Chapter 20: I Prefer Everyday Life Over Being a Selected One (3)
I clinked my glass with Vicente's—kind of hypocritical of me, considering what I was about to do—but anyway, I snatched the glass Albelda was holding.
"Albelda. That's enough for you."
"Eeeeh?! Why—!! Why?!"
Albelda made an exaggerated gesture with a face like the sky had fallen. Was her true nature actually that of a heavy drinker…? She couldn't be drunk already, right?
"Even if you're one of the Ten Families, you're still physically weak and recovering. Alcohol isn't good for you. Honestly, three glasses was already me being generous."
I was genuinely worried. Just two years ago, she kept visiting the workshop's operating room like it was her bedroom. One year ago she still needed an oxygen mask and an IV drip like standard equipment. She has been getting better miraculously since then, but with illness, you never know.
"At least you're wearing the scarf I gave you. Keep it on until summer. Even in spring, wear it!"
"Are you my butler on a secret mission to guard me or something?"
"I'm just seriously worried, Albelda. You finally got to move around like this again—going back to being bedridden would be awful, right?"
"...Fine, I know you worry about me all the time."
Clicking her tongue lightly, Albelda grabbed the bottle of orange juice Anna was drinking and walked over to her. Watching her back, I brought my own glass to my lips.
"Vicente, how is Albelda when I'm not around?"
"She's recovering quickly. At this rate, she might reach the physical condition of a normal Arie. It's not impossible."
Vicente drained his glass and continued.
"Actually, even though she talks and acts like that, the one who works the hardest toward a full recovery is her. She even came wearing the scarf you gave her. Part of it is because she desperately wants the chance to achieve her dream someday, but the biggest reason is you, Hoaquin."
"Me?"
"You worry about her constantly. She feels thankful yet guilty about it. She wants to get better quickly so she can ease your worries. She didn't even want to come here this time—said she wanted to stay in the floating city and focus on recovery. But her eyes looked so sad when she said it that I convinced her to come. And look at her now—she's having fun."
'I suddenly feel bad.'
Maybe I should've let her drink a bit more… This stuff is really good.
I set my glass down. She came down here for my sake—wouldn't be right for me to drink everything alone.
"I think that's enough drinking for today."
"I agree."
Vicente also put his glass down and capped the bottle.
"So, Vicente. What about you? Did you solve your problem?"
At my question, Vicente relaxed his expression and gave a small smile.
"Yeah, it's starting to sort itself out."
"Oh? So what conclusion did you reach?"
"That is… well."
"?"
Suddenly Vicente frowned and held his head.
"...I'll tell you next time we meet at the tower. I'm still wavering."
"Alright, sure. We have plenty of time anyway. By the way—you're not drunk, right?"
"I'm not drunk. Even Albelda's fine; how would I get drunk from that?"
"Heh. Rumor says your alcohol tolerance is less than one glass, though? You're totally a kid when it comes to taste. Speaking of which, did you like the skewers I sent you?"
"I refuse to agree with the first part of that, but yes, the skewers were good. You said they're from Archimedes, right? I'm planning to buy more on the way back. Tell me where the stall is."
"Oh, right! Actually, want to go now? All of us?"
And so, our impromptu Night Market Expedition Force was formed. I had only walked Archimedes' shopping district during the day, so this was my first night market experience.
"Okay, let's go! First stop, the skewer stall Vicente liked!"
Maybe it was just my imagination or some secret recipe, but the skewers from the street vendor tasted even better than the ones I had in the morning last time.
"Sir, how many skewers do you have left? I'll buy them all. Don't worry about the cost—I'll pay double."
"Uh… s-sir, thank you so much for loving my food, but… I still have to sell some to the other customers…"
Vicente insisted on buying every single skewer at the food stall. When he said he'd just buy out the entire stock at the main store too, I nearly burst out laughing.
"The ones you sent me before were good, but they didn't taste like these. Only these will do."
In the end, we almost got into a clash with a noble from the Ha family who had already placed an order for skewers, and Albelda and I had to work hard to calm Vicente down.
"Hoaquin. Those Ha family guys seemed startled the moment they saw your face, then backed off. Why don't we just get rid of them and buy every skewer here?"
Oh come on!
…..
Next, we headed to the department store where I had bought Albelda's scarf.
"Welcome, VIP guest. Shall I prepare coffee for you?"
"No, just give us four glasses of fresh fruit juice."
Since I needed to replace the clothes that were burned in that unfortunate incident last time, I figured I should also get outfits for the others. Albelda and Anna were already wandering back and forth between the clothing and accessory sections with sparkling eyes. Well, it's probably their first time seeing such a fancy place—especially for Albelda.
"Hey, Hoaquin, Vicente! How about this?"
Albelda spun around with a bonnet she found in the hat corner. Seeing how happy she was, I felt once again that Vicente did well bringing her. Her bright expression was contagious, and Vicente and I smiled, matching her energy.
"That one's cute too. Try this one as well—here, I'll put it on you."
"I personally think the mini-hat looked the best."
….
I bought myself new clothes as well, and for Albelda we bought hats, clothes, shoes—and for Anna, a pile of accessories. All paid with the Floating City administrator's card. I'm basically his savior, so what's a few hundred million points? With our hands full of shopping bags, happily overloaded, we headed to the arcade where Anna had gotten her bear plushie before.
"...Hoaquin, I didn't know you had a talent for this. You actually won the bear with this?"
"Hey, you trying to drag Anna into that dark abyss? You're not secretly addicted already, are you?"
Somehow the arcade had transformed into a casino. The Las Vegas casinos I saw in movies would look cute compared to this super-casino.
"...This isn't right…"
"Hoaquin, a bit of entertainment can add spice to life, but too much becomes poison. Control yourself."
"I'm taking Anna to that clothing store over there. Anna, come. Don't look at that. Bad. Very bad."
"Okay, sis."
The cold gazes watching me as they walked away… At this rate, I'd be mistaken for a gambling addict. Panicking, I quickly looked around until I finally spotted the game corner sign shoved into one side of the room.
There! That's it! I'm innocent!
Feeling both relieved and wronged, I hurried toward it. It seemed that during the day, this place ran as an arcade, but at night, they converted it into a casino, pushing the arcade games into one corner.
There were many other young nobles from the Ten Families in the game area, and among them, I unexpectedly ran into someone.
"Oh?"
"Eh?"
A weak, flustered sound slipped out—an all too familiar voice.
"Y-you… why are you here…."
Maschenny stammered as she hastily spread her arms out, trying to hide something.
"Uh… hi, Maschenny? It's been, what, five hours?"
Why is she here again?
It looks like she's trying to cover some kind of game… but the strange part is that she's playing purely by her own will, not because someone challenged her. That alone feels off. Is this game really that fun?
"W-wait—!"
She tried desperately to block my view, but it was impossible. She's small, so everything behind her is still perfectly visible.
"….."
This… looks familiar.
Moving Target Shooting
Khun Maschenny Zahard – 600 points (20 tries)
Personal Record
Arie Hoaquin – 800 points (1 try)
Yeon Hwarang – 640 points (3 tries)
Yeon Hwarang – 620 points (1 try)
Khun Maschenny Zahard – 600 points (20 tries)
Khun Maschenny Zahard – 590 points (18 tries)
My gaze lingered on the scoreboard for a moment, then shifted back to Maschenny.
Oh—her face was bright red. And thanks to the flashy casino lights, it was easy to see. The familiar urge to tease her rose inside me, and the corners of my mouth twisted into a mischievous smirk.
"Ah, don't tell me you're upset because I carried you last time…?"
Twitch.
"But… 4th place after 20 tries…?"
Tremble tremble.
"Princess, what's your Shinsu trio again? (Bang, Myun, and Soo?)"
"Sh-shut up!!"
Crackle crackle crackle—
I hurriedly tried to parry the electricity and reached for the sword at my hip. But instead of the expected resistance, my hand closed around empty air.
Oh—right. My sword broke.
"W-wait! I just bought this new outfit—"
And then I was thoroughly electrocuted.
…This feels like déjà vu.
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