chapter 30
30 – Meat Party (2)
“This… This taste…?!”
“You brat! Did you add drugs or something?!”
Seeing them gobble it up in a rush pleased me. I picked up one skewer.
Even when I tasted it, it was delicious. It stimulated their senses. Adjusting the seasoning little by little while tasting it beforehand helped.
“I-Is this even tastier than what they sell in the city…?”
Tetis Libra hurriedly devoured the meat. Avakusa thrust the skewer firmly into the ground.
“Why is this not cooked inside?!”
“Just wait. Do you think it should only be burnt on the outside and remain raw inside?”
“Well, even so, it should still be fine, right?!”
“That brat who said he couldn’t eat it…”
I opened a bottle of liquor.
“After you, Lieutenant.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“After you finish eating, let me know.”
After filling the glass, I handed it to Avakusa.
“I just want to drink a whole bottle of liquor.”
“Just take it.”
“…Ha! Brat. I’ll make an exception and accept it!”
I filled the second glass to the brim. There wasn’t much alcohol left after filling the large glass.
After checking the contents inside, I turned it lightly and took a sip. Avakusa and Tetis Libra were shocked.
“Damn bastard! That’s alcohol!”
“Avakusa! Stop him! That’s a strong one!”
“Throw up! Throw up!”
What nonsense about throwing up.
My body warmed up. But I wasn’t drunk enough. I threw the empty bottle behind me.
“Tastes good.”
“…This monster. He drinks that strong alcohol without any hesitation?”
“Well, if you have a headache, let me know. Drakan. It’s not the type of alcohol you can just chug down…”
The atmosphere at the drinking party changed. Tetis Libra, who had been sipping his drink, sniffled.
“O-Our commander… must be happy meeting subordinates like you…”
His usual harsh voice was nowhere to be found. There was only a wavering, melted voice.
Avakusa laughed out loud. He, too, seemed to be out of his senses as he eagerly tore into the meat.
“Well, the commander isn’t that bad either! Damn bastard! Don’t you think so?”
“Heh… Thanks, Avakusa… But why do you keep attacking the commander?”
“Those damn squadron leaders are all idiots! hahahahaha! The commander, well, at least he has some basics, so we let it slide!”
Avakusa looked at Tetis Libra with a sinister gaze.
“If not listening is the problem… there’s a way to make them listen…”
“What…?”
“That fearsome chest… Shouldn’t we touch it a bit?”
Tetis Libra sniffled. He burst into tears.
“Get lost!!!!”
“Huh?! I thought you’d come at me!”
“No chance.”
I smirked and picked up another piece of meat. Tetis Libra kept talking endlessly.
“It’s about the commander. He’ll become an excellent squadron leader. Listen carefully, Drakan.”
“Yes.”
“It’s about the commander. General Vesmoph is so great. He’s an outstanding soldier. I admire him. Really!!”
“Damn bastard. He’s drunk.”
“I still have my eyes.”
After checking inside, I turned it lightly and took a sip. Avakusa and Tetis Libra were terrified.
“Damn bastard! That’s alcohol!”
“Avakusa! Stop him! That’s a strong one!”
“Throw up! Throw up!”
What nonsense about throwing up.
My body warmed up. But I wasn’t intoxicated enough. I tossed the empty bottle behind me.
“Tastes good.”
“…This monster. He drinks that strong alcohol without any hesitation?”
“Well, if you have a headache, let me know. Drakan. It’s not the type of alcohol you can just chug down…”
The atmosphere at the drinking party changed. Tetis Libra, who had been sipping his drink, sniffled.
“O-Our commander… must be happy meeting subordinates like you…”
His usual harsh voice was nowhere to be found. There was only a wavering, melted voice.
Avakusa burst into laughter. He, too, seemed to be out of his senses as he eagerly tore into the meat.
“Well, the commander isn’t that bad either! Damn bastard! Don’t you think so?”
“Heh… Thanks, Avakusa… But why do you keep attacking the commander?”
“Those damn squadron leaders are all idiots! hahahahaha! The commander, well, at least he has some basics, so we let it slide!”
Avakusa looked at Tetis Libra with a sinister gaze.
“If not listening is the problem… there’s a way to make them listen…”
“What…?”
“That fearsome chest… Shouldn’t we touch it a bit?”
Tetis Libra sniffled. He burst into tears.
“Get lost!!!!”
“Huh?! I thought you’d come at me!”
“No chance.”
I smirked and picked up another piece of meat. Tetis Libra kept talking endlessly.
“It’s about the commander. He’ll become an excellent squadron leader. Listen carefully, Drakan.”
“Yes.”
“It’s about the commander. General Vesmoph is so great. He’s an outstanding soldier. I admire him. Really!!”
“Damn bastard. He’s drunk.”
“I still have my eyes.”
“But I don’t want to stop! Take out all the dark history now!” Avakusa chuckled as he opened another bottle of alcohol.
“Here! Let’s drink! Squad leader! Drink it all! Gulp it down!”
“Alcohol, huh? Alcohol is good! You should drink too! Avakusa!”
“Great! Let’s gulp it down!”
It tasted really good.
I pushed the cup towards him. Avakusa asked with a smirk,
“Are you really okay?”
“Don’t I feed the squad leader while I don’t eat?”
“…You little bastard. If tomorrow’s hangover kills me…”
I drank the alcohol. I tore the meat.
Tetis Libra, who was playing around, put Avakusa in a headlock.
“Avakusaaa!! Listen to me! Jebaalar!! Stop crawling, you little bastard!”
“Ah! Ah! Who the hell?! How can she be so strong?! I’m listening! I’m listening!”
“A fantastic resistance! A splendid elf! Branch office…!”
“That’s right! That’s right! That’s right, you b*tch! I’ll tear your head off!”
Tetis Libra, who had been laughing and chatting for a while, sat down in a chair and dozed off.
Avakusa, in tatters, comforted him.
“Drinking with that bastard again. It’s on me.”
“Of course.”
“Do you want to die? You little bastard.”
There was almost no meat left. But a little bit of alcohol remained.
I picked up the remaining cup.
Avakusa smirked.
“Are you imitating the adults?”
“If you don’t like it, don’t say anything.”
“Ugh. Listen specially since it’s hyung.”
Clank.
I lightly drank the clashing alcohol. Avakusa exclaimed with a laugh.
“This f*cker. He brought something so strong. That squad leader kid. He clearly just brought it because it’s alcohol. Well, it’s just a lump of alcohol!”
“If you can drink, then it’s fine.”
“hehehehe. That’s true. Hey, you bastard. Don’t you have… any thoughts of becoming a mercenary?”
“What? Are you saying that again?”
“Yeah. It’s me who’s speaking. I’m thinking of creating a formidable mercenary group in the future. How about you join as my right-hand man? What do you think? You’re capable enough, at least to some extent.”
The scout proposal doesn’t sound bad at all.
“…I don’t know.”
“Do you even have anything you want to do? What are you planning to do if you leave here?”
“I’m still thinking.”
“Thinking?”
Abakusa tore off a piece of cold meat.
“Do you even have dreams?”
“Surviving is a dream.”
“Hey, idiot. Even though I’m dumb, I know that much. Survival cannot be a dream. If there’s something you want to achieve in life, that’s your dream.”
I was taken aback.
“Abakusa… uttering such words?!”
“This bastard!”
Abakusa smirked.
“Well, technically, it wasn’t me who said that. It was our boss.”
“……. “
“Hey, you bastard! Don’t give me that superior look. I want to kill you. Our boss is an amazing person, truly impressive. Probably even holds a high position up there in the sky.”
“Why did he leave?”
“She got raped. By six thugs.”
“What?”
“Tsk. Didn’t you hear? She got raped. It happened during my secret entry as well. I managed to arrive safely inside the festival area. I tried to find a job, but since I didn’t have identification, it didn’t work out. So, I went into physical labor for a while. Our boss also wanted to work, but she couldn’t. Our boss was quite torn.”
“……. “
“So, I worked alone. But then, when I returned home, there was a dead body there. More than six people were using sticks on that corpse. What the hell were these bastards doing, poking in that empty hole where our boss used to be?”
Abakusa spat out phlegm with a sound.
“It disgusted me, so I killed them all. Ended up getting caught and sentenced to seven years. But considering there were only six of them, it’s not a small number, right?”
“……. “
“Well, anyway, that’s the story. You bastard, why did you come here? Why did you secretly enter?”
“I came from Albyon.”
“I know that much. You little sh*t.”
“There was someone I loved.”
“… What a romantic little sh*t.”
“They died. And I drifted here. That’s it.”
“Tsk.”
Abakusa poured what was left in his glass into mine.
“You’re a little sh*t. This world really sucks, doesn’t it?”
“True words.”
“Since everything sucks, I’m going to be the biggest piece of sh*t out there. Just like we used to say, right? One day we’ll be famous! Let’s succeed so nobody can ignore us! That’s why I’m going to be a mercenary. I’m going to become a legend, a giant that can be seen from the sky! You, little sh*t, are just thinking about surviving, right? Then come with me.”
“…?”
“Find something you want to do by my side. You’ll be useful. I’ll treat you well.”
“What are you two talking about by yourselves?”
Tetis Libra jumped up. Abakusa yelled.
“Ah! Stop grabbing my hair!”
“I am a soldier of the Libra family! Do you even know what the Libra family is? Abakusa!”
“I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!”
“The Libra family is something! A strong family of soldiers! But our father was not great!”
Tetis Libra laughed wickedly.
“Despite being an officer, our father was caught running away. He dishonored himself. Then he took it out on his family, blaming them for his lack of ability. Every day, he called the resistance trash and made excuses. Truly a great soldier spirit, right?”
“Trashtalking soldier.”
“That’s right! Our father is the greatest trash! So I hated it! I wanted to prove that I was different from our father, so I went to military school!”
Tetis Libra pointed to herself.
“Abakusa, Drakan. Military school is trash. It’s truly a trash school. It values connections over individual abilities. I was bullied because of our father. But I persevered! I achieved the top marks! But… instead of going where I wanted, I was sent here. There were no connections! hahahaha!”
“Next time, if you drink with that woman, you’re a dog.”
“True that.”
“You! Little sh*t! What is it… It’s a metaphorical expression!”
“Obviously.”
“Both of you shut up and listen to me! But Vesmorf Liton is an excellent colonel! Isn’t he?”
“He’s the one who sold us out!”
“Figuratively speaking. He sold us out!”
“Got it.”
“Do not say such things! Avakusa! The commander certainly has a plan! Whether you like it or not! He is giving us difficult missions in order to transform us into true soldiers!”
Tetis Libra slumped down.
“Clearly that’s the case. There’s no doubt about it. The commander believed in us. He believed in me, Tetis Libra. I will definitely come back alive…”
“……”
“I… will not die… I will become a great resistance fighter… Commander Besmofp certainly has a plan. He’s different from my father. So… I must believe… Betrayal by the person I admire… is…”
Tetis Libra nodded off.
“Once is… enough…”
The sergeant reached out. Avakusa growled.
“There’s no one without a story. Go to hell! Isn’t it like gathering only the mentally ill! Bastard!”
“It’s harder to find something that’s not trash in a dumpster.”
I looked up at the moon.
“Hey. You little sh*t.”
“What?!”
“It’s about mercenary talk. Keep going.”
“…Oh. Interested?!”
“I have something to do outside. There’s a harvest I need to avenge.”
Farmer Previs.
I don’t know about the other harvesters, but I’ll kill that one.
“But… the process in between seems to be quite empty, I think.”
He sipped his drink.
“To make money, being a mercenary isn’t so bad.”
“Heh heh. Good thinking. Listen! I’ll tell you about my great plan!”
I listened to Avakusa’s plan and came to a conclusion.
That guy…
Can’t make a dirty plan.