Chapter 355
[Bad and good news, BAD, the current NDE translator has taken an extended break for at least a year due to health reasons. He has been hospitalized and plans to take time off to recover. GOOD: Fortunately, we just upgraded our translator (again) for RIM. The old RIM translator will now be working on this series. (She was the 2/3rds responsible for RIM’s insane upload speed. She has been consistent for 4 months on RIM, I doubt the NDE curse will have any effect on her. (4/8).]
Straightening up of Evan D. Sherden (5)
Evan excitedly popped open the special sparkling wine of Brotherhood Brewery—named Sherden Royal—which he kept especially for this kind of celebration. The wine, more valuable and expensive than gold, gushed into the air and fell like a fountain onto Raihan’s head.
“Congratulations, Hyeong!”
“Master, please give me a bottle, too.”
“Here, take it.”
“Woooow…congratulations!”
Evan and Shine took this opportunity to act frivolously, soaking Raihan with alcohol. Raihan put on a sour look.
“Are you enjoying that?”
“Yes.”
“It’s very exciting.”
At times like this, Evan and Shine coordinated with each other joyfully. Raihan gave in and licked the liquor on his lips. It was sweet and delicious. His appearance would have been a masterpiece as a good looker drenched with alcohol, but there were no women in this place so that nobody could enjoy the sight.
“I’m serious. Of course, I expected this would happen someday, but becoming the father of a child already…”
“What are you talking about? You are already twenty-seven years old. Surely, adventurers and knights tend to get married late, but even the Ironwall Knights get married by that age.”
Aside from the minority, everyone was married and had a family. Of course, there weren’t people who get to have two wives like Raihan.
“Twenty-seven years old; I see. I am of that age already…”
“You can’t rewind the time even if you suddenly reminisce on your memories, so give up.”
“No, it’s just that I remembered my first time meeting you, Master. If I didn’t meet you at the pub that day, I wouldn’t have become who I am today.”
He would somehow realize his talent with the shield and would become the leader of the holy knights for the former Order even if Evan didn’t meddle, but he wasn’t that dense to speak at this timing.
“So, thank you, Master.”
“It’s too soon. I’ll let you say that at your wedding.”
“I’d have to overdo myself to have the wedding before my child is born.”
Evan felt awkward and scratched his cheek and replied while looking at Raihan’s serious expression, and Shine also spoke in a serious tone.
“Just us overdoing ourselves won’t do. Even the villains have to rush things up.”
“Well, for that, Maybell and Serpina will expedite things for themselves.”
Maybell, who was in charge of direct negotiations with the Demon race, and Serpina, who fully took over the Order to her will, were the extraordinary talents controlling the villains’ behavior. It was enough to say that no civilian casualties had occurred in Sherden right now because of them.
“Good, then let’s have them take care of that part, and we shall drink till the bottles are empty!”
“Saying such at this timing feels like we are doing nothing but fooling ourselves. We are also working our bones to dust…”
“Then I’ll change my clothes.”
Shine popped the cork willingly despite his grumbling. Evan smiled and prepared the glasses. When Raihan came back after cleaning the sparkling wine from his sizes along with fresh fruits, oysters, and salmon were prepared.
“Those weren’t there a moment ago.”
“I had the kitchen staff prepare for it beforehand since I heard you mention that there was something important to talk about. It’s a butler’s courtesy.”
“Ah, you were a butler.”
“Believe it or not, I’ve done quite well as a butler.”
“Your impression in other roles is far too great.”
“And the most important one among them is the role of the butler. I’m the only direct butler for you, Master. Just receive the drink.”
Shine complained, yet he poured wine into Raihan’s glass. Raihan received the wine as worries about becoming a good father surrounded him.
“Great, then cheers!”
“Congratulating on Raihan Hyeong’s wedding in advance!”
“Yeah, yeah, thank you. I hope both of you will be careful not to end up like me.”
Evan and Shine both shivered because of what Raihan said with his gloomy expression when their glasses clinked in the empty air. Every word sounded so real to them as they felt gently pressed for time too.
“Saying that to our faces feels like a curse, Hyeong…”
“If I am in such a situation, then I’ll be dragged straight back to Leonine!”
“But I just knew that the holy power could nullify the contraceptive magic. I have no choice but to develop that one…”
“Master, do we have to talk further on that topic?”
The three of them had gotten serious in drinking as they gobbled up the platter. For reference, the cracker was made from wheat from the dungeon (23rd floor), while the cheese was made from goat’s milk which was retrieved from a goat monster in the dungeon (43rd floor). All the fruits were also from the dungeon, and not to mention the oyster and the salmon were acquired from the seafood of the depths…no, from the sea monsters from the 51st floor and beyond. Its tastes were incomparable to regular oysters and salmon.
“How is it?”
“Hmm, Serpina might like this goat milk cheese a lot. It’s a bit too much for me with its peculiar scent.”
“We might be able to sell this at a high price to the cheese lovers; it might be more expensive than its weight in platinum.”
“The oyster and the salmon are really the best, Master. I’ve eaten monsters in the sea dungeon of Pellati, but these are more delicious than them.”
Evan agreed with Shine’s words.
“Of course, it’s not a regular monster, but it’s fused with the dungeon monster of Sherden. The flavor is deep, isn’t it? The meat of the monsters from the deep is famous for its unique taste that’s unavailable in the meat of the regular creatures.”
“…Oh, that’s right. I kinda feel uncomfortable.”
“No need to refuse. They’re absurdly expensive ingredients, but we can lend out what we eat anytime.”
“Ha, Master,all-grown-up and his timing for a recommendation.”
During his spare time, Evan often entered the 71st floor and gathered the newly regenerated Lunatic Sirens to acquire the drop items from the sea monsters. The drop items included not just the ingredients for weapons and equipment but also the ingredients for food.
“During the process where monsters are fused, the best part of the meat happens to be created too…personally, the meat from the crab and cow chimera is the best.”
“By any chance, are you going to such places whenever you say you want to stroll around…?”
“The owner sometimes presses me whether or not there are new ingredients. And as a reward, we always eat the skewers, don’t we? So, it’s a win-win.”
When the owner cooked the new ingredients, eating the food for the first time would increase one’s status permanently. So, this can be considered an effort to train. And in fact, he was able to increase a considerate amount of status through this method for the last few months, so it was no joke.
Evan opened the cork of a new bottle of wine. It was the finest wine from the selection of the grapes suited for red wine. Raihan received the drink and mumbled his sentiments.
“So, the scenario is really coming to an end…when you first talked about it, I was worried if it would actually work out.”
“It’s all thanks to our amazing actors.”
“Come to think of it, those who took the roles at the frontier were all women.”
“Ah, that can’t be helped.”
Originally, Yo-Ma Great War 3 had romance as its genre, so wouldn’t the position of women be prominent? Although there were many guys with significant roles, most of them had fixed positions as lords or kings, so it wouldn’t suit this scenario.
“Anyways, that being said, we will be entering the dungeon soon, so get prepared. We will make it to the 100th floor this time. The sub-party has started first, but we can’t lose to them.”
“Ah, is that so? Knowing that there are only four hidden bosses, it’s quite bittersweet.”
“I was expecting it. I’m quite excited with the hidden boss of the 100th floor.”
“But I hope both of you would be a bit more tense, right…”
* * *
At the same moment, the women were also having a drink. Actually, Belois and Arisha were trying to calm down Hannah, who was trying to do something reckless to Raihan’s intimate parts after hearing of Serpina’s pregnancy, and thus, they ended up having a drink.
“Me too; I wanted to have Raihan’s child…!”
“She’s been repeating the same thing for some time now; is the alcohol adversely affecting her mind?”
Arisha mumbled worriedly as she looked at the beer glass held in Hannah’s hand, who was in tears. Belois replied tenuously as she put down the assorted monster meat skewers which were delivered by the Brotherhood Skewers.
“Her mentality wasn’t normal even before the alcohol kicked in, so there isn’t a problem with the alcohol.”
“Is that so? Good, then let’s drink.”
“Quite an interesting experience, being able to drink beer with you, my lady.”
“Really? But we will all be the same once we get married to Evan, won’t we? So, get used to it from now on.”
“No, that wasn’t what I meant…alright, understood.”
Belois just thought that beer didn’t look quite suitable for Arisha, but she decided not to refute her words. The beer didn’t suit her, either.
“Uhmm, shall we gather and share a drink frequently from now on?”
“Why are you here, Serena?”
“I don’t want just the two of you to be friendly, so I came.”
She usually spent her time looking for worms in the garden, bullying slimes, playing with the dragon Gnar, or clinging onto Evan when there was nothing special to do, but it was quite rare for her to join them today. Arisha precisely guessed her intention.
“So, it’s like all of Evan’s women are here, isn’t it?”
“Well, it’s because we are all family, after all.”
Arisha ended up giggling at Serena, who spoke while blankly looking at the bubbling beer in the glass.
“I want to have a chiiiiiild!”
“That person is completely done for.”
“Perhaps we need to ask Raihan for an appreciation fee later. He’s able to drink in peace, thanks to us. Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
“Cheeeeers.”
After letting Hannah, who became a parrot that repeated words, lie down, the three ladies clanked their glasses. Arisha and Belois drank lightly, but Serena gulped down her beer in one shot and ate two skewers at once.
“Delicious! Come to think of it; I ate skewers on the day I danced with Oppa for the first time.”
“…Her Majesty’s memory excels only in parts related with the Master.”
“Yup, maybe it’s because the moments I’ve spent with Oppa are extraordinary memories, aren’t they? From the moment I met him until today, everything still feels so real. They are sparkling.”
“Ha.”
Arisha was dumbfounded after looking at Serena, who seemed to be incredibly happy.
“Belois, I think she’s drunk.”
“Her Majesty usually speaks of embarrassing things.”
“Speaking of love won’t harm anything, so why not?”
Despite Arisha and Belois’s reaction to being fed up with her, Serena giggled and continued to eat. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Anastasia was smiling at the door while wearing her pajamas and a shawl.
“Excuse me too.”
“Oh my, Princess Anastasia came as well.”
“I wanted to have a drink with Shine, but I got jealous over the boys’ night out. Let’s have that among us girls too.”
“Uhm…shall we call Ms. Mirole as well?”
Belois spoke since it kind of felt like all grown-up girl members should be gathered, but Arisha knitted her brows and sighed when she heard the name Mirole.
“No way, it’s too scary to talk about Evan in front of her. Whenever I cross Evan’s arms with mine, or I kiss him, she looks at me from behind with murderous intent out of jealousy.”
“Really? Thank goodness, so it seems like the elf doesn’t just hate me. You know what, it’s a surprise how Oppa keeps his distance with her.”
“I think it’s because perhaps he predicted something related to that.”
Evan looked after Arisha and Serena more than any parents could when they were clinging onto him, although he grumbled that he didn’t like them. He always denied it, but maybe he was romantically interested. It meant that Arisha and Serena weren’t fools who bet their lives on something impossible.
“But he behaves politely to Mirole. He just treats someone politely at best. Isn’t that surprising? Mirole is just beautiful even in the eyes of fellow women.”
“I speculate that it’s because she’s a different species.”
“If someone whom I’m romantically interested shows such an attitude…uhmm, I would have resolved it by jumping on him or something like that.”
Anastasia was also someone who beer didn’t suit, but it seemed just to be prejudice. She took a sip after clanking her glass; then, she used her Druid’s power onto the tip of the wooden skewers to serve herself the skewers by separating the meat on it.
“You should take a bite on the skewers, Eonnie!”
“Wipe your mouth before talking, Serena.”
“Evan Oppa said skewers are supposed to be eaten like this.”
“I remember that day, but the Master didn’t speak in such a way.”
“I want to have a chiiiiiild!”
As a fierce battle between groups who eat skewers as is and those who separate them before eating was about to begin, Hannah shouted once more while putting her head on the table. It was that moment when Belois lifted her hand, thinking that perhaps she should put her to sleep…
“Excuse me.”
A person entered through the door while wearing a hood. The fact that the person wasn’t tagged with Belois’ alert magic meant she wasn’t an enemy. When the person removed their hood, it was Serpina.
“So, it’s true that you girls were here. Thank you for dealing with Hannah. I’ll take her with me.”
“Thank you so much. Congratulations on your pregnancy, Ms. Serpina.
“Thank you, Ms. Arisha.”
Serpina carried Hannah on her back with a sigh. Then, while smacking her lips on the food prepared on the table, she shook her head and kept her distance. She was cautious after learning about her pregnancy.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“We would have sent Hannah back if you gave us a call.”
“No, no, this was because of me. Then excuse us.”
Serpina smiled in embarrassment and turned her back after bowing once more. It was at that moment that Hannah came to realize Serpina was giving her a piggyback ride. So, she started blaming her in a drunk voice.
“Serpina, you cheater…”
“Whew, didn’t you say you were fine with it? Here, here, let’s talk it out after we arrive; let’s go.”
Serpina quickly left the scene. What kind of relationship did those two have? It didn’t seem like a traditional friendship, nor was it that both of them were simply rivals in love…everyone thought that perhaps what they had was the ideal relationship of wives.
“Whew…you see?”
The members stared blankly at Serpina, who came and disappeared in a blink of an eye, but Serena opened her mouth after finishing her third beer.
“I will be the first one to carry Evan Oppa’s child.”
“You still talk like that after seeing those two…but I’ll be the first.”
“…I’m fine with whatever, but hold your horses for a while. Didn’t the Master say that the marriage will be held after defeating the Demon King?”
Arisha didn’t forget to state her position while tackling Serena’s ludicrous comment. Belois sighed, thinking that they were behaving just the same. But despite her thoughts, she didn’t want to back down on that topic.
“Child…I want to have one. A boy that looks like Shine…”
Meanwhile, Anastasia was mumbling faintly while taking a bite of meat which she separated from the skewers. The other three ladies forgot about their battle and stared at her blankly. Anastasia regained herself late and shook her head out of embarrassment.
“No, no! I’m taking the contraception correctly! Sometimes I think of not doing it, but I’m restraining myself!”
“Eonnie, you are scary.”
“I’d better tell Shine to be careful…”
“Ms. Anastasia, please do restrain yourself until the Demon King is defeated…”
“You are really misunderstanding!”
The conspiracy’s vortex was getting bigger in Sherden, but the center of the vortex, Astray HQ, was still as peaceful as ever today.