Drunkard brought the liquor bottle to his mouth without hesitation. Even though Varen had warned him twice that it was strong, he opened his throat and gulped down the liquid.
“No... slowly! Drink slowly!”
I waved both hands, trying somehow to stop Drunkard.
Old people’s bodily functions were slower than those of the young, and Drunkard’s body was extremely gaunt to begin with. If he poured hard liquor into an empty stomach like that, he might go into shock from acute alcohol poisoning.
While Drunkard emptied half the large bottle without even taking a breath, I was the only one fidgeting nervously.
“Pwah! Hahaaah! My strength, my strength is surging...! Ahhh...!”
Contrary to my fears, however, Drunkard looked perfectly fine.
No, “fine” wasn’t quite the right word. It was as if someone had watered a dried flower—his body moistened instantly and even seemed to radiate vitality.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but the wrinkles on his shriveled face looked as if they had smoothed out a little.
I stared at the mysterious liquid for a moment, then turned my gaze to Varen. One corner of his mouth curled upward.
“It’s strong liquor for humans, but it contains concentrated dragon mana. And he absorbed it all at once. He really isn’t an ordinary mage.”
“...Huh.”
“He’ll probably feel even more energized than usual. You know exactly what that’s like.”
Of course I did. Whenever I drank my fill of Varen’s sweet saliva, my body felt like it was soaring.
When I looked back at Drunkard, he was swaying as he returned to his place. With his thinning hair sticking up in all directions and the liquor bottle clutched in one hand as he danced with his shoulders, he looked exactly like a lunatic.
Why does it feel like every character I meet is abnormal?
“All right then... shall we take the babies out! Kraaah!”
I take that back. Calling monsters “babies.” There was no one as warmhearted and normal as Drunkard.
He lifted a cage that had been waiting on one side of the tent. He hadn’t even carried it over to the magic circle yet, but a fierce light burst from his palm and the lid snapped open instantly.
For some reason, I felt like applauding. The dragon liquor had found the perfect owner and was producing a spectacular effect.
“Ceryl, you said anywhere with a roof and walls would do, right?”
“......”
“As long as it’s somewhere no one can see or hear us?”
Varen’s voice whispering by my ear was already heated.
I had no desire to stage an embarrassing scene in a place filled with dozens of humans and hundreds of monsters. I waved my hand vaguely at Varen and slipped away.
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous the deal seemed, but both Varen and Drunkard appeared satisfied, so I decided not to interfere.
Instead, when I entered the tent where the monsters were, someone occurred to me belatedly. Maril—the mermaid who kept getting unintentionally neglected because she kept falling lower on the priority list.
Scratching my cheek, I glanced toward the tank area. Varen, who had followed me, frowned.
“Ceryl, are you going to see that fishy thing again?”
“Not fishy thing. Maril. You wouldn’t like it if someone called you firewood either. Don’t call her that.”
“...Are you going to see Maril?”
Taking advantage of the moment, I gave him a quick lesson in manners and then fell into thought again as I pictured Maril.
The Rebels were afraid to approach her. They had even isolated her behind a curtain.
Which meant that if it wasn’t me, there was no one who would draw that curtain aside for her—and that Maril had been alone for two whole days.
When that realization hit me, guilt rose again.
“Ugh... she must have been waiting desperately for me.”
When I said that with a groan, Varen snorted and shrugged his shoulders.
“Then she should wait. How much time has even passed?”
“How can you say something like that?”
I jabbed Varen in the side with my elbow.
He had never been particularly good at empathy, but when it came to Maril he was especially cold.
“Think about it. She must’ve been waiting alone in the dark without even a bit of light. Would you be okay with that?”
“Yes. I was okay.”
“...Huh?”
Varen looked at me with a perfectly calm face. Then he spoke matter-of-factly about a sad part of his past.
“I waited only for you in the dark without any light, and I was fine.”
“......”
“Just the hope that you might come back was enough for me to endure it.”
Even though it had already been months ago, standing face to face with Varen made it feel as if I had been thrown straight back into the past.
The stench of rotting monster corpses. The darkness where not a single ray of light seeped in. Even the chains that bound his whole body and drained his mana.
It was a situation very similar to what Varen had endured in the underground prison of the management facility.
I gave a bitter smile and tightly grasped Varen’s hand—no longer bound now.
“I thought you were sulking because I came late. But you could endure it?”
“...I wasn’t exactly sulking. You said you’d come at night but arrived at dawn, so I just felt tricked.”
“I brought you a ton of salmon because I felt bad. I even wrote you a letter to make it up to you, and picked flowers for you.”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve received quite a lot from you, Ceryl.”
“Have you? Out of those, which one did you like the most?”
Varen pressed his lips into a straight line and pondered seriously. I simply watched him with amusement.
“The salmon was delicious, and the letter moved me. But if I ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) have to choose, the flowers were the best.”
“The flowers?”
“Yes. I can still vividly remember the scent of the flowers you picked for me.”
His answer sounded almost like that of a young girl, and I laughed out loud.
Wildflowers were everywhere in the forest—you practically tripped over them. For the prince of the Dravergh Clan who could be pleased by such a simple gift, I could pick as many as he wanted.
After finishing our brief stroll through old memories, I tugged Varen’s hand.
“Let’s step out for a moment. If we go empty-handed, Maril will probably get even angrier.”
“Are you planning to offer a gift to that fishy—Maril?”
“I’ve experienced it myself. A single flower can melt a sulking heart.”
Varen sighed deeply, as if I had said something unnecessary. Even so, he didn’t let go of my hand.
If the two monsters heard me say it they would probably explode in anger, but in my eyes Varen and Maril were similar in many ways. It wasn’t simply because they both resembled humans.
It was because, like Varen, Maril also seemed to open her heart easily to the small kindnesses I gave her.
Still holding hands with Varen, I headed into the forest. Humming softly, I looked around for flowers that might suit a mermaid.
“I really don’t want to do this. Why are you picking flowers for another monster instead of me?”
“If you hate it that much, then you can pick them. Maril will definitely like that.”
“I don’t like that either.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. Isn’t she something like the child of a sea spirit? If that’s the case, it wouldn’t hurt to make a good impression.”
Grumbling the whole time, Varen still followed along. Even with his stiff expression, he occasionally pointed toward flowers growing between the rocks.
Working together, we soon ended up with a colorful bouquet. Even without burying my nose in it, the fragrance drifted pleasantly through the air.
This should be enough to soften a mermaid’s heart. Smiling in satisfaction, I was just about to head back to the warehouse.
“...Wait, Varen.”
At that moment, a faint noise reached my ears—something strangely irritating.
I stopped abruptly. When Varen asked what was wrong, I raised a finger to silence him. Then I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated, trying not to lose the sound I had caught.
“Ugh... hungry... so hungry...”
The voice was using human words, but it sounded like wind hissing through a snake’s mouth.
“I feel like I’m going to die... how long have I been starving? How much longer do I have to starve? Ugh... couldn’t I just eat it? That quick bastard isn’t here either. Today. It has to be today. Ugh... hungry...”
It was so quiet you wouldn’t hear it unless you strained your senses. Listening to the breathy muttering whispered inside someone’s mouth made it feel as if something were crawling over my skin.
My body stiffened as I slowly turned toward the direction of the sound.
There was no doubt about it. The snake-like whisper was coming from Adeline’s tent.
Almost unconsciously, I pulled Varen’s hand and hid it behind my back.
“Varen, where is Morpha?”
Varen, who had followed me without suspicion, tilted his head and answered readily.
“They left earlier. With that quick human. Though they’re only a little faster than me.”
“...I see.”
My heart pounded wildly. Blood surged through my body as heat rushed upward. Yet my mind cooled with startling clarity.
Morpha had left me a message to be wary of Adeline before departing. And they had repeated several times that they would be gone only for today.
As if they wanted Adeline to hear it too.
What should I do? I wanted to grab Varen and leave immediately, but drawing attention by acting differently than usual would also be dangerous.
Besides, this was the Rebels’ base. On the surface we were outnumbered, and if Varen used his dragon abilities, unavoidable casualties would follow.
No proper plan came to mind, but I turned to Varen anyway.
Unlike Morpha and me, Varen hadn’t noticed anything at all. I needed to warn him first.
“Varen, Adeline seems suspicious. We should stay on guard.”
“I know.”
“Ha... I’m not just saying that.”
The casual answer, completely lacking any tension, made my head throb. I looked up at the overly carefree prince of the Dravergh Clan.
With the same expression as always, Varen spoke lightly.
“That woman isn’t human.”
