Chapter 24: New Drinking Buddy
"T-that foreign lady looks bored, do you think I could cheer her up with a drink?"
"Heh, if I was her and saw you walking up, I'd run away!"
"Don't jinx me, I can speak a bit of English. ....Here I go."
"Good luck?"
Uh, I can hear you, and I can also understand Japanese.
Who the heck would be playing on the Japanese server if they didn't understand the language?!? Even if I am a random foreigner….THERE'S A TRANSLATOR BUTTON INSTALLED.
I don't even read the rules and even I know about it.
Also...do I really look bored? I guess sitting here doing nothing is less exciting than roaming the forest hunting…...
But I'm just trying to drink my tea in peace, just leave me alone…..oh nevermind.
"*Hello miss! Can I sit?*" A boy asked in English as he approached my lonely table.
I was sitting in the corner of a bar next to a window by myself. Why? Well, that's because this bar was located right next to the main gates, I was currently looking out for Lyssia's party.
But people like these couldn't read the atmosphere and just had to try and talk to me.
Go away!
"*There isn't a seat nearby for you to sit in. I will politely reject your gracious offer.*"
Hehehe, my fluent English shall not be underestimated!
Oh, he looks really confused now, I did use some sarcasm there. This could be amusing.
But unfortunately I'm not in a good mood after losing so much gold.
"*U-uh…..sorry, I can not understand much English.*" He stuttered while nervously scratching the back of his head. "*Can you speak Japanese?*"
…
This guy...
"You know, there's a translator button in the menu. But of course, I can speak Japanese. You need something from me?" I replied, slightly changing my tone after hearing his polite question.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't realize at all, please forgive me. I, uh, saw that you seemed to have something troubling you and thought that maybe I could make you feel better with a drink?"
!!!
Free drinks! Hell yeah, I love free stuff.
A slight smile unconsciously crept onto my face and the boy grinned back. Looking around, he dragged over a wooden chair and ordered two cups of beer.
I guess he misunderstood my smile, but I won't correct him. After all, in this game you couldn't get drunk, so even minors could drink.
I feel like the rule is a bit messed up but, I'm not complaining. By the looks of it, the boy that came up to me was also underage, maybe even still in high school like me.
Gulping down the beer, I peered at my drinking buddy's guild badge with an interested expression.
"Hey, you're in the guild Mizanco aren't you? I recognize that guild badge your wearing."
He looked up from the table and answered with an overly enthusiastic expression.
"Y-yeah! Mizanco is the best guild ever, the guys are really nice and so is the guild leader!"
Hmmm…..is he talking about…..Eugene?
Continuing his rambling, he steadily leaned closer with his hands on the table and sparkling eyes.
"Guild leader Faraday is so cool! He also looks like a foreigner like you and speaks perfect Japanese. But he's weird sometimes as well, recently he's been looking around at the rooftops and muttering things like 'where the hell is she now….'!"
"..."
That's not my fault, right?
"And watching him fight up close is even cooler! The guild leader is so amazing, he's on the leaderboards you know! I've even seen him dodge five arrows at once, and his strategies always work flawlessly."
Uh, he's leaning in way too close now.
"He's handsome, brave, smart, and awesome! He's the ideal human being, he's my idol!"
Ahem...
"Wow there, too close fanboy. Need some personal space, please. Thank you very much."
Face turning bright red, he scrambled back into his chair in a flustered manner.
"S-sorry…..I'm really weird. I hope I didn't creep you out."
No, you already creeped me out a long time ago. I'm starting to feel really bad for Eugene.
Old pal, I hope that you have a high tolerance from over-enthusiastic fanboys.
"....Hm….I guess you must be pretty close to this Faraday guy then huh?" I nonchalantly inquired while ordering another glass of beer.
"Y-you think?! I'm not really important, but for some reason, no one really notices me a lot, so I'm not stopped when following him around! My friends even call me a ghost sometimes."
"Hoo? That's pretty interesting! So are you like that in real life too?"
"Mhm!" He answered while nodding his head. "Even at school, only a few people know I exist!"
"...., that's really sad you know."
Well, I guess living like that wouldn't be that bad. In fact, for someone like me who seems to attract unwanted attention, a life like that sounds really nice.
"You know, it must be really easy for you to stalk people then~!" I stated with a teasing glint in my eyes.
The boy became increasingly panicked and quickly waved his hands in denial.
"No way! Once you notice me, it's easy to keep me in sight. I-I would never stalk someone!"
"Eh? But aren't you basically stalking your guild leader?"
"T-that's..."
Pffffft, he's acting so flustered. That's hilarious.
"Now that you think about it, I don't know your name yet."
The boy perked up and shyly scratched his nose.
"Oh, uh, my username is really weird though…."
?
"So? Why would I care if your username is odd or not, it's just a game after all."
"B-but, I've never had a girl ask me for contact information….!" He said while squirming like a teenage girl in love. "It's just…..I'm not used to it…."
"..."
What? People like that still exist in modern society?
Does he live in the countryside or something?!
"..Cause girls seem to never even notice me when I'm around….."
"..."
I looked down and patted him on the shoulder.
"...I feel for you. Good luck getting married, no, good luck getting a girl to notice you."
"Ehhhhhh?!"
Mmm…..looking at him again, I guess he really does have average looks. Traditional Japanese black eyes, black hair, normal height. Nothing that seems to stand out at least.
It's been a long time since I've talked to someone average looking like this! I feel really refreshed all of a sudden.
"You know what, I'll be a nice gal and add you as a friend. I'm in a pretty good mood all of a sudden, knowing that there's someone worse off than me." I stated while leaning back against my chair with a stretch. "So what's your username?"
"I'm Pink! Nice to meet you."
"Pfffft!?"
Crap, I just spit out all my beer, what a waste of money.
But still, I guess it's not the worst username to have....?
"Hmph....! Ba, hahahaha! W-what type of name is that!? Pahahaha!" I howled while ignoring the surrounding curious glances and Pink's embarrassed face. "Heheheh! It's been a long time since someone's managed to make me laugh! Hey, how old are you?"
"...I'm 18…"
"So you're a year older than me! Bahahahaha! Heeeeh..."
M-my sides hurt.
Oop! Gotta make sure I don't tip over the chair.
"....you're younger than me? You look older….."
"Disappointed? That's too bad for you! Anyways, it's not the worst name in the world. I'm sure you'll get used to it really soon." I teased while wiping tears from my eyes.
Whew! It's been some time since I've laughed so hard.
"Anyways, my name's Yuka! Nice to meetcha sir."
"P-please don't call me sir…..you look older than me."
Hm?
"It's probably because Japanese people tend to look younger than they actually are. I think I look like a normal teenager!" I chuckled while waving down a waitress. "Two more beers please!"
Looking at me in surprise, Pink wore a confused expression.
"Can you really drink so much? Won't you run out of money? The beer here is really expensive."
"It is? I didn't check the price." I leisurely shrugged while gulping down my third glass of beer. "It's a game, minors are allowed to drink!"
"But still…..can you really afford it? Each beer is almost one silver each!" He muttered with worried eyes. "That would mean you need to hunt over twenty boars just to afford one!"
"So?"
"Huh?"
"Is it really such a big deal?"
"W-what? The only person I know that can hunt boars right now is guild leader, they're level five! I'm only level 2....."
"Oh, I see." I brushed off his anxiety with an exasperated look and a wave of my hand. "Sir, you know that grinding is not the only way to earn gold right? There are countless other ways to earn quick cash, I just happened to stumble into one of them."
"R-really? Then, can you tell me!? I need gold to prove to guild leader I can help him!"
…
"You…..is the guild leader really that important to you?"
"Of course! If he tells me I did a good job, I would be able to die satisfied!"
"...huh."
Looking into his practically worshipping expression, I turned away and looked out the window. Coincidently noticing a familiar party out of the corner of my eyes, I quickly lept up from my chair and paid for the drinks.
"Well then Pink! I'm in a rush now, it was nice getting to know you!"
"H-huh?"
"I've already sent a friend request, we can chat later. See you!" I said while cheerfully waving goodbye.
Although on short notice, the time for my revenge has finally come!
Time to throw some people into jail!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
xZeechan
xZeechan I was only planning to get them to talk for a few sentences, but it managed to become an entire chapter before I knew it.......makes me feel like they're actually alive! A new side character is introduced, one of the handsome Faraday's many fans. I made this type of character to give the atmosphere in the chapters a more easy-going feel to them. Hope you enjoy!
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