The familiar scent of the adventurers guild drifted out from behind the western-style swinging doors.
It was mostly the smell of alcohol, earth and the outdoors, mixed with the metallic stench of blood from monsters people had fought. It was not a pleasant mix, yet that wildness was exactly what made an adventurers guild feel like itself.
「Now then, I wonder if Aina and the others are here」
I walked to the guild to see how they would react to my haircut, but of course on a day like this I would not run into anyone I knew, so it was going to be a straight reveal.
Ah, but the vegetable seller lady did say it looked cool and gave me a momomo.
When I stepped through the doors, the place was as lively as always and no one noticed me come in.
A quick look around told me Aina and her group were not here, but… oh, that messy hair must be Freda.
It looked like three female adventurers had gathered at the same table, drinking and chatting away.
「Hey Freda. Are Aina and the others around?」
「Ah, onii-san. Aina-san and her party are out on a quest right now… outside… wait, eeeeh!? Wh-wh-what!」
「Wa-wa-water?」
「That is not it! Wh-what happened to your hair!」
「I just got it cut. Is it weird?」
「Weird? Not at all… eh? You look so cool I cannot believe it is only a haircut!」
Seeing Freda lean forward with her natural brightness on full display, it seemed the cut turned out pretty well.
「Oh, really? Good to hear. So, mind if I join you until Aina and the others get back?」
「Y-yes! Please, please doー!」
She even pulled out a chair for me, so I sat down.
It looked like all three were already drinking, with fruit wine and snacks spread across the table.
「Three women drinking together before evening huh」
「What, got a problem with thatー!」
A catkin girl with tiger-patterned ears bared her fangs at me. She must have had quite a bit to drink already.
Wearing only a tube top over her chest, her belly and waist completely exposed, the wild-looking girl puffed up her fur with a sharp ‘Fkaa’!
「You are pretty worked up. Have you already drunk that much?」
「Not really. She recently broke up with her lover. We are listening to her vent today」
The one who answered was a mature woman who looked like a bewitching sorceress.
She wore a witch-like hat, her long hair covered one eye, and her cleavage was boldly exposed for all to see. She gave off a mysterious and alluring aura.
「Ah, I see……」
「Hah! I bet you are going to say you prefer a more gentle girl! That I should act more feminine!!」
「No, I think it is wonderful that you are honest with yourself. Anyway, I am getting thirsty. Maybe I should get a drink」
When I said that, she calmed down, taking a small sip of her drink while muttering 『O-oh… well, fine then』.
「What are you drinking, Freda?」
「Eh!? Th-this? This is fruit wine made from umru fruit mixed with lemonia and momomo…」
Umru fruit… that must be the one like a plum.
They probably added the refreshing citrus flavor and the sweetness of momomo to balance it.
「Sounds good. Can I have a sip?」
「Fueh!? A-a sip!?」
「Ah, my bad. You are right. Even if we are close, you might not want a guy drinking your drink」
「Th-that is not… it is just, indirect…」
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, her body shrinking as she fidgeted, and I could not make out what she said in the end.
Something felt a little off.
「My, Freda. You were screaming earlier ‘there were no good men heeere!’ and sitting with your legs wide open while drinking like a hooligan. Why are you suddenly quiet and acting like a maiden?」
「Ha-hahaaaaaaaaa!?」
Ah… the lady was right. That was the usual Freda.
Freda was known for being friendly with everyone regardless of gender, bright and cheerful, and secretly quite popular in the guild.
Though once she started drinking she became careless, and when she got drunk she would not worry at all even if things were showing through gaps in her clothes. Yet she did seem unusually calm today.
Now that I think about it, she has even stolen my mug and drunk from it before, so she should not be the type to dislike sharing a drink.
「I-I am acting normal! I am always like this! See, I am opening them right now! Look, kapaaー!」
Freda spread her legs wide on purpose, but like Lenge she wore short pants, so if she opened them too far a big gap formed around her thighs and her underwear became completely visible.
「H-hey, Freda. I can see everything……」
「Wh-wh-whateverー? I do not care if you can seeー? Haaー? What? You want to look? Then maybe I should show you directlyー!?」
Her eyes and even her head were spinning, and she clearly had no idea what she was saying. She was about to pull her shorts down, so I hurried to stop her.
I heard clicking tongues and boos from every direction, but they should think of this as me saving them too, before she sobers up and knocks them all out later.
Also, shut up for a moment.
Here, have a little peek at 『Tatanakunaaru』.
「Freda, calm down already……」
I hoped she would settle down the same way the men did when they saw Tatanakunaaru.
Their teamwork and their ability to immediately pretend none of this concerned them as they rushed back to drinking at their table were admirable.
「I am calm and acting normalー!? Look look look! If you want to drink then go aheadー! By the way the part where I put my mouth is right heeere! If you have the guts, drink from that spotー!」
「Yeah, alright. Then I will take it」
「You can even lick it if you want, pero-peroー ahhh!?」
I took the mug and drank a sip.
The sweet acidity of the umru fruit mixed with the rich sweetness of the torn momomo pulp, and the refreshing citrus aroma of lemonia rose with the alcohol.
It was easy to drink, and each fruit and the alcohol complemented each other perfectly.
「Nn… haa. This is good. I could keep drinking this」
But fruit wines often had a high alcohol content.
If I drank too much of it too quickly, I would get drunk fast.
「Ah… what… you are drinking it like nothing happened……」
「Hm? Oh, I did not drink all of it. Onee-san, can I get an umru drink too?」
「Sure thing!」
I liked it, so this would be my drink for tonight.
I would figure out the ratio of lemonia and momomo I liked most.
「Here you go! If you want to squeeze the lemonia you will need a knife, right? Ah, but we do not have momomo here」
「Thanks. I have my own momomo, so that is fine. Still… hand squeezing, huh… Hey, mind if I do a little alchemy?」
「……I do not mind」
「Go ahead. Getting to see the famous alchemist’s skills up close sounds like good entertainment」
All right, I got their permission, so I should start working.
Even so, I am only making a juicer, so it is simple alchemy.
What should I use for the materials…… I should follow the standards of my original world and make it with ordinary glass.
I took out a sheet of glass, placed it on the table, and used Hand Molding to make it round before shaping it roughly.
I made the frame that would become the container, added a raised center with grooves so it would be easy to squeeze, and curved one part of the frame to form a spout. With that, it was done.
Yeah. Super easy. Very convenient.
Next, I should make something to squeeze fruits like momomo.
In simple terms, it was a juicer.
I combined a glass container, a rotating sphere, and a part with small thin metal pieces. I used the rubbery slime material between each component to prevent leaks.
The lid was made of slime as well so it could stretch and stick. Once a magic stone was set, the juicer was complete and ready to make juice from cut fruit.
「「Oooh」」
「Whoaa, what is it? You’re leaning forward」
「It was just too fast……」
「Your fingers moved so smoothly. It was impressive」
「Well, it existed in my original world and I know the final shape」
Now, how does it squeeze…… yeah. It squeezes easily.
For the momomo, I cut down to the seed and went around once, twisted the two halves apart, then removed the seed.
I cut it vertically again and repeated a few times until it was small. Then I laid the knife flat over the plate, peeled the momomo, chopped it into pieces, and lined them up.
「You are used to this」
「This much is nothing」
「I can’t cook at all. A boyfriend who cooks…… that wouldn’t be bad」
「Ara, will your next boyfriend be a chef? ……So, Freda, how long are you going to stare at your cup?」
「Fue!?」
「What? If you don’t want it, I’ll take it」
「N-no!」
Freda hugged the mug to her chest to protect it as it was about to be taken.
Then, for some reason, she glanced at me before tilting the mug back and draining it in one go.
「An indirect kiss」
「Bufh…… nnngh!」
Oh, she somehow managed not to spit it out completely.
Though a little slipped from the corner of her mouth.
「What are you saying waah!?」
「Hey hey…… hold still, hold still」
「…….!!」
I took out a handkerchief to wipe the alcohol on her lips, but she pulled away quickly, so I pressed it gently against her and wiped. She squeezed her eyes shut and froze.
「Ara ara. You’re burning.」
「Don’t tease us. We aren’t in the kind of relationship where we worry about something like an indirect kiss. Right?」
「Heh!? Ah, um, y-y-yes! Do you know how many times I’ve drunk from your mug until now? I’ve been licking it all the time, licking it!」
「Fufufu. Then I’ll let it be like that」
「Yes, please do! Honestly…… look, you aren’t drinking at all! Let’s drink more! Onee-san, bring the whole bottle!」
「Ufufufu. This is so much fun……」
The alluring onee-san narrowed her eyes with delight, while Freda poured again with reckless enthusiasm and drank in big gulps.
And the wild girl beside us continued to eat her snacks boldly and drink at a fast pace.
Aina and the others still had not returned, so I guess I would stay and keep drinking for a while.
※
In the forest near Einzheil, we were on an emergency quest to defeat the Red Blood Plants.
The Red Blood Plant was a plant-type monster that produced red sap. If left alone, it multiplied explosively, and the quest rank increased depending on their numbers.
This time, their numbers had grown far too much, so we, the Red Line, who were A-rank adventurers, were called.
「Ah. I really wanted to see what kind of hair master would getssu」
Renge dodged a swinging branch and shattered a Red Blood Plant with her countering fist.
They were not very strong, but the large numbers made things troublesome because it was impossible to dodge if several attacked at once. Still, we were used to this, so we would not make such mistakes.
「Do not say that. If these things take root, they will drain all the nutrients from the soil. If that happens, everyone will suffer, and so will my liege」
「That’s truessu…… but Aina wants to see it quickly too, right?」
「That is…… I want to see it soon as well……」
Aina wrapped her sword in flame and burned her way through.
As if to say fire was the best against plant monsters, she cut and burned them down and quickened her pace to reach the main body.
「Sorte-tan too, right?」
「……」
「Ahh…… she’s in a bad moodssu」
Today, we accompanied my lord when he went to get his hair cut by Riito-san.
Why Riito-san? I wondered at first, but alchemists were good with their hands, and Riito-san mainly makes beauty products and cosmetics, so she should have a good sense for appearance.
I accepted that she would be far better at it than we were, and at the same time I became very curious about what hairstyle my lord would end up with.
Then, right when we were looking forward to it, we were suddenly called to an emergency quest and had to leave.
It was understandable if I seemed irritated, but what I was thinking now was something else entirely.
「……I have a bad feeling」
「What’s with that all of a suddenssu?」
「I don’t know…… I can’t put it into words but I have a really bad feeling……」
「Hm? You think there is a stronger monster than the Red Blood Plants?」
「……It’s not that」
It wasn’t the kind of chill down my spine that warned of danger. It was more like…… a woman’s intuition ringing an alarm.
「Then…… is it about my liege?」
「Yes…… I don’t know. I feel like something will happen…… no, it feels like something might have already happened……」
「Something? You’re scaring me heressu」
「……I see. Sorte as well…… To be honest, I also felt a slight discomfort or something out of place……」
「Ugh, both of you? If you say that, I’m starting to feel uneasy toossu……」
「……Let’s finish this quest quickly and go back」
「Right. But we need to burn the area properly」
「Yeahssu! If we don’t burn the ground where the roots were, they might grow back!」
That’s right……
A quest is a quest.
If we don’t completely wipe them out, everyone will suffer. We had to stay focused and do our job.
Still, I wanted the uneasiness in my chest to be just unfounded worry…… but it didn’t feel like it would be.
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