36 – 36. Drink Up

*Bang!*

“Puhahaaa!”

While Isaac and Rianna took turns showering,

Silberna was at the tavern in the fort, a place set aside for the soldiers, drinking beer.

“What is this? Why is it so good today?”

“Miss, you said you were tired.”

Anna, who was keeping her company, sighed, but ordered another round of beer nonetheless.

She knew Silberna’s heart, so even while worried, she wouldn’t outright forbid her alcohol.

“Hey, barkeep, did you put honey in this today?”

“How would we put such expensive things in beer, miss?”

“What? Why is it so good then?”

‘She’s already getting a little drunk.’

Silberna, slumped against the table, lets out a long sigh.

I’d decided to listen to her red-cheeked grumbles today, just this once.

‘It’s better this way, anyway.’

I knew she hadn’t let it go completely.

If it were an emotion that could fade so easily, she wouldn’t have suffered in the first place.

But, Rianna Hellmuth had come along.

It seemed like a good opportunity to cut off that feeling definitively.

“Father used to say, didn’t he? If life is bitter, alcohol is sweet? Maybe that’s why?”

“You kept muttering ‘sweet’ to say that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“……”

Silberna, without a word, raises her beer glass again.

But it was already empty, so she just smacked her lips wistfully and set it back down.

Just then, the beers Anna ordered arrived, and Silberna drank hers down like water.

“It’s alright, Miss.”

I patted her back, trying to console her.

“He wasn’t meant to be, anyway? It’s better this way, to be sure, than to suffer for nothing.”

“You’re making it sound so easy?!”

‘She’s drunk.’

Normally, she would have agreed out of pride.

“Anna, have *you* ever felt like this?! Have you?!”

“Why are you blaming me?! Besides, I’m practically a love expert, you know?”

Silberna’s mouth drops open, shocked by that reply.

“What?! You’ve been in a relationship? No, you’re always complaining about being busy cleaning up after me, but you’ve been doing all that behind my back?!”

“Even so, I obviously keep some privacy. And you’re the one who told me to, Miss.”

“I said have privacy, not go around secretly snogging and sucking!”

*Thump!*

Silberna slammed her beer glass on the table. The owner’s face hardened, but he didn’t want to get involved, so he just pretended not to see it.

“Snogging and sucking, you say. What vulgar language….”

“It’s *Anna* who’s vulgar!”

Is she crazy?

Had she not been a lady, I’d have backhanded her right then.

“Hoo, it’s not like I’ve ever been in love or anything.”

“…Huh?”

“Well, you know those novels? Love novels? I’m friendly with a merchant from the capital who gets them for me. I read a lot of them.”

Even as she said it, Anna looked embarrassed, scratching her cheek. Silvyrna snorted a laugh.

“What’s this about being an expert? You’re just like me.”

“Well, I don’t go mooning after married men, though.”

“……”

Silvyrna clamped her mouth shut.

Seeing her face beginning to crumple, Anna quickly patted her shoulder.

“Oh, come on! I’m sorry! Was that too harsh? Don’t be hurt! I… I just got worked up, too.”

“No…”

Apologizing for spitting out those sharp words, Silvyrna shook her head, instead, her face set with resolve.

“Tell me more.”

“Huh?”

“I need to properly grasp that I’ve done something wrong. Keep going.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yeah, serious.”

Though tipsy, the earnestness in Silvyrna’s voice made Anna pause, then open her mouth.

“Honestly.”

*Gulps*

“You two looked incredibly well matched.”

“Khuk!”

Silvyrna clutched at her chest.

It was true; it hurt more to be struck by the truth she already knew than by some empty fabrication.

“Like a handsome couple. Like the gods had paired you perfectly, or something?”

*Crunch*

“It’s no wonder you were the talk of the social circles for a time. A love that defied class. Especially given it’s Helmunt and a commoner, and both of you are so striking…”

Anna glanced sideways, checking on her reaction.

“You really shouldn’t intrude into something like that.”

Breath hisses through clenched teeth.

Silberna gulps down her beer like she’s shoving back words.

Seeing her like this, I could tell she’d truly gone off the deep end.

And seeing her like this, a different worry tugged at me.

“Hey, Anna.”

“Should we stop?”

“More than that.”

Silberna motions for me to lean in. I tilt my head, and she whispers, a small voice.

“…are you crazy?”

Hearing that, Anna stares at Silberna, shocked.

“The spear? You were going to melt down *that* spear and give it as a gift?”

Silberna’s spear, made of frost-silver.

A weapon forged from a mineral that could be seen as symbolic of Caldia itself.

And she was melting it down, to forge a gift for Helmund’s son-in-law?

“Well, no… I just thought Isaac is trying so hard, I should do something to help.”

Silberna fidgets with her fingers, muttering timidly.

Anna whacks herself in the forehead with a ‘thwack’, groaning in despair.

“You’ve already started, haven’t you?”

“Uh, maybe.”

“They won’t let you take it back now, would they?”

“Probably not.”

“Right, they wouldn’t. After all, you’re the one who stormed the Margrave’s place, making a ruckus. They won’t return it now, for sure.”

“Oh, what do I do? Maybe I can just give it to him naturally, right? It won’t look weird, will it?”

“Where is there anyone who *wouldn’t* think that weird? Caldia handing over a sword made from frost-silver to Helmund.”

“……”

“And the wife is right there! Ah! It’s practically a declaration of war!”

Silberna covers her face with her hands.

“I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not.”

“Anna….”

“A fool’s not enough. You’re even worse than that.”

“……”

Unable to hold back, Anna shot up and started pounding on Sylverna’s back.

“No matter how! No matter how thoughtless you are, how could you?! And to think you were all pure love! Getting all worked up thinking you’d shaken off the past makes me even madder!”

“Agh! Agh! Anna! I’m a noble!”

“Fire her! Just fire her! Gah, I should just quit too and be done with all this worry!”

After a while, Anna plopped back down, nodding as if resolved.

“There’s only one way now.”

“What is it?”

“Milady, you’ll have to use *that*.”

“……”

“There’s no other option. Take this opportunity to try something other than a spear.”

Sylverna let out a sigh, thinking it was nonsense. Anna didn’t really mean it either, and was about to let it go.

“But, you know,”

Suddenly, she remembered what Norteamus had said earlier today.

“He said he recognized Isaac’s sword, that the transcendent beings called it their swordsmanship, right?”

“……Yeah.”

“And he saw the greatsword for the first time. He also seems to know an awful lot about the transcendent beings.”

“And the sorcery, too?”

“Exactly.”

“So, starting tomorrow, I’ll be starting an investigation with Rianna. That’s what my father said.”

Of course, they called it an investigation.

But both of them would probably answer without hiding much.

Here, most things were at Uldiran’s discretion, so it wouldn’t become a serious issue.

Then.

*Thud!*

The door swung open and a twin-braided girl barged in.

“Owner! Make it a grand one!”

“Milady……”

Sharen Helment, utterly out of place, and her maid Kelsey’s arrival.

Inside the tavern, only Silverna and Anna were present, making them, of course, quite noticeable.

“Huh?”

So, quite naturally, Sharen moved to their table, joining them.

“Said you were going for a drink, and you’re actually drinking, huh?”

As Sharen casually sat down, Silverna let out a wry chuckle.

They had started out quite quarrelsome, but after traversing battlefields together, they were just comrades now.

“You drink too?”

She’d figured they’d prefer sweets, but when asked, Sharen shrugged, answering,

“I’m a boozehound!”

Then, after a few words with the owner, they began concocting a drink themselves.

“Kelsi is especially good at making drinks, you know. They’re great with snacks.”

“Oh.”

She was thinking of asking for a glass herself, but Kelsi already brought one over.

It was a reddish-orange color, unlike beer.

Sharen took a sip and beamed.

“Mmm! Delicious! Maybe because I’m worn out today? I feel like I’ll get drunk fast!”

“…Just a sip for me.”

“Nooo.”

Sharen pouted.

But despite their words, they offered the glass out a bit, gesturing for a small sip.

Silverna took a swallow.

‘…This is orange juice?’

Confused, she looked at Kelsi standing behind Sharen, who put a finger to their lips and smiled softly.

Orange juice with cookies.

It was a fitting combination, she supposed.

It did have a slight zing, but it certainly didn’t taste like alcohol.

“Tastes good, right? Kelsi makes it using orange concentrate, like wine!”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

Silverna quietly returned the glass.

Feeling like her head was clearing again, she sighed and asked,

“Why you come here?”

“Stress! Just, it’s so frustrating they think I’m stupid!”

Sharen’s voice, already loud, gets even higher as she gulps her juice.

Looks like she really thinks she’s getting drunk.

“What’s bothering you?”

She was an unexpected guest, but not a bad one.

It allowed me to smoothly move past Sylverna’s unrequited love.

“Isaac too, and my sister too, they say the same things over and over! Over and over! Over and over! They think I’m a fool!”

“Hmm?”

“No, why would I be the one to go around saying they’re getting divorced. It’s like, they keep telling me to be careful so much, it makes them the fools! It’s so annoying!”

“Oh, Miss!?”

At that moment, Kelsy, who had been standing behind Sharen, urgently cuts in.

Kelsy didn’t know about the divorce either, but anyone could tell the little troublemaker just said something she shouldn’t have.

“Huh? No, what-.”

Sharen’s movements, mid-sip, abruptly stop.

Her red eyes dart, taking in the two people sitting across from her.

Both of them are already staring at Sharen with their mouths agape.

Thump!

“I’m drunk! I’m drunk! I gotta go! See ya tomorrow?!”

Sharen, scrambling to her feet, dashes out in a panic.

“What do I do? Oh, my sister’s gonna kill me! What do I do?! What do I do, Kelsy?! Save meeee!”

Only Sharen’s worried voice, echoing, remained as she fled.

A silence settled over the table of the two people left behind in the bar.