It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

20. The Conversation at the Bar

How many drinks have we had? Have we exceeded 20 cups?

Sasha shows no signs of stopping, and it seems like we’ll be continuing for a while.

“By the way, did you realize that Daru is royalty?”

I asked Sasha, pouring her another drink. She pushed her glass towards me, so I poured myself another drink this time.

“Yeah…I realized recently that he’s a demon, but I knew he was royalty from the first time we met.”

“You realized it at a pretty early stage. Did something happen?”

“The king was being really attentive towards Daru, treating him like someone from the royal family. He even looked at Daru until the very end, with an expression like he didn’t want to let him go.

I thought he was being overprotective at first, but it was different.”

That stomach-pain friend of mine (the king) again.

I didn’t realize it at the time. I thought he was just unwell because of his poor complexion.

The king must have had a stomachache back then. How is he now?

“From the king’s perspective, he didn’t want Daru to leave. You’re really perceptive, Sasha.”

“It’s because I’m researching magic. I’m sensitive to subtle changes. That’s how I noticed Daru’s situation.

I was also observing the people around me at the time, wondering who to trust.”

“Trust?”

“There was only one dwarf there, and that was me. The rest were all different species. I had to follow the chief’s orders, but as a woman, I was uneasy.”

Her eyes, fixed on me, seemed weak for a moment. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the drink. I was taken aback by her unusual behavior.

But it’s still unsettling.

“There’s no anxiety, right?”

“Excuse me, but why do you think that?”

“Sasha left the castle and immediately started drinking. When Eclair caused a commotion, she didn’t even flinch. And on top of that, she drank without a care in the world? If you’re anxious, you should at least show it on your face.”

“Ah, Kyle’s also watching closely, isn’t he? You can’t talk about other people’s business.”

That time, our brave party was like a group of strangers.

We were gathered under the pretext of defeating the Demon King, but to be honest, we were a motley crew. Although we deepened our bonds later on, at that time, everyone was still sizing each other up.

“I wasn’t anxious, but I was looking for someone I could trust. As a mage, I’m defenseless when I’m chanting spells. I wanted a reliable frontline fighter.”

“Even without a frontline fighter, Sasha can still fight, right?”

“Ah, no way. In this situation, I need to say ‘I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.’ You can’t read women’s minds, can you?”

“Spare me the nonsense.”

I raised my hands in defeat, and Sasha laughed at my pose.

Seriously, spare me. Even now, I’m having problems with Darl and Tor-san.

Do I need to add Sasha to the mix at this timing? Am I going to get stabbed like Takeshi-san?

There’s a possibility that our party might collapse before we even defeat the Demon King. If that’s the Demon King’s plan, I’d like to know how they’re going to do it.

“I trust you now, both in battle and in daily life. If I leave it to Kyle, I can feel at ease.”

“If Sasha says that, I’d be happy.”

“Then, smile a bit more! Why do you look so complicated?”

“I’m happy that you trust me, but spare me the trouble of causing problems at every turn and calling me out to fix them.”

“Kyle can handle anything without a hitch, that’s my judgment. That’s also part of our trust relationship.”

Sasha laughed again. Maybe what I was looking for wasn’t a trustworthy partner, but someone to dump my problems on.

The number of times I’ve been called out to fix problems is countless. It’s like they want to see how many problems they can create before they’re satisfied.

What can I say? Problems can be created, but there’s no one besides me and Sasha who can solve them.

This party is a collection of problem children, a group of former convicts. It’s unprecedented, even for a brave party. The previous brave heroes must be worried sick.

“When Kyle caused a problem, I was shocked. When I heard he got caught by the authorities, I sobered up immediately.”

“Ah, that time…”

“Did you make a fool of your parents? Although, it was pretty reckless of you.”

“I should have stayed calm. Even so, I think I would have regretted it if I had endured it.”

“Ah, is that so?”

It’s an unpleasant memory I’d rather not recall.

It was when we were eating dinner at a nearby restaurant because the inn didn’t provide food. Noel was, as usual, holed up in the church, and Sasha was at the bar. If Sasha had been there, the outcome might have been different.

What can I say? It’s a problem that arises when alcohol is served at a restaurant. To make a long story short, a drunkard came over and started causing a scene.

They were making a ruckus, and as a member with a sensitive stomach, it was a pain. Objectively speaking, we’re a group of beauties, and Tor-san is considered quite handsome among beastmen, according to what an old beastman said before.

This time, the drunkard who came over was human, so I think Tor-san wasn’t interested. But who knows?

The drunkard was clearly a troublemaker. Since Darl and Eclair completely ignored him, it was obvious that he would be a pain to deal with. Tor-san was just drinking silently. If you ignore him, of course, a drunkard won’t find it fun. So, he came over to bother me.

He was saying something like, “I’m jealous of you drinking with those cute sisters, lend me one, you handsome guy.” It was extremely annoying.

I had been letting him get away with it, thinking it was no big deal, but he started to get more and more worked up, and by the end, he was almost shouting insults.

After I left on my journey, Noel had scolded me, and various things had happened, so I didn’t particularly care. But when he made fun of my family in this world and my foster parent, Lisette, I lost my temper and hit him.

I quickly calmed down, but the damage was done. Seeing the drunk’s swollen face, I voluntarily called the guards.

It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened in this town, and the guard’s expression was unforgettable when I said, “It’s me this time.” It was as if he was saying, “You’re doing it again, aren’t you?”

The drunk who got hit was completely sober now, and I had him taken away to the detention center.

It’s a dirty story, but as usual, we settled it with money. The drunk who had sobered up was actually a nice person. He was the type who got ruined by alcohol. We apologized to each other…

I also had Noel fix my face, and somehow managed to settle the matter without any harm.

“Don’t do it again, just you.”

I remember the guard saying that sternly.

“If Sasha were there, it would’ve been fine.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I could’ve handled it.”

“You’re used to dealing with drunks, aren’t you?”

“If I got frustrated, I’d just use magic to deal with it.”

“It’s better that you weren’t there.”

“No way, that’s rude.”

It was just a joke. I think she would’ve handled it well if she were there. Sasha poured me a drink, and I downed it in one gulp. I tried to pour her a drink, but her cup was empty.

“It’s empty.”

“Oh, really? Looks like you drank it all.”

“Yeah.”

I finally felt relieved. I got drunk somehow. This time, Sasha had drunk beforehand, so I didn’t get as drunk as last time.

I could finally talk to Dar at the inn.

“There’s still more, so don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

I thought a small magic circle appeared on the table, and a different type of wine bottle emerged from it. It was a ‘storage’ magic… Stupid, did I still have stock left?!

“I’ll keep you company until I’m satisfied, Kail.”

I couldn’t say anything to Sasha, who was laughing at me.

“No choice, I suppose. Just be moderate, okay?”

“How about that? It’s up to you, Kail.”

“Up to me?”

“I want to hear a fun story that makes the wine taste better. I want to hear about your past, Kail.”

Kail doesn’t usually talk about his past, does he?

I rarely talk about my past with my friends. I think I talked about it a little when I traveled with Tra-san. That was when I was in the mercenary group, and Lisette-san was still alive.

Noel was surprised, so maybe we met back then. Talking about the past…

“There’s no great reason. Most of my stories are boring, and I don’t think they’re suitable for a drinking session.”

“That’s okay. I want to hear it. I’m interested in the past of someone I like.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me about your past, Kail.”

Sasha’s gaze, with her elbow on the table, felt hotter than usual as she looked at me.

Is that how it is?

───Takeshi-san, how would you handle this?