After clinking their cups for victory in the upcoming war, the four met again after the sun set. The same number of people filled Zich’s room like before but what filled their cups this time was alcohol instead of tea.
“Kuuuh!” Zich exclaimed as the alcohol passing through his throat sent jitters across his skin. The slight fatigue he felt from his stay in Yuras seemed to completely wash away with the drink. Indeed, a good drink after finishing a day of work was one of the greatest pleasures life could offer. Even a potion that woke him right before dying wouldn’t be able to bring about a sensation like this one.
“As expected, alcohol belonging to a famous noble sure is different,” Walwiss said while licking the remaining alcohol on his lips. Even though he must have been treated to exquisite meals and drinks as the master of the magical tower, it seemed like Count Steelwall’s drink pleased Walwiss very much.
“Uhh, this is tasty for you all?” In comparison, Leona shuddered after taking a sip from her glass. “It’s not even sweet, only bitter.”
“Elves only drink fruit wine, right?” Zich asked. Fruit wines tended to have low alcohol content and were very sweet by nature. It also gave off a flowery scent through a special method belonging to the elves and brought joy to any drinker’s mouth. It was a drink Zich had enjoyed before the regression, and it was understandable that a hard drink wouldn’t taste good to Leona who was only used to such drinks.
“I have heard of that before. Is it really that tasty?” Perhaps, the fruit wine activated a mage’s natural curiosity or an alcohol lover's interest, but Walwiss asked eagerly.
“It’s at least much tastier than this drink.”
“I hope I can get the opportunity to drink it later,” Walwiss said and gulped down his drink.
After watching the two converse, Zich turned to Til this time. Til was drinking without saying anything. Even though Til belonged to a mercenary group that didn’t act like a standard group, Til was really a mercenary with his manner of drinking. He downed the alcohol instead of tasting it carefully like Walwiss.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes,” Til said simply. Til was a man of few words, and their conversation had been choppy.
‘Was he always like this?’ When they met before, Zich clearly remembered having quite a long conversation with him before. Now, Til hardly talked. He didn’t seem uncomfortable with Zich or this space, so it appeared that his reserved demeanor was just part of his natural personality. Then what was the side that Til showed him before?
‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t talked to him much about personal matters.’ Most of what they talked about was related to the case they were dealing with, and all they did was ask about each other’s well-being as companions employed for the same job.
‘Is he the type to separate his public and private life?’ Zich thought. There were people like that, and Zich recalled the scene he saw in his dreams. When Til appeared, Zich thought he was a quiet giant. The Til he was seeing now was exactly the same Til he saw in his dreams, and as soon as he realized this, Zich felt chills on his back.
‘Damn it. It almost feels like I’m in Zich Brave’s dream.’
As soon as he thought this, Zich kept trying to talk to Til. It was as if he was trying to desperately deny Til’s quietness. Yet, Til’s lips, which had easily moved in matters regarding his mercenary group or work, didn’t easily open this time. Thus, knowing that Til would feel uncomfortable if he bothered Til any more than this, Zich had no choice but to accept Til’s quiet nature in the end.
‘It’s fine. I still have Leona and Walwiss,’ Zich thought. The two had always bickered in his dreams, but now, they were talking to each other amicably.
“Humans really move their mana like that?” Leona asked Walwiss.
“It’s a method that was developed because there are many humans whose ability to control mana is lacking in comparison to elves. However, with such a method, it’s difficult to become an expert mage.”
“Then, are you different?”
“I’m different. It won’t be an exaggeration to say I’m the best among the humans.”
The two talked back and forth about magic. The common topic of magic helped their conversation and made it smooth sailing. To an outsider, it looked like Leona was much younger between the two and was addressing a much older elder rudely, but in terms of age, Leona was the senior. Wallis was aware of this, so he didn’t look displeased and only enjoyed the conversation.
‘Yeah, see. At least those two are showing different behaviors from the dreams,’ Zich thought after seeing Walwiss and Leona. This brought him a huge sense of relief, but it didn’t last for long. More time passed and more cups were emptied.
Swayed by the mood, even Leona who had scowled at the taste of the alcohol kept taking more sips of her drink and soon began to feel tipsy. Once she felt drunk, more drinks naturally followed. Although she only drank fruit wine, Leona also knew how to drink, and she began to empty more and more cups. The conversation she had with Walwiss also began to change bit by bit.
“What? You aged that much but aren’t you still a kid who doesn’t know much about the world yet?”
“I’m still young in terms of elf age!”
“Then, you should pay more respect to an elder like me! These young-uns don’t know how to treat their elders…!”
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but the two began to shout at each other with reddened faces. Zich didn’t know how their conversation led up to this or why they were fighting. When he realized it, they were already exchanging harsh words. Of course, they were still maintaining boundaries and didn’t seem to have deep-seated ill feelings, but such things weren’t important to Zich. The real problem was that Walwiss and Leona were beginning to act exactly like Zich Brave’s companions from his dreams. He began to feel an emotion that had dried up a long time ago: fear.
Zich stared at Til. It seemed like Til was wary of getting involved in their conversation and quietly drank. If anyone had to intervene, it would have to be him—just like Zich Brave did in his dream.
‘Damn it! I can’t taste my drink at all!’
This was the first time he lost all sense of joy while drinking alcohol. He glanced at Leona and Walwiss and did his best to ignore their bickering.
‘I’m never going to mediate between them!’ His internal pledge at that moment was arguably firmer than his resolve to ruin Glen Zenard. However, when they finished drinking and had to leave, Zich was the one who calmed Walwiss and Leona down and sent them on their way.
* * *
The next day, Zich went to meet his disciples after a long time.
“Sir, did you have a good trip?” Hans stood as the representative of the disciples and greeted Zich, and Zich stared at the three of them. Snoc warily glanced at Zich as Zich’s attitude was different from usual.
“Yeah. I’m very glad to see you all.”
Hans and Snoc flinched. Since Elena had only joined them recently and she was Lyla’s disciple, she was less fearful of Zich than the other two, but this was a completely different matter. There had never been a time when Zich greeted them so brightly like this. Perhaps, did they unknowingly make him mad? However, judging by his face, he really seemed happy to see them.
They had no idea why. However, it didn’t seem like they would be punished, so Hans and Snoc relaxed. They had no idea that Zich was feeling extremely grateful to see them and he kept reassuring himself that he was not Zich Brave.
“You’ve done well in sending the requests. Good job.” Zich complimented Hans and Snoc. Even though the war was getting pushed back because of the heavy rainfall, it was best to send requests for support as soon as possible. Thus, Zich left his request letters to Hans and Snoc, and thanks to their speedy efforts, the reinforcements were able to come at the perfect time. They accomplished a great feat.
After complimenting Hans and Snoc, Zich turned to Elena. “Have you caught up with your grandpa after not seeing him for a long time?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your grandfather was extremely happy that your skills improved so much.”
“Is that so?” Elena scratched her cheek in embarrassment. However, she couldn’t suppress the small smile on her lips. “But he told me to not lose focus and work even harder.”
“Yeah, you should always have a spirit of improvement no matter how good the results are.” After saying this, Zich looked at each disciple again. “As you all know, we’re going to war soon, and you three will stand in front with me. There’s no need to stand frozen in anxious anticipation, but make sure you firmly prepare yourself for the upcoming war. Got it?”
“Yes!” All three of them loudly replied to Zich.
* * *
Many people were coming in and out of the Count’s mansion like usual. Since there was a war looming, the number of people was also greater than normal. Everyone, including all the servants, felt strangely anxious, and they could feel that a war was coming up right to their skin.
Trell was moving extremely busily once again since he needed to take care of the estate’s daily matters for the Count who was busy preparing for the war and also needed to assist the Count’s war efforts. As expected of the Count’s most trusted advisor and one of the Steelwalls’ most skilled members, Trell efficiently accomplished his tasks. He stood in front of several servants and gave them several orders. After the servants bowed and left, Trell turned around to fulfill his next task.
“Trell.” A woman approached him. She was Flora Steelwall, the Countess and Greig’s biological mother.
Even while he was busy, Trell respectfully bowed his head. “What is the matter, Countess?”
“You seem busy.”
“Yes, it can’t be helped since we’re preparing for war.”
Other noble ladies might have tried to express their concerns about the upcoming war, but Flora showed no signs of anxiety or nervousness. She showed an attitude fitting of the lady of the house of Steelwall, the kingdom’s iron fortress.
“I wanted to discuss the mansion’s internal matters with you.”
Trell wasn’t the only one taking care of the mansion’s internal matters. As the lady of the house, Flora was also partially responsible for the mansion’s internal matters, and the reason why she went to find Trell was to discuss a matter inside the mansion.
“Then, I’ll take care of it like that.”
“Yes, I got it, Countess.”
“Trell, leave the internal matters to me as much as possible and please focus on helping the Count.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.” Trell looked at Flora with true respect. Flora was the concubine who became the main wife after Sara Steelwall died. Compared to Sara who only knew how to yell with a sharp voice, Flora was basically perfect as Steelwall’s Countess. The fact that she remained calm and maintained the center of the estate as the lady of the house in one of the worst, if not worst, times in Steelwall history was perfect proof of her aptitude and strength. However, Flora also had her faults.
Flora’s gaze moved towards the window, and Trell saw that her gaze became extremely conflicted. Trell also looked towards the window and saw Zich conversing with Hans, Snoc, and Elena. Then, Trell looked back at Flora. She would have usually emitted hostility towards Zich as soon as she saw him, but the emotions on her face were complex and hard to read. Zich was her non-biological son that she hated due to her ill feelings toward Sara and her desire to make Greig the next successor. However, it was all thanks to Sara’s son that the Steelwall Estate was beginning to regain balance after it was greatly shaken up.
Her gaze was probably not much different from the others in the Steelwall Estate as they looked at Zich. Trell became slightly curious about how her gaze would change when this war ended and the Steelwall Estate survived.