The Crazy Bitch in This Banquet Hall Is Me (2)

With twice as many people, the commotion became twice as noisy.

No, to be precise, it should have only been twice as noisy.

I didn’t want to see the chaotic atmosphere filled with dozens of times more shouting and the dreadful drinking habits of that orange-blonde filly.

“Prince Ethan! Out of our 21 sparring matches, I’ve lost 18 times! I’ve never forgotten a single moment of it!”

“…Natalie, your drinking habits aren’t good. If you want to spar, I’d gladly oblige, but since this is a gathering hosted by Princess Seraphine, it’s best to restrain yourself…”

“What are you talking about?! I’m not drunk! How could someone like me, who never gets drunk, have drinking habits?! My old hometown friend Thomas often drank with me, and he said he’s never once seen me drunk!”

…Well, of course Thomas would say that.

It would take considerable courage for him to honestly describe her drinking habits to the girl he likes.

Moreover, unlike Agnes, she was the type to completely black out her memories when drunk, making her even more of a pain in the ass.

I couldn’t help but shoot a resentful glare at Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, who had caused this mess.

‘Fuck. Why the hell is that damn Hero just standing there watching Natalie drink?’

Didn’t he know the game mechanics? He protected Celista, brought Silena, and even included Thomas in the party, pulling off all sorts of veteran moves, yet he made the most rookie mistake of not stopping Natalie from drinking?

Of course, if you asked whether Gyeotmwa Josyegigot did nothing at all during that drinking session, the answer would obviously be no.

He seemed to know a thing or two about the heroines’ interactions with alcohol, as he did try to stop the dangerous ones.

…The problem was that the one he tried to stop wasn’t Natalie-it was Agnes.

‘Miss Agnes, don’t you think it’s a bit too early for you to be drinking?’

‘What? Are you mocking me for being a child?’

‘I think something other than this Blue Curacao cocktail would suit Miss Blaze better. Here, try this.’

‘Who the hell are you? The Spirit Communication lectures are over, you know? The semester’s ended-did you really think I’d just quietly listen to you?’

‘Please, Miss Agnes. Some people just can’t handle alcohol well due to their constitution…’

…He suddenly jumped in to stop Agnes from drinking, just like me, but no matter how I looked at it, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot’s actions were utterly irresponsible.

I completely agreed that Agnes, like Natalie, was a character who shouldn’t drink.

But if you could only stop one of them, shouldn’t you obviously stop Natalie?

Listening to her whine for hours would be better than letting this wild filly wreak havoc by challenging people to duels.

…And I also had no idea why Natalie was pointing her finger at Ethan instead of the protagonist.

Ethan, looking utterly dumbfounded, responded to Natalie, who was flailing her orange ponytail like a wild horse.

“If you’re so eager to spar, why don’t you fight the Hero you follow instead of pointing that finger at me?”

“18 losses out of 21 matches! 18 losses! In all those defeats, I’ve only managed to beat you three times! And that includes one draw!”

“What does that have to do with anything? Is it my fault your sword can’t break through my defense?”

“No! All I want is to defeat you, Prince Ethan, and redeem the shame of those past losses! The shame stained by 18 defeats! 18 times! 18!”

…For some reason, the way she kept emphasizing those “18 losses” made it sound like an insult. Must just be my imagination.

It seemed Natalie’s “drunken duel” habit targeted the person in the room with the lowest win rate against her.

Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, Ethan, Natalie.

Including Karaham, who wasn’t present, there were four top-tier swordsmen in the first-year swordsmanship division, and among them, Natalie’s estoc had a particularly hard time against Ethan’s dual swords.

Natalie’s estoc, which specialized in exploiting openings and weaknesses, struggled especially against Ethan’s dual swords, which allowed him to switch freely between offense and defense.

Even against Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, the Hero, Natalie had about a 30% win rate, but against Ethan, it was less than 20%. So naturally, Ethan became the target of her drunken duel challenge.

In the original game, she never drank in front of anyone other than the protagonist, so this aspect hadn’t been clear.

‘This is so fucking messed up…’

If she had pulled this shit with the protagonist, I could’ve just ignored it or quietly slipped away with Ethan under the cover of the commotion.

The problem was that damn orange-blonde filly had fixated on Ethan.

If he didn’t properly respond to her challenge, she’d probably keep this up for hours. Until she either collapsed from exhaustion or passed out from the alcohol.

Celista was here, so any accidents during the duel could be prevented, but honestly, I didn’t even want to listen to that crazy bitch’s nonsense.

I’d much rather just put her to sleep without any duels. But was there a way to quietly knock her out…?

“Accept the challenge, Prince Ethan! If you’re a true swordsman, you must face the blade that comes at you with honor!”

‘…Wait, “with honor”?’

Just as I absentmindedly caught Natalie’s words, a way to escape this situation flashed through my mind.

Right before Natalie and Ethan’s duel could begin, I stepped between them and hastily intervened.

“I always thought you were just a sweet commoner girl, but I never imagined you harbored such hatred for me.”

“I only wish to rise above my defeats as a swordsman and move forward! And the first mountain I must overcome to leap forward is you, Prince Ethan…!”

“M-Miss Natalie? Could you calm down for a moment? No matter how much you’ve built up from sparring, your opponent is the young master of the Blackwood family. I can’t cover for you if this commotion gets any worse…”

“Wait a minute, Miss Natalie!”

“…Lilith?”

“…Miss Lilith?”

Ethan and Seraphine’s gazes turned to me as I suddenly blocked Natalie’s path.

Natalie, who had been causing a drunken ruckus after a single cocktail, also turned her eyes toward me.

“You’re Prince Ethan’s fiancée, aren’t you? Are you planning to interfere in this sacred duel because you’re worried about your fiancé…?”

“That’s not important right now. More importantly, didn’t you just say, in your own words, ‘with honor’?”

“That’s right! I, Natalie Sharp, though born a commoner with nothing but the skill to wield a sword, have lived my life honorably under the heavens without shame!”

“And you also said you’ve never been drunk before, correct?”

“That’s right! I’ve never been drunk even once, so claiming I challenged Prince Ethan to a duel because of drinking habits is clearly slander…!”

“Then, Miss Natalie, is it truly an ‘honorable’ action for someone who isn’t drunk to challenge someone who is to a duel?”

“……Huh?”

Natalie, who had been shouting her duel request just moments ago, suddenly shut her mouth.

Even in her drunken state, she couldn’t ignore this logic.

Honesty and honor. These were values Natalie upheld as dearly as her own life in the game, traits that symbolized her character.

Even if it was just her subconscious acting out in her drunken state, those words seemed to have woken her up.

“Th-That’s… not an honorable action…”

“Yes. And Prince Ethan has been at this gathering long before you arrived. Naturally, he’s had quite a bit to drink and is currently intoxicated.”

“Ah, ahh…”

“Do you understand now, Miss Natalie? You’ve just made a dishonorable challenge to Prince Ethan, trying to seize a cowardly victory.”

“Ahh, wh-what have I done…?”

Finally, Natalie stopped pointing at Ethan and clutched her head with both hands.

She seemed deeply shocked by her own “dishonorable” behavior, gripping her head tightly.

-Thud.

“I-I’m sorry, Prince Ethan! I’ve disgraced myself as a swordsman by acting so dishonorably toward you!”

“It’s fine. Everyone makes mistakes in life. …Though yours was a bit over the line.”

“H-How can I possibly atone for this shameful mistake…?”

-Thud! Thud!

“M-Miss Natalie?!”

She prostrated herself on the floor, banging her head against it in despair.

Her thick skull, rivaling Karaham’s, made loud thuds that echoed through the banquet hall.

Worried that either the floor or her head might crack, I quickly grabbed her shoulders and suggested another “atonement method.”

“M-Miss Natalie!”

“Enough. I’m not asking for an apology, so there’s no need to torment yourself like this.”

“Natalie, stop! Prince Ethan said it’s fine!”

“N-No… I-I’m a shameful, dishonorable swordsman… I must atone…”

“It’s okay, Miss Natalie. There’s a much better way to atone than this brutish method.”

“…Huh? R-Really, Lady Lilith?!”

“Yes, yes…”

Hearing there was a surefire way to atone, Natalie grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth.

I decided to ignore the sudden change in my title to “Lady.” She’d forget it all by tomorrow anyway.

“Miss Natalie, you made only one mistake. You, who weren’t drunk, challenged Prince Ethan, who was drunk, to a duel.”

“That’s right… What a shameless disgrace, targeting a weakened opponent…”

“Then all you need to do is get just as drunk as Prince Ethan. That solves the problem.”

“……Huh?”

“A duel challenge between two drunk people is just a joke, isn’t it?”

“O-Of course!”

…As if. If punishment could be undone by getting drunk after causing a scene, what’s the point of laws or knights?

But right now, what mattered wasn’t flawless logic. Just something convincing enough for a drunkard to swallow.

No one would argue against it, not when they didn’t want to see Natalie start another uproar.

“Here, have another drink, Miss Natalie. Down the hatch…”

And so, I fed her the strongest alcohol I could find on the spot, disguised as a normal cocktail-three glasses’ worth.

-Thud.

“Zzz, huuu… Zzz, huuu…”

The wild orange filly fell fast asleep, breathing peacefully.

…Damn, cleaning up after her is such a pain.