| > Wait, why are you ordering sake? lol > I thought you said you didn’t drink! > So seeing both of them drinking in the host-club-addict room finally made you feel safe enough? > But you just used Clairvoyance, didn’t you? > He wasn’t looking at Lune-chan. He was staring at the booze. > So you’re planning to inspect it for safety before drinking? > Please don’t let this be another one of the Nether King’s ‘special creations’… |
Just before I used Clairvoyance to check the alcohol’s composition, my eyes drifted toward the scrolling comments. One particular message lodged itself stubbornly in my mind.
Please don’t let this be another one of the Nether King’s.
Up until now, I’d somehow demonstrated a frightening talent for surviving bizarre food disasters. But if this drink was really that thing the viewers were imagining, then there was absolutely no way I was touching it. Even if it could dramatically boost my abilities.
| 【 Sogen (Vintage) 】 A soul-stirring harmony of sweetness and saltiness, infused with the spirits of the dead. Beneath its intricate depth lies a supreme richness on the palate, accompanied by the fragrance of perfectly ripened apples. Crafted from Meisō rice, cultivated through countless trials in the depths of nether itself, this miraculous aged underworld sake achieved what was once thought impossible—long-term maturation. That masterpiece is known as Sogen. Indulge in the ultimate netherworld liquor, permitted only within the abyss. Ingredients ▼ Rice Polishing Ratio ▼ Alcohol Content ▼ Volume ▼ Expiration Date ▼ Storage Instructions ▼ Manufacturer ▼ Warnings ▼ Contact Information ▼ Effects ▼ Commercial Video ▼ |
“…”
Come on, this isn’t a product label… Couldn’t they make it simpler and just display the important details clearly?
Still, just reading that opening description somehow made it sound ridiculously delicious. Though the “salty flavor” part was a little concerning…
Hmm. I guess pressing those little “▼” symbols would reveal the details…
But seriously, why is there even a commercial video? Who exactly is that supposed to benefit?
“Daishi-san, are you seriously still staring down the sake? Hurry up and drink already.”
“Ah—just give me a little longer.”
Lune-chan kept urging me to drink and toast with her, piling on every charm tactic she could think of.
…Honestly, the harder she pushed, the more suspicious it started to feel. She was definitely trying to make me drink, wasn’t she?
Yeah. Skipping the inspection would be a mistake.
For now, I decided to check the ingredients first.
| Ingredients ▲ ・Rice (produced in Meisō) ・Rice malt (Meisō-grown rice) |
So this was basically sake?
And hold on—they could grow rice in this dungeon?
If I remembered right, the old man known as the Nether King had once been an explorer himself. But looking at this room’s setup and the sake being served, maybe he’d actually just been an ordinary middle-aged salaryman who quit his corporate job and became an adventurer, same as me.
For a moment, I felt a strange sense of kinship with him. Still, letting my guard down would be stupid.
I didn’t have time to inspect every detail, so I decided to skim only the alcohol content, warnings, and effects.
| Alcohol Content ▲ ・16.3% Warnings ▲ ・None in particular. Completely safe and reliable. Effects ▲ ・Makes you cheerful and energetic. No hangovers. |
Looks like I’d worried for nothing. The Nether King old man really is just trying to entertain us. I might doubt everything else, but I trusted the results of Clairvoyance more than anything. From what I could tell so far, the drink didn’t seem dangerous.
As for the salty flavor, I’d accept it gratefully. Still, even if it supposedly prevented hangovers, drinking too much was never a good idea. Once your mood lifted and your judgment dulled, that was exactly when someone could take advantage of you. But more than anything, I am curious about the taste.
Just one sip.
…No, one cup.
That would be enough. After all, I’d worked hard to make it this far.
That” okay, right, viewers?
“Sorry! Well then, let’s have a toast!”
“Yes! Then…”
“Cheers!”
With a loud voice, I exchanged a toast with Lune-chan to mark our first meeting.
◆◆◆
“Lune-chan, another one pleeease~”
“Ah! Daishi-san! The manager’s calling me, so I’m stepping away for a bit!”
“Okayyy… hic…hic…”
Watching Lune-chan’s bunny-suited hips sway as she left her seat, I hugged the second bottle of Sogen and poured myself another drink. My consciousness was already starting to blur, and my hand wavered unsteadily as I tried to fill the wine glass.
“Whoops… spilled a little… hic…”
In my drunken state, the golden liquor splashed inside the glass and seeped onto the edge of my Twilight Robe.
Ahh, what a waste…
Still, this Sogen was seriously way too good. Without question, it was the undisputed number one sake I’d ever tasted in my life.
I’d only meant to take a single sip, but it went down so smoothly that before I knew it, the conversation with Lune-chan had grown lively, and we’d already emptied an entire sake bottle between us.
And now this was the result. I am completely plastered.
“Mooou~ Daishi-san, you’re way too weak when it comes to alcohol~! Here, a fresh towel.”
Lune-chan returned to the table carrying a new oshibori.
That bright smile of hers was just as dazzling as ever.
…Hic.
| > Mister is completely drunk! > His face is bright red! > So much for ‘just one drink.’ LOL > He’s absolutely wasted lmao. > What about the other two…? > Hey camera, show over there. > Mina-chan still looks exactly the same. > Nah, but that host guy’s passed out. > LOL they woke him back up. > So he’s been forced to listen to her complaining this whole time? > That’s its own kind of hell. > And Shion-san…? > She’s still standing there drinking without moving. > There are three buff dudes collapsed on the floor lol. > They’re foaming at the mouth. > Wait, did she seriously knock out three people in a drinking contest? > Shion-neesan’s tolerance is insane lol. > She’s a total bottomless pit. |
I was too drunk for any of the comments to properly register, but from the general mood of the chat, I could tell Mina-chan and Shion-san were doing fine. If everyone was having fun, then that was good enough for me.
Thank you, old man Nether King!
Okay, maybe I’d been a little—No, very suspicious of you. But your hospitality was incredible. Once we left this place, we’d probably go back to being enemies…
Yet at least for now, I genuinely felt grateful. Actually, maybe he was the kind of old man you could understand if you just sat down and talked things through.
Fighting wasn’t the only way to solve things, right?
All humanity is family! If people opened up and spoke honestly, maybe they could understand each other after all…
“…stomach?”
Now that I thought of that word, I remembered something important.
Actually, for a while now…
“Daishi-san! Time really flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? But we’re almost out of time, so I’ll need you to settle the bill now~!”
“Huh? The bill? But the manager said we wouldn’t have to pay any money…”
“Right. Money.”
“…Eh?”
Ooops. I had an extremely bad feeling about this.
Money, she said…
No, more importantly— For a while now, my lower abdomen—right around my intestines—had been in complete turmoil. There was no mistaking this sensation. That thing was desperately waiting for its triumphant return to the world of the living. I’d been holding it in out of gentlemanly dignity. Releasing it in a place like this would’ve been mortifying. And beyond that, there was the horrifying possibility that a Hell Gate might burst open if I let loose.
But it looks like I’m reaching my limit. The force keeping the “asterisk” tightly sealed was gradually weakening. Probably because I am drunk.
This is… terrible.
“Lune-chan… I need to use the restroom for a sec…”
“The payment…”
“!!!”
Eh…?
Lune…-chan…?
“You shall pay with your boooodyyyyy!!!”
Hiiiih!
Huweeeeeeeeeehhhh!!!”
Lune-chan—
Lune-chan turned into a monsterrrr!!!”
Puff…Pffft!
“Ah-”
The shock made me have a little slip out.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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