Grand Hills Tokyo, a super-luxury five-star hotel directly managed by the guild headquarters.
On the hotel’s fifth floor was the Peacock Hall. In the center of the grand banquet hall, surrounded by an array of dazzling, majestic furnishings, sat me, Satsuki-chan, Mina-chan, Shion-san, and Ryunosuke.
“Isn’t this place a little too big? I can’t relax at all…”
We were seated around an elaborately designed rotating round table. At its center stood an enormous dragon ornament, a crystal clenched in its jaws.
Incidentally, aside from us, the only other people present were a handful of hotel staff. Not a single other guest occupied the hall. The entire place had been prepared solely to entertain us.
“Uurrrrrr…”
“Hey, Ryunosuke. Behave yourself.”
Whether it was some kind of instinctive rivalry between dragons or something else entirely, Ryunosuke let out a low growl at the dragon ornament, earning himself a mild scolding from Shion-san.
Of course, under normal circumstances, monsters weren’t allowed inside hotels. But Yuda had exercised his authority as the Guild Chief, and Ryunosuke had been granted special permission to accompany us. After everything we’d been through exploring the dungeon together, there was no way I could have left Ryunosuke behind in the Funeral Rank dungeon all by himself.
So I was genuinely grateful for the consideration.
Thank you, Yuda-san!
“Then allow us to bring out your meal. We’ll arrange a selection of dishes on the table, but if there’s anything you’d like, please don’t hesitate to ask. We are fully prepared to accommodate any request.”
The woman in the black uniform standing nearby explained everything with impeccable politeness. That was right—we were about to have a very late dinner. After leaving the Nether-class dungeon, we’d been escorted into a fleet of black luxury cars prepared by the staff and brought straight to this hotel. I am completely exhausted, and honestly, I would have preferred to take a bath and go straight to bed. But the girls had immediately declared, “Food first!”, with far more enthusiasm than I’d expected.
Unable to resist the momentum, I’d ended up agreeing to eat before getting any rest.
“Whoa! Hey, hey, Mina! Isn’t that the A9-ranked thing?”
“You’re right! Oh! Satsuki! Wait, isn’t that thing over there… that thing?”
“Whoa! That’s insane! No way! That’s totally that, right?”
“Isn’t this seriously crazy?”
“This is next-level crazy!!”
The girls’ eyes sparkled as one luxurious-looking dish after another was carried to the table. Satsuki-chan and Mina-chan, in particular, were so excited that they’d reached the point where I honestly couldn’t understand a single thing they were saying.
That thing?
And it’s seriously, totally crazy?
What the heck are they talking about?!
“Ajiri-san, what would you like to drink?”
“Uh, um…”
The woman in black handed me the alcohol menu, but everything on it was written in words that definitely weren’t Japanese, so I couldn’t read a damn thing.
I was sure it was packed with rows upon rows of expensive wines that would make rich people drool, but I’d spent my entire life as nothing more than an overworked corporate drone. There was no way I knew anything about fine wines—the varieties, the flavors, any of it.
Which meant, naturally, that the very first alcoholic drink I’ll order is…
“Do you have draft beer? Super Dry.”
“Of course. Would you like a medium?”
“Large!”
“I’ll have the same.”
“YEAHHH!”
Shion-san decided to copy my order and got a large draft beer as well.
No matter how fancy the restaurant was, you just had to start with beer, right?!
“I’ll have a fresh green banana juice! Mina, what about you?”
“I think I’ll have a freshly squeezed mango-orange juice.”
Satsuki-chan and Mina-chan were looking over the menu for minors and ordering juice.Unlike Shion-san and me, they weren’t allowed to drink alcohol, after all.
“U-Uhm… and what would the dragon, uh… like to drink?”
Apparently, she had never had to serve a dragon before. A look of unmistakable tension crossed the woman in black’s face.
“Hm? Don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of him, so you can just ignore him.”
“Grrrrrrrr…”
“H-hiik!”
Shion-san gently stroked Ryunosuke’s head as he continued to growl, adding a few words that spared the woman in black from having to deal with him. I mean, it wasn’t like he was a dog or a cat.
The poor woman was clearly terrified.
Well… that was only natural. Unless you were an explorer, you’d probably go your entire life without ever seeing a real dragon.
“U-Understood. I shall bring your drinks shortly, so please wait just a moment.”
Having finished taking our orders, the woman in black practically fled toward the back of the hall.
She’d seemed perfectly calm at first, but I guess Ryunosuke had actually scared her pretty badly.
It wasn’t like he’d done anything particularly wrong, but somehow, I still felt like we’d done something terrible.
Sorry for that, Miss Lady-in-Black.
◆◆◆
“Daishi, we’d like you to lead the toast!”
Everyone except Ryunosuke had a drink in hand, and Mina-chan raised her glass of juice, apparently expecting me to fulfill my duties as the organizer.
Was that really necessary?
We were all exhausted. Couldn’t we just eat, drink, take a bath, and go to bed?
“Nah, you guys can just start without me…”
“That’s exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about, Daishi-san!”
“Huh??”
What exactly is it about me that she’s talking about, Satsuki…?
She, too, had raised her beer mug and was standing there, waiting for the toast.
“She’s right. We’ve finally reached the end of all this. Don’t you think you should at least say a few words?”
“Shyaaaaa!”
Even Shion-san and Ryunosuke were joining in…
Well, Ryunosuke didn’t exactly have a glass to raise, so I guess he was just roaring along to get into the spirit of things.
Honestly, what was with everyone…?
Anyways…
“Ahem! Well then, since I’ve been nominated, if I may be so bold, I, Daishi Ajiri, shall have the honor of leading us in the toast!”
If they told me to do it, I had no choice. I stood up with my large beer mug in hand, extending my arm as I prepared to make the toast.
“Ooh! Look at you! You actually look the part!”
“Hey, don’t make fun of me, kid.”
I’d spent fifteen years as a corporate wage slave, after all. I was actually pretty accustomed to leading toasts at drinking parties.
But…
“Uh, well… I’m just really glad everyone made it out alive! Yeah! Cheers!”
“Cheers!!”
Just because I had experience didn’t mean I was particularly good at giving speeches. Still, nobody seemed to mind, and the banquet got underway without a hitch, much to my relief.
Truth be told, I’d considered saying something along the lines of, “Don’t let your guard down—we’re still in enemy territory.” But I decided against it. This was supposed to be a celebration. There was no reason to spoil it by saying something tactless before the party had even started.
As long as I stayed vigilant, that was all that mattered. If anything happened, I’d protect everyone. There was no need for anyone else to keep their guard up. I want them to forget their worries and simply enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp… Haaaaaah!! That hits the spot!!”
Man, beer really was the best!!
…Eh!?
I got carried away and somehow downed the entire large mug of draft beer in one go!
Whoa! Bad, bad! We’re in enemy territory!
I need to stay—stay on my guard…
“Miss, another large draft beer, please!!”
Nah, come on. I worked my ass off, didn’t I? Surely I’m allowed to enjoy at least this much. Besides, I’ve got a strong tolerance for alcohol, so I’ll be totally fine!
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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