Avery looked down at his almost empty cup too, furrowed his eyebrows, looked back at her, and shook his head.
He grabbed the cup with both hands.
"I think I'll start to lose more control than I'd like to if I drink another round. Thanks for the offer though" Avery said and Kenser smiled.
"No problem. Just let me know if you change your mind," Kenser replied then went to return the almost empty bottle of wine on the shelf. Meanwhile, Avery's attention was once again drawn by the guests and the different languages they were speaking.
'Hmm. Does this mean I have to learn all these languages as I find a way to return to my world? Now that I think about it, I wonder what the name of the place I'm from is. I know it's on the tip of my tongue but it's just difficult remembering fully. I guess my memories are not ready to return yet but whatever.' Avery thought then shrugged.
'Anyway, about finding a way to return to my world. I hope there's a central language that the majority of the population speaks. Something like the English language of this world. If I can learn that then it would be really helpful in maneuvering around this world on my own.' Avery thought, but immediately after became dejected from realizing the challenge he had to face.
'Even if there's a central language that everyone speaks, I don't think Centshuu or the others speak it. Normally, it's more civilized or should I say Urban areas that have something like that. Though this building is the only civilized looking place I've seen— as far as my memory tells me anyway, I doubt a forest like the one I was just in exists in an urban city.'
Just then, Avery flicked his eyes to Mosey and the rest sitting beside him after hearing Shieve's tipsy grumbling.
Shieve wasn't good at holding his liquor, which was ironic because he was always the first to suggest they drink.
'Maybe I'm underestimating these guys. Ripply does seem like someone who should know how to speak something as important as a central language and so does Kove now that I'm thinking about it. I'm not so sure about these other two though. What about Centshuu? He does seem just as smart as the first two so maybe he does know it too. I'm not sure if that's true or not but if they do, the problem I have now is time. Do I have enough time to learn a whole new language if a miracle happens and I get one of them to teach me?' Avery thought then looked down at the empty cup in his hands.
'Hunting that creature I saw. How long is it going to take, realistically? No matter how long, I don't think it's possible to learn a new language in that time unless I'm some sort of genius.'
Avery grimaced.
'Am I some sort of genius and have no memory of how much of a genius I am? As a matter of fact, what even am I? Why do I feel like I'm a good fighter? How did I get here from my world? How do I even know that I'm not from this world when I have no memories prior to falling from the sky and a few ingrained things like my name and the name of my tongue?' Avery thought and his hands started to shake, causing ripples in the little wine he had left in his cup.
Seeing his rippling reflection and how distorted it was made Avery calm down.
The ripples stopped and he drank what was left in the cup.
'What do I do? Should I extend the time I spend with these guys? They already promised to help take me back home, which since it doesn't exist in this world or at least I don't think it does, we might take a long time searching. That should give me the time I need to learn, right?' Avery thought but then felt a sudden wave of guilt.
'As long as I don't reveal the truth, I should be fine. Not telling the truth isn't considered as lying, right?' He thought then snorted.
He convinced himself that what he was doing was grey and not black and white. As such, it was acceptable to do what he had to because he was in a desperate situation and needed to respond accordingly.
'I think that's a good plan to extend the time, but then again, what if they abandon me when it takes too long to find my hometown which, like I theorized, doesn't exist in this world? Centshuu doesn't seem like someone to go back on his word but I've also only known him for a couple of hours, talked to him for way less than that, so how do I know how he actually is?' Avery rambled in his mind, clasped his cup, and then started tapping the sides with his two index fingers.
'I don't think I can completely rely on these guys for help with this. After all, putting all of my eggs in one basket isn't a smart decision. I wonder where I heard that parable from but whatever. If I can't put all my hopes on them then who do I get to teach me everything about this world so I don't die in a ditch somewhere? If only I could download all the information I need in an instant just like—' Avery thought and then his eyes widened.
'That's right! Just like how I was able to speak Scrimis the moment I woke up without ever learning it. Thinking about it, just how exactly did I manage to do something that incredible—?'
Kenser returned.
"Hey, Avery," she said, pulling Avery from his deep thoughts.
He jolted and looked at her.
"Yes?" He asked, sounding like he was taken off guard by her sudden interference.
She placed her hand on the cup in his hands.
Avery looked down and realized what she wanted so he let go and allowed her to take the cup from him.
"I wanted to ask but what's that?" She asked, rinsing the cup in a bowl of water.
Avery grimaced, tilted his head in confusion, and responded "What's what?"
"That," Kenser said then pulled the cup out of the bowl of water and started drying it with the towel on her shoulder "You know, that stuff on your forehead"
Avery furrowed his eyebrows.
"Stuff on my forehead? What stuff on my forehead?"