First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 17

“Hey, Gabriel.”

My voice echoed through the empty sanctuary.

I lowered my voice in case Anghel might hear from beyond the door.

“I’m here, you bastard. Hurry up and come out.”

I waited a little longer.

Still no response whatsoever.

Could it be that my voice isn’t reaching him?

Not every prayer humans make reaches the deity after all.

Just in case, I threw out some words that might provoke him.

“Answer me quickly before I tear down this whole building.”

Then Gabriel’s voice rang out in my head.

[Good grief… Still the same foul temper.]

A voice on the border between male and female, with a youthful tone.

This sensation of speaking directly inside my head is something I can never get used to.

“Your response was slow?”

Gabriel made excuses as if exasperated.

[I was busy with other matters. Is waiting a moment really that difficult for you?]

“What business could a deity have? You should have nothing but time on your hands.”

[That’s only true for guys like you who have no interest in managing a sect. I’m busy all day listening to prayers and managing followers with no time to rest.]

“Right, right. What a terrible situation.”

Gabriel fell silent at my sarcasm.

Though I couldn’t see his face, I could guess what expression he was making.

Gabriel, knowing it was pointless to bicker with me, immediately got to the point.

[You came about the Demon Cult matter.]

“Got it right away?”

[That’s the only reason you’d come looking for me.]

Gabriel clicked his tongue.

Deep fatigue seeped through his voice.

[To get straight to the point, it wasn’t entirely fruitless.]

“Huh? Really?”

That was unexpected.

Until now, we hadn’t been able to catch any trace of those guys.

Actually, I hadn’t come today with much expectation either.

[Before that, don’t assume the information I’m about to give you will be accurate. I can only learn about the Intermediate Realm through the prayers my followers offer to me.]

“I know. Even inaccurate information helps somewhat, so hurry up and tell me.”

I just need to grasp the general context.

I’ll have to find the detailed information myself.

[Tsk, always so impatient.]

Gabriel grumbled and began his story.

[Traces of the Baal Sect were discovered nearby.]

“…Near the Imperial City?”

[Specifically in Gerpelt Forest. One of my paladins who was patrolling the area tracked him, but ultimately lost him.]

The third throne of the Demon Realm, Baal.

Like Vergil, he was one of those who led the charge in killing me.

In terms of power, he ranked 6th among the Eight Demons including me.

Now that I’m dead, he’d be around 5th.

Though he was third to ascend to a throne, he wasn’t relatively strong.

“Are you certain it was Baal?”

[The demonic energy he possessed was unmistakably Baal’s. There’s no room for doubt.]

“Baal, Baal… Is there a Baal Sect stronghold in this area?”

[I don’t know that much. It might just be personnel temporarily dispatched to the Imperial City. All I know is that a priest of Baal was spotted in Gerpelt Forest.]

Gerpelt Forest was a massive forest located near the Imperial City.

While walking paths were built at the entrance, the depths were restricted due to monster appearances.

“Alright, I understand. Thanks.”

This information might not bring immediate major results.

But by advancing step by step like this, someday I’ll reach those guys.

There was one more thing I wanted to ask.

“What about the Pluton Sect?”

[…I couldn’t find them. They weren’t actively operating even when you were alive, but now they’ve vanished as if they disappeared into the earth.]

“…I see.”

Did they really fall apart after all?

The fate of a sect without divine protection is obvious.

“Huu…”

A self-deprecating sigh escaped me.

These were guys I never showed interest in during my lifetime.

What would change by looking for them now?

What was I trying to do by finding them?

Was I trying to make some clumsy atonement I couldn’t do in my previous life?

“…If you couldn’t find them, that’s that.”

[Are you okay with that?]

“They’re not related to me anymore. Even if I went to them, they wouldn’t recognize me.”

The previous life is just the previous life.

Though I have the ego of the demon Pluton, I am now Prince Cael of the Argent Empire.

I need to make that distinction clear.

Even so.

It wasn’t easy to completely sever the bonds of connection I had ignored.

“…”

I sat quietly in the sanctuary for a long time without leaving.

Gabriel’s presence was felt beside me for quite a while.

* * *

Several days passed after returning to the Imperial Capital.

Daily life flowed as peacefully as always.

I wake up in the morning and eat the feast prepared by the attendants.

In the morning, I receive education in basic knowledge like mathematics, languages, and history.

The most interesting time was history.

The history unique to the Intermediate Realm, different from the Demon Realm, was enough to stimulate my interest.

After the theoretical education ends, it’s lunch.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After lunch, I receive sword training.

There’s no set time limit.

It continues until I’m exhausted.

Clang!

“Good! Using your center of gravity like that!”

The knight currently overseeing my swordsmanship isn’t Zeroph.

Zeroph, the Imperial Guard Captain, has many duties and can’t always watch over me.

Rather, I’ve been taught more often by the knight before me than by Zeroph.

This knight also belongs to the Imperial Guard, so he’s not lacking in skill.

“That’s enough for today.”

The knight stopped the training.

When I came to my senses, the sky had already turned red with the sunset.

“It seems you’re improving by leaps and bounds each day.”

“Thank you.”

I saluted the Knight properly and put down my wooden sword.

My back and armpits were damp with sweat, making me feel sticky.

I wanted to hurry and soak myself in the bath.

“Your Highness.”

A maid approached me.

“It seems you should visit the reception room.”

“Why?”

“Princess Seria is here.”

“Is that so.”

Since Seria had been coming and going from my palace like her own home since childhood, it wasn’t surprising.

Of course, she was still young even now.

“I’ll go right away.”

I received a towel from the maid and roughly wiped the sweat from my neck and head.

I moved my steps and headed toward the palace.

Inside the building was cool thanks to the cooling magic.

When I opened the reception room door and entered, there sat a girl with dreamy silver hair and blue eyes.

“Why did you come again?”

I sat in the chair across from her with a table between us that had two glasses of lemonade, including my portion.

Seria’s blue eyes looked at me.

Soon her small lips opened.

“I was bored.”

“Oh my. What about sword training?”

“I was tired today so I just skipped it.”

“You always did well. What kind of whim is this today?”

The conversation paused for a moment.

Seria glared at me sharply.

She seemed to be staging some kind of silent protest.

Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?

“Ugh, really. You don’t need to know.”

Seria furrowed her brow deeply and slumped back against the chair.

Seria, who was 13 years old this year, had suddenly become full of secrets.

Is it puberty?

She is at that age.

Seria pouted and grumbled.

“My stomach hurt so much that I asked Count Smith to let me skip just today.”

“Constipation?”

“…Go die!!”

Seria’s face turned red as she screamed.

It seemed I had hit the mark.

Still, I was worried that her stomach hurt.

When she’s like this, she should eat well and balanced meals.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not okay.”

“Then why didn’t you rest at home instead of coming here? Go ask the chef to make you a hot bowl of stew.”

“…Old soul.”

Seria let out a small sigh.

“How is it that you haven’t changed at all?”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind.”

Seria closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and turned her head to gaze at the sunset outside the window.

With her pretty face like that, she looked like a painting.

‘She’ll be popular when she grows up.’

I imagined boys hitting on Seria only to get thoroughly rejected.

For some reason, I felt proud.

“What about Max and Carno? Didn’t they come with you?”

“They’re probably getting sword training, dummy. I’m the only one who skipped.”

“That’s too bad. I wanted to see their faces after a long time.”

“I know. I feel like I haven’t seen them in a while too.”

“Ever since you learned aura last time, you’ve been doing secluded training or whatever and not coming out of your palace. You must have been quite stimulated.”

“They’re really idiots.”

Seria spoke coldly.

Seria, who was 13 years old this year, had suddenly become cynical.

She seemed like she could do well even if placed on the demon realm’s throne like that.

“But didn’t they also learn aura now?”

“Yeah. They’ll probably come to show off soon.”

“Ugh… It’s going to get really noisy again. When I’m with them, it’s so chaotic I can’t concentrate.”

That’s the same for you too though.

Just a few years ago, the three of them caused all kinds of trouble together, and now that she’s grown a little, she’s acting refined.

“Oh, right.”

Seria crossed her legs and asked.

“Did you hear about that?”

“What?”

“We’re doing practical training.”

“I know, I heard.”

“From who?”

“From Count Gamillan.”

Seria clicked her tongue.

“I came to tell you about that.”

She seemed disappointed to have missed the chance to show off in front of me.

Then the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

Someone was running down the corridor toward the reception room.

“Speak of the devil and he appears.”

I chuckled.

Then the reception room door burst open and two boys with identical faces entered.

One had his hair parted to the left, and one had his hair parted to the right.

“We’re here!”

“We heard you were here and came!”

Mac and Kal were drenched in sweat all over their bodies.

It seemed they had run straight here after sword training ended.

Drip. Drip.

Sweat drops from their forearms fell onto the carpet along with Kal’s runny nose.

The floor was getting wet with filth.

“Oh, lemonade!”

Kal snatched the lemonade from my teacup and gulped it down in one go.

Truly lightning-fast speed. Mac watched the scene and sighed.

“Ah, Kal! How unfair to drink it all by yourself!”

Mac’s eyes busily scanned the table.

His expression brightened as he spotted another glass of lemonade in Seria’s cup.

Seria glared at him as if she’d kill him if he drank it, but unfortunately Mac didn’t notice.

“This one’s mine!”

Mac snatched Seria’s lemonade in one swift motion and gulped it down.

Seria shot up and smacked Mac’s back with her palm.

Smack!

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Mac let out a blood-curdling scream.

Seria planted both arms cutely on her hips and shouted.

“Hey, you stupid idiot! How dare you put your filthy mouth on someone else’s cup, you crazy bastard!”

I naturally thought she’d scold him for stealing her drink.

But the problem was that he put his mouth on the cup she had drunk from.

“Ow! Ow! Crazy! That hurts like hell!”

Mac ran around the reception room frantically, reaching behind with both hands to rub his back.

That sound was quite crisp. It must really hurt.

“Damn it! Seria, you’re dead!”

Mac ran out of the reception room, sweat dripping down his face.

“Count Gamillan! Count Gamillan! Seria has violated the Empire’s solemn laws and unjustly resorted to violence!”

Now that he’s grown a bit, even his tattling tone and vocabulary have improved from before.

‘Did he study language just to tattle better?’

Thud, thud.

Along with the huffing Mac, a middle-aged man with gray hair entered the reception room.

Without a doubt, it was Imperial Guard Captain Zeroph Gamilan.

“Hmm.”

He swept his gaze over the four of us in turn.

Mac kept huffing beside him, but he only gently patted his head as if finding him cute.

“It’s been a while.”

He flashed a grin, showing his teeth.

“I am Zeroph Gamilan, Captain of the Imperial Guard. Have you been well?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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