Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Moonlit Booze Party (1)
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“Kya! What a killer moon!”
Even wrapped head to toe in bandages like a mummy, Darius grinned brightly as he admired the moon.
The half-crescent moon poured down a refreshingly melancholic light.
Thud!
Darius rolled over an oak barrel he’d brought. In the enchanting scenery of the Night Garden, they’d decided to raise their glasses tonight.
He’d thought of getting drunk on the moon he’d seen while leaving the prison, using it as a side dish, but he hadn’t expected the opportunity to come so soon.
The Griffin Kingdom’s evil ghost had vanished.
King Orpheus had regained his composure. He’d even mentioned that his body had been taken over by the evil ghost, blocking the Royal Knight Order and Magic Inquisitors.
The incident had wrapped up like that.
A few days later, for some reason, they ended up holding a nighttime drinking party in the palace garden.
He wondered if it had to be now, but with the audience chamber still under repair, the king had suggested doing it right away if they were going to, and so they’d gathered like this.
“I thought toughness was his strong suit, but I didn’t realize he was *that* tough.”
Next to me, Deia pushed a cart full of liquor glasses.
I considered helping, but the gunshot wound on my left shoulder made it hard to move my arm easily.
“Kyaah! The booze is flowing!”
Pindenai dashed past right in front of me. Dressed in her maid outfit, she excitedly swung around the biggest glass, looking just like a kid.
“Boss, let’s go together!”
“Party time!”
“Woo!”
The Scrap Merchants trio trailed eagerly after Pindenai.
Deia cautioned them, suspecting they’d already had a drink from their hyped-up energy.
“Hey! It’s night, so keep it quiet!”
With no other servants around and this being a modest gathering just for us, causing a ruckus might disturb the staff’s rest.
The servants had only set it up for a campfire-like fire and left, but already Grand Mage Rockpellecan and his disciples were huddled together, starting a blaze.
They seemed to be betting on who could light the fire with the least mana.
I took a seat on the bench in front of the flower bed where Elenoa and I often sat.
The massive fire pit Rockpellecan had ignited erupted like a geyser, illuminating the sky.
“Wah! The firepower’s too much!”
“M-Master! What do we do?!”
“W-Wait!”
The mages were putting on quite the flashy show.
[Whoa, whoa! I’ll go check that out for a bit!]
The Black Necromancer flowed toward the mages like water, drawn by the spectacular burst of flames.
As I rested my chin on my hand and stared blankly at the fire, a female student naturally sat beside me.
Aria Rias held out a beer mug in her hand to me.
“Have some too, Professor.”
I took it and warned her.
“Don’t even think about drinking as a student.”
When I warned her sternly, Aria smiled brightly and offered the glass in her other hand.
A fresh orange scent hit my nose.
“This is juice for me. You hate it when students act un-student-like, Professor.”
She didn’t need to add “because you’re the professor.” Truth be told, I could count on one hand the times I’d properly done my job as one.
As I stared vacantly at the fire, Aria smiled slyly and asked.
“They call it fire-gazing, right?”
“…….”
“You told me about it long ago. Super long ago!”
She meant the first playthrough.
I took a sip of my drink without answering. It was a beer mug, but filled with wine—royal supply, so it was quite excellent, moistening my mouth splendidly.
“What are you going to do now? Oh, don’t worry! Whatever you do, I’m on your side, Professor.”
“Whatever I do?”
I took another sip and asked, and Aria answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Yes, of course.”
I pondered briefly with the glass to my lips, then slowly lowered my hand and asked again.
“What if I tried to purge most of the kingdom like Heralhazard?”
I thought she might hesitate a little.
No, at least pretend to ask back.
“Yes.”
Aria replied with a bright smile, without a trace of doubt.
“There must be a reason!”
She might not know.
How much that answer made my heart ache.
I’d played her character myself. From her first steps, I’d seen every story, fought alongside her.
Seeing Aria Rias, the protagonist girl, this broken—it hit harder than expected.
“Fuu.”
Tap.
With my eyes still on the flames, I slowly reached out and placed my hand on Aria’s head.
I could feel her startled, staring blankly at me, but I didn’t want to look at her now.
It just... felt that pitiful.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
I offered what consolation I could.
“Ah…….”
I couldn’t fully empathize with how much anguish and pain she’d endured to break like this, but I could understand.
“It’ll be okay. Relax your shoulders.”
“Ah, ah, Professor!”
She reached out to hug me fiercely.
But my hand was already off her head, on her face, pushing her back.
“Not that far.”
“……It wasn’t?”
Truly disappointed, Aria pouted and grumbled, but carefully scooted her butt closer to me.
Our thighs touched.
It was annoying, but seeing how much she liked it, I didn’t feel like making a fuss.
Thinking the mood was nice, Aria wore a satisfied smile.
But then, the freedom-loving barbarian warrior crashed the vibe.
“Master’s sipping alone even while drinking.”
“…….”
“……Ms. Pindenai, we’re in the middle of something important, so why don’t you buzz off?”
Aria fired back immediately, but Pindenai grinned and replied.
“Is sniffing Master’s scent *that* important? Master knows and is just pretending not to notice.”
“……Pardon?”
Aria’s head turned like a rusty gear. Staring at me, she rarely blushed with embarrassment and asked.
“D-Did you know?”
If she meant how she’d deliberately leaned close, pretending to breathe just to sniff me.
“Yeah.”
I knew.
At that, Aria shot up, head bowed low, and stormed off with heavy steps.
Pindenai took her seat.
She draped an arm over the bench casually, beer mug in the other hand. One leg propped on the opposite thigh—a pose she shouldn’t take in a skirt.
“Leg down.”
I frowned and warned her immediately, but Pindenai just smirked.
“Why? Excited? Reminds you of your old playboy days? Want me to serve you hot tonight?”
“……Don’t cross the line.”
“Tch, after a drink, people should be able to joke around, right?”
She held out her glass toward me. I sighed and clinked mine lightly against it.
More of a clunk than a proper cheers.
But satisfied even with that, Pindenai chugged her drink, and I took another sip.
“You staying in Graypond for a while?”
To Pindenai’s casual question, I answered flatly.
“Yeah, it’s not over yet.”
I’d overcome all the king’s trials. All that remained was official recognition as a kingdom-affiliated black mage, but that was really just the beginning.
I could already see the flood of criticism, being dragged to debate halls.
“It won’t just be noisy. Plenty of assassins aiming for kills or kidnaps will come too. You’ll handle those.”
I planned to send Aria back to the academy soon.
Hearing that, Pindenai rummaged in her pocket.
“Assassins? Sounds fun. I gotta swing my axe every three days anyway.”
She pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth. I stared at her steadily, and she grumbled preemptively.
“Ah, habit. I’ll just hold it in my mouth.”
“Fuu.”
Pindenai was Pindenai no matter the situation. Even with her face flushed pink from the booze, she tossed out a wild topic.
“Perfect timing. I heard there are some of our kin in Graypond. Resistance, different from the Scrap Merchants.”
“…….”
“Go join ’em. Time to gather some intel.”
She brought it up like a reminder not to forget she was Resistance.
I just listened silently.
Yeah, not just Graypond—Clock Republic refugees had formed Resistance groups in several major cities.
Each with different names and ideals.
In the chapter where Pindenai and protagonist Aria clash, they’re major villains, and Pindenai, having united all Resistance, appears as the boss.
‘Of course, that worldline’s already gone.’
The moment Pindenai became my maid, that future vanished.
So Aria had no reason to pick a fight with her.
In the middle of this heavy conversation, Pindenai glanced at me slyly.
“Master, can I ask one thing?”
“……Speak.”
Her serious expression drew me in unwittingly.
“When I offered to rim you and you turned it down, you regretted it deep down, right?”
“…….”
“Right? Admit it?”
“Pindenai.”
My head throbbed. Definitely not the alcohol, so I answered with a naturally forming look of disgust.
“Get lost.”