Chapter 332 - 332. A Hangover Morning and Isaac's Whereabouts
I don't remember how much I drank after that.
When I came to, I had sunk into the sofa and fallen asleep. When I tried to sit up, my head swayed dizzily, and there was a throbbing ache deep in my temples. Next to me, Fam was leaning against me, breathing softly in her sleep. She probably hadn't sobered up yet. I pushed her aside to get up. I felt an intense thirst, so I created water with water magic and gulped it down noisily. A sensation spread through my body as if the coolness was tightening the puffiness. At the same time, a sharp pain stabbed through my head, and I involuntarily stopped drinking.
The room looked the same as when we had first entered. However, white light was leaking from the door at the back.
When I looked at the table, two small glasses were placed there, and on this side, there was still liquor remaining. Just seeing it made nausea rise up. I averted my gaze, and there, the woman from last night was sunk into the opposite sofa, breathing in her sleep. The strap of her one-piece dress was about to slip off, and the white swell looked ready to spill out.
The men who had been standing like guards were nowhere to be seen.
I walked over to the woman and looked down at her. Despite living such a dissolute life, her suntanned cheeks were lustrous. There were no wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. My guess that she was the same age as Maira seemed correct. Faint traces of freckles could be seen on her cheeks. Did she also fight as a pirate?
More than that, what caught my attention now was her breast that was nearly visible. I reached out my hand and ran my fingers over her clothes. It was smaller than Mizuki's, but plenty big enough. As I was feeling pleased with the soft, fluffy sensation, my eyes met those of the woman, who had opened her eyes wide and was glaring at me.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
She looked up at me with a fixed stare, but I didn't pull my hand back.
"The strap was slipping, so I thought I'd fix it."
"There's no need to touch my breast."
The woman sat up with a sulky expression. She didn't particularly try to brush me off, but sighed theatrically. The aura of 'take your hand off' was wafting from her, but it was more that her breast, with its clinging softness, wouldn't let my hand go. As I was thinking such things and trying to continue rubbing, I met the eyes of Fam, who had gotten up without me noticing. And she was glaring at me with an even more displeased look than the woman.
"Master... what on earth are you doing...?"
"N-no, this is..."
I tried to ease the tension by squeezing the woman's breast again, but she easily brushed my hand away. Then the woman fixed the strap herself.
"So, whose whereabouts did you come to ask about?"
The woman reached for the glass on the table. Confirming it was empty, she clicked her tongue and pulled the bottle closer. But not a single drop came out of that either. This time, she reached for my glass and downed what was left.
Seeing that, Fam pressed her temple. She also had hangover symptoms. I took out a cup from my storage and poured water into it with water magic. Fam drank it in one gulp and then crouched down, clutching her head.
"You... you're Barbaros, right?"
The woman's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"You lost. I have no reason to answer your questions. Answer what I asked."
"I don't recall losing..."
"Oh... do you want to compete again?"
She narrowed her eyes and smirked. Fam tightened her lips and tried to stand up, so I hurriedly pressed her shoulder.
"Hey, are you planning to drink that again!"
"I don't remember losing either! If challenged, I will accept!"
"I get it, so could you be quiet for a bit!"
Things were getting complicated, and if she got drunk again, I'd have to carry her and search for Levant (East Wind) members. When I gave her a look, Fam puffed out her cheeks in obvious dissatisfaction, but then she lowered her eyes as if understanding. I stared at the woman again.
"Depending on whether you are a Transferee, what I can tell you changes."
The woman stroked her chin, made a show of thinking for a while, then gave a small nod.
"I am Barbaros."
I swallowed hard. In an instant, the languid, stagnant air dominated by the smell of perfume and alcohol vanished. She was the ringleader of the pirates who had attacked us while traveling on the merchant ship. I tried to read what emotions she had been treating me with, but her eyes were dark and submerged, and I couldn't fathom her reaction.
"Then I'll be blunt. I want you to hand over the mirror Isaac took."
"The mirror... for what?"
Barbaros crossed her legs. The hem of her dress turned up, nearly showing her underwear, but she carefully placed her folded hands on her knees to hide it.
"I'm chasing the Three Sacred Treasures. I need to collect them."
"Tell me the purpose."
She glared at me with a cold gaze.
"To break the yoke that limits Transferees who come to this world to only ten years of life. This isn't just for myself. It's to break the yoke for all those who have transferred to this world now."
After saying that, I observed her expression, but she didn't seem particularly surprised. That meant she had the same information.
"You're a Transferee summoned by the Goddess. What happened to your mission to defeat the Demon King?"
"That..." I glanced at Fam. "Honestly, I don't really care. But if the sparks fall on me, that's another story."
"I see."
She nodded, but her eyes remained fixed on me. I had no idea how my words were being received.
"The capital of the Demon Kingdom."
"Eh?"
"That is the answer to your question."
"Where in the royal capital is Isaac?"
"I don't need to answer that much."
"Isaac is your partner, right?"
"That's right."
Barbaros nodded.
"Why aren't you acting together?"
"I don't need to answer you."
She uncrossed her legs and stood up, taking her glass. Then she walked toward the shelf against the wall. She tilted the bottles lined up there, searching for one with liquor. She paused once and turned around to face us.
"What are you doing? Your business is done. Leave."
"No, there's still something I want to talk about..."
I tried to keep the conversation going, but I didn't know what to say to her. When I stood up, Fam also stood. She had already stopped paying attention to us and was gulping down the liquor she had poured.
"I'll give you one piece of advice."
She called out to our backs as we were about to leave.
"What?"
"Stop thinking about going to the monastery."
I turned around and waited for her words.
"You saw the ship with the Chancellor's flag enter yesterday, right? They plan to bring down all the monks on the rocky mountain."
"How?"
In response to my question, Barbaros shrugged.
"Are you participating too?"
"If you intend to aid the monastery, you should stop that idea. Other Transferees serving the Chancellor will join besides me. Your and your partner's strength alone won't make a difference."
After leaving Barbaros' hideout, I walked side by side with Fam toward the pub that had been robbed.
"Master..."
Fam started to speak, then fell silent, looking up at the sky with a furrowed brow. The sun hadn't reached its zenith yet. As yesterday, the flow of people on the street didn't cease. It was quite lively.
"Why aren't you stopping Barbaros-san?"
"Because I don't know which side is right..."
"Piracy is a bad thing!"
I could feel strong determination in Fam's eyes, and I narrowed my eyes and sighed.
"That's true, but..."
The road underfoot changed to a raft-made path. It wasn't shaky enough to make me stumble. However, when I stepped forward, a subtle sense of insecurity came through. Perplexed by the sensation, I searched for words to answer Fam. The truth was, I wanted to settle things peacefully if possible. I absolutely didn't want to get into trouble with other Transferees. I couldn't predict the other party's Special Skill abilities at all. Once a contest started, it would be up to luck. Barbaros didn't strongly bring up the sea battle incident. She probably also wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict. That's why she told us Isaac's location.
In the first place, why did I have to stick my neck into troublesome affairs one after another? Couldn't I just watch from a safe place? But there was no way I could say that to her, whose village had been attacked by bandits.
At that moment, Fam took my hand.
"Master, walking has cleared my headache and heartburn. And I'm quite hungry now."
Fam rubbed her stomach with her free hand. Now that she mentioned it, my headache had eased quite a bit.
"True... Shall we buy something from a stall?"
As I murmured that, I spotted the target pub. A blue-haired girl was standing in front of the shop, and when she spotted us, she pointed and walked straight over.
"Where were you! You were released without me knowing, and I've been looking for you forever!"
Mizuki puffed out her cheeks slightly.
"I'm the one who wants to be angry! Why didn't you help me right away!"
Instantly, her angry tone faded, and she started scratching her cheek.
"That's, uh... if I got caught too, things would get more complicated, and I thought you'd be okay, Mash."
"Honestly. Just remember, I'll make you suffer tonight."
"If that satisfies you, Mash, then I'm fine..."
Mizuki's cheeks reddened and she averted her gaze.
I looked around. Besides her, I couldn't see any other members of Levant (East Wind).
"So, where are the others?"
Mizuki's eyes wandered even more.
"Um, right after that, I asked the pub staff to talk to the guards to get you and Fam released, but they wouldn't listen at all. Then Maira said we should ask the monastery to do something about it, so everyone headed to the monastery, but Nefy couldn't get through..."
"Is it because Nefy is a demon?"
In response to my question, Mizuki nodded vaguely. I recalled Barbaros' words. The monastery was opposed to the Demon Kingdom. It might be anger toward the Demon Kingdom rather than discrimination against her race.
"So, for now, only Maira went to the monastery, and we decided to look for another way in the city. Then Mo said, 'I have an idea,' and wanted to split up."
"Hey. That guy can't do anything alone. He's the one we should never leave alone."
"I-I know, but he said he wanted to, so it can't be helped!"
Maybe there were people from Migul town or Elf connections on this island. But he hadn't mentioned anything like that beforehand. An indescribable unease grew.
"Well, it's not good, but so, where is Nefy?"
"The thing is... this pub also serves as an inn, so we stayed last night, but when morning came, she was gone..."
"Damn, everyone is scattered!"
"Exactly! Maira aside, everyone just does whatever they want!"
Mizuki put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow. I poked my finger between her eyebrows and twisted it back and forth.
"It's because you suddenly started chasing a thief!"
"But if someone is in trouble, you have to help them!"
As I started arguing, Fam tugged at the hem of my clothes.
"Master, we have to gather everyone. I'm also worried about when what Barbaros-san said will happen."
"That's right. The Chancellor just arrived yesterday, so things won't happen immediately... but anyway, we know where Maira is, so she can be last. Nefy will probably come back here too. For now, it's Mo. Let's find Mo."
I said that, but I had no idea what she had thought of or where she had gone. Still, it was a small town, and she had a conspicuous appearance. I convinced myself of that and suppressed the rising anxiety.
Thank you for reading.
To those who pressed the like button, bookmarked, or rated, you are my encouragement.