OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 382: Quick Drink

"Let's see... We'll have twenty beers, two bottles of your finest scotch, and..." Emir momentarily paused, glanced at Lyra then looked back at the waiter.

"A red wine; make sure it's top shelf."

Nodding her head, the waiter looked at the rest and asked:

"Will that be all?"

Evan waved his hand, catching her attention.

"You've got cigars here, or just that weird shisha thing?"

She nodded once again.

"We have every kind of cigar you might want, but if we don't, ask, and I'll make sure to bring them to you."

Clasping his hand, Evan grinned and said:

"Alright then! Surprise me."

Turning to Emir, he asked:

"Do you want one too, bossman?"

"Sure, bring us two."

"I will."

She bowed to him, then to the others, and finally to Emir.

Soon, the sound of her footsteps echoed as she left their table to bring their orders.

Said echo was a result of them having the entire floor to themselves.

Emir tried to settle in with the rest downstairs, but his OCD was acting up, not letting him enjoy himself, so instead of canceling this much-needed break, he spent a bit more money than he planned to.

"Hey, hey, bossman!"

Getting him out of his thoughts was a smiling Evan, curiosity evident in his brown eyes.

"What's up?"

"Since when did you smoke?"

'Ah...'

An unexpected question arrived.

He decided to deflect.

"I only smoke when I'm relaxing with friends."

Evan's eyes widened, as did the rest, and they looked at each other as if they couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"F-Friends? He just called us friends guys!"

"So I wasn't the only one that heard him?!"

"Horray!"

"Horray-ahahahah!"

"Hahahahaha! Soon, he might even teach me about his flash step!"

Kiera, Sarah, Jack, and Hiro had their fun, while Leo was the only one confused.

"Guys, isn't this a downgrade? We were called family before!"

But they ignored him, swept up in the mood.

'Hmm, effective... and don't worry Hiro, I'll be teaching you that technique pretty soon.'

Emir inwardly chuckled as he watched their reactions, then his attention was drawn to Lyra, who gave him a playful wink.

[Stop playing with them like that, they might revolt if they get 'smarter' you know.]

He shrugged casually, spotting the waiter approaching.

[Heh~ you calling my men dumb? Besides, they're getting better; you should know that, Ms. Teacher.]

[I do~ And sure, just make sure not to go too far.]

Her giggles echoed softly just as the waiter reached their table.

"Here you go."

With those words, the waiter began distributing glass cups to each person and, with a

flourish, opened the bottles, placing them in the center of the table.

Once done, she presented Emir with two cigars in a small box.

They were Churches, the same brand that he occasionally smoked with Ragnar.

Though they weren't addicted, and they no longer smoked to combat schizophrenia-having long since overcome the after-effects of the test-it still felt good to share a cigarette

whenever they relaxed together.

It was the third-best thing to calm his mind, with Lyra being the first, and his family second.

"Thanks."

"...My pleasure. Please do ring me up if you need something."

After bowing her head, the waiter took her leave while showing a slight surprise on her face.

She knew them, and of course she did; they were the infamous Azazel.

Their position and importance were unfathomable to her, yet they treated her like they would an equal, with manners.

That was rare, really rare.

Especially their leader, even thanking her for doing her job-not even the average Joe did

that!

To her, this was a big deal, but Emir was, like usual, just being himself, careful.

In gaming terms, he would be the type to finish the entire game with a full inventory.

Ants or not, it was best to treat those unfamiliar with courtesy.

While his mind only categorized people into allies, enemies, and potential enemies, it didn't mean that he would treat them like dirt.

'Who knows, they might be a master in disguise that even the 'novel' failed to mention.'

Emir wouldn't put that cliche past this world.

So even though it wouldn't be wrong to call him arrogant, as he saw himself above them, not bothering to register their names in his mind, he still acted in a gentlemanly manner.

In any case, while the girl went off to La La Land, the cohort celebrated and let loose, talking about whatever came up, drunk on the mood and alcohol.

"So you wanna tell us why you got so mad?"

"Will it harm our family in any way?"

Kiera sat next to Lyra, and they looked at Sarah with curiosity, each girl holding a glass of

wine.

While the reason for their curiosity differed greatly, they still had that question in their minds

since her outburst back then.

"I-It's nothing interesting..."

Not used to having Lyra's attention, Sarah stuttered a bit, but after gulping down her glass as

if it was a shot of vodka, she revealed:

"I was born in one of those small settlements near the outposts. Life there was tough. It wasn't just the constant attacks from rogue pirates or constructs from the front lines. The real danger came from the inside."

Kiera poured Sarah some wine while she continued, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass.

"We were nothing more than a resource. Children trained from a young age to become the best bodybags. My parents... they were proud to serve, well, when they were alive at least, brainwashed by endless propaganda. They just couldn't see the suffering of their kids... us."

She paused, taking a deep breath.

"When I was ten, my older brother was drafted. He was barely fifteen, and they sent him to the front lines... He never came back. My parents were heartbroken, but they still believed in the cause. They died the day after, and I was relocated to another family..."

Sarah touched the scars on her face and showed a quivering smile.

"They told me that I was next in line and that they were going to train me early, reveal the truth... Now I can easily guess that 'truth' was Aether, but back then... back then... I..."

Her gaze hardened as she continued.

"When I was twelve, I decided to run away. I had no plan, just a desperate need to escape. I

wandered the dunes for days until I was found by a group of rogues who were raiding the area.

Instead of killing me, they took me in."

Letting out a sad chuckle, she shook her head at the naivety of her past self.

"They saw something in me-a spark of defiance... or so I thought. They sold me to an Elite,

to become his plaything, but on the way to the sector, I got lucky. Monsters ate them for breakfast, leaving me to rot in a cage."

Sarah looked at Kiera, her quivering smile turning happy.

"That's when I met you, going to a ruin dive. Kiera saved me, and the rest was history."

Her gaze turned to Lyra, the happiness in her eyes giving way to absolute hate. "That's why I reacted the way I did. Those settlements-they're not nice places. They're prisons, breeding grounds for soldiers who are taught to follow orders without question. And

I can't stand the thought of anyone romanticizing it."

"...Come here, you!" Kiera, not standing it any longer, hugged Sarah, shoving her into her embrace, and

surprisingly, Lyra joined in as well, patting both their backs.

"It's alright, girls... Grief is human."

While those girls had their pity party, the one who 'romanticized' it smoked with Emir on the

balcony, unaware that his words had such an effect on her; what he said already forgotten.

"Yo bossman, you think we improved since last time?"

Puff...

Leaning on the railing, Emir breathed out smoke into the moist air.

He watched distant figures waving at him while hiding from the corporate drones below.

With a nod, he turned to face Evan.

"Compared to the 'smackdown?' Almost incomparable. You handled the mechs much better than I expected, even those flying Sheep didn't stand a chance. Our cute ninjas over there aren't a match either. But if I did have something to point out..."

He flicked his head, pointing his chin at him, and patted his pants' left pocket.

"You're too overprotective, I get that you're a Knight and all that, but no one will be attacking

us here, you know."

Embarrassed, Evan took his left hand out of his pocket, revealing a pistol that he had

somehow sneaked into the establishment.

"But Sir, I-!" Emir stopped him with a raised hand while taking a puff of his cigar, his tone turning soft as

he said:

"I know... I know. But don't worry. What happened to them won't happen to me."

He pulled up the bottle, chugged it down, and added with a smirk: "Besides, if I die, you guys will follow me into hell right after, so you won't miss me too

much~."

"...Heh."

"Hahaha..."

"'"'HAHAHAHAHAHA!""

It took a moment, and eventually, the two juggernauts shared a loud laugh as Emir repeatedly

smacked Evan's back, forcing him down with each blow.

"Alright—ugh! Alright! Stop!"

At Evan's begging, Emir stepped back and leaned on the railing once more.

Unlike last time, his eyes weren't out on the streets, but on his cohort.

That brought the attention of Hiro, who was talking to Leo, and Jack. With a few steps, he joined them on the balcony, not minding the smell. "You need something, bossman?"