Chapter 1366 C-C-Cheers! So Raise Your Glass And Have A Toast! Part 1

It would seem that this creature is indeed a girl, and that her name is Galatena.

I say “it would seem”, because I was not the one to whom she told that information. Apparently she is still scared of me and thanks to that little performance I pulled off a moment ago, so even if I tried to ask her anything as politely as I possibly could, she would just fall silent and not utter even a single word. Does that mean that you did not like it that much? Or what, maybe you’ve become traumatized or something? That’s not very nice of you, you know? Especially after you were giving me such a good reaction! I really like that, you know? But I guess it’s really hard to blame her for being that way.

The other members of the party were no good, either. I mean, we might be all women party at the current moment, but it’s basically like this: Re-san is currently wearing a set of armor that makes her look like a genuine monster, so that’s a no-go right there. Then he have Imron, a female player with a male avatar. Normally she is acting level-headed, but due to coming in contact with a Dwarf her role play abilities started to fall to pieces on the spot. So that makes her pretty much useless as far as conversations are concerned. Then we have both Sigma and Ladder-san, but that tuned out rather poorly as well. Apparently their appearance was more than enough for the Dwarf to become wary of them on the spot, so they did not even need to open their mouths to have their likability gauge plummet towards the very bottom instantly. And just like that, by the process of sheer elimination, the only one capable of holding an actual conversation with the Dwarf woman was none other than Natsu-san.

And that is precisely why Natsu-san was instantly elevated to the position of both our party’s conversationalist from now on, as well as the emergency negotiator in case that the things would happen to go terribly south.

「So, Galatea-chan, you’re saying that you came here to fetch some water, is that correct?」

「Y-Yeah…… I wanted to do it, while the Red Howl-sama is gone…… Otherwise I would be unable to do so… it would be no good……」

「Hmm, I see. But then again, don’t you know? Red Dragon Red Howl is no more. It is dead. Has been for a while now.」

「–––––– Eh?」

「Oi, don’t you think that this was way too straightforward to say to a small child? Can you feel this tension in here right now? It’s through the freaking roof, I assure you. Way to start a conversation with someone.」

「Now, now, there shouldn’t be any problem with that, should it? Everything’s fine. Besides, if you keep worrying about the tension all the time like that, sooner or later you are going to be left terribly hungover because of that. Also, it’s something I have learned the hard way, but if you plan to do a Full Dive, it’s better to drink in moderation rather than go all out without reservations. Otherwise the aftereffects might be…… less than desirable, to say the least.」

「You know, I feel like if you were not talking about being hungover out of all things, that piece of advice would have been genuinely helpful and insightful…… And besides, who the hell are you calling a hangover!? Are you perhaps talking about yourself!?」

「Oh? Are you telling me that you’re not? But I was sure that this was the case, since it would have explained the way in which you conduct yourself…… as well as few other things.」

Hey, I might drink excessively from time to time, but the only thing that I am drinking are Energy Drinks, Energy Drinks! Alright!? If everyone would call liquor a medicine for everything that ails you, I would be the guys who would stand up and call Energy Drinks Super Medicine! Besides, the era of alcohol is SO in the past! Seeing the times that we have today, the era of Energy Drinks has come and it is here to stay!

「The Red Dragon…… Red Howl-sama…… is dead? For real?」

「Yes, it is most certainly the truth. You have my word for it. And you know why? See, Galatea-chan? See that crazy person over there? The one that gave you such a fright before? You might not believe it at first, but that person actually managed to single-handedly cut off Red Howl’s arm. Isn’t that right? Sanraku-san?」

「Yeah, pretty much. By the way, you can call me Sanraku of Aradval, or Sanraku, Higher Than the Top! Whichever works best for you.」

「How about we abbreviate it down to Sazahazap? It’s less shorter than those other names and much less of a mouthful to pronounce. We need to make things easier for ourselves, not harder.」

I don’t really like that name. It sounds like some abbreviation to me, and of a really stupid kind, to boot. Can’t you at least think of something cooler? Anything but that one.

Fortunately for us all, it seems that Galatena’s character event is proceeding smoothly even though we were having this stupid conversation at the same time. The short girl, stunned by the information that Red Dragon Red Howl died, turned towards Ladder-san after letting go of Natsu-san’s hand.

「R-Really? Are you telling the truth……?」

「Yes, that’s right. That’s a fact. It’s the truest of truths.」

I don’t want only the weak to fear me, I want the strong to be afraid of me as well! That’s my dream as a man! A romantic dandyism, so to speak! According to that particular theory, the wolf in this example would represent the strongest creature, the absolute apex that monsters in this game can hope to achieve…… Yes, I’m talking about you, Luukan! You absolute bastard!

「I-I have to let Daddy and the other know……! This is huge……!」

A hole that appeared seemingly out of nowhere…… Galatena, jumps down into the underground tunnel and starts running forward at full speed. It may be dangerous to let her go alone like that, so from a guardian’s point of view, we decided to follow after her, dashing at full speed.

No, you see, we are just concerned here, you know? Just like any other guardian out there would do in a situation like that. Surely we have no ulterior motives, here, you know? Like trying to use Galatena as a key to her home or a guiding beacon. No, sir. I am positive that I do not know what you are talking about.

「Rei–san, seeing how wide this tunnel is, it seems like you can impersonate a slasher-type monster approaching from behind, right? Want me to give it a try, just for the hell of it?」

「If you were to do that…… I think that everyone in here is going to turn hostile on you. And I’m not even joking.」