67. Drunkenness
On the way back to the inn, Robin and I stopped at a general store and raked up bottles of alcohol at random.
Today… For today, I really felt like forgetting everything. Thankfully, Robin, who was silently walking next to me, did not stop me from picking up every bottle he could see.
Looking at the long shadows of people in the setting sun, I walked quickly to the inn.
Clap! Awesome….
When the door opens, what you see is the inside of the room where Roymon and I are in bed. Judging by how they looked when they left in the morning, it seemed that Royman and the others hadn’t come to the inn yet.
I put the bottles on the table, sat on a chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Look back on what happened today. Going to a restaurant to have lunch after being unable to overcome Maya’s pitiful request. There, I met them. Hearing their details. The inside story was soon revealed. Even so, I had no choice but to shake them off.
If someone says it’s selfish, yes. In the eyes of others, I am terribly selfish. Well, it can be seen as a selfish act starting from leaving the party in a fit of anger.
Anyone who has been with me even a little bit won’t say that. I’m saying it was hard enough to run out of the party in a fit of anger.
If only I had forgiven you with a smile on my face. If I go back to the party with a smile on my face….
“… Tsk.”
As I imagined a futile future again, I clicked my tongue loudly and wrinkled my brow.
It’s pitiful. When will I hit it with my own hands, and now?
The word if is like a really bad drug. It is like an animal in a fantasy created by the human brain.
If only I hadn’t. What if, if I hadn’t been like this. If the….
Like the joints of arthropods, sweet imagination continues biting tail after tail. So, the word if is like a drug. It makes people stupid and eats their minds.
“Let’s think positively.”
So, I decided to think in the best possible way. Instead of trying to escape from reality with the word if, I decided to face reality. Of course, in the best possible way.
First of all, I was able to escape from the psychological trauma, stress, and fear of death that I had to experience as a member of the warrior party. Hmm. This is very good….
“… Because he ran away.”
… ?
“You coward… what.”
The words that came out of my mouth from earlier seemed like they weren’t my words.
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No, what I say is correct, but I don’t think I’m uttering it out of my own will. I haven’t even had a drink yet.
When I told them not to associate with each other again, I remembered their bewildered faces.
… I didn’t feel as good as I thought.
“f*ck. A little.”
I promised myself that I would never go out with them again, but after I cut myself off, I felt bad. That much, did he become attached to them before he knew it?
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No, there’s no way I wouldn’t like it. It is said that I came out of the party in a fit of anger because I was persecuted for two years, but for three years….
I still considered them companions. Even if he denied it on the outside, he wasn’t like that on the inside. Besides, Gracie….
But that is over now.
“… Why isn’t he coming?”
I was going to wait for Robin to come, but she was slowly reaching her limit.
… Should I just drink first?
Her resolve to wait for Robin to come crumbled faster than she thought. I immediately reached out and grabbed the bottle with the cold drops of water on it. Had I not been so self-controlled?
Clap!
Just as she was about to unplug her with her teeth, at just the right time, Robin opened the door and came in.
“I’m sorry. I was sweating a little today, so I took a bath….”
“Robin. What about the other kids?”
“Others? Father Royman went to church, Luna and Argyle….”
“Sylvia.”
“… Luna and Sylvia went out to see the market. Princess Alexis is sleeping in her room. I heard that you went to church with Father Royman, but you must be very tired.”
“… Okay.”
I pulled the chair opposite her and offered her a seat, and Robin came over and sat down on the chair opposite her.
“Oh, that’s right. Seniors. If you drink this with alcohol, they say you get less hangover.”
Robin put some kind of powder in my glass, which was already full of alcohol.
“Okay, thank you. Ruler! Cheers!”
“Uh, that… Cheers!”
Tung!
Glasses collided and she gulped down a strong drink whose smell alone made her dizzy. A hot aura surged up from her throat, but she tried hard to pretend not to know.
How many drinks did you exchange like that? At some point, I threw down my glass and started blowing the bottle like an unbridled colt.
By the way, today Robin is strong on alcohol. Usually, after drinking three cups, I stretched out.
“… Robin.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Because earlier, I really couldn’t stand it, right? But now… I feel a little relieved.”
“… ….”
Since I was sitting and drinking with Robin like this, I immediately remembered the old days.
“… Long time no see, shall we talk about the old days?”
“An old story?”
“Yes. An old story.”
* * *
[ Track in the mountains, hunt in the forest. ]
A slogan that boasts a long tradition of rangers. Could there be a better word for Ranger than this?
The Rangers are a group with a long history of their own, having been with the Royal Knights and the Calais Cavalry since the early days of the country’s founding. The Kingdom of Maetel had many mountains and forests as it boasted a gigantic size, and the royal knights carrying heavy heavy armor couldn’t play an active role in rough terrain such as forests and mountains. Not to mention the cavalry.
Especially, in order to be vigilant of the Awl Mountains, which separates the border from the land of the elves located in the east, a combat group specialized in rough terrain was needed.
That is how the Ranger of Maetel Kingdom was created.
In its own way, the Ranger’s training is rigorous as it is a place that stands shoulder to shoulder with the Royal Knights and the Carlaia Cavalry.
You must learn how to kill people efficiently. This is a basic virtue that a Ranger should have.
How quickly can work and people be handled effectively. For a Ranger who can fight at high speed while wearing light armor, speed is the key.
You have to learn how to survive in the rough, you have to learn how to fight in the rough, you have to learn how to find your way through a dense forest that is like a labyrinth filled with dense trees.
About 2,000 people enter the ranger training center every year. Among the prospective rangers, only 10% of them graduated from training camps and were deployed to actual combat.
Of the 2,000 trainees, only about 200 could be assigned to the Ranger main unit after graduating from the training school.
They can get the title of ‘wild dog’ by being assigned to the seniors of the rider above them.
Usually, rangers consist of one top jockey and one bottom jockey, and a pair of two is the default. The two of them get together to form a group, and only when the two groups come together does it become a scouting group that can be deployed in actual combat.
The person who leads this group of three to four professional killers is the leader with the title of ‘hunting dog’.
Hounds are the ones who can kill people most efficiently. If the seasoned royal knights in heavy armor are in a balanced hexagonal, shield-like position, the ranger-proven hounds are like sharp daggers that have been trained exclusively for one-on-one combat.
And among these hounds, if only exceptional and talented ones are carefully selected and gathered, they will finally become the elite scouting group that secretly moves in the shadow of the ranger.
The Shadow of the Ranger, which only a few know about its existence, has been with the Ranger since its founding. Hound Team 0, the most elite scouting team, where only talented and skilled hounds are gathered.
The new arrivals of wild dogs have no names. However, from the hounds onwards, they do not use their original names, but use their assigned code names.
And then, I, Austin, who was the leader of the group 0 of the hounds. Codename Hound.
That was me.
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Nawa, the leader, Robin, who was good at detecting magic and throwing, and the twin beast sisters, Rott and Wyler.
We were the most elite members of the rangers, and we proved it through our performance.
Every time I successfully completed a mission, how much the ranger leader loved me.
The leader of the Rangers at the time was not a good Ranger, even in empty words. He always sent useful hounds to assassinate key figures with back money from nobles, and sometimes gave us unreasonable missions.
I did complain, but I didn’t really protest. In the first place, my mission success rate up to that point had reached 100%, and the rewards and support were generous.
And… Okay. The first time I failed my mission, it must have been around this time.
It was the end of summer at the end of June, the time when early summer was ending and summer was in earnest.
As always, it was an unreasonable task, and I was full of pride that I would succeed as always.
It was a demon assassination. It is also a high-level demon located in the depths of the frontline Demon King’s army.
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Now that I think about it, I should have been a little more suspicious. I should have prepared a little more thoroughly.
I never dreamed that it was a trap to catch us. I didn’t know that the target demons would use their own lives as bait to attract us, who were assassinating demons.
– Captain. The security is too tight. For now, I’m going to withdraw today, and I’m going to take advantage of the gap where the security is weakening….
– Lot. The leader’s orders are absolute, you know. So far our mission success rate is 100%. Don’t worry, let’s do it as usual.
At that time, he should have listened to Rott.
As we confidently infiltrated, we fell into a trap and had to risk our lives to break through the siege of monsters surrounding us in all directions.
“At that time, I really thought I was going to die.”
As I stared into the air and smiled bitterly, Robin, who had been listening to my story, murmured with tears in his eyes.
“Lot….”
“… It’s not enough to atone for Rot’s work for the rest of my life.”
Yes. At that time, he was really close to death. If it hadn’t been for Lott’s sacrifice.
Forcibly continuing the mission, a colleague died. Even the mission failed.
How sadly Wyler cried as he carried Rott’s corpse in his arms.
Lott and Wyler were twin sisters. The two have been together since childhood, and their hands and feet fit well. The codename is Rott and Wyler. Combined Rottweilers.
– Hound… No, Austin… You don’t deserve to be called a hound, you don’t deserve to be called a hound… !
Killing a teammate is what you would do as a hunting dog. Died because of you you killed Wyler was howling.
He died because of me. There was no excuse.
I just stared at Rott’s corpse in a daze, leaving behind Robin who stopped Wyler from attacking me as if to kill me.
On the day I returned, I immediately went to the leader and asked for discharge.
I don’t want to fight to death anymore. I’ve been killing like a machine, so now I want to live a new life.
To me, the leader, who was sitting on a chair and looking at me with a teasing expression, spoke.
– … I don’t know who cheated on you. Is it Ranbert? Robin? No, the kitties you were with all had useless thoughts, so you must have been the cause.
Rott, who died during the mission, suddenly became a person who did not exist in this world, and the leader even tried to erase Wyler. He saw us as expendable.
… Maybe that day was the first fan day in my life right before I died.
The fact that the half-asshole leader was immediately replaced, and the new leader quietly buried my rebellion and discharged me at my request.
That day was the first.
* * *
“Instructor Pamela was very helpful… Because that noona ate jjambab for the longest time….”
“I can remember him too. If senior calls her ajumma, she will kill her….”
“Um… so….”
Is it because I drank too much? I drank the strong drink in succession, and my tongue became more and more twisted.
Robin’s face looks like two….
“Ah… Cyphal, it’s Gol…. So! What do I want to say… “
In my blurred vision, I saw Robin smirking and looking at me with his chin resting on his chin.
“I, uh! Even if I feel sorry for Rot… Even so, treat your co-workers well! I mean! Do you understand?!”
“Yes. Hi-Hi… Right.”
“By the way! I’m a b*tch, what a party of warriors… I went in hard… Treat me like that… Do you know how hard I was?!”
“Oops. It must have been hard.”
“So! Even though I cut off ties with those b*tches… My heart hurts a lot! Still!… This is unavoidable! I mean….”
“Yes. When we go up to our capital, how about visiting Wyler?”
“Zoochi! Even if I didn’t push myself like a corporal… Uhhh!!!!! Lot!!!!!! I am the missing wife!!!!!!”
Oh Sifal, I don’t even know what I’m talking about. My vision seemed to be spinning. For some reason, the lower part of the body seems to be a little too hot….
“Come on, senior. Pop. Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
“Heung… By the way, Robin. Are you drinking well today? I think I’m a bit drunk….”
“… Oh, is that it?”
As I nodded my head, Robin, who was smiling somewhere, came closer and whispered.
“Because, what I was drinking… It’s just water.”
“Huh? What are you talking about….”
“… Originally, I was just trying to comfort you.”
“Uh, uh… ?”
Robin put his hand in my armpit, lifted me up, and gently laid me on the bed.
“Somehow, it seems that senior is taking advantage of his weak spot. Sorry.”
Robin, who quietly climbed on top of me, pressed his face closely and asked.
“Senior, what do you think of me?”
“What, what….”
Robin’s sudden action seemed to gradually return to his mind, which had been dizzy from his drinking.
“You know. Do you know what the hangover cure I gave you in the drinking glass?”
“What is it… ?”
“That is….”
Oddly enough, the mood was hazy from earlier, and the blood was rushing to the lower leg. The atmosphere was unusual.
Looking at me with a slightly embarrassed expression, Robin leaned over her upper body and whispered in her ear.
“It’s weak♡”