Chapter 49: Drunken Revelations and a Narrow Escape

“Wah—” I hastily clapped a hand over my mouth, narrowly stifling a scream. Sally, across from me, mirrored my startled gesture.

Turning back, I found myself face-to-face with an enormous Lizardman, towering over three meters tall, who appeared to be one of the three monsters we had seen drinking earlier.

‘How did he get out so quickly? I just saw him by the table moments ago.’

“Huh? Not cave dwellers.”

As we registered their presence, the Lizardman’s gaze fell upon our faces, obscured beneath our hoods, and a peculiar expression crossed his features.

“Ah, so they’re just immature Dark Elves.”

‘Being called ‘immature’ felt a little disheartening, to be honest…’

A particularly potent stench emanated from the Lizardman, a foul mix of dark elemental corruption and strong alcohol fumes that made me feel almost lightheaded.

It seemed they had indeed been imbibing, and their stumbling gait was a clear indication of their heavy drinking.

“Hmm…”

Even in his inebriated state, his eyes remained remarkably sharp. Just as he was about to set us down, he suddenly detected something amiss and hoisted us up once more.

“Strange, they look a bit too pale…”

He even brought us closer to his nose for a sniff.

“Why do they reek of light elemental energy?”

‘Oh no, we’ve been discovered!’ I glanced at Sally, who, held aloft in his other hand, wore an equally anxious expression.

“What do we do?” I mouthed silently across to her.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, the Lizardman suddenly bellowed into the tavern.

“You lot! Come out and see these light-polluted young Dark Elves, and there are two of them!”

“What ‘light pollution’?”

Only two bursts of laughter echoed from inside the tavern, clearly indicating disbelief.

“Where would you find ‘light pollution’ in a place like this? Do you think we’re still in Amara Forest? Hahahaha…”

Relieved that we were merely mistaken for being ‘light-polluted,’ Sally and I exchanged glances. Hearing the name Amara Forest in such a place was truly astonishing.

“You actually don’t believe me!”

To our surprise, the Lizardman let out a furious roar, then carried us directly into the tavern and to a table, where he unceremoniously plopped Sally and me down side-by-side on chairs.

“I’ve brought them over for you to see! Tell me, am I wrong?”

“Huh? It really is…”

Both the Wolf-head and the Demon paused, their two pairs of bleary eyes scrutinizing Sally and me for a long moment before the Wolf-head finally conceded.

“That truly is a foul stench! Big Brother, you win this round. Quickly, get them away from here. This drink is on me; I’ll toast to your victory.”

With that, he raised an enormous mug and poured its contents into his gaping maw.

“B-Big Brother, this one doesn’t look… like a Dark Elf.”

The Demon, however, reacted differently, stuttering as he pointed at me. It was as if he sensed something amiss, his gaze fixed solely on me, completely disregarding Sally beside me.

In truth, encountering this Demon up close had also stirred a sudden, profound sense of unease within me, an instinctive discomfort akin to facing a natural predator. This feeling was far more intense than the mere disgust I felt towards the Lizardman and Wolf-head beside him.

‘This is bad,’ I thought with a pang of dread. I had initially believed the Wolf-head’s reaction meant we had slipped by, but now the situation had instantly reversed, signaling imminent disaster.

Perhaps due to the excessive alcohol, the Demon’s focus remained scattered. He repeatedly rubbed his eyes, yet still couldn’t quite discern my true identity.

“Strange… she r-really…”

“What do you mean, ‘doesn’t look like’!”

A surprising turn of events unfolded. Upon hearing the Demon’s words, the Lizardman suddenly erupted in rage, slamming a palm onto the table with such force that all the glasses and bottles toppled over.

“If I say they look like it, then they look like it! Are you going to deny them just because they’re light-polluted? I, Kun’er, despise your discrimination!”

“Calm down, calm down!”

Seeing this, the Wolf-head immediately rose to pacify Kun’er, adopting a fawning demeanor as he grabbed a cup and poured some wine into it.

“Of course they do! How could they not? Big Brother is right; you saw me, I’ve been saying they look like it all along.”

He then turned his head, offering the cup to the Demon.

“As for you, Buck, saying they don’t look like it just now was disrespectful to Big Brother. Come on, drink!”

“But I truly feel this one…”

Demon Buck took the glass, glanced at me again, still feeling something was amiss, and tried to explain to Kun’er, but was promptly cut off.

“Say no more! If… if you still consider me your Big Brother, then l-listen to me.”

The Lizardman, assuming a righteous posture, waved a hand at the Demon, a hint of sadness seemingly clouding his expression.

“The Dark Elves have always been our comrades in arms, and it’s already a misfortune for them to encounter a calamity like light pollution, with some even facing extinction! We absolutely cannot kick them while they’re down. From now on, as long as I, Kun’er, am here, they will have my protection. None of you dare lay a hand on them!”

After speaking, he let out a roar towards the bar.

“Another bottle of wine!”

“Coming!”

A seductive, soft voice immediately responded, and soon a Succubus emerged from behind the bar, carrying an enormous bottle of wine as she approached.

A pair of prominent demonic wings sprouted from her back, and a long, pointed tail trailed behind her. With a decisive ‘thud,’ she set the bottle on the table.

“Please enjoy, gentlemen.”

Afterward, she specifically glanced back at Sally and me, but made no other particular gestures before turning and returning to the bar.

“Come, I’ll buy you a drink.”

Kun’er grabbed two glasses, filled one for each of us, and said with great enthusiasm.

“Uh, no need…”

I was stunned. If Sally and I were to drink from those massive cups, we’d likely drop dead drunk on the spot. I quickly declined.

“Hey! My Big Brother is offering you a drink, and you’re disrespecting him…”

Upon hearing this, the Wolf-head immediately stood up, looking displeased, and seemed ready to scold us.

“Never mind, they’re not adults yet. If they don’t want to drink, then so be it. Come on, let’s drink!”

Lizardman Kun’er, however, was quite magnanimous. Seeing our reluctance, he didn’t press the issue, instead continuing to clink glasses and drink heartily with the Wolf-head.

Only Demon Buck remained, watching us from the side with persistent suspicion, yet still unable to immediately discern my true identity.

“Perhaps… we should leave now, as we have urgent matters to attend to.”

Seeing Kun’er and the Wolf-head down several more large cups of wine, their awareness becoming even more muddled, I feared that lingering would lead to complications and quickly tried to excuse ourselves.

“Hmm…”

The Lizardman, his eyes hazy, glanced at us, then nodded in agreement.

“From now on… if anyone ever bullies you, just invoke my name, Kun… Kun’er.”

“Right… my Big Brother is the strongest!”

The Wolf-head beside him, equally intoxicated, chimed in with agreement.

As soon as they finished speaking, I quickly pulled Sally out the door, running until we reached the bend in the alley where we had entered. Only after ducking around the corner and losing sight of the tavern did I finally exhale a sigh of relief.

“That was truly a narrow escape from the tiger’s maw,” Sally gasped, still shaken. “Those three dark creatures were at least Rank 5 or higher in strength; we wouldn’t have stood a chance against them.”

Sally spoke, panting and with lingering trepidation. It had been an incredibly close call; had they not all been drunk, we would undoubtedly have been utterly finished.

“To think we’d encounter such morally upright monsters in a place like this is truly unbelievable,” I mused, still processing the encounter.

I was deeply moved by the Lizardman Kun’er’s words and actions.

“If Ling had met him back then, perhaps she wouldn’t have felt compelled to chase Angelina to prove her innocence.”

Mentioning Ling immediately reminded me that I hadn’t kept up with her news in a long time.

“Sally, how is Ling doing now?”

Caught off guard by my sudden inquiry about Ling, Sally paused for a moment before replying.

“She should be fine, I think. The very day she went to meet the Light Elves, they acknowledged and accepted her, then took her away. That’s quite normal, as Light Elves are typically transformed from Dark Elves and usually aren’t discriminated against.”

Assured that everything was alright, I felt a sense of relief and followed Sally towards the plaza where we had landed earlier.

“Are you really going to target these houses?”

Staring at the coffin-like houses around us, I couldn’t shake a sense of unease, constantly fearing some terrifying entity might lurk within. Since no other monsters could be found on the streets, our only option was to try ‘checking the water meter.’

“How about we try some different houses?”

“But this immediate area offers the most advantageous terrain for us,” Sally countered. “The houses are quite spread out, so if anything happens, we won’t alert others, and it’ll be easier to escape.”

Sally articulated her reasoning, which was indeed a compelling argument, leaving me in a momentary dilemma.

“Hehe, no need to agonize over it, because all of you are about to be caught by me right here!”

Suddenly, a voice descended from above, startling both Sally and me. We instantly looked up to see a creature hovering in mid-air, its demonic wings beating.

I had just heard that voice, and it still resonated in my memory due to its distinctive, seductive tone and enchanting timbre. Combined with the characteristic wings and tail I’d noticed earlier, I instantly recognized her.

“You’re that Succubus waitress from earlier?”

“That’s right, little sister. You remembered me so quickly.”

The Succubus said, slowly descending to the plaza ground not far from us, effectively blocking the alley’s entrance, and casually correcting my terminology.

“However, I am the proprietress, not a waitress.”

Initially, I thought she was merely preventing our escape from that spot, but then I noticed another figure emerging from the alley behind her.

“It’s that Demon from earlier.”

Sally’s voice sounded incredibly tense; she had recognized him too. The monster who had appeared was indeed Buck, one of the three drunken brothers, who had harbored suspicions about my identity all along.

“Why are you trying to capture us?” Although I strongly suspected our identities were compromised, I still clung to a sliver of hope, stubbornly attempting to feign ignorance, just in case it might still work.

“Stop pretending; you were exposed long ago. While those three were drunk, I certainly wasn’t.”

The Succubus scoffed softly, instantly revealing our true identities.

“You, an Angel, and you, a Light Elf, did you truly believe a flimsy disguise would escape my discerning eyes?”

“…”

I glanced at Sally beside me, a sudden urge to laugh bubbling up, but I forcibly suppressed it.