chapter 72.2

When evening came, I went to the bar . Looking closely at the counter, the types of liquor they had seem to have increased . I also noticed that they’ve finally added the fruit wines which were made by just seeping fruits into the distilled liquor .

「Sup」

「Oh, over here . Have a seat」

Wurst called me over so I went to the table they were at .

「Barkeep, Beryl sake and water please」

I decided to play it safe and just check the quality of our local sake .

「Well then, let’s drink first . Cheers」

「「「Cheers!」」」

After clinking our gla.s.ses, I held the drink in my mouth then rolled it around my tongue . It’s an alcoholic beverage that’s poured directly from the barrel without any kind of mixing . I felt a stinging pain on my tongue and it had an intense aroma so I slowly added water to lessen that but not to the point where it completely washes away the taste and the aroma . Once I found the sweet spot, I joined in with their conversation .

「How’s the Demon Lord work?」

「It’s not profitable at all . I even made more when I was still working in the village」

「Is that so?」

「And it’s not like you can exploit the human slaves like what the previous Demon Lord did, right?」

「He obviously wouldn’t do that, right?」

「I won’t . Rather, I’m making them live comfortably since they said they are able to eat more than the village they lived in before and they sleep peacefully since they don’t have to worry about wild dogs, wolves, and bandits . There were only houses on the island so I bought and gave them food and bedding using my own funds . I also give them periodic breaks and help them in clearing the island . I even used the funds that I got from subduing pirates to buy food, tools, and seeds to cultivate in the fields . I brought some liquor as well even though it’s not really a necessity since there wasn’t much to do when it comes to entertainment on the island . Ten days ago, I brought a doctor and a nun from the church for them you know? Since we’re just getting a doctor, I’m glad that we haven’t had injuries up until now」

「Is that the human’s church you’re talking about?」

「The humans are faithful to their G.o.d after all . They believe that they will be saved if they worship and pray to that G.o.d . Seeing how strongly they feel about that, I decided to bring a representative from that church to the island . I couldn’t just pay to have them come to the island so I negotiated and managed to make it work . After helping them out, they sent out a representative . Well, in the end I still spent a lot of money though」

「Why?」

This time, it was Speck who asked me . It seems like he’s asking because he’s genuinely interested .

「The doctor had debt so I paid it back for him so that he’ll owe me . As for the nun, I made a donation to the church so that I could invite her to come with us . There was an orphanage there as well so I also gave a donation for that . Ahー, a nun is a woman who works for the church . The men are called priests」

「Eheー . Just as you expected of Caam, in all sorts of ways」

「The human church is pretty awful, you know? They really believe that the demonkin are vulgar beings who are inferior to humans after all . In order to gain their favor, I gave the priest a slightly generous donation and I also donated to the orphanage to improve the nun’s impression of me . If I said that I was a Demon Lord, she would never have come to the island with us so I just acted like an ordinary demonkin that has a kind heart . Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for me to get discovered though . While we were unloading the cargo that I bought, one of the sailors accidentally called me “Maou-sama” . Well, the secret would have been discovered eventually so I don’t really mind」

「Um, how do I put this…… You sure have it hard huh?」

「Un un」

「I just did it in a roundabout way you know? I also need to have a good relationship with the Demon Lord who appeared at the fort in the frontlines as well as the n.o.bles a.s.signed in his territory . I have to be careful and build up some trust after all」

「Well, it’s because of that right? You were given humans slaves after all . You probably wouldn’t need to be so mindful if that Demon Lord’s subordinate gave you slaves that are like us right?」

「Ahー, that may be true…… d.a.m.n it! I’ve had to think about more things ever since I became a Demon Lord . I need to be careful not to be subjugated by the hero so I have to stay out of trouble…… Arghー, d.a.m.n it! Why couldn’t it be anywhere else than that island! Compared to the others, it’s like I’m doing this on hard mode!」

I shouted that then took a swig of Beryl sake then asked for a refill .

「W-well, You’re smart so I’m sure you’ll do well……maybe」

「Yup . He’s really kind as well with that wolf . Animals are honest after all」

「That’s right . I’m sure you’re mentally tired right? I’ll treat you so drink up okay?」

「……thanks . I feel a bit better now that I’ve vented out」

「Anyways, what does hard mode mean?」

「I don’t know」

「Of course you do . You always say strange things from time to time ever since we’ve been kids right? Don’t just gloss over it」

「This conversation wasn’t even supposed to happen so just pretend you didn’t hear anything…… Seriously……」

After that, we continued chatting while drinking strong liquor . I couldn’t get drunk though, because I’m resistant to poisons, so I ended up taking care of the three of them .

「as qexpected from the guy wheo became ha deomn lorxd, he can rseally hold his liquor」[TL: this drunken slur was brought to you by drunk post translator . lol . Let me know if I should change it]

「Un un」

「Tha~t’s right~」

「Come on you guys . Let’s go home or else your wives will get angry at me」

「It’s fine~, The villagers have a lot of trust in you after all」

These couples are really weak to alcohol so whenever they get drunk, all of them turn into deplorable men and women .

「We’ll get going then, barkeep . Sorry for the commotion」

「No no, don’t worry about it . Caam needed someone to talk to so I’ll just turn a blind eye to it . And besides, these distilled liquor with fruits in them are popular with the ladies so we’re even getting a lot of sales from Aegirine」

「Is that so? Well, thanks for the service tonight」

I thanked the barkeep then woke up the three idiots . After making them drink water, I let them go home on their own .

「Welcome home~ . I was able to get a two-day break starting tomorrow~」

When I got home, Latte greeted me and told me that she was able to get a day off . She had both hands on her hips in front of the door with a smug look on her face .

「Ohー . I guess we can go tomorrow then . Did you tell Suzuran and the kids?」

I just ignored her smugness and moved the conversation forward .

「They’re getting along well in the bathー . Speaking of…… Why don’t we go in together~?」

「We shouldn’t . I’ll be embarra.s.sed so we shouldn’t flirt in front of the children . And besides, we’re going in together tomorrow anyway」

「Hoー, that’s great~ . But wouldn’t somebody see us or suddenly enter the place?」

「It should be fine . We haven’t cleared the island all the way to the hot spring yet after all . Ahー, I guess there are some harpies living nearby and they frequent the place as well」

「Oh, that race that’s a bit dumbー . I guess that’s fine then」

「Wait wait, it may be true but you shouldn’t say that okay?」

「I understand~ . I guess I’ll start preparing then~ . What should I bring~?」

「A bath set I guess . If we’re going to stay the night, we’ll need beddings and stuff but it’s going to be a pain to do that so it might be better if we just come back here at night」

「I see . I should bring underwear then right?」

「Yeah」

After a while, Suzuran and the kids came out of the bath so I was going to go next but Latte came rushing in .

「Fine fine, just enter normally next time」

As I said that, she giggled with a mischievous smile and sidled up to me so I flicked her forehead to silence her .

Nothing happened after that though, we just entered the bath together .

~A really short Idle talk~

「Caam is usually earnest but sometimes his emotions explode」

「That’s true . I should try to invite him out to drink from time to time so that he can vent out」

「Yeah, we should probably do that」