༺ Nighttime Toasts Beneath the Moon (2) ༻
“Is your left hand okay?”
“….”
After I sent off Findenai, who was now walking away while grumbling, I noticed that more people were approaching me this time.
They were Mage Tribunal Judge, Tyren Ol Velocus, and the Royal Knight Commander, Gloria Grace.
Instead of their usual robes or armor, they were both wearing casual clothes. This, too, was out of the King’s consideration.
Due to this incident, they opposed the Archmage and me, but it was actually a misunderstanding. If there were any lingering emotions between us, they were meant to be resolved at this drinking fest.
“Ahem.”
Therefore, Gloria, who was feeling quite awkward, cleared her throat and spoke firmly.
“I am one who follows His Majesty’s orders. I will move as his sword if he desires it.”
“….”
“If His Majesty ever gives the same order next time, I will follow without saying a word. However…”
Seeing her speech becoming lengthy, Tyren, who was beside her, let out a hollow smile. I sat in silence, continuing to look at her.
“I didn’t expect His Majesty was in the wrong. So, I apologize.”
She was showing penitence through self-blame for not realizing this would not have happened if she had noticed, and guilt for not recognizing the potential danger to the King’s safety as his sword.
Looking at Gloria bowing her head with those emotions, I took a sip of my drink.
“It does not matter.”
“….”
“You only followed your duties. It is okay if you do not have your own judgment about it.”
Gloria slowly raised her head at my response. Tyren, who was beside her, chuckled heartily and said.
“See? He’s not someone who cares about that stuff? He’s truly noble.”
“Um, and I also heard that you’ll be affiliated with the Royal Family from now on. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”
Gloria extended her hand for a handshake, but one of my hands was wrapped in bandages, and the other was holding a mug.
Thinking it was an awkward mistake, Gloria tried to withdraw her hand, but I immediately put down my mug and shook her hand.
“Please, take care of me.”
Considering the story’s progression, she was not someone I could just overlook.
So, for now, I thought it would be wise to establish at least a close relationship.
“Why don’t you two drop formalities? We’ve become comrades through serving the same King.”
“Well, then…”
“Do as you wish.”
Gloria, who had been subtly observing, nodded with a relieved expression at my response.
“Alright, I’ll count on you.”
That concluded my conversation with both of them. After all, we weren’t close enough yet to engage in a lengthy discussion.
People gathered around the grill where the huge meat was slowly cooking.
I remained in the same spot, casually sipping my drink. However, there were no apparent signs of me getting drunk.
“Is this seat taken?”
At that moment, another man approached me. It was someone who was supposed to be resting at this moment, King Orpheus.
I tried standing up, but he gestured for me to stay and casually sat down next to me.
“I also want a drink, but I was told to endure it for the sake of recuperating, for now.”
Orpheus, seemingly feeling a bit empty, clenched and unclenched his fists. He needed immediate rest due to the aftermath of being possessed by the Evil Ghost.
He turned his gaze to the fire and chuckled.
“You’ve overcome all three trials. Congratulations. I didn’t expect you to accomplish all of them.”
“It is understandable why Your Majesty had thought like that, considering the high difficulty of the trials.”
“Haha, that’s right. Even I can’t help but feel that I was too cruel.”
Defeating Mage Tribunal Judge Tyren Ol Velocus.
Resolving Eleanor Luden Griffin’s nightmare.
Finally, solving the riddle from the Late King’s will, which could be considered the Royal Family’s secret.
“I will give you sufficient rewards, but will everything be okay?”
“….”
His gaze was now on me. The emotions contained within were of worry and concern.
“It will be a chaotic time; there will be more mockery, criticism, and maybe even a bleak future, more than we could think about.”
“But that applies not only to me but also to the Kingdom.”
“That’s the responsibility I have to shoulder, right?”
That was right.
Because the King had said the right words, I unknowingly nodded in satisfaction.
It was expected that the Royal Family would face criticism and blame for accepting a dark mage in the Kingdom.
However, the fact that I became the target of that very criticism, instead of himself, had troubled Orpheus.
“How about gradually amending laws related to dark mages moving forward?”
I shook my head at this suggestion to fix people’s perceptions on this matter.
“It is already too late. Instead, it will make them even more unwilling to accept our existence.”
“Hm.”
“Please rest assured.”
When I responded firmly, Orpheus slightly nodded, indicating he understood.
I could see how much trust he had in me.
“Oh, by the way.”
Orpheus uncharacteristically clapped his hands and peeked at me.
“How old did you say you were?”
“I am twenty-eight.”
“Hmm, I see.”
After acting exaggeratedly for no reason, Orpheus nodded awkwardly. He cleared his throat and deliberately changed the subject.
“Well, this is where my younger sister spent time with you quite often, right?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“This means that, considering that you spent time together more frequently than usual, you two are quite close, right?”
“….”
“….Am I too obvious?”
I didn’t bother to answer Orpheus’s question as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head; I simply sipped my drink.
He patted my shoulder and sighed as he continued.
“Well, think about it. I noticed that Eleanor seems to like you quite a bit, and I, too, would warmly welcome you.”
“….”
“Isn’t twenty-eight an age old enough to be married and have children?”
I slowly responded after putting down my mug.
“I have a fiancée.”
“What?!”
Orpheus, appearing as though he never expected such a revelation, stared at me with disbelief.
“Hmmm, I almost crossed the line. I apologize for that.”
Orpheus, still shaken, took back his words.
Well, it’s not like I broke off my engagement with Erica just yet; it’s to help her end her relationship with Gideon.
‘It turns out I also have a use for this.’
My engagement relationship with her served as a good way to refuse other people’s useless meddling.
‘However, this excuse probably will come to an end once I return to the academy.’
Certainly, Erica would have regained enough of her original independence to initiate the engagement annulment letter by now.
After that happens, I wouldn’t be able to use the shield called ‘fiancée,’ but I had plans to make the most of it while I still could.
“I didn’t know you had a woman you were courting.”
“It is a marriage agreement between families.”
“Of course, that is normally the case, I guess.”
Although I expected that reaction, somehow, it bothered me.
In the distance, a maid was seen running towards us. It seemed like she had come to find King Orpheus.
“Oh no! I’ve been caught. I’ll be going now.”
“Have a restful night, Your Majesty.”
“Sure, don’t drink too much. You’re the only dark mage approved by the Kingdom now, so take care of yourself.”
King Orpheus patted my shoulder, and as he walked away, I could see that his steps were filled with strength.
Through this incident, he neither suffered a mental breakdown nor had his body taken by the Evil Ghost.
This time, he clearly exuded an aura of maturity. Witnessing that, I concealed the smile forming on my lips behind my mug.
“Deus! Come here and eat with us!”
Darius waved while lifting a plate of cooked meat in the air, calling out to me.
Deia also gave a slight hand gesture when she glanced at me, so I slowly got up and approached them.
“Eat some snacks while you drink. Don’t get drunk and collapse like you usually would back in the mansion.”
There were quite a few stories about how the previous Deus would fall into a stupor, wandering around the mansion after getting drunk.
However, no matter how much I drank, it seemed like my tolerance to alcohol was so high that not even a hint of intoxication showed itself.
“Ah, your hand.”
Deia handed me the meat, hesitating for a moment when she saw my left hand.
Then, she slowly offered the piece of meat towards my mouth.
“Since I caused your injury, I’ll take responsibility.”
“….I do not have to eat right now.”
I didn’t really feel like eating anything. It was a clear night, so I just wanted to savor my drink peacefully.
“Are you going to embarrass me?”
Irritated, Deia shot me a threatening look. I sighed and reluctantly ate the meat she fed me.
“Oh! Ooohhh!”
Watching us from the side, Darius stared with a touched expression.
Despite our expressions simultaneously turning sour, he didn’t mind and extended his mug toward us.
“Here! The closeness between us, the three siblings, signifies the strength of the Verdi Household! Let’s raise our mugs!”
“Geez, you’re not even an old man.”
Deia looked at Darius while making an expression.
Clink.
I extended my hand and clinked his mug.
“Oh! Ooooh!”
Touched by this, Darius almost choked up, and both Darius and I turned our gaze towards the youngest.
“Did you just betray me?! Oh, come on, seriously?”
But Deia eventually caved in and thrust her mug forward.
The three of us clashed our mugs against the backdrop of the campfire’s flames, producing a lively echo.
Watching this scene reminded me of the Oath of the Peach Garden scene in Three Kingdoms1a fictional event in the 14th century Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. This event is set at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty around the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the 180s A.D. Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took an oath of fraternity in a ceremony in the Peach Garden (believed to be in present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei), and became sworn brothers from then on. Their goal in taking the oath was to protect the Han Empire from the Yellow Turban rebels. The oath bound the three men, who would later play important roles in the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. It is also often alluded to as a symbol of fraternal loyalty.. So, I slowly withdrew my mug.
“How touching! I never thought we would have something like family affection!”
Darius joyfully joined between Deia and me, putting arms around our shoulders.
Suddenly, I shifted my body to the side due to the bullet wound on my left shoulder Deia exploded with anger.
“Are you drunk?! Be careful! Do you think he’s like you?! You know you should be careful!”
“S-sorry.”
Darius promptly apologized, appearing like a dog with its tail between its legs. But looking at it objectively, Darius’s injuries were more severe.
“Huft, are you okay?”
Deia and Darius turned their attention to me. Glancing at my left shoulder, I casually spoke to Deia, who was worried about me.
“Just be more gentle next time.”
“….Hm?”
“Huh?”
They spoke at the same time, turned to each other, and began to ramble with nervous expressions.
“I-is it possible to shoot a gun gently? Ah, well, since it’s a gun infused with mana, so if I control that…”
“Is that really possible? If its power is determined by the user’s skill, it seems to be quite a sophisticated item.”
Watching them taking it quite seriously, I felt a bit awkward and blurted out.
“I was joking.”
They both remained completely still.
Then, simultaneously looking at me, they burst into laughter three seconds later.
“I-it’s a jokeeeeee?! You, Deus? You made a jokeeee?!”
“Wait, where did you learn such a thing?! Well, it makes sense! For a guy who lived drinking and hanging with women every day…!”
The commotion spread in a flash.
“The Professor just made a joke? R-really? What did he say?!”
“That Master Bastard who had been totally ignoring my words, cracked a joke? Come on, let me hear! What did he say?!”
[It turns out you also have a cute side, Apprentice?]
Seeing the people and a ghost flocking over me…
“Sigh.”
I felt irritation flood over me like a tide.
