Chapter 729: God's Growth ④

I decided to go to the bar in the basement of the house to ask Anima for advice, and to hang around and chat with her. On the way, Anima asked me with a curious look on her face.

[……Master. I've been meaning to ask this for a while now…… Why is there a bar in the basement of the mansion?]

[……Eh?]

[If you want to drink alcohol, I don't think you would really need a bar……]

I knew that someone would point it out at some point, but it seems like the time has finally come huh. Why is there a bar in the basement of the mansion…… No, well, is there any other answer other than this being Alice's joke?

[Ahh, no! Of course, I understand that Master has deep thoughts, but it's just that this shallow me couldn't guess your intentions……]

I see, it seems that Anima thought that I had some grand idea in mind when I built this bar, but as the Chief Retainer, she thought that she should know about this, so she shamelessly asked this question.

……No, I don't know the reason either, you know!?

[……Errr, no, the bar was created by Alice on her own initiative, so it's not like I have any idea why that bar was made either.]

[I see, so that's how it is huh…… If Alice-dono made it, although I have no idea why, it means that this bar is necessary!]

[………………..]

I've been thinking about this from time to time for a while now, but I feel like Anima has an absurdly high evaluation of Alice. I wonder why? I thought she was a competent person who was hiding in the guise of an idiot, but she really is more like a competent idiot……

[…..It seems like Anima highly evaluates Alice a lot huh.]

[Of course! Becoming like Alice-dono is my goal!]

[……I- Is that so?]

[Yes! Her overwhelming combat power, her intelligence that makes it seem like she's able to see the future, her charisma that can command a large army, and her endless loyalty as she supports Master behind the scenes! Alice definitely is the ideal for us retainers. She's a very high peak we need to tread, but I hope that I could reach it one day.]

She has an extremely high evaluation of her…… Speaking of which, Anima hasn't been around when Alice was fooling around, has she?

She has seen her in the battle against Sigma and the decisive battle in the God Realm, and if I recall, Anima seemed to feel inferior to Alice back then, so perhaps, all these factors combined made her have a high evaluation for her.

As I was thinking about this, Alice, still not showing herself, spoke to me in a voice small enough that only I could hear.

[……This was also unexpected for Alice-chan…… If she talks about me as if I was some sort of idol she admires, it's going to be hard for me to fool around in front of Anima-san in the future.]

[Don't you dare shatter Anima's dreams, okay……]

[……I'll do my best.]

After exchanging such conversation, I looked at Anima and she was clenching her fists. The way she looked like she was trying to do her best made her seem more childish than she looked, and she looked kind of cute.

[……Anima, you don't have to mimic her personality, okay? Rather, please don't mimic her personality.]

[Eh? Ah, yes?]

[Alright, let's go then.]

[Understood?]

Anima followed me while curiously tilting her head, but this is something that I need to remind her. It's great if she wants to be competent like Alice, but if her personality also becomes similar to hers, I think I would have stomach aches like Lilia-san.

When we entered the bar, Iris-san, the owner of the bar, turned to me from behind the counter. I guess, to put it more precisely, Iris-san could be considered as someone who lives in my home.

[Unnn? Miyama Kaito and…… if I remember correctly, you're his retainer, Anima, right? Welcome, you can sit at the counter.]

[Sorry to disturb you, Iris-san.]

[Excuse us, Iris-san.]

Greeting Iris-san, who welcomed us with a small smile, I took a seat with Anima.

[Errr, I've never really had cocktails before, so I was hoping for something easy to drink.]

[I'd prefer something sweet……]

[Umu…… Then, I'll start with Miyama Kaito's order…… Are you fine with something a little bitter?]

[Yes, it's alright.]

I don't like drinking that much, so I just left it to her, and Anima doesn't seem to like dry alcohol, so she ordered something sweet. I think I remember hearing that Caraway-san, when she drinks with Anima, likes dry alcohol and doesn't like sweet ones.

In front of us, Iris-san prepared a container…… and mixing the alcohol and shaking it in that bottle that bartenders use, whose name I still don't know of, and poured its contents into the glass in front of me.

It's a beautiful and clear alcohol that is as transparent as water.

(T/N: Dry taste refers to the lack of sweetness.)

[……Alice told me about a cocktail named after the local language where you lived in…… It's a cocktail named "Kamikaze", a mixture of vodka, white curacao and lime juice. It's sharp and dry on the palate, but easy to drink.]

[Heehhh…… Thank you very much.]

[Umu, now for Anima……]

Muttering this, Iris-san quickly prepared some alcohols and shaking it…… She poured a beautiful pale red cocktail that seemed to draw people eyes into the glass placed in front of Anima.

[……Here's a "Scarlet O'hara". The alcohol content itself is a bit high, but the sweet and sour citrus flavor makes it easy to drink.]

[I thank you.]

[Umu, I'll go prepare some snacks.]

Hmmm, I hadn't been to this bar much before, but I think this place is quite great. The dimly lit and quiet atmosphere of the bar is nice, and just from the way she worked, I'm sure Iris-san is quite skilled.

It would be nice to come back next time when I want to have a relaxing drink or something.

[Well then, Anima…… A toast?]

[Ah, yes!]

Forgetting that we're supposed to be here for consultation, Anima and I lightly bumped glasses in an atmosphere where we seemed to be enjoying ourselves.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [By the way, many of the liqueur-based cocktails are easy to drink even for beginners, so I recommend them. On the other hand, vodka-based cocktails, such as that one Kaito is about to drink, often have high alcohol content, so they aren't recommended for people who aren't strong drinkers. Incidentally, "the Winston", which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Most Expensive Cocktail, costs 1.8 million yen (over 16k USD) per glass and takes 16 hours to make. In Japan, there is also a 1.8 million yen cocktail called "Diamonds Are Forever", but as the name suggests, it comes with a real diamond, so the price is mostly because of that. The most affordable cocktail is called "Balmoral", which costs 9300 yen (84.20 USD). They're quite expensive already, but if you want to splurge for an anniversary or something like that, it might be worth it. Well, it's served at an establishment in New York, so just going there would cost you a lot of money.]