A Man Confident in His Drinking Capacity
I told him to eat first… but what the hell is taking him so long?
Well… I was the one who postponed the appointment first, so I can’t really complain about him being thirty minutes late. Still, sitting alone in a bar like this, picking at freshly fried chicken… it feels strangely awkward.
(I’m all by myself…)
The food tastes good, sure. But eating alone while everyone else is laughing and chatting around me just feels… off. And on top of that, there are barely any humans here. It’s almost all other races.
Exactly because of that, I straighten my loosened tie, reminding myself to stay sharp.
(Hoo… Right. I’ve come this far. I need to do this properly…)
(If I get rejected here…)
Now I’m the one who’d be in trouble. I lightly pat both cheeks, igniting my determination to close this deal no matter what. Yeah. I can definitely pull this off.
The truth is, the place we’ll be working isn’t in Ferid, but in a remote backwater village called Dalwini. It’s a godforsaken environment on a half-land, half-island peninsula two and a half hours away from here… but I convince myself that I can persuade my brother once I lay out all the facts. I even pump myself up with a silent cheer.
(Alright… get your head straight and do this right…)
(I already inspected the lodging thoroughly… and I got the village chief’s approval too…)
Those two should have no problem settling in. So all I need now is that final okay. I try to spin a happy little scenario in my head.
But that’s only if my brother actually agrees.
Which means, from this moment on, I have to do everything possible to raise the odds of success.
(Alcohol… now that I think about it, how much can my brother even drink?)
(He can’t possibly outdrink me, right?)
Even if this is a shitty little company, the reason I became a manager at such a young age is simple: my performance was the best. And if you asked me the secret to those results, I’d say it’s drinking with clients. Getting them drunk, lowering their guard and clouding their judgment—that was the core of my sales strategy.
—An overwhelming drinking capacity that puts others to shame.
—Using that capacity to dominate the battle of mental strength…!
Yes. That was my basic strategy. The driving force behind my growth in society. I may not be the best drinker in this entire world, but I’m still confident that eight bottles of soju is pretty damn impressive.
With that final self-hypnosis that I could definitely pull this off, I greet the two familiar faces who arrive a little earlier than expected.
“You’re earlier than I thought?”
“Yeah… well, things just worked out that way.”
“Anyway, should we order first? Since we’re in another world… how about some异酒?异酒 sounds good, right?”
“Huh? I don’t really know much about异酒…”
“Really? Then should I just order what Elphy likes?”
“Huh? Uh… sure…”
They’re ordering drinks before they’ve even sat down properly. It’s a bit overwhelming… but I never imagined异酒 would be this insanely strong. Fuck, sixty percent? Wait… isn’t this disinfectant rather than alcohol?
I’m still reeling when they tell me it’s just lightly diluted with water.
“Excuse me?”
“See this label? It says 13.43% water. The original concentrate is 73.43%.”
“No… that’s not the issue… I mean, the alcohol content seems way too high, doesn’t it?”
“Does it? Then just add water yourself until it’s comfortable.”
“Then… could we start with the 20% version first…”
“Elphy and I are just going to drink it straight?”
“…”
I’m losing my mind. Meanwhile, this bastard is happily praising how well the otherworlders make their booze. Bro, this shit is sixty percent per bottle! You’re not supposed to be chugging ten of these like it’s nothing!!!
“Hyung… aren’t you ordering way too much?”
“Hm? Oh… I made a lot of money today, so it’s my treat.”
“That’s not what I mean… how are we supposed to drink all this? You said you don’t even drink anymore…”
“Don’t worry. Elphy can knock back ten bottles by herself.”
“…Excuse me?”
What? She drinks ten bottles alone? That’s 3.5 liters, isn’t it? Isn’t that a lethal dose?
Wow, fuck… I suddenly feel like an idiot for thinking I was a decent drinker. Watching these otherworlders toss back shots like they’re drinking water is both awe-inspiring and genuinely terrifying. I blink a few times and half a bottle is already gone.
“Hey… you’re drinking way too fast…”
“She’s not human. Don’t worry about Elphy. Let’s just have a drink between us humans.”
“No! The doctor told you not to drink!”
“Just one glass. One glass should be fine, right?”
“…”
(What the hell?)
(The doctor told him not to drink?)
I have no idea what my brother went through today, but this is clearly an opportunity. That’s right! My real target wasn’t the demon in the first place—it was the human sitting right in front of me…!
Feeling like I’ve gained some small enlightenment, my eyes sparkle again as I accept the shot glass he offers me.
“So… hyung, you went to the hospital? Did you get hurt somewhere?”
“Yeah… fuck… a lot happened today… Let’s start with a drink first, yeah?”
“…”
A drink… sure, why not. But I forgot to dilute it with water… and it feels too late to mention it now, so I just knock it back in one go. Fuck… it went down fine at first, but the moment it passed my throat, it felt like my chest was burning alive.
“Tastes good, right? It’s got notes of apple and pineapple, kinda sweet. Not bad, huh?”
“Cough… Y-yeah, but my insides feel like they’re on fire?”
“Then drink some water. Here, another one.”
“…”
I’m going insane… Isn’t this just destroying my stomach? The mood makes it impossible to refuse, so I keep drinking whatever he pours. Before I know it, I’m already feeling drunk… and when I come to my senses, we’ve already emptied about four bottles between the two of us.
My fingertips are already losing strength… but why the hell does this guy still look completely fine?
“Hyung…”
“Yeah?”
“Just how… much can you drink?”
“…Me? If I push it, I can finish about three bottles of whiskey?”
“…”
“Excuse me?”
This bastard… So that’s why he suggested drinking. He had an ulterior motive all along.
Of course. Behind every drinking session, there’s always some sneaky scheme hidden away…
I look at my half-passed-out little brother and let out a long sigh, then finish off the rest of my drink in one gulp.
(Dalwini… was that what he called it?)
(I’ve never heard of that place in my entire life.)
The one saving grace is that it at least shows up on Google Maps. The problem is exactly what that idiot described earlier—it’s some bizarre half-land, half-island terrain. No matter how you look at it, it’s a total backwater village. And not only am I bringing an outsider, I’m bringing a demon too. Would they even welcome that?
“…”
They’d hate it. They’d hate it so much it would go beyond imagination.
Ha… fuck. Why the hell did this idiot specifically mention that a demon was coming…? Does he even know how much otherworlders who haven’t been properly exposed to our civilization despise demons?
Part of me wants to kick this sleeping bastard awake right now… but since he already got the village chief’s approval, it should be somewhat manageable, right?
The real issue is…
(Elphy…)
(If I tell this girl to come, she’ll follow without question…)
(I wonder if she’ll be able to adapt properly…)
She said she’d only drink ten bottles, but this slave girl ended up downing thirty before passing out. I stare at her with a pitying look.
(Are we really going back to how things were a year ago…?)
Back then, I didn’t really understand what demons were, or what kind of position they held… but even as an outsider, I could tell she was strangely ostracized. Of course, I later learned that the only reason Elphy could walk around the village at all was because her previous owner had been a fairly powerful landowner and wealthy figure in the community…
In other words, for me to raise this girl’s rock-bottom status even a little, I—as her master—would need to earn the village’s trust and increase my own influence there.
(One year… huh.)
(Will I be able to do this properly by then…?)
I’ve come this far. If I fail to get this job, I’ll seriously have to film porn or something…
With complicated feelings, I shake Elphy awake, but the girl is completely out cold.
(Sigh… Fine.)
(She’s way too drunk. I’ll talk to her tomorrow…)
It’s not exactly good news. I don’t want to bring it up ahead of time. I straighten out my drunken slave’s disheveled clothes and turn my head.
(Now… what the hell am I supposed to do with this idiot…?)
Fucking bastard… Honestly, I want to smash his head open with this bottle, but I’m holding back… I lightly tap the back of his head with the bottle I’m holding. Bonk!
“Ow…!!”
“W… what… what…”
“What, dumbass.”
“Ah… hyung…”
“…”
Ugh, fuck… I really want to poke those stupid, glazed-over eyes with my index and middle fingers, but I’m holding back. I suppress the rising anger with a sigh and hand the person in charge a glass of cold water.
“Where’s your lodging?”
“…Bl… Pl? Plaza Hotel. It’s on the… shortest recording road… 1… 0-1… 2…”
“What the hell are you saying… And your car?”
“…I don’t know.”
“…”
I don’t know, my ass. God, this fucking idiot…! My hand instinctively rises with the bottle, but the bastard seems to have an uncanny sense for when he’s about to get hit. He flinches and shrinks back like he’s seen a ghost.
“I’m sorry! Hyung…! I’ll really die… I told the company with so much confidence…”
“If this falls through, I’ll seriously get demoted…?”
“I don’t give a fuck whether you get demoted or exiled…”
“Ha… So, whether it’s Plaza or Braza, will 100,000 won cover the taxi fare?”
“…Huh?”
I want to kill him, but I’m holding back because I received that bonus money today. I take out about 100,000 won from my wallet and hand it to him, then hoist Elphy onto my back.
“W… what is this?”
“Taxi fare.”
“Hyung…! So that means…”
“Yeah. We’re doing it. I said we’d leave the morning after tomorrow, right? Get ready.”
“Y-yes…!!”