Chapter 1 Part 27: People Are The Enemy

“Your drinking capacity isn’t realistic, so it’s fine.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?

Are you picking a fight or something?”

“As if I’d pick a fight.

Just what kind of liver do you have, Senior?”

“I haven’t even drunk that much.”

He couldn’t say that.

Alice recalled what the waitstaff had whispered earlier.

“Do you know how many people, watching you, got the delusion that [What, alcohol’s no big deal] and then had to be carried out?”

For the record, Clam was one of them.

If Alice’s drinking capacity was the sky, Clam’s wasn’t even the ground, it was underground.

His liver detox was that trashy.

Alice filled a cup the waiter brought with juice and even put a straw in it.

“I don’t understand why people drink it in the first place.

It’s not even tasty.”

Alice laughed hollowly.

“Compared to the bitterness of life, it’s not that bitter.”

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t want to share a table from the moment they said that, but when you say it, Senior, it really hits home.

Because your life has been so turbulent, right?”

Instead of answering, Alice covered his face with his palm.

Silence sometimes expresses affirmation, they said.

Clam put the straw in his mouth.

Clam drinking juice in the middle of a bar looked out of place, but also quite cute.

If he’d just keep his mouth shut, he’d be a really decent guy.

Alice propped his chin on his hand and watched Clam.

“By the way, how did you really get here?”

Clam answered slyly.

“By the power of love?”

“Don’t try to gloss over it, be honest.”

Clam immediately made a flower gesture and acted cute.

“The fairy of the Magic Tower can do anything.”

“…Fine.

Let’s say that’s true.”

Clam was an expert at tracking magic.

If a spell was useful for playing tricks, he absolutely mastered it.

Clam poured himself another glass of juice and asked.

“What happened?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much…”

Since Clam probably knew about it from before anyway, it didn’t matter.

Alice sighed.

“Aslan says he doesn’t like me.”

Clam’s eyes widened.

“That’s obviously reverse psychology.”

“I don’t know how to resolve it.”

“No, I mean, he likes you, Senior.”

“But seeing how he keeps talking to me… it seems he doesn’t completely dislike me.”

“No, I’m telling you, he likes you.”

But there was no way it would reach Alice’s ears, deeply lost in recollection.

Looking down at his empty beer glass, Alice forced a smile.

“I’ll be able to resolve it someday, right?”

“It’s driving me crazy, but since it benefits me, I won’t say any more.”

Clam stirred his juice with the straw.

The clear ice cubes clinked together.

“You really try hard to maintain good relationships with everyone, Senior.

Even with a crazy dog that doesn’t care about consequences.”

“Getting along with everyone is good, isn’t it?”

Clam let out a snort of derision.

“Even though you’ll cut ties once you quit anyway.”

Huh?

Alice asked.

“What did you just say?”

Clam took the straw out of his mouth.

It was already covered in bite marks.

Putting down his juice glass, Clam smiled slyly as usual.

“Never mind.

By the way, Senior, where do you live now?

I know you live in this neighborhood.”

“Ah, I bought a small house.

It’s in a bit of a secluded area, but it’s fine for living.

Magic is omnipotent, right.”

“Certainly, mages could live underground too.

Did you have a housewarming party?”

“No.

It’s not a place worthy of showing others.”

Even as they exchanged words, a few more empty glasses accumulated.

Not eating any snacks?

Clam silently looked at the empty glasses.

The habit of ordering few snacks compared to alcohol to save money was still there.

Clam put the menu in Alice’s hand.

“I’ll pay, so order some more.”

“No.

You don’t have to.”

“You know I have a lot of money.

Bleed me dry while you can.”

A look of emotion appeared on Alice’s face.

He wasn’t the only one who had changed since quitting.

Clam saying something like this.

It was endearingly admirable.

Accepting the menu, Alice stared blankly at Clam.

“You…”

Clam smiled brightly.

“Senior, don’t feel intimidated even if you have no money.

Money is spread out everywhere, like stars in the sky, too numerous to count.”

“…Is that so?”

Clam continued, still smiling.

“Ah, of course, stars are something you can never catch no matter how far you reach out, though.”

“Aaaaaaargh!”

“I hope you stay at the Magic Tower for a very, very long time, Senior.”

Changed, my foot.

Still ruthlessly “giving with one hand and taking with the other,” Alice screamed.

Still, he was buying delicious food, so he’d bear with it.

In an instant, the empty glasses were cleared away and the table became laden with appetizing food.

Clam stabbed a potato croquette with his fork.

“I always think this, but the saying that you definitely lose weight when you’re stressed is a lie.

Stress makes you keep eating, so you actually gain weight.

Ah, of course, my family has a constitution that doesn’t gain weight.”

Alice recalled Clam’s family he’d seen once.

That gene didn’t go anywhere; other family members besides Clam were equally fairy-like.

Unlike Clam, his family members were naturally voracious eaters, but they always boasted petite frames and slender figures.

Not to mention looking young for their age.

Alice pointed out.

“Why don’t you stop showing off so blatantly?

And more than anything, do you even get stressed?”

Clam chewed on some french fries and nodded.

“Yes.

I didn’t know, but apparently I do.”

“Surprising.

I thought you didn’t dwell on bad things.”

“Now I eat five meals a day.

I’ve started reaching for things I never used to eat much.”

“Like what?”

“I order all kinds of cake from famous cafes.

Or go home and tell my personal chef to bring me something sweet.”

That was a request only possible with a diamond spoon.

Still, on the other hand, he understood.

Sometimes a slice of cake was more comforting than typical encouragement.

Clam asked.

“What about you, Senior?”

“Ah, I tend to lose my appetite instead.”

But these days, he forced himself to eat.

He felt like he was losing out if he alone didn’t eat delicious things, so Alice also picked up his fork.

Clam and Alice devoured the food.

The waitstaff glanced at their table and whispered about a different topic than before.

“That white-haired one I can understand, but that mage really eats a lot.”

“I know.

He really eats a lot.

As expected, mages are different.”

I wonder just how much fantasy they have about mages.

I wish they wouldn’t associate everything with the fact that he’s a mage.

It’s burdensome even for me listening.

Alice swallowed his food and looked at Clam.

Clam had cleaned the plate in front of him and was pulling another plate towards him.

“He eats well, but that’s too well…”

Before I quit, he had such a small appetite, a few spoonfuls and he was done.

That appetite wasn’t built overnight.

Just as Alice was silently watching Clam,

“…Did you really need to come all the way here to eat?”

“Don’t say that.

This place is really delicious, I’m telling you.”

Jingle.

The door opened and a man and woman entered.

The waitstaff immediately stopped whispering and put on their professional smiles.

The couple, perhaps lovers, were affectionately linking arms.

As they followed the waitstaff,

“Huh?”

The man’s steps suddenly stopped.

The woman looked up at him with curious eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Alice held out a napkin to Clam, who was slurping spaghetti.

“Eat slowly, you’ll choke.”

“Are you worried about me?”

Just as Alice was wiping Clam’s lips, the man grabbed Alice’s shoulder.

“You’re my brother, right?”

Uh, Alice looked up at the man.

Clam also looked up at the uninvited guest interrupting their good time, then paused.

Alice looked at the man with curious eyes.

“Who are you?”

The man gritted his teeth.

“Stop joking, you’re my brother!”

But Alice tilted his head as if he really didn’t know.

“I asked who you are.”

Alice asked again.

The woman hurriedly grabbed the man’s arm.

“What’s wrong?

That person really doesn’t seem to know you.”

At that, the man’s face twisted strangely.

Shaking off the woman’s arm, the man quickly walked out of the restaurant.

Clam stared at the door as it closed, then turned his head.

“That person, could he be…”

Alice smiled brightly.

“A stranger.”

Clam, who had been looking at Alice with an unreadable expression for a moment, also smiled back.

“If you say so, Senior, then I guess so.”

Let’s just finish eating.

Clam started shoveling food into his mouth again.

***

Everyone knew well that Alice White was the eldest son of his family.

Because when he worked at the Magic Tower, whenever his parents had appointments, he’d leave early, worried about his siblings.

On days when Alice’s parents were late, no one could make any plans with him.

It wasn’t like his siblings were that young.

But Alice would repeat the same words like a parrot.

‘My siblings can’t do anything without me.’

So the mages thought Alice was overly protective, but at the same time, they secretly found it endearing.

Mages were human too, so they had families, and some even had siblings.

But no one devoted as much care to their siblings as Alice did.

They just looked at them like cows staring at cows.

“You know what my little sister said after hearing about Alice?

She said a brother like that is like a mythical creature.

Absolutely doesn’t exist.”

At one mage’s joke while looking at documents, another mage standing nearby chimed in.