Ryuji and Alan gathered inside his office, the grey skies starting to fade, with sunlight peeking through the broken clouds.
"Alan, you were a pretty useless hero, huh?"
"... Ryuji, I was young, and it was my first actual battle. Do you think I can be like those damn psychopaths we summon and claim, 'I am the chosen one.' Then start killing things with no remorse and act like it's normal to do so?"
"Eh... It happens a lot in the novels, though, right?"
Alan gave a slight snort before opening his prized glass case full of expensive spirits and liquors; for a mont, he seed to think about the bottle. Then he turned to Ryuji after selecting a bottle that seed to be sothing similar to scotch. "Well, I'll tell you honestly, those who don't feel fear and act like nothing changed after killing their first humanoid enemy.
They die first and cry the most about how scared they are."
"Really? I thought they would die with an edgy line before blowing themselves up to stop the enemy."
"Heh... those novels, sotis one of the nerdy or fat students will have them. I've seen so, too. Ryuji and the protagonists in those novels do not exist. At least in this world, they pretend to be cool and act like they are unbreakable. Then the mont an ally dies, they crumble when their strength is needed most."
"Hmmm, sorry for saying you're a useless hero. Though you failed, you seem to have never given up completely. I was wrong, Alan."
The cosy room filled with the sound of Alan pouring the liquor into two glasses, with a large sphere of ice placed inside.
Both n seed to be more moody than usual. It seed the things they needed to say and discuss caused them to change their usual routine.
"Ryuji, actually, I was going to die. I planned this ti to take the heroes myself... To make up for my two mistakes and if I couldn't defeat the monster." He sipped his glass, closing his eyes with a serene atmosphere. "Then I would die and beco part of that thing for eternity."
"I never thought you would feel that way..."
Ryuji looked a little strange. He observed his friend while grasping his drink tight and took a sip. He smiled bitterly as the warm, sweet taste of aged caral and a hint of smoky aftertaste slipped down his throat.
"Well, that was till I t you and got to know you. The first genuine psychopath who didn't seem to be playing hero."
"Psychopath... man, that's a bit harsh..."
"Haha, don't be weird. I an, you literally took that fox into your room without a second thought. That wasn't normal, then you slaughtered five knights. And offered your body to us like so kind of at shield for hire. What were you even thinking back then? That's not a normal person's thought path...
Couldn't you read the room?" Alan looked genuinely interested. He wanted to know more about the man who inspired him to stand up one last ti. To not give up and rush to his death and to give his all.
Ryuji, on the other hand, didn't even realise these things.
He sipped his drink, closing both eyes. Then began to consider his actions from the mont he arrived. It took a few monts, the sound of the enormous grandfather clock ticking several tis... before finally, as if in beat to the clock, he spoke.
"I didn't feel anything after losing my mother and hurting my only friend. The teacher I beat up was nothing special; he just looked at the wrong way. I knew that I had problems—the dication stopped working, and I couldn't control my body's urges for violence, sex, and excitent, be it from alcohol or watching married won fall into depravity."
"Yikes... you're a little bastard, aren't you? So, when you arrived, I rember you... You seed strange, your little speech. It sounded like you wanted to change, or at least make friends or sothing back then. A lot of the knights found it amusing."
Alan shook his glass, enjoying the sudden embarrassed look of Ryuji, who normally seed impenetrable. His cheeks turned pink, and he looked away.
"Forget that! I just... I felt that there was nothing for after losing that comfortable place; rather, I destroyed it myself, and even now, I don't regret sleeping with her and making Alex look at that way, but maybe that's the demon in speaking. While the human in felt lonely, I took Yumiko as my slave because of that.
She seed like an energetic person, and at least with soone speaking or making noise. Then I wouldn't feel that loneliness, haha."
"You're such a kid... why didn't you just speak to your classmates? If you reached out, they would never have shunned you. Akari and Ryosuke are pretty much pri examples. They both speak so highly of you but didn't know how to approach you."
"Shut up, Alan! I can't help being like this..."
"Haha, it's fun... To see this side of you, Ryuji, for the longest ti, I thought you were so heartless robot who lived for sex and fighting powerful enemies."
"..."
"So, what did you have to tell ? I already told you about my first failure. Let's make it even, and you're even drinking my special scotch."
"Tsk! For a duke, you're always so stingy!"
***
Ryuji and Alan moved to his table, the bottle of scotch left open as they filled another glass. Because of their strength, they could resist alcohol more easily if they wanted.
However, today, neither of them seed to want that.
"So... that woman is sleeping with Qwass... and killing those disgusting lust demons that rape n to death in the western part of the kingdom? I knew she was a slut but... I really can't forgive her for hurting my brother, though it is nice to see him being the cuckold for once... Serves him right for stealing Lydia!
Hahahaha, shh... don't tell him. I was just joking, Ryuji..."
"I won't, but you really took this easily... I thought you might run to kill her."
Alan shook his head, his eyes a little wet and filled with water. "Ryuji, I don't want to catch the minor criminals but the big fish. If I can catch the cause, then my brother will be safe, and Anne and Liana too. Don't underestimate the mainland...
That place is small compared to this continent, but its size as a single empire is greater than any other on this continent, and they have the blessing of Lumina and several other gods because the main temples are on their land."
"I see, it must suck for you guys, having the monster to the north and then these fools to your backs."
"Tsk... speaking like it's nothing to do with you. My niece won't let you escape marriage, and my aunt seems to have plans for you, too. Hahaha!"
"..."
Ryuji downed the last of his drink—sohow, this kind of drunk Alan was interesting. He would give information that would surely co to bite his ass later in life. The fact he ntioned Velvet's na made Ryuji take a ntal note to keep his guard up during training.
'That woman is too scary. Her strength is ridiculous because of her magic enhancent!'
"Oh... that's true, Velvet said I'd be training with Alice in the future."
"Huh? Who said you could use my lovely sister's na like that?"
Alan's pink cheeks and glazed eyes made Ryuji sense danger. The drunken hero's aura started to increase. A golden flicker shone in Ryuji's gaze as divine magic started gathering.
"Alan... calm down, okay?"
"Ryuji, I said you can't sleep with Alice... Isn't Liana enough? Right? Yes?"
'This guy... he must have really needed this drink!'
Ryuji dashed away with a sense of danger and a beating sounding alarm bells in his head. He dashed towards the door as Alan seed to follow him with stumbling movents. Though he escaped the room, the feeling of danger didn't vanish as he dashed down the corridor.
"Ryuji! You can't have Alice, too!"
"I get it! Stop chasing !"
"No.. you, I know what you are like! C're!"
"NO!"
***
anwhile, in the dining room, Liana, Yumiko, Alicia and Erika were having a small tea party or rather a gathering of their own.
"Since we are all won related to Ryuji, then you should all understand, right?"
Liana's voice echoed while she looked into the garden, where her uncle was chasing Ryuji at full speed with his divine aura on full display. The image is like a cat chasing a mouse after it gets overconfident.
'Uncle?'
Her eyes widened as she watched the two n start to exchange blows, with Ryuji's attempts to defend himself quite comndable against the kingdom's hero...
"Does he really see in that way? I an, I asked him to take responsibility. But I can't force him to be attracted to , right?" Alicia spoke with a concerned voice, her long ears drooping along with her eyes as she pressed her index fingers together.
Yumiko shook her head; she saw Ryuji being beaten by Alan before throwing mud and dirt in his eyes and reversing the situation, causing her to burst into a smirk, laughing. "You fool... If you were to wait in his room naked, then I guarantee he would ravish you until you couldn't walk the next day."
"Ah... no way..." Alicia turned her head and covered her face.
Although she liked to act like Sheila, when it ca to really thinking about things beyond just teasing him, it caused her to beco shy.
"No, Yumiko is right... He would devour you and leave no at on the bone... It's like you are his ideal in every form." Erika muttered while eating one of the butter biscuits and watching Alan swinging Ryuji around like an athlete in the hamr throw.
"I see... Ehehe...." Alicia's response seed to make the other girls, but a fair amount of jealousy was allowed. They had already agreed to this.
"I am still going to beco his favourite~ so try your best, little elf princess. Your mother is our enemy now, though, so why hasn't she co to get you?" Liana asked, with a serious question added to her boasting, her eyes narrowing as she watched both Alan and Ryuji, now covered in dirt and bruises, lay on the ground, laughing like madn while pointing at the sky.
'What are those idiots doing? How do they go from fighting to laughing together like nothing happened?'
"Oh... she sent a warning last month that my sister had taken the throne. So I shouldn't co back, because my sister seed strange. Then, thanks to Alan and your Dad... They seed to accept as 'Alicia, the knight' temporarily thanks to Simon, Paul and Ryuji's existence. If not for those three, I would be a political hostage by now.
Ahaha."
'No, it's definitely my dad and Alan plotting against Ryuji, knowing he liked you...'
"I see... well, since you're one of us, it doesn't matter. If things get bad, we can just get Ryuji to kidnap us both and flee the kingdom!"
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