“Your ability to control magic is really impressive, Lord Weiss,” Rosalia praised me.
“Incredible,” said Astesia. “You moved those arms as if they were your own…”
“Ha ha, right? Weiss is awesome.”
After getting to the top of the cliff, I bent forward and let Rosalia and Astesia down before making sure they weren’t hurt. When I looked forward, I was met with a green paradise. There were trees and vegetation everywhere, their leaves swaying to and fro in the wind. It was all very picturesque.
I wasn’t the only one moved by the view; the rest were equally in awe.
“It’s so nice here. I can’t believe this place is real…” Astesia said.
“It might be fun to have a picnic here. I’ll make lunch for us when the time comes,” Rosalia added.
“Kew, kew!”
This world was so much more beautiful in person than it was through a screen. I felt this back at the Divine Spring, and I felt it now too.
As we moved forward, the sounds of the leaves swaying in the wind and the scent of the greenery just felt more and more pleasant.
“Now then, where’s the shroomboar?” I murmured.
“Oink?!”
Surprised by the sudden appearance of intruders, the mushroom-covered creatures looked at us and oinked.
There you are! And four of them to boot!
“Let’s do this!” I cried out.
“Fine, I’ll help,” said Astesia. “Oh, Lord, please bless us!”
“U-um, you guys?” Rosalia stammered.
With our physical attributes buffed, Astesia and I both charged at the creatures with our weapons in hand. Being in such a beautiful environment had me really pumped up.
Despite knowing how fast the shroomboars were in the game, I totally underestimated them.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Haaah, haaah…” I wheezed. “Why are these things so fast and smart?”
“Dammit, I completely underestimated how swift wild animals can be.”
We’d chased the boars around for about five minutes, but they’d evaded us using feints and other obstacles in the area. By now, we were completely out of breath as we glared at the beasts from a distance.
“Oink, oink!”
The shroomboars shook their butts, almost like it was a taunt, before they ran deeper into the forest.
“You jerks!”
“They’re mocking us!”
“Um,” Rosalia piped up, “couldn’t I have just frozen them to start with?”
Rosalia was so correct that we had nothing to say in response.
In my defense, there was a shroomboar-catching mini-game where you had to chase around a bunch of the monsters on foot, which meant it never occurred to me to use magic to catch them.
“Let’s get after them!” I shouted instead. “Rosalia, I’m going to need you to use your magic the next time we catch up!”
“Right. Leave it to me,” she replied with a slight titter.
Despite being somewhat flustered, we made our way deeper into the forest, surrounded by the sounds of birds and bugs that clearly didn’t care about the humans in their space.
Eventually, we exited out into a clearing with a large tree that had a hole in it. It was there that we spotted a single shroomboar, who, for some reason, was stumbling as it moved.
“Is it all right? Perhaps it ate something bad?” Astesia asked.
“This might be a trap. Let’s be careful,” Rosalia said.
“Good point. Astesia, be ready to cast healing magic,” I ordered.
If it was a trap, it wasn’t a man-made one, but we still needed to play it safe in case this thing gave off poisonous gas or something. Rosalia and I cautiously approached the shroomboar.
Fortunately, Astesia was an expert at healing, so I had her and White on standby at the rear in case anything happened.
Sniffing the air, I murmured, “Hm? This smell, it’s…”
“Is this alcohol?” Rosalia tipped her head. “But how?”
“Don’t tell me—”
Hurrying over to the tree, I found a transparent liquid inside the hole in the trunk that gave off the strong smell of alcohol, along with something sweet and fruity. It was quite mysterious.
“Lord Weiss, watch out!”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” I reassured her. “I think that shroomboar over there is just drunk. Here, Rosalia. Try some.”
I scooped some of the liquid out of the hole and tasted it as I watched the bright-red shroomboar wobble about drunkenly. The condensed, sweet, fruity flavor was different from that of wine.
“This…is absolutely delicious!” Rosalia exclaimed after her own sip. “I’ve never had anything like it!”
“Wait, what’s going on?!” After hearing the two of us yelling, Astesia came running over with White on her shoulder. She followed our example and took a sip, then smiled as her cheeks turned bright red—she was definitely a lightweight. “What the…? It’s delicious!”
“Looks like we got a bonus on top of the shroomboar,” I said.
“Well done, Lord Weiss! But why is there alcohol in a place like this?”
“This is just something I’ve heard, but apparently, on very rare occasions, when animals stash fruit inside of a cavity in a tree or stone, they naturally ferment and become booze over time. A kind of miracle that can happen specifically because it’s so far removed from human hands.”
In my previous life, my old man had loved drinking, and he’d told me about monkeys making their own alcohol. It would be wise not to tell human hunters about this place. This had to be a paradise for animals to have created such a miracle.
“You know so much, Lord Weiss,” said Rosalia.
“Eh heh heh, this is so delish!” Astesia said.
“Umm, Astesia, don’t drink so much. We’ve still gotta head back down the cliff!” I warned.
That awe of nature I had been feeling? Yeah, well, it was gone after watching Astesia drunkenly enjoy the view.
I took the boars we captured and the alcohol home with us, feeling a touch disappointed.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s so lively…”
“That just goes to show how much everyone loves you, Lord Weiss,” Rosalia said with a giggle.
On the day of my birthday, I went out walking through the city with Rosalia. Obviously, I was wearing a fancy robe with a hood pulled over my head to hide my identity. As for her, she had on a maid uniform that hid the Hamilton crest and a few accessories. I was happy to see that she was wearing the ring I gave her too.
I looked like the son of a noble family out with my maid. White had stayed back at the mansion with Astesia because he stood out way too much.
“Today is Lord Weiss’s birthday celebration! We’ve got tons of foods you can only get today!” a vendor called out. “We’ve even got Lord Weiss’s favorite food, cookies!”
“Wait, my favorite food is anything that Rosalia cooks for me.”
“I appreciate your kindness, but let’s let them off the hook for today,” said Rosalia. “It’s nice to see everyone celebrating your birth, Lord Weiss.”
The folks running the food stalls were all selling what they usually did, only at higher prices. But I wouldn’t complain. For today, it was fine.
The food stalls weren’t the only ones doing business; there were a number of places selling official goods too.
“We’re selling commemorative coins with Lord Weiss’s face on them! You can only buy them today!”
“I want some! I’ll take three!” I sprinted over to the stall. “One for saving, one for giving to a friend, and one to put on display!”
The coins featured a slightly deformed version of Weiss’s face on them. He never got any official merchandise in my old world, so this was finally my chance to go nuts! How could I not buy some?!
“Oh, Lord Weiss…” Rosalia sighed with a rare exasperated look on her face. “You have samples back at home.”
“You don’t get it, Rosalia. Buying these on-site during the event is what makes them special!” Even I knew that I was making excuses, but I couldn’t help myself. “Plus, if they sell a whole bunch, they might make more next year.”
“Good point.” Her aggravated expression faded as she giggled. “Let’s have an even bigger party next year.”
We were having a blast enjoying the unique atmosphere of a big festival. In a way, this felt like proof of all that I’d managed to accomplish since becoming Weiss. Realistically, the people in the city weren’t actually celebrating Weiss’s birthday, but they thought it was a good enough excuse to have some fun, and that alone made me happy.
After buying all the official goods I could get my hands on, I spoke to Rosalia, who was trailing behind me as she had been this entire time. “Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Let me think. Hmm. What about that one place?” she asked with a smile.
“Which one?”
I had no idea what she meant until it was too late.