Chapter 247: The Top Three

After the dinner party at the castle, I and Nell enjoyed a drink moderately in our room. Still, it shouldn’t have been enough to make us drunk. We’ve learned a lesson from drinking, so we’ve been paying close attention to drinking lately. I’m sure of it. However, on a closer look, I can see that Nell’s cheeks are slightly redder than usual, so I’m not sure anymore.

「N-Nell. Don’t tell me, are you drunk?」

「………」

Hey, don’t stay silent. Seriously!? Did she relax her guard because the ceremony is close? And that made alcohol affect her easily? Anyway, it’s too dangerous to let Nell meet them in this state. I should’ve noticed when she was stomping the road!

「Nell, I think we should stop for today――」

「――Ah! It’s Deris and Nell! Yahhooo~, are you doing well~?」

Immediately after I grabbed Nell’s shoulders, Maria noticed us and shouted. My path of retreat was cut off…!

「Haru, Chinatsu. Remember that they are not your ordinary drunkards. They are drunkards who have power, it’s the worst.」

「My bad feeling came true, huh….」

「Shishō, should we run? Or fight them?」

「Neither…. We are going to have a conversation.」

Still, in the meantime, Nell’s eyes are starting to become scary. I wonder if this situation will somehow become better…. Alright, don’t be timid, me. Now it has come to this, I have no choice but to go.

First, let’s check the current situation again. There are about a dozen people here, Agalia, Vakala, Maria, and their subordinates.

As for the subordinates, let’s see… since Agalia doesn’t have any subordinates, let’s exclude him. The host-like bartenders are Maria’s, and the ones who are disguising as soldiers and adventurers are Vakala’s. They are about 50-50. All of them are dedicated to serving drinks and livening up the mood, but each of them is at least as strong as the Four Heavenly something. Even Haru and Chinatsu will be at a disadvantage if they were to fight all of them.

Next, the Great Eight Demons. Their outfits are flashy. Agalia, who looks like a noble, and Maria, who looks like a noble’s daughter, are originally have a human-like appearance, so they will be able to fool the eyes of the public if they wear plain outfits and don’t do something that stands out. Vakala’s original appearance was bone, but now he looks like a large build, good-natured old man. He’s also one of the best dark magic users in the world after all. He’s probably scraped up flesh from corpses and evil criminals, and processed it to look like that. I think he also created the internal organ perfectly. What a fascinating work.

Oops, now is not the time to indulge in my hoppy. I have to fulfill the purpose of coming here.

「You guys are more or less the tops of the Great Eight Demons…. What the hell are you doing in such a shabby house?」

Just in case, I hold Nell’s dominant hand. For the others, it looks like we are just holding hands, but I’m actually restraining Nell so that she won’t pull out her sword. They will tease us for sure, but it’s better than losing Adelheit.

「Wow, they are showing off. They are lovey-dovey~」

「Hou, young people these days don’t choose the place, huh. Nice, show us more.」

「That’s right. After all, they are going to get married!」

See? They did it immediately. Also, Nell-san, your fingers are sinking into my hand, you know? It really hurts, so can you stop it?

「Just answer my question. Even if you are in the slum with no other people, it’s still a big deal when you guys are together.」

「Hm? He’s changing the subject. Is he embarrassed?」

「I think Nell is more embarrassed than him~. Look, her face is red, right?」

「Ah, you are right. She’s embarrassed, she’s embarrassed for sure!」

Hey, seriously, stop it! My hand is bleeding! And Nell, don’t try to pull out the sword while holding my hand! I’m having a hard time resisting your strength!

「………」

「O-Okay, okay. Deris, don’t make such a scary face~」

「What we are doing, you ask? We are just drinking and talking, you know? We also using this vacant house so that we won’t bother Deris and Nell.」

「Even the liquor was bought with our own money. From the most expensive ones and in large quantities! I think Alezel would be crying with joy that we contributed so much to the economy, you know?」

Don’t be silly. If it’s Alezel, she would pretend to be touched and make you buy something even more expensive, or she would at least try to sell it off in large quantities.

「Don’t worry. We are not going to bother anyone until the wedding begins. We will obediently wait here until the day of the wedding.」

「That’s right~. What do you think we prepared our subordinates and liquor for?」

「It’s obvious! We are going to drink from morning till night to relieve ourselves of our daily exhaustion! And when we are refreshed and in our best condition, we will make the celebration mood at its peak on the day of the ceremony! Just forget about work!」

「「「Yaaaaay~」」」

The three raised their mugs, toasted, and gulped down the liquor in one go. They are just using our wedding as an excuse to slack off, aren’t they?

「…… We will invite you to our wedding. But you have to promise not to cause any problems or commotion.」

Oh, calm words came out from Nell. Also, she is not putting any strength in her fingers. Could it be that she’s sobered up?

「Of course. I’ll be satisfied if I can pull off the special entertainment that I’ve prepared for this occasion.」

「No. The schedule for the ceremony has already been decided. We don’t have time for an unscheduled performance.」

「Eh?」

Agalia froze.

「I promise I won’t cause any problems. Don’t worry, I’ve prepared a perfect greeting on behalf of everyone. I’m sure everyone will be moved to tears.」

「That’s also a no. The person who will give a speech has already been decided. Besides, I didn’t ask you to do it, you know?」

「Eh?」

Vakala froze.

「I won’t do anything bad~. But, you see, my dress is amazing. When it comes to a wedding, it’s about dress change! I’m going to show off my dresses I’m proud of to everyone!」

「No, I mean, why the one being invited is going to change dress? At best, you can be the flower girl.」

「Fueeh!?」

Maria froze.

「N-No way…. Then, what am I here for…?」

「My speech….」

「F-Flower girl…. This me, as the flower girl….」

Not only physically, but Nell’s verbal abuse is also fierce. With the mug in one hand, the three of them fell to the table. As for their subordinates, they are panicked.

「They are knocked down, huh.」

「Shishō, is the problem solved with this? Or should we use this chance to defeat them?」

「Haru, you are pretty bold, huh. Well, that settled it, is what I want to say, but――」

「Wah, aren’t you the heroes of Adelheit who fought Hund? I was watching that fight~. You are quite talented!」

「Eh?」

「Umu, the real things are even cuter. They are young enough to be my great-great-grandchildren. Here, Grandpa will give you some pocket money. You can use it to buy any house you like.」

「Ah, err….」

「Yaay~, thank you, Grandpa Vakala ♪」

「In your case, that’s age fraud, you know?」

「「………」」

「――You see, these guys recover really fast.」

The three were dead a while ago, but they started to show interest in Haru and Chinatsu as if nothing happened. Now, what should I do?