Taking out two glasses and our snacks, I sat down facing Sieg-san at the table provided in our room in the inn. The clear, slightly yellowish fruit wine had a sweet scent that made me feel relaxed.
[Speaking of which, I donāt often see you drinking, Sieg-san?]
[I could only drink alcohol as strong as fruit wines, and I donāt even like alcohol that muchā¦ā¦ or so I decided]
[You decided?]
[Yes, my body had been a wreck here and there before it was healed, and the doctor had told me not to drink alcoholic beverages in the first place, so I donāt drink. And so, the alcohol we drank together back in Rigforeshia was the first alcohol Iāve drank for several years.]
[I seeā¦ā¦]
Come to think of it, Sieg-san herself had mentioned that Sieg-san had a rather tattered body until she recovered from eating the Fruit of the World Tree, and that she had been glossing it over by constantly using Body Strengthening Magic.
And about this matter, Sieg-san had been hiding it from Lilia-san and the others in order not to make them feel responsible, keeping it to herselfā¦ā¦
Certainly, if she had an injury as serious as that, it wouldnāt be strange if she got an alcohol ban from at least one doctor.
[However, after drinking for the first time in a long while, as expected, it was easy for me to get drunk. After that, I didnāt have a chance to drink, so I didnāt drinkā¦ā¦ this alcohol we would be drinking today would also be my first time in a long while.]
[Then, weād better keep the pace down then. Thereās also water, so we can drink slowlyā¦ā¦]
[ā¦ā¦Well, as far as today is concerned, I want things to go with the momentumā¦ā¦ so Iād rather get drunkā¦ā¦]
[Unnn?]
[Ahh, no, itās nothing!]
Just now, she said it rather softlyā¦ā¦ but she wanted to get drunk? With her personality, I thought Sieg-san would be the kind of person who wouldnāt want to be seen by others drunkā¦ā¦
In the first place, Sieg-san had been acting a bit strange here and there today. Rather than anxious, it felt like Sieg-san was feeling kinda restlessā¦ā¦ I thought that was because she was having a lot of fun at the interaction event, but there are some instances where that reasoning canāt explain.
In the first place, both of us have Teleportation Magic Tools, and even though we havenāt talked about this in advance, it was strange that she booked an inn and assumed we would be staying the night.
If it had been the usual Sieg-san, she would have consulted with me in advance if she planned to stay the night butā¦ā¦ such a thing didnāt happen this time.
On the contrary, there was also her current state, seemingly trying to force her way forward with the momentum, in a way that isnāt like herā¦ā¦
This is just my guess, but perhaps, for example, she had some goal in mind, but she had been hesitating and couldnāt bring it up until today. However, as she had a great opportunity and had already prepared herself, it seemed like she was determined to put it into action.
And then, there were also those few instancesā¦ā¦ That statement she made earlierā¦ā¦ Her eyes moving restlessly from time to time, and the complex emotions conveyed by my Sympathy Magicā¦ā¦ The answer I can draw out from thoseā¦ā¦ Errr, in other words, was she thinking about doing that?
[ā¦ā¦Sieg-san, your pace is a little too fast. Please drink some water for a moment.]
[Eh, errrā¦ā¦ Yes.]
[Also, ummmā¦ā¦ You donāt have to try to get drunk.]
[ā¦ā¦Eh? Errrā¦ā¦]
This is just a guess, but I donāt really think I was mistaken here. Itās just, as expected, Sieg-san flinching quite a bit, getting us a twin room, trying to get drunk on purpose, and her occasional mutters of trying to gather courage here and thereā¦ā¦
I could certainly pretend as if I didnāt know what was going on, but it would be quite shameless of me as a man to just wait for Sieg-san to lead in everything.
[Since we have a great opportunity, I want to have a drink while leisurely and happily talking with you.]
[Uuuu, errrā¦ā¦ Kaito-san, I- I was trying to get drunk on purposeā¦ā¦]
[Iām sorry, I heard what you were just mumbling earlierā¦ā¦]
[Auuuā¦ā¦ Errr, you see, about thisā¦ā¦]
[Sieg-san, why did you go to the trouble of getting us a twin roomā¦ā¦ Errr, why donāt we sleep like we did back in Rigforeshia?]
[!? ā¦ā¦Ah, y- yes.]
In the unlikely event that this really was just my misunderstanding, I would be so embarrassed that I would wanna die, so I tried to make a slightly roundabout suggestionā¦ā¦ but it seems like my prediction wasnāt wrong, as Sieg-san, her blush reaching to her ears, nodded.
When she gives me that kind of reaction, I also get strangely nervous butā¦ā¦ well, I could never get drunk, so I canāt really try escaping from these emotions with alcohol.
[F- For the time being, letās just relax and enjoy the alcohol!]
[Y- Y- Youāre right! Letās do that!]
Both of us flustered, we started drinkingā¦ā¦ but needless to say, it took us some time before we composed ourselves.