Cardboard Houses Do Not Tear

49 – A Little Drink

Guards were waiting at the gate of the Hwaran Mercenaries.

When this happened, the gate was like a transit station.

It happened several times. Many words were not needed.

Starting with just a formal greeting,

Just the jingle of the purse and the fluttering of the statement.

The footsteps of the cattle being led to the slaughterhouse and the creaking of the wagon’s wood.

And since I didn’t feel any particular inspiration, it could be explained only by the sound of the wheels moving away as if saying goodbye.

But relaxing was another thing.

“Whew.”

It wasn’t until the carriage with the guards was out of sight that I let out a sigh that I couldn’t let go.

As if I wasn’t alone, the mercenaries around me also spat out a word.

“Oops.”

“I’m going to get sick. Whew.”

I wiped off my uncooled sweat and sat down on the floor for a while.

“You must have had a hard time.”

Seeing us collapsed on the floor with our arms crossed, Huaruan began to tsk.

“Aigo, leader. You would be surprised to find out what we almost got into in the slums.”

Ha So-yeon’s relay started from Raymond’s mouth.

“No, after Assei went in alone, they came out, and one of them suddenly shouted, ‘Save the people!'”

Zach had one more word.

“I should have kept my mouth shut.”

The rookie who heard that said a question.

“No, why am I here?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Seeing that she still hasn’t thrown away the lady’s underwear that was on her head, it seems like she really doesn’t know anything.”

Raymond giggled and pointed at his head.

“Ah Mr.”

While the newcomer threw away the pumpkin pants he was wearing on his head, Zach continued.

“Anyway, it worked out somehow, and it took a while, Hwaran.”

“Sure, then. I know you suffered. Why don’t you know that?”

Hwaran nodded roughly.

“But what I want to say is something else.”

He pointed to the inside of the gate.

“How many hardships did you have to refuse a bar at a restaurant and settle down here?”

“Ah.”

Far’an was like a wizard.

“Good job. Come in and eat and drink.”

With just a few words, everyone got up right away and headed for the dining room.

***

It had been a while since the drinking party had already taken place in the restaurant.

Everybody parted at a table with people they were close to, and I headed straight for the keg.

There were still enough wooden cups.

There seems to be no one who has broken a glass and a head all at once because he is still drunk.

Hey.

The potion that turned people into animals filled the glass with white bubbles.

That bitter scent tok, tok. Carried away by the noise, feeling it touch my nose, I picked up a piece of meat and went to the table in front.

“Are you here?”

“Oh, I was dead and came back to life.”

They trembled and sat together at a random table.

I was thirsty, so I decided to quench my thirst first.

Gulp, gulp.

With each sip, the world seemed a little happier.

“Pheh.”

My mouth was bitter.

As I breathed in, my mouth felt even sweeter.

It was only then that I was able to laugh a little more.

I needed snacks.

A snack to share a little more joy.

And people around me started demanding rent.

“Let’s talk quickly.”

“Hmm, there are so many things to do.”

Today’s seat tax was a story that happened in a slum.

And the change was so large that it seemed impossible for one small table to handle it.

I was willing to ask the kind mercenaries for their understanding.

“I’m sorry, but I need to move.”

“To where?”

Someone asked a beer frothy question.

“I don’t know.”

People who saw it spat out one word at a time.

“Crazy man, he’s drunk.”

“Yes. Go, go.”

The fluttering mercenaries’ hand fans were enough to blow me off my seat.

Because they, too, were the ones who couldn’t see things alone, good or bad.

“Keuk.”

I emptied my glass as I walked.

Before I took three steps, the dark sun rose inside the wooden cup.

I could feel the alcohol in my empty stomach bubbling and boiling.

I refilled my glass, took another skewer and turned around.

The table I set up horizontally while drinking last time was still there.

It was because no one cleaned it up.

“Oops. Be high.”

Like the students in the book I saw from Earth, I climbed onto the table.

It does not mean rebellion, nor does it mean respect. I just wanted to go up.

The mercenaries’ eyes began to focus on my actions, but it was still not enough.

I stamped my foot.

Thump!

A little more attention was focused.

Not bad.

“Good evening. Friends!”

The heat rising from within was sent out with a voice.

“Please forgive me for stamping my feet instead of clapping because I had something in my hands. But the reason I came up here is because I felt a bit regretful.”

My throat was slightly burned.

“There is a saying in the Far East. There is nothing to eat at the famous banquet house. Shall we see if it really is?”

I tried arranging the food on their table one by one on the tongue.

An impressively thick tomato-potato soup that moderately loosens up the red spiciness of the middle ages.

If you touch it, your fingertips will be burned, if you split it in half, your nose will be burned by the savory seaweed, and if you chew that sour thing, your tongue will burn.

It’s sliced thinner than a mercenary curtain, but it retains the juices in between, and the moment you shove it into your mouth, it’s a pork loin that doesn’t choke your throat from the dryness.

A beef steak that turns the blood into gravy, and the gravy just before it dries out, like fertile soil.

And grilled skewers stuffed with small pieces of meat.

Huh?

“Wait a minute, who else brought these meat skewers?”

With an absurd expression on my face, I held out the skewer I was holding.

These little chunks of meat were daintyly shining, reflecting the glistening juices.

“The class suddenly doesn’t match. How did you pack this to be packaged?”

I heard laughter.

Then, Hern shouted from far away, holding up the finished skewer.

“I brought it!”

Skaarl added.

“That was unexpectedly delicious.”

People around him nodded.

“If that’s the case, I have nothing to say. I’ll try it first and then talk. Because the tongue is honest.”

Gulp, gulp.

I drank beer first. The dark bottom of the wooden cup rose like a sunrise on the horizon.

“You drink even when you are thirsty.”

Someone muttered.

Pheh.

After exhaling the freshness left in my mouth through my lips, I put the skewer in my mouth this time.

Because it is said that you drink alcohol first and then put it in your mouth.

The meat skewer, which was somewhat seasoned, made my lips curl up at its saltiness at the first meeting.

And the moment you take a bite,

“Huh?”

My eyes went round.

Herne looked at me with eyes that said, “Well then.”

The gravy sponge did not take the moisture out of my mouth, but returned it with more umami.

As the bitter taste of the beer slowly disappeared from his entire tongue, a smile came out of himself.

“Oh, this is fine.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I see.”

For some reason, the meat skewer plate was almost empty.

“Anyway, the drinks are fine, the food is great, but something feels empty. Anyone know?”

“Story!!!”

When I turned my head, they were the mercenaries at the table I was at earlier.

“That answer!”

In return for their favor, I took another sip,

“Keuuu, good. Anyway, why am I on the table?”

He said, spitting out a sip of soda.

“Because good alcohol, good food, and people who don’t know if it’s good are mixed. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to go after hearing about one amazing story.”

Because if you’re going to eat, it’s better to eat a little more happily.

“Explanation of contents!”

Someone shouted.

“The story of how her pure love Vieri’s punches nearly added five human firewood to her slums as she tried to protect her from her molesters.”

After saying that, I added a word.

“And a story about a new face wearing women’s underwear.”

People’s eyes turned to the place where my eyes were headed.

“…..?”

The newcomer, who had been drinking all the time, raised his head.

“What do you want to see?”

I smiled at him and said.

“No, just keep eating what you were eating, and come out when asked to come out in front of you.”

I’ll give you a shocking ceremony once.

***

After the happening that the rookie’s nickname is accused of being an underwear thief, and he is subdued before going crazy.

“Clack. So it is.”

“Bring more drinks. No. Bring them all!!”

“Does this madman know who the bar lady is?”

The drinking party still didn’t know how to end.

The drinking diner was definitely better than the slums that sparked earlier.

Perhaps the tension was relieved, and a smile began to come out naturally.

But for some reason, I felt a bit cramped.

Shall we change places?

“I’ll come back after getting some fresh air.”

With that said, I grabbed a couple of drinks and some food and headed out of the restaurant.

The place I was heading to was the parade ground.

“……”

It was nice to be on top of the biggest rock because it was cool.

It’s because it cools down the body temperature that has been heated up by alcohol and gives a more comfortable feeling.

I took out the box in my arms and looked at it.

Usually people say that things like this have some kind of energy, or that they feel something spiritual.

In my opinion, the pups who felt it were the ones who definitely needed a mat.

“Nothing special.”

No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find an answer, and the box wasn’t even opened.

“After.”

I put it back in my arms and sighed.

And then, staring blankly at the dirt floor, he chewed on a piece of meat on his plate.

Enemy.

The food that had cooled down tasted nothing but salty taste, and the sharp spirit of alcohol faded away like the froth of beer in a pint.

So, I had an idea.

Shall we go back into the restaurant?

Suddenly, my body got cold.

That’s why the moment you try to get up first.

“Who are you waiting for?”

The leader of the prianian squad came out quietly from the side.

I said hello to her.

“I have two glasses, but would you like one?”

She nodded her head.

A small drinking party took place in the parade ground.