**Chapter Fifteen: Tipsy**
“Burp!”
I let out a short little burp, smacked my lips, and started chuckling like a fool.
Suddenly, I felt so happy!
“Barry!” I yelled, scaring the life out of everyone around me. Barry looked at me as if I had grown a second head. “Come on, burp! Let’s drink!”
Then I raised both hands high and slapped the table with a loud bang.
“Little Shay, you can’t drink anymore.” Barry shot me a bitter look, then turned to glare at Ryan, “Who told you to give her alcohol? Look at her, she’s already so drunk!”
“I’m not drunk!”
I protested loudly. How dare they say I was drunk? I could drink anyone under the table; they were all just weaklings compared to me!
“I just wanted to apologize… Who knew Little Shay’s tolerance was so bad? One drink and she’s like this.”
Ryan shrugged with an innocent look, though his eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“Why don’t… Barry, you take a break, and I’ll take her home?”
“Get lost! If anyone’s taking her home, it’s me! What’s it to you?” Barry was fuming, pointing an accusatory finger at Ryan, “You’re so lazy you don’t even do farm work! All you know is how to mess around! You think you have a chance with her? Shameless!”
“Barry, how dare you talk to me like that!”
“I’m talking to you!”
“What’s wrong with me taking your sister home?”
“You’re just trying to take advantage of her!”
“Like I said, I like her, what’s wrong with that? Little Shay hasn’t said a word, so why are you barking like a mad dog?”
“Who are you calling a puppy!!”
“Whoever reacts is a puppy!”
“…Alcohol!!!”
I was getting fuzzier, struggling to grasp what they were arguing about. I just wanted to drink a couple more cups.
“Ha ha ha! Little Shay, Uncle Dole will drink with you.”
Uncle Dole found the squabbling youngsters amusing. With the alcohol flowing, he decided to fan the flames and encourage me to drink more.
He was curious about what this incredibly beautiful girl would be like after a few too many drinks.
“Uncle Dole! How could you?!”
Barry panicked immediately.
“Ha ha ha! It’s a rare occasion that we’re all so happy. If Little Shay wants to drink, let her enjoy it!”
Uncle Dole grabbed a new empty cup, filled it to the brim with beer from a barrel, and placed it in front of me.
“Come on, Little Shay, let’s toast!”
“Cheers!”
Seeing more alcohol in front of me made me giddy. I lifted my glass and downed a large portion.
“Ha! So good.”
I wiped my lips and, with a sudden burst of energy, tried to hop onto the table, only to trip and land on my behind with a thud.
Huh? Why did things feel so weird? I shouldn’t be this clumsy. Am I sinking into the Abyss again? Oh, yes, I’m definitely in the Abyss.
So, I sat on the ground, hugging my knees and started blowing bubbles.
“Pop, pop, pop… What’s all this noise? Am I… being born?”
Watching me in a drunken daze, even Ryan was starting to panic. He genuinely didn’t expect my drinking tolerance to be this low. If Grandma Claire found out, he’d be in deep trouble.
“Little Shay, are you okay? You can’t drink anymore.”
Ryan reached out to help me up, but Barry shoved him away.
“Don’t touch her!”
“Barry! Do you want to fight?!”
“Don’t touch her!”
“She fell! Am I not allowed to help her up? Why are you so nervous about her? Do you like your sister?!”
“Ryan, you dare say that again!”
“You like Little Shay! What’s wrong with that!”
“You j*rk!”
After a round of shoving and pushing, they started a fistfight, throwing punches at each other.
Now, Uncle Dole couldn’t sit idle and quickly stood up to break it up.
“Hey, you two, cut it out!”
I looked at the three of them tangled together in confusion, my brain feeling like a mushy mess, not understanding anything.
“Shay~ Little Shay~ where are you—”
Who’s calling me?!
Struggling to get up from the ground, I spotted an Aili-like creature staggering towards me.
“Aili, you’re drunk, hee hee.” I couldn’t help but tease her.
“Little Shay~” Aili lunged at me, burying her face in my neck and sniffing me, “Little Shay, you smell so nice, a bit like lilacs.”
“Aili, stop it, hee hee, it tickles.” I giggled and pushed her away, “Let’s drink!”
Aili and I settled at the table and chugged our drinks.
“Why are they fighting, hee hee.”
Aili pointed at the three crazies struggling against each other.
“I don’t know either, hee hee.”
“They’re so ugly when they fight.”
“Right? Hee hee hee…”
I don’t know what had me laughing so hard, but I couldn’t stop!
“Little Shay, I have a secret to tell you, I’m… getting married!”
“With who, with Barry?”
“Ugh, no way, Little Shay, it’s with Allen, Allen! How could I marry Barry? You must be drunk, haha!”
“Oh. Is getting married fun?”
“Hmm… it doesn’t seem fun. I’m not happy, Little Shay~”
“Why aren’t you happy?”
“Um… I don’t know. I just feel like everything is happening too fast. I’m not ready, and suddenly I have to get married, and then have kids… Just thinking about it is annoying; I’m still just a child…”
“Aili, that’s called pre-wedding anxiety.”
“Pre-wedding anxiety? What’s that? Are you saying I’m sick?”
“No, not sick. Just worried. Like you are.”
“I don’t get it… It seems like you know a lot, Little Shay. I’ve thought about this before. Where do you even get this knowledge?~” Aili clung to my arm in a cute way.
“Hee hee, I’m a monster.”
“A monster? Little Shay is a monster?”
“Yeah, the kind that eats people. Rawr!”
In a state where I had no idea what I was saying, I raised my claw towards Aili and made a silly face.
“Ha ha ha, Little Shay, so cute.” Aili patted my head.
“Aili, I want to… flirt.”
“Flirt? Oh, then you better hurry up. I’ll wait for you to come back; you still haven’t told me where you came from!”
“Okay!”
I nodded and wobbled off to a secluded spot, glanced around, and saw no one.
Straining to stand with my legs apart, I hiked up my linen dress high, pulled down what looked like safety shorts, and reached for my little buddy.
…Huh? Why can’t I find it?
With my eyes all blurry, I frowned and thought for a moment before it clicked.
Oh, I forgot my little buddy left me a long time ago.
I miss him.
So I squatted down like usual, and the sound of flowing water began.
…I’m done.
After finishing, I picked up my shorts and turned to head back when suddenly the world spun, and stars filled my vision. By the time I came to my senses, I was on my knees, utterly bewildered.
“Ugh—” I dry-heaved, feeling a bit nauseous.
My head was spinning; I felt like throwing up.
“Really… what should I say now?”
A familiar voice came through.
“Who… is it?” I suddenly perked up, as if a blurry figure had appeared. Who was it…? I rubbed my eyes hard but could not see clearly.
“Little one, why aren’t you running away?”
“Run… where? I… don’t know.”
What are they talking about? Why would I leave Grandma? Ugh, why do they have to say such annoying things?
My mind was a complete mess, making it impossible to think normally.
“Do you know how easy it would be for me to k*ll you right now?”
I felt something cold resting on my shoulder. What was it? I placed my hand on top.
“…Beef jerky!”
I opened my mouth to take a bite.
“Idiot!”
The hard object was quickly yanked away, and I pouted in discontent.
This person is so annoying; are they going to give me food or just toy with me?
I grabbed their pant leg to stand up, raised my arms high, and *slap!* slapped them right in the face before starting to tug and pull at them.
“Give me!”
“…You should at least know the Master of the Deep Abyss is here; isn’t it embarrassing?” The figure grabbed my arm and pulled their hand away from their face, muttering to themselves, “How should I handle you… ah, what a hassle.”
“It’s been tough to find you; I practically ran all over the villages around Woodward, my legs about to break, and here you are, cozying up and playing house… For the past few days, I’ve been observing you and asking people about you in the village. What I’ve heard has really made things tricky. Why don’t you have a single shred of self-awareness as a monster? My mission is to make sure you get killed, and now, what should I do with you, White Night’s Abyss?”
This person… what are they even saying? I couldn’t understand a thing.
I looked at their lips moving, and my vision was getting blurrier.
So sleepy… my eyelids are so heavy, hee hee.
“I had thought about many possibilities, which route you’d choose to escape. If you could reach a slightly larger town, you’d immediately fall into the Church’s trap set for you. We predicted all the possibilities, but no one could’ve imagined that a creature from the Abyss would quietly hide in a nameless little village, living as a country girl… If those old geezers find out, they’d probably drop their jaws. Why are you so special…? Why do you look so much like a human?”
Carlos looked at the girl in front of him, already softened and breathing steadily.
She had actually fallen asleep, truly… what should he even say?
“…I really could just end it with a single blow, and my mission would be over.”
Even as he uttered those chilling words, Carlos squatted down and hoisted the girl onto his back.
“Looks like I need to have a good chat with the Pope… Ugh, the fewer people that know about this, the better.”
