Foreigner Volume 8, Chapter 174

Volume 8 Chapter 174, Steady Advance ~ 27

「Not yet...... not yet......」

　The stage now shifts to the inn where Satoru has decided to stay the night, the first floor of which, like many of the inns he has seen in human towns up to this point, serves as a diner and tavern, and would normally be bustling with activity as the sun soon begins to set.

　However, at the moment, the bar at the Red Hammer Pavilion is enveloped in a strange silence.

　There is a strong sense of tension in the air. Except for a few, everyone is watching the outcome of the game with bated breath.

「Why ...... after all that drinking?」

　The person challenging the master of the Black Bear Workshop is a slender, tall human woman. The dwarves who are staring at her have a pale complexion. She has drunk so much alcohol that a normal person would have been crushed by it by now, and yet she continues to sip her mug of wine without changing her expression.

　On the other hand, Black Bear was already dizzy. While looking at Solor, who easily dried out her mug, he put it in the barrel, poured in a full glass of ale, and took a sigh. He resolves himself to drink it all in one go and tilt the mug. His barrel-like belly is distended, and it is clearly impossible to drink it all up.

　In a corner of the bar, Satoru and the others are looking on in dismay as the winner of the game is decided. It has been a quarter of a koku (1 hour) since the game began. They were watching the game while eating a dish of meat from a beast that lives in the Dragon's Claws called a Warte.

「My stomach is now much more flabby with water.」

　Solor muttered to the black bear, who finally finished his mug and looked smug, a small annoyed look on his face. Since she was being watched by so many people, she seemed to be expressing her emotions more abundantly than usual. Of course, none of this is influenced by the large amount of alcohol she has consumed.

「Guhaha, s-so that's all you got after all?」

　A Black Bear, half a step away from being crushed, raised his voice in mockery. Solor stabbed a rather cold glare at the Black Bear in response.

　Sighing glamorously, Solor gracefully stands up and goes to the counter to pick up a small tub of food while the Dwarves wait in line.

「It's getting troublesome. May I borrow this?」

「O-Oi, oi」

　Even though it is a small tub, it can hold three pounds (4.5 liters). The innkeeper's owner tried to stop her, saying it was impossible, but Solor didn't seem to mind. She returned to the game table gracefully and unhesitatingly plunged the tub into the barrel, filling it to the brim with ale.

「.........」

　The Dwarves were speechless.

　Satoru chuckles a little. He doesn't know if Solor intended it, because it was meant to show the difference in power so that the winner could clearly see who was winning and who was losing.

　Without hesitation, Solor put her mouth to the tub with a blank expression and began to slowly tilt it.

　Solor's white, thin throat rose and fell in a steady rhythm. The Dwarves around her looked at her with awe and respect as the angle of the tub gradually increased.

「...... *gulp*, pwahh」

　Solor, who had finished the last of her drink, placed the tub on the table. There were cheers of astonishment from those around her.

　Solor, with a small smile, gently pushed the tub in front of the Black Bear.

「Your turn.」

「Guhh......!」

　The Black Bear had no choice but to accept the provocation.

　After all, Solor's series of actions were deliberate. She must have cornered the Black Bear until the very last minute and then used the tub to show the difference in strength.

　What could have motivated her to go that far, Satoru wondered. It's not as if she was upset that Blackbear called him just messing around.

　Black bear also poked a tub into the barrel and poured ale to the brim. But, as expected, he doesn't immediately take a sip. Solor, seeing the Black Bear's hesitation, snickered at him. It is a mocking smile.

　It is a disgrace to be treated like that by a human, and a woman at that. The Black Bear sniffs and decides he's ready to go and picks up the bucket with a gust of wind.

「Don't do it, Vance!」

　The innkeeper's owner shouted loudly. The innkeeper knows the Black Bear is a heavy drinker and has never lost a fight over a drink in his life. But he couldn't go any further.

　Satoru tilts his head at the innkeeper's owner's voice.

「Huh? What, this old man is Vance?」

　Wasn't it a Dwarf named Vance in Deligrande who was told by Dahl at the Haivan that I could count on him if I was still being pursued by Liese after entering Arsweta?

　Satoru's mumblings were not heard. Vance the Black Bear put his mouth to the tub and drank half of it before.

「Guh, guuuuh ......」

　because he turned his eyes around and collapsed in a heap on the spot.

「Boss!」

　The young man who had been accompanying him the whole time, Black Bear's apprentice, screams out in grief. It was the first time he had seen his master defeated by drinking alcohol. The shock was great.

　Slightly bored, Solor took one look at the fallen Black Bear and then looked back mischievously at Satoru. It is still rare to see Solor this emotional, even with the presence of human eyes.

「Oh dear,......, he's crushed」

　With a bitter smile on his face, Satoru once again moved closer to Solor and patted her on the head. Solor closed her eyes happily and rubbed her own head against Satoru's.

　The Black Bear fell down on his big head and snorted high. Simple acute alcohol intoxication. Snoring is not so good, but the Dwarves at the inn don't pay much attention. They just look at the human woman who defeated the Black Bear as if she were a monster.

「S-sorry. Can we continue to talk about it again tomorrow?」

　A young Dwarf, the Black Bear's apprentice, is taking care of the Black Bear, and apologetically calls out to Satoru and Solor. Satoru shrugged his shoulders.

「Well, this isn't much to talk about. But ......」

　Satoru was at a loss for words. He thought that they would take advantage of his drunkenness and pretend that the game had never happened. Satoru's thoughts were evident on his face. The innkeeper's owner came out from the counter and smiled at Satoru as if the young dwarf alone was too much for him.

「He was defeated by force and by alcohol. If he had run away because of that, it would have been a loss to the Dwarves' reputation. A man of Vance the Black Bear's stature would never do such a thing.」

　I guess that's true―Satoru thought so without any reason. The old men in his former world who had a character similar to that of this Black Bear had accepted him with open arms once he had opened his heart. A man of craftsman's nature places importance on what he himself approves or disapproves of. Whether it is a thing or a person. Perhaps this dwarf is one of them.

「Anyway. Can you give us a meal?」

　Satoru and the others devour their meal while listening to Rico's shopping report. While they were watching the drinking match between Solor and the Black Bear, they had been eating the meat of a beast called Warte, so they were hungry to a certain extent, but they had not had a proper meal.

　The innkeeper served them a bowl of noodle soup. It was called "Eryastal".

「Sluurp, sluurp ...... this is delicious by the way」

「Hafu, hafu...... says it's a specialty. It's a little hard to imitate this.」

「Sluuuurrpppp, it's yummy~」

『Listen, you,...... either eat or talk.』

「Sluuurppp, nnghh, gulp」

『...... give up the talking one, huh』

　In terms of sensation, it would be similar to Vietnamese pho. The grayish noodles with a sticky texture that is neither pasta nor udon, the rich red broth, the unique flavor of aromatic greens, and the meat cooked to a tender tenderness, these are the ingredients that make up this dish. Everyone slurps down their noodles without even bothering to report their findings, leaving Leia's criticisms aside. Even Isolde was staring at her bowl of noodles and devouring it with a passion.

　This was Satoru's first noodle dish since coming to this world. It was also delicious. Even if you're not Satoru, you'll be satisfied.

「Brother, for a human, you sure know how to use the zuni.」

　The innkeeper's owner, who was looking on in amazement, said to Satoru.

「Zuni?」

「That's what brother is holding in your hand.」

　That thing in my hand ― Right. Satoru is holding chopsticks in his hands for the first time since he came to this world. Rico, Liz, and Minerva don't seem to know how to use them and are using them as grip chopsticks. Isolde manages to use them, but they are somewhat inadequate. Among them, Satoru, who is a purely Japanese person, appears to be remarkably proficient in the use of chopsticks.

　Satoru smiles as the tips of the chopsticks clink against each other.

「Ah. There was something similar back in my hometown. Where I come from, we called them chopsticks.」

「Hohh! Humans also had a culture of using zuni. I didn't know that.」

　This is not good, Satoru thought for a moment. He realized that the culture of chopstick use had not flourished in human society. However, the innkeeper's owner did not seem to be bothered. The woman who had finished her bowl of soup raised her bowl high in the air.

「S-second, can I have another helping!?」

　It was Isolde. Satoru agreed, feeling relieved that the conversation was slightly off-topic, although he was probably not aware of it at all. He was thinking of having another helping himself. The innkeeper's owner chuckled as he went into the back of the room.

「...... Isolde-san eats quite a bit, even though she's quite thin, doesn't she?」

　Liz muttered in dismay. Liz doesn't eat a lot and isn't a picky eater, so she eats slowly. Liz's comment was met with a small laugh from Isolde.

「In the Holy Sword Clan, it was considered a good idea to eat lightly. But as I traveled with Milord and learned to appreciate food and its deliciousness, my bind came off. I have become completely at ease now that I am no longer the head of the clan.」

　Haah, Liz sighs.

「That's spoiled, isn't it?」

「Uugh!」

　Isolde could not respond to Liz's sharp tongue, and she was depressed. Being freed from the bind of being the head of the Holy Sword Clan, she must have felt more at ease. The fact that she was almost furious with the soldier who committed the outrage at the Haivan checkpoint can be attributed to the fact that her true nature came out as a result of being relieved of the burden.

『Liz is slowly getting sharper and sharper』

　Leia's voice from the shadows echoes in Satoru's mind. Liz is somehow the calmest and, if not the most sensible of her peers.

(It's a little complicated there.)

　Satoru replied, sipping his soup all the while. Satoru doesn't care too much about older or younger people, but if she keeps on speaking out against older people, she will start to underestimate them, and as a result, she may become rude. Satoru doesn't think Liz has to worry about that, but if she becomes too strong, Satoru will feel sad somewhere.

「Here, another helping」

　The innkeeper's owner smilingly placed a bowl in front of Isolde. A female swordsman, a half-elf girl, a large and buxom woman, a healthy brown-skinned girl, and a mysterious woman who had defeated a black bear ― Dwarves and humans judge beauty and ugliness differently, but all of them are probably beautiful. These beautiful women and girls were led by a large young human man. He is said to have defeated a Black Bear by sheer force of arms.

「Hey, Brother ......, what kind of a gathering are you?」

　The innkeeper's owner, overcome with curiosity, asked Satoru, the leader of the group, although it is a normal inn rule not to pry. Satoru thought for a moment.

「What do we look like?」

「I wonder if you are adventurers, but it seems like you are ...... something different. After all, there are many women. Is this a harem?」

　Some human adventurers come to this Dwarven country from time to time. There are two decisive differences between these adventurers and this party. One is the absence of a shield, and the other is the presence of a half-elf girl who does not look like an adventurer. Only the female swordsman wears armor, and even then only leather armor. The lightweight clothing made it hard to believe that they were a party of adventurers.

「What is harem~?」

「You don't need to know.」

　Minerva tilted her head as she drank down her soup. She seemed to have been listening to what was being said, but Rico quickly followed up. There is no need to tell Minerva things she doesn't need to know.

「Fuhnn.........hey, can I have another one~?」

「Ohhh, young lady, you eat a lot too」

「Because it's delicious~.」

「You say the nicest things. Just wait a minute!」

　The innkeeper's owner bravely goes into the back of the room.

　As Satoru watches his back, he thinks to himself. After all, with this lineup, they don't seem to be seen as adventurers. They were going to call themselves a party of adventurers, but he wondered how long they would be able to keep up that charade.

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