Volume 9 Chapter 12 First Love(Ask)
How much time has passed? As Al thought so, he heard a knock on his room door.
"Al, are you awake?"
It was Orson's voice. Al suddenly came back to reality and looked around. A little moonlight was coming in through the window, but the room was still dark.
'Light.'
After turning on the light in the room, Al opened the door and let Orson in. Orson came in carrying a bottle of alcohol, 2 cups, and a cloth bag that probably had some snacks in it.
"I thought it would be nice to talk as guys in the room for a change."
Al usually didn't drink much, but today he felt like trying some.
"Sounds good."
Inside the cloth bag were roasted chickpeas. The bottle had wine in it.
"Cheers!" "Cheers!"
Orson and Al raised their cups and started drinking the wine. The chickpeas were a bit salty but tasty. They had been working together for about six months. Al learned a lot from Orson, and when Orson got lost in Tempest's grave, Al saved him. They made a good amount of money and did a great job.
"So, what happened?"
After a little while of drinking, Orson asked Al. At first, Al hesitated, but then he slowly started to talk about Patricia.
"Hmm. So, you realized you liked her after all this time?"
"N-no, that's not it. I-I thought I didn't..."
Al answered with a red face. Orson was grinning.
"What should I have done?"
Al muttered quietly.
"I'm not sure what to do based on what you said. With your skills, you could probably make money even in a new town. You could even kidnap her and escape, but first, you need to see what Lady Patricia thinks. I haven't talked to her much, but she seems to feel really guilty about running away from her country. No matter how much she loves you, Al, I doubt she would agree to escape."
"Yeah, that's true..."
Al nodded at Orson's words. Orson's face was also pretty red. He looked like he was drunk.
"Well, it's known that first love usually doesn't work out. My first love was a female teacher in elementary school. She had a nice, big butt..."
Orson made a big circle with his hands and smiled, but when he noticed Al giving him a cold look, he stopped talking.
"Ahem, you don't have to forget about it. Just keep it in your heart. Everyone has one or 2 things like this, right?"
"Thanks, Orson."
Al murmured that and took a big sip from the wine cup in his hand.
'You don't have to give up. It just might take some time. There must be something amazing in the Tempest research tower.'
After hearing this from Ruella, Glee had called out to him many times. She kept saying not to give up. But what was he supposed to do without giving up? Al tapped his knee lightly.
'Are you ready to listen? This isn’t just to make you feel better. We need to go before Patricia has to make a decision. We have to find out if her fiancé is alive or dead. I think we should take a chance, even if it’s a small one.'
Al smiled a little. Even if they found something in the tower, it would probably just be the magic options Eric mentioned. It would take time to check them. But he knew that nothing would change if they just stayed still. Thinking about this made Al curious about the 'Fly' spellbook he just got.
"Well, let's just drink and sleep today. We'll go hunting tomorrow."
"Huh? But I want to check the spellbook first..."
Seeing Al's expression, Orson grinned.
"You seem to be feeling a bit better. You just got back from the expedition today. So, let’s take a break tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, I’m thinking of heading out from the south gate and going downstream along Holden River."
Glee kept whispering to Al to learn the 'Fly' spell quickly and go to the tower, but Al shook his head lightly. Orson was listening, which made Al feel a bit calmer. Tomorrow, he would meet Joanna. This meeting would help him confirm Patricia's wishes. The chances were slim, but if she wanted to escape with Al, they could think of a way to do it afterward.
"Alright, then. So, just to be safe, the day after tomorrow."
"I'll give you the leftover wine. There's bread in the bag too. You haven't had dinner, right? Use it a bit."
Orson finished the wine left in his cup and left the room.
※In this world, there are no laws that ban minors from drinking alcohol. Instead, since it's unsafe to drink plain water, kids have been drinking diluted ale from a young age. So, even though Al is 15, he drinks wine normally. This is based on the water situation in this world, and of course, it doesn't mean we encourage underage drinking in the real world.
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