Ch.358Chapter 358 Epilogue – Evening (2)

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The dinner was more satisfying than yesterday evening.

It wasn’t that the dishes we devoured were significantly better than what we had eaten yesterday.

I think it was the effect of having one more person to enjoy those dishes with.

“…Delicious…”

Not to mention that just having Shizuya beside me, sipping coffee with sparkling eyes, brought warmth to my heart.

The presence of the man with the same red hair as mine, sitting across from me and raising his glass, also enriched tonight’s dinner.

It was quite unusual, considering that apart from Excel, who was currently struggling in the North, there was hardly anyone who could elevate my mood while drinking.

“The most important factor in determining whether the world is functioning well or not is whether people are eating well. It may seem simple, but it’s a crucial element that reveals everything.”

*Thunk-*

That was what Alcor said after emptying his glass of kvass with gusto and placing it lightly on the table.

It sounded ordinary, but it contained an undeniable truth.

I couldn’t deny it. I had countless memories and experiences of Imperial citizens’ meals becoming a mess when the economy of the Central Continent collapsed as the Demon Realm led by Desire went on a rampage.

I didn’t need to look far—right before my regression, when the invasion by the Demon Realm led by the reactivated Desire intensified.

Not just the North, which was at the center of the fierce battle.

Even in the continental center where the most prosperous Imperial territory Solarium was located, citizens’ lives were negatively affected by difficulties in food supply.

I clearly remember that even here in the South, which was barely affected by the war, people survived on rationed food, so I couldn’t deny his statement.

So I wondered how Alcor viewed this world based on the food he was tasting now.

I was quite curious about that.

“Then, what do you think of the cuisine here?”

So, taking his emptied glass as a cue, I placed my own empty glass on the table and probed his thoughts.

“Excellent. Part of my mission when wandering through countless worlds is to taste the local cuisine to understand what kind of place it is, and this place doesn’t fall behind any other place I’ve visited.”

Alcor responded to my question with high praise without any hesitation, then poured more kvass into his empty glass.

Even though kvass has almost no alcohol content, drinking that much might seem somewhat frivolous.

But in Alcor’s elegant way of pouring kvass from the bottle into his glass, there wasn’t even a trace of frivolity.

Not only was his pouring elegant, but his drinking was even more refined.

He drinks well. Really well. Even though kvass is closer to a beverage, drinking this much should show some signs of intoxication, albeit mild.

“Kuh…! The more I drink, the more I notice the sweet aftertaste lingering on my tongue. Very nice.”

It was astonishing that there wasn’t the slightest sign of intoxication in his appearance as he praised the kvass.

I wasn’t that surprised when I heard about his origin and identity, but seeing him drink kvass like water was more than enough to amaze me.

…Well, it was also amusing that I was doing the same thing without getting drunk either, which unconsciously brought a bitter smile to my lips.

“Especially this kvass—while it’s not what I’m looking for, it’s the best among all the kvass I’ve tasted while traveling from place to place.”

Alcor’s generous praise of the drink’s taste was enough to replace my bitter smile with a gentle curve on my lips.

It was quite strange. We had just met today and had only exchanged names.

Yet sitting here face to face, raising our glasses and conversing, it felt like meeting a friend I had known for over a decade.

“I just met you today and we’re drinking together for the first time, but it feels like we’ve been companions for decades.”

I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as Alcor, after refilling his empty glass, expressed the exact same sentiment I had felt.

“I feel the same. Though I’m seeing you for the first time, it doesn’t feel like it.”

As I honestly expressed what I felt, my eyes met Alcor’s, which held the same color as mine.

“Hoo…”

“Haha…”

With that as a signal, both Alcor and I laughed lightly, and the glasses in our hands clinked gently.

“Cheers!”/”Cheers!”

Without the need for any formal toast, we simply shouted “Cheers!” as our glasses pleasantly clinked together, and needless to say, their contents were emptied in an instant as they reached our mouths.

A deity who had lived for an immeasurable length of time, and me, who hadn’t aged but had risen to the present after overcoming numerous repeated failures.

Apart from our similar appearances and skill with the sword, we didn’t have much in common.

But our taste in drinking was similar, so I felt we would become good friends.

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By the time the number of kvass-filled glasses that Alcor and I had shared, despite having just met today but with a mutual understanding, exceeded counting by glasses and moved to counting by bottles.

As if suddenly remembering something important while enjoying our drinking session.

“Ah, I forgot something.”

Saying this, Alcor, still without a hint of intoxication on his face, reached into his pocket with his left hand that wasn’t holding a glass.

“Take this.”

He pulled out what looked like an elegantly packaged velvet pouch and abruptly handed it to me.

What could this be? From the outside, I could only tell it was a pouch made of luxurious velvet material, nothing more.

“It’s an invitation.”

Alcor explained what it was as he noticed the curiosity in my eyes as I received the pouch.

But since there was no explanation about what kind of invitation it was, my curiosity was about to grow even more when Alcor was about to open his mouth to provide additional explanation.

“Hehe… Delicious…”

The voice of Shizu, who had been quietly sipping coffee beside us without joining our conversation, interrupted Alcor’s words.

The slightly slurred pronunciation indicated that Shizu was in a very good mood.

But it was also a type of voice that could never be produced by someone who was just quietly sipping coffee, which made me immediately set aside my thoughts about the velvet pouch.

…What’s going on? I definitely didn’t give her any alcohol.

With a suspicious mind, I turned my head to the side.

“Kal… this coffee… really… delish…”

I saw Shizu reaching out to me with a flushed face that clearly showed signs of intoxication.

“…Shizu?”

“Hehe…”

This is bad. I’m wrong, she’s not responding to my call and is just giggling.

It’s qualitatively different from being caught up in the atmosphere without drinking; it’s the appearance of someone who is genuinely drunk.

Why? I really don’t understand. No matter how weak Shizu is with alcohol, she doesn’t get caught up in the atmosphere like this without drinking.

Although I was confused because I didn’t know the reason, I couldn’t leave Shizu as she was, swaying toward me.

“Excuse me…”

“Ah, it’s fine.”

Before I could even finish asking for understanding, Alcor, who had grasped the situation, gave me a nod of acknowledgment.

I gently received Shizu, who was swaying toward me, with one hand and closed the distance.

As the distance closed, our bodies touched.

And with that contact, one of the five senses that I hadn’t noticed when there was distance between us became deeply imprinted on me.

It was smell. Even though she hadn’t properly bathed in the room yet, the sweet fragrance of golden osmanthus invaded my nostrils, so delightful that I couldn’t use any expression other than “fragrant.”

And what followed was…

“Hehe, Kal… so close…”

The faint breath that escaped from Shizu’s mouth as she welcomed me coming closer carried a hint of alcohol.

It was so subtle that I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t focused on my sense of smell.

But this was clear evidence that Shizu had been drinking.

She hadn’t consumed anything except for the cup of coffee she had been slowly sipping while Alcor and I were frantically emptying kvass, so why alcohol…

Ah, could it be.

With a suspicious mind, I reached for the coffee cup that Shizu had been drinking from.

It’s cold. Not because it had cooled down over time, but as if it had been served cold from the beginning.

Come to think of it, I didn’t see steam rising from the cup when the waiter gave Shizu the coffee.

…Was it not coffee?

The coldness of the cup that I felt was solidifying my thought that what Shizu had been drinking might not have been coffee.

But this alone wasn’t enough to be certain.

So, with the purpose of examining the coffee cup more closely, I brought it to my nose.

“Ah…”

A sigh naturally escaped my lips.

Because I sensed something from the fragrance that reached my nostrils.

First, I detected the rich aroma of carefully roasted coffee beans.

It had a somewhat heavy but endlessly sweet scent.

It was identical to the aroma of vanilla beans, which were being imported in earnest from the western continent along with coffee beans, when processed into a form of flavoring.

And at the end, though very faint, there was a subtle yet strong presence of alcohol scent that seemed to have been created as a result of the mixture of those two.

This is…?

“It’s coffee liqueur. Seems they drink this here too. But to get that drunk on a liqueur with a much lower alcohol content than usual…”

Just as Alcor, who had been observing the coffee cup in my hand, identified what it was.

What Shizu had put to her lips was a type of alcohol called liqueur, classified as a mixed distilled spirit with coffee flavor strongly infused into a distilled spirit of moderate alcohol content.

However, the one in this cup was processed with added alcohol that had been extremely lowered in content to accommodate people who can’t drink alcohol, yet…

“The ceiling… seems to be moving…”

The problem was that it was making Shizu, who had only sipped one cup, unable to keep her senses.

It seemed like I would have to carry Shizu back to the room in my arms, just like yesterday.