<Chapter 57>
#6. Waves of Change (4)
“So there I was,” Kamin Patel exclaimed, raising his voice, “swinging my axe and shouting! ‘Hey, you bastards! I’m still alive!’ Hahahaha!”
Kamin Patel, who had just boasted about his heroic exploits, took a swig straight from the beer bottle in his hand. Perhaps thanks to the alcohol, his voice had grown even louder. Melty, who was attentively listening to his story, couldn’t help but let out an automatic “Wow!”
Sitting beside Kamin Patel and emptying her glass with him, Lila’s face showed signs of boredom. Completely oblivious to her change in mood, Kamin Patel started speaking again.
“Ahhh! So, back in my day, I’d just appear like this—BAM!—and other guys would tremble and beg for their lives!”
Perhaps thanks to Melty’s encouraging responses, Kamin Patel’s voice was filled with excitement. Watching Melty’s small back of the head as he happily listened to Kamin’s story, Calix let out a hollow laugh.
‘I wonder if he realizes he’s bragging about this in front of a Crosel.’
Though it might be hard to imagine from the round and soft hamster sitting next to him, Melty had terrifying family members. They were of a completely different caliber from someone like Kamin Patel who just swung an axe a few times during major regional conflicts back in the day.
Boasting about his “glory days” in front of Melty, whose family actively collected human heads, was like a grub showing off in front of a dragon.
“That friend of ours just loves his alcohol, so don’t be too harsh. Thanks to him, we have a good atmosphere, don’t we?”
“Generally speaking, a drunk person running wild isn’t considered a ‘good atmosphere.'”
Durassen, stroking his not-so-long beard, laughed at Calix’s voice, which was full of dissatisfaction with the current situation.
“How did things go with the Spangky clan?”
At his casually thrown question, Calix glanced sideways at him. The Spangky family, a branch of the Padrian family, had also been consistently requesting a large supply of “Tonka,” both a medicinal and poisonous herb, from the Padrian family for some time.
According to Calix’s standards, “Tonka” was a plant with stronger toxic properties than medicinal ones. After cutting off the supply, one of them had come to the mansion, thrown all sorts of tantrums, and eventually even threatened Melty.
“Shouldn’t the Botenta family be looking into that?”
Calix’s gaze, with a slight smile, fell on Durassen. If the Padrian family was famous for being the source of medicinal and poisonous herbs, Durassen’s Botenta family possessed fertile farmland that enabled them to supply food in large quantities. Moreover, they were also a family located in closer proximity to the Spangky family.
It didn’t make sense from the beginning that the Spangky family, who claimed the need for Tonka was due to the recent drought, had contacted the Padrian family before reaching out to their food suppliers.
“As I mentioned before, since there was no exchange, how would I know the detailed situation?”
“Ah, right.”
Calix, nodding his head halfheartedly, narrowed his brow. Bain, who had been caught trying to harm Melty, was currently imprisoned deep inside the Padrian mansion. Since Calix was furious to the point of his hair standing on end at the fact that Melty had almost been in danger, he wasn’t in a state to properly conduct an interrogation.
Someone among the exchange meeting participants must have helped him sneak into the mansion, but no obvious suspects came to mind.
‘The most likely possibility might be Sarvie.’
He recalled a figure with whom he had a history of extremely bad blood.
“Don’t worry too much. Anyway, as you investigate the drought, you’ll also find out about the Spangky family.”
“I haven’t agreed to go yet.”
“Wasn’t the meeting conclusion reached?”
Calix, who had been giving him a sidelong glance, smiled slightly. He had no intention of meekly following the conclusion reached by people who disliked working, excluding himself.
“It’s not confirmed yet. There are still two more opportunities for adjustments.”
“You dislike going that much?”
“You know well. Give me some support.”
Durassen, stroking his chin with his hand at the sincerity in Calix’s words delivered with a slight smile, nodded.
“If you’re that averse to it, what can be done? Alright.”
For a single vote gained unexpectedly, Durassen’s influence was considerable. A satisfied smile crept onto Calix’s lips as he unexpectedly acquired a card to easily navigate through the discussion at the next meeting.
“What are you two talking about so intently?”
Lila, who had approached Calix, placed the bottle she was holding on the table. Holding a wine glass with red fruit wine swirling inside, she sat down casually and had been drinking alcohol for a while to match Kamin Patel’s pace, but she didn’t seem intoxicated at all.
“It seems I’ve found a good drinking companion after a long time.”
Durassen, lightly clinking his glass with hers, took a sip of his drink with a joyful laugh. She, with a faint smile on her lips, sighed at Calix’s intense stare.
“I came because I was too bored. Just bored.”
At her lamentation, Calix’s gaze turned to Melty. Kamin Patel was now bringing up his “glory days” story for what must have been the umpteenth time.
“Now that I think about it, I thought it was strange from earlier…”
“What is?”
“The reason you’re here.”
At Calix’s words, Lila’s red lips moved to murmur, “Ah.” The encounter between Kamin Patel and Durassen, who were moving to the annex where they were staying after the exchange meeting concluded, and Melty was purely coincidental. But that coincidence became the trigger for the current drinking gathering.
Unlike them, Lila had proudly abstained from the exchange meeting, claiming she wasn’t a successor. The question was how she had joined the drinking party so naturally. Because his attention was completely stolen by Melty when they were together, he hadn’t had a proper opportunity to question it, but Calix now glared at her to clearly understand the situation.
Unaffected by his cold gaze, Lila shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth.
“Well, of course, I’m Melty-ssi’s friend.”
“…What?”
“We just briefly parted after our tea time because I was looking for a chaebandy, but when I arrived, they were already in conversation, right? Melty-ssi started the conversation first, and as his friend, how could I not join?”
It was a brazen statement that would suffice even with a thick metal plate on her face. Calix, who had been carefully listening to her statement, brought up something particularly irritating among several unsettling things.
“Lila-ssi, did you catch it?”
Suddenly, Calix recalled Melty’s face when she appeared in their group, asking with an excited expression while they were deep in conversation. He had definitely mentioned something related to “insects.”
“Why the chaebandy?”
The chaebandy, mostly found in gardens with lots of flowers, wasn’t an insect that harmed plants. Because it made fine bell sounds with each flap of its wings, some people with peculiar tastes preferred it. But the Padrian garden, adjusted to Melty’s preferences, had only a few species of flowers at most and was originally more like an herb garden. However, he couldn’t understand why they were trying to catch a chaebandy.
“You don’t even know that? It’s commonly used, you know.”
“Stop joking around. What is it used for exactly?”
At Calix’s question, she covered her mouth with her hand, chuckling, and turned her gaze toward Durassen. Durassen, who had been attentively listening to their conversation, burst into a hearty laugh and spoke.
“Were you trying to divine the future by catching that?”
“Divination~?”
Calix’s voice trailed upward. It was evident he wanted to ask what that was and why someone would do such a thing. Smiling brightly at Calix, whose face was showing his thoughts—’What is that?’—without any intention of hiding them, Lila leaned her upper body toward him and whispered softly into his ear.
“It’s especially famous for divining love.”
“……”
After delivering the message to Calix, she straightened up and raised her nose high.
“He wanted to divine so badly, he was running around the garden the entire time trying to catch one.”
Having successfully delivered her message, Lila sat down next to Durasen with a satisfied smile on her lips.
Calix’s gaze turned to Melty beside him. He didn’t need to ask who the subject of her story was. It was obvious without even looking who the “love divination” was intended for.
Unaware that Calix was watching him, Melty fidgeted with the orange juice in his hand. Then, peeking out, he looked at the alcohol being refilled in Kamin Patel’s glass for the umpteenth time.
“Kamin Patel-ssi, does that taste good?”
“Taste? Hahaha! Of course! It’s delicious! Delicious! It’s a taste that kids wouldn’t understand!”
Melty swallowed hard at the sight of Kamin Patel laughing heartily. Even as everyone was passed alcohol glasses, only orange juice came to Melty’s hand.
“Do you even know what that is that you want to drink?”
“Alcohol!”
“Absolutely not. You can’t even touch it, understand?”
Calix, who had asked if he knew what it was only to draw a firm line, annoyed Melty. Noticing that he kept eyeing the beer, Kamin Patel extended his glass to him.
“If you’re that curious, just try it!”
“Really?”
“Not ‘really.’ No.”
Melty’s eyes sparkled as he reached out to grab Kamin’s beer glass. But before Melty’s hand could touch it, Calix quickly wrapped his arm around Melty’s waist and pulled him toward himself.
“What’s the big deal about a full-grown adult having a drink?”
“Exactly! I… want to try too.”
Empowered by Kamin Patel’s words, Melty expressed his dissatisfaction and cautiously checked Calix’s reaction. Seeing Melty’s dejected and pouting expression, Calix could no longer take a firm stance.
“You really want to try it that badly?”
“…Everyone else is drinking, but I can’t. I’m an adult too.”
Calix sighed at the sight of the young hamster, who hadn’t even lost his baby fur yet, earnestly claiming to be an “adult.” With a resigned expression, Calix poured half a glass of beer and placed it in Melty’s hand.
“Then drink slowly, just a little at a…”
Before Calix could finish speaking, Melty, having grasped the long-coveted alcohol glass, downed the beer in one go, just as he had learned from Kamin Patel. Calix, with a bewildered expression, hurriedly reached out to stop him, but the alcohol had already disappeared down Melty’s throat with a “gulp” sound.
