Chapter 35

■ Chapter 34. The Problem is Alcohol (1) □ ᓚᘏᗢ

While chatting with Edin and others, the main event began. The main event was nothing more than a brief introduction by the host, a few words encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves, and then the band coming out to play music.

Still, the atmosphere in the grand hall became much more relaxed after the event. Before the event, the hall had been somewhat chaotic with the murmur of conversations, but it changed after the band started playing.

However, my interest in the band's music and instruments was short-lived, as I was too busy chatting excitedly with Edin.

"Mr. Isaac, you've read a lot of books. That's really impressive."

"No, Edin is more impressive. I have a lot of free time for literature, but you don't, right?"

"Thank you for the compliment. By the way, have you read the autobiography of the explorer Alexis?"

"Of course, I've read it. The part about eating larvae and feeling nauseous was quite amusing."

"Oh, you remember that part. Then..."

Through our conversation, I learned several facts about Edin, including that he, like me, was a bookworm. Moreover, his favorite genre was autobiographies, especially those of explorers, which made our conversation flow smoothly.

Because of this, I lost track of time chatting and ended up drinking several glasses of wine. By the time Edin finished one glass, I had probably had about five.

"Edin, have you ever fought a monster?"

"Back in the day, I went hunting with my father. An orc suddenly appeared, and it was a bit of a shock, but it wasn't a difficult opponent."

"Oh... What about an ogre? I heard they're really strong."

"Well, I only met one, and at that time, I worked with other knights to take it down."

This way, time passed, and we eventually started speaking more casually. Unlike Jackson, Edin was well-mannered and had a straightforward personality, making it easy for me to be comfortable with him.

Edin seemed to like that I approached him without hesitation, and his usually cold expression occasionally broke into a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! That's... Oh, right. Isaac? I have a question, can I ask you?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Maybe because I had drunk a bit too much wine, I didn't feel the usual caution I would have. The wine was not bitter but had a strong sweetness, which made me drink more than I should have.

Meanwhile, Edin glanced around briefly. Realizing no one was nearby, he leaned in and whispered to me.

"Earlier, Lady Rechilles and Princess Cecilie were arguing about you."

"Uh..."

"Why were they arguing?"

My slightly dazed mind suddenly cleared. I shook my head vigorously and looked at his face.

His expression was purely curious, with no hint of malice. Despite his usually cold demeanor, I could tell he was genuinely interested.

I pressed my fingers firmly against my nose and began to speak. My head was definitely affected by the wine, making it hard to think clearly.

"It was just... Cecilie was playing around. Marie saw it and told her to stop. You know, holding hands is something lovers do, right? But demons are a bit different. Marie was worried and told her to stop."

"Cecilie? You call Princess Cecilie 'sister'?"

"Ah..."

I had made another slip of the tongue. I shook my head vigorously again at Edin's surprised question.

But once said, words can't be taken back. I answered with a still dazed mind.

"Yeah. We talked a few times and got close. So, we play around a lot."

"Hmm... I see. By the way, how many glasses of wine have you had? Your face is the same color as your hair."

"Um... probably..."

I thought about it.

Once at the beginning, once before the event started, and then... I just drank whenever my glass was empty.

"I don't know?"

"You don't know?"

"Yeah. It was delicious, so I drank whenever my glass was empty."

"..."

Edin stared at me, seemingly assessing how drunk I was.

But contrary to his thoughts, I was fine. My mind was a bit fuzzy, and my tongue was slightly slurred, but I could still think normally.

At least, that's how it felt to me.

"...Let's stop here for today. You'll make a mistake if you keep going."

"Stop drinking something this delicious? No way."

"Isaac, wine isn't for drinking just because it's delicious. It's for sipping."

"Then I'll just have one more glass."

"One more glass, then..."

Edin reluctantly agreed to my last request, though he still looked skeptical.

Regardless, I poured the remaining quarter of the wine into my mouth. At first, it tasted bitter, but then a mix of sweetness and sourness dominated my palate.

In my previous life, I didn't drink much, even beer, because I found it too bitter. This wine was perfect for me. I could probably drink a few bottles of this.

"Phew! It's really delicious. What's the name of this wine again?"

"Alcyone. It's one of the world-famous wines. The taste varies greatly depending on how long it's aged. I think the wine provided at this gathering is about ten years old."

"It must be very expensive."

"Not really. It's easy to produce, so even commoners can enjoy it."

Edin explained kindly, but I didn't fully understand. The wine I had already drunk made my head even fuzzier.

No matter how sweet it was, alcohol was still alcohol. I tried to clear my head, but my mind remained fuzzy.

Edin, noticing my state, suggested with concern.

"...You seem pretty drunk. Let's stop now."

"Just one more glass."

"When you're drunk, one glass turns into two, then three. Let's stop..."

Just as Edin was trying to stop me,

"Isaac?"

A familiar voice cut through my dazed mind. I blinked and turned my head.

Cecilie, holding a glass of wine, was looking at me with wide eyes. I wondered why she was here, as she should have been with Lina. It seemed she had finished her business.

Meanwhile, Edin, noticing Cecilie's appearance, widened his eyes slightly and asked quietly.

"...Princess Cecilie?"

"Oh."

Only then did Cecilie notice Edin and began to introduce herself formally.

"Hello. I'm Cecilie Draut Aisilia, the princess of Helium. You can call me Cecilie."

"Edin Mabie Signer, the eldest son of the Signer family. It's an honor to meet the heir of Helium."

Edin, momentarily looking down, then greeted her with proper etiquette. I was sure his gaze had lingered on her chest. His stammering confirmed it.

So, you're a man too. Honestly, if I saw Cecilie now, she would attract attention regardless of gender.

"Nice to meet you too. By the way..."

After introducing themselves, Cecilie turned her gaze to me and asked Edin.

"Can I ask why Isaac is like this?"

"Well, he's had a bit too much wine."

"I didn't drink that much, really..."

My pronunciation was slightly slurred. Don't worry, my head is just a bit dizzy, but I'm fine.

Probably.

"Hmm."

Cecilie checked my condition and let out a subtle hum, her lips curling into a smile. Even though my vision was blurry, I recognized the mischievous smile that appeared whenever she was up to something. It made me a bit uneasy.

As soon as I saw that smile, I instinctively took a step back. Before I could fully retreat, Cecilie quickly grabbed my wrist and asked Edin.

"Would it be a bother if I took Isaac with me?"

"Uh?"

"Is it okay?"

Say no. Kid. But Edin betrayed my hopes.

He alternated his gaze between me and Cecilie and reluctantly agreed.

"I don't mind... But please make sure he doesn't drink any more wine. This could end badly."

"Of course. Let's go, Isaac."

"Ugh..."

I had no choice but to follow Cecilie's lead. I focused on not dropping my wine glass by accident.

Of course, I didn't forget to say goodbye to Edin. My speech was a bit slurred, but he seemed to understand and told me to drink moderately. I'm not drunk, I told him.

Cecilie led me to a table with various foods. As soon as we arrived, she politely asked the waiter waiting with wine.

"Can you give us more wine?"

"Of course, beautiful lady."

"Isaac, you go first."

"Okay..."

Following Cecilie's instruction, I held out my glass, and the waiter poured the wine with a neat gesture. It was a deep red, not purple like the wine I had been drinking.

I noticed it was different from the wine I had been drinking and asked the waiter. My speech was so slurred it sounded like a jellyfish.

"Is this a different wine?"

"Red Calli. It's more sour than Alcyone."

"Try it. It's delicious. Before that..."

Cecilie drank the remaining wine in one gulp and handed the glass to the waiter. The waiter silently refilled her glass.

I noticed the color of the wine matched the color of Cecilie's dress. The sight of a stunning beauty holding a glass of wine that matched her dress was like a painting.

While I was admiring her, Cecilie smiled and spoke, her alluring voice reaching my ears.

"In the human world, there's a custom of clinking glasses before drinking. It's called a toast, right?"

"That was originally done by dwarves..."

In my previous life, it was a culture that developed by chance, but here, it was a human custom that followed the dwarves. I learned this from reading various history books.

However, most people mistakenly believe it's a human custom because humans are more numerous and dwarves don't mind.

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Do demons... have a similar custom?"

"Something similar. You lift your glass slightly. It's a tribute to honor a fellow demon who met a tragic fate. So, we don't do it on happy occasions."

"I see..."

I nodded slightly, lowering my head.

Through conversations with Cecilie, I learned about demon characteristics that I couldn't find in books.

Last time, I learned the meaning of stroking a demon's horn and that their inner evil intensifies at certain intervals.

So, these subtle details...

"...Would be good to know..."

Maybe because I was drunk, my thoughts slipped out of my mouth.

Fortunately, I had lowered my head and mumbled, so Cecilie probably didn't hear.

"Did you say something... Isaac?"

She didn't. I was momentarily flustered but then looked up at her.

"Uh...?"

"Shall we toast?"

Cecilie smiled and held out her glass to me. The red liquid in her glass swayed.

I knew I shouldn't drink more, but my body moved on its own. Maybe because it had been a while since I drank, I wanted more, despite Edin's warning.

Clank.

The sound of our glasses clinking was clear and pleasant. Cecilie smiled and brought her glass to her lips.

I also brought my glass to my lips. The red liquid slowly flowed into my mouth.

"Ugh..."

I shivered. As the waiter had said, it was more sour than Alcyone.

It tasted like a less sour lemon.

"Isaac."

Just as I was trying to recover from the sourness, Cecilie called my name.

Despite my mind feeling like it was about to shut down, I managed to speak.

"Uh... Sister..."

"I have a question. Can I ask?"

"What is it...?"

My vision was not just blurry but hazy. The murmurs of people and the band's music were muffled, like echoes.

But strangely, Cecilie's question was crystal clear.

"Do you like writing?"