episode_0075

My eyebrows twitched slightly, bitter old memories surfacing at the mention that the paper the Hero handed me was a contract.

To avoid making the same mistake as last time, I immediately rubbed the edge of the paper with my fingertips the moment I received the contract from the Hero.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a double contract, separating into two sheets.

“What are you doing? Is it some kind of special ritual?”

Ariel, who had been staring intently at my action of rubbing the paper’s edge with my fingertips, burst into laughter as if amused.

“Ahahaha…”

It was a question filled with pure, innocent curiosity, but I didn’t want to bring up bitter old memories during a pleasant moment, so I just brushed off her question with an awkward laugh.

Then, I calmly examined the contents of the paper, which the Hero called a contract.

“It’s just a formal contract the Goddess-nim desires.”

As the Hero explained, the contract’s contents were very concise.

It was simply a promise to act responsibly and diligently as a member of the party the Hero would lead in the future.

There were no harmful clauses forcing or restricting our actions; it was literally just a formal contract.

“Good.”

After reading the contract’s contents thoroughly three times and confirming it was a formal contract with no traps, just as the Hero said, I signed my name on it with a light movement.

“Okay~”

As I signed the contract, Ariel, who had been watching me, also smiled brightly and wrote her name in a simple cursive on the contract handed to her.

“Wow~ Your signature is cute~”

Handing the contract with her signature to the Hero, Ariel looked at my signature on my contract and burst into laughter at its unexpected cuteness.

“Ah… I drew it again out of habit…”

At the end of my otherwise common cursive signature, there was a charming flourish that resembled a fox’s ear.

“Tell me how to do it too! Don’t you think it would look great if we both used a signature like this?”

Seemingly taken with the fox-ear-like flourish, she began trying to mimic my hand movement.

“No, just slightly… like gently rotating your wrist from the inside out…”

For Ariel, who liked the flourish on my signature, I gently held her wrist and drew the fox ear together.

The Hero, watching the two of us, couldn’t hide the smile on his lips either, letting out a small laugh and saying,

“Alright, alright~ You two can practice your signatures privately later! Tonight, how about we all have a drink to celebrate becoming comrades?”

“Drink!?”

At the mention of alcohol, Ariel’s eyes sparkled brilliantly.

As if proving that the many alcohol-aging jars in Rai’s workshop weren’t for Rai, but for Ariel, she swallowed with a gulp of expectant drool and stared at the Hero.

“With such good food in front of us, it would be a shame to leave out alcohol~”

Seemingly amused by Ariel’s reaction, the Hero let out a small laugh and snapped his fingers again.

Then, various bottles of alcohol, as if gathered from all over the continent, began to appear on the table.

“This is… a Sunshine Salt Distilled Spirit, a specialty of the eastern region, and wine from the Banzel Kingdom… My goodness, is that even the Golden Empire’s Whiskey, specially produced to commemorate the founding of the Empire?!”

“Kyaaaak~!”

The alcoholic beverages that appeared on the table were, at a glance, extraordinary, top-grade liquors.

Ariel, hearing my explanation, immediately realized that these were alcohols of incredible quality, not easily seen even by nobles, and let out a scream of pure joy.

“Wow… you have a keen eye! As expected of a Merchant Lv.3, perhaps?”

Praising my sharp eye for instantly recognizing the high-end liquors he had brought out, the Hero ostentatiously picked up the most expensive Golden Empire’s Whiskey bottle among the many bottles.

“My… My goodness… You’re going to drink that!?”

The Golden Empire’s Whiskey.

When the Empress of the Empire unified three kingdoms and declared it an empire. It was a whiskey released to commemorate that day, with only 1,000 bottles existing on the continent.

At this point in time, with the Empire having become a vast nation representing humanity, the Golden Empire’s Whiskey, produced only once to commemorate the Empire’s founding, was valuable not for its taste, but for its very existence.

“Alcohol is meant to be drunk, isn’t it?”

However, as if to prove his extraordinary ability and status, the Hero ostentatiously opened the bottle of Golden Empire’s Whiskey right before our eyes.

“Kiyaa~!”

At the Hero’s audacious act of opening a bottle practically legendary, Ariel shrieked, her joy and anticipation reaching their peak.

“Now… when our adventure ends, there will be even more valuable liquors than this, so don’t worry!”

But the Hero opened his mouth in a serious voice, as if he hadn’t opened the Golden Empire’s Whiskey thoughtlessly.

“The founding of the Empire is grand, but… we are going to subjugate the Demon King. In other words, we will create new history and a new anniversary!”

The Hero ostentatiously shook the bottle of Golden Empire’s Whiskey before us.

His audacious gesture of shaking a bottle of immeasurable value, one that I couldn’t even estimate, as if it were a cheap beer glass from a rural tavern, left me dumbfounded.

“Therefore, this alcohol is a testament to my resolve and will, as the Hero who will lead the party to subjugate the Demon King.”

The Hero gestured for us to raise our glasses.

At his gesture, with this absurdly valuable liquor before me for the first time, I raised my glass with trembling hands.

Finding my trembling figure, holding the glass like an aspen leaf, amusing, the Hero chuckled, then tilted the bottle and generously filled my glass to the brim.

“Uh… wow…”

The value of a single glass of alcohol, filling the cup in my hand, was likely worth more than three merchant carriages.

With all my focus on not spilling even a single drop, I brought the generously filled glass from the Hero closer to me.

“Th-thank you…”

Ariel was in no different situation than I.

Terrified by the Hero’s act of generously filling her glass with the Golden Empire’s Whiskey, a mere sip of which would have been appreciated, she too brought the glass towards herself with trembling hands.

“Our steps forward will shine even more brilliantly than the history that has passed. So much so that this alcohol we’re drinking now will seem insignificant.”

The Hero looked at Ariel and me, his eyes shining brilliantly with firm conviction, will, and resolve, gesturing as if telling us not to be sparing.

Then, as if to clink glasses, he extended the bottle of Golden Empire’s Whiskey he was holding forward.

“Understood.”

At the Hero’s words, I prepared myself to spill the alcohol in the glass held in my hand onto the floor and clinked it against the bottle he extended.

“I understand!”

Ariel, who had been carefully holding her glass with both hands and watching my reaction, seemed to pluck up courage when I clinked my glass against the Hero’s bottle, and boldly extended her full glass to clink it against the Hero’s bottle as well.

“To our party, which will subjugate the Demon King in the not-so-distant future!”

Smiling brightly at our actions, the Hero raised the bottle high into the air and shouted a toast.

“To that!”

“To that!”

Following his actions, Ariel and I also vigorously raised our glasses high into the air in response.

Then, naturally, the full glasses shook violently, and the golden alcohol spilled out, drenching the table.

Every single drop of alcohol was worth no less than a gold coin, but thanks to the Hero’s confident words, it no longer felt like a waste.

We will subjugate the Demon King together with the Hero.

As the Hero said, our footsteps would undoubtedly become a history even more brilliant than that of the Empire’s founding, shining splendidly.

And the alcohol made to commemorate that moment would remain a testament to a history so brilliant that it would make us forget the Golden Empire’s Whiskey we were drinking today.

The Hero laughed heartily and unreservedly drank the whiskey straight from the bottle.

Ariel and I also brought our glasses to our lips, and mimicking the Hero drinking straight from the bottle, we boldly tilted our glasses and tasted the Golden Empire’s Whiskey, said to be the most expensive in the world.

“Eung…”

“Eh…?”

Ariel and I, having taken a sip of the most expensive alcohol in history from our full glasses, simultaneously let out strange exclamations.

“Ugh… this liquor is terrible!!”

The Hero voiced the feelings we were experiencing, then unceremoniously threw the half-empty bottle into the fireplace.

“Uwaaah!! My goodness!!!”

At the moment I was wondering if something was wrong with my tongue due to the bizarre and crude taste of the alcohol, which was beyond imagination, I was startled by the Hero’s eccentric act of suddenly throwing the bottle into the fireplace, and I shot up from my seat.

“Instead of this foul-tasting liquor whose significance will soon fade… let’s drink some truly delicious alcohol!”

The Hero, who had thrown away just one sip of the most expensive alcohol in human history and cast the bottle into the fireplace without regret, brought forward the Banzel Kingdom’s wine, said to be the most delicious wine on the continent.

“No… it really didn’t taste good, but still…”

As it was hastily made to commemorate the founding of the Empire, the taste and aroma of the Golden Empire’s Whiskey were utterly terrible.

Even if the taste was bad, the bottle itself must be worth a sack of gold coins…

“Don’t pay so much attention to such trivial things anymore. We are the Hero’s party destined to subjugate the Demon King, aren’t we?”

As if amused by my reaction, the Hero burst into laughter and reminded us of our status once again.

That’s right.

We were the Hero’s party, destined to fulfill all the hopes and wishes of humanity, which had been devastated by the war with the Demon King.

Although it was an incredibly expensive alcohol… financial issues couldn’t hold us back.

Because we carried the hopes and wishes of all humanity, people would provide almost everything to the Hero’s party for free.

In such a Hero’s party…

Would a merchant really be necessary?

“Alright, alright~ Let’s drink some proper ‘alcohol’ now, not that decorative stuff!”

From behind me, where I was staring blankly at the Golden Empire’s Whiskey bottle burning in the fireplace, the Hero’s voice, urging the drinking party forward, jolted me awake.

“Come on~ A drink for Jazel too!”

Ariel had already filled her own glass with wine and was waiting with eyes full of excitement and anticipation for my glass to be filled.

Looking at the Hero, who approached with a bright smile and no sense of distance, as if treating a childhood friend, I also set aside the uncomfortable thoughts that had been circling in my mind for a moment, raised my glass, and accepted the drink he offered.