The Devil Wears Fine Clothes (1)

That night. A party for Ashuria’s return was held at the lodging. From delicious food prepared by the hero’s request to the innkeeper, to high-quality alcohol procured through Lena’s acquaintance. For us, who were about to return to the front lines, her return seemed like an excuse for luxury.

“Ashuria! Welcome back!”

At Mille’s bright smile, Ashuria made a strange expression again, then smiled and nodded, saying:

“Yes, Mille. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“No! I believed Ashuria would come back! It’s okay!”

Mille spoke cheerfully as if she had never really worried. Those of us who knew she had been sprawled out all day while Ashuria was gone exchanged joking glances, and Ashuria, noticing this exchange, slightly frowned and shook her head.

Lena, to cut off the strange atmosphere as the conversation paused, poured the alcohol placed in front and said:

“What are you doing? Are you going to keep standing there? We should drink lightly today and return to being the hero’s party from tomorrow, right?”

Lena poured alcohol into the glass in front of her. The crimson liquid thoroughly soaked the glass and slid over the ice, making repeated clinking sounds. I took a breath at the sight of alcohol I hadn’t seen in a long time, and the hero said:

“The color is really pretty. What kind of alcohol is this?”

“It’s an alcohol made from [Queen Bee] honey, famous for being delicious.”

Looking at the bottle, you could see the image of a ridiculous bee wearing a crown. The bee, facing its rear end towards us while giving a seductive gaze, made me tilt my head, unable to understand what kind of taste it was aiming for. Ashuria, with a serious face, examined the bottle label and said:

“This… What kind of people is this targeting?”

“People who like alcohol. It stands out, doesn’t it?”

“Ah, I see. They deliberately made it unique to attract attention. I understand.”

Ashuria nodded. Lena gestured to me as she sat down. Her hand pointed to the empty seat beside her.

“Old man. Sit here. You like alcohol, right? Let’s have a good drink among people who like alcohol.”

“Oh my, if you’re pouring, I’ll gratefully accept.”

I nodded and sat next to her. Lena smiled with satisfaction and poured alcohol into my glass. Ashuria glanced at Lena and me, then sat down on my left side and held out her glass.

“I would also be grateful if you could pour me a glass of that [Queen Bee].”

Lena lightly lifted the bottle, tilted her head, and smiled. Ashuria also smiled with her eyes as if not to be outdone by that gaze, and a moment of silence fell. Only Mille, who had taken a bite of the grilled chicken served as a side dish, noisily spoke to the hero.

“Hero! This is really delicious!”

The hero, who seemed to have been lost in thought, responded a beat late to Mille’s excitement and said:

“Huh? Oh, right. Yeah. Should I try some too?”

“Here!”

While Mille offered the grilled chicken to the hero, Lena filled Ashuria’s glass to the brim with alcohol. It rose to just before overflowing, then stopped abruptly, and the surface of the glass swayed precariously like the vast ocean.

Ashuria carefully pulled her hand back and nodded, and Lena said:

“Eat a lot. Ashuria.”

“I’ll enjoy it. Lena.”

Ashuria bowed her head slightly in thanks, and Lena raised her glass. Then she moved her wrist as if to propose a toast to me. As I was about to respond, Ashuria said:

“Wouldn’t it be better if we all made the first toast together?”

Lena had extended her glass right in front of mine, but hearing her words, she nodded. Then she started pouring alcohol for Mille and the hero as well. The hero, who was eating chicken together with Mille, lightly nodded in greeting, and Mille smiled as she received the glass with both hands.

I faced Mille and waited for everyone’s glasses to be filled. It felt like waiting for an hourglass to be turned over.

Lena, who had poured neatly, put the bottle back down and said:

“Shall we make a toast then? Who should give the toast?”

There was no need to decide who should do it. Ashuria was the protagonist of this party. As everyone’s gaze focused on her, Ashuria awkwardly nodded and stood up. She was still wearing her neat nun’s attire, but she was no longer an official nun.

This was because she had submitted paperwork to quit her position as a church nun after receiving the whipping punishment.

“First of all, thank you very much for accepting my whim.”

She said that and bowed once again. Everyone just smiled because they hadn’t been waiting for such a greeting from her, cooperating or expecting it. Ashuria also continued with a warm smile:

“And thank you very much for accepting me back into the party. Although I’m no longer an official nun of the church, I will work hard to serve until we catch the Demon King, using my humble knowledge and strength.”

Mille said:

“Please take care of us! Ashuria!”

The hero nodded and clapped. I followed suit and clapped along with the hero, and Lena nodded and smiled. Ashuria raised her glass and said:

“Then, let’s make a toast. Wishing for our safe success in our task ahead.”

And she held out her glass.

Lena and I, who had expected some kind of energetic cheer, were momentarily confused as we raised our glasses, and Mille and the hero also raised their glasses to match Ashuria. Lena clinked her glass and said:

“What’s this, isn’t it too anticlimactic? It would have been nice if you added some energetic cheer, like ‘Cheers!’ or something.”

Ashuria sat down again and said:

“I’m not used to it, I’m sorry.”

Mille grumbled:

“I was expecting a toast too. But we didn’t really do toasts when we drank together before, did we?”

As Mille said, we didn’t often make toasts when drinking. To begin with, even when we had drinking sessions, they were only held during brief breaks in operations, and most of the time we were in contact with the front lines, so we had to be mindful of the atmosphere.

The hero lightly tapped her glass and said:

“It’s okay. We can do it again when we come back, right? After defeating the Demon King, we’ll be busy, but we’ll have time to drink together in the capital.”

Lena nodded in agreement with the hero’s words:

“That’s right. Yeah. Well, it’s not like this is the last time, so there’s no need to be too disappointed.”

I nodded, and Ashuria rubbed her chin and said:

“Should we do it again now…”

Lena waved her hand as Ashuria seriously considered her half-joking words:

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s fine, okay? I was just joking.”

The hero spoke to Mille, who was sipping beer while Lena and Ashuria were making a fuss:

“Mille. Want to switch seats? I feel like my seat is a bit high.”

“Huh? Okay.”

As Mille got down from the chair with her glass, the hero plopped down in the seat facing me. Then, with her cheeks turning red, she pushed the chicken leg she had brought for herself towards Mille. Mille, who was drinking, opened her eyes wide and asked:

“Huh? Why are you giving me this?”

“Huh? Oh, just… just because…”

The hero awkwardly mumbled that she was just giving it, and started gulping down her drink again. She glanced at me through her glass, then repeatedly raised her glass as if to cover her face and poured the drink. Ashuria and Lena, who had been arguing about whether it was okay or not, stopped their conversation when they saw this, and raised their glasses as if on cue.

Lena said:

“Old man. You said you’d farm after everything is over, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I’m also very interested in farming, so since it’s come to this, shall we farm together? You know I’m good at business. I’m a farmer specialized in eliminating competition.”

I chuckled at her joke-laced words, and Ashuria picked up on that and said:

“That sounds like a good idea. Lena. The porter promised to help me with my work after everything is over… so after that, we can farm together. If we farm together, we’ll surely produce good crops.”

At Ashuria’s words, Lena lightly poked her glass with her fork. The fork, which had been swimming between the ice cubes, was thoroughly soaked in alcohol and had a slightly reddish tint.

“I didn’t know Ashuria was so interested in farming.”

Ashuria smiled and nodded at those words.

“I’m unemployed now, aren’t I? And it’s not like I have savings.”

The ice clinked and swirled in the glass. Lena rested her chin on her hand and said:

“Still, shouldn’t you yield this to a former criminal? As a welfare measure.”

“I don’t have any experience either.”

“…Well, won’t the old man choose for us later?”

“…I see. That seems to be the right answer.”

Both Ashuria and Lena looked at each other and laughed. Seeing them laugh together harmoniously, I felt good too, as if their grudges had been resolved. The hero looked back and forth between the two and asked me:

“Um, old man?”

“Yes, Hero.”

“That… H-how about something like a knight order? With your experience and skills, I think you could join… That… If you apply, I think you’d get in right away. Though I don’t know much about knight orders. Or, you could ask for a noble title or something on this occasion. What do you think?”

I rubbed my chin and thought about it.

Indeed, even thinking about it again, being in a knight order or becoming a noble didn’t seem enjoyable.

If I returned safely, I wanted to do something I hadn’t done before.

“I’m sorry, Hero. With my wandering nature, such formal work doesn’t suit me. I’ve done it once, and that’s enough.”

“But, f-farming is also done in one place…”

The hero mumbled, and Lena laughed at those words and said:

“Hero, you really are a born strategist. You dive right into the gaps, don’t you?”

Lena said that and gave a look to Ashuria, and Ashuria nodded and said:

“As expected, the hero is sharp no matter what she does.”

The hero poured herself another drink and gulped it down at the two’s words. Lena, seeing the hero suddenly drinking excessively, said:

“Hero. If you drink like that, you’ll have a headache tomorrow. Drink slowly.”

I saw that the alcohol was running out and raised my hand to order more while turning my head. It seemed that today’s drinking session would be long and enjoyable.

Just like old times.