CH 61

Chapter 61 - The young man named Seran

“What, Re …… Souya, you know this kid?”

Doga almost said Souya’s real name, but stopped himself just in time and rephrased it.

Souya was relieved to hear that, and nodded slowly in response to the question.

“Yes. However, I only exchanged a brief greeting with Seran-kun last night. I was in the middle of a party with my friends at that time, after all.”

I didn’t expect to see him again here, but as a platinum-class adventurer, Seran should have been introduced to Doga at the Adventurer’s Guild, so it was no surprise.

Souya looked at Seran, who was wearing a long black coat, tracing back the memory of the conversation he had had with the man who had suddenly arrived in the middle of the party at the Adventurer’s Tavern.

He had the same expressionless face as when he first saw him, his blue eyes swaying and standing still. His gray hair, with only a hint of blue, emphasized his quiet demeanor.

“…… Kid, I’m sorry, but Souya is an old friend. And we’re drinking too. I’m sorry, but I can’t work today.”

Doga told the standing-upright Seran that he would not be working today.

Even if he had been drinking, a dwarf, who never gets intoxicated, would not seem to have any trouble with his work, but that may be his policy.

It was still morning, and if the reason for his visit had been a job request for Doga, I felt slightly apologetic.

“–All right. I’ll come back later.”

Seran replied quietly, without any sign of concern, and took out a bottle of whiskey from a burlap sack and presented it to Doga.

It was the exact same brand that Souya had just purchased at the adventurer’s tavern.

“This is a souvenir for old Doga. But it seems you already have the same one on your table. So that bottle was brought in by Souya-san?”

Seran muttered in an embarrassed tone, as if he had noticed that the brand of whiskey was the same. He might have purchased the most expensive one in the adventurer’s tavern, just like Souya.

If he had bought it after Souya, it was possible that he had talked to the master of the tavern about the price of the same brand.

“Oh! That’s very thoughtful of you. Hahaha …… What, it’s not like it’ll be trouble no matter how many bottles I have. Besides, this seat will be empty anyway.”

Doga laughed and grinned at the label on the bottle of whiskey he had received from Seran. He was a drinker at heart. Most of the dwarves are drinkers, so it’s not like he was special.

Souya felt his blood run cold as he watched him. It seemed that he was planning to empty the second bottle that Seran had brought with him. Souya was also a strong drinker, but it might be dangerous for him to accompany this dwarf here for a drink until he had emptied both bottles.

“Do you have time? Take a drink too, kid …… I’d like to ask you to get me some of that.”

Doga asked Seran for a favor and invited him to join him for a drink. I wonder what is “that”? Souya thought about it for a while, but couldn’t come up with anything, so he didn’t ask any questions about it.

He closed his eyes and sighed largely, as if he thought he could not refuse Doga’s request.

“I have time. –I understand. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, too, Souya-san.”

Seran dropped his one-and-a-half-handed bastard sword and his luggage beside him and sat down at an empty seat at the table, still wearing his long black coat.

Seran picked up a shot glass filled with whiskey and sipped it.

Doga had left his seat and seemed to be in the kitchen. He might be looking for something to accompany his drink. The table was now just the two of them, Souya and Seran.

Souya was not sure how to start a conversation with Seran, whom he had never met before, and there was silence for a while, but then Seran opened his mouth.

“Souya-san. I’m sorry about yesterday.”

Seran apologized to Souya. He was probably referring to his visit and questions at the party last night.

Souya didn’t care about it at all, and even felt bad about accepting a gold coin from him as an information or annoyance fee.

“No, don’t worry about it. Merylou-kun was a bit grumpy, but she was very drunk last night. That’s probably why.”

Souya smiled bitterly as he remembered the drunken Merylou and compared her to Doga who had just sat in front of him.

The bottle of whiskey that Souya had brought in as a reunion gift was already half empty. Doga, judging from the way he had spoken earlier, was probably planning to empty the second bottle that Seran had brought as a souvenir.

The drunken Merylou had claimed that he could win a drinking contest with the dwarves, but I can only say that she was being reckless. There is no race that can beat the dwarves in manual dexterity and drinking, after all.

“I see. Did Merylou say something?”

In response to Seran’s question, Souya recalled Merylou’s words and shut his mouth.

As I recall, she said some bad things about him, but I wonder if the two of them don’t get along? Souya looked at Seran’s expression.

“–I’m sure she was bad-mouthing me anyway. Souya-san, feel free to tell me.”

Seran muttered to Souya in an indifferent manner with no expression on his face.

Souya looked bewildered and wasn’t sure if he should say anything, but he decided to tell Seran exactly what Merylou had said, without hesitation. 

“She said that you were a “Gloomy bastard” …… No, I don’t think she meant it, though.”

Souya’s reluctant words made Seran look straight for a moment, but perhaps his remarks were interesting, he breathed out and smiled thinly.

“I see. –Well, I suppose you could say that.”

Just then, Doga came back from the kitchen and laid out some salted meat and walnut seeds on the table. It was probably a quick lunch, given the time of day.

And a metal container of unknown use. It seemed to be filled with water.

If it was drinking water, there was already a bottle of it on the table. I wondered what he’s going to use it for.

“Hey, kid, take care of “that”. I can only drink it when you’re here, after all. And I’m sure Souya will be surprised.”

Doga placed the metal container of water in front of Seran and took his seat.

Seran nodded at Doga’s words, stood up, and took out a white jewel from the inside pocket of his long coat.

“– Snowflower, the spirit of ice and snow. Bring about water and ice with the cold air you are clad in. [Freezing].”

As Seran began to chant, cold air flowed from the white jewel orb, instantly freezing the water in the metal container beside him.

And Souya felt a cool stream of cold air throughout the room, as if he had opened a freezer.

“Ohhh …… I didn’t you were a Shaman, Seran-kun. And you’re also a wielder of the spirit of ice and snow.”

Souya couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. There are extremely few humans who can use spirit arts. Unlike magic, which is composed of very theoretical elements, Spirit Arts have a very strong sensory component. In order to master it, it was essential to have an innate sense of predisposition and an acquired contact with the elements that govern nature.

Twenty years ago, Souya was invited by Rosalind, a wood elf shaman who was one of his adventuring companions, to try to learn Spirit Arts, but he gave up because he had no clue.

As a wielder of the Snowflower, the spirit of ice and snow, he probably comes from a cool northern country where snow covers the ground most of the year. When I thought about it, he somehow had the features of someone from the north.

And the thing that Doga had mentioned earlier seemed to be ice.

Certainly, it was not something that could be easily procured in this world. It’s not impossible to create ice using magical methods, but it’s not as smart as this.

“The whiskey tastes great when poured over ice made by this kid. Would you like to try one, Souya?”

Souya nodded in response to Doga’s question. There was no doubt about it. It was one of the so-called “on the rocks” drinking styles, and Souya often drank in that style in the summer.

He put ice broken with a small pick into the newly prepared glass, poured whiskey on top, and steamed it.

Souya tipped the glass and sipped the liquid, feeling nostalgic for the coolness of the whiskey as it stimulated him.

“I see, this is delicious. I guess I should thank you to Seran-kun. If we can get a steady supply of ice, it might catch on.”

“I’m sure it is. Although it’s difficult to procure the ice. …… Souya, you know what? This kid is also a demon slayer. It’s also thanks to my one-and-a-half-handed Demonbane Bastard Sword.”

Doga bragged about his work and told Souya that Seran was a demon slayer.

I had already heard about it through the rumors in the tavern, but I had never heard that the sword he carried was Doga’s work, the Demonbane Bastard Sword. If it was a work of art that he had made, the quality would be perfect, and the spirit art requires one hand to be free when using it. The bastard sword, which can be switched between one-handed and two-handed, might be perfect for him.

“Yes. I overheard his Demon Slayer fame was yesterday at the tavern …… Speaking of which, Seran-kun. Can I ask you something?”

I remembered that the reason for Seran’s visit last night and his attitude at that time had bothered me. Souya thought that he should ask him about it.

“Souya-san. Is it possible that what you’re asking is about the red horn?”

Seran seemed to have guessed what Souya wanted to ask him. He usually speaks in a quiet and matter-of-fact tone, but there was a bit of a strong tone mixed in.

He had appeared at the party last night to ask the question, “Did the Silver Demon that Souya and the others subjugated have red horns? I wonder if there is some kind of connection between them. Souya remained silent to Seran, and nodded quietly in affirmation.

“…… Kid. I think it’s fine if you talk to him about the Red Horn. Souya is a skilled man. He might be the one to make your longing come true.”

Doga’s voice was serious and a bit serious as he stroked his white beard.