[Bonus chapter] Chapter 24 – Drunk

A/N: We have reached the goal of 150 Power Stones! Here is bonus chapter!

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The private room the waitress took us into was the one designed for two people. I thought I needed to flash my Paladin Crest to prove my position, but it seemed like it was unnecessary.

Rania used her badge, which she got when she was the Knight Commander, to prove that we could afford the place. She told me afterward that her position was equal to a Viscount when she got the Knight Commander title.

Even when she retired, she was still considered one. Reynala was the family name she got when she was knighted, similar to Vainglory, which I got when Sana announced my Paladin title earlier.

The private room was rather small but luxurious. There were no windows, and the ventilation was on the ceiling, hidden by a bright chandelier, giving off a romantic atmosphere. The waitress really knew her stuff.

A round table was placed right under the chandelier, covered in a white sheet. Two chairs were facing each other, and we sat on them.

A few seconds later, some waiters and waitresses brought the food that came in a set with the private room. That was fast. Was it prepared beforehand? It even came with a bottle of champagne.

Anyway, we began to eat after they left, and Rania began to speak.

"I was really surprised, you know? How did you get so strong?"

"A lot of training, I guess."

"Liar." Rania stopped eating and looked at me with suspicion.

I laughed at her while brushing it off while adding. "And killing a lot of monsters."

She smiled proudly when I said killing a lot of monsters. "I thought so."

We continued eating and were finally done after a few minutes. I popped up the champagne and poured some into Rania's glass.

"Thanks. I should be the one to serve you if we look at our position now." She said, scratching her cheek.

Well, she was right. Considering our position, she was supposed to be the one who poured me a drink. However… Let me score a point with you, girl.

"Don't be like that. We are here for our reunion as brother and sister. Let's just forget our position for today." I said, trying to pour my drink into my glass.

"Wait."

Rania stopped me as she grabbed my hands.

"Let me do it. I want to pour the drink for Arthur as a simple Rania. Just think of it as your big sister pouring a drink for her little brother." She snatched the bottle from me and winked.

She was a bit lax in manners for someone who had worked as a Knight Commander before. In the game, Rania was a serious character similar to Emilia. So the gap between her serious and masochistic side became her charm.

But this… she acted like a cute and charming girl in front of me. Her serious side from before couldn't be seen anymore. Was it because I was her brother? That must be the case because I saw her acting serious when she was showing her badge earlier.

'Women have two faces. That saying is real, huh? Well, the female Players in Horizon Online also had 2 faces. They begged for help to raise their level but backstabbed us when we were careless.'

I didn't believe Rania was someone like that, though. I wanted to see her favorability toward me after this lunch. Maybe because she got caught in the mood, she actually drank in the middle of the day.

"There," Rania exclaimed as she finished pouring my drink.

"Thank you," I said, smiling at her.

"No problem." She put the bottle in the ice bucket that came with it. "Arthur, can I hear your story after I left that day? I really miss everyone in the orphanage, but I had no time to visit due to my duty. And when I retired, everyone was already left, so…" She looked at me with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

What should I do? I didn't know anything about the orphanage. I wasn't even the real Arthur. So I decided to lie. I meant she didn't know about the orphanage, and I could just look at her reply to weave another lie.

As long as she was satisfied, then it was good. Fortunately, she took my lie face on and believed my story. I also told her that I left 2 years after her to begin my training, which was probably not true.

We talked as we drank together, letting her reminisce about the dear memory of the past that even I didn't know. The atmosphere was good, and Rania got drunk when she hit the third glass. From that, I found out that she was really weak against alcohol.

After finishing the bottle of champagne, I stood up and approached her.

She was totally washed. Her cheek had turned red, and her clothes were a bit disheveled, showing her deep cleavage. It seemed like her tight bodysuit didn't really cover her breasts that much.

How weak was she against alcohol that she turned like this? Also, there was a skill in Lv 4 <Holy Magic> to freshen oneself called <Cure>. But I guess she was too drunk to even use the skill, huh?

"Rania, let's end this here. We can talk together anytime we want to in the future." I decided to end it here because there was an urgent matter.

"Yeah~" Her words were slurred, and her arms reached out to mine. "Carry me, Arthur~ I can't walk straight!"

Really? She was willing to lower her guard this much around me? Didn't that mean her favorability toward me was max already?

Every heroine had certain conduct they did when their favorability toward the protagonist reached the maximum. Eliza would act like a tsundere girl; Emilia would look at you lovingly every now and then; as for Rania, she would lower her guard and allow the protagonist to touch her body.

As a former Knight Commander, she always put her guard up, wary of any attack. Well, even I always put my guard up. Even now, my <Presence Detection> was still active.

I was about to make some progress with her by using this chance to smack her butt while carrying her, but… my <Presence Detection> detected something.

'I know that this world is too peaceful for a world with a war between two kingdoms and monsters roaming around.'

When there was a war, there would be spies. It wouldn't be strange if there were also some spies in the Royal Academy.

I was sure there was no one in Class 3, but maybe the spy was in Class 4. The game also had an event where spies attacked Adam when he got some reputation, but I never thought they would come at me this fast.

"Rania, get up. <Cure>."

As I used <Cure>, Rania's body was covered in golden light, and her face turned normal. What a shame. Those damn spies! They dared to disturb me when I was about to make an advance toward Rania! At least sent the assassins when I was alone!

"Huh?" She let out a confused voice as she looked at me, then at herself. Her cheek turned red once again as she quickly fixed her clothes, buttoning the loose ones up. "W-What am I doing?" She asked in a panic.

"You got drunk. Don't worry, you didn't do anything," I replied with a smirk, causing her to blush further. Then my expression turned serious as I looked at the door of this private room. "Anyway, we got ourselves some company. A bad one."

As soon as I said that, Rania's expression changed. She put up a serious face as her right hand went to her sword's handle. As expected from a Level 55 former Knight Commander, I guess.

"How many?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Around 20. 5 of them are inside the restaurant," I replied as my gaze looked at the red dots at the corner of my eyes. From their movements and formation, they were just newbies. "Just stay calm, Rania. I can handle all of them by myself."

"But–"

"Did you forget?"

I interrupted her as I took out a normal iron sword from my inventory. It appeared in my right hand with a blue light. The exercise earlier was still lacking, as expected. I wouldn't allow her to take on my prey even though she was my sister.

Looking at her over my shoulder, I grinned widely. "I am the Paladin."