Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 55

Adrian answered her question.

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“They’re probably mostly adventurers. This is a border area, so there are many requests.”

Indeed, as a disguised prince, he was knowledgeable about such matters.

“Is the number of requests related to being in a border area?”

“We gather as many forces as possible to prepare for potential foreign attacks. That’s why we attract adventurers with these requests.”

Indeed, it seemed that even the smallest details were touched by political hands.

It was new information that I had never known during my time playing the game. It felt like there were quests everywhere.

“Wow! A bed!”

“Emily, I know it’s great, but it doesn’t seem very cultured.”

“Who cares! We’re adventurers now!”

We rented two rooms. Fortunately, the two adjacent rooms were empty, and I could hear Mary and Emily chatting in the next room.

Wasn’t the soundproofing a bit too poor?

Creek.

Just then, our room's door opened, and a peek of red hair appeared.

“Um, Ken.”

“Huh? Is something wrong?”

Raphne, looking hesitant and careful, seemed to have something on her mind but found it hard to say.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke up.

“I’m feeling anxious. Can I share a room with you?”

“Is that okay?”

“Why not?!”

Raphne pouted like a child throwing a tantrum. Then, a moment later, a solution came from the next room.

“I knew this would happen! You can’t just come barging in like that!”

“Eek! Emily always lectures me!”

“Well, that’s because you’re the biggest troublemaker!”

Raphne, with her collar grasped, shouted like a kidnapped heroine, “Keen!”

But even though she could fight back, she was being pulled away gently, suggesting she was aware of her wrongdoing.

That was likely the reason she hesitated.

After all, this wasn’t the academy’s tower, so Raphne couldn’t just sleep together because she wanted to.

“I don’t mind sharing a room.”

“Well, if Ken is okay with it, I’m fine too.”

“No, you two should think about it more. I’m a girl, you know.”

Adrian and Ziegfried, who looked as if they genuinely didn’t care, were acting the same as they did in the cart. Ziegfried seemed disinterested, while Adrian looked intrigued.

As long as it wasn’t a nuisance, that was a relief.

After unpacking, we took a moment to relax in our rooms before it grew dark, and we gathered in the inn’s dining area.

“Wow! Cheers!”

“Emily looks really excited.”

“Of course! I’ve always dreamed of something like this!”

With a hearty lift of her cup filled with honey wine, Emily answered my question with a smile.

While camping seemed tough, she looked the happiest among us.

For someone like her, who came from a common background, the academy might have felt stifling.

Maybe she was feeling a sense of liberation now.

“...But are we allowed to drink?”

“Huh? Is there a problem?”

“Uh?”

Raphne tilted her head, confused by my murmured words.

The others didn’t seem to think it was strange either.

Thinking back, when we ordered food, the server hadn’t mentioned anything about it, and there didn’t seem to be any age restrictions regarding alcohol in this world.

Of course, I had often drank before my possession, but this was the first time experiencing drinking in Ken’s body.

I wondered if this body would handle alcohol well...

“Cheers!”

With Emily leading the cheers, all our party clinked glasses together.

Adrian and Ziegfried drank without issue, just as they looked.

“Wow, this tastes good.”

“Raphne, is this your first time drinking?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Ugh, I think it’s a bit bitter.”

Mary also seemed to be drinking for the first time like Raphne, grimacing at the unique bitterness of alcohol.

“Seriously, what are you doing? Ken, you should drink too.”

“Uh, okay.”

Prompted by Emily, I carefully lifted the cup to my lips.

The distinct bitterness of the alcohol was present, but the honey flavor was sweet enough to make it quite pleasant.

And then—

[SYSTEM: The effect of Mental Enhancement Lv2 reduces the trait 'Drunkenness.']

With the message from the status window appearing before me, I felt my mind clear.

To be precise, I felt the usual drunken haze but strangely retained a sense of clarity.

I wouldn’t make any mistakes tonight.

Thanks to the skills I had learned with Emily's help.

So we enjoyed our first meal together, allowing our tired bodies from a week of camping to rest.

Ziegfried and Adrian, with their indifferent expressions, seemed strangely awkward together.

But traveling together had brought us all closer, and everyone quickly became familiar.

After a little while passed.

“Wow, Ken’s arms feel oddly soft yet firm.”

With her face flushed from the alcohol, Mary murmured as she touched my forearm.

“Hehe, I feel like I want to keep touching it.”

Noticing her state, I realized Mary might be weak to alcohol.

“Is it because you work out that you feel like this?”

“Well, I do work out, but I don’t know if that’s the reason.”

“Hmph, Mary, don’t you see how Ken has slimmed down? You’d be shocked if you saw it!”

As Mary leaned against me, Emily flashed a prideful smile, seemingly challenging her.

Raphne, with a shocked expression, immediately responded.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve seen it just a little while ago.”

“What? Really?”

“Ah, I’ve seen that too. He definitely looked strong.”

“Ziegfried, did you see it too?!”

It seemed like they were genuinely shocked.

“Oh, I was surprised, but it was more that I was amazed he was alive. I feel rewarded training him. I’m looking forward to seeing him fully transformed later.”

“Oh, that’s quite intriguing.”

Since Adrian had never seen a calorie burn before, he seemed quite interested.

Ziegfried, perhaps slightly tipsy from the alcohol, smiled more often than usual.

However, at Ziegfried's words, Raphne shot up from her seat.

Bang.

“Ah! Now I see! It was your fault Ken was losing weight!”

With her face flushed from drink, Raphne pointed a finger at Ziegfried, hiccuping.

“Because of you, hic, Ken is getting thinner in the world!”

“Sure, I’ve been training him, but he came to me first. I’m just helping him train at his request.”

Ziegfried, as expected, remained calm even at Raphne's sudden outburst and smoothly passed the baton back to me.

At that, Raphne, wearing a shocked expression, clung to me right away.

“W-Wait, why?! Hic, if you do things like that, Ken will disappear!”

“No, he won’t just disappear from losing weight, Raphne.”

“Ahhhh! I don’t want Ken to disappear!”

In the end, Raphne burst into tears, clinging to me.

This was a disaster.

I suddenly regretted the mental enhancement skill.

With my mind clear, I couldn’t fully enjoy the drinking fest, and it was exhausting.

One arm was held by Mary, who was caressing my arm, while the other was being held by Raphne, who was crying.

“You know, the more flowers there are, the harder they are to handle.”

“Enjoy yourself, but can you help a bit?”

“I have no interest in touching another man's woman. Just take her back to her room yourself.”

Adrian tilted his cup as if he didn’t care.

Hmm, it seemed he had no intention of helping at all.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Hehe, Ken smells nice. Hic, ahhh, hic.”

“Waaaah! Ken, don’t disappear!”

It was very troubling.

“K-Ken! I’ll help too!”

“Uh, are you sure? Can you walk?”

“I-I’m fine!”

Emily helped Raphne off my lap, supporting her as she stumbled.

Even with her tongue tied and her face flushed, I was grateful for her stepping up.

“Waaaaah! Emily! Ken is going to disappear!!”

“He’s not disappearing; he’s perfectly fine, so you need to calm down!”

And just like that, our first drinking party came to an end.

The next day, we followed our plan and visited a nearby trading company to look for a cart.

“...What? You really need that much?”

“Yes, the local lord raised the tolls. If it’s your first time passing through, you’ll need that much.”

But we were met with an unexpected obstacle.

It was strange. During my time in the game, the tolls were never this high.

Was there some kind of reason behind it?

I glanced at Adrian, who might have an idea about the cause.

He was smiling, looking somewhat apologetic.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems the kingdom’s higher officials don’t want her leaving the country.”

When we stepped aside for a moment to ask what was going on, Adrian readily explained.

“Even getting out of the academy was a struggle. While they can’t refuse outright, they’ll try to hinder things like this.”

“Can’t you do anything about it...?”

“Who do you think I am for you to ask that?”

Though he smiled, his eyes became sharp in an instant.

He hadn’t revealed to anyone that he was the first heir to the kingdom.

For his own safety, and to manage Raphne, he likely kept it a secret.

That’s why I hadn’t mentioned it either.

But Adrian seemed to be gauging if I knew his identity.

So, I decided not to answer and just looked at him.

With my gaze, Adrian sighed and continued.

“The local lord is quite conservative. If he raised the tolls, he must have found a legitimate reason to present to the kingdom. There’s nothing I can do.”

In the end, that meant we had no choice but to pay the toll and pass through.

But I had no idea how we would suddenly come up with that kind of money.

After finishing my conversation with Adrian, I approached the rest of the party to explain our situation.

“...So we suddenly need to come up with money.”

I crossed my arms and tapped my foot, deep in thought over the troublesome situation.

Should I take on a request to hunt monsters?

No, but it would be hard to earn such a large sum of money quickly with just a hunt.

Typically, adventurers made a large fortune from treasures found in unexplored dungeons rather than monster hunting.

There weren’t any promising dungeons nearby...

“Hey, does anyone have any ideas...”

As I raised my head to seek the others' opinions, I found everyone staring blankly at me.

Emily was the first to speak up.

“We can just earn some money.”

Following her lead, Mary and Raphne chimed in.

“It sounds fun!”

What was this? Everyone seemed to know something I didn’t.

“Let’s go! Ken!”

After that, Raphne grabbed my hand, pulling me along.

“Wait, hold on! Let me explain...!”

A little later.

“Alright, this isn’t an opportunity you get every day! Ah, Mary! Please take care of the waiting customers!”

“Just wait here. Yes, yes, we’re selling master-crafted weapons at a special price!”

“What? You don’t need it? Who are you to say Ken’s weapon isn’t needed? Do you want to die?”

“R-Raphne! You can’t grab the customers like that!”

We had set up a market stall.