Chapter 124: A New Drinking Buddy

"Dragons are evil beings that should be defeated?"

"I am not saying that the one you brought here is evil! However, I suspect the general public’s view is probably not all that different from mine."

"Ah, that may be true." Qiu Nuoya could certainly understand that. That was precisely why the Elder Dragon had asked him to protect its fellow dragons who were on the verge of extinction. "Dragons are incredibly powerful, so it is only natural for people to be afraid of them. No one would ever imagine that it was possible to communicate with a monster. If someone believed they were about to be eaten or killed, I can understand why they would want to fight back. But after talking with two dragons today, I realized that they were not completely incapable of communication. In fact, dragons may not be able to speak, but they understand the meaning of human words. Their intelligence is probably not much different from ours. Even so, I still felt that it was wrong for them to be unilaterally hated and feared. That is why I was happy to be able to help them."

Viktor listened to Qiu Nuoya’s words before relaxing his shoulders with a small smile. "It seems you are the one whose more open minded than Igor. When I first heard that you had made a dragon your tamed monster, I was worried about how things would turn out. But seeing this, it seems there will be no problems after all. The way Igor is acting reminds me of our time in Coalora City."

"Haha, everyone used to have a feast together every single day back then."

Coalora City where Qiu Nuoya had first lived was home to a share house filled with adventurers. It was lively every day, and nightly drinking parties had become an entirely ordinary sight. There had been times when Qiu Nuoya wondered if those people were really all right, considering how often they drank, but those days had been wonderful memories in their own way.

"Hey, Viktor, this is a welcome party for our new member. You should have a drink tonight too!"

"What!?" Igor approached Viktor with a glass in hand. "I know you’re actually quite a good drinker, despite having a bad habit of getting drunk."

"I have made a personal commitment not to drink alcohol, so please leave me alone."

"I know that. But today is a special occasion, so I’m telling you to drink and forget about your usual rules."

[ Exactly. I don’t understand why you would deny yourself such a delicious drink. If you can drink, then you should drink. ]

"Wait, Igor! Even Long is saying that now!" ℯℯ𝘭.

Igor had become a little more pushy after drinking, while Long had grown considerably more cheerful. Long eventually started drinking straight from the bottle, while laughing heartily.

"Long, what are you doing!?"

[ The old man was always saying that he wanted to taste fine alcohol again. Now I understand why. Alcohol is delicious! Refusing to drink when you can is the height of foolishness. ]

Oh no. He had definitely given alcohol to someone who should never have been allowed to drink.

Long was not even human, but he was clearly the type who would become completely addicted to alcohol.

"Long, it’s better to enjoy alcohol in moderation."

[ Huh? Are you talking back to me? ]

Nooo! His eyes are completely glazed over! He’s turned into a raging drunk! If a dragon starts rampaging, there’s no way I can handle him!

"I’m your employer! Managing your health is part of my job, so I won’t allow you to drink any more!" Qiu Nuoya snatched the bottle from Long’s hand. Although, by that point, nearly half the bottle had already been emptied.

While Qiu Nuoya and Long were engaged in their little struggle, Igor and Viktor were having their own battle.

"Drink!"

"I’m not drinking!"

Long who is unhappy about having his bottle taken away watched the two of them and grumbled through telepathy.

[ Why is he allowed to drink? ]

"I can’t exactly say that he’s allowed to, but you’ve had too much. You drank almost an entire bottle straight from it. And before that, you already had several glasses. No more drinking!"

[ ... ]

Once Long fell silent, the struggle between Igor and Viktor finally ended with Viktor giving in.

"Fine. Just one glass." Viktor reached out to take the glass, but at that very moment, Long suddenly moved. He reached one arm around from behind Viktor’s chair and grabbed Viktor in a tight hold.

"Huh?" Viktor stared in disbelief, his eyes darting around as Long silently grinned and glanced toward Igor. Perhaps understanding what Long meant, Igor snatched the bottle of alcohol from Qiu Nuoya and shoved it into Viktor’s mouth.

That looks incredibly obscene!

But this was no time to be thinking about that!

"Igor, what are you doing!?"

"I just felt like I managed to communicate with him somehow." Igor laughed heartily as he forcibly made Viktor drink the alcohol.

This is definitely alcohol harassment!

"You two, no matter how drunk you are, there are things you can and cannot do in this world! Restrain!"

"Huh?"

"What is this!?"

At Qiu Nuoya’s command, rings of light appeared in the air and wrapped around Igor and Long, binding them tightly.

Long struggled violently, trying to break free of the restraints, but the magical rings formed from concentrated mana were not something that could be removed so easily. Normally, this spell was used to restrain bandits and other criminals, but Qiu Nuoya was not about to listen to any complaints from them.

"You two stay there and behave yourselves for a while! Viktor, are you all right!?" Half a bottle of alcohol had been forced down Viktor’s throat in one go, and his complexion had turned frighteningly pale. He was slumped over the table. He had always been fair skinned, but now he had gone completely white, reminding Qiu Nuoya of the time Viktor had nearly died after being struck by his own magic.