"Damn it, no seats again today? Hey, Matt! Make some room for us!"
"If you want a seat, bring your own chair and desk. Why the hell are you bitching when I'm busy!"
"Watch how you talk to customers!"
"A beggar like you isn't my customer, so get the hell out!"
"This son of a—!"
Though what appeared to be a customer and a shop owner got into an argument, no one paid them any mind.
Because such things were everyday occurrences.
Rather, there were those who enjoyed watching such quarrels as entertainment.
Public House.
A public space, a sort of tavern and inn frequently patronized by commoners.
More people called it 'Pub' for short.
It was always crowded and noisy, and even deep into the night, drunks flocked in, making it a place where shouts and fights never ceased—but fortunately, unfortunate incidents were rare.
That was because—
"Hey, fighting is fine, just don't get the Guild involved. Then you're the only one who'll lose."
"……."
Most places like pubs were subordinate organizations of guilds.
Therefore, it was common sense for disputes to end quietly.
"Tch, I'll let it slide. Just give me that nasty-tasting meal."
"…This bastard only uses words that invite fists."
Also, while the taste couldn't be guaranteed, one could eat a hearty meal at a cheap price, and alcohol and coffee were inexpensive, so making an enemy of the pub owner was rather a loss.
Knowing this, a certain carpenter offered a casual tip as an apology, and people faced the abruptly ended entertainment and drank cheap lager that had lost its fizz, as if deflated.
Amidst such noise, two people shared drinks in the 3rd-floor lounge of the pub, where one could at least enjoy a cozy drink if they paid money.
Ah, to be precise—
"Where do you think you're drinking?"
"I, I'm an adult too, you know?"
"An adult, sure. But don't you know that Academy cadets are prohibited from drinking and dancing until graduation? To dare break school rules in front of an instructor—you've got some nerve."
"…You're being too harsh."
The man ordered drinks alone, while the inexperienced boy had to settle for gulping down orange juice with a tearful expression.
To have juice in front of alcohol—could anything be more miserable—
"—Huh? It's delicious?"
His tearful expression lasted only a moment; the orange juice was refreshing and cool.
In other words, it was far more delicious than expected.
Wasn't this a place that only sold cheap goods?
The man, Ihan, looked at him with a smirk at his surprised expression and spoke.
"The good thing about this pub is that if you pay, they give you quite decent stuff. The ingredients used in that orange juice are also brought in from the south, so it's rather distinctive. You can't drink alcohol, but it should be enough to make up for the disappointment."
"That's amazing."
"The Kingdom's food culture is quite good; that's why the alcohol is especially delicious too. Make sure to try it when you graduate."
"…Gulp."
"You rascal, so you're a drinker."
He seemed to know the taste of alcohol despite his appearance.
Well, the type who couldn't properly express their inner feelings sometimes relieved stress with alcohol, so it wasn't strange.
'Should I have let him have one glass?'
…Hmm, no. This seems right.
Both that guy and I have positions to consider.
It's best not to do anything that could be faulted from the start.
Ihan steadied his weakening mind and gulped down his ale.
Rich barley aroma and depth.
They used premium barley, and since it wasn't diluted, the taste was incomparably rich.
It was exactly 5 times more delicious than the beer he drank in his previous life.
'I don't know about other things, but the Kingdom really makes good beer.'
As expected, ale properly aged in oak barrels was excellent.
"As I thought, ale suits my taste better than lager."
It had less refreshment than lager, but with a subtle fruitiness rising, Ihan preferred ale.
Well, either way, both were worth the money.
"Aren't you being too extravagant? The 3rd-floor lounge must cost quite a bit, and the menu items must be expensive too…."
"It's worth that much. It's quiet, and you can eat delicious food too."
Unlike the 1st and 2nd floors, the 3rd floor was somewhat expensive, but it was worth the price.
If they had drunk on the 1st or 2nd floors, they would have ruined their palate with lukewarm, watered-down beer.
Better to pay a bit more and eat something good.
"Two things I don't skimp on are equipment and food. So eat heartily. I'm treating today."
"…I'll eat gratefully."
"Grateful? I'm buying it because I want to."
"Ha ha…."
Derek smiled awkwardly, feeling only awkwardness toward Ihan who treated him so well.
Knowing it was his way of expressing gratitude for making the potion, he couldn't refuse.
Honestly, he wanted to just go home and sleep right away, but—
'Still, it's not bad.'
The food, the atmosphere.
It wasn't bad at all.
In his busy life so far, he rarely had such leisure.
"Go ahead, order anything you want to eat. My wallet is thick today."
"T, then just a few more things."
"Yeah, yeah."
He could feel a pleased gaze.
A gaze that seemed to get full just from watching him eat.
Derek met the honey-dripping gaze and felt that he was quite grateful to him.
Was the potion that much to his liking?
'I, I did put care into it.'
As the person who prepared the potion, he was satisfied but also shy.
He just did his best to repay the debt in his heart, but—
"—Haha."
Flinch…!!
In that moment, Derek felt a chill and shuddered.
'Wh, what was that?'
The moment his eyes met his satisfied smile, an indescribable chill ran down his spine.
The thief skill, [Danger Detection], was sending frantic warning signals…!
It was like meeting the eyes of a beast hunting its prey, and Derek recalled feeling a similar sensation somewhere before.
'Wh, where did I feel this before?'
Treatment that didn't simply convey gratitude, but treatment where some scheme could be felt.
From his uneasy feelings, memories sleeping in a corner of his brain slowly surfaced.
'……Ah.'
And then he suddenly remembered.
When he had received this feeling.
None other than, around the time he was promoted to Private First Class in his past life…!
'When the Chief Warrant Officer took me to a rib restaurant asking if I wanted to try becoming a Sergeant…!!'
Drip…!
At some point, Derek was drenched in cold sweat.
…For some reason, he felt like he had walked into a tiger's den of his own accord.
'Th, thank goodness I can't drink alcohol.'
Derek was relieved that he couldn't drink alcohol.
There was a possibility of escaping from a situation where he might have been swallowed up in that tiger's den.
And the instructor who harbored schemes thinking he might be able to use him as a teaching assistant…—
'Timid brat, rolling his eyes around like he's figuring out how to escape…, tch, he caught on.'
…Anyway.
'This is why brats with good intuition are…'
The instructor was disappointed!
* * *
…Though there was a (questionable) ulterior motive, regardless, the food was delicious.
Gambas, high-quality octopus dishes, meat dishes like roast beef.
It was undeniably a high-quality and delicious meal and accompaniment that one wouldn't think came from a pub.
However, Ihan drank exactly two glasses of ale and didn't drink a third.
When asked why a man who looked like he could down an entire oak barrel only drank two glasses—
"Alcohol is only for light enjoyment. Besides, there's no one to drink with, so two glasses are enough."
"…Hmm."
A somewhat reasonable answer.
The boy, steeped in a culture of drinking alcohol by the crate, ended up making a strange expression.
…Seeing his healthier-than-expected demeanor, he once again thought this person might not be from the same hometown.
'He, he's not really a martial artist, right?'
He even had the wild thought that it would be too much of a hybrid, and Derek swallowed quietly.
"Why are you eating so half-heartedly? Eat up, eat up."
"…Ah, yes."
Seeing him meddle and recommend food like this, he seemed like he might be from the same hometown…
'…No, that's also a wild thought.'
Derek admitted he was being overly sensitive to all of his actions right now.
A person who might be meeting for the first time…, someone who might be in a similar 'position'.
Thus, in his excitement, he tried to assign meaning even to trivial actions.
This was a disease.
A disease named [Excessiveness].
'Let's not assign meaning to it for now.'
Even if he were from the same hometown, their positions wouldn't change right now.
If he blatantly showed he was from the same hometown and revealed his inner thoughts first, that would be one thing—but that wasn't the case, was it?
…And he didn't have the courage to reveal his inner thoughts first.
At times like this, he really hated his personality.
'Why am I so frustrating?'
Derek made a tearful expression.
"…You're doing well playing by yourself."
"!?!!"
"Worrying, then furrowing your brow, then suddenly crying…. If anyone saw you, they'd suspect schizophrenia."
"N, no, it's not like that!"
"It is like that. Looking at your state right now, it's exactly early-stage schizophrenia. If it's dangerous, let me know. Your instructor will smack the back of your head hard."
"…If you do that, wouldn't my head explode and kill me instead…?"
"I'm confident in controlling my strength. I'll fix your head right up."
"……Even if I get schizophrenia, I'll just go to the temple."
Derek was serious.
Rather than trusting folk remedies, he'd rather trust the temple.
"Well, if you're okay then that's good. When your head is complicated, confiding in others can sometimes be the answer. You can consult with me, your instructor, or you can confide in your girlfriend."
"L, Lady Karin and I don't have that kind of relationship!!"
"…I didn't specifically point at PoPo, though?"
"!!?"
"Hmm, keep the lovey-dovey talk moderate in front of a single guy. Your instructor's fist might become a means of punishment rather than healing."
"I, it's really not like that……."
Trailing off, Derek poured out his sincerity, but he didn't seem to believe it at all, and the corners of his lips were slightly raised.
Having one weakness caught, Derek ended up making a tearful expression.
At that moment.
"—But what I said earlier was serious. It's good to have someone to confide in when your head is complicated. I don't really recommend agonizing over things alone too much."
"……"
The man's sincere advice.
It wasn't advice from someone who just lived a bit longer, but advice from experience that someone who had lived a similar life could give…..
Derek thought.
Because it struck his heart with such earnestness.
Truly….
'What kind of person was he?'
Derek blinked, thinking it was strange that he was so curious about someone else's past.
…Meanwhile, unaware of Derek's thoughts about being quite curious about his past, Ihan narrowed his eyes while holding water in his mouth.
'Tch, I won't be able to come to this place anymore either.'
Ihan shook his head while feeling the presence of people densely filling the 1st and 2nd floors.
Someone might think it's just that there are many ordinary customers, or they might think he's like this because he dislikes crowds.
But that wasn't the reason he was trying to change his regular spot for no reason.
'It's full of rats, this place.'
Half of the guys loudly chatting on the 1st and 2nd floors.
All of them felt awkward without exception.
From the guys deliberately picking fights with the shop owner to the guys talking loudly to an awkward degree, there were certainly many.
And all of them were focusing their attention and listening in on his movements.
Did they say daytime words are heard by birds, and nighttime words by rats?
These were rats exactly practicing that.
'…Annoying.'
Today, he wanted to have a fairly serious conversation with that Taechang guy.
Since alcohol was involved, he wanted to talk deeply about 'this worldview' with great resolve, or if not that, about 'past life' or 'possession.'
So he even spent money to secure a seat in the lounge…
'I won't be able to chat anywhere for a while.'
In this state, he shouldn't talk anywhere.
Even at home, he couldn't let his guard down.
Among intelligence operatives, there were cases where they possessed [Mysteries], and he had heard there were even Mysteries that borrowed the ears of sparrows or cats.
'Is this why attention is scary?'
With Ihan's name value rising the previous day, interest in him had naturally grown.
Thus, these insignificant ones trying to figure him out had increased.
And he could roughly gauge who these guys were, trying to test the waters like this.
'Information Guild.'
Going further, he suspected the [Guild Alliance] might have stepped in.
Tap tap.
Ihan tapped the dining table lightly, pondering.
What should he do with these insignificant ones?
'…Should I beat them up?'
He needed a practical test anyway.
To check how much his body had changed, getting into a blade fight would be good too.
Ihan focused on the tactile sensation of the hand axe tucked inside his clothes.
A keen sense, with all senses heightened so he could draw it at any time.
As his momentum was about to rise gradually—
"…Huh?"
─He blinked at the appearance of an unexpected figure.
He wondered if his senses were wrong, but unfortunately, his senses boasted the performance of a drug dog that could distinguish a target's scent even from 3km away.
Like that, he stared blankly with his mouth agape at the appearance of a figure who completely didn't fit this pub—
"…Gom-soon?"
A pupil earthquake occurred.
Levi Volt.
Feeling the presence of the honor student girl, Ihan was rarely flustered.