45 – Company Dinner #2
One of the sisters, who was judged to have given Rohan alcohol, looked at me and chuckled.
Laughter was filled with mischief. From her gaze, I could tell that she intentionally made me drink.
Asking “Why?” is meaningless.
There is nothing more foolish than questioning the unpredictability of a company dinner.
“Curious? Then have a drink.”
One of the sneaky sisters, who judged that I was interested, approached me and offered a glass of alcohol. The glass was filled with frothy beer.
Gulp-
“Hey, Ray, are you getting your taste back now?”
“Have you ever tried it?”
At some point, the sisters gathered around me. In the moment of carelessness, they surrounded me from all sides.
It wasn’t a bad atmosphere for mischievous deeds.
Just a joke, after all. The sisters from the “Dictator Sword” guild were enjoying the lively atmosphere of the company dinner.
“…I’ve never tried it.”
I’ve had plenty of beer in modern society. But this world’s beer was my first.
During the “Miracle Vanguard” guild’s company dinner, I drank milk instead of beer. It couldn’t be helped because those girls kept bringing me milk.
“Is it spiked or something?”
Something that would paralyze my senses? Like the ecstasy they say you take at clubs?
Nah, it couldn’t be.
Saying that would be too light of a punishment for them. They’re women who even engage in human trafficking, so ecstasy is probably nothing to them.
“But why are you drooling over beer?”
“Well, I might want to try it. I am a lady after all.”
“Well, if you want to drink, go ahead.”
The “Dokdan Sword” sisters took the juice glass in front of me and sneakily put down the beer glass.
Since the greasiness of the meat was making my mouth feel sticky, it seemed like a perfect timing to wash it down with beer. I cautiously lifted the beer glass and brought it to my mouth.
“…Ray.”
Soo hastily grabbed my arm. She tried to stop me from drinking.
The guild sisters from “Dokdan Sword” jeered at me.
“Oh, how boring.”
“What if she suddenly interferes?”
“Ray said she wants to try it. Why stop her?”
The thief sisters swarmed Soo recklessly. Soo, who had been treated like an outcast, was particularly vulnerable to jeers.
Surprisingly, Soo was very observant.
“Soo.”
Someone placed their arm on Soo’s shoulder. It was Kali, a familiar face. She was the second thief sister of the Brown Party.
“What if the beer is poisoned?”
“…Did you drink a lot…? Your breath smells like alcohol…”
“I drank a lot. It’s a party, after all.”
Soo had a tendency to be fidgety around people. But it wasn’t genuine.
Should I say that I’m not being honest?
From the fact that I’m listening to Kali’s words, it meant that I didn’t dislike her strongly.
“No matter what…. I don’t really like it when it comes to drinking with Ray….”
“Is alcohol bad? Is beer bad? It’s not like I’m recommending a strong vodka. It’s just beer.”
“…It’s bad for your health.”
“This atmosphere makes alcohol healthier. Isn’t it worse if you can’t drink it? You’re saying you can’t enjoy it properly. Because of Sue.”
Sue’s body twitched and trembled. Sue showed a subtle reaction of blaming herself.
Sue looked at me with worried eyes.
“It’s not something that’s prohibited by law. Do you think we would drink something that would kill us, sisters?”
“Of course not, we wouldn’t do that. We just want to enjoy ourselves. Look at the kids. They’re drinking happily.”
A bustling atmosphere. Most of it was the voices of the children. Some of them had injections for diarrhea.
“Come at me!”
Brown was the representative. The usually timid Brown became a man who drank and had nothing in his eyes.
In the eyes of the sisters, it seemed like they were enjoying a company dinner even with that.
“It just feels like they’re being mischievous.”
The perspective of a boy of the same age and that of adult sisters are different. On the contrary, it can be seen as cute, I think.
“Well, if there’s a problem while drinking…. then Sue can take care of it.”
I trust Sue. Even if I become speechless like Brown when I’m drunk, Sue will safely take me back to the inn.
“I don’t need to call a designated driver.”
Having a friend who takes care of me and not having one. It changes the tension of the drinking session.
If I think I have to go on my own, the glass feels heavy. But if there’s someone I can trust and rely on, the alcohol goes down smoothly.
Glug, glug-.
To me, Su was that kind of person.
“Hey, you drink well.”
“Is it nothing? Ray was a guy, too.”
I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or complimenting me. She spoke cheerfully from all directions, and it made my head spin.
But it wasn’t so bad. It was a pleasant kind of chaos.
“Heh…!”
“Here, have some meat.”
As soon as I took a sip of beer, a piece of meat entered my mouth. It was an unknown thief-like sister feeding me meat.
Delicious. It was much more satisfying to be fed by someone than to eat with my own hands.
“Can I have another drink?”
“Of course. I’ll get it for you.”
The first time is difficult. The second time is easy.
“Ah, Ray, the meat is going into your mouth.”
“Ah…”
“Oh my, you eat well.”
Just sitting here quietly, the alcohol keeps refilling and the side dishes keep appearing. All I have to do is keep my mouth open.
How enjoyable this drinking session is.
“I hope this dream never ends!”
Stress is completely relieved!
* * *
Kalli patted Su’s back.
“You have a spot.”
“…My spot?”
“You’re just going to let them enjoy like that?”
Su glanced at Ray’s seat. There, the female members of the “Dictator Sword” guild were sitting.
Filling Ray’s glass, feeding her meat. Enjoying the dinner party with Ray.
Kalli pointed out that part.
“……”
Su, do you not want that seat?
It’s her party with Ray. Of course, she wants to have fun with Ray.
But she sensed it.
If she intervened for no reason and ruined the cheerful atmosphere. She rolled her yellow eyes in frustration.
“Ray won’t refuse.”
Kalli pushed Su forward. She stood up the guild members sitting next to Ray and made Su sit there.
Ray was drinking without a care. Accepting whatever is handed to her and enjoying the dinner party.
“R-Ray. I’ll feed you.”
“Su?”
Trembling, Su fed meat to Ray. Carefully putting it into her open mouth like a mother bird feeding her chicks.
As I focused on that direction, I could see Ray’s lips up close.
“It’s strange…”
I used to feel a similar sensation when feeding him milk.
“Eat some soup.”
Ray, who had gotten it from Su, smiled and playfully waved his fork. He deeply dipped the meat and held it out towards Su.
“What… what?”
Taken aback by Ray’s sudden suggestion, Su stopped talking.
“My arm hurts.”
“….”
Su hesitated for a moment, then approached and ate the meat. Ray laughed softly.
“Don’t you drink?”
“I don’t like alcohol.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t. I shouldn’t drink.”
Ray spoke to Su as he fed her the meat. He shared as much as he had received.
“….”
People around them were watching. The members of “Dokdangeom” looked at Ray with eyes full of disbelief.
A boy handing over meat and a girl accepting it.
Everyone only thought about taking care of the boy. Just like how a mother naturally feeds her son first, no one questioned such a relationship.
But that didn’t mean they could easily overlook the opposite relationship.
“Wow, I’m so jealous!”
“This is unbelievable.”
“Did that person ask for food? No, they didn’t say anything. But Ray just…”
Who doesn’t know how to eat meat?
Everyone loves meat. There’s nothing as delicious as meat eaten with alcohol.
But the meat that Suu ate is not just any meat. It was meat that a boy personally fed him.
“Personally?”
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“Not just personally. Willingly, he fed it to himself.”
“I’m envious…”
Ray didn’t feed him out of obligation or anything like that. As soon as Suu sat next to him, Ray picked up the meat and put it in his mouth.
That’s why it was valuable.
The guild explorers of the “Monopoly Sword” guild felt a strange sense of sorrow. They were noisy and played together, but there seemed to be a wall between them.
A wall that couldn’t be crossed between the two.
“What’s wrong? Did you drink?”
Then Lauren approached. After finishing her conversation with Hufuki, Lauren naturally joined Ray on the opposite side.
“Lauren, sis.”
“Why do you look like that? You seem so down.”
“Sis, too…”
“Sis?”
Ray picked up the meat. Just like Suu did for him, he tried to feed it to Lauren.
“Heh.”
Lauren quickly grasped the situation at the table.
Her fellow members of the “Autocratic Sword” guild were staring at her with blank faces. She glanced at them and let out a wry laugh.
“Ray, isn’t this a bit much?”
“What do you mean?”
“Feeding only me and Su?”
“Well…”
Ray finally seemed to realize his mistake and scratched his head.
“Sorry, I just suddenly felt like giving it to Su when I saw him…”
“What about me?”
“Lauren, you’ve suffered a lot because of us…”
“It was all worth it!”
Lauren opened her mouth. It seemed like she was asking for meat.
Ray awkwardly smiled and fed her some meat. He could feel the sharp gazes from all directions.
“I-I’ll give you some…”
“You don’t have to force yourself. We don’t need that! Hmph!”
The stubborn members of the “Autocratic Sword” guild turned their backs on Ray and left.
The atmosphere of the gathering gradually became more relaxed.