LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 60
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 60
Alcohol makes people drunk.
It allows them to speak of things they usually can’t out of resentment, and sometimes, it lets them say things that are hard to express by borrowing the courage of intoxication.
In my previous life, I was like that too.
Like when a friend who never contacted me suddenly invited me out for drinks, only to use the drunken atmosphere to ask me to lend them money or buy insurance.
I still remember. That son of a b*, Lee X-woo….
Anyway, alcohol makes people honest.
Near the summit of the Hamel Mountain Range, where a warm bonfire flickered softly.
The Young Lady furrowed her brows as she stared at the liquor glass. With a gaze full of doubt, as if questioning whether this could truly be a drink for humans, she pondered deeply before looking at me downing my shot in one go and said,
“Bitter.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“It’s insanely bitter.”
“Of course it is.”
After taking a shot of the half-poured liquor and realizing its bitterness, the Young Lady stared at the glass with an expression as if she would never touch alcohol again. Yet, when provoked with a mocking “Still too young, huh?” she extended her glass.
“Pour me another.”
“Didn’t you say it tasted bad?”
“No, it’s delicious.”
“Liar.”
A faint blush began to appear on the Young Lady’s ears.
I hid the liquor bottle behind me and refused, but the Young Lady, puffing out her chest proudly, boasted about her healthy liver, claiming she could drink more.
With slightly unfocused eyes, the Young Lady spoke. I couldn’t trust her at all.
Considering she’s someone who often bickers with Gomtang even when sober, I thought she might truly turn into a mad dog if drunk, so I refused.
“If you drink more, you’ll turn into a dog.”
“I’m already a dog.”
“You’ll become a mad dog.”
“Why! It’s a shame to stop at just one more drink. So, pour me another.”
“No.”
“Pour it! If you don’t, I’m not going home tonight.”
The Young Lady pouted stubbornly with a “Hmph.”
Knowing her as someone who always keeps her word as a butler who has served her for 13 years, I sighed deeply to prevent her from camping outdoors and said,
“Haah… Just one more glass.”
“Hehe. Okay.”
The Young Lady shyly accepted the drink and drank it.
The drunkenness began to rise.
Both for the Young Lady and for me.
Maybe because it had been a while since I drank, the warm buzz of alcohol slowly started to break down the filter in my mind.
-That son of a b*, Mikhail.
-Why are you cursing Mikhail!
-Isn’t he annoying? Looking like some gigolo.
-That’s true. Then I’ll curse Ricardo, that son of a b*!
-Why are you cursing me?
-You always steal my chocolate.
-No snacks for you tomorrow.
-Eek… Ricardo, you’re an angel!
-Too late.
Meaningless conversations flowed back and forth.
We just blurted out whatever came to mind, laughed foolishly, and seriously debated trivial things like whether orcs or bears were stronger.
We had an ordinary conversation. Not about heavy topics like politics or the Academy, but lighthearted chats that let us find joy in small things, borrowing the courage of intoxication.
“You know, back in the day, I was called the Flower of Society!”
“That flower… could it have been in the depths of hell?”
“It was a rose! I was called a rose!”
“Its thorns must have been vicious.”
“Ugh! Stop teasing me!”
“Puhaha!”
In my previous life, I could drink three bottles of soju and still be fine….
Maybe it’s because I’m drinking expensive liquor, or maybe it’s because I’m drinking with someone beautiful, but the alcohol tasted sweeter than usual.
Sip.
“Ugh…”
Sip.
“Oh…?”
Sip.
“Hehe!”
The Young Lady was slowly learning to appreciate the taste of alcohol.
Crackle. Near the dancing flames of the bonfire, the Young Lady hesitated with her liquor glass in hand.
Thinking about what to say.
As she pondered deeply and tilted her glass, the Young Lady, wearing a serious expression, cautiously opened her mouth.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes?”
“You know….”
Eyes lost in deep thought.
The Young Lady’s gaze, made hazy by the rising drunkenness, felt strangely alluring.
She let out a long sigh and posed a question to me.
“Ricardo, are you going to get married?”
At the sudden question, I let out an empty laugh. Marriage? I’d never even thought about it.
I’d been too busy living my life.
And there weren’t any women around me.
The only women I kept in touch with were Hanna, Yuria, and the Young Lady, but none of them would ever like me enough to marry me.
They were all exceptional individuals.
For a commoner like me, liking someone like them was out of the question when they had plenty of better options around. I gave a bitter smile and answered the Young Lady.
“Why do you ask about marriage?”
“Just… Ricardo, you’re at the age to get married now.”
“Hmm… That’s true. I’ve never thought about it, so I’m not sure.”
“You’re not going to?”
“Who knows….”
The Young Lady fixed her gaze on the swirling liquor in her glass and asked me. Since she wasn’t looking up, I couldn’t tell what expression she was making, but I could guess what kind of feelings prompted her question.
‘I don’t want us to part.’ Maybe that’s what she was thinking.
She must be worried that I wouldn’t stay by her side forever. Though she’s usually selfish and stubborn, she’s someone who can envision the future and quietly wrestle with her thoughts. I could understand what kind of feelings led her to ask such a question.
Drunkenness has a way of revealing hidden thoughts.
As someone nearing the end of my early twenties, without even a fiancée, let alone a girlfriend, she must have been worried. At the same time, she might have feared that one day, I, who had always stayed by her side, might leave. Borrowing the courage of intoxication, she must have voiced her hidden concerns.
I looked at the Young Lady and answered firmly, with a small smile to erase her worries.
“Marriage… I probably won’t be able to.”
“What…?”
At my words, the Young Lady’s expression turned cold.
Seeing her look at me with a visible expression of doubt, as if wondering if she was holding me back, I was relieved that she didn’t aspire to be an actress.
Her expressions were far too obvious.
I added with a playful tone.
“For a man like me to remain unmarried is a great crime against the world, after all.”
“…It could be a blessing.”
The Young Lady, honest in the most unnecessary moments. I flicked her forehead lightly and continued.
“After seeing the world’s greatest beauty every day, my standards have become too high.”
“Beauty?”
“Yes, a beauty with hair like blank paper and a love for chocolate. Women who are just moderately pretty don’t even catch my eye.”
The Young Lady blushed and mumbled, “Well, that’s true…” before shyly smiling.
Watching her, I spoke playfully.
“I was talking about the person in the mirror.”
“…Not me?”
“No.”
Seeing the Young Lady toss her fork with a bright smile, I finally felt my worried heart ease.
Inwardly, I spoke to myself.
“How could I leave you behind, Young Lady?”
I couldn’t leave because I was too worried.
With a small smile, I asked the Young Lady.
“Then, are you not planning to marry, Young Lady?”
“Me…?”
The Young Lady’s expression turned sullen.
Oops, I thought, but it was too late to take back what I had said, so I forced a bright smile and spoke to her.
“If your leg heals, that is….”
“Right.”
The Young Lady smiled faintly and looked at me.
“Maybe I should just marry Ricardo.”
“How can you pick a husband so easily? You should consider my feelings too.”
The Young Lady pouted her lips and glared at me.
“You don’t like it?”
What man in the world could refuse those words? I imagined children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, and confidently answered.
“How many children would you like?”
“…Pervert.”
Once again, I was rejected by the Young Lady.
Alcohol had a way of turning serious conversations into laughter. If we had spoken soberly, it would have been a topic to brood over for a while, but the alcohol made it easier to brush off.
The Young Lady and I shared light laughter as we aired our worries.
Fights. Politics. Friends. Accidents. There are many snacks to pair with alcohol, but I think the best pairing is romance.
When the conversation about the future shifted to romance.
I cautiously asked the Young Lady the question I had asked before.
“Young Lady.”
“Yes?”
“What is your ideal type?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
The Young Lady furrowed her brow and fell into deep thought. When it came to talking about romance, she displayed remarkable focus.
She held up three fingers and began folding them down one by one as she spoke.
“First, he has to be handsome.”
“Oh my, you could’ve just said it was me.”
“Ricardo, you’re ugly.”
“I’m better looking than Ruin.”
“That’s not a person; that’s a lizard.”
Unintentionally scoring a win against Ruin, I clenched my fist in triumph. I wondered if I should thank the Young Lady for treating me like a person.
The Young Lady folded down her second finger.
“Second, he has to be kind.”
“That’s definitely me. Where else can you find someone as kind as I am?”
The Young Lady glared at me with a doubtful look.
“Didn’t you steal money from a homeless person and run away last time…?”
“You saw that?”
“Yes.”
I scoffed and said to the Young Lady.
“Didn’t I use that money to buy chicken skewers for you?”
“Oh… then you’re kind. You pass.”
I received the Young Lady’s stamp of approval.
When she folded her third finger, the Young Lady spoke firmly.
“This is something Ricardo can’t do.”
“I’m a man who can do anything.”
“Liar.”
The Young Lady was unnecessarily perceptive.
“The third is… the third leg….”
I quickly covered the Young Lady’s mouth.
My face flushed red. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard, and my ears doubted themselves.
The Young Lady looked at me with innocent eyes, as if wondering why I was reacting this way, completely unaware of the problem with what she had just said.
I asked the Young Lady.
“W-where did you learn that word?”
“From the philosophy book Ricardo gave me. It was in [Father, You Shouldn’t Do This!]”
“No… ha…”
It felt like my mind had cleared.
The slight buzz from the alcohol vanished entirely. While I was relieved that this clarity might save me from drunkenly pushing a cart, seeing the Young Lady’s dull eyes made me resolve to thoroughly review any books I gave her in the future.
The Young Lady asked with an innocent expression.
“Why? The book said the bigger, the better. Is Ricardo small?”
“Pardon?”
The Young Lady struck at a man’s pride.
I blushed deeply and let out a deep sigh.
“No… that’s not… not exactly.”
In the ironic situation where the one answering was more embarrassed than the one asking, my face burned uncontrollably.
The Young Lady nodded with a satisfied expression.
“The book said so. A man’s third leg has to be sturdy and big.”
The Young Lady unintentionally made a risqué joke.
She then asked me another question.
“Then, what’s Ricardo’s ideal type?”
“I… b-breasts…”
Just as I was about to speak.
“Hic… I’m drunk…”
The Young Lady collapsed.
***
“Hehe! Hehehehe!”
The Young Lady was drunk.
Holding her liquor glass, she spun around and around, swaying left and right like a pendulum.
“Hehe? Ricardo. The world is spinning… I’m flying!”
She looked like a madwoman.
“Ricardo… why aren’t you drinking? Drink more.”
The Young Lady was in high spirits.
She clung to Gomtangi, calling it by my name, sniffing it and saying it smelled delicious, nibbling on Gomtangi’s head.
The Young Lady struggled to stand and shouted at the empty glass.
“Ricardo, your glass is empty.”
“I’ll stop drinking here.”
“Oh no!”
The Young Lady brought the liquor bottle to my glass, flashing a silly smile, and scolded the empty glass like a Manager would.
I cautiously reached out to the liquor bottle in her hand and said,
“Young Lady, you’ve had too much to drink.”
“No, I haven’t… I’m perfectly fine!”
The claim of sobriety from a drunk person held no credibility. Looking at the Young Lady’s slightly unfocused eyes only reinforced that thought.
“Eek… Your hand’s trembling.”
The nagging I often heard at company gatherings. If the Young Lady ever entered the workforce, she’d likely become a nagging superior.
Reluctantly, I accepted the drink she poured for me.
The liquor in the glass began overflowing without restraint. The glass was filled to the brim and beyond, spilling over. The Young Lady, seemingly unaware of this, grinned and bounced her shoulders, saying, “Drink. Drink.” If I drank any more, I felt I’d end up like Gomtangi, lying beside her, unable to bear it.
When I carefully took the liquor glass from her hand, the Young Lady widened her eyes and stared at her now-empty hand.
“Huh?”
The Young Lady looked startled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone stole my glass.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Sigh…”
I thought to myself that I shouldn’t let her drink so much.
*
On the way back to the estate.
The Young Lady was sound asleep on her bed.
She was sleeping deeply, drooling onto her pillow.
I gently stroked her hair and softly said,
“My ideal type is…”
At that moment, a subtle light emanated from my hand.
A faint Blue Window appeared.
[Rehabilitation’s Touch is activated.]
“Cough…”
Blood trickled from my mouth, but the smile on my lips didn’t fade.
“The Young Lady.”