Louisa-san, Igarashi-san, and Theresia. I didn't check on Teresia's age, but to begin with, there is no age limit on alcohol in the Labyrinth Country, so Misaki and Suzuna can also drink if they want to.

　Elitia seemed to have taken some time to change her clothes and came in later. She had her golden hair down and was wearing a dress with a blue insert, just like her armor. I toast her again when she arrives - it's becoming quite a drink.

'Misaki, your face is so red, could you be drinking?'
No, Suzu stopped me. Do you want some, Eri-chan?
'E, Elli you've never been called that before. I have Ellie, but....
So, may I call you Miss Ellie from now on?
"...Yeah. Can we keep Suzuna in place?　Because it sounds good.
Ha, you're really good friends. We have the same personality. We're both very quiet.
Well, that's not true and I talk a lot when I talk.

　The three younger men were talking coyly. Theresia was drinking at a slow pace beside them.

''Hmm.......delicious. Since I'm with you all today, it tastes better than usual.''
'You're drinking very well, sister! Come on, another drink.
'Misaki-chan, Louisa-san is already on her fourth drink, so if you suggest it too much...'
The atmosphere is different now... and drinking is still dangerous.

　Misaki poured Miss Louisa a drink. Suzuna seemed to be worried about Misaki's bad temper and stayed by her side. Elitia was so overwhelmed by Louisa-san's adult s*xiness that she lifted the sake bottle and glared at her.

'Suzuna-chan's compassion is very sobering. But sometimes adults need to drink. I don't just want to go along with your father's evening drinks, I want to have a drink with my friends in a pub or bar once in a while. Are you listening to me, Mr. Higuchi?
'Yes, yes, I've heard. Igarashi-san, it's time to start drinking...
Oh, I'm still sober. I've never seen you drunk. You only drank water yesterday and you don't want to drink it with me?
No, no, that's not why I'm here. I've been drinking today, but it's time to go.
''Oh well, that's fine. As for Theresia-san, there's still time to go to the mercenary agent's office...

　Before I could say anything else, Louisa poured me a glass of wine. And, as I didn't know it, she had a slight blush on her cheeks and boldly put her hands behind my back to toast me at close range.

''Ru, Louisa-san, what's going on, all of a sudden?''
'Excuse me, I think I'm a little drunk. I annoy my friends a lot, but I have a habit of hugging them...
Wow isn't that a little too exciting for your brother?
.........

　I understand that they are expecting me, but that doesn't mean they are too close. Even Misaki is embarrassed, so Suzuna has a look on her face that says, "I don't know what to say anymore.

(Don't tell me you're the type to get s*xy when you're drunk?　(If you get close, your chest is in danger........well, not good, Igarashi-san is behind you.......!

Hey. Excuse me. I've got to be out of my seat...
Don't you run away. Now, sit your ass down. Okay?　You've done a great job, Mr. Rear, you've done a great job, you need to be more poised, you can just use us with your chin. Here, I'm going to pour you a drink. Drink a lot, and eat a lot. Yes, ahhh.

　Mr. Igarashi has a preaching habit, or something motherly about him. She stabs the leftover ham with a fork and lets me eat it - and then she gives me a drink.

(If we drank together yesterday, we'd be in trouble... good or bad.)

　I'm not an advanced drinker, but I can tell you one thing for sure about Igarashi-san's drunkenness. She gets very gaping when she drinks.

(So don't even think about those things.......annoyances don't need to be a part of the party.

Hmmm........haha, delicious. I knew that you could do it if you tried. Compared to the others, his paperwork was better than the others, and he had nothing to say about their appearance, so I just asked him to do it. I felt bad about it. But you were the only person under me that I could trust.
Okay, I understand. Um, excuse me!　Can you bring me some water and some fruit to finish it off?!
Okay, wait a minute.

　The woman who worked at the shop walked into the back. The whole time we were waiting, Igarashi-san was talking about how much she expected me to be there and how sorry she was for overworking me.

(I wish she'd told me that when she was working late, really.)

So for Valentine's Day, I made my valentines a little different from the ones I gave out to other people as a sign of my appreciation. But when I wrapped them all in the same package, Mr. Rear didn't notice. Hey, are you listening to me?　Did you get the chocolate right the other day?
'I ate, and it was good. So please calm down.
'Oh, I didn't eat that word. You threw away your boss's chocolate that you didn't like anyway, because you didn't want it. I brought home a very special gift for White Day. But when I told my mom that it was from one of my subordinates, she and my brother ate it without permission. How would you normally do that?　Even though I got it for my in-laws, I came home with it. I looked in the fridge and it was all empty.

　It's not to the point of saying that I should have left it properly in my room or something - maybe I was being treated by Igarashi-san as a subordinate in my own right? I was just too tired to notice it. No, I know it would be a bad idea if I didn't notice.

'Arihito big brother, did you really have nothing to do with your sister Kyouka?　If so, it's incredibly platonic.
If something had happened, it wouldn't be like this. Can't you see that?
Don't be angry, Rearward, and eat your meat. If you eat the meat, you'll almost always be fine. You're irritated because you haven't eaten the meat.

　I don't know if it's called a drinking binge, but I keep getting tangled up anyway. From the other side, Louisa-san was leaning on me, so I couldn't help myself.

　And Elitia, who had been watching our exchange for a long time, finally asked me what seemed to be on my mind.

".........isn't Valentine's Day a time for friends to exchange gifts?

　Then I found out - she's from Northern Europe and the custom of Valentine's Day is different from Japan. It's not all about the country that is clamoring for righteousness and true love, that's what it is.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　After leaving the bar, Louisa and Igarashi-san hit it off and wanted to go to my room together to talk. In other words, I'm almost certain to stay the night.

　Even the sober Elitia was probably affected by the heat of the bar, and was looking up at her face with her hands in a flurry of activity.

Then I'll send Louisa and Kyouka home. Will Suzuna and Misaki come too?
What's it like to be in a suite, brother?
'....I've never been to a man's house before, but with all of you....

(Well, you'll be back at your place later. Still, four if you include Theresa.)

　Even if I were to sleep on the couch, we couldn't have one bed for each of us.

'Louisa-san, keep up the good work on your rear end,'
''No, I'm looking forward to Kyouka-san's success, and I'll be supporting everyone in the party.

　Since Louisa and Igarashi-san are getting along with each other, why don't we get them to sleep together?

　Leaving Elitia with the keys to the room, the five of us parted ways, and I returned to the mercenary mediation office with Theresa. I asked the other staff members who were outside to go get Leila-san.

'Oh, you're here. I'm glad you're here in time. I'm glad you're here in time.
'Leila-san, we have the desired number of copies for today's search. May I officially have Theresia join my party?

　Leila's eyes widened in surprise when I handed her a copper ticket. She took the bundle of paper and flipped through it and checked the number of tickets twice.

'....One hundred tickets. I've definitely received them. I heard that a huge orc was brought to the dismantling station near the outer wall, is that your job, Aricht?
'Yes, I can't say it out loud. I'd like to continue to do this quietly, so please keep it to yourself.

　Leila takes a small breath. It's more of an impressed reaction than a dumbfounded one.

'Big deal. Even for a newcomer like you, I thought it would take a month at the earliest. I didn't think you'd have the tickets you needed the day after you declared.
'I'm afraid so. A lot of things have worked out well for us so far, and we've had some luck. We will continue to do this with caution. We're going to make Theresia human again.
'Well I respect your aspirations. I see my role as giving the sub-humans a place to stay, but I will always have a desire to give them their hearts back. But beyond my strength a good and honest seeker like you is my hope.
'Theresa is my first mate. There are moments like that, when I can't talk about it, but I somehow know how I feel, even if I can't talk about it. I can't know if that's what I'm assuming until I talk to her.

　Theresa still doesn't say anything. But she was staring at me when I handed her the copper ticket.

　She has feelings. She's only limited in the ways she can express them now.

'Arihit, when I told you that Theresa liked you, I was not trying to get you to transfer your feelings. I cannot simply say that sub-humans have emotions, but as an individual, I believe that they have a heart. If you believe in that feeling, I believe that Theresa is more open to you today than she was yesterday.........
Thank you. I hope you're right, too.

　The substance of our time together is more important than the display of increased trust. I wouldn't neglect her, and I would continue to rely on her.


　I shook Leila's hand as she sought me out and shook my hand before heading back to the inn.

　Theresia follows me as I cautiously walk behind her. I wonder if the lack of footsteps is an effect of the rogue's skills or the skull equipment.

'Teresia, you don't have to be behind me. You can walk wherever you want.
..........

　Theresia thought for a moment, and then stepped forward a bit to stand beside me - I thought she was going to line up, but she stepped forward.

''You mean ... you usually walk in front of me?　"As the 'avant-garde,'

　I asked, though I wasn't sure if my intentions were clear. Theresa still didn't answer.

　--no, she didn't.

　She nodded her head, and then shook her head. What did she mean -- she came back and lined up beside me.

'Yes. I don't care where we walk. When it's time to fight, you'll be a little ahead of me. Then I can help you like I have been.

　Theresa nodded at me. Then, after staring at me, she tugged lightly on her sleeve.

'Let's go home early, does that mean?'
..........

　She didn't answer. I guess that means there's no need to hurry. If she wanted to walk with me, a sobering walk wouldn't be a bad idea.

　We walked through town to the inn where everyone was waiting for us, not in too much of a hurry. Before we knew it, a floating moon was in the sky, illuminating our path with the light from the sparse streetlights.