Cursed Villainess’ Obsession

“Karp, I owe you one for such a short time.”

“Yeah, just ask me again when you need a carriage.”

After a week of riding in a carriage, we finally arrived in the city of D’Amon.

This city guards one of the borders of the Kingdom of Lilias, and we need to cross this border to reach our goal, the Tower of Tarros.

“Ah… Finally, I can sleep in a bed instead of camping…”

“You did well. Let’s rest at the inn today and check for carriages tomorrow.”

The party was exhausted after a week of sleeping outside.

For an average adventurer, this might not be tough, but they had been students at the academy the whole time.

Using carriages helped, but it must have been tiring.

Especially, Emily looked the happiest as she booked the lodging.

“Wow! It’s a bed!”

“Emily, I know it’s great, but that seems a bit uncultured.”

“So what! We’re adventurers right now!”

We booked two rooms that were vacant next to each other, and we could hear Mary and Emily chatting from the next room.

Isn’t the soundproofing terrible?

Creek.

Just then, our room door opened, and a peek of red hair swayed into view.

“Um, Ken.”

“Huh? Is something wrong?”

Raphne looked hesitant and seemed to be struggling to say something. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.

“I’m feeling uneasy… Can I share a room with you, Ken?”

“Is that okay?”

“Whyyyy~!”

Raphne pouted like a sulking child. Just then, a problem-solver appeared from the adjacent room.

“I knew it! You can’t just waltz over to the next room like that!”

“Hyah! Emily always picks on me!”

“That’s because you’re always causing trouble!”

Raphne was caught by the collar, and I shouted like a kidnapped heroine, “Ken!”

She could probably win if she put up a fight, but judging by how smoothly she was getting dragged away, she must have realized she was in the wrong.

I guess that’s why she hesitated.

What can I say? This isn’t the academy’s tower, so just wanting to share a room with Ken doesn’t mean she can.

“I don’t mind sharing a room.”

“Um, if Ken wants, then I’m okay too.”

“Hey, you two should be a bit more considerate. We’re girls.”

Adrian and Siegfried looked completely unconcerned, expressions saying they really didn’t care at all.

Not that I’d expect them to, but thankfully, they weren’t a nuisance.

We unpacked and rested for a bit before joining in the inn’s restaurant as the night fell.

“Wow! Cheers!”

“Emily seems really excited.”

“Well, I’ve always dreamed of something like this!”

Emily enthusiastically lifted a mug filled with honey wine and smiled at my question.

Camping looked hard, but, on the other hand, Emily seemed the happiest.

For a commoner like her, the academy might have felt a bit stifling.

Maybe she was feeling a sense of liberation now.

“…But are we allowed to drink?”

“Huh? Is there a problem?”

“Uh?”

Raphne tilted her head at my mumbling.

The others didn’t seem to think it was odd either.

Now that I think of it, when we ordered food, the waiter didn’t make a fuss about serving honey wine.

Is there no age restriction for drinking in this world?

Of course, I used to drink pretty well before possessing Ken’s body, but this was my first time drinking as Ken might I add.

I wonder how well this body handles alcohol…

“Cheers!”

As excited Emily clanked her mug with everyone’s, Adrian and Siegfried had absolutely no issues drinking like they looked.

“Wow, this is good.”

“Raphne, is this your first sip?”

“Yeah, it’s my first time.”

“Uugh, I find it a bit bitter.”

Mary, just like Raphne, seemed to be trying alcohol for the first time, sticking her tongue out at the unique bitterness of alcohol.

“Seriously, what are you doing? Ken, you need to drink too.”

“Uh…”

Pushed by Emily, I carefully brought the mug to my mouth.

I felt the bitter taste of alcohol mixed with honey and sweetness, not too bad actually.

And then…

[System: The effect of Mental Enhancement Lv2 reduces the trait ‘Drunkenness.’]

With the message from the status screen floating in front of me, I felt my mind clearing up.

To be exact, it felt like the usual drunk sensation, but oddly, my mind felt completely fine.

Well, looks like I won’t make any mistakes tonight.

Thanks to the skill I learned from Emily.

So, we enjoyed a pleasant meal to ease the exhaustion from a week of camping.

It felt a bit strange seeing Siegfried and Adrian together, but after traveling together, everyone quickly became friends.

After a while, though.

“Uuh, Ken’s arm has this weird soft yet firm feel to it.”

Mary, her face reddening from the alcohol, was fiddling with my arm.

“Hehe, I kinda want to keep touching it.”

Looking at her state, it seemed Mary didn’t handle alcohol well.

“Maybe it’s from working out hard?”

“Well, that’s true, but I’m not sure if that’s why.”

“Hmph, Mary doesn’t know how slim Ken’s gotten? She’d be shocked if she saw.”

Emily said with a smirk, as she leaned into Mary, feeling a bit smug.

In response, Mary with flushed cheeks blankly replied.

“Sorry, but I saw him not long ago.”

“What? Really?”

“Ah, I’ve seen that too. He really looked strong.”

“Did you see it, Siegfried?!”

She looked completely shocked.

“Uuhh, I thought I was the only one who knew about it.”

“When I first saw him, I was more surprised he was alive than how he looked. I feel it’s been rewarding to train him. I’m eager to see how he’ll look when he gets completely into it.”

“Ohh, that’s quite intriguing.”

Adrian seemed interested since he hadn’t seen that side of Ken either.

Siegfried too seemed a bit tipsy from the alcohol—it felt like he was smiling more than usual.

Then, suddenly, Raphne jumped up from her spot.

Bang!

“Ah! Now I see! Ken’s weight loss was because of you!”

Raphne, her face red from the alcohol, pointed at Siegfried while hiccupping.

“It’s because of you that Ken is slowly disappearing in the world!”

“Well, I did train him, but he was the one who came to me first. I’m just helping him train.”

Even tipsy, Siegfried didn’t falter and smoothly passed the baton back to me amidst Raphne’s sudden outburst.

Then, with a shocked expression, Raphne immediately clung to me.

“Whaaaat? Why?! Wuuuh, if you do that, Ken will disappear!”

“No, losing weight doesn’t mean disappearing, Raphne.”

“Wahhh! I don’t want Ken to disappear!”

In the end, Raphne burst into tears and clung to me.

This is a mess.

Suddenly, I resented my mental enhancement skill.

It’s exhausting not being able to fully enjoy this drinking fest when I’m the only one clear-headed.

Raphne was crying on one side, while Mary was on the other, holding onto my arm.

“Normally, the more flowers there are, the harder they are to manage.”

“Stop enjoying yourself and help me out here!”

“I don’t have a hobby of touching other girls. If you really care, take her to her room yourself.”

Seemingly unconcerned, Adrian tilted his drink.

Hmm, seems like he has no intention of helping me at all.

Guess I have to deal with it.

“Hehe, Ken smells nice. Sniffle, ahh, sniffle ahh.”

“Ugh, Ken! Don’t disappear!”

This is so troublesome.

“Ken! I’ll help too!”

“Oh, are you okay? Can you walk?”

“I can manage just fine!”

Emily, taking one side of Raphne away from me, helped support her.

Though her tongue was tied and face reddened, I appreciated her stepping up.

“Ahhh! Emily! Ken is going to disappear!!”

“He’s not disappearing, so get a grip!”

So ended our first drinking party.

—

The next day, we headed to a nearby merchant to arrange for the carriage as planned.

“…What? You really need that much?”

“Yeah, the lord of this area raised the toll. If you’re leaving for the first time, you’ll need that much.”

But we faced an unexpected obstacle.

That’s weird. They definitely didn’t charge this much during the game.

Is there some reason behind this?

I glanced at Adrian, who seemed to have a good idea of what was going on.

He was smiling, looking more or less like he felt sorry for the situation.

“What the heck is going on?”

“It seems that the high officials in the kingdom don’t want her to leave the country.”

After stepping aside for a moment to inquire, Adrian readily explained.

“Getting permission to leave the academy was a hassle. They can’t outright refuse, but this is their way of blocking us.”

“Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“Do you even know who you’re asking?”

He smiled, but his expression quickly sharpened.

He hadn’t revealed his identity as the first heir to the kingdom to anyone.

For his safety and to manage Raphne, I could understand.

That’s why I held back from mentioning it as well, but it seemed Adrian wanted to test if I was aware.

So, I simply met his gaze without replying.

After a deep sigh, Adrian continued.

“This lord is someone conservative. If he raised the tolls, then he must have come up with valid reasons to present to the kingdom. There’s nothing I can do.”

So, that meant we had no choice but to pay the toll and pass through.

But suddenly acquiring such a large sum of money isn’t something we could easily do.

After speaking with Adrian, I approached the rest of the party and explained the situation.

“…So, we need to earn money suddenly.”

I crossed my arms and started thinking, tapping my foot impatiently.

Should we accept a monster subjugation commission?

But it’s hard to make enough money quickly with just subjugation.

It’s usually through discovering treasures in unclaimed dungeons that adventurers score big.

There aren’t even any promising dungeons around here…

“Hey, does anyone have any ideas…?”

As I was racking my brain alone, I looked up for the opinions of the others.

Everyone was staring at me blankly.

Then Emily chimed in.

“We can just earn some money.”

Following her lead, Mary and Raphne also chimed in.

“Seems like Emily’s thinking the same thing?”

“I think it’ll be fun.”

What’s going on? They all seem to know something I don’t.

“Let’s hurry! Ken!”

Then Raphne took my hand, dragging me along.

“No, wait, let me explain—!”

And a little later.

“Alright! This opportunity doesn’t come every day—! Oh, Mary! Show the waiting customers in!”

“You just need to wait over there. Oh, yes, the master craftsman’s weapons are on special sale this time!”

“What? Don’t need them? Who are you to say Ken’s weapon isn’t needed? You want to die?”

“R-Raphne! You can’t grab the customer like that!”

We found ourselves running a street stall.

---