Chapter 43: Chapter 25.1: Lakeside

Lakeside

It was evening.

At the bar of the Golden Goose, guests milled around chatting, drinking, and laughing.

Amid this scene was a young man sitting alone at the counter with an overcast mood.

That would be Kei.

In front of him lay a veritable feast by his old world’s standards. The supper spread included fresh-caught lake fish meunière, summer vegetable soup, soft bread with lingonberry jam, and an accompaniment of assorted fruits. Despite the mouth-watering display, Kei had no appetite and was busying himself monotonously stirring his soup with a spoon.

Needless to say, the cause was Aileen.

After he had lost sight of Aileen, Kei had rushed all around the city looking for her to no avail. However, when he returned to the inn thinking that it was impossible, it turned out that she had come back before him.

There was an indescribable feeling of despair when the landlady with the polite smile had said “your companion is already back.”

Nervously, he had knocked on her door but got no answer in reply. Even so, he kept on calling for her. For his efforts, Aileen did appear for a moment, only to say “I’m sleepy!” before slamming the door shut.

After that, in spite of both knocking and calling, the woman was utterly unresponsive.

( …I’m completely hated… )

“Uwaaaa,” Kei exclaimed as he cradled his head. When Aileen had opened the door, he had gotten a glimpse of her expression, which wasn’t happy at all to say the least. Kei downed his ale from its wooden mug, the liquid flowing down his throat helping him escape reality. The drink was bitter as opposed to tasty, but Kei felt it suited his mood well.

( …What should I do… )

Stirring the soup with stagnant eyes while thinking, no good idea manifested itself for Kei. He wondered if he was always so wimpy in this kind of situation. As he thought this, he gulped down some more ale as if that would return an answer. But the additional alcohol only stagnated his thought processes, leading to more consumed alcohol in a vicious cycle of drunkenness.

“ …Is it not to your taste?”

The landlady spoke from behind the counter with a worried face. She seemed concerned about the progress, or lack thereof, regarding Kei’s food.

“No… it’s not that… I’m just thinking, that’s all.”

“Is that so? Shall I pour you some more ale in the meantime?”

“Ah… please.”

More of the golden liquid refilled the empty mug from the pitcher in the landlady’s hand. Taking a small sip, Kei resumed his meal.

In this peaceful environment, one can eat warm and delicious food. Not a simulated substitute, but something that can be tasted with one’s own tongue. For the first time, Kei realized that he should be grateful for such a situation.

However…

(Why does the food feel so bland when I’m eating alone?)

Rather, wasn’t this just nutritional intake as opposed to a meal? When one eats alone in silence, the process of stuffing food in one’s mouth, chewing it, and then swallowing it, that point becomes evident.

“Haaa… ”

After letting out one more sigh, Kei stuffed the final piece of jellied bread into his mouth, concluding his dinner. However, there was something else Kei had been mulling over from the beginning.

“Mrs. Landlady.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have something like a sandwich that can be saved for later?”

“We do in fact have that. Is it for a midnight snack?”

“Well, something like that.”

Kei paid an extra fee to have the sandwich made with bacon and leafy greens before asking to borrow a piece of paper and a feather pen to write down a couple words with. Then, going upstairs with a plate and note in either hand, he stood nervously in front of Aileen’s room. (ED Joke: It’s a peace offering, but don’t fall for the food!)

“ …Aileen?”

Knock knock. Kei lightly rapped on the door.

“ … ”

There was no reply.

“I’m… sorry, for what happened during the day… it was my bad. I’m leaving a sandwich in front of the door. Eat it when you’re hungry.”

“ … ”

As expected, there was no response. Kei sighed, wondering if she was actually asleep, and slipped a note through the door reiterating what he had just said in writing.

And thus, he returned to his room.

The room was small and cluttered with luggage.

This inn didn’t seem to have a built-in lamp within its single rooms. As such, there was no light source other than the glow of the bonfire coming in through the window, but that was enough for Kei’s enhanced vision.

Kei sat down one the bed with a thud, removing his belt, sword sheath, and bow case before taking off his jacket to relax. The thread of tension seemed to unwind throughout his body. After all, one cannot truly relax unless one is in an enclosed space that’s guaranteed to be safe.

Absentmindedly, Kei gazed at the wall which consisted solely of boarded planks.

“How… spacious.”

He muttered.

Despite being in the single room he had so desired a few hours ago, he didn’t feel like doing it anymore. In that case, wasn’t it meaningless to get a private room?

(No… wouldn’t it be even more awkward if the rooms were shared?)

But in that scenario, wouldn’t he be able to glean some clues about the situation?

(There’s probably no use thinking about it… )

At any point, only the current situation mattered.

There’s no use thinking, so don’t think: rock-solid logic right there.

“Haaa… ”

As Kei threw himself on the bed, he let out a sigh: an action which he didn’t know how many times he had repeated already. Slumping, Kei let the gentle lull of sleep gradually take over him.

†††

The next day.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Kei was asleep until noon.

“Ahh… ouch, ouch, ouch.”

Sitting up on the bed, he cradled his forehead and groaned. His head ached as his vision was shaky. It seemed that he had a little too much to drink last night.

Seeing this, Kei got up and dressed himself to get a drink of water.

Looking down the corridor to the room next door, he saw that the sandwich he had left yesterday was gone. However, it was impossible to determine whether Aileen had eaten it, or if it was taken away by another guest or an employee of the inn.

( …I didn’t think of the possibility that someone else would take it.)

It really seemed that alcohol had weakened Kei’s thinking capacity last night. If by chance, Aileen had read the note, only to open the door to an empty hallway… If that happened, then Kei didn’t even have the right to look at her anymore. Alone in the corridor, Kei thought about this with a grim expression.

For a while, he just stared at the door, wondering if he should call Aileen.

( …She might’ve gotten up to go somewhere already.)

Deciding he should wash his face first since he had just gotten up too, Kei slouched down the stairs.

Downstairs, he washed his face using water from a pail in the middle of the courtyard. Like yesterday, he had forgotten his towel again, so Kei had no choice but to wipe off the water with toilet paper from the bathroom.

Toilet paper. Of course, these were not made of actual paper, but instead, of the dried leaf of the populus tree. Although it was inferior to actual tissues or toilet paper, its texture wasn’t bad, making it useful for a variety of applications. Kei, too, was indebted to this plant since coming to this world as, without it, this world’s bathroom situation would’ve been a lot more filthy. It would be quite difficult for modern people to live without toilet paper after all.

(This really helped in bearing with Demondal… )

Kei reckoned as he looked at the palm-sized, hexagonal leaf in his hand.

Even in the game, populus leaves were a familiar sight to players. They were essentially ubiquitous and easily obtained, but as their demand was high, it was easy to sell them to NPCs.

Of course, a leaf is just a leaf, but while selling them didn’t give the player much money, populus leaves played a role or two in building a trusting relationship with NPCs in order for them to introduce more advanced tasks.

In fact, most players’ first quest was the humble task of collecting toilet paper. From the most loathsome player killer to the leader of the strongest mercenary corp: nearly all the top players once gathered populus leaves in their nearly-naked starting gear.

(How nostalgic… )

Looking at the leaves in his hand, Kei narrowed his eyes in remembrance of his days as a beginner.

The memories of working in the forest to collect the leaves, and he was unlucky enough to encounter a pack of wolves. Even with his collection knife, he was eaten without being able to do a thing.

(Though, that won’t be a laughing matter if that happened in reality.)

With that thought, Kei’s face suddenly turned serious again.

In the game, NPC children would also collect the leaves for some pocket money, but given that they were doing this in the wilderness…

With such a thought weighing on him, Kei returned from the courtyard to the inn. But, just as he was entering the back door, he stopped when he heard someone call out “hey Alexei!” (ED Note: Please, Mr. Russian knockoff. Could you just eat a poisonous potato and die already?)

“Oh, what’s up guys? Coming all the way here.”

A husky voice came from the direction of the bar. Instinctively, Kei hid himself behind the stairs in the bar’s blind spot, and discreetly listened in.

“Well, we were thinking of going to the shrine in the lake with everyone after this. So, I figured why not invite you too while we’re at it?”

Perhaps that voice belonged to a young man who was part of the caravan. One could hear the presence of several others as well. It was immediately apparent that Alexei was on good terms with the other young apprentices.

“Ah, the one with water spirit? No, I’m good. I think I’ll pass on this one.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

At this, the apprentice abruptly lowered his voice to a whisper.

“ …So, it’s about the princess, isn’t it?”

“Yup, that’s right!”

Alexei’s voice with its usual faint laughter floated around in Kei’s head.

“Actually, I’m thinking of going to the temple. The weather is good today: the perfect conditions for a date, no?”

Alexei’s confident words aroused an admiring clamor from the apprentices.

“But, is that ok? That Kei guy—”

“Well, I don’t really care.”

To another young man’s concerned inquiry, Alexei simply laughed it off with a snicker.

“The person himself had said ‘she’s not my woman.’ If that’s the case, what reason do I have to hold back?”

“Really? If that’s how it is, it should be fine… ”

“In that case, Alexei, have you already made an arrangement with the princess?”

“Nope, I haven’t.”

Kakon. Someone banged their beer mug on the table.

“I’ve been waiting here since the morning, but the princess seems to fast asleep… But no matter how long it takes, I won’t give up.”

“Since the morning… you’ve been waiting for four hours already?”

“I was here at the six o’clock bell, so that’d make five hours… I don’t think I can keep drinking anymore.”

“O-oh… ”

The apprentices’ voices were colored with their heartfelt sympathy.

“I’m tired of waiting… tired, I tell you. You know what? Here, sit down. If you’re bored, I’ll buy you a mug.”

“Really? If that’s the case, then I won’t hold back!”

Alexei’s offer was followed by a series of rattling and scraping sounds coming from chairs being pulled.

“Alrighty! Break out the barrels!”

“I’ll have ale for the time being.”

“Wine for me.”

“I’m going straight for the distilled spirits~”

“Oi, oi! That’s expensive!”

Just before noon, the formerly quiet bar suddenly became rowdy again.

Editor’s Note:

Vermillion is back like never before! I’m definitely abusing that phrase right there, but it’s fine. I’m posting this a bit past twelve where I live, and I’ve been pretty sleep-deprived recently, so to heck with it all.

In seriousness, this chapter was delayed due to technical difficulties. Sorry about that. I’ll have my secretary give you a cola for the inconvenience. Just click the button.

Clickbait has never been so straightforward.