The Demon King Seems to Conquer the World

Chapter 168: (Self Edited) Ginkgo Leaf*

Shamu’s POV*

I received a letter in my room at the Silver Birch dormitory, so I went to Gingko Leaf with Lily-senpai. We found Myaro-san sitting in a private room in the interior part.

“I’m sorry for calling you here.” (Myaro)

She stood up and bowed her head.

“Don’t make such a big deal out of it.” (Lily)

Lily-senpai replied.

Lily-senpai and I walked a bit and sat down on chairs. There were three black bottles on the desk.

This was a product of Hou and Associates, and it was a bottle made by blowing blown glass into a cast iron mold.

‘I’ve never tried blowing glass before, but I heard that it takes a lot of skill just to blow into a mold. However, this would make the bottles, which are standardized, very useful. If you put them in a wooden box that is designed to hold a certain number of bottles in a row, the glass will not be hitting each other very much, so they will not break even if they shake a little. Besides, it’s very convenient to use a punched cork of a certain size to seal the opening.’

‘Of course, the cork is imported, but they are surprisingly cheap and useful for sealing bottles of liquid. Lily-senpai and I weren’t involved in this product at all, and everything from development to production was done by Hou and Associates. But why are the bottles placed on the desk? Usually, these bottles are filled with liquor. Did she bring it in?’

“So, what’s the matter for today?” (Shamu)

‘It’s quite unusual to be summoned by Myaro-san. This is because we are in charge of different fields, and we, who are in charge of development, have few contacts with Myaro-san, who manages information. The last time we met without Yuri was when I explained more about celestial navigation to her.’

“This is a new product. Why don’t you try it for a bit?” (Myaro)

As she said that, Myaro-san took the bottle and inserted the screw of the corkscrew.

‘This is the only troublesome thing about cork. You will need special tools.’

Myaro-san had a corkscrew that could be used to pull the cork out of the bottle using the principle of leverage with a metal fitting over the rim of the bottle. The bottle was easily uncorked without much effort.

“Hmm? Well, sure…” (Lily)

Lily-senpai said quizzically.

Myaro-san poured liquor into a glass that was on the desk. I couldn’t tell from the black bottle, but the contents were a pale pink, cloudy liquid.

‘But what is this for? Is she trying to make us drunk?’

“Shamu-san, here you go.” (Myaro)

“No, I…” (Shamu)

“Well, well, it’s liquor for women, you know. It seems that it will be sold at a very high price, so it’s a loss if you don’t drink it.” (Myaro)

“Well, just a bit… but, don’t pour too much.” (Shamu)

As I said it, Myaro-san poured about a third of the alcohol into the glass.

‘That’s too much.’

“…Heh, this is delicious, isn’t it?” (Lily)

Lily-senpai, who was sipping her glass next to me, said so.

‘Something tells me that she’s impressed with the taste. I’m trying to emulate Yuri and not drink alcohol, but I guess I can at least lick it off.’

I tipped the little pour of liquor and took a small sip.

A rich sweetness enveloped my tongue that I had never tasted before.

‘It has an alcoholic smell, but more than that, it has a rich aroma, like concentrated fruit juice. The taste of that fruit is… I wonder what is it? I can’t feel any kind of acidity at all, just a mellow sweetness. Unlike wild strawberries, there is no taste of sour at all.’

“It’s really good. What is this?” (Shamu)

I said while holding my mouth involuntarily. I was surprised at how delicious it was.

“They say it’s a liquor made from a fruit called peach. It’s very tasty, don’t you think?” (Myaro)

“Yes. Uwaah…” (Lily)

‘Since alcoholic fermentation means that the sugar is replaced by alcohol, the original sweetness must be even greater than this. The smell of alcohol is disturbing, but without it, the product will spoil during transport. If it’s a fruit, I want to taste the fruit itself. It must taste like the fruit that has fallen from paradise.’

“It was really good.” (Shamu)

I inadvertently drank the amount poured into the glass.

‘My head feels a bit dizzy.’

“Would you like some more?” (Myaro)

“No, that’s enough.” (Shamu)

‘Drinking too much can harm your brain. But I want to drink it… I wonder if this is what Yuri was talking about when he said about alcohol addiction…’

“It’s really good. I bet you could sell this for a lot of money…” (Lily)

“Yes, yes. In fact, the purchase price is high. It’s from the Papal States.” (Myaro)

“Eh? From the Papal States?” (Shamu)

I asked.

‘I don’t know, but I have a bad image of the Papal States.

“I heard that some of the Isus Sect monks often make this kind of thing. They live in poverty, get up and work at fixed times every day, and are extremely diligent.” (Myaro)

‘Hmm. I’m not sure, but I suppose there are all kinds of people out there. It’s kind of amazing that someone like that made this drink. I wonder how the person, who made the alcohol, would feel if he knew that this sake had traveled all the way across the world to be drunk and enjoyed by a person of a different race. I guess I would be happy if they said it was delicious.’

“Aah, can I have more?” (Lily)

I looked at Lily-senpai and saw that her glass was already empty. Her cheeks were a bit red.

‘It seems she’s drunk. The sweetness of the fruit is deceiving, but the alcohol must be strong. Maybe, it’s mixed with distilled spirits or pickled. If the juice is fermented, the sweetness should be lost in exchange for alcohol, like in wine, which wouldn’t explain why the sugar remains intact.’

“Of course, I don’t mind. Here you go.” (Myaro)

Myaro-san poured liquor into Lily-senpai’s glass.

‘Uhh… I want to drink it too. There are three bottles of liquor in total. I wonder if they all taste different…’

“Thanks. Cheers.” (Lily)

Lily took a sip of her glass of liquor.

“Um… this is a very tasty drink, but was this the reason you called us today?” (Shamu)

I asked.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if the purpose was to sample liquor, but if there are other matters, we should talk before Lily-senpai gets too drunk.’

“Actually, it’s something else that I need to talk to you both about.” (Myaro)

“Well, maybe we should talk about that first.” (Shamu)

“Yes… Actually, it’s about Yuri-kun.” (Myaro)

‘Yuri?’

“Yuri-kun is getting married.” (Myaro)

‘…Eh? Really? That’s a lie, isn’t it? Did I hear wrong?’ When I think about that, I looked to my left, and saw that Lily-senpai had stained her mouth with liquor. I didn’t hear it, but it seemed that she had blown the drink out on the glass, which looked terrible.’

“Lily-senpai, here.” (Shamu)

I offered her a handkerchief.

“Eh, with who? Shamu? Myaro? Eh??” (Lily)

Since she didn’t pick it up, I left it on the desk.

“It’s Her Highness Carol. She is pregnant.” (Myaro)

“Wha? Pregnant…? Eh, baby?” (Lily)

“Yes, that’s right.” (Myaro)

Lily-senpai’ eyes looked confused.

‘Baby, is it? Baby, huh… Baby? That’s a lie, right? You have been doing that behind my back…? Then, you should have told me that… I mean, can Yuri have a child? With someone other than me?’

“I see…” (Lily)

With a pout, Lily-senpai deflated as if her emotions had died. I was sitting on a chair, but I thought it was something that I could see in my eyes that she was losing strength.

‘My whole body is writhing. Maybe, I’m becoming like her.’

“You love Yuri-kun, don’t you?” (Myaro)

“…” (Lily)

She didn’t seem to have the energy to reply.

‘Of course, she loves him. How much do you think Lily-senpai’s love is? I can’t tell you enough about it. Aah, I see. So, that’s why Yuri was avoiding being alone with Lily-senpai.’

‘I was wondering why he refused her so blatantly, but he and Carol were already lovers. That’s because no matter how much she approaches him, there’s no point. Waah…’

“Are you alright with this, Myaro-san?” (Shamu)

‘I wonder if Myaro-san doesn’t have any fondness for Yuri after being around him so much.’

“Yuri-kun and I are connected by our beliefs… we are companions, if you will. I’m not going to leave him just because he is married to Her Highness Carol. Yes, it’s hard to admit that.” (Myaro)

‘As I expected, Myaro-san likes Yuri too. I’m also connected to Yuri through our studies. Shouldn’t I ask for more than that? There’s nothing wrong with it. However, even though Yuri doesn’t feel like it, she falls in love with him and gets hurt on her own. He either avoided her, not seduced her, or caused trouble.’

‘It’s absurd and painful. If I had to choose between needing him or not needing him, I would say not needing him. I have also been restraining my thoughts, so that I don’t get overly hopeful and despairing. While cheering for Lily-senpai, it was hard not to think about what would happen if Yuri became lovers with her.’

 “Yes, me too. I love him. It’s just that, Lily-senpai is…” (Shamu)

‘I’m a scholar and I will continue my studies even without Yuri. But will Lily-senpai continue to work even if she knows that Yuri won’t turn around? The salary (or rather, executive compensation) you get is very good, so it would be an advantage to continue. But what if it becomes too hard to see Yuri?’

‘I wonder. Even if I don’t get a job from Yuri, an engineer like Lily-senpai will be able to survive.’

“Yes, but who knows what will happen in the future? There may be ties when the two of them quarrel and the relationship cools down.” (Myaro)

Myaro whispered the devil.

“H-how can I expect that…” (Shamu)

‘What a terrible person.’

That was the first time I thought about Myaro-san.

“I’m sure the two of them will quarrel a lot. Besides, when they get married, Yuri will of course become a member of the royal family, but they have very different ideals for the country. Yuri-kun has innovative ideas about everything, and he will destroy the old aristocracy. In the process, they may clash. So, who knows what will happen in the future?” (Myaro)

‘I don’t know about politics, but I’m sure they have something to say about it.’

I looked at Lily-senpai and saw that the strength had returned to her eyes.

“If that happens, Yuri will be sad.” (Shamu)

‘He is about to get married, so why does she have to say that? It may be difficult to bless them, but I think wishing for misfortune is too much.

Yuri would want us to celebrate too.’

“Shamu-san, I’m on Yuri-kun’s side. I’m doing this because Lily-san is the person he needs.” (Myaro)

“Even if it hurts Lily-senpai?” (Shamu)

“I’m being fair and telling the truth. It’s not a lie to think that is possible.” (Myaro)

When Myaro-san said it, she seemed very natural and didn’t seem to be lying.

‘She is on Yuri’s side. For his sake, she wants Lily-senpai to continue working as before. However, Lily-senpai’s happiness isn’t in question. Of course, you don’t actively want them to be unhappy or happy. It’s just that Yuri’s interests are more important than Lily-senpai’s happiness. Well, Myaro-san isn’t very close to Lily-senpai, so it’s probably not surprising.’

“Well then, I’m going to excuse myself now. I will leave the drink here for you to drink if you’d like. I’ve rented out the place for the day.” (Myaro)

“Myaro-han.” (Lily)

Lily-senpai opened her mouth for the first time.

“Thank you for your concern. Thanks to you, I’ve been distracted from feelings of depression.” (Lily)

“You’re welcome. This is the least I can do for Yuri-kun.” (Myaro)

“I guess so…” (Lily)

Myaro-san bowed her head and left the room. Lily-senpai tilted the bottle of liquor and started pouring herself a glass.

‘I suppose this is when alcohol is necessary.’