Interlude - Arthur Leywin - A Day at Pub

(A/n First of all, happy new year to everyone from the bottom of vile, degenerate heart.

Secondly thanks to harvier_ , author of the perfect tbate for suggesting this idea. Man's a genius.)

// Arthur Leywin //

Walking on the pavement littered with dried leaves, I walked beside Jasmine.

The sun was rising from the horizon, illuminating the murky dark of the vicious night. Arisu had taken a different route from us saying that she had some other tasks to do.

Sylvie sat atop my head, taking a quick nap after all the hard work from last night.

"It's strange," Jasmine suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"The sudden disappearance of all beasts. Not even a single sign of life just a day after the remorseless assault by Spriggans."

"Maybe those were the only beasts that lived there," I replied.

"Beasts respawn after a specific time. They just disappeared. Even if the Spriggans took over, those shouldn't be the only ones there."

I stayed quiet, walking silently. The cold autumn winds bloomed, carrying the foetid stench of multiple premonitions.

Mutated beasts.

Curses that prevent people from speaking.

And most of all... people with a magic system much more potent than our own---runes, etched on their spine like a brand.

All of this led to just one scenario---My life devoid of foreign interruptions being heckled.

It meant only one thing. The suspicions of another continent were true. And they are already here while the people of this continent are not even aware of their existence.

"You're thinking too much. There are all kinds of dungeons. Maybe this was a type no one had discovered before." I replied, slightly kicking a pebble in my way.

It landed in Jasmine's way as she kicked it back to me. The small, round pebble came down. Before it could land, I placed my feet in front of it and let it land on my shoes. Balancing it, I kicked it back to her.

An unrestrained giggle tore through her throat as she ran and stumbled and fell on the dense foliage. Waiting for her to get up, I stood there with a blank expression looking at her. She let out an awkward cough, "You might be right. Maybe it's just me overthinking everything."

Standing on her feet she dusted off the dirt that had clung onto her clothes as she interlinked her fingers and stretched it above her head— like a cat, "Come on. Let's go."

(***)

After selling the beast cores that we had acquired during our dungeon dive in Adventurer's Guild, we made our way towards the DragonSpine pub. The report we had presented was half-baked and left a lot of holes and room for questioning. However, the coverup following our little detour while Jasmine was asleep would do its work.

The smell of alcohol and sounds of mugs clashing against each other, followed by hearty laughs and low-pitched grumbles echoed as we entered.

Jasmine took a look around and walked to the counter. Following her, I passed amidst the envious gazes of multiple drunk people.

A sudden curiosity rose in my heart.

Why do people do this to themselves?

Trauma and envy that stems from your failures and inadequacy should be dealt with a never-ending conviction. That conviction can use anything as its foundation—an instinct or a desire to stay alive, to be at the top or... to crush everyone—not thinking of what the ramifications could be. As long as one could be at the top, this was all that mattered.

Succumbing to hardships and drowning your sorrows and failures in alcohol that makes you lose your senses was the worst course of action.

Maybe this is what helped me in those years when I was in White Room.

An undying thirst for absorbing more and more knowledge, learning more—everyday, adapting, evolving. The feeling consumed me to an extent that all I felt was a never-ending curiosity about myself and all other things.

And when all knowledge available to man was absorbed, all I was left with was boredom in that mundane world.

Maybe if Shiro had the same drive until the end he...

"Here you go miss," A gruff voice spoke interrupting my thoughts as a waiter placed the wooden tray in front of us. It had two mugs on it. Picking up one, Jasmine motioned towards the other one for me. I picked it up and looked inside. It was a juice extracted from pure oranges.

This was exactly what I needed.

Just as the mug touched my lips, the doors of the pub opened and three figures walked inside. The hordes of people blocking the way in the middle of the pub, paved the way as the three figures walked towards us.

"Arthur! Jasmine!," Helen's soft voice spoke as she ran up to us and stood by my side. Looking at me she smiled and placed a hand over my head, slightly caressing my hair.

"How are you two?" Helen asked, looking at me and then at Jasmine alternatively.

"The dive went smooth," Jasmine replied, taking a sip from the foamy drink. Her eyes shut closed, the corners creasing as she smacked her lips, relishing the taste. Her eyes carried a heavy gaze, mostly from the tiredness as it landed on me.

"Good to hear that," Helen responded.

"Kyaa~ You're even cuter now," before I could respond the familiar sensation of being smothered to death invaded me. Breathable air seemed to vanish with every trickling, airless second as I was pushed more and more inside the endless abyss that were Angela's bosoms.

Feeling like no one would save me, I coiled my hands around Angela and interlinked them as I picked her slightly above the ground. A sharp yelp escaped her mouth as her grip over me loosened. Taking advantage of this moment, I stepped back. Helen and Jasmine's suppressed giggle reached my ears as I looked back.

Angela pouted as she crossed her arms, "You've grown so much, you won't even let me hug you now," she complained, faking a tear.

"Hug? You were killing him," a voice spoke. A voice that I had gotten used to during the time I was spending time with family in my numerous training sessions with dad and him.

Adam Kresh.

"Hello monster," he said, roughly ruffling my hair. I jerked my head to the side slightly, not allowing him to mess up the hair I had worked so hard on.

"It's good that we all are here today. The new year is just around the corner," Helen said, clasping her hands together.

"How about we have some drinks together?" Angela asked excitedly, as she looked at Helen who gave her an affirmative nod. Adam was already calling the waiter.

"But Arthur is here. We can't drink," Jasmine retorted, suddenly panicking.

"Oh come on, Jasmine. You were drinking a while ago," Adam countered, letting out a howl as Jasmine's eyes narrowed at him.

"It will be fine, Jasmine. Arthur is a good boy," Helen said, putting a hand over Jasmine's shoulder. She looked up and then let out a resigned sigh.

"Ok."

(A few minutes later)

Any and all hesitation in Jasmine and others that they presented before had now vanished in thin air as all four of them continued to drink one mug after another.

Jasmine and Angela's face was already beet red. While Jasmine had a shy look on her face as her chest caved in and tried to look as small as she could, Angela leaned on a bolder side with a sly smirk on her face as she talked to the waiter.

A sigh escaped my mouth as I saw Angela throw up the next moment. Helen and Jasmine stood up and gripped her from her arms as they started dragging her to clean her up.

Once they were out of sight, I felt Adam inch closer to me. Placing his arm over my shoulder he got even closer to me. "Hey, kiddo. Wanna prove that you're actually a man?" He asked with a smirk.

The question itself was quite misleading.

"I am not into that, Adam. Although you can ask someone else here," I replied. He looked at me with a blank face for a while but his eyes widened as he facepalmed, "No. I mean a test to prove that you're a grownup?"

I remained silent for a while, pondering over what life–changing thing he would talk about. Deciding to play along, I agreed, "Yes."

The smirk on his face widened as he took out a small glass bottle from his inner pocket. Picking the small round glass, he poured one sip into it and placed it in front of me.

"Here, drink it." He said.

I looked around to where Jasmine had gone a while ago. Augmenting my ears, I could hear Jasmine and Helen talking—giggling as they teased each other. Angela's heavy pants were barely audible. She was stable now, however, she still had time to fully recover.

The thought of drinking alcohol never crossed my mind before. Before this, it has always been escaping the clutches of that man in my previous world or getting more and more strong in this world. The deep-rooted obsession with more and more knowledge was so intense that I never paid much attention towards activities like these.

"So? Do you have what it takes to be a man?" Adam asked, smiling ear to ear.

Without replying, I picked the glass up and drank it all at once.

"..."

"..."

"OI brat, are you alright? Don't tell you'll pass out," Adam asked.

The flavour was something that felt familiar and foreign at once. The fizz in the drink mixed in an appropriate proportion of spice. For some reason this drink felt like carbonated water with a lot of spice.

"Is this sparkling water?" I asked, looking at Adam in bewilderment. His face that had a look of victory plastered it contorted—-discombobulated.

Like if he took my confused statement as a challenge, he shouted, "Hey. Bring over the best stuff," he said and looked down at me.

After a few seconds the waiter came with two bottles and two small glasses. Adam placed one in front of me and the other in front of him.

"Here, take this glass. Let's see how long you can maintain that blank face of yours."

The situation was rather bizarre. However, my curiosity got the better of me as I decided to entertain Adam. The taste was something I had never experienced before. Alcohol for first timers was supposed to have a lot of impact. Yet, all I felt was a slight tingle.

"Heads-up, this'll burn," he said as he filled the small glass. I can remember that this was referred to as a "shot" in my previous world.

Taking the glass up once again, I drank it in one go. The burn in my throat was subtle. The afterburn that followed was also meagre, contradicting my astronomical expectations from Adam's exaggerated behaviour.

Looking at Adam I saw his facial features scrunched as he jerked his head sideways.

"Too much?" I asked.

"I'm *hick* just getting started. Don't faint on me, kiddo," he said as he refilled his cup.

Although this one was better than the last drink, something still felt amiss. A feeling of inadequacy.

Grabbing the bottle by its top, I picked it up. I could see Adam's eyes widen as the bottle came closer and closer to my lips.

The cold surface of the bottle touched my mouth as I started drinking it. The burn started to intensify as I felt a feeling akin to lava being poured down my throat.

Adam's face continued to get pale with every audible gulp I took.

Draining it to the last drop, I placed it on the table in front of me with an audible thud.

"That tingled."

Adam's face flushed as he picked up the bottle and started gulping it.

(***)

// 3rd person POV //

Jasmine and Helen walked back to the pub after leaving Angela at the inn with Durden.

"Should we drink more?" Helen asked,

"No. I have another dungeon dive in a few days with Arthur. We have to train tomorrow," Jasmine replied with a subtle blush on her face.

Helen raised her hands in resignation as they entered the pub. Their eyes widened as they saw multiple people around Arthur and Adam... lying on the floor and tables.

Running towards them Jasmine saw that they weren't unconscious because of a fight, but rather because of over drinking.

Adam had already passed out on the table, his arms dangling from the corners. Jasmine walked over to Arthur and cupped his cherry red cheeks in her palms, "Arthur? Arthur !! You didn't drink what Adam gave you, did you?"

"Who?" Arthur said before cutting himself off with a hiccup. "Knows?" He finished as he slid into Jasmine' arms.

(A/n Arthur's AI art that I made when Jasmine arrives)