121 Part 2
The chickens began to dance in the oil as I shook the handle with a shout.
“You’re amazing…”
While my daughter had to scold me while farming, I could not fail here.
“All right, the first time is done.”
Two chickens were fried, but they were not cooked all the way through. I put the other two chicken in and sliced into the freshly fried chicken and put them in oil again after taking the chicken out. The perfect chicken now showed itself.
“Fried chickens are done.”
“Holy chicken…”
I gave a whole chicken to Alice, who was drooling a bit, and the metal bat another one as it sat on the table with forks in its hands.
“Here you are.”
“Thank you.”
I served one each for the old man and me and placed fried potatoes and the sauces I had prepared beforehand. Now, the perfect spread for a fried chicken party was complete.
“Let’s eat.”
“Let’s!”
The two children who did not drink alcohol started to delve into the chicken. The old man and I stared at them with gentle eyes before pouring beer in our glasses.
“Then, shall we also eat?”
“All right.”
I gulped down a beer with the sound of wooden glasses clanking against each other. I had not liked alcohol but drank it from time to time. I had just been careful about having a glass of liquor because I did not know who would chase me when and where. However, things were different now since I guessed that no one would come after me anymore. I had hidden that well and was being careful due to the time I had lost a lot of money at Eugrasia. While I had only grabbed the cash I had stashed the deepest, I had enough to live comfortably farming. I had been greedy at that time when I could live adequately with just this amount.
Also, now I had a cute daughter who seemed not to have a hidden past, not to mention a nostalgic glass of beer and chicken.
“I’m happy.”
“Yes.”
“Daddy, I want…”
“No!”
I slapped Alice’s hand away as she tried to hold my beer glass, and she looked at me with sorrowful eyes.
“Liquor is!”
“For adults~”
While her sad gaze stared at the glass, it was too early for her. It might taste like nothing or bitter for children, but Alice might be talented at drinking. I could handle my cute daughter drunk, but it really was too soon.
“Haha. Yes, Alice is too young to drink now.”
“Ali knows how to farm now…”
“They are different things.”
The way Alice stuck her lips out was cute. I put in three fried potatoes inside her mouth, and she smiled brightly as she chewed on them.
“How does it taste?”
“Yummy!”
The old man and I laughed loudly at Alice, chewing the potatoes as if she had never sulked, and we drank while eating chicken.
“I can always make more potatoes, so eat as much as you like.”
“All right!”
I had harvested most of the potatoes, and I only needed to wash and fry them to make delicious fried potatoes since there were no pesticides here.
“The potatoes go well with the beer.”
“A potato can be used in all kinds of food.”
“I found myself questioning the way I had lived my life when I realized that through Alice.”
The old man ate the fried potatoes with beer while laughing loudly. While we had already finished off the lager, there was enough ale to get drunk on.
“It seems the taste had changed just by switching beers.”
“The taste changes just by a sauce.”
“That’s right!”
The beer disappeared instantly after our glasses met, and while it was not potent, I never had drunk after coming to this world. I had never been able to drink during missions, and I could not do so when I did not know how my students would betray me no matter how well I was protected. It had been the same next to the princess who had tried to hold one over me in the palace, and I only remembered sipping at a glass of wine or two in some banquets. Therefore, while I had been a drinker in my past life, I now became tipsy after a few beers.
“I’m dizzy.”
“You can’t drink much.”
“I’m sorry.”
I bent my head a bit to apologize to the old man, who looked at me like he still wanted me to drink. My teacher, who had taught me how to use a sword, told me that nothing was more dissatisfying than when the one a person was drinking with became drunk. The teacher could drink all of his students down, and I felt my eyelids dropping. I might get a good night’s sleep.
“Then, Alice will drink with Grandpa now!”
I became wide awake at hearing Alice’s voice as I fell.
“I’ll scold you.”
“Daddy?”
I spoke to the metal bat as I pointed at Alice, who remained rigid, trying to reach for my glass.
“Al, teach her a lesson.”
“Daddy? Anything but that!”
While I faltered at Alice teared up, I had to be strong, since accommodating her too much would ruin her habits. I needed the coldness I had as a drill sergeant before!
“I see my bad sister.”
“I made a mistake! I won’t say I want alcohol until I become an adult!”
“Too late!”
The metal bat began to follow Alice as she ran away, crying. I started to fall asleep again as I watched the metal bat chasing after Alice, keeping a manageable distance for its amusement.
“I’ll catch you, catch you, catch you!”
“Ahhhhh!”
“Hahahaha!”
While the table was filled with the smell of oil, I let my eyelids drop, hearing the children’s screams and the old man’s laughs. It was a peaceful day again today.
proofread by Rondo