460 - - 458 Episode I Feel Not Bad

Arriving in the Kingdom of Beryl, I did some shopping, including souvenirs. Before I knew it, I was in the entertainment district, and was about to step into a store called "Size is Justice" when I was interrupted by an ill-tempered, rickety man.

"Hey everyone, this is Taro's brother!

Ah, in response to the prefect's voice, a lot of ruffians come rushing out of Mr. Blast's mansion.

"Ah, I brought Jude's brother, Taro's brother!

A prefect is happily calling out to Mr. Jude. Hmm?　Mr. Jude is walking fast toward the prefect.

"Ouch!"

Mr. Jude's fistbone swung down on the prefect's head. The sound of the blow was so powerful that I could hear it from a distance, which made me feel a little better.

"You idiot, he's hiding!　What are you going to do, call me names out loud!"

Oh, even in the slums, it's the smart ones who rise to the top. He saw in an instant that I was in trouble because of my brother's behavior.

Well, he's not hiding... he's just doing it secretly because it's not good for his position if he goes out at night. I'm sorry.

Get back here! Get back inside!"

Leaving the prefect cowering in agony, Mr. Jude leads the ruffians back inside the house. Oh, here comes Mr. Jude.

"Sir, I'm sorry for the idiot's fuss. I'll finish up later."

"No, no, well, it's not that much of a problem, so you'll have to forgive him."

It's true that I felt annoyed, but it's too scary when someone from the underworld tells you to close the door with a serious face. At what level of closure do you intend to close?

"......Thank you for your concern. Please rest assured that we will not cause you any trouble."

I don't feel safe at all. I wish you would go back to the smelly, goofy face you had when we first met.

"Um, I'm fine, really. I don't like it when people get hurt because of me, so please don't worry about it."

Yes, that's right, I said something stupid to the doctor, who is the one who heals. Please come in anyway."

Despite the strange misunderstanding, it seems that Mr. Jude has given up on closing the door on the prefect. Maybe it's just my imagination, but you seem very disappointed. Did he really want to close the prefect that badly?

Since asking for more details would be a bit of a wild goose chase, Mr. Jude leads me inside the mansion quietly. The prefect is left to fainting in agony.

"Hey, prefect, we've been waiting for you!

"Welcome, doctor, welcome."

When I entered the mansion, Mr. Blast and Ellen greeted me with smiles. Ellen had looked a little worn out when I saw her before, but now, she is a glowing beauty, as if she has recovered from the hardships she has endured.

I envy her husband, Jude. ......

No, I'm sorry for coming out of the blue. If you want, I'll ...... come back sometime."

It's not my fault, but I'm pretty sure it was an unexpected visit, so as an adult, I'm going to make my apologies known. Courtesy is important.

If possible, I would like to withdraw from the meeting as if I will come back. If it's going to be a long time before I come back, I'd be very happy to do so.

"Fine. Come on in. Come on in. We'll be ready to serve you in no time."

My faintest hope does not reach Mr. Blast and he pulls me inside. I'd rather not have a party, but I guess I can't escape it.

Well, I can't face Mr. Blast if I'm not entertained at least once, so I'll give up and just put up with it for this one time.

I'd like to avoid the banquet with bad men if possible, but it's nonsense to be afraid of the banquet every time I come here to fulfill men's desires.

We could go to another town to have fun, but it would be sad to avoid this royal city where we haven't even played with only one restaurant, where <>, because of banquets.

****

"Um, ...... Mr. Blast, what's the situation with this?"

"Gahahahaha, well, they are grateful to you too. I told them to pour only a little, so please accept it.　　

"That being said, ......"

When told that the banquet was ready, I headed for the banquet hall and was obviously shown to a special seat. This was no matter. Since I made full use of Vita's power, I have shown enough ability to be invited to a special seat.

The only question is, why is there a long line in front of me?　The line is as long as a certain idol group's handshake event, and it seems to extend outside the spacious banquet hall.

Moreover, most of them are men with a bad look, and each of them is carrying a bottle or a keg of sake or something. It is obvious what they are planning to do.

I look at Mr. Jude with a puzzled look on my face, and he bows his head with a truly apologetic expression on his face.

I guessed that Mr. Jude, who is a ...... witty guy, was trying to resist me in some way for my sake.

And I guess Mr. Blast, who is a brainy guy, crushed all his efforts. The result is this matrix. ...... Vita's ability couldn't cure Mr. Blast's brains?

"All right, let's get this feast started! Tonight we entertain the Grand Master, the benefactor of the slums. Show your gratitude to him and drink and make merry. Cheers!"

Mr. Blast announces the start of the banquet, oblivious to my and Jude's anguish. The banquet hall is filled with the voices of men, and the originally noisy place becomes even noisier. Also, before I knew it, he has been upgraded from "Sensei" to "Dai-sensei.

"Dai-sensei, since then not only my right arm but my whole body has been feeling good!　Thank you. Please drink it."

I'm glad you're feeling better. Let me see, I'll take it.

A gruff man at the front of the line pours a glass of sake, and I reply with a few words and empty my glass. I vaguely remember this man. I think he was the one who had his arm cut off. I don't remember if he was treated for the whole body.

Well, as Mr. Blast said, only about one mouthful was poured, so I guess we can make it in this line.

Rough men pouring drinks one after another. I emptied my glass one after another as they did so. It's like a sake version of doggy buckwheat noodles.

......Hmmm, I'll accept their pouring, but please don't tell them about the state of my injuries.

Don't pour red wine while saying you were bleeding profusely. You'll feel like you're drinking something weird. Don't say your intestines popped out or something like that, it makes your food taste bad.

"Thank you, sir."

"Ha-ha-ha, you're welcome. Are you full of energy now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

And stop interrupting the slum kids in between. It's hard to change your attitude for kids and it's kind of awkward to pour drinks for them. At least let the adults and children stand in a separate line.

However, it is a little nice to be served by a young lady. I don't comment on the pouring of drinks by an auntie at .......　

"Sir, I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

"Yes, thanks to you, Jude, I'm fine. My stomach is growling though, ha ha ha ha."

If I hadn't asked him to switch from alcohol to juice or tea during the trip, I would have definitely been sunk and hungover.

Even if I could have asked Moon to help me, it would have been difficult to summon him to this town, and I had asked Vita to escort Gina and the others.

If I had done something wrong, my hangover would have ruined my relaxation this time.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. We tried to narrow down the number of people, but there were a lot of people who wanted to thank the teacher. ......"

That prefect must have found out I was in the slammer. I healed quite a few people with the full power of Vita at that time, so there must have been a lot of people who were thankful to me. I guess Mr. Blast accepted it.

Mr. Blast, on the other hand, is drinking and making a lot of noise without understanding my feelings or Jude's feelings.

He seems to be enjoying himself, but I thought this was a banquet to entertain me.　I'm hardly talking to Mr. Blast, am I?

"My stomach is already at its limit, but it was nice of you to thank me, so I'm fine."

It's true, it doesn't feel bad to be thanked. Maybe my brain is pretty f*cked up, because even the faces of the bad guys seemed to be charming, probably due to the influence of alcohol.

"I'm glad to hear you say so. We will keep people away for a while, so please get some rest.

"Thank you very much."

I take Jude's advice and lean back to take a rest. It was hard to drink a lot of tea and juice, even though they had changed to tea and juice in the middle of the day.

I wondered why I could drink more alcoholic beverages than regular drinks.　

I look at the noisy banquet hall, thinking about trivial things.

Loud men, men enjoying a drinking contest, children engrossed in the feast, a lady scolding a half-naked man, and helpers busily moving around the banquet hall...... many people are making noise with smiles on their faces, even though they are in a hurry.

If you've played a part in preserving this scene, it's a pretty great thing, isn't it?

......It was not a bad idea to attend this banquet, even if I didn't want to. I am a self-centered person, but it is not bad to help others.

Well, it's just like me that the way to be useful is to assist in zombie attacks, and the person I'm helping is a slumlord.

I don't have the guts to be a righteous or villainous person, so I guess this is just right for me. Mr. Blast is a relatively decent boss. I don't know what he's doing behind the scenes, and I don't want to know.

Well, I've been to the bathroom a couple of times and my tummy tummy tummy tucks have subsided, so I think I've had enough of this. I think it's time for me to drop this feast and go study up on what justice is.

"Sir, we're ready. Please come this way."

"Heh?　No, Mr. Jude, I have some important study to do. ......"

"Well, well, follow me. You won't regret it."

Oh, my God. Mr. Jude, whom I trusted to be so thoughtful, has unexpectedly betrayed me. This betrayal is worse than a betrayal of brains, you know?

To be more specific, it's a betrayal so outrageous that it makes me want to summon ifs and set this world on fire.

"Rest assured. I understand what you want. I'll use all of my boss's connections and make good on my promise.

Mr. Jude looks at me with a confident face. My boss's connections?　Promises?　Did I make any promises?

I don't remember, but my gut is screaming at me to follow Mr. Jude here. My gut is screaming that paradise is out there.

......Let's trust Mr. Jude one last time. I don't know what is at the end of this dark road out of the house.

......But I will try to trust Mr. Jude with a man's face.

It is hard to be betrayed. But there must be hope at the end of the road that I believe in. .......