Chapter 10. Stubbornness and Arrogance (4)

It was fortunate that there was no dancing at the welcome ceremony.

Dwarven welcome dances were not dances where men and women danced together, but dances primarily performed by men.

Well, it’s not like they were hugging each other or anything.

Dwarven men, drunk to the point their noses were bright red, stood facing each other and laughed heartily while doing something that looked like Cossack dancing. Those around them clapped their hands to the rhythm, and the orchestras gradually increased their tempo, challenging their dance.

Then, if one person fell, they lost. The loser would drink another cup of alcohol… no, from my perspective, it looked like a cup the size of a whole jug, and then they would start another dance battle.

Wouldn’t it be harder to maintain balance as they drank more? It seemed like they were drinking more because they kept losing.

It was a bit strange to see men in aristocratic attire doing that, but they also looked like stereotypical dwarves, so it seemed fitting.

Dwarven women also enjoyed watching such scenes, standing a little apart, covering their mouths with fans, and laughing at the men.

If the dwarven men were stereotypical dwarves, the dwarven women felt like simply shortened versions of human women. Their body proportions weren’t severely distorted, but they all looked a bit plump, making them appear slightly wider.

However, among them, there were also women who looked like ‘non-human beauties,’ like the princess.

Perhaps it was the influence of being in a web novel world rather than a Western MMORPG. If the content had been made in America, the dwarven women would have had beards growing from their faces.

“Aren’t you going to drink?”

“Hmm, well.”

I replied that way to Ria’s question.

“Have you ever drunk before?”

“…”

Well, yes. In my previous life.

Actually, we were both at an age where it wouldn’t be strange to have a glass of beer. Both of us turned adult this year. In Korea, the age to drink alcohol doesn’t strictly consider whether it’s before or after your birthday, so from the moment we turned adult this year, both I and Ria were of legal drinking age.

“Have you drunk before, Ria?”

“Huh? Uh, uh? Yes, yes?”

At Ria’s answer, my eyes narrowed slightly.

Right, so you’ve drunk with other people.

Ah, of course, it’s not that doing that is wrong. It’s absurd to prevent people from doing such things in the first place.

But, who did you drink with?

…

I don’t know why I’m having these feelings. I must be the strange one. Perhaps it’s because Ria is the only person I can call a friend in this world, so I’m feeling things a bit too intensely.

“Are you good at drinking?”

“Me? Well, I’m good at it.”

Ria replied, looking around with a slightly flustered expression.

Right, so you’ve even tested your alcohol tolerance.

The standard for alcohol tolerance usually means drinking until you’re on the verge of blacking out. In other words, knowing your alcohol tolerance means you’ve drunk until you blacked out.

It’s unlikely anything major happened with Ria. A decent writer wouldn’t include NTR-like elements with such hidden settings.

But still, you showed your uninhibited side to someone else.

That’s a bit… well.

“Really? Then can you teach me how to drink?”

To my words, Ria blinked.

“Uh…”

“Here, this way.”

I headed towards the bar I had spotted earlier.

That’s right.

Whether the dwarves drink alcohol instead of water, there was a bar right in the corner of the grand banquet hall where the king’s seat was.

Dwarven bartenders were busily moving around at that bar.

Even though the stout male dwarves were shorter than us, the chairs weren’t as high as in a typical bar.

“Hmm?”

As Ria and I occupied the empty seats, the bartender looked at us with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Could you give us a glass each?”

The dwarf’s gaze swept over Ria’s and my faces once more.

“I apologize, but this bar only serves high-proof distilled spirits. If you’d like beer, it’s over there-“

“Distilled spirits are fine too.”

At my words, the dwarf bartender shrugged.

Then, he placed a small shot glass in front of Ria and me, and poured a generous amount of amber-colored liquor into them.

I picked up the glass and showed it to Ria.

Ria awkwardly picked up her glass.

Lightly clinking the glasses together, making a sound of glass hitting glass-

I immediately raised the glass and downed it.

“Hoo.”

The taste of alcohol, which I hadn’t experienced in a long time, made a sound like that escape my mouth.

It seemed to be quite a high-proof liquor, as I felt a refreshing sensation as it went down my esophagus.

I’m not entirely a teetotaler. Although I ended up living that way by chance, I drank quite a bit of alcohol during my working life.

They told me not to drink at home, but what does that matter?

In the first place, the me in my last memory had no connection to that anymore.

Ria also downed the liquor just like me-

“…Cough!?”

Was it because the proof was too high? After swallowing the liquor, she coughed as if she had choked slightly.

Seeing her, I chuckled and held up one finger to the bartender. The bartender shrugged and poured another glass for Ria and me.

“…Have you ever drunk before?”

Seeing me down the liquor so nonchalantly, Ria asked.

I silently raised my glass and downed it again.

Ria glared at me once, then also downed the liquor in her mouth. Seeing her ears slowly turn red, it seemed Ria wasn’t particularly strong against alcohol.

“Oh my.”

Hearing that voice, I turned around-

“Princess.”

The bartender bowed his head towards the person who made that sound.

“You’re already enjoying yourself.”

The princess leisurely approached and took the empty seat next to me.

“The same for me.”

“Yes, Princess.”

As if it were a familiar request, the bartender gave the princess the same glass.

The princess downed the liquor in the glass and said.

“Sister Anna.”

The princess spoke.

“Do you happen to know about the dwarven welcome greeting?”

“Unfortunately, this is my first time meeting dwarves.”

“The welcome method is simple. We provide alcohol until the guest is sufficiently drunk. Until they can no longer feel the cold.”

That’s quite a dwarven welcome method.

“However, times have changed, and these days, some guests don’t like the traditional welcome method.”

“It’s a shame that beautiful traditions are disappearing.”

As I chimed in, the princess smiled brightly.

In the meantime, the bartender poured another glass of liquor for the princess.

The princess also downed that glass.

Thus, we all drank two glasses each, fairly.

“By the way, Sister, you don’t seem to dislike alcohol that much.”

“Well. It’s my first time drinking since I was born.”

I said, glancing at Ria.

“Can I, on behalf of the dwarves, welcome Sister Anna?”

“Of course. It’s an offer I can’t refuse with my hands.”

At my words, Ria’s eyes seemed to sharpen.

The princess raised her glass, and Ria and I also raised ours.

All three of us downed the liquor at the same time.

The glasses were refilled.

“May alcohol make you forget all rudeness.”

The princess said, raising her glass.

“Is that a dwarven proverb?”

I also raised my glass and said.

“Hic.”

Ria responded with a hiccup.

*

“May alcohol make you forget all rudeness.”

Although it’s a dwarven proverb, it was also a warning.

It means you won’t remember the rudeness committed while drunk, but at the same time, you might commit ‘rudeness’ while drunk.

And that ‘rudeness’ includes everything you say without knowing what you’re saying.

I didn’t collapse until the end.

Perhaps it was because I drank too much in my previous life, or perhaps it was because the Saint’s setting was originally like that. Well, it’s not important.

It didn’t seem like the princess was trying to pry something out of me. Rather, she seemed to want to see for herself what kind of person I was.

After all, I would observe all sorts of etiquette during the meeting with the princess. Even I would.

The alcohol duel had, in the meantime, attracted other dwarves who came to watch-

“…Hmmnya.”

-Unfortunately, it was interrupted because there was someone among us who drank terribly.

“Hey, Ria, are you sure you’ve drunk before?”

Well, with this much alcohol tolerance, I would have quickly figured out what her tolerance was.

Our shared room.

Ria was clinging to me.

Originally, I intended to just support her and put Ria on the bed, but with that strength, Ria pushed me onto the bed.

Nothing lewd happened-

“…”

No, judging by the fact that she buried her face in my chest, it’s not entirely like that.

…But it’s not like anything major is happening. Ria is just using my chest as a pillow and fell asleep.

“…Without even washing.”

I muttered incredulously, but.

“…Mom.”

At Ria’s words, I couldn’t bring myself to push her away.

Mom.

When was the last time Ria hugged someone tightly? Ria’s father wasn’t that kind of person. He was the type to hide his affection by being strict rather than affectionate.

“Mom…”

…It must have been an involuntary sound that came out as she got drunk.

I slowly raised my hand and stroked Ria’s head.

Just as Ria sometimes did to me.

Normally, I wouldn’t think of touching her, but like this, I felt like I wanted to.

“…”

As I stroked her head, Ria soon became quiet.

Soon, I heard her peaceful breathing.

She still smelled a bit of alcohol, was sticky with sweat, and her face was flushed red.

Well, even so, she was cute in her own way.

I chuckled and decided to leave Ria as she was.

It seems I’ll have to postpone washing until early tomorrow morning.