Ch.84Blood-Soaked City. Fernheim (11)

“Now! To celebrate our victory! And for the adventure to the Crucis Mountains!”

“Cheers!”

*Clink!*

With the sound of cold glass mugs colliding, the dark beer that briefly flew into the air settled back into the glasses.

I don’t know exactly why, but both adventurers and ordinary people alike had this fixed notion that ‘adventurers love dark beer!’ And I didn’t particularly want to deny this perception.

Because dark beer was delicious.

Gulp! Gulp!

Simon, the eldest among us, was the first to heartily down his beer, then immediately stuffed a piece of cutlet into his mouth, above his foam-covered beard.

“Ahh! This is killer! Dark beer really does suit adventurers best!”

“Eat as much as you want. It’s my treat to celebrate our victory, so you should eat at least 100 silver coins worth. Right?”

I said this while shoveling five or six pieces of expensive veal roast into my mouth at once, and Raisha nodded while eating a well-baked strudel topped with ice cream.

“Delicious, so delicious! Innkeeper! Three more dark beers… no! Make it six!”

“Yes! Coming right up!”

The innkeeper’s face was beaming with a broad smile as he replied.

It was only natural, since our order alone had already far exceeded his daily sales.

Soon, six more glasses of dark beer with condensation forming droplets on the sides were added to our table, and we gulped down the beer while inhaling the food as if possessed.

“Gaaaah! Dark beer is too delicious! You damned thing! Repent! I, Simon the Sage, shall eliminate all you body-ruining dark beers by drinking every last one of you!”

Simon drank like a madman, as if making up for decades of not being able to adventure while maintaining his dignified sage persona. The more glasses he emptied, the wider the smiles of the innkeeper and the server grew.

“More veal roast and strudel here! And add cream and ice cream on the strudel!”

“Yes! Coming right up!”

“And bring fried chicken and baguette with tomatoes!”

“Yes! Whole chicken and tomato bruschetta coming up!”

I ordered food as my heart desired.

I knew full well we couldn’t finish it all; the goal was simply to order more food to increase our satisfaction.

Anyway, the leftover food would be eaten by the staff or taken by other customers, so there was no need to worry about wasting food. How wonderful is that!

“Mmm, thish ish sho good.”

“Hahaha! Look at Raisha’s cheeks, all puffed up!”

“Don’t make fun of meee!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but it’s cute! Damn it! When I was young, I should have seduced at least one prostitute instead of acting all proper…!”

With alcohol in his system, Simon became dramatically more talkative.

Perhaps this was his true nature.

The boisterous and free-spirited adventurer’s nature hidden behind the dignified mask of a sage.

And I wasn’t heartless enough to tell him to put his mask back on.

I laughed carelessly as I downed the dark beer in my glass.

“Hahaha! This is what adventure is all about! Now you understand, Simon! Adventurers need to adventure!”

“That’s right, damn it! Wizard or sage, I’m an adventurer, for fuck’s sake! Anyone who disagrees, I’ll personally cast a spell to turn them into pudding!”

That’s right.

We are adventurers.

Those who roam the thirteen continents, pursuing and chasing mystery and the unknown.

This table. Those sitting in these chairs embodied everything I had been seeking.

A woman who could embrace me. Comrades who could fight back-to-back with me.

What I had prayed to the four gods for when I left Parcival was now here, sharing drinks with me.

“Hahaha!”

I knew instinctively.

This day.

A day that might mean nothing to someone else would drop anchor in my memories.

The memory of this day would stay with me until I die… a fragment of happiness I could proudly present before the gods when I stand at the final judgment.

*

After our wild feast, we moved Simon, who had passed out, to his room and then entered our own room.

“You have a lot of scars.”

“Do you dislike them?”

“No? I like them because they’re rugged and masculine.”

“I thought so.”

On our last night in Fernheim.

After dinner, Raisha and I were washing up in the bathtub before bed, and Raisha was rubbing her cheek against my scarred chest while caressing my body.

Parcival was a port city, and since I had worked at the harbor and been on ships several times, I could be considered half a sailor.

From what I’d seen and heard, I could distinguish whether a sailing ship was a brig or a brigantine, and I knew how great a captain’s power and authority were.

And for the rough men of salt, scars were a means of self-validation.

Proof that they had survived wounds severe enough to leave scars—proof that they were survivors, the strong ones.

“I love you, Sir Victor…”

She said as she stretched her body, and I felt the softness of her plump cheeks against my right armpit, while her long straight hair began to wrap around my right arm.

Ah… so this is why sailors always rushed to brothels like hungry wolves as soon as they disembarked.

This is truly paradise on earth.

“I want to… I want to grow up quickly and get married.”

“Me too.”

I kissed her, and the gently dancing surface of the bathwater created warm steam.

Actually, having sex with Raisha wouldn’t have been a big issue.

Even boys younger than me were bragging to their friends about losing their virginity after spending a handful of money—that was common on the streets of Parcival.

However, if we did that, we would both lose the blessing of Medina given under the sacred ritual of marriage.

Medina’s blessing, befitting her name as the goddess of love, was very important—it ensured sexual compatibility.

I’m not sure how important this “sexual compatibility” commonly called “bed chemistry” really is, but regardless of how small one’s genitals might be or how poor the tightness, it guaranteed the upper limit of pleasure that could be felt during intercourse. So generally, it was advantageous to maintain premarital chastity.

This concept of premarital chastity was quite strict, prohibiting all similar sexual activities like oral sex, anal sex, and mutual masturbation, so the contact between Raisha and me was extremely modest.

I could fondle her breasts and buttocks (since these parts aren’t genitals), but she had to be careful even about touching my groin, which might seem a bit unfair, but time passes quickly.

Since the Ancient Empire legally defined adulthood as beginning at age 19, we only needed to continue like this for three more years.

“Haah…”

She separated her lips from mine and nestled back into my arms, and I kept pouring warm water over her with a basin to keep her body from getting cold.

“After we finish pilgrimaging to all 52 wonders of the world, let’s go to Parcival. We’ll have children there and live happily ever after.”

“I’ll follow your words, my love.”

*Smooch*

She kissed my neck, then closed her eyes and enjoyed my touch as I stroked her hair.

“The world would be more beautiful if there were more obedient women like you…”

“Mmm…”

Without opening her eyes, she pressed her lips against mine once more.

Her sweet tongue began to intertwine with mine inside my mouth, and her voluptuous breasts pressed against my chest, transferring warmth.

We didn’t separate our lips until the warm bathwater had completely cooled, and when the lukewarm water gradually turned cold, we finally parted.

“Let’s go to bed now.”

“Yes…”

She answered with a blush on her face.

*

“Whew…”

Perhaps from staying in the bathtub too long, a light dizziness struck my head.

Raisha was still drying her long straight hair, and I sat on the bed and began reading the magazines the inn had provided.

Typically, adventurers are often away for long periods and unaware of city or village news, so inns catering to adventurers would provide magazines or newspapers for them.

Fernheim was no exception, and the magazines contained large illustrations and very simple vocabulary with brief explanations so that even adventurers who weren’t good at reading could easily understand.

It was more like a picture diary than a magazine.

Since there wasn’t particularly helpful knowledge in them, I put the magazines and newspapers aside, and soon Raisha, with her hair now fluffy and dry, came to my side and began to snuggle against me.

“You really like to cuddle, don’t you?”

“I only like cuddling with you. Hold me tighter…”

I fulfilled her wish by holding her tightly and lying down on the bed, and she let out a small squeak as she wrapped herself around my body.

“Hauu…”

Once we were lying down, she began licking my ear, and Raisha took my hands and placed them on her breasts and buttocks.

“Ahh… My body belongs to you, Sir Victor. Please handle it as you wish.”

“Ha… you naughty girl.”

“Hehe…”

She laughed seductively before starting to lick my ear again, and I drifted into a deep sleep feeling the softness of a woman.