Volume 2 Chapter 15 The Party Atmosphere Can Get You Drunk, Right？
Randy and Liz were sitting on a cloth spread out on the ground. In front of them was a campfire blazing like a bonfire, surrounded by smiling villagers... Yes, right now, Randy and the others were enjoying a feast in a certain farming village.
The reason they were at the feast was related to a request they received today.
* * *
After classes ended, Randy and the others took on a request during their free time in the afternoon. The request was to hunt a beast that had been causing trouble in a nearby village.
The term "beast" is used broadly because the damage so far had only been to crops. The village head suspected it was probably a boa or an ape-type beast, but since the damage was minor and the reward was too low, no one was paying attention to it.
They had a decent amount of money for lodging, and since taking on unpopular requests was welcomed by the guild, they accepted the request at Liz's strong suggestion.
──After all, even if the pay is low, there is no reason for a crisis to be overlooked.
Randy nodded in agreement with Liz's typical words. He was also concerned that if it was an ape, it had come all the way to the village. It was rare for apes to leave the forest.
So, when they arrived at the village, they defeated a big ape hiding in a nearby thicket and also took down an orc they found while investigating the nearby forest.
"A stray monkey has come out of the forest. And orcs are in the shallow part of the forest. This is suspicious."
Randy nodded in agreement with Ellie, who frowned. Beast-like monkeys, including big apes, usually live in the forest and rarely come out to the plains. They are omnivores and can eat almost anything, and while they are strong individually, they understand that human groups are a threat to them.
The fact that they came out of the forest to attack humans likely means they are being chased by something. Normally, you would think it was the orcs they just defeated, but they hadn't seen any higher-ranked ones despite the numbers. This means that the orcs were not originally in a group but had come individually to the shallow area.
Orcs are also omnivores like big apes, but they are slightly more intelligent and sometimes form groups led by higher-ranked creatures. Since orcs reproduce quickly and mature early, if they form a settlement, they can become quite a threat.
That's why it's recommended to defeat orcs as soon as they are spotted. However, it's unusual to see so many orcs in the shallow part of the forest without any signs of higher-ranked ones leading them.
"Even though they're not in a group, they all came to the shallow area at once. They're probably being chased."
"Still, what are they being chased by?"
Ellie, laughing lightly, looked down the small path leading deeper into the forest.
"Yeah. And what should we do?"
"We have time, but if we take too long, the villagers will start to worry, Liz."
Randy's words made Liz nod in agreement.
"So, should we go back and report? Then we can stay in the village for the night and head into the forest early tomorrow. How does that sound?"
"I think that's a good idea, Randy."
With Liz agreeing and Ellie staying quiet, they decided on their plan.
"And should we take some orc meat as a thank you for staying in the village?"
"Oh, that sounds good, Liz. Let's have a big barbecue party since we have it!"
As Randy took out his knife to start butchering the orc...
"Which part of this is tasty, Liz?"
"I don't know...?"
"Don't be silly. Just grab whatever."
That made sense, so Randy and Liz stuffed as much orc meat as they could into Liz's item box and headed back to the farming village where they had taken the request.
* * *
And so began the barbecue party with orc meat that Randy and the others were invited to.
Fresh vegetables from the village.
Freshly caught orc meat.
Despite the simple seasoning of salt and pepper, Randy and Liz were very satisfied with the barbecue party, and the villagers couldn't help but be happy.
"Thank you so much..."
The one bowing to Randy and the others was an old man claiming to be the village head. Since this village was close to the royal capital and generally safe, it seemed they were a bit unprepared for such emergencies.
That's understandable. There were no bandits or thieves around, and they were close to the activity range of adventurers and knights. Being attacked by a stray beast was just too rare.
"Even though we can't give you a proper reward, you've gone and treated us to meat like this."
Randy smiled back at the village head, who was watching the party with satisfaction, and said, "Food tastes better when everyone eats together." The village head probably never imagined that the young man in front of him was actually the son of a noble family.
He simply nodded with a satisfied look and encouraged Randy and the others to enjoy the party before returning to the circle of villagers.
Happy voices.
A blazing bonfire.
The red glow on their faces could be from the flames or the alcohol.
Liz, watching this unusual scene, seemed restless and fidgety.
"Is it rare?"
"Yes, very much."
Liz smiled as she glanced at Randy, who was relaxing next to her. Even though he was also a noble like Liz, he seemed completely at ease, which made her curious.
Noticing Liz's gaze, Randy smiled while looking at the villagers.
"We're from the countryside too."
"Huh?"
Liz tilted her head at Randy's sudden comment. To her, he joked, "You had 'Randy is normal' written all over your face."
Seeing Liz hurriedly touch her face, Randy couldn't help but laugh.
"The distance with the villagers is close. We even celebrate festivals together."
Randy raised his cup (which was filled with water) with a smile, but he had experienced countless festivals and barbecues in his past life. He really liked lively gatherings like this.
Compared to back then, the scale was smaller, and the food tasted similar. Still, he loved feeling the energy of the people living in this world.
"In a little while, we'll have a harvest festival in our territory."
"I want to go, Randy!"
"We're going. It won't start without us."
Randy laughed, and Liz's eyes sparkled with joy. She turned her shining gaze back to the villagers and smiled softly.
"Being with Randy makes me realize how much I didn't know. That's why... every day is fun."
"Well, it's the same for both of us."
Randy shrugged, and Liz looked at him happily, asking, "Is that so?"
"With you and Ellie around, I've been able to do and see a lot of things. It's mutual."
Randy smiled and raised his cup again, and Liz chuckled, "Cheers? Again?"
"That last one was a toast for your hard work. This one is a toast for our future together."
Randy laughed and gulped down his drink (which was water), then refilled his cup from a nearby pitcher. He was about to offer Liz some water too, but he froze.
He was captivated by her incredibly beautiful profile.
In front of Randy, Liz held her cup tightly with both hands, staring at the water inside, which was probably reflecting her lovely smile.
Her beautiful profile. The glow of the bonfire made Liz's cheeks look flushed, and Randy felt a rush of warmth and quickly looked away.
Noticing Randy suddenly look away, Liz asked,
"Randy?"
Liz tilted her head, and Randy, feeling shy, decided to change the subject.
"I think I might be a little tipsy."
"Huh? Did you drink alcohol?"
Liz frowned, and Randy couldn't admit, "No, I only drank water..."
"But a little bit is fine, right?"
Randy tried to act cool and turned his head away.
"Come on, that's not good."
As Liz puffed out her cheeks and moved closer to Randy, he suddenly started talking to Ellie, "Huh? What is it?"
"Did the kid only drink water?"
"Hey, you Ellie──"
"What are you panicking about?"
Before they knew it, Ellie had switched places and leaned in close to Randy with a smirk.
"Now, what could the kid be tipsy from?"
Randy pushed Ellie away, saying, "Too close, too close."
"You have some unexpectedly cute sides."
Ellie laughed, and Randy pouted, "Shut up."
"Just because it's a party doesn't mean you should go wild."
"Who's going wild, Ellie?"
Ellie grinned mischievously and disappeared, and finally, Liz returned... but
"Anyway, what were you drunk on?"
Randy blushed and replied to Liz, the natural disaster, "Uh, a lot of things."
"Randy, your face is red, you know?"
"Uh, it's the campfire, right?"
Randy's shaky voice mixed with Ellie's loud laughter in his ears.
"──Adventurers! The new meat is ready!"
With the village head's help, Randy cut off the conversation, saying, "Alright, let's go," and stood up.
"Ah, but we were still talking──."
Liz looked puzzled as Randy grabbed her hand and laughed, "Meat! Meat!" while running toward the villagers.
* * *
"Huh? It was defeated?"
"Yes."
The village head nodded big in front of a dazed Catherine.
"But, how could a big ape be in a place like this──."
"They also defeated orcs in the shallow part of the forest."
The village head smiled gently, happily telling them that they had a party with that meat last night.
"B-but orcs shouldn't be in such shallow areas──."
"They went to investigate early this morning."
Everyone exchanged glances, realizing they were completely behind. After all, as Catherine said, the village had been attacked, but someone else had already solved the problem.
"S-so, those adventurers are──."
"A big man and a beautiful woman."
The village head rubbed his chin, staring off into the distance as if remembering, "The woman was so beautiful, I thought she was a noble lady."
(Elizabeth, it has to be Elizabeth!)
Catherine trembled, and Edgar called out, "Cathy."
"I-I'm a Saint, you know! If anyone is hurt──."
"Oh, that would be wonderful!"
Catherine felt relieved as the village head's face brightened. Even though someone else had beaten her to the beast hunt, if she could heal everyone like a Saint, it would be worth coming to the village.
"Well then──."
"Yes. Someone got really hungover from last night's party."
"Hungover...?"
Ignoring Catherine's confusion, the village head called over nearby villagers who were suffering from hangovers.
(Hungover? But I'm a Saint...)
Catherine trembled with anger, shame, or maybe regret. Still, she couldn't refuse in front of everyone, so she began to heal the villagers one by one.
(Elizabethhh!)
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