Chapter : 37
The Bachelor Nobleman Goes Drinking with His Bad Friend
“Jilk, your family is here to see you.”
As I was working in the workshop as usual, Rouge called out to me.
“What did you say?”
Don’t tell me Ilya came again to drag me off to one of her so-called family dinners?
I turned around warily, only to see Ludwig standing at the workshop entrance.
“Yo, Jilk!”
He raised one hand and smiled brightly.
“…That’s not family. Send him away.”
“Hey now, isn’t that a little harsh toward your brother-in-law, dear brother?”
“Shut up. Call me that again and I’ll really cut ties with you.”
Why should I have to endure being called “brother” by a work colleague? Just hearing it made my skin crawl.
“Come on, it’s just a joke, Jilk. Besides, you’re the one who introduced me to Ilya in the first place. Isn’t it weird that you’re the one who hates it now?”
“I never thought it would actually work out between you two. I regret introducing you to my sister.”
“You’re terrible!”
Well, it was Ilya — that wild, self-centered girl who used to follow me around crying, demanding my attention.
She’s always been expressive — for better or worse — so I figured Ludwig would be overwhelmed by her. But somehow, they hit it off and got married.
Either they just really clicked, or Ilya has been pretending to be a completely different person.
I have no idea what goes on between them, but it was an unexpected outcome.
“What!? That was your introduction, Jilk!?”
Tristan shouted in surprise after hearing Ludwig’s words.
“That’s right.”
“Then please, introduce someone to me too! She doesn’t have to be a noblewoman!”
Ah. So that’s why he reacted so dramatically.
“Unfortunately, I ran out of sisters. There’s no woman I can introduce to you.”
Katarina came to mind for a moment, but she’s a noble. Tristan’s just a commoner — they wouldn’t match no matter how I look at it.
“Come on! How can someone who looks that good not have any women to introduce!?”
Tristan suddenly started complaining for no reason.
Why is the one asking for an introduction acting so high and mighty?
“Looks have nothing to do with it.”
“They do! If you’re as handsome as Jilk, you should have two or three women coming after you!”
“Jilk might look like a great catch from the outside,” Ludwig chimed in, “but once you get to know him, well… And besides, he’s always cold to any woman who shows interest.”
“Of course. I like being alone. Women who try to cling to me are nothing but a nuisance.”
Occasionally when I walk through town, someone tries to talk to me, but I enjoy my solitude.
There’s no reason I’d let some outsider disrupt that peace.
“Ugh, how wasteful! Fine then, Ludwig, introduce me to someone you know!”
“Sorry, can’t help you. Ever since I got married, I haven’t interacted with any women other than Ilya.”
“What about your workshop staff?”
Unlike mine, Ludwig’s workshop had plenty of personnel.
I remembered there were female employees — even young women among his apprentice alchemists.
When I mentioned that, hope flickered across Tristan’s face.
Not because I was trying to help him — I just wanted to shove this nuisance onto Ludwig.
“All the women who used to work there are already married, and the new assistants got married too.”
“That was fast.”
“Well, with alchemy skills, they never have trouble finding work or money. Apparently, they were in high demand.”
So even in this world, people with talent and wealth have all the options.
“Argh! Then what about you, Rouge?”
“Sorry, sweetie,” Rouge said with a grin, “these days I only hang out with other moms. But if I meet a nice girl, I’ll let you know.”
Tristan slumped, realizing even Rouge had no prospects for him.
Looks like our young apprentice still has a long way to go before marriage.
“Anyway,” I asked, “what are you doing here, Ludwig? Did Ilya send you to drag me to one of her dinners again?”
“Nah, I just came to see you personally. You’re free after this, right? Let’s go grab a drink.”
He mimed tipping a glass, smiling all the while.
Annoyingly, he just assumed I was free — but unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong.
“…I see. So visiting me was just your excuse to sneak out of the house?”
“Glad you caught on quick. So, how about taking me to a good place tonight?”
Ugh. He’s a pain, but since he puts up with Ilya every day, I can at least treat him once in a while.
“Fine. I’ll wrap up work soon. Wait here.”
“You got it!”
●
After finishing up quickly, I walked through the eastern district of the capital with Ludwig. The sky was already dim.
“So, Jilk, where are we going?”
“A bar I found recently. The location’s not the best, but I guarantee the drinks are good.”
The place I was taking him to was Ice Rock — a bar run by an elf.
The drinks there were excellent. I hadn’t visited lately, so his visit was a good excuse to go.
“Oh? If you say that, it must be great. You always had a knack for finding good spots — I’m looking forward to it.”
Ludwig walked beside me, humming happily.
“Still,” he said, “it’s been ages since I’ve gone out drinking at night.”
“Huh? Don’t you ever eat out in the evenings?”
Ludwig’s workshop was also in the capital. It was odd that he rarely went out at night.
“Ilya makes me come home straight after work. I’m usually back by sundown.”
“…How restrictive. You can’t even go drinking freely.”
“I kinda miss the days when we could just grab a drink whenever we wanted.”
“Then you shouldn’t have gotten married. If you were single, you could go drinking whenever you liked — no one to stop you. You could go every day and no one would say a word.”
“That’s true, but there are good things about being married too, you know? Time with my beloved wife, and my adorable daughter, Sera!”
“Then why are you here alone right now?”
“Well, uh… everyone needs a little breather once in a while, you know?”
“So you’re saying marriage is so stressful you need a breather.”
“Ugh—yeah, fine! That’s exactly it! Sometimes I just want to enjoy my freedom! Don’t poke at it!”
He yelled in frustration, waving his arms around.
Really, he could’ve just admitted marriage had downsides from the start.
“We’re here.”
“Huh? There’s a bar in a place like this?”
While chatting, we reached our destination.
As always, the small signboard stood discreetly by the street — slightly tilted, as usual.
I adjusted it so it faced the street properly and headed down the stairs.
“Welcome.”
A clear, bell-like voice rang out as we entered.
Behind the counter stood the familiar elf bartender — the same as before.
She didn’t assign us seats, so we casually took two empty spots at the counter.
“……”
But Ludwig just stood there, staring blankly.
“Hey, Ludwig. Sit down.”
“O-oh, right.”
I nudged him lightly, and he finally moved.
“Here you go,” said the elf, placing damp towels and glasses of water before us.
Normally she’d ask for our order right away, but seeing Ludwig was new, she gave him some time.
As she stepped away, Ludwig’s eyes followed her — and then he clapped my shoulder hard.
“What now?”
“If you knew about a place this good, you should’ve told me sooner!”
So that’s what this was about — he was clearly smitten with the bartender.
Typical Ludwig. I couldn’t even blame him.
“Stop staring and order a drink. That’s the real charm here.”
The beauty of this bar wasn’t the elf herself, but the drinks she made.
I told him so, but Ludwig just gave me a pitying look — as if I were the one missing something.
Ridiculous. Judging by appearances alone… though, I suppose I made that same mistake when I first came here.
“Master, two Frozen Daiquiris, please.”
If words wouldn’t convince him, then I’d let the drinks do the talking.
I ordered for both of us.
