I had succeeded in persuading the Hero to join me for some drinking in the evening.
Alas, I had forgotten.
"―Your child of man thus begs, thus pleads; to heed mine words, mine prayers, to grant me thine divine favour, My Lord. Greater Restore Life."
After some hours, the dreadful afternoon training session ended and my body was once again restored to its regular state after being utterly abused to a monstrous extent.
What they did to me was unspeakable, unforgivable.
I didn't even feel any stronger after it, so I'm not entirely sure what the point was.
No, maybe the point was just to satisfy the sadistic nature of the devil, George, over there.
Whether or not this mediaeval kingdom simply didn't possess workers' rights laws, it was unforgivable.
If tonight didn't go well and I end up trapped here for another day, I might convince the knights to unionise. Or what, was it not considered exploitative mistreatment just because I was healed with magic afterwards? Even if my body is tricked to forget, my mind will always remember the pain, you know?
The one responsible for my suffering―the one praised as Knight Captain by the seniors.
Never will I forget your sins. George.
[I-it's alright, Enki! Fret not! Don't neglect the plan! We're trying to get you back as quickly as possible, correct?!]
The Librarian was right.
From the deepest reaches of my heart and soul, I wanted nothing more than to spew expletives and bitch about the messed up standards of this world, but alas, there was any time but the present to do so.
There was no evening training, and dinner would soon be served in the canteen.
Right after dusting off my hands upon rising from what nearly became my grave for the second time, I popped my head inside the locker room, where many knights were washing off their sweat-ridden bodies with buckets of water and changing into more casual wear or otherwise sorting through their belongings.
Something I had missed when I checked this area out earlier was a tap in the wall that produced water; I wasn't sure if that was connected to some kind of water system or plumbing, or if it was also the workings of magic, but it seemed very impressive for the era.
Either way, since my own gambeson was also drenched in an amount of sweat I wasn't even aware I was capable of producing, making the outfit far too sticky and repulsive for comfort, I reluctantly decided to do the same and washed.
Of course, because those were the only clothes I had right now, I ended up putting them straight back on after drying myself.
Thereafter, I grabbed my backpack and went to locate the Hero.
"―Ah, you. The scrawny one. Ha, yes, I suppose it's that time. Well? Go on then. Bring me to your shoddy commoner tavern, or whatever poor establishment you have planned. Oh, I'm sure it'll be quite shocking."
Without wasting too much time, I once again put on the act of a submissive squire and led him straight from the training arena without so much as hesitating by the canteen, where most of everyone else was chowing down on dinner.
I'm not sure if his strengthened constitution also meant he could go longer without growing hungry, but for whatever reason, he didn't seem ready to complain about that just yet.
Then, taking my very first step outside in this so-called Illusory World, my eyes widened.
Traversing through the surprisingly busy evening streets of this mediaeval city was one thing, but most of all was not the centuries-old style buildings, nor was it the archaic attire of the citizens wandering the streets.
After all, the former was something you couldn't escape from in many of the history-rich countries that populated the Earth, and as for the latter, well, that was also something you got to see people wear all the time these days too, whether in historical or fantasy t.v. shows, or even as simple cosplay.
Of course, it was odd seeing so many people dressed like it once, making me feel like I was suddenly thrusted into some movie set, but it wasn't any more overbearing than seeing dozens of knights eating and training around me.
What actually made me pause was, rather, the lack of a certain structure in the distance.
No matter which way I turned my head, not here nor there could I spot what I knew, and had grown familiar with knowing, as the Augury Tower.
I guess, the notion of something so bizarre occurring on Earth... Faced with this view of a world that didn't contain such a thing, the peculiarity and sheer abnormality of it struck me all anew.
In the back of my mind, an ever-so-faint faint wonder emerged.
How different would the real world be if, like here, the Tower never appeared? Or, conversely, how different would this world become if the Tower did appear...
At that moment, I realised I really was far from home.
"..."
"Teh. Are you planning on wasting my time for much longer, scrawny knight? I'll have you know, more so than any other, this Hero's time is of utmost value, you know? Yet here you are, having me trudge through filthy, rat-filled streets of stench and squalor. This booze you all speak highly of better be worth it, else there'll be severe consequences to pay."
Casting a sneaky sideways glance at that complaining Hero, his golden eyebrows knitted tightly in a fierce scowl, a reminder flashed through my mind.
To go home... To go home, there was only one thing that must be done.
The Librarian――I could only believe that what she said was true.
She had successfully manipulated me, that's right... but, I was fine admitting that if it was the solution out of here.
We soon arrived at the "Dragon's Belly" tavern.
"Here we are. Please, take a seat where you like; I will be right back with the drinks."
"Ha, you really are impoverished, aren't you, in both body, mind and spirit. You don't have to tell me, I'll do as I please. Just be quick with it. Perhaps you would even do well to purchase yourself some of that grubby substance you peasants like to eat, you know, erase that malnourished figure from my sight. Let it be known that it is truly displeasing, but as you are serving me for tonight, I will graciously let it pass."
"...Thank you for the consideration..."
'What a bitch. Now that I think about it, you really are someone who deserves to die.'
Leaving the Hero to his own devices for a moment, I made my way to the front of the tavern, ordering Challengers' Ale as the senior knights suggested. Peering into the pouch of coins generously given to me by those same seniors, I let out a small groan.
'Will there be enough...?'
I wasn't sure about the details of this world's currency system, but I had learned a little from what those seniors mentioned. Really, all I needed to know was how many rounds of Challengers' Ale I could afford, and incidentally, the answer to that question was six tankards; equating to more or less the same amount of pints.
It was only now that I was beginning to fret whether this would actually be enough to properly intoxicate the Hero.
'Didn't that one knight mention something about divine power...?'
Needless to say, I had no clue what that was supposed to mean, but I understood the implication that the Hero would have a harder time getting drunk than an ordinary man or woman. In other words, he probably had a strengthened constitution.
From my lacking knowledge of religion, I could presume it was because things said to be divine are, by nature, pure.
Since alcohol is a toxin of both body and mind, as well as a well-categorised vice, I could understand the logic behind it. Although, just because someone had an increased resistance to poison, that didn't necessarily mean that they were entirely immune to it.
All I needed was to debilitate him to a certain extent anyway, so even if that was the case, the plan could still work.
The only question was whether six pints would get the job done.
Perhaps because this world is a bit uncivilised in comparison to Earth, nowhere on the drinks menu did it contain anything like alcohol percentage, so I only had my own estimations to go off. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about ale or even most alcoholic drinks in general, so even that was shot.
Honestly though, six pints of something known as super strong alcohol should be more than enough to get a guy who's never had a drop before drunk, but I guess it depends entirely on just how effective that divine power is at protecting his sobriety.
One of the reasons I brought the Hero straight to the tavern without dinner or anything like that first was in hopes that an empty stomach would make him easier to inebriate―praying the Hero didn't get so peckish that he ordered me to buy him food as well, this was all I could rely on.
In the first place, I didn't have the funds to buy him food as well as drinks, so I really, really hoped he didn't go so far as to do that.
Collecting the first round of frothy mugs, I had to look around for the table claimed by the Hero.
For better or worse, it didn't take long.
"Geh! Damned pig! Do you even know who I am?! Ever heard of the Legendary Hero, bastard?! You dare lay that squalid finger on the Goddess' divine favour...?!"
"H-Hero...? W-w-wait a second!"
"Ahaha, that's what I thought! Down on your knees like the rat you are! Scared, huh?! Huh...?!"
"Eek...!"
'Ah. There he is.'
I didn't know if it was fortunate or not, but the Hero had swiftly become the heart of a ruckus inside the bustling tavern. Before the situation spiralled out of control, I swooped in to defuse his soaring wrath.
"Oh, you've finally arrived, scrawny knight! Tsk! What are you waiting for?! Set the drinks down already!"
"..."
Fortunately, his mood seemed to become all rosy just by me bringing him his booze, and I wordlessly took a seat near him.
"Pah! Now that's some damn spicy stuff, for a peasant's brew! Bwuuh...!"
In an instant, the Hero guzzled half of the first pint I bought him, ejecting a rather extreme belch just seconds later.
"I must admit, you did good with this one, scrawny-- Nay, little knight!"
"...Thank you."
Following those words, which seemed to bump my evaluation up so considerably that my title evolved from 'scrawny' to 'little', he quaffed the rest of the pint and promptly ordered me.
"Bwuuuuuuh...! Ohoh, that was a big one! Little knight! Bring me another!"
Sighing lightly through my nose in begrudging acceptance, I could already tell.
"Right away..."
This would really be a long night.