3 bar menu

Volume 5 Trouble File First Half Part 3

For a moment there it looked as if she was battling with her own thoughts whether she should drink the alcohol that was offered to her or not, but ultimately it looked like her curiosity managed to get the better of her, because she continued to hold the cup in her hand while clearing her throat with a cough, looking visibly flustered.

「*Ekhem!* A-Anyway, have any of you seen Miss Kasukabe? I have been looking for her all over the establishment, but I just cannot seem to find her anywhere.」

「Oh, if it is Kasukabe that you are looking for, then I believe she should be. . . 」

「A. . .Amazing!!!! Those two have finally done it! They emptied the entire food storage! Just the two of them!!!!!」

「I do not know about that other guy, but I asked around, and that girl seems to be famous glutton from the {No Name} Community from the East Side!」

「「「. . . . . .」」」

The three of them could only smile bitterly at the things they just overheard while internally they suffered from second-hand embarrassment. After a while, the first one to comment on that matter was Asuka.

「Goodness gracious, Miss Kasukabe. I know that everyone has their own ways and methods for honoring the memory of the dead, but really now. Could she not exercise just a little bit of moderation?」

「W-Well come on now. While I do think that she might have gone just a little bit overboard, who said that it is necessarily a bad thing? After all, now that Azi-Dahaka has been concluded with his defeat and your victory, do you not think that the dead might be more glad seeing us all laughing and having fun rather than being all serious about everything all the time?」

Kouryuu tried to follow Asuka’s comment with his own suggestion while smiling in a somewhat painful way, because he knew better than anyone else that what he was saying sounded like a really big of a stretch. But just at that time, the entire banquet venue has become abuzz with yet another commotion.

「Hey, take a look at that flag! Is that not. . . 」

「Yeah, is that not. . . . . . the one belonging to 「The Great Sage of Ventilation’s」. . . . 」

「The Macaque King’s. . . .  ?!!」

「Pwaaaah!!!!!! *SPIT!!!!*」

Kouryuu, who took another sip of the sake, ended up spitting it right back without even getting the chance to savor its taste properly this time, and he abruptly stood up and looked around him in a panic. . . . and then he saw him, the man who was so tall that he towered above the rest of the people around him. . . . . . . . standing right next to Kasukabe You and the table that looked like it has been through literal hell.

He had a long, rough beard and facial hair that were more reminiscent of a beast’s mane rather than regular hair, and he had the signs for the words 「Sage」 and 「Ventilation」 tattooed on his right arm, the same words that have been etched onto the flag of his Community. You, who was competing with this man in an all-you-can-eat contest until just a moment ago looked up at him while licking the last remains of the sweet red bean paste from her mouth, and then she pouted her cheeks, looking quite upset.

「. . . .  Such a shame. I definitely would have won if the food storage was not exhausted.」

「What is that?! You say that you could have kept going, girlie?! Well, well, well, who would have thought that someone so small as you would be able to stuff so much food inside her?! You have guts, I will definitely give you that!」

「Says the one who was able to keep up with m like it was nothing. I will have you know that I have never lost in the types of Games that are centered around eating, but you look like someone who could have finally presented me with a worthy challenge.」

「No, no, no, believe it or not, but I was about to hit my limit! Maybe I should have been a little bit more strict with the alcohol that I have drank before the contest, wahahahahahaha!!!」

And the man laughed with a deep voice that sounded like it was coming from the depths of his chest.

Now that he became absolutely sure as to who that man was, Kouryuu jumped up even higher from how surprised he was.

「B. . . .Big brother!? Big brother Macaque!?」

「Hmm. . .  Ah! If it is not Kouryuu! My little brother! Long time no see! How are you doing?!」

「But of course! And I see that you are looking like a picture of perfect health yourself!」

Kouryuu, The Saurian Demon Lord who was otherwise known as 「The Great of the Sea」pushed his way through the crowd of people, tapped The Macaque King on the shoulder and greeted him vigorously. For someone like him, who lived in The Driftwood of Dead Trees for so long, it would stand to reason that a reunion with a big brother whom he has not seen for quite a long time would be a joyous occasion worthy of celebrating. The smile that he had on his face right now was quite different from his usual, playful one. His current one looked as if he has just returned to the days of his childhood. The Macaque Kind looked like he was just as overjoyed as Kouryuu, but when he noticed the bottle of sake that he was still holding in his hand, he pointed at it while laughing happily.

「Ooooh, I see you are drinking my sake as well, little brother! Well, what do you thin about it? I have put all of my heart into the making of this year’s Junmai sake and I have to say that I am pretty proud of the end result.」

「What?! Big brother, you were the one responsible for the brewing of this sake?! I see! Not it makes sense! No wonder it tasted so good like nothing else that I have tasted before!」

「Right? Right?! Keep those praises coming, cause I never have enough of those! Hey, someone bring us a whole new barrel to the table over there! Come on, little brother, and you too, girlie! We shall continue this conversation when they will bring us more sake to your table!」

「Is it really okay for me to come with you? I never drank alcohol in my life before.」

You tilted her head and asked, not wanting to intrude upon Macaque King’s and Kouryuu’s touching brotherly reunion, but he simply laughed and beckoned her to come with them as he grabbed the barrel with sake that was in the middle of being transported to Kouryuu’a and Izayoi’s table and carried it there himself on his shoulder. It looks like he really wanted to fight against You on his own territory no matter what. However. . . .

As soon as Izayoi heard that the one who is going to be joining their table is going to be 「The Great Sage of Ventilation」, he just could not stop himself from moving around in his seat. Even though this guy is a known Demon Lord, there are very few descriptions of him as a parson and the abilities and powers that he possesses, and the only information that various sources seem to be agreeing on is that he was a kind of a Monkey God, so it was perfectly reasonable for Izayoi to be curious about such a mysterious figure joining them.