After wandering back and forth along Taffia’s commercial street all afternoon, the two finally ducked into a tavern as dusk settled to solve the dinner problem.
Viridian picked up a large beer mug and, with a rather hearty gesture, drained it in one gulp, the wooden cup thudding loudly against the table.
By now, she had already drunk quite a bit; her face was slightly flushed, and her gaze was more unfocused than usual.
Across the table, Aze stirred his soup with a spoon while observing the tavern’s interior.
Unlike the upscale places they’d visited before, this tavern, located in the busiest area, was cheap and plain, focusing on generous portions to fill the stomach.
Besides this little couple, the place was packed with burly customers—adventurers, guards, and the like. The noise of chatter, fist-slapping games, and the clatter of cups, bowls, and cutlery never ceased.
“You actually chose a place like this?”
Glug—glug—pffft—
In just a short while, the Witch Miss had already poured down another glass of alcohol.
“There aren’t any places this lively in the Territory of the Witch. Even if there were, they’d be packed with Orcs or Trolls—stinky and unpleasant; I wouldn’t want to go in. I… hic—I’ve always wanted to try a place like this.”
Saying this, Viridian shook her head drunkenly, her face red as she called out to the Waitress:
“Miss Waitress, another round! Five glasses, make it five more!”
The usually elegant Witch Miss had completely merged into the lively atmosphere, her spirits unusually high.
Of course, it might just be the alcohol talking.
This slightly unseemly display was something Aze didn’t mind. High-end restaurants weren’t necessarily tastier, but everything there had to be kept elegant and proper, constantly reminding him of those disgusting and exhausting social gatherings.
…Could it be that she deliberately picked this place because she noticed that?
Just as he was thinking that, Viridian slid around the table and squeezed into Aze’s seat, a mischievous grin on her face as she pressed close.
“Hey there, mister~ Why are you drinking juice? So boring. Come on, have some alcohol.”
She tightened her arms around his shoulders and leaned in, trying to nuzzle his face, brazenly bringing the mug to his lips.
“You’ve drunk way too much—”
Caught off guard, Aze tried to push her face away.
But no matter how hard he pushed, Viridian didn’t budge an inch. Maybe she had reinforced her strength with some kind of magic.
The two of them were stuck in this awkward position, locked in a strange stalemate.
After a while, Viridian let out a bored sigh and finally released Aze.
“Geez~ no need to be such a killjoy—ah, got it—”
The slightly dazed Witch Miss chuckled as if she’d just thought of some mischievous idea.
She grabbed her mug and took a big gulp, holding the alcohol in her mouth as she leaned in again. Fortunately, Aze quickly covered her mouth and forced her to pull away.
“Act normal, there are so many people here!!!”
“Wuwu—”
“Wuwu what!? Swallow it first, then talk!?”
Aze knew very little about Viridian’s background, and this level of drunken silliness was truly unexpected. He’d have to be especially careful going forward.
Meanwhile, Viridian swallowed the liquid and immediately threw herself onto Aze, hugging him tight so that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break free.
She let out silly giggles, took a few more gulps from the mug, and wriggled against him.
More and more customers started pointing and whispering about the scene, and Aze helplessly covered his face.
This was going nowhere and would just drag on forever; better to speed things up.
Resolved, the hero patted Viridian on the back and said seriously:
“Let’s play a game. Winner gets a reward; loser gets a punishment. How about it?”
“Uh… yeah~ play—”
Drunken Viridian’s intelligence had regressed to nearly childlike levels; a little coaxing and she obediently settled into place, her face full of eager anticipation.
This might sound rude, but she really was like a little puppy.
Aze cleared his throat and pulled out a coin.
“It’s simple. I’ll toss a coin, you guess heads or tails.”
“Mm-hmm~”
“If you guess right, you get to drink a glass. Guess wrong, you have to drink a glass.”
“Mm-hmm… hmm?”
Realizing something was off, Viridian tilted her head and tried to use what little brainpower remained to analyze the catch.
Then—
“Okay~ bring the drinks quickly~”
The Witch Miss gave up on thinking.
Five minutes later—
“Ugh… uh…”
Viridian collapsed onto the table, completely unconscious.
“Done.”
Aze sighed, paid the bill, hoisted the passed-out Viridian onto his back, and with the clothes he’d bought during their earlier ‘date,’ began heading back to their home.
It was quite late; the bustling commercial street was gradually quieting down. Aside from the noisy tavern, all other shops had already closed their doors.
It was early spring, and the evening breeze was still quite chilly.
Whether it was the wind sobering her up a bit or the great Witch’s unusual constitution, Viridian soon regained some consciousness on Aze’s back.
Her hands, once limp, wrapped around his neck again, and her face rested against his shoulder.
“Mmm…”
Her slightly confused breaths, mingled with the scent of alcohol and her faint natural fragrance, brushed against Aze’s cheek.
It wasn’t unpleasant.
“Aze… ugh… hehe… Aze—”
As if afraid he might escape, Viridian’s arms tightened their grip, and her whole body pressed completely against Aze’s back. Even through the thick coat, her softness was clearly felt.
“Awake?”
No response, just a muffled sound like a cat, rubbing herself against him.
He sighed.
“Really, if you have a headache tomorrow, don’t blame me.”
“…Sorry…”
“…Hm?”
That word triggered Aze’s PTSD instantly, his lingering distrust toward Viridian suddenly ballooning to an extreme.
But it only lasted a moment.
He soon gave a wry smile and shook his head.
His occupational hazard of seeing enemies and traitors everywhere was definitely something he needed to fix.
He asked in as gentle a voice as he could manage:
“What are you sorry for?”
“…When you were going through your hardest time… I wasn’t there… And, I don’t know… I don’t know either… But… how to put it… sorry… sorry… I just want to say sorry…”
“All right, all right—there’s nothing to be sorry about. Just hang in there. Once we get home and you sleep well, everything will be fine~”
Aze comforted Viridian, not dwelling on it any further.
Just then, as they passed a street corner and out of Aze’s line of sight, a small figure caught his attention.
“That person… is that the older brother from before?”
On the night-lit street, a black-haired little girl muttered to herself.