The Reason for a Supporter's Existence (3)
Stumble, sway.
...
...
Monk Judang stumbled slowly toward the large cauldron where the other heroes were huddled together. Watching her sway after just one sip of beer, I couldn't help but wonder why her dharma name was "Judang" (a term for a heavy drinker).
She was wobbling like this from a single sip... and her name is Judang? Why? Who on earth gave her that name?
As if reading my mind, Cheonma approached without a sound and spoke up.
"She... she really can hold her liquor. Even if everyone here passed out from drinking, she’d probably still be in that exact state."
"...Seriously?"
Just how much of a bottomless pit is she? I don't really believe in physiognomy, but her face doesn't exactly scream "heavy drinker."
"Yep. I once had a drinking contest with her alongside Hwaryeon... Hwaryeon and I kept using our internal energy to expel the alcohol, you know? But she just kept chugging without any of that, and she kept pouring drinks for us too. I honestly thought she had alcohol flowing through her veins instead of blood. That’s when I realized: 'Ah, she’s the greatest drinker in the world.'"
"To think even Cheonma admits it... and it's impressive that she stays like that until the end. But how does she handle martial arts in that state? She doesn't look like she could fight well..."
"Judang? Her? Her martial arts actually improve when she drinks. If she fights while drunk, she’s on par with us. Actually, Hwaryeon told me... she supposedly reached the 'State of Manifestation' while drinking."
"Excuse me...?"
Are you kidding me? She reached the State of Manifestation while drinking? Is that state really that easy to attain? Is there... an answer in the alcohol?
"...Does that even make sense? Isn't it standard to attain enlightenment and reach a new state through meditation and breathing exercises?"
"Right... that's the norm. Hwaryeon and I did it that way. It makes no sense. But she said she reached it while drinking... Anyway, she drinks..."
"Ehehehehe~"
"Ah, why did you give her more! Let go of this hand!"
"Later, Oppaaaa gave me more driiiink! Hehehehe! Are you jeeeaalous?!"
"I am not!"
"Noooo~ You're gonna be jeeeaalous!"
Monk Judang was clinging to the other heroes, pulling the classic drunk act of emphasizing, "I'm drunk!"
"..."
"..."
Cheonma must have seen the "Is this for real?" expression on my face because she said, "I just thought of something... all the heroes here are people who made a name for themselves in the world. I hope you don't think of them rudely. Everyone has flaws. They're human, after all. Let's try to understand them."
"...You're right. The world is full of all kinds of people... and that's why there are joys and sorrows."
"...How old are you to be so deep? And a man, at that?"
"Me...? I'm 22. Are men not allowed to be like this?"
"...What?"
She looked completely buffered, unable to close her mouth, as if she couldn't believe I was only 22.
"You're so young... and a man... I've never seen one like this."
"Well... maybe it's because the world I lived in was... very different?"
"Just what kind of world did you live in..."
"Should I tell you here?"
"No. I don't think I should hear it right now. I have a feeling there will be a day when I do."
"..."
Looking at Cheonma, it was clear she was dying to know more about me, but she was holding back.
I swirled my canned beer, looked up at the sky, and brought it to my lips.
"..."
"So... you pulled a lot of those things you gave to Judang, didn't you?"
"...I secured a reasonable amount."
"I see... that's good. But what are you thinking about so hard?"
"About what?"
"Your face."
"...Excuse me? What about my face?"
"You have worry written all over it, that's why I'm asking."
"...You're sharp."
Gulp, gulp.
The sensation of alcohol sliding from my mouth down to my esophagus was smooth, as expected of beer.
"Ahhh~"
"What is it?"
I stared intently at Cheonma, wondering how she read the worry on my face.
"..."
"...?"
"It's nothing. Not yet... I don't want to say."
"Why?"
"Hmm... as time passes... and we get closer, I'll tell you."
"We... get closer?"
"Yes, us! Aren't we comrades bound together hotly by Gacha?"
"Th-that's right! Yes! We are hot comrades bound by Gacha!"
"Exactly... we're comrades bound by the need for abilities... so it's not time yet. When we become true comrades, then... I'll tell you more. I don't even know my own abilities well yet. So I don't know when I'll be discarded. I don't want to open my heart just yet."
"..."
I’m only recognized as a comrade because of my ability... there’s no way I’m opening my heart, right? You and I are just in a business relationship where we exchange what we need. I need your protection, and you need my ability.
Cheonma didn't seem to like the cold line I drew; she bit her lower lip and glared at me. As I faced her, I brought the beer can to my lips again, but it was empty, yielding only a few drops.
"Aww~ It's all gone."
I sent the empty can to my sub-space and walked past Cheonma toward the heroes who were drinking ramen broth from exquisite glass artifacts Merlin had summoned.
"Hey~~~~~~~~~~! You drank my share too? Are you all pigs?"
They were all startled by the word "pig."
"Oppaaaaa! Who's a pig!"
"Uh-oh? Take your hands off the prayer beads! Now!"
"Eee... ah, no... I..."
"You were just touching the beads with those hands!"
"Sob... no... because you called me a pig... I'm angry..."
"Tsk."
"Eeeing... you only do that to me..."
"Keep it up and I won't give you any more alcohol!"
"I don't want that!"
It's so hard to get used to a monk who uses that cutesy tone. Watching a grown adult act like a child because they're drunk is cute, but... once I get a video recording item, I’m definitely recording this. I will absolutely preserve this dark history and play it back for her when she's sober.
As I patted Monk Judang’s head, she stopped whining and started to doze off, looking pleased. I was smiling, thinking about preserving her dark history, when Hwaryeon approached. She pointed to her own body and asked me,
"Have you ever seen a pig with a body like this?"
"Excuse me? No, I haven't."
"And yet... you called me a p.i.g.?"
"Ah... it was a joke. A joke..."
"...Even if it's a joke, please be careful with your words. Calling someone a pig... that's a serious matter of pride for a woman!"
Wow... that's brutal. Even in this gender-reversed world... women here care a lot about their figures, huh? I should apologize quickly. Is this why they say you can't be a solo-for-life?
"I'm sorry. I think I got a bit too tipsy from the drink. I was just trying to get closer with a joke... my thinking was a bit short-sighted."
"...I understand. I'll accept your apology."
Feeling the atmosphere dampen, I decided to clean up the area and called out to Merlin.
"Merlin!"
"Oh? Did you call? Need help with something?"
"Ah, yes. It looks like everyone is done eating, but is there a 'Clean' spell or something similar?"
"Clean spell? Ah~ because of this cauldron?"
"Yes. If not, I was planning to go to the spot I saw earlier and wash it with water."
Before I could even finish, Merlin laughed heartily and said, holding her staff,
"Nyahahahaha! The first magic I learned and made useful was daily life magic! But I didn't make it because I was lazy, okay?! Got it? Clean!"
Sssssss.
Sssssss.
As she pointed her white staff, embedded with an emerald orb, at the cauldron and cast the spell, a pure white light shot out, swirling inside the pot with a hissing sound. Everything stuck to the cauldron began to be wiped away cleanly, following the light.
"All done!"
Just as Merlin said, the cauldron was sparkling clean.
"Wow~ Merlin's magic is the best!"
"Nyahahaha! Thanks. I enjoyed being able to eat delicious food too! Ah~ I should head back to my spot now."
With Merlin's words, the heroes stood up and began to trudge back toward the campfire.
"Oh, right... you're a comrade now... where are you going to sleep?"
"You don't need to go far away like last time. Wouldn't it be better to sleep here?"
Cheonma, perhaps feeling a bit better now, picked up where Merlin left off and approached us.
"Uuuung... Oppaaaa... shall we sleep together?"
""No!""
"Uuuung..."
When Cheonma and Merlin shouted in unison, Monk Judang puffed out her cheeks in protest. Monk Judang... no matter what, some things just aren't allowed. Men and women should stay apart! How could I, having lived by that moral code, do... ahem ahem... with a grown adult woman?
"Ahem~! Men and women should stay apart! I can't sleep on rocks anyway... so I'll just use an item."
"""?"""
Why is everyone so flustered? I'm just going to set up a sleeping bag in my tent and sleep alone. I can't sleep on those rock beds...
At the mention of an "item," Cheonma, Merlin, and Monk Judang, who hadn't headed to the campfire yet, stared with sparkling, curious eyes. I took a tent and a sleeping bag out of my inventory at a spot a bit away from the campfire.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
After a black shape rose up and vanished, a single-person sleeping bag and a spacious 8-person tent appeared, perfectly set up.
"Oh... that looks decent..."
"Wh... what is this!!!! What is this!!!! What is this!!!!"
"Hiccup..."
"..."
Merlin, witnessing the tent, let out an excited, shrill cry. My ears! I covered my ears and approached the tent.
Wow... it really is huge for an 8-person tent. As I inspected the interior, I heard the heroes chatting outside.
"It looks like you can go inside and sleep there... Hey, can I go in too?"
"...Really... I don't know the limits of his abilities... It's so fascinating that he pulls out these mysterious, unimaginable things..."
Merlin and Cheonma didn't even wait for my consent; they just squeezed into the tent.
"Wow... if we had a warm campfire, it would be perfectly cozy, right?"
"...It's romantic, and... hmm... it's quite nice. I'm satisfied."
???
Excuse me? I had absolutely no intention of sharing this...? They're finishing the conversation among themselves without me saying a word? Are they counting their chickens before they hatch? The homeowner is right here with eyes blazing!
I finished inspecting the inside of the tent, turned around, and pointed outside between Cheonma and Merlin.
"...?"
"...?"
What are you doing? Get out.
"No, why aren't you leaving? I'm going to sleep now?"
"Oh? W-weren't we all going to stay here together?"
"No? We weren't."
""...!""
At my sharp, boundary-drawing words, Merlin shrieked in surprise.
"Ah, why!? What's the problem!?"
"I'm uncomfortable... please leave."
"Ah, please... okay?"
"It's not okay~"
"Ah~ just once~ okay? I... I want to go in and sleep too~ Huh? It's wide... why do you keep saying noooo!"
I’m pretty sure I said men and women should stay apart earlier...
"Scary things could happen in a tent..."
"...You? Or us?"
"..."
Ah. I suppose there's no way I could lay a finger on monsters like them... While I was pondering how to persuade them, Cheonma launched a preemptive strike.
"Don't be like that... we're comrades now... so let's use the excuse of 'getting closer' to act together and just stay here? We aren't true comrades at heart yet, are we? Right?"
"Yeah, that's right! It wouldn't be bad to act together to get closer, right!? Cheonma, that was actually a pretty good idea for you!"
"What? What do you think of me usually, you wench?"
"You? A martial arts maniac."
"Ha... I can't get angry in front of Eodum... you shut-in loser..."
"What? Hey! Did you say it all?"
"Yeah~ I said it all!"
!?
Wait, why is she calling me by my name so openly all of a sudden...? She’s using the "let's get closer" slogan to corner me... I can't even refute it... There’s no sign of them backing down...
Is there no other way...
"Sigh... I'll go call the other heroes too."
I sighed and called the other heroes into the tent. Is it because an 8-person tent is genuinely large? Or maybe because the group is mostly women, but there was plenty of space even with seven of us inside.
"Cheonma suggested we stay together for the sake of a good night's sleep, with the intention of getting closer. If any hero is uncomfortable, you're free to leave."
5
4
3
2
1
Yep, nobody's leaving~
"Then, assuming everyone intends to stay... I will use this sleeping bag to minimize friction with you all. Everyone, please step outside for a moment."
After sending the heroes out, I used my sub-space to take out a quilt. It was a cotton quilt, a full 20cm thick, perfectly sized to fill the floor of the tent. Wow, the system really works hard. It even matched this?
Satisfied, I threw my sleeping bag into the far corner of the tent and signaled that it was okay for the heroes to come back in.
Swarm, swarm.
The heroes rushed in, having apparently decided where to lie down outside, and began to settle into their spots.
"...Nice..."
"Wow! It's so fluffy!"
"...I... I don't think I can ever sleep on a rock floor again..."
"Sob... so fluuuuffy..."
"..."
"This is really nice..."
Hearing each of the heroes say how good it was, I tucked myself into my sleeping bag and closed my eyes with a pleasant feeling. Looking forward to what kind of day will unfold tomorrow...