episode_0026

“Boss, you don’t have to feel pressured. A teacher can recommend a good store. That’s how they all do it.”

“How do you know my store is a good store?”

“Hmm~~ By feeling?”

“lol.”

Rebecca, Sasha and me.

It’s been a while since the three of us spent time at the bar we arrived at.

Empty alcohol bottles were rolling around on our table, and Sasha, who was very drunk, was completely consumed by alcohol and was on the verge of fainting.

From a while ago, he was just smiling with blank, open eyes.

But Rebecca was strong.

I know he drank the most out of the three, but despite that, he seemed fine and was sipping his drink with his arm on my shoulder.

‘When on earth are they going to solve this?’

I am very grateful that he put his arm around my shoulder, but it makes me so hot that I want to die.

You probably don’t know that it’s not just because of the heat.

“Can’t you take this off? It’s hot.”

I used the heat as an excuse and told him to lower his arms.

“Is it hot? Why is it hot? Is it because I drank alcohol?”

“Yes, one of the reasons is that it’s hot after drinking.”

In fact, the biggest reason was that my lower leg, which had been stimulated by the crushing feeling on my shoulder earlier, was desperately trying to gain strength.

Part of the problem was the texture, but it was more of a problem because Rebecca threw away her clothes because she said it was hot.

Rebecca was now wearing only sleeveless clothes.

Thanks to this, the clearly exposed chest and slender body with brown skin shook the hearts of those who saw it.

Of course me too.

‘I’m already drinking so I’m bothering you…’

I’m also human, so I lose self-control when I’m drunk.

However, he also has to endure Rebecca’s temptation.

This makes me feel stuffy.

“Hehehe! That’s cute.”

Another problem was that he was similar in height to me, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable to put my shoulder on him.

Since the arm on my shoulder wasn’t uncomfortable, I didn’t think about going down.

I don’t know if Rebecca is ignoring my situation even though she knows about it, or if she’s doing this because she really doesn’t know.

“Take it easy. Isn’t it hot?”

“No! It’s not hot?”

“Don’t lie. I took my clothes off because it was hot. If it wasn’t hot, I would put my clothes back on.”

Can’t we force it to be released?

How can I defeat him with my strength?

I felt like I had a lump in my throat, perhaps because there was so much to worry about here and there.

“uncomfortable?”

“I’ve said this many times, but it’s hot.”

“Chiit, I can’t help it. Come on! Is that enough now?”

“Huh…okay.”

The soft feeling of skin disappears in a flash.

It was troublesome when it was there and I hoped they would get rid of it quickly, but now that it is gone, I feel sad.

I shook my head to shake off the useless desire and poured the alcohol down my throat.

“Ah! Can you drink alone?! Me too, me too!”

Gulp gurgle-

“Big!”

“Kihya~”

The alcohol goes down my throat with a burning sensation.

I took a deep breath in the rising heat.

“By the way, I think we’ve been talking too much about ourselves. How did you end up opening a general store here?”

“Are you suddenly curious about what I’m talking about?”

“Uh. I want to know what kind of guy you are.”

Sasha’s eyes seemed to be filled with twinkling starlight, and Rebecca’s eyes seemed to have small embers burning brightly.

I opened my mouth, staring at the small spark in her eyes.

“I ran away from home when I was 16.”

“Oh, it’s interesting from the beginning.”

“At that time, I thought I could become an awakened person.”

Commoners want to become awakened.

It was only natural that for commoners who wanted to become nobles, there was no easier way than to become an awakened person.

“I got tested and they said no. But I had already run away from home. I didn’t want to go home without accomplishing anything.”

“so?”

“That’s why I became a mercenary. With the intention of making a lot of money.”

Rebecca told me a short story about my life that she was curious about.

I hid the parts that needed to be hidden, and if there were parts that needed to be exaggerated, I added as much bravado as possible.

Rebecca knew that too, but she didn’t ruin the mood by saying she was lying.

“Actually, when I was at the training ground, I thought your skills were pretty good.”

“You saw me training?”

“Sneak? You were the one that stood out the most when I first came into the training room. Your muscles said it all.”

Rebecca gently touches my chest with her index finger.

“You don’t have muscles you gained by training for a day or two. And in reality, your swordsmanship skills aren’t that bad. If you had become an awakened person, you would have been a great person. It’s a shame. If I had fought with you, I would have gained a lot of interesting experiences.”

Since they happen to be the same age, they whisper that if they had become awakened, they could have taken classes in the same class.

Surprisingly, her words gave me great comfort.

“that’s interesting.”

“what?”

“No matter what words of comfort I hear, I have never been truly comforted, but when I heard your words, I suddenly felt comforted.”

“That’s such an honor. Hehe.”

I lifted the glass and held it out in front of Rebecca.

She didn’t hesitate and clinked her drink against mine.

Bright~!

The drinking glasses clink together, making a clear sound.

I immediately took a shot of the alcohol in my glass.

“Wow…! There’s alcohol today.”

“Really? Me too.”

Because the taste of the drink was good, the conversation continued without end.

Sasha had been sleeping in the corner a while ago, with her legs stretched out.

“Wasn’t it scary? Monsters are very scary to commoners.”

“I was scared of monsters. But back then, I was more scared of money than monsters.”

This is a product that I absolutely have to buy, but I feel sad and afraid that I might not be able to buy it because I don’t have money!

My blood dried as I watched the window of opportunity to purchase a special package decrease in real time.

Of course, I couldn’t tell Rebecca everything about this situation.

“So you opened a general store with the money you saved? Since when was the general store your dream?”

“I’ve been planning this since I found out I wasn’t an Awoken.”

“Oh…you were so precocious. I don’t think I thought much of it when I was that age.”

There’s no way Rebecca really didn’t think much of it when she was 16 or 17 years old.

Even at that time, Rebecca would have been honing her skills to reclaim the desert.

“The things that are sold at general stores now are things I found while traveling here and there. Whenever I could get them cheaply, I bought them and stocked them up.”

“Oh…? Then isn’t it a treasure trove, not a general store? They sell weapons and all sorts of things.”

“Yes. It is a general store itself.”

“Hearing such boasts makes me want to go there sometime.”

It was my plan to lead Rebecca to the general store.

But not now.

Although Rebecca didn’t seem to think otherwise.

“If this has happened, let’s go right now! To the general store!”

“No, later. After I sober up. I can’t do it now because of the alcohol.”

“Why~ are you drunk?”

“Uh, I’m drunk.”

I’m not sure if I can control my body.

And if I wanted to take it to the general store, I needed to make preparations in advance.

Preparing to introduce unique equipment.

I had to hand the high heels over to him so he could naturally see them, but if I took him to the general store right now, things could get complicated.

“Chiit! Then there’s nothing I can do. Are you sure you’ll take me with you next time?”

“okay.”

“It’s not a burden, is it?”

“Why is it a burden to show him around the grocery store? Let’s get up now. But what are we going to do with him?”

“Ah… I’m completely drunk. Sasha isn’t very good at drinking. I’ll take it with me.”

I know she drank more than I did, but Rebecca doesn’t even stand up and stumble.

Rebecca, who boasts a tall height of 180cm, casually lifted Sasha, who was much smaller than her.

“Ugh~ Let’s break up here! Are you okay?”

It was also ridiculous for a commoner to say that he would take a nobleman to him.

“okay.”

“Oh my! When are you coming to the training ground? We have to meet again.”

It’s ridiculous to exchange numbers in a place where there are no cell phones.

To become an acquaintance, you had to at least know where someone lived.

“I go every day unless there is anything special going on.”

“Oh! Really? That’s good. I almost live there these days, too.”

Knowing that, I stopped attending Sasha’s private training center instead of the nearby private training center.

“See you tomorrow then!”

Rebecca waved brightly and disappeared, taking Sasha with her.

Sasha’s limp legs were shaking loudly.

“Whew.”

I’m about to smoke.

In this case, if you don’t smoke it, when will it bloom?

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Actually, I needed some time because I couldn’t walk easily due to the alcohol.

The moon in the sky was nice to see, so I was able to leisurely look at the sky while smoking a cigarette.

“Whoa, it’s strong anyway. I didn’t expect you to walk away fine right away. Didn’t you drink more than me?”

Well, it doesn’t make sense to be affected by alcohol when you can withstand the miasma of a contaminated area.

Squatting on the floor alone and smoking a cigarette makes me feel emotional for some reason.

Normally I wouldn’t have done that, but suddenly what Rebecca said came to mind again.

‘If you had become an awakened person, you would have become a great person. It’s a shame. ‘If I had fought with you, I would have had a lot of fun experiences.’

Rebecca was probably just saying it casually.

But her words struck my heart like a frog being hit to death by an inadvertently thrown stone.

Most mercenaries have admiration and jealousy for the awakened ones.

Aren’t they people who make a living by catching monsters despite not being chosen?

‘The awakened ones catch the monsters that we fight so hard to catch as if they were nothing to exercise after eating.’

When I see that, I hate the world.

There were many people who did not feel a sense of inferiority.

My situation was the same.

What kind of inferiority complex is there when you can buy items at the store?

‘If there was nothing, I would long for it. ‘Because I have something, I feel like I can rub it against it, so I develop an inferiority complex.’

Of course, I am no longer immature enough to be swayed by such base emotions.

It is not that they are incapable of distinguishing between public and private life due to their inferiority complex towards the awakened people.

As Rebecca said, among commoners, I was quite good at wielding a sword.

‘Of course, I can’t say that I didn’t have any buffs when I was working as a mercenary.’

However, on the other hand, even if you show off your physical abilities, you will not be able to utilize them properly if your swordsmanship skills are not supported.

When two people received the same buff, it was natural that the person with better basic sword skills would perform better.

Rebecca knew that too, so she said good things.

‘Is this what it feels like to have someone who recognizes my efforts?’

I may have been drunk that day, but I couldn’t easily calm down my dizzy mind from the stone Rebecca inadvertently threw.

So much so that when I fall asleep, I dream of that moment again.