Alcohol stimulates the taste buds and numbs the nerves.
It can unleash one’s true nature, and it can also provide an outlet for one’s emotions.
After a few drinks, Adan felt his throat burning.
What the hell kind of bar is this?
Are they seriously just giving us straight alcohol?
How is it this strong?
The liquor here had none of the so-called smoothness or refined appearance.
It was simple and plain, yet frighteningly potent.
The people who came here to drink were all desperadoes to begin with, living every day on the edge of life and death.
Wasn’t the whole point of coming here to drink simply to get drunk?
Besides, these people’s physical constitutions were all exceptionally strong.
Ordinary low-proof alcohol wasn’t much use to them, so the drinks served in the bar were all extremely strong.
Adan was actually doing fairly well.
After spending several days outside soaking up sunlight and charging himself, the power within his body had grown considerably stronger.
Ordinary alcohol could only stimulate his sense of taste.
Getting drunk?
Difficult.
At least the drinks here weren’t enough.
Adan suddenly found himself missing the alcohol from The Elder Scrolls world.
Even an ordinary bottle of mead had tasted so sweet and delicious thanks to the ancient brewing methods and magical ingredients.
As he thought about it, Adan actually began to feel a little drunk.
Wasn’t this what they meant by it’s not the alcohol that gets you drunk, but yourself?
Under the stimulation of the alcohol, Adan kept questioning himself.
What was the purpose of his coming to this world?
To this world, Adan was merely a traveler.
He didn’t belong here.
He was beginning to miss home—the home that had long since become blurry in his memories.
A lonely home, a little nest that belonged to him alone.
But could he still go back?
Across a distance spanning who knew how many worlds…
Adan had witnessed far too much death in both The Elder Scrolls and the Marvel world.
His heart was lonely.
He had spent countless years alone throughout an endless stretch of time.
When he was imprisoned, he had never thought about these things.
All he needed was strength—the strength to escape and the strength to take revenge.
But after leaving that hell, he began to think about it.
Where should his future be?
“Your friend doesn’t seem to be very good at drinking,” the boss said.
Adan raised his head and glanced at the boss before turning toward Ethan.
That guy had been drinking for quite a while, yet the amount of alcohol in his glass hadn’t seemed to decrease at all.
He had simply been eating salad the entire time.
Seeing Adan’s gaze, Ethan picked up some salad and said, “Adan, their salad is pretty good. Want some…?”
“Their alcohol is too strong. I can’t drink it…”
Adan smiled and said to the bartender beside him, “Give me a serving of salad too.”
What a strange pair.
The boss smiled and shook her head.
If it hadn’t been for Ethan, they would have already attacked.
Because of Ethan—with his glasses and the fact that he clearly didn’t look like someone from this place—he seemed more like a scholar or scientist.
So when Adan and Ethan had walked in carrying guns, they hadn’t immediately attacked.
The boss had been trying to figure out their identities.
After all, Adan…
With his fierce-looking face covered in a thick, messy beard, it was difficult to tell what kind of person he really was.
Fortunately, their decision to trade their guns for alcohol had dispelled the boss’s suspicions.
Still, as the boss looked at Adan, she found this man rather interesting.
After carefully examining him for a while, she suddenly felt that the face hidden beneath all that unruly facial hair might actually be quite handsome if it were properly groomed.
The boss became curious about Adan.
“My name is Michelle March. You can call me Michelle.”
“I’m Adan… Adan Akatosh…”
Adan hesitated as he spoke.
He didn’t have a surname.
This body didn’t have one.
Adan was simply Adan.
But in the end, he had found a surname for himself.
The blood of the Time Dragon God Akatosh flowed through his body, so naturally, his surname should be taken from the name of the Time Dragon God.
“Akatosh… That’s an interesting surname.”
Michelle hesitated slightly.
It sounded like a rather unusual surname, with an ancient quality to it.
“The clothes you’re wearing are familiar to me, and those weapons aren’t something you normally see around here. And that car outside… It’s from the Ten Rings, isn’t it?”
Michelle lightly tapped her fingers against the table.
“I’m curious about what exactly you two are doing. I don’t believe for a second that people from the Ten Rings would dare trade guns for alcohol.”
“You know people from the Ten Rings?”
Adan’s movements paused.
Don’t tell me we escaped one tiger’s den only to enter another wolf’s lair.
Are you seriously forcing me to start killing again?!
Adan cautiously surveyed his surroundings, mainly because he needed to protect Ethan’s safety.
“I’m very familiar with the Ten Rings.”
Michelle smiled lightly.
Ethan, who had been eating salad nearby, immediately became nervous.
He tugged on Adan’s clothes.
Adan stared intently at Michelle.
Very familiar?
Heh.
Suddenly, Adan’s tense muscles relaxed.
He patted Ethan’s hand, which was gripping his clothes.
“It’s fine, Ethan. Keep eating.”
Adan spoke to Ethan with a relaxed expression.
“What? Aren’t you afraid that the Ten Rings and I might be allies?”
Michelle raised an eyebrow.
Adan picked up the drink in front of him and downed it in one go.
“I’ve never seen anyone who can be allies with the dead.”
“The dead…”
Michelle chuckled.
“Then drink.”
She refilled Adan’s glass.
From Adan’s words, she had heard the answer she’d suspected but hadn’t dared to confirm.
These two really had destroyed that Ten Rings stronghold.
“Cheers!”
Adan raised his glass toward Michelle.
Michelle was momentarily stunned before filling her own glass and raising it toward Adan. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Thank you for helping us deal with the Ten Rings problem.”
“No need to thank me.”
In a place like this, allies?
That might be the most unreliable relationship of all.
It might even be less dependable than being mortal enemies.
At least your enemies would constantly and unwaveringly want to kill you.
Besides, Adan didn’t think Michelle looked like an ally of the Ten Rings.
At least judging from her reaction from the very beginning, she certainly hadn’t seemed like one.
After downing the alcohol in her own glass, Michelle looked at Adan.
“Looks like you two have quite a story behind you?”
“Anyone willing to do business in a place like this… and who’s also this beautiful—you must have quite a story yourself.”
Adan replied.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Listening to the laughter beside him, Ethan shook his head.
He couldn’t understand this sudden change at all.
As long as he knew there was no danger, that was enough.
Ethan was naturally a rather reserved and straightforward scientist.
His time in prison had taught him how to be more tactful in dealing with people, but when it came to interpersonal relationships, he still wasn’t very good at handling them.
Back in the cave, there had only been the three of them, all in the same situation, so getting along had been simple.
But after leaving that place and interacting with all these people outside, Ethan still couldn’t see through things as clearly as he would have liked.
However, Ethan trusted Adan.
No matter what situation they were in, no matter what happened, Ethan trusted Adan.
Three months of accumulated trust was enough to rival a lifetime.
So although Ethan hadn’t understood or even heard clearly what had just happened, and didn’t know whether this boss actually had anything to do with the Ten Rings, as long as Adan told him there was nothing to worry about, Ethan would trust him completely.
They were like family.
Thinking of this, Ethan suddenly felt like drinking.
The strongest alcohol they had.
Filled with emotion and countless thoughts, he picked up the drink in front of him, intending to have a drink with Adan.
He turned his head…
Where was he?!
How had the person who’d been sitting there just disappeared?!
And that damn boss was gone too!
Ethan hurriedly asked the bartender beside him.
The bartender wiped a glass and pointed in a certain direction.
In a dark corner behind the liquor cabinet, beside a dimly lit door, a man and a woman were locked in a passionate embrace, kissing while fumbling with the doorknob.
Finally, the door opened, and the two stumbled inside.
…
For crying out loud!
Ethan now felt like he’d been completely screwed over.
Forget whether that woman had anything to do with the Ten Rings.
Was this place even safe?!
And Adan had just abandoned him and run off like that?
He hadn’t even said goodbye!
What happened to being family?!
What happened to promising to be each other’s angels?!
Ethan angrily picked up his drink and downed it in one go.
“Another twenty glasses!”
(End of Chapter)