The New Gate

When the group returned to their room after taking a bath, dinner was already being prepared.

The group had returned quite late after finishing a game that started with Milt’s comment that she wanted to play table tennis. It was not the duration to simply say that they had only been to the hot spring. They had told the room attendant that they could prepare dinner even if they were not in the room, and yet, the meal was still steaming as if it had just been prepared.

Perhaps an employee of the entertainment facility had informed the room attendant.

It was a service that was rarely seen here, where a feast was prepared for you when you come back after refreshing yourself. It was truly a very thoughtful service.

“This is the hospitality of 50 gold coins.”

After finishing her meal, Milt laid down on the tatami mat with a smile that looked like she was really happy. Everyone was the same, to varying degrees.

“Milt, you’re a bit sloppy.”

Saying this, Schnee fixed Milt’s yukata, which had come undone. It was probably because she wasn’t used to wearing it, but her chest and bare legs were a bit exposed.

“Hehe~.”

“Now that I think of it, Schnee, when did you start calling Milt by her first name?”

“I don’t really have a reason for it. It just sort of happened.”

Shin was asking Schnee how it all came about, when Milt stood up and hugged him from behind.

“Well, when I’m the only one who’s called with honorific, I feel like I’m being left out, and I don’t like that~”

“Hey! Don’t cling to me!”

Even though she was wearing a yukata, the fabric was thin. Shin could clearly feel that the soft parts pressed on his back as she put her weight on him.

Even when he tried to pull her away, Milt seemed to have forgotten how to hold herself back, and clung to him with all her might. Moreover, she was using not only her arms but also her legs, clinging to him with her whole body.

“Shin~!”

When she used her natural strength, the person trying to pull her away needed to use a corresponding amount of force. If he took one wrong step, he could end up throwing her away with great force.

Although Shin knew it would be bad to do something like that in the inn, he couldn’t escape Milt that easily.

“Uh, this is tricky. Sorry, give me a hand.”

Knowing that he wouldn’t get anywhere if he continued like this, Shin asked for help.

Schnee and Shibaid responded by lending a hand.

“That’s enough.”

“I can’t stand this.”

At this point, Milt couldn’t hang on to him. She put up some resistance, but it was no use against Schnee, whose stats were second only to Shin’s, and Shibaid, who was a power type.

“Milt, you’re being a little too silly this time… aren’t your face a bit red?”

Milt, who had been pulled away by Schnee and the others, had her legs stretched out and her eyes were dazed.

She had just finished her bath and had done some exercise.

But that didn’t explain why Milt’s face was so red. Shin realized that this was why he had thought her behavior was a little strange.

“Nyuuuu~…”

“You look drunk. Can you recognize me?”

Filma’s hand waved in front of Milt’s face.

She seemed to be conscious, but Milt was clearly not in her right mind when she took Filma’s hand and rubbed it against her cheek.

“Is Milt a weak drinker?”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen her drink alcohol here.”

Sety asked, and Shin searched his memory.

Considering the situation in the real world, Shin thought that she probably had no experience drinking alcohol.

However, she had been active in this world for over 20 years and was physically an adult. It was hard to imagine that she never had alcohol before.

Of course, it was possible that today was her first time.

“I’m going to rest first with Milt. I’m told that if we close this sliding door, no one can hear us. But it’s interesting that there’s a partition in the room.”

Saying this, Sety took Milt by the hand and led her to the back of the room.

The room attendant explained that there was a futon laid out there, and that if the sliding door was closed, it would completely block out light and sound.

“I’ll ask Milt about her drinking experience tomorrow.”

“Yes. Even if she can drink, we should make sure how much is safe. It’s fine if it’s just us, but depending on who you’re talking to and where, it could be dangerous.”

Schnee’s eyes were fixed on Milt’s back, who was so defenseless. There were people in this world who would try to get others drunk and do evil things. This applied to both men and women.

If nothing had happened before, Milt might have her own defensive measures, and they agreed to check on them tomorrow.

Tiera said she would wash Kagerou before resting, and headed for the small bathroom provided in the room.

“What should we do tomorrow? There are a lot of people here, and I don’t think we’ll be able to do much sightseeing.”

When the room was quiet again, Filma asked Schnee what her plans were for tomorrow.

“Our purpose here is to rest in the first place, so I think we can spend the day freely to a certain extent. And Shin seems to be interested in the Wrought Iron Festival.”

“Well, I can’t help myself when I hear things about blacksmithing.”

Shin couldn’t stay quiet after hearing that people with skills like Kluck were gathering. It was a rare day off. He thought he might as well participate. Of course, he wouldn’t use his skills at full throttle.

“In that case, I think I’ll join the Battle Festival too. It seems like this one is big, so it’s a chance to find out how skilled the strong ones are.”

Since Filma should be overwhelming in terms of ability, she would be limiting her stats to see how far she could go. This was also training to battle against other people.

“We haven’t had many solid days off until now. Everyone should do what they want to do.”

As Shibaid said, this was a great time to rest. You could rest, walk around, shop, or participate in an event. Everyone had their own way of using their days off. It’s okay to do what you want to do sometimes, so the plan was decided.

Sety and the others who went off earlier would be informed tomorrow.

“If that’s the case, I guess I’ll go to rest too.”

Schnee and the others were still awake, so Shin said good night and headed for the back of the room. Yuzuha, who had been curled up in his lap, was with him. Shin gently lifted Yuzuha up and opened the sliding door.

He moved as slowly as possible so as not to wake Sety and the others, but there was less light than he had expected. The light must have been dimmed for a good night’s sleep.

He crawled into the empty futon. Yuzuha was still in her fox cub mode, so this time they shared the futon. Shin closed his eyelids, wrapped in a nostalgic feeling.

◆◆◆◆

— The next morning.

“I don’t remember anything since the time I began eating.”

“Are you the type to lose memory after a drunken night, Milt?”

Shin responded to Milt as she woke up by offering her a glass of water.

Milt didn’t seem to have a hangover, and her face looked good.

“Just to be sure, was this your first time drinking alcohol?”

“I’ve had a few, but this is the first time I’ve blacked out.”

It was not uncommon for adventurers to be invited to drinking parties.

Milt seemed to understand the dangers of getting drunk, and thought she knew her limits.

“It could be the difference in alcohol content. Last night’s drink felt stronger than the commonly consumed ales.”

Shin agreed with Shibaid’s opinion.

“It looked like it was closer to shochu or sake*.” (TLN: ‘Shochu’ is a Japanese distilled beverage and ‘Sake’ is a Japanese rice wine.)

It depended on the product, but even today, the alcohol content of beer and sake was almost twice as high. Shochu was even higher.

If you drink the same amount at the same pace, it’s only natural that you’ll get drunk faster.

The sake served at yesterday’s meal was called Kiyokura, and was advertised as being made by an affiliate of the inn. It was clear and not cloudy, and very easy to drink. After it went down your throat, the aroma wafted through your nose. That was the kind of sake it was.

Shin did not feel that the alcohol content was too high, but since his body became like this, he no longer felt a sense of intoxication when he drank, only slightly inebriated.

He wondered if the drunkenness was being nullified as an abnormal state, and felt a little strange.

“Even the higher races are weak to alcohol.”

“Maybe it was a mistake to think that it would be okay to drink a little more, since it was only us friends here.”

It seemed she was aware that she had been drinking more than usual. Milt said she would be more careful from now on and took a sip of water. It was understandable that some friends might let loose a little among themselves, so Shin made a light joke, saying “Next time, I’ll throw you on the futon.”

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