Chapter 85: That time when a dwarf found out about the distilled liquor

TL: kizen

PR: Filip/Gecko

You mean to say that that dwarf is going to arrive soon?

Yeah. Thats why you two can go ahead first. Leave locking up the store to me

Understood. Well be heading out first

Well be taking our leave

With everything finished up, the two of them left the shop. A short while later, the dwarf arrived.

Im here. Now teach me

You just arrived, whats the hurry? He sure is impatient.

It would be faster to show you directly. Im going to lock the door so please wait inside the shop

Oi oi oi. Why am I going to wait inside if youre going to close it?

After making sure that the door was properly locked, I cleared things up with the dwarf.1

What you will be experiencing from now on will be a secret to the humans. Got that?

Huh? Whats going to happen?

As he said that, he covered his butt.

You got that?

This time, I tried to emphasize the seriousness of the matter.

Got it. Ill keep my mouth shut

Im going to be invoking a transfer magic circle so please get as close to me as you can

Transfer magic circle? What are you talking about? Thats something that can only be used by those magician guys you know?

If youre not coming then I dont mind going alone

As I said that, I started activating the transfer magic. When the surrounding area started glowing, Van-san looked surprised then rushed to get in the circle.

I didnt think you could actually use it

Whatever. Just make sure you keep it a secret

After saying that, we arrived at Beryl.

This is my hometown. First of all, Ill introduce you to the others. Lets go to the bar

A-alright

I opened the door of the bar then vigorously entered.

Sup. Its been a while. This is Van-san, a dwarf. I brought him here because he wanted to learn how to make our liquor. Starting tomorrow, well take a look at the distillery then let him get used to things before teaching him and letting him do actual work

Oh, if it isnt Caam. A dwarf? That tribe of heavy drinkers? Thats great! There will be more progress in our liquor-making scheme. At any rate, you really are as spontaneous as usual huh?

Let him teach the old man in the general store! That guy doesnt know what hes doing after all

I should get my sword sharpened I got stuck on the bones while trying to cut a bear the other day you know?

Gyahahaha! Thats your fault. You should have aimed in between the bones instead

Well, theyre already drunk but its already late anyway so please go ahead and join them

S-sure

Barkeep. Give Van-san over here some Beryl Sake. Some tasty snacks as well

Coming right up. Please find an empty seat while you wait

You heard him

As I said that, we sat on a couple of vacant seats. When the Beryl Sake I ordered arrived, Van-san drank all of it in one sitting.

Kah! This liquor is so strong. It feels like its going to burn my throat. This is the kind of drink Ive been looking for!

As expected of a dwarf! You might be a better drinker than the principal

Thats true. I cant believe he just chugged that drink

Oi! We have a dwarf here so lets all drink together!

Alright!

Well, I guess its still a bar in the end.

Oi, you said your name was Caam right? This villages bar is pretty great huh!

He laughed heartily as he said that then ordered more Beryl Sake and continued to drink.

He sure got settled in pretty quickly. I wonder if dwarves are like this whenever they enter a bar.

Another customer entered the bar. When I took a look at who it was, it was my father.

Whats this? Why are you here Caam? If youre back then you should at least show your face back at home

As he said that, he took a seat at the same table as me.

I just came back. I brought that awfully noisy dwarf over there

A dwarf huh? What are you planning?

Huh? Nothing. I met him by chance at a port town and he asked me to teach him how our liquor is made so I brought him along

I see. That tribe is composed of heavy drinkers so this place would probably become pretty busy. And besides, they dont compromise when it comes to liquor so the one thats being produced in this village would probably improve even more

Father looked at the dwarf while saying that.

I hope thats what happens. Ill explain the situation to Wurst tomorrow morning and see if we could find him some work

Thats a good idea. Ill have the usual

After saying that, father ordered some liquor. I also ordered some.

Ill also have some Beryl Sake. And water too

There was an awkward atmosphere between us while we were waiting for our drinks to arrive but when they did, I had a toast with my father.

What have you been up to? I asked Suzuran-chan and Latte-chan and even they dont know

Thats because I havent told them since I dont want them to worry too much. I already have children but Im always away after all. If we didnt, I would have already brought my whole family over there. The kids have already made precious friends so I would feel bad for them if we move at this point

Thats true. I see them playing together with the other children in the village all the time so I can see where youre coming from. I also see Wurst-kun on break during those times

That guy huh? Well, hes good with kids after all so its just fitting. As for an update on whats happening on the island, the human slaves are gradually losing their slave mentality. Theyve started doing all sorts of things without needing orders. Theyve even interacted with the other demonkin living nearby and theyre getting along well. Apart from that, Ive made a new drink using beans found on the island. Im thinking of using that as our source of income. That plan is already in motion and as of the moment, its popular with the people in the port town so its showing promise. Im also thinking of making new sweets and drinks

Youve only been thinking about those kinds of things after all. Try to relax a little. Youre going to collapse at this rate

The slaves might starve and die if I get complacent. For the time being, while were selling that new drink, Im going to clear out a section of the forest and turn it into a field. Im also planning on bringing human doctors, craftsmen, and people from the church to make the island gradually more comfortable to live in. I have all of those things planned but no money to make it happen

What about your earnings when you worked in town?

That was money for my family. If I use that, Suzuran and the others are going to starve. Thats why Im trying to keep the money I use for myself and the money for the island separate

Why are you like this I really wonder how your mother and I made a child like you

I have no idea either

It was probably gods whim though.

Just like that, I talked about my recent situation and complained a bit to my father while we slowly enjoyed our drinks.

Well, thats pretty much what Ive been up to. I immediately came here when we arrived so Im going to take a bath together with the kids when I get home

You do that

After that, I stood up from my seat and looked at where the dwarf was. He was trying out the freshly distilled strong liquor as well as the ones with fruit flavor seeped in.

This one is good! Its strong and sweet! I can even give it to the children of my hometown

I was about to react to that but remembered that theyre dwarves. Thats why I just kept my mouth shut. Hearing that, the principal got even more fired up and the two of them continued to enjoy their drinks.

Is that so? Will you be popularizing this drink in your hometown!? That would be great. That way, the methods of drinking will increase once again

He was in pretty high spirits. I guess Ill bring up the job thing next time. How about I show him what he wants?

Headmaster, if you really want to learn a different method, I know of a dangerous one. Are you interested?

Whats this? Is there such a method?

Its called a flaming shot. Im sure its going to get you fired up

Ooh. Why dont you show us

Barkeep, distilled liquor in a small glass and a straw please

What are you going to do with it

Im going to light the liquor on fire and drink it, while its on fire

As I said that, the crowd suddenly became noisy.

Listen carefully. You should never drink this with the glass in your hand. If you make a mistake, youll experience something similar to getting dashed by boiling water, or worse, your face would be set on fire. Please keep that in mind

After saying that, I produced a Fire out of my fingertip then set the drink on fire. While making sure I didnt burn my face and hair, I used the straw to sip all of the lit liquor in one go.

Gah. Thats how a flaming shot should be!

After saying that, I produced another Fire from my fingertip then sprayed out the remaining liquor in my mouth towards it. Just like how fire breathers did it.

Woah. As expected of a Demon Lord!

The liquor was set on fire so it smells a bit like soot but its not undrinkable.

After that, the barkeeper got really angry as my father face-palmed while shaking his head.

Later on, I learned that they banned flaming shots inside the shop. Instead, they set up tables outside for those types of drinks.

Im back~

Welcome home~

I opened the door and the children came running to hug me. I could tell even without looking closely, I could tell that the two of them are slowly growing taller every time I come back. Demonkin really do grow up fast, dont they? Miel is still short though. Also, you can cling to my arm but dont push your chest against me. Its already bigger than Suzurans, you know? 2

Welcome back

Whats the matter~? Youre home early this time~

You see, I got caught up with a dwarf in a port town who wanted to find out about our villages liquor

I see. I guess it couldnt be helped. Those guys have a liquor obsession after all

Thats why I had to come back in a hurry. I took him to the bar. Then I met with father there

Fumu fumu. Did you have a father and son talk with father-in-law then~?

Something like that

How long are you going to talk by the entrance? Why not sit?

As Suzuran suggested, we sat down.

At any rate, I brought a dwarf with me to the village

Whats a dwarf?

You dont know? They are one of the demonkin tribes. Theyre good with their hands and love their liquor. The dwarf I brought came across the villages liquor during his trip. He asked me how its made so now were here

If theyre good with their hands then the general store uncle would be out of a job

Its fine since that uncles job is to sell things. Being able to fix things is just a bonus. Youll make the uncle cry if you say things like that you know? And besides, dwarves arent really that interested in business. If they are then they would probably be selling alcohol

They must be good for nothing adults then

Youve got it all wrong, Miel. You can think of it as being the right fit for a job. Dwarves are good at making things but bad at business. Since thats the case, if a dwarf works together with the general store uncle, they will use the money they earn from the repairs to buy stuff in town. Then, more things will get added, the dwarf fixes them, then the number of sales increase even more. The general store uncle and just give the dwarf his wage for his work. That way, there wont be a lot of expenses

Sounds kinda complicated3

Just think of it like this. Letting a dwarf do business is like making an elf take care of the fish in the pond instead of letting them hunt in the forest. What I want to say is its also important to find a job that suits that person

Still dont get it

Haha, sorry about that

After saying that, I pat Miels head, ate the leftover bread and meat dish, then took a bath with the children.

When it was time to go to sleep, the wives came into the room grinning and we all entered the bed together.

~Idle Talk~

Hes a Demon Lord?

Oi, is it true that hes a Demon Lord?

Huh? Ah, yeah. For some reason, he was suddenly called to a Demon Lords castle then he became one by the time he came back. He used magic to make things easier when we dug wells and harvested wheat so he must have a lot of mana. If I remember correctly, he could even plow ten fields at the same time with his magic

Oi oi, I just talked all high and mighty to such an important guy. Am I going to be alright?

Hes not the type that gets fussy over such a thing

Thats right. I havent heard of him doing anything out of anger ever since he was still at school

I didnt expect my son to be someone as straight-laced as that. Hes always been the type whos reserved but I think hes changed for the better

Oh, are you Caams father?

Thats right. Hes never gotten mad so you can just enjoy your drink in peace. Im sure hell just feel bad if you apologize to him after the fact

I see. Lets just drink then. Heres to Caams father for cheering me up!

Oi. I was about to go home you know?

Let me just buy you one more drink

Fine

But really, even as his parent, I dont know what hes thinking.

AN: Flaming shots are dangerous so please do not attempt to do them.