Chapter 27

Eden finished her work and went with Bezel to her regular bar. This bar, called Heaven, had the motto: “Drink until you get to heaven.” When your glass emptied, they’d refill it without you even ordering, so if you kept drinking without thinking, you’d end up totally drunk.

“Come on, drink! Cheers!”

Eden raised her glass full of beer.

“Yes, cheers.”

Bezel also held his beer glass with both hands and extended it toward her. But the glass size looked a bit strange. The 500ml beer glass the size of Eden’s face looked like a slightly big water glass in that man’s hands.

‘…No. It looks more like a 1L glass.’

But that was only for a moment. When Bezel lifted the glass to his lips and began to drink, the glass in front of his small face looked twice as big.

‘That face even has good proportions. This is cheating.’

Eden grumbled to herself and downed her glass in one shot.

“Ahh. So refreshing. Bezel, don’t push yourself and drink slowly. Me, well, I’ve always had a strong tolerance.”

She subtly bragged about herself while waiting for Bezel to put down his glass. But wait, this man. He kept drinking without stopping. Bezel gulped down the beer, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and only after emptying the glass completely did he put it on the table.

“The beer tastes really good. The alcohol is sweet.”

“The alcohol is sweet… That’s what heavy drinkers always say.”

Oh wow. He looked pretty and delicate, so she thought he couldn’t drink, but he seemed to drink better than expected. Well, whatever. Eden was the undisputed best drinker, even winning first place in this neighborhood’s “Who Can Drink the Most Beer Contest.”

“Then don’t worry about what happens later and drink as much as you want. Even if you pass out while drinking, I’ll carry you home.”

Eden said jokingly and held out the glass that had already been refilled.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

Between their excited voices, the cheerful sound of glasses clinking echoed.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had a good drinking partner.’

Bezel was an even more impressive drinker than Eden had imagined. For someone who drinks quite a bit, there’s nothing more enjoyable than meeting someone who can keep up. Eden, in a good mood, tilted her glass enthusiastically with the mindset of living only for today.

And just like that, after ten or so glasses. Even Eden, who rarely got drunk, was starting to feel the alcohol after meeting such a formidable opponent.

“Wow, is it because you’re big? You can drink endlessly. It’s amazing that you’re not drunk even after drinking this much.”

As she got tipsy, her speech naturally became more casual.

“By the way, how old are you?”

She asked, gathering what little conscience she had left, but Bezel shrugged as if he wasn’t sure.

“Well. As you know, I don’t remember anything…”

“Just looking at you, you seem younger than me, so I guess I can drop the formalities.” ^[1]

“Mm. I don’t think so.”

She had brought it up to start speaking casually, but she ran into unexpected resistance.

He doesn’t even remember but what does he mean no? She didn’t know his age, but did he absolutely hate being spoken to informally?

Eden pouted but answered, “Fine.” Speaking formally wasn’t difficult, and if he wanted it, she could do it for the rest of her life.

Working in society, there were many occasions where she had to speak formally even to people younger than herself. For example, nobles or clients.

This man didn’t give her money like clients, but instead provided divine power. Even if he asked her to use the most extreme honorifics, she could do it. Of course, she would curse him out a few times in her head.

“How was it following me to work today? I plan to keep taking you with me as long as you’re staying at my place. Think you can handle it?”

They had filled their stomachs and drunk quite a bit. As the pace of clinking glasses slowed down, conversation naturally increased. Bezel nodded as he picked at the fried food that came as a side dish.

“Yes. It’s not difficult work, so of course it’s possible. Like you said, Eden, I have to earn my keep.”

“Hehe, that’s right. From now on, I’ll buy you excellent side dishes like this, and alcohol too! I’ll feed you lots of delicious things, so let’s be together for a long, long time. Of course, well, it’s not like I’m hoping you take longer to get your memories back or anything… You know what I mean?”

“Of course.”

In fact, the “earning his keep” that Bezel spoke of didn’t refer to side dishes, alcohol, meals, and such. He was already sufficiently filling his stomach with something other than this food. The high-quality life force and curse that Eden provided him every night.

Perhaps it was because it resembled the personality of its always energetic owner. Her life force was full of vitality and warmth, perfectly satisfying even Bezel’s picky taste. Not to mention Marbas’s curse. It was sticky, thick malice that made him understand why Marbas was a higher-ranking entity than he was.

Come to think of it, he had one question.

 

T/N:

^[1] ↩

In Korean, speech levels mark social distance, age hierarchy, and respect. Polite speech 존댓말 (jondaetmal) is used with elders, strangers, or people of higher status, while casual speech 반말 (banmal) is reserved for close friends, equals, or those younger than you. Switching from polite to casual signals intimacy or authority.