Chapter 54

On this day, this night, and at this moment, I was different from my usual self.

—What’s different?

If asked, anyone who knows me would probably answer like this:

“Shiro was different that day. Specifically, his attire was different.”

That’s right. I, who was to serve drinks at the Adventurer’s Guild, had to set the right atmosphere for drinking.

So, I put on a pure white shirt, black slacks, and a black vest. I wore leather shoes and a bow tie around my neck, and I couldn’t forget to style my hair with hair gel, slicking it back.

Anyone who saw me now would probably think, “Ah, he’s a bartender.”

A bartender needs drinks and a bar counter. So, I stood inside a makeshift bar counter that was hastily set up in the guild’s tavern. Well, it was just a simple setup made of wooden boards and boxes.

“Big Brother Shiro looks so cool today.”

“Huh, thank you, Aina. You look good too.”

“Hehe, I’m glad.”

“That’s great, Aina.”

“Yeah.”

“Stella, you look great too. You have a really strong ‘capable’ aura.”

“Fufu, really? Thank you.”

Aina and Stella also offered to help, so I had them wear white shirts and black aprons. They looked like café staff.

For now, the Shiro Store had become ‘Bar Shiro.’

“…………Shiro, everything’s ready.”

I wasn’t the only one helping out.

“The drinks in the buckets are all cold, nya.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah. You should be grateful to us, nya.”

Behind Kiki, who was puffing out her chest, were several buckets filled with water, containing bottles of beer. These buckets were borrowed as a substitute for coolers, and the ice made by Nesca was floating inside. The drinks were surely ice-cold by now.

The reward for helping was ‘a bottle of alcohol.’ Kiki asked for ‘fruit alcohol,’ and Nesca, as expected, wanted ‘chocolate alcohol.’ Stella chose ‘red wine,’ and after much deliberation, Aina decided on, “Um... well... ‘grape juice!’”

“Alright, now that everything is ready...”

At the corner of the tavern, I had set up Bar Shiro. Looking around the tavern from behind the counter,

“Is it ready yet? Can’t we drink yet!?”

“Look at all those drinks. They all have different contents, you know.”

“Hey, hey. Look, they’re in glass bottles, not barrels. I, I, I wonder how much each bottle costs?”

“I wonder if I have enough money...”

“I’ve never seen these labels before. I wonder which country they’re from.”

“They might even be from a continent across the sea.”

“We can drink wine from across the sea. We are lucky.”

There were many adventurers. Quite a few were standing because there weren’t enough chairs. I think this might be all the adventurers who belong to the Silver Moon’s Apostles.

“…………”

The adventurers’ gazes were focused on me—or rather, on the drinks I had lined up. They were so serious, it almost felt like they were emitting a killing aura. The atmosphere was a bit scary, so...

“...”

Aina held my hand. In her other hand, she was holding Stella’s hand. The preparations were complete, and it was about time to start. I cleared my throat.

“Um... then,”

“““Huh!?”””

“From now on...”

““““Huh!?””””

“I will treat everyone to drinks from my hometown...”

“““““Huh!?”””””

“Please enjoy them!”

““““““Whoa!――――――!!”””””

A roar went up. The adventurers, who had kicked over their chairs, stood up. Everyone raised their fists in a joyful cry. How much do they want to drink?

“But before that, there are some rules. Please listen carefully, okay?”

In response to my words, the adventurers answered, “Yes!”

“First, I will treat each person to one drink. If you want a second drink, you’ll need to pay for it. The cheapest drink costs 5 copper coins, and the more expensive ones cost 10 copper coins.”

I paused here.

5 copper coins is equivalent to 500 yen in Japanese currency. It’s like a one-coin drink at a bar or live house.

By the way, the ale I drank at the tavern before cost 3 copper coins, so it’s a bit more expensive. Now, how will the adventurers react?

“5 copper coins, huh?”

“If the drinks are better than the ale here, it’s worth the extra cost.”

“On the contrary, 10 copper coins for a more expensive drink is quite a bargain compared to the capital.”

“Leader... how much can we spend on drinks today?”

“...If we miss this chance, we might never get to drink foreign drinks again. ...I’ll allow up to 5 silver coins.”

“Yay!”

“Miss, they also have drinks made from foreign fruits.”

“How interesting. I might try that.”

“...I will drink good alcohol.”

“Hmph. Alcohol is the blood of dwarves. The stronger it is, the more it stirs our passion!”

Good, good.

The pricing seems to be fine. In fact, it seems to be quite a bargain for the adventurers.

“Then, I will now treat you to drinks from my hometown! So, please line up—”

Before I could finish, the adventurers swarmed over me.

... (´；ω；｀)

... (´；ω；｀)

... “Thank you for your warm words on the book release!” (´；ω；｀)

I’ve written the details in my activity report. (´；ω；｀)

If you have time, please come and take a look. (´；ω；｀)ノシ