The Drinking Sage 54

The golden moon rising in the night sky illuminates the whole world.

A beautiful scene where moonlight settles on all things. Within it, there was one existence that emitted a particularly bright light.

Of course, that was inevitable. For on that existence’s fingers, a white flame was burning.

“Ah, I feel alive.”

A woman lighting a cigarette with holy fire. It was the Saint, Rinet Michaela.

She put the tobacco in her mouth and took a breath.

Shhp- Haah- The sight of cigarette smoke entering and leaving her lungs. Watching that, my disgruntled voice followed.

“You’re still behaving in a manner unbefitting a Saint.”

“That’s harsh. Please call it a light deviation.”

“Since when has a Saint’s deviation been smoking?”

The questions and answers exchanged were lighter than their content.

It was a conversation we could have because we knew each other well. Rinet pouted her lips and brought up a different topic.

“You said you couldn’t figure out the homework?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

My answer seemed somewhat unsatisfactory to her. She twirled the tobacco between her fingers as she drew out her words.

“Why can’t you figure it out?”

“…”

“I thought I had given you hints several times. Why don’t you know, hmm.”

‘She gave hints several times?’

My brow furrowed at the unfamiliar statement. It was something I was hearing for the first time.

‘Rinet hasn’t given me any hints about the homework.’

Perhaps my thoughts showed on my face. Rinet let out a big sigh, “Haah-” as she looked at me.

“This is troublesome. This is something you have to realize on your own.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, obviously. I honestly don’t want to say it directly with my own mouth.”

She doesn’t want to say it with her own mouth, she says.

My mind raced to guess her intention, but I still couldn’t reach a conclusion.

Rinet shook her head at my appearance.

“I wonder if the curse of emotionlessness is affecting this. Or maybe it’s just Your Highness’s original personality.”

“If it’s not rude, could you give me a more direct hint?”

In the end, my choice was to ask Rinet.

It’s embarrassing as the recipient of the homework, but if the answer is nowhere to be seen, there’s no choice but to seek guidance from the giver.

“Hmm-“

Rinet crossed her arms at my words. Her voluptuous chest strained against her Saint robe, threatening to burst it.

After appearing to be in thought, she opened her mouth again.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“Are you afraid of making a choice?”

For a moment, I was speechless.

As if my heart had been gripped by a hand. I froze, unable to move.

Looking at me like that, Rinet smoothly continued.

“I, the black-haired one, and the white-haired one all love you. You know that, right?”

“…”

“But you’re unable to choose one among them. Because choosing one means not choosing the others.”

“…Yes.”

To her statements that precisely dug into what I had been worrying about, all I could do was nod in agreement.

Rinet nodded at my response and.

“That’s a concern that ordinary people have.”

“…”

“It’s not a concern fitting for royalty.”

She pinpointed what might be the key to solving the difficult problem.

My mind raced furiously. I felt like something had cleared in my thinking with Rinet’s statement, but I wasn’t certain yet.

What echoed in my ear were Rinet’s following words.

“That’s as far as I’ll tell you. Honestly, having told you this much, I think you should figure out the rest on your own.”

Hmm hmm- Rinet made a nasal sound and pouted her lips again. By now, the tobacco had completely disappeared due to the holy fire.

“But let me add one more thing. Don’t live too much for others.”

“Then, by what standard should I live?”

“Yourself.”

A short answer.

Rinet firmly declared to me.

“Live for yourself, Your Highness. Isn’t that at least fitting for royalty?”

Why such confidence when she had never even been to the Imperial Palace?

I chuckled at Rinet’s audacious attitude, but ultimately ended up nodding.

“…I’ll take it to heart.”

“Then that’s all the hints you get. I’ve given you a lot, so I hope you answer soon.”

Rinet waved her hand and stepped away.

Click-clack- Her footsteps headed towards the exit of the terrace. As I was walking behind Rinet.

“Oh right.”

Rinet turned her waist sharply towards me.

“…?”

However, there was no further action after that. As if hesitating about something. She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth.

In the end, I was the first to ask her what she wanted.

“What is it?”

“No, it’s just…”

Rinet raised her slender finger. After brushing her long ash-colored hair a few times.

“What did you say?”

“?”

My head tilted at the sentence with many things omitted, including the subject.

She must have noticed my questioning of her meaning. Rinet’s face turned slightly red as she hesitated.

“…What did you tell your sister?”

“Tell her what?”

“…”

This time, she bit her lip once firmly and.

“Who did you say you liked the most!”

“Ah.”

She shouted at me with a shrill voice. Only then did I understand what she was curious about.

‘So that was her question.’

Well, when three women love one man, how curious would they be about whom that man loves the most?

“…”

However, it was still difficult to say it straight out.

Noticing the hesitation in my expression, Rinet grumbled.

“Hmph. It doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I wasn’t expecting anything anyway. Hmph.”

Rinet snorted and tried to step away again. There was no hesitation in her actions. If left like this, she would leave the terrace right away.

A moment of time. I thought deeply.

‘What should I do.’

It’s a matter that doesn’t matter if I don’t say it, as Rinet said. No, perhaps not saying it would cause fewer problems.

Nevertheless.

Before she left the terrace.

My mouth opened, and I conveyed one fact.

“It’s you.”

“…”

For a moment, as if the world had stopped.

Rinet’s body froze.

Several seconds of silence. A mere instant when viewed in the context of the whole world.

But for the Saint, perhaps it was a time that felt like eternity.

“…Huh?”

What her mouth uttered was a somewhat deflated sound.

“Uh, umm. Eh?”

As if someone had stabbed her lungs with a spear. Rinet, who had been repeating formless words.

“…Huh? Really?”

Finally, in a trembling tone, she barely managed to ask me.

“…”

I just silently nodded in response. Only after seeing my action did she recognize it as the truth and.

“…Why, why?”

She returned a foolish question.

“Why me?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, of course it’s good!”

Eek- A shrill voice similar to before.

But within it, there was clear fervor.

Rinet continued with her face flushed red.

“But, but I’m curious about why you specifically chose me.”

“There’s no need to be like that. Lorela’s question was who I liked the most ‘at this point in time.'”

That’s right.

The times I had spent with the three women. The experiences.

As a result of considering all of that together, Rinet was just the one who was slightly ahead.

“…”

Rinet understood the background of my choice and closed her mouth.

Just like before, she opened and closed her mouth for a moment.

“…Well, that’s that.”

This time, she responded with a dispirited voice.

“I had unnecessary expectations. In the end, you’re saying you like all three of us.”

“…”

“But, well… it’s not bad.”

Rinet said so and turned her head sharply.

I could only see one of her cheeks, but that was enough to know she was very embarrassed.

“If it’s going to be like this, I should have just made you mine without giving homework…”

The Saint muttered something and then subtly approached me.

Then, looking up at me with raised eyes, she said:

“Hey, can you say it one more time?”

“…I’d rather not.”

“Don’t be like that. Come on, just once. Hm? Just tell me once more that I’m the one you like the most.”

As if throwing a tantrum. Like a woman showing aegyo to her lover.

Rinet clung to me and exhaled a sweet breath.

“…”

At that sight, I let out a sigh and then.

“I like you the most, Lady Saint.”

I suppressed my embarrassment and said what she wanted to hear the most.

“Ahah.”

Fortunately, the Saint seemed sufficiently happy with just that.

In fact, there was a separate reason why I deliberately told Rinet honestly.

‘Because I had already decided on the answer for Adela.’

The fact that Rinet was the one I liked the most at this point meant that I couldn’t respond to Adela’s feelings.

In other words, while I can’t clearly choose one woman I love the most yet, at least it’s established that I can’t answer that I love Adela the most.

Meanwhile, regardless of what I was thinking inside, Rinet was unconcerned.

“Eheh, eheh. Ehehehe…”

The sight of her jumping up and down with a full smile, was it proof that the Saint still had purity in her?

I felt unnecessarily embarrassed and added a few words.

“Please don’t be like that. It’s not that big a deal, is it?”

“Hmph! Not a big deal? Where is there something as significant as-“

It was when Rinet was continuing with her clear voice.

Crash!

Along with the sound of something like glass breaking.

“Ah.”

Someone’s dazed voice echoed through the space.

“…!”

Immediately, Rinet’s and my heads turned towards the entrance.

There lay the remains of a glass shattered into pieces. The red alcohol that stained the surroundings emitted a strong alcoholic scent.

With just that, I could identify the owner of the voice.

“Ah, ah…”

Pitch-black hair resembling the night sky.

A woman with a visage that shined like the moon amidst it.

The Sage, Adela Ciadellia.

“…Sob.”

With those ink-colored eyes filled with moisture, she was looking at us.