Drunk on Liquor, Tangled in Love

'If I absorb a bit more mana, I could probably polymorph right away.'

Spare familiar faces, kill the unfamiliar ones who act all high and mighty like those knights. No wait—they already acted high and mighty! They interrupted my precious time!

Right on cue, a new group of humans pinged on my old detection radar—now upgraded to territory domination radar.

'What the heck kind of party is that?'

Familiar faces from our time up on the mountain ridge: Brian and Hafel. Three total strangers. And one of the knights who ran away? Except Edgar—the knight who'd fled—was a total wreck, slung over Brian's back.

'Huh? He seemed to escape in pretty good shape, though?'

Why's he like that? Are they bringing him back to me? Did I miss a knight and they want me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to finish him off?

'Heehee! Idiots! I let them go on purpose to spread the word!'

Guess they beat up the escaped knight good and brought him to me as a gift. Kinda touching, actually?

What about the other one who got away clean? I sent out seductive pollen to lure these dutiful humans over.

They bolted straight toward me. But the moment they entered the cavern and spotted Mistress, they froze solid—like statues, not moving a muscle. As if time itself had stopped, all their movements halted in unison.

Mouths half-open, eyes wide, the five humans looked petrified. Wait, six? Including Edgar on Brian's back...

"Hmm? I told you lot never to show your faces again."

Mistress turned her gaze to Brian and Hafel, her voice icy cold.

'Oh right! They got the warning.'

I remembered how Mistress had threatened them last time up on the mountain ridge. Oh no! But these are my favorite humans!

I quickly carved words into the floor with my roots. The scraping sound echoed through the cavern.

I used the root closest to Mistress to etch big, bold letters into the ground.

At the noise, all the humans' eyes snapped to the floor. Relief flickered in their gazes. A spark of life returned to their faces, like they'd just been spared.

Brian nodded gratefully at me; Hafel's lips twitched into the faintest smirk.

"Oh? The language I taught you last time?"

I hurriedly scratched out more words with my roots, digging deep for chunky letters. At the end, I quickly added a cute flower doodle.

But the humans' faces hardened again. Despair clouded their eyes at my message. Brian's gaze wavered especially hard.

Huh? No?

"Ho? Is that so?"

Mistress asked the humans, sounding intrigued. But they were still frozen in terror, trembling head to toe, unable to speak.

In the suffocating silence of dread, Brian took a shaky step forward. His face was pale, but resolve burned in his eyes.

"We're sorry... but we didn't capture this knight."

Brian's voice quivered.

"He's... my brother. Edgar. And..."

He bowed his head briefly, then met Mistress's gaze again.

"I've come to beg Ricoris for healing."

'Huh!?'

Totally not what I'd expected. The escaped knight was Brian's brother? And they came to me for healing?

Hmm...

"Healing?"

Mistress's cold voice echoed through the cavern.

"What makes you so bold as to demand it?"

The air itself seemed to freeze at her irritated tone. Brian's shoulders hunched.

"It's not a demand... it's a plea. My brother fought something and ended up like this. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he stays this way..."

Brian's voice broke off. That's when Glessia, lounging in the corner, twitched suddenly. Her massive hornet compound eyes glinted, then dulled indifferently.

'Huh? Glessia?'

Brian lowered his head slowly and continued.

"Take my life if you must. But spare my brother..."

'Ugh... talk about a lump in my throat.'

The knight I'd let go was Brian's brother? And now he's offering his life for him? My chest ached.

"Hmph. Your pathetic life wouldn't yield even a scrap of mana worth having."

Mistress's sharp gaze pierced Brian.

I frantically carved into the floor with my roots, adding a little heart at the end.

Mistress glanced at my writing and sighed.

"I know... Fine, do as you like."

She spoke with a gentle smile, then turned to the humans.

"But I won't forgive rudeness."

The humans' shoulders eased slightly in relief, though tension lingered.

I began sizing them up slowly. The three newcomers each had a distinct vibe.

The strangers reacted differently. The burliest guy, Rain, gripped his sword hilt tight, eyes darting between me and Mistress, assessing the situation.

Hawin, with his lean build, stared at me wide-eyed—wary, but mostly curious.

Adrian's eyes gleamed with scholarly curiosity, like he was studying a rare plant specimen. His hand kept dipping into his pouch bag. Mana seeped intriguingly from it.

'What's that?'

Curiosity piqued, I slyly extended a root and snatched Adrian's bag.

"Whoa?!"

Adrian yelped in surprise. The others looked flustered too.

I ignored them and dumped the bag open in front of me. Inside: colorful potions, weird liquid vials, and... booze bottles galore!

'Huh? Booze?!'

Memories flooded back of my pre-isekai drinking days—college nights pounding drinks with friends.

I scribbled quickly with a root, grabbed a bottle, and smashed it open. I slurped up the clear liquid pouring onto the floor.

"No!"

Adrian shouted in alarm.

"That's booze for potion-making! 95-proof super strong stuff!"

'...What?'

I heard him, but the liquor was already surging through my roots into my whole body.

Hmm, 95-proof, huh... Already chugged it all...?

'Ahh... Feels amazing! Gotta be the 95-proof!'

Bliss washed over me as my territory radar glitched out. Vision warped, space twisted. The humans blurred; shadows danced on the walls.

'Huh... But I hold my liquor pretty well...'

'Wha...?'

Something like a status window popped up. Letters wavy-danced; some doubled up.

'Shut up... Mmm...'

My root scraped the floor unevenly. It slipped, carving crooked letters—not what I'd meant. What was I even trying to write? No clue. Vision kept shaking. Ceiling spun; floor rippled. Head fuzzy, petals blooming bright. They danced on their own.

The window appeared again, but blurrier now.

'Mmm... Mistress looks... extra pretty today...'

A weird burst of courage! bloop! Everything else blurry, but Mistress shone bright. Silver hair doubled—no, tripled—and all gorgeous!

Yeah, confess! The one I chickened out on earlier!

'Hehehe...'

Slowly—no, wobbling—I extended roots to wrap Mistress's ankle... knee... whatever, something!

Mistress looked down startled; her face smeared wide.

"Rico? What're you doing?"

Her voice echoed muffled, like underwater. More roots climbed her legs... body... somewhere, coiling her waist. Like a hug.

But roots kept slipping.

Booze haze made roots slur across the floor. Letters warped, overlapped. Did I write that?

Mistress's face blurred, but her usual cool composure was gone. Red bloomed on her cheeks. Hair swayed like dancing.

Her hand trembled—two? Three? Many? The ever-confident Mistress... why so multiplied?

'Heehee... Still sho cute...!'

"Rico, you're drunk, aren't you?"

But I was already root-hugging her tight, lost in dazed bliss. Warm coziness mixed with booze, wrapping my whole body.

'Ehehe... Said it brave... Heehee...'

Roots quivered, scraping the floor. Others clung to Mistress; some roots went rogue.

Humans... huh? How many? Three? Eight? Shapes overlapped. Faces stretched, shrank weirdly.

"Is that really... the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠legendary flower?"

A distant voice.

"Even last time, they seemed closer than usual..."

Another mumbled echo.

"Th-that... Edgar..."

A sad voice rang out.

Bugs reacted variably, all blurry-overlapped. Miel... where? Blue lights everywhere— all her? Fluttering from all sides.

Glessia... big lump in corner. One? Many? Just glinting eyes multiplied.

Cecilia... red flames circling me. That her? Spreading like mini fireworks.

Petals heated up tiny-bit. Toasty-warm.

Cavern filled with sweet-tart flower scent mixed with booze— weird aroma everywhere.

Window again, barely visible—just hazy flash.

'Oh yeah... Where'd Nish go?'

Nis... here? Not? No memory. Just everything blurry-spinning.

Everyone staring felt embarrassing, but booze made me not care.

'Hmph~'

Mistress doing something. Gently prying roots? Her eyes sparkled blurry-warm.

"Rico, there are... humans here right now..."

'Huh? Huma... ns... here?'