The Unaware Harem Adventure Tale of the Strongest Enchanter ~~I Don’t Know My Companions’ Faces or Identities, but I’m Pretty Sure They’re All Guys~~ - 28. Ale after work is too delicious to stop

28. 28. 28. 28. 28. 28. 28. 28. Ale after work is too delicious to stop

After bringing Avril to the surface, the newbie girls were waiting.

There were also some female staff members.

“Avril-sama!”

“Sorry for the trouble. I’m a failure as a Guild Master.”

“That’s not true. You’re the only Guild Master for us, Avril-sama.”

“Stop it. If you say that, I won’t be able to quit.”

Avril smiled as she patted the head of the staff member who hugged her.

Zain and I moved to the newbie girls and asked how it went.

“From those faces, looks like it went well.”

“We got lots of Slime core stones. And we even took down several Death Alligators. We also got to test Bell’s new magic and Rinoa’s enchants. So it was a big haul.”

“Akane-chan did great too. She moved better than before and her coordination with Rinoa-chan was smooth.”

“The only complaint is that we didn’t get to try debuffs. Sensei, teach me status effects.”

Status effects, huh.

Feels a bit early. But she seems like the type who would learn them quickly.

Paralysis, for example, has more characters and is harder.

I’ll pick something simple and easy for beginners.

“I’ll teach you once we get back to the inn.”

“’Kay.”

When I patted her head, she squinted her eyes and looked pleased.

She’s kind of like a big black cat.

For some reason, Zain also started patting Rinoa’s head.

“C-cuteee!”

“Ahh, Zain-san is patting her! No fair, no fair!”

“Exactly! Zain-san, us too—me and Akane-chan!”

“You two, out of the way.”

It’s true what they say—three women together make a lot of noise.

(Note: 姦 can mean noisy in Japanese. And it is made up of three instances of the kanji 「女」 (woman): 姦 = 女 + 女 + 女.)

Just having them around makes things loud.

When the chat settled down, Avril called out to us.

“We’re heading back to the guild. The reward for completing the request will be given directly tomorrow. Also, there’s something I want to talk about. So could you delay your return?”

“It’s about the demon, right?”

“That’s part of it. We’ll talk. Take it easy tonight.”

Avril left, taking the female staff with her.

“Dinner’s on Lux-san tonight. Can’t wait.”

“I bet it’s at a fancy place. He’s S-rank, after all, unlike us.”

“I’m hungry. Sensei, food.”

The newbies just had to remember a promise I didn’t want them to.

Also, I’m not your food provider.

I let out a big sigh.

“Just asking, you did book the inn, right?”

“Of course. Now it’s your turn to keep your promise, senpai. Don’t say you forgot.”

“…I remember.”

A promise is a promise.

Guess I’ll have to treat them.

Fine, I’ll feed you all you can eat!

◇

A tavern attached to the Umbrella Guild.

We joined the other parties who completed their requests for a drinking party.

“Cheers!”

“Yaaay!”

“Celebrating the big success of Umbrella’s request!”

The newbie girls clinked their glasses with big smiles.

The table was filled with dishes that were way too big for just snacks.

As promised, dinner was on me.

The Umbrella territory is famous for river fish. You can also get hard-shelled claw shrimp. It’s not just about tourism—they’re also big on food. And being close to a famous ale-producing area means you can get good alcohol too.

So, I chugged my ale in one go and let out a satisfied sigh.

“Ahhh, the first drink after work is the best.”

“Ch-cheeseeeee! Soooo goooood!!”

Zain flared their nostrils at a piece of bread topped with melty cheese.

They really love cheese.

“Ta-da! Look at this!”

“Wow! That’s a new book by Professor Koronmaru! Where’d you get it!?”

“Fufufufufu, I found it on sale at the bookstore in this town. It was the last copy.”

“I want to read it! Hey Bell, let me read it!”

“Then praise me. If I feel good, I might hand it over.”

“Bell, you’re smart, cute, a good girl, and your magic always helps us. You’re amazing.”

“Ehehe.”

The mage girl pulled out a book and the swordsgirl was all excited.

It’s probably a novel.

I don’t think that restless, short-attention-span swordsgirl would want a difficult book.

I glanced at the thief girl. She was silently munching on salad with a blank face.

“What?”

“Who’s Professor Koronmaru?”

“He’s a writer. Writes novels. I heard it’s a romance story.”

“A romance novel, huh. Girls would like that.”

“I heard he’s super popular. Sensei, do you read novels?”

“Sometimes. Zain—Zain?”

I tried to bring Zain into the talk. But for some reason, they were doing a handstand on the chair.

Why a handstand?

Why now??

“Sensei, are you… maybe a former thief?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Sometimes your footsteps disappear. You also disarmed traps in the dungeon.”

“You don’t have to be a thief to learn those skills. In my case, someone I knew—more like a father figure—was a master thief. So he taught me.”

“What did you do before becoming an adventurer?”

“Hey, don’t go digging into people’s pasts. I won’t teach you any enchantments.”

“Sorry.”

The thief girl apologized honestly. And I replied, “Don’t worry about it.”

Talking about boring stuff at a fun party just kills the mood.

After an adventure, it’s best to laugh like idiots without thinking.

Drink good booze, eat good food, sleep soundly.

And then get back to work tomorrow.

Still… that man with blue hair… was he really a demon?

It’s only recorded in ancient books—no one alive has ever seen one.

Was the one she met really the real thing?

And if so, why was he at Umbrella?

It’s a mystery.

Another thing that’s been on my mind—Zain knew about the demon’s curse.

Zain’s a top-tier healer.

Wouldn’t be strange if they know more than the average healer.

Which just makes me more curious about who they really are.

Who are you, Zain Hernard?

“Ch-ch-ch-cheeeese is sooooo goooooood!!”

“Hahaha, Zain-san is so funny!”

“They look scary, but they’re really kind and a good person.”

“And shy.”

Zain yelled with eyes wide open.

Not just the newbies, but even the other adventurers at the tavern were laughing at them.

I silently and seriously stared at the chests of the newbie girls.