“Gulp... Ah...”
“A bit of high-proof alcohol really is the perfect way to start the day.”
Although Ivelia's gaze beside her was somewhat unfriendly, Furni pretended to be completely oblivious as she continued to savor the wine in her glass.
“Hey, hey, what's with that look?”
Ivelia ignored Furni's teasing, her eyes fixed intently on her old friend.
“You're hiding things from us again.”
Furni's hand paused as she reached for her glass again, a stiff smile forcing its way onto her face.
“Oh, how could I?”
Giving Ivelia a smile, Furni turned her body to the other side.
“If you don't speak, I can immediately contact Baroque and the others to return to the Demon King's Castle.”
Even now, this dragon refused to tell her the truth, continuing to use that infuriating attitude to make the demons do her bidding.
“Are you serious right now?”
“What do you think? Do I look like I'm joking with lives on the line?”
Hearing Ivelia's words, Furni's expression turned serious, her back still facing Ivelia.
“Listen to me, Furni. If your next words don't give me a convincing reason, we will leave without hesitation.”
Turning around, Furni finally dropped her nonchalant attitude.
Pouring a glass of wine for Ivelia, the two stared at each other.
“You know, I've never liked the current Emperor.”
“But what you don't know is that the old Emperor didn't like him either.”
Downing the wine in her glass, Ivelia looked puzzled.
“If he didn't like him, why let him succeed the throne?”
Wasn't this a self-contradiction? Making a child you disliked the next Emperor was no simple joke.
“Because the Empire is rotting. This mess is too massive, and it needs someone rotten enough to take the blame.”
“Besides, don't you think all those fence-sitters and inferior nobles have fully exposed themselves now?”
Dipping her finger into some wine, she tapped the wooden bar counter.
Following Furni's movement, the wet patch of wine was surrounded by a clean, white area of the counter.
“The old Emperor knew that Kainster is a bit soft. That's why he needed a foolish puppet even more right now—to gather all of the Empire's filth in one place.”
“Keith is a perfect candidate.”
The words coming from Furni's mouth were incredibly cold for a family.
These were the old Emperor's own flesh and blood, yet the two princes were spoken of so dismissively by Furni.
“This is the terrifying thing about humans.”
Furni used a small flame to lightly singe the wet mark, and it quickly became indistinguishable from the dry wood around it.
“And you think that prince is clean? The old Emperor didn't die of an illness at all.”
Furni let out a bitter laugh. Such things were truly ridiculous.
A son poisoning his father, while the father plotted to make the son take over a mess he himself could no longer control.
Furni gave another bitter laugh and poured herself another cup of strong liquor, even though it tasted like plain water to her.
But in Ivelia's peripheral vision, it seemed that the bottle of white liquor in the corner had gone missing?
Well, maybe this dragon had finished it off at some point without her noticing.
As for the deceased old Emperor, Ivelia could only say that his move was incredibly ruthless—ruthless to himself, and even more ruthless to Keith.
But that Emperor could be said to have even schemed against Furni. He knew she wouldn't just stand by and watch Camillaya be destroyed.
“Indeed. Just as you said, because of the contract, I won't watch Camillaya go to ruin, nor will I let Keith run wild in Camillaya.”
“I really am a kind dragon~ Otherwise, I wouldn't have watched you all, who were on the verge of starving, risk buying large amounts of food in the capital.”
Although the demon race's kindness to her now had long since repaid her favor for such a small matter.
“Thank you so very much.”
Raising her glass to Ivelia and draining it, Furni slammed it down onto the bar counter with a loud thud.
“Ahhh~ I want to get a good night's sleep too.”
“If it weren't for Camillaya constantly having problems, this dragon would really, really love to take a century-long nap.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Gently setting down her glass, Ivelia headed upstairs.
Lin Ling should be asleep by now, right? She didn't know, but since Furni had turned a blind eye and sent Lin Ling to them, Ivelia was willing to help Camillaya install a better Emperor.
Meanwhile, on the second floor, the three of them didn't return to their respective rooms after going upstairs.
“Lin Ling, I want to ask you something.”
Kainster looked at Lin Ling walking ahead of him. There had been something on his mind that he wanted to ask her.
“Me? What is it?”
Hearing that Kainster wanted to ask her a question, Lin Ling pointed to herself in shock.
Even Ichikawa, who was standing beside them, looked at Kainster in surprise.
His face, practically screaming “Are you sure you're not drunk?!”, showed just how much of a bias he had against Lin Ling.
“Ahem, Your Highness, let me just double-check. Are you sure you're not drunk?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Uh... nothing.”
Glancing at Lin Ling, then at Kainster, Ichikawa scratched his head.
“In that case, let's talk inside the room.”
Conveniently, Ichikawa's room was right next to them.
Pushing the door open, he pointed inside, gesturing for them to enter.
But when Lin Ling stepped into the room, she covered her eyes.
“Why are you covering your eyes?”
Seriously, why did this girl have so much dirty trash in her head?
Looking at Lin Ling, Ichikawa felt that Kainster must be drunk. He had to be.
“Doesn't entering a room at a time like this usually reveal some... interesting posters?”
“But... this is a tavern.”
“...”
“Oh, right.”
Scratching her head, Lin Ling uncovered her eyes. In front of her, Ichikawa had already set out a few cups of water.
Sitting around the table in the room, Lin Ling looked at Kainster.
“What is it, soulmate? What did you want to ask me?”
“What I want to ask is...”
“If... you had to hurt others in order to protect someone, what would you do in that situation...?”
After speaking, Kainster stared intently at Lin Ling.
She fell into deep thought.
After a brief silence, Lin Ling raised her head and looked at Kainster with a serious gaze. Seeing her like this, even Ichikawa sat up straighter.
“How should I put this...”
Lin Ling scratched her head. As for this question, she had already expressed her answer through her actions.
“I understand one thing: I can't protect everyone, especially not now.”
“I don't think I'm that noble... I'm just practicing the justice in my heart, doing my best to uphold it.”
Whether it was for everyone in the demon race or for Lina, she was simply practicing the justice in her heart.
Within her power, she would do her utmost to protect the people she wanted to protect.
Hearing Lin Ling's words, Ichikawa couldn't help but look at her in amazement.
“You...”
“Isn't that a line from Ultraman?!”
“How did you know?!”
Seeing her chuunibyou speech exposed, Lin Ling immediately downed the cup of water in front of her.
Being caught while delivering a chuunibyou speech was truly embarrassing!
But more than that, why did she feel so dizzy after drinking the water?
Wasn't she supposed to be immune to...
Click—
Right after Lin Ling collapsed, Ivelia pushed the door open and walked in.
Looking at the collapsed Lin Ling, her gaze swept over the two sitting at the table.
In the end, without saying a word, she picked up the drunk Lin Ling and walked straight out of the room.
As for her getting drunk, Ivelia put Lin Ling's necklace back around her neck.
The previous night, she had taken off the necklace for fear that Lin Ling wouldn't sleep well, and she had forgotten to put it back on when they left.
But at least it fulfilled Lin Ling's dream of having a drink.
Carrying Lin Ling back to her room, the tavern returned to silence.
Meanwhile, back in the room, Kainster was still contemplating what Lin Ling had just said.
It could be said that he had fallen into deep thought the moment Lin Ling finished speaking.
Putting aside his conversation with Ichikawa, Lin Ling's words had indeed given Kainster some food for thought...
Rate on N.U.
