episode_0010

After returning, I handed over 100 right ears from orcs and goblins.

“Is this enough?”

“Good heavens…”

“You two really took down all of them by yourselves?”

“That’s right.”

“Looking at Cain-nim’s activity records, he’s definitely D-rank… Which means… It’s safe to assume Lia-nim is at least C-rank.”

Uh…

Not entirely wrong, but…

Lia took down 50,

and I took down the other 50.

So.

I’d love to proudly declare that I’m C-rank too!

Sigh…

‘In my case, I just relied on items. If we’re talking pure skill, I’m still D-rank.’

I quickly accepted the reality and collected the quest reward.

“For Lia-nim, we’ll issue a D-rank adventurer’s license.”

“If you had handled everything alone, we’d consider you at least B-rank, but starting from C-rank, a test is required.”

“The system doesn’t allow rank-ups without passing the promotion test, so we appreciate your understanding.”

The guild employee showed Lia a promotion test application form while explaining.

“If you’d like to take the promotion test, please fill out this application.”

“Master?”

Lia looked at me with an expression asking what she should do.

“We’ll do it later.”

“For now, a D-rank adventurer’s license is enough.”

In terms of combat ability, she’s S-rank or higher,

but she’s a hero who drops to F-rank the moment she collapses in tears.

A promotion test is too much for her.

‘If she does well, it’s fine, but if she starts crying and crumpling, that’d be humiliating.’

She’s a girl who’ll become an S-rank hero someday.

But.

Having an official test record of her screaming for help while crying?

‘That’d be a lifelong black mark.’

So I told her to do it later.

Once she stops collapsing in tears, she’ll easily reach S-rank.

The promotion test can wait until then.

“Okay.”

“I’ll do it later.”

“Understood.”

With our pockets full and evening approaching,

Lia and I went looking for a restaurant.

“Lia.”

“Anything you want to eat?”

“Hehe…”

“I’ll have the same as Master.”

“Sure.”

I ordered right away.

What arrived was a dish resembling whole roasted pork—orc meat—along with potato soup, salad, and bread.

‘Oh…’

‘Smells amazing.’

According to lore, orc meat is often described as being like premium pork.

‘It doesn’t spoil easily either.’

The residual mana in monster meat acts as a preservative, making it last longer.

‘Easy to supply, too.’

Orcs are one of the most common monsters,

and a single orc yields an enormous amount of meat.

It’s one of the easiest meats to obtain in the world.

Because of this, orc meat is treated as a staple in ,

to the point where there are dedicated meat collection teams.

‘They must be working hard today, too.’

There are 10 orcs’ worth of meat to collect from the orc village.

Overtime is practically guaranteed.

…Not that it’s my problem.

Anyway.

I’d been curious to try it at least once.

So I did.

Nom.

“Oh…”

The moment I bit in, rich juices burst out, spreading the deep, savory flavor of pork.

It was incredibly delicious.

“This would be perfect with beer.”

Beer.

Alcohol in is quite special.

Why?

‘Because there’s a God of Alcohol in this world.’

You could say everyone who brews alcohol is a devout follower of the God of Alcohol.

Their faith is strong, and the blessings they receive from the god are powerful.

Because of this, ’s alcohol is widely praised for its incredible taste.

But how does it actually taste?

Curious, I took a sip.

“!!!!!!”

It’s amazing.

Back in Korea, I preferred cola over beer—I wasn’t much of a drinker.

If I wanted to get drunk, I’d drink beer, but otherwise, I preferred cola for its better taste and lower cost.

But.

Today, my preferences changed.

’s beer is divine.

“Whoa! This is real beer!”

Every beer I drank in Korea was fake compared to this.

I savored it properly.

“Master! Me too! Me too!”

Lia also ordered beer.

Huh? Wait.

“You… you’re going to drink too?”

“Yeah!”

“Any experience with alcohol?”

“Today’s the first time!”

I thought for a moment. What would happen if Lia got drunk?

‘Hmm…’

‘Does it matter?’

Thinking about it, there was no real risk.

The trait nullifies all status ailments.

So.

The status ailment wouldn’t affect her.

…With that in mind, I let her drink.

“Huuu!…”

“Master! This is really good!”

“Yeah?”

“The meat’s amazing too! And the beer is so good!”

Lia was enjoying the meat and beer like normal.

‘At least she won’t cause any trouble.’

…Or so I thought.

But.

Lia had other plans.

‘Hehe…’

‘I’ll pretend to be drunk.’

Today was her first time drinking.

But.

She’d seen her mom drunk plenty of times.

[My daaarling~]

[Let’s snuggle, Mommy~]

Her mom would run over with a flushed face, saying things like that.

[Hehe~]

[My daaarling~]

[How can you be this cute~]

[Kyaaa~]

She was always like this, but alcohol made her even more affectionate.

That’s when Lia realized.

Alcohol makes people more proactive.

‘It wasn’t just Mom.’

‘Everyone acts like that.’

When drunk, people become more honest and bold.

Some confess their love while wasted,

others start throwing punches after arguing.

Alcohol just amplifies what’s already there—love or hate.

That’s what alcohol is.

A magical drug that makes emotions honest.

So then?

Wouldn’t it be okay to be more honest and bold with Master?

‘If things get awkward, I can just use the magic words: “I don’t remember yesterday!”’

‘I’ll act first and think later!’

With that in mind, she kept drinking.

‘I’ll adjust just enough to feel pleasantly tipsy.’

She couldn’t get too drunk.

She didn’t want to lose her senses—or her memories.

Gulp gulp!

She enjoyed drinking with Master, one glass after another.

“Hehe…”

“Master, your face is red.”

“Ugh…”

“Did I drink too much because it was good? I feel a bit dizzy.”

“Hehe…”

“I think I’m drunk too…”

She subtly slid over to Master’s side and clung to him.

“Lia…”

“It’s hot if you stick to me…”

“Then is this better?”

She used magic to cool him down.

Then.

Master smiled and pulled her into a hug.

“Feels nice and cool…”

“Master?!”

Huh? This wasn’t part of the plan?!

Master hugging her first wasn’t in the script?!

But.

This was even better.

“Hehe…”

“I’ll hug Master too~”

She hugged him back.

It felt nice.

Was this how Mom felt when she drank?

Lost in the warm, pleasant feeling, she suddenly remembered something else.

‘Ah!’

‘Next comes that!’

As an adult, Lia had received ‘the talk’ from her mom.

As a result,

Lia was now a fully informed adult.

‘Mom said.’

‘If you find a man you really like, drag him to bed first.’

After that, just leave it to the man.

That’s how you become husband and wife—and have a child.

It sounded a little odd,

but her mom, Serena the Goddess of Light, was a virgin (?) who conceived and gave birth to Lia without a husband.

She’d never been in love or done anything ‘naughty.’

So her sex education was slightly flawed.

Anyway.

Lia thought.

‘Mom said.’

‘Choose your man carefully.’

It’s about picking a lifelong partner.

A wrong choice could lead to regret.

So she pondered.

‘Would I ever regret choosing Master?’

The answer was simple.

‘I’d regret it if I let Master go.’

Lia had read many fairy tales.

Maybe that’s why.

She’d always admired stories of princesses being saved by princes.

And then.

A man like a prince appeared to save her.

She’d lost her mom and was drowning in despair—but he solved everything.

He was the prince from fairy tales incarnate.

A dashing prince who saved a princess who’d lost everything.

‘Master’s actions don’t exactly scream “prince-like”… but…’

Regardless.

He was her prince.

The kind of destined prince she’d never meet again in her life.

There might be richer men.

More handsome men.

More capable men.

Of course they exist.

The world is vast, and men are plentiful, or so she’d heard.

But.

The prince who saved her life would always be Master.

‘Given my abilities, I probably won’t face any more crises, but without Master, I’d still be crying over Mom.’

So she decided.

‘I’ll marry Master!’

Mom had said:

If you’re sure he’s a good man, make your move.

So she moved.

“Hehe…”

“Master… Should we go to bed soon?…”

“Yeah…”

Master staggered to his feet.

We arrived at a nearby inn.

“Two rooms…”

“One double room, please.”

“Huh?…”

“Master?”

“We’re sleeping together, right?”

“Wow…”

“To think I’d ever hear such a pretty girl ask to sleep with me…”

“Lee Joon-sung, you’ve made it.”

She didn’t know who Lee Joon-sung was, but…

This counts as success, right?

He agreed to sleep together, right?

And… and…

Master just called me pretty?!

‘Kyaaaaaa!’

Long live alcohol!

Long live the magic of alcohol that makes you honest and bold!

“Hehe… hehehehehehe.”

And so, she entered the same room as Master.

“Should take off my clothes…”

Master began removing his armor piece by piece.

‘Whoaaaa…’

‘His body is so goooood…’

He took off all his leather gear.

Then his top.

“!!!!!!”

The moment she saw Master’s toned abs, her mouth watered.

‘Waaaaah…’

‘How good would it feel to be held by that…’

Hugging Master in armor was nice, but

the best was skin-to-skin, feeling each other’s warmth directly!

So she hugged him.

“Shower…”

Master tried to escape, saying he needed to shower.

“Hup!”

She used water magic + purification magic to clean him instantly,

then wind magic + fire magic to dry him thoroughly.

Shower complete!

“Wow…”

“A magic shower…”

Master patted her head and mumbled.

“This is nice…”

“Hehe…”

“You can praise me more.”

“Our Lia is the bestttt…”

“Hehehehehehe…”

“……”

Master fell asleep.

Good.

Now to take off my clothes too.

Skin-to-skin, sharing body heat, feeling each other’s touch!

This is the best!

With that thought, she stripped naked and clung to Master.

‘Ahh…’

‘If we sleep like this and wake up, we’ll be husband and wife!’

‘So goooood…’

Lia fell asleep too.