River Bridge

They walked again and soon reached a calm river. Lamps reflected over the water. Young people sat in groups, laughing and talking.

Aisha stood at the railing, eyes on the shimmering water. "…It's peaceful here."

Amon leaned beside her. "You sounded weird just now."

She glared at him. But then sighed.

"I thought sneaking out would be chaotic. But this is nice."

Her voice softened. "Reminds me of home a little."

Amon glanced at her. "You miss your place?"

Her ears drooped slightly. "Maybe."

He didn't tease her this time. "…Well, you can always sneak out again. With me as your guide."

Her ears flicked up. "You'll always invite me?"

Amon smirked. "As long as you don't elbow me to death."

She elbowed him again. "Ouch!–I didn't deserve that one, okay!"

Aisha chuckled softly.

It was rare to hear her laugh.

---

They were walking back to the Academy again. But suddenly Aisha stopped walking.

Amon, who was ahead of her, also came to a stop.

He looked at her with confusion. Then he followed her gaze. It was locked on the tavern. Warrior's Tavern. The huge name board hung above the entrance.

"Aisha, what happened?" Now Amon got a bad feeling.

She turned her face to him. A wide smile on her face. She pointed her finger at the tavern, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"There! Let's go there! Have some beers!" she said excitedly.

Okay. Now Amon was more confused. He had never thought she would have a hobby like that.

"What? Listen Aisha. We are still minors. We can only drink after we reach eighteen years old. Also, drinking alcohol after eating a lot of food is no good."

But Aisha was not going to listen to him.

She grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the tavern.

"I am not human. We consider adulthood at fifteen. Also our body is not like yours. So we don't have a problem drinking before or after dinner."

Amon sighed and let her lead him inside.

They stepped inside the tavern, and the atmosphere hit them immediately—loud voices, laughter, clinking glasses, and the rich smell of food and alcohol.

Warm lantern light filled the place, shadows dancing on wooden walls. Adventurers, students, knights, and merchants crowded the tables. Someone at the back was loudly singing… badly.

Amon blinked. "…This is way louder than I expected."

Aisha's tail swayed excitedly. "This is perfect."

They squeezed through the crowd and sat at the bar counter. The bartender, a burly man with a short beard and arms thicker than Amon's neck, glanced at them. His eyes lingered on Aisha's beast ears, understanding spreading quickly.

"Beastkin, huh?" he muttered. "Then you're old enough."

He scanned Amon. "And what about you, kid?"

Amon puffed his chest a little. "I'm—"

"He's a minor." Aisha cut him off flatly.

Amon deflated like a popped balloon. This felt like humiliation.

The bartender chuckled. "Alright then. What can I get you two?"

"A mug of beast ale!" Aisha said proudly, wagging her tail.

Amon quietly raised a finger. "…Orange juice."

The bartender paused. Looked at Amon. Then nodded slowly, as if processing the humiliation for him. "…Sure."

Aisha smirked. "Juice boy."

Amon glared. "It's called being responsible."

"Mm-hmm. You keep telling yourself that."

Their drinks arrived. A huge frothy mug for her, and a bright fruity glass for him. The difference was almost insulting.

Aisha lifted her mug. "Cheers!"

Amon lifted his juice half-heartedly. "…Cheers, I guess."

They clinked.

Aisha took a big gulp, then sighed with satisfaction. "Ahhh~! This is good!"

Amon sipped his juice like a noble kid. "…This is also good."

Aisha laughed softly. "You look like a kid who got forced to drink juice at a birthday party."

Amon grabbed a peanut from a dish and flicked it at her face. "Shut up."

She caught it in her mouth effortlessly and ate it, proud. "You can't win."

She continued to drink more and more mugs. Amon just kept looking at her in shock. He knew that beastmen like to drink alcohol, but this was too much.

Amon could see a faint pink color on her fair cheeks.

She was getting drunk.

"Okay Aisha, that's enough," he told her.

To which Aisha just giggled. "One last~ hehe. I won't take more. Just the last one."

Amon sighed defeatedly.

He also ordered himself a lemon soda.

Just then someone walked toward them.

A muscular tall man who looked like a thug. He looked at Aisha's figure with a lustful gaze.

Amon could see the man was heavily drunk. Not even noticing she was wearing the academy uniform.

"What's a young woman like you doing here~? You shouldn't come to places like this late at night." He was openly trying to hit on her.

Aisha was still focused on drinking her last mug.

Amon observed the scene. His fingers tightened around the glass of his lemon soda.

"Hey lady. Why don't you come with me~ hiccup… I'll give you a good time all night… hiccup!" Some people in the tavern finally looked at the scene.

As if they already knew this guy. And his antics.

The burly man's hand moved forward to touch Aisha.

Amon's eyes widened.

'This-this is my chance. This situation is the same as in novels, where the protagonist saves the heroine from a thug. Don't worry Aisha, I will never let you get hurt.' Amon raised his glass and started to drink his lemon soda immediately.

He closed his eyes and drank it fast.

This was his time to shine.

Thud!

A huge sound of something falling on the floor came.

Amon snapped open his eyes as he kept the glass on the counter.

There Aisha was standing with a wide grin. Cheeks pink.

Below her was the man lying unconscious.

Yes, Aisha had flipped and thrown the guy on the floor. Before he could touch her. Before Amon could save her.

Amon just blinked his eyes.

'Hah… Even if she's drunk, she's far stronger than me… tch!'

He shook his head.

'Still, that was good… she should beat him more.'

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