Old Timer Can’t Hold Their Liquor?

"…There once was a hero named Arthur the Brave, who slayed down the Bad Dragon, and made legends of fate! He cleansed the world of its evil and grime, and brought peace among Gaia for her realm to strive!"

Alone, in the middle of the road, was Thomas.

Singing—

Only Singing…

He sang songs to pass the time and waited for Brunhilda and Hermfry to come retrieve him. But they were nowhere in sight.

It's been six hours by now, and he just continued to sing until his throat ran dry.

"And then the people of Gaia crowned him king, and he reigned over this country, and became almighty supreme! King Arthur named the country, Britana, yes he did, and now we live in a nation full of mead, and succeed!"

AROooooOooOOOoooooo!!!

All of a sudden, howls echoed from the distance.

Thomas was surrounded by a field of grass, but in the far distances were forests, and hungry predators.

He could hear them snarling, and growling, even though they were kilometers away.

The wolves, bears, and wildlife in these regions were dangerous. Not even most novice adventurers could deal with most of them.

"Oh shit. Oh, shit, shit, shit! Before nightfall hits, the wildlife starts hunting more rampantly before they hibernate from the fiends. Honestly, what the hell were you old fools thinking about leaving me out here?! Am I really gonna die like this?!"

The tall grass around Thomas rustled, as the sounds of snarling grew louder.

"Is this… the end?"

***

It was getting dark outside. The sun in the sky shone dimly over the vast regions of Britana, slowly diminishing by the minute. People in the town waited for nightfall. Mothers held onto their children, fathers readied their weapons, and the guards stood around the town, preparing for the inevitable.

However, in the midst of the intense atmosphere stood Brunhilda and Hermfry… drinking.

That's right, drinking—

Despite the worrisome townspeople, they were having mugs of ale.

Both of them sat on barrels parked in the middle of town, telling tales of their adventures. Brunhilda was drunk, and so was the Paladin, who had the most noticeable expression of intoxication.

"Ah yes, Pwa Ha Ha! I remember that place. It's said to have Trolls swarming around it."

Hermfry was the loudest one, gulping his cup of ale.

"Did I ever tell you, that I once killed a troll with my bare hands!" Said the Paladin.

Brunhilda, despite being drunk, looked at him with red cheeks, muttering, "I thought it went against the paladin's oath to lie."

Hermfry held his hand over his mouth, burping.

"Lie?! Bwahaha! I never lie! I've killed dozens of trolls with only my strength alone. They call me the Man of Arms!!"

Brunhilda took another sip of her ale, wiping her lips after she was done.

"Trolls…" She hiccuped. "Have incredible regeneration. They can regenerate even if they are sliced to mincemeat. The only magic that can kill them is fire…" She hiccuped again. "They must be incinerated to ash for them to die."

Hermfry looked at her, lifting his brow.

"Hmmm…" He reminisced his old adventures, thinking hard about what she said, until something clicked in his head. "Well I'll be damned. This whole time I believed they were trolls… but they might've just been a couple of ogres who looked like 'em."

Brunhilda widened her eyes at his claim until a drunken laugh escaped her lips. She was taken aback by Hermfry's lack of observation.

"Pfft, Ha Ha Ha!" She continued laughing… and laughing… until she tipped backward, falling flat on the ground.

…Brunhilda was asleep.

"Hey, Brunhilda!?" Hermfry jumped off the barrel in a slight panic, jogging towards her.

There wasn't anything wrong, she was just drunk on ale.

Hermfry could see this and stared at her with a groggy expression until he started laughing as well.

"Pwa Ha Ha! Old-timers like us get drunk until we pass out, don't we?! That's how you're supposed to live life!!"

Hermfry slapped his knee, enjoying the sight of the drooling Brunhilda as he continued to chug his ale until it was all gone.

"Aaah, Dalvan Ale never gets old. What a mighty gift from the gods! Pwa Ha ha!" Walking towards the barrel, he opened the lid, dipping his mug inside for another scoop of liquor. "I'm gonna drink the day away-!" All of a sudden, a woman approached him, holding her child.

"E-Excuse me… you're the adventurers who are supposed to protect the village, right?"

Hermfey widened his eyes, lowering the mug in his hand.

"Oh! Y-Yes, we are."

"Ah, thank goodness. From the look of your armor, you must be a Paladin, right?"

"Ah, yes. I am indeed!" Hermfry knocked on his armor a few times, boastful of his title.

"Magnificent! My husband used to be a Paladin as well. He served Gaia all his life, however… due to the decrease of Paladins over the century, they eventually fled Britana. This country is infested with the undead, more than any other nation in Gaia, so it only makes sense for their departure."

Hermfry nodded his head, disappointed in his expression alone.

"Yes. There's only a handful of Paladins that I know in Britana. Our oath is a solemn vow to stand against evil, including the undead. We are to protect Gaia with our lives, and we mustn't rest until we can assure the safety of the innocent." Despite being drunk, Hermfry had a stern and prideful expression.

"Thank you… thank you for always risking your lives, so that we can live in peace."

"We die in the shadows, so you may live in the light."

His words brought warmth to her heart as she gripped his hand.

"Please, come with me. My husband is sick, he cannot get out of bed, but it is his dying wish to meet another brother who serves Gaia before he passes on."

"I…" Hermfry glanced to his side, staring at the sleeping Brunhilda. He was afraid of leaving her alone in the town, despite them protecting this place; you never know what monster lurks in the shadows. "Only if I can bring her with me."

"Oh, of course. She's a companion of yours, isn't she?!"

"Yes."

The Paladin sat down his ale on the barrel and picked up Brunhilda, before tossing her over his shoulder.

Knowing Brunhilda, she likely had some spell meant for criminals who would touch her, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Only for a moment." Said Hermfry.

"Oh, thank you! This means a lot to him." The mother started tearing up in joy.

"It's no problem."

"Thank you for visiting my daddy."

The child in the mother's arms finally spoke. He appeared young, at the age of five. It was sad that he was losing his father at such an early age, thought Hermfry.

"Of course." Nodded the Paladin, before asking; "And who might you be, little buster?"

"I'm Alex, but Mommy calls me Little Man."

Hermfry chuckled. "I see. It fits your description. One day you'll grow up into a fine young man, and protect your mother with all your heart."

"I'll always protect mommy, and stay by her side until the end!"

The child spoke with pride as his mother's son, but his words managed to open up some old wounds in Hermfry's chest.

The Paladin looked disheartened for a moment, closing his eyes.

"Yeah… you do that. Never put your mother at risk, no matter what happens. Always do what she tells you, and never disobey her, do you understand?"

The child slowly nodded his head towards the grownup's words.

"Good. I'm glad." Hermfry heaved a sigh before smiling once more. "Now then, may you show me to your house? We got no time to waste, night is coming soon, and I want to wake up my friend here before those fiends invade this town."

"Of course, please, come this way."

***

"Brunhilda!!! Hermfry!! Waaaaaaghhhh!!"

He frantically ran down the dirt road, screaming their names for the entire world to hear.

"Help meeee!"

Thomas was running for his life… once again.

A pack of wolves chased after him, but they weren't any normal wolves—

They appeared multi-colored in their fur, with bodies the size of horses.

Thomas was fast enough to outrun them with his adrenaline… but it only lasted so long until they caught up.

"Shit, shit, shit! I'm really gonna die this time! I escaped those chains out of luck… but it looks like my luck ran out!"

The bandit started searching through the satchel on his belt, hectically looking for something to save him from this horrible fate.

"Please, for the love of Gaia!"

He rummaged around until his fingers felt something hard.

"Is that-?" Grasping the hard object, he pulled it out, revealing a stone. "An Incantation Stone?! I thought I ran out!"

Incantation Stones were magical items that activate a spell whenever it's held in someone's hand, allowing one to bypass the incantation ritual. It is known throughout the world that each stone is marked with a distinct symbol to indicate which spell will be triggered.

Such as the stone held in Thomas' hand.

He came to a stop, turning around to face the pack of wolves.

"Take this, Lumenta!!" Thrusting his hand with the stone, a blinding flash of light submerged the area in its radiance.

The wolves came to a stop, blinded in their eyes.

"Oh shit, it actually worked! Ahahaha!"

Thomas smiled in relief, staring at the whimpering dogs.

"Take that you fucking mutts! You don't stand a chance against someone as lucky as me!"

"Grrrrrrr… Rrrghhhh…"

As if they understood what he was saying, the pack of wolves started growling again.

"Eh?!"

Thomas lifted his brows, taking a few steps back.

"Crap… they can still sniff me out even if they're blind, I totally forgot!!"