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That day, two girls were visiting a tavern. One of them was drowning in alcohol as if she was preparing for the end of the world, ranting and raving in an unsightly state.

“Why was it Letinaa! I mean, she is cute, but I’m not bad either, am I?”
“Like you could compare to her.”

Cortina drank her glass while giving the cold shoulder to the dead drunk Dr. Tricia. They were currently in the northern remote village. Maxwell brought Tricia to examine Cortina, since her fatigue was pushed to the limit. The result of the examination was that her fatigue wasn’t a problem, so instead Tricia took her along for a drink.

Perhaps her real aim was to use her as a distraction after the prey she was aiming for had escaped her.

“She’s still young, honest, hardworking, and quite a beauty.”
“I’m young from an Elven perspective too!”
“Don’t compare yourself to the elves!”
“I’m even younger than you!”
“Well, my lifespan is longer than humans!”

Having drunk a lot, Tricia started to spout illogical things already. She was already in her thirties, so she was starting to lose her chance. As such, her appeals sounded quite equally desperate.

Cortina was also drunk on top of her daily fatigue, so she was dealing with her quite halfheartedly.

“At this point, I have no choice but to attack Lord Gadius!”
“I’m not sure if you’re getting desperate or just too optimistic.”
“Half of the Six Heroes are already married with this. How do you feel, being left behind?”
“I’m not particularly in a hurry.”
“Speaking of which, I heard you were going out with some guy with a bad look in his eyes.”
“H-He doesn’t have a bad look… it’s just a little sharp.”

Cortina showed signs of panic at that sudden change of topic that was natural for drunkards. Seeing that, Tricia gave her a suspecting gaze.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to score him without telling me anything.”
“Huh, o-of course not. Aren’t we friends?”
“Hey. Look me in the eye and say that again.”

Seeing how she was clearly avoiding eye contact, Tricia was convinced. Cortina had someone she was planning to marry. But since she wasn’t revealing it, it was probably not something that would happen very soon. She guessed there was something getting in the way.

“Hey, Cortina. We’re friends, right?”
“Yeah…?”
“You won’t get married and leave me behind, right?”
“I can’t guarantee that.”
“You’re so inhuman!”
“Well, I am a cat. Nya!”

Seeing her start acting like a cat when it benefited her, Tricia finally snapped. She was dealing with one of the Six Heroes, but that didn’t stop her from giving her a merciless bonk to the head. Of course, she could only do this because Cortina didn’t mind such things.

Still, Cortina wasn’t so slow that she would take a hit from an ordinary person. She quickly moved her head aside and dodged her fist. That became a trigger for the start of a fierce catfight inside the tavern. Though one was actually a cat.

Cortina was above Tricia in terms of skill and physical abilities, but Tricia’s willpower and the fact that both were pretty drunk made the fight drag out quite a bit. Eventually, they continued it without a victor until eventually getting thrown out by the staff.

On a different day, four men(?) were also having a drinking party, but in Gadius’ tavern. The participants were single, married, and soon-to-be-married men.

“Still, old man, marrying Letina was quite a drastic thing.”

Nicole, the only girl among them, addressed Maxwell. She was the only one weak to alcohol, so she was instead served orange juice and honey milk instead. Maxwell, on the other hand, slowly carried his glass filled with a little strong alcohol.

“There was no other choice. I could not think of a better plan to protect her.” (Maxwell)
“But you looked quite ready to make babies too, didn’t you?” (Nicole)
“I keep telling you that I’m still active in that way. And I cannot deny that she grew up into a charming woman. She holds feelings for me too, so I am quite willing to reciprocate.” (Maxwell)
“I swear, this old pervert…” (Nicole)
“You stole my words…” (Gadius)
“Now now. I have my troubles too on handling a young wife.” (Maxwell)
“Shut up you f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g pedo.” (Nicole)

Nicole spat out those words, and Gadius fully agreed with it. It looked like no one was taking Maxwell’s side in this place. However, someone who was silently drinking next to him patted him on the shoulder and gave a thumbs up in approval.

“What’s with that pose?” (Nicole)
“I mean, I’ve had my fair share of troubles with my wife.” (Hastur)
“Oh yea, your wife was that thing, huh, Hastur.” (Nicole?)

Hastur smoothly joined their drinking bout with only men(?) in it. His wife was called the God of Destruction in the legends. In other words, that White God. Nicole and the rest were also aware of how unprecedented her disposition was. Moreover, the couple looked to have a far too big a gap in age, at least from the outside.

“Yeah, that one is a little too you-… Actually, never mind.” (Nicole)
“That would be wise. There are areas you should not touch. More importantly, Gadius, do you have anything interesting to share?” (Maxwell)
“Me? Unfortunately, I don’t meet many people.” (Gadius)
“You run an inn, so you should have chances to meet them.” (Maxwell)

Not to mention, Gadius’ inn was a popular place where countless Adventurers who wanted to make a name for themselves visited. There were plenty of female Adventurers among them too. It was clearly a lie that he said he had no encounters at all.

In fact, he was suspiciously looking away and trying to dodge the topic.

“Moreover, I don’t think I will find anyone more beautiful than myself.” (Gadius)
“Okay, look here. What you’re referring to was my appearance. I hope you didn’t awaken to some strange hobbies.” (Nicole)
“I’m just kidding.” (Gadius)
“Well it doesn’t sound like one, so I’m really freaking out here, you know?!” (Nicole)
“Oh? Then perhaps I should put some time to research sex change magic?” (Hastur)
“I feel like you’d really invent it if you try, so please just don’t!” (Nicole)

Although not at God of Destruction’s level, God Hastur had also contributed to the development of magic. Nicole learned at the academy that the origins of spells like Flight could be traced back to Hastur. So if someone like that said such a thing, it could be possible that he would really develop it.

“More importantly, Reid. What about yourself? How long do you plan to make Cortina wait? I’m cooperating with you since I have a debt, but she is too pitiful to look at like this.”
“I know that. I’ve gained proper skill already, so it might be a good time to properly work towards it.”

Nicole had her thoughts about the matter Gadius mentioned. Her skill with the interference system had grown quite good after years of practice, so she thought that it could be a good idea to properly focus on the matter and study it.