Side Stories: Chapter 11
As the beer glass tilted, its contents disappeared inside Chelsea’s mouth instantly. Though the size of the glass was large and the amount of beer in it was likewise a lot, it didn’t take long for the glass to be emptied.
“Kuh!” Chelsea slammed the beer glass roughly on the table, licked off the drops of beer around her mouth, and smiled.
Unlike her, Pina was sipping her drink little by little, and she said, “You don’t look like a priest serving Karuna at all.”
“Even if I’m a priest, I’m on break right now. I even left my priest clothes to come here.” Although it was a bit more luxurious than normal fashion, Chelsea was wearing civilian clothes.
“Furthermore, God Karuna doesn’t forbid us from drinking, nor is there a religious doctrine that advises followers against overdrinking. That reason alone makes God Karuna a truly great entity.”
“You say Karuna is a great god because they let you drink? Do you really serve this Karuna?”
“Why are you doubting me? Don’t you know that I was even one of the final candidates to be the Karuwiman Saintess even though Lubella knocked me out?”
“I’m glad to hear that the Karuwimans still have their sense of judgment. No, should I doubt that since you were able to go far as being one of their final candidates?”
“What? What about you, Acous? You’re in a precarious state because your entire school of magic was pushed out from the magical tower.”
“What did you say?”
A cold chill flowed between the two in an instant.
“H-Hey! Calm down you two.” Lara tried to stop them. While dripping in cold sweat, she thought, ‘As I thought, did I hope for too much?’
It was a meeting Lara organized while knowing that the two didn’t have the most amiable personalities. However, when she saw the two attack each other with their most sensitive topics after just a couple of minutes of sitting down, Lara began to think that she might have been too optimistic about the whole thing. However, unlike her worries, the two quickly settled their fury and no longer looked like they were going to start a fight.
“Another glass, please!” Chelsea yelled to a passing server.
“Same for me,” Pina also ordered. She had also finished her glass somehow at her slow speed.
“Ah, me too.” Lara also joined them. Her glass had been emptied beforehand.
Soon, three new glasses were placed in front of the three. Chelsea gulped down the beer first, and like before, slammed an empty glass down with a rough exclamation.
“If you think about it, we’ve nothing to gain by attacking each other. It’s true that I was pushed out of the Saintess position anyways.”
“…It’s also true that my school of magic was removed from power.”
‘Huh?’ Lara blinked hard. After almost erupting into a fight, the two murmured words that sounded like self-depreciation. Yet, they didn’t seem to be in low spirits either and seemed light-hearted as if they were freed from a great burden.
“Why? Are you surprised that we aren’t at each other’s throats?”
“Ah, I wouldn’t go that far…” Lara’s voice trailed off at Pina’s question. Although Lara wanted to nod a hundred times, she couldn’t blatantly agree.
“There’s no point in fighting here. It’s true my school was pushed out, and when I was unwilling to accept this fact, I desperately tried to regain its honor but almost ended its future instead by being marked as a Bellid collaborator. If you think about that, I really needed to accept reality.”
“During that time, Acous couldn’t see anything else but what was right in front of her,” Chelsea said.
Pina was talking objectively about her situation, but she felt irked hearing Chelsea’s comment and quipped, “That’s the same for you. You made all that fuss about dragging down the Saintess. You know that being marked as a Bellid collaborator is more dangerous for you than me, right?”
“It’s just as you say.” Chelsea shrugged her shoulders. “I wanted to use all means possible to take the Saintess position. That’s why I bit off more than I could chew and risked everything like Ms. Acous said.”
Chelsea sighed and continued, “If I think about it now, it’s almost unbelievable that I’m drinking here and chatting with you both. At that time, I was in a perfect situation to have my head beheaded and have my head on display right in front of the city gates. No, perhaps, beheading would’ve been too much of a light punishment for me, and I would’ve been burned instead.”
“It’s the same for me. Rather than recovering my school’s honor, I might have been permanently barred from the magical tower. Thinking about it again gives me the chills.”
Like that, the two talked and empathized with one another. Considering their common past and experiences, they were able to talk with ease, and there was no hint of the previous chilly atmosphere.
‘It appears that the two have lost their fangs,’ Lara thought.
It was clear that the ladies’ strong personalities hadn’t changed much, but they no longer seemed determined to rush forward and destroy everything hindering their path. It wasn’t bad drinking and talking about all sorts of things with them like this now. This was the scene Lara had pictured when setting up this meeting, and a smile formed on her lips. But soon, Chelsea and Pina shot their gazes at her simultaneously, and Lara flinched.
“I envy you, Lara. Even though you were with us, you are now part of a group that achieved perfect success,” Chelsea said.
“Now that you mention it, Lara had been with Glen first,” Acous said.
“Sorry?” Lara was surprised that the topic of the conversation turned to her, but the two didn’t seem resentful of her—they were very envious instead.
“Wasn’t the biggest reason why Lara left was because Glen chased her out?”
“He always scorned her for not focusing on shields and chased her out in the end.”
“Why didn’t that guy chase me away instead?”
“Yeah, I wish he would’ve done that to me too.”
Lara laughed awkwardly at their complaints.
“You should stay put in that group since you joined anyways. You even got a cool boyfriend, and moreover, Sir Zich is in that group. You have many things to gain by staying close to that man.”
“I don’t know how I feel about getting close to a person for benefits…” Lara said. It had been a pleasurable experience to receive Zich’s training, but she was unwilling to befriend him for just that. However, it appeared that Lara was the only one with these thoughts.
“How ironic. I’m desperately trying to strengthen my relationship with him to raise my status, and then there’s you who is not interested in those things at all when you are close to him,” Chelsea said.
“Well, people don’t tend to value the things they already possess, no matter how valuable it is. Or is she just kind? If you don’t think you need high status or prestige, then that’ll be kind of annoying.” Pina then added, “Or maybe she was able to join that group because she’s a person like that.”
“…I suddenly want to see Lara drunk.”
“So do I.”
Chelsea and Pina lifted their glasses while looking at Lara as if she was their prey. Lara was flustered by their attacks, but she said, “I don’t mind that you two are trying to get me drunk, but as someone who physically trains my body, you two know that I have a much higher tolerance than both of you, right?”
Chelsea and Pina made eye contact.
“God Karuna states that one must refrain from futile hatred.”
“Mages are rational thinkers. Taking out my anger on someone else is pointless.”
Lara burst into laughter at their shameless excuses. “Those are some great words. Why don’t you two stop talking about trying to make someone drunk and enjoy your drinks at your own pace?”
When Lara raised her glass, Chelsea and Pina also raised their glasses. Three glasses lightly clinked against each other.
As they drank, their conversation became more natural, and they talked about trivial topics and even sensitive issues. However, they talked without hurting anyone’s feelings or provoking each other more than necessary—although mild sarcasm was quite frequent, the conversation smoothly flowed without trouble.
Lara laughed with Pina at Chelsea’s light-hearted jokes, and a scene very close to what she was hoping was unfolding in front of her. If they separated after chatting like this, her day would have been perfect. She could probably go to bed in a good mood. However, bad things usually came out of nowhere. Lara felt someone stand next to her and looked up.
“Of all places, I didn’t expect to meet you at a place like this.” It was an unpleasant voice. Lara instantly frowned. Although she hadn’t heard this voice for quite a while, Lara immediately recognized the owner of this voice.
“…I thought you might be here…You look healthy,” Lara said.
“You too.”
Pina looked at the man who suddenly interrupted their conversation and carefully asked Chelsea, “Who’s that? Do you know who he is?”
“Well, I don’t know. He seems like a noble…” Considering his luxurious clothes and the guards standing on either side, the man seemed to be of high status. However, the most telling sign was the unmistakable arrogance in his voice.
While Pina and Chelsea tried to guess the identity of the uninvited guest, Lara asked, “So, what’s your business with me?”
“You’re giving me quite the cold shoulder. It’s not like we’re strangers.”
“We’re worse than strangers. If you don’t have any business with me, why don’t you move away? I’m in the middle of talking to my friends right now.”
The man’s eyes glanced at Chelsea and Pina. However, they quickly fixated on Lara again. “I do have business with you. This is great actually. Since you’re here, I’ll tell you while we’re at it. Just like you, I don’t want to see you any more than I have to.”
“My apologies. Even if you have business with me, can you tell me later? I’m saying this again, but I’m talking to my friends right now.”
“My business with you is much more important than such a trivial matter.”
Pina and Chelsea frowned. A man who seemed to know Lara suddenly appeared. However, they greatly disliked him because of his arrogant tone and clear disrespect towards them. They had strong personalities as well, so they weren’t the type to easily overlook his rude behavior.
“Excuse me, sir. I don’t know what your relationship is with Ms. Browning, but it seems pretty clear that she doesn’t want to talk to you right now. Why don’t you withdraw for today?” Chelsea wanted to spit out expletives to the man and end the conversation with a ‘fuck off,’ but she decided to gently usher him away first. However, even while she said this, she didn’t think the uninvited guest would step down easily. If he had been such an amiable person, he would have already withdrawn by now.
“It’s no business for a third party to step in.”
“Didn’t you see us talking to Browning first? You interrupted us. To Windne and I, you are the perfect third party.” Pina protested this time.
The uninvited guest clicked his tongue and made it clear that he was offended, but it seemed as if he thought she was right. Chelsea and Pina both glanced at Lara, asking who the man was.
Then Lara had no choice but to reveal the identity of the uninvited guest. “He’s Feijadiru Browning, the successor of the Marquess Browning family. Technically, he’s my older brother by blood.”