able to relieve your fatigue properly today, so I let you sleep.”
At the same time, Mr. Dairuk casually put away the empty glass and wiped the counter seat. It was a skillful yet controlled movement.
“…… And, there are some things you shouldn’t say while drinking.”
I still looked at Mr. Dyruk with a dissatisfied face, but eventually I drank down the remaining liquor in my glass and stood up. Lumine was fast asleep in my arms. As Mr. Dyruk said, it seemed to be a technique closer to a sleeping technique rather than fainting.
“If Mr. Dairuk really says that… Well then, we’ll just get up for now. “I will pay the cost tomorrow.”
I couldn’t help but sigh. Yes, Lumine seemed to enjoy the drink better because she was tired. Besides, it was my first time drinking, so it was worth it. Even though he wasn’t drunk, he seemed to be quite drunk. As I was holding Lumine in my arms, I lifted her up and was about to leave the ‘Angel’s Portion’.
“…… “How long can I pretend not to know?”
At those words, I took a breath. I felt like my heart stopped.
My eyes looked at the source of the voice like lightning. Mr. Dairuk was standing there. As if nothing had happened, Mr. Dai Luke was just picking up one of the wine glasses on display and wiping it with his handkerchief. Then he glanced at me. It was deep, deep snow.
I looked into those red eyes without saying anything, and eventually turned around again with a sigh. Yes, I had to go into the dorm and rest.
That’s how I caught a glimpse of Mr. Dyruk. His head was spinning. The choice has always been a difficult one. Reality or Tivat? And is it ‘Baek Si-woo’ or ‘Si-woo’?
This is an unknown problem yet, I thought as I supported Lumine.
And the next day, Paimon started teasing Lumine as if everything went well. It was because I saw Lumine come back the night before, almost clinging to my arms.
Lumine was just staring at the floor all morning, his face bright red. Maybe it was because of my shame, but I couldn’t even dare to look at my face.
Yes, Lumine is cute too, so it’s okay. I decided to leave my first drinking session with Lumine as a page of memories.
**
Finally, there was a building at the top. We had been expressing our intention to purchase before then, but the larger the scale of the job, the more various procedures were required. Transferring ownership of the building, paying the price, and even the cost of various interior decoration and fixtures.
The process was extremely annoying, but when I actually entered my office, I felt something special. This was because I felt that my upper level was now a place with a proper building and organization, rather than a place where temporary paperwork was processed in the dorm.
The party commemorating the official opening of the upper building was grand. For the Knights of Pebonius alone, Jin, the acting leader, Keia, the cavalry commander, and Ember, who was personally invited, attended. Not only Lumine, the hero of Mond, but also the high-ranking priests of the cathedral.
It was now undeniably clear that my top was one of Mond’s mainstays. After all those tiring tasks, it’s time to return to daily life.
I was finally able to greet the guest I had been waiting for.
“Danju, a guest has arrived.”
“…… “Tell him to come in.”
I answered the sound coming from outside in a casual voice. My gaze was focused on the scenery of the office, including the window, but my senses were directed towards the back.
That arrogant gait that doesn’t even try to hide its popularity. I looked back.
Platinum-colored hair was seen. The outfit had her voluminous hair braided in an old-fashioned way, and her stunning nape, cleavage, and thighs were exposed. She was a beauty with an alluring charm. She was like that in her movements and even her eyes.
But she was a rose. A rose with thorns. And the thorns contained deadly poison, so they instantly stopped and killed people approaching.
“…… Long time no see.”
Unlike back then, I used an honorific in a calm voice. Her bored eyes turned to me. “Hmm,” She said, and her gaze changed a little.
“It’s been a while, kid? “I guess you’ve been receiving treatment well so far?”
“Thanks to you. It was an impressive first meeting… So, please take care of me today as well.”
Then I held out my hand to her. The platinum-haired beauty looked at my outstretched hand without saying a word, and then she laughed as if it was ridiculous and held her hand together.
“…… Signora.”
I also faced her and smiled. I finally got it. Yes, the rumor spread that far, but I guess I couldn’t bear it because I was so hot. There was no stopping now.
Signora and I had to see the end. Right here, in Mond.