After lightly washing and drying ourselves and our dirty clothes, we hear Gouda-san call us for the meal. So we head to the dining room.
The large table, large enough for ten people to sit around it, is filled with dishes. All made from apples.
Even the alcoholic drink they serve is spiked apple cider.
There are also heaps of apples lying on the table.
Gouda-san runs a large apple orchard. He also sets a portion of the apples aside to make alcohol.
He has gifted me some of his alcohol a few times in the past. It goes down the throat nicely and has a refreshing, sour taste. Very delicious.
The villagers who helped in the search are also served food and alcohol. After a while, a young man, already drunk, starts singing and dancing.
That’s a common sight at the town’s bar too. Why do drunken men like to sing and dance after drinking themselves into a stupor? Well, they’re still better than those violent drunks who pour alcohol over people’s heads, though.
Lian remains seated on his chair, watching the man’s funny singing and dancing with interest.
Then the knights and my seniors rise to their feet , probably already under the effects of the alcohol. With a glare, they grab each other’s collars, resulting in a scuffle at the table. I restrain them before the situation turns into a full-on brawl and throw them out of the house.
Don’t fight when other people are eating. You’re being a disturbance. The food and drinks will probably be upturned and go to waste too.
If you want to fight, do it in a place where you won’t disturb other people.
Actually, why can’t they just calmly drink in their seats? The people who like to start fights are the most uncontrollable. The alcohol numbs their sense of pain, so they don’t stop fighting until they are beaten black and blue.
That’s why the only way I’m able to break up fights is to beat them up . If I choose to take the peaceful approach and talk it out with them, they’re not going to stop.
When I return to the dining room after throwing those drunks out, Lian is no longer in his seat. Where did he go?
I turn to Gouda-san, who’s in the middle of a drinking competition with the villagers. According to him, Lian has gone up to the guest room on the second floor after excusing himself from the table, saying that he’s sleepy and wants to rest after the long day we had.
After notifying Gouda-san that I’ll also go upstairs, I leave the extremely chaotic drinking competition to find Lian.
I still feel worried.
He says he’s just tired, but his complexion has been too pale today. He didn’t eat or drink a lot at the table either.
His smiles also look forced.
Maybe he’s sick.
After all, he’s the type to rarely, if ever, tell anyone if he feels ill.
And he’ll continue to endure it as long as no one asks.
I lightly knock the door, saying, “Lian, it’s me.” Just like whenever I go to his private room in the mansion during the morning.
From inside the room, Lian tells me to enter in his absent-minded, slurred voice he always has every time he’s drunk.
When I open the door, I find the room bathed in near complete darkness.
The only source of light is the dim pale moonlight through the two lattice windows.
YOU ARE READING
Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death
Romance"Please, I implore you to save the world." This is what a goddess in white says to me in a pure-white space. Such is the standard line that suggests the game is about to begin. Please say this stirring line to boys and girls with sparkling eyes! It'...
