That night, the party at the palace was held in a very lively manner. The sounds of people's conversations made the atmosphere even more crowded.
Various kinds of food were prepared by the palace, and all of us were free to take whatever we wanted.
Marcen-san had also given another congratulatory speech before officially opening the party.
It could be said that this was the first time my party and I had attended an event like this, and yeah, I quite enjoyed it.
Then, because the four of us had already been accepted as a hero party by the people, we were constantly surrounded by several individuals.
Especially Hime and Yuu-chan—yeah, far more people approached them compared to Luke and me.
Even now, Luke and I were enjoying the food we had taken while sitting on chairs not far from the place where Hime and Yuu-chan were being surrounded by people.
"Luke… are they more popular than us?" I asked while chewing.
"Maybe because they're girls… so more people approach them compared to us," he said.
The two of us could only sigh and observe the two of them along with the crowd surrounding them.
Whether men or women, they were close to them, and I had no idea what they were talking about.
But yeah, it was only natural, since the two of us were men—eh, wait a second—
"Even so, I'm quite confident about our appearances, you know. And from earlier, only men whose ages are far from ours have approached us. What's wrong with that?" I complained again.
"I agree with you… but well, what can we do? Besides, we're actually gaining something from the way they're being treated," he said.
I was slightly confused by his words, because I hadn't thought of any positive aspect of how those people were treating us.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"They're too busy dealing with Hime-san and Yuu-chan, so the food beside us isn't being taken by many people," he replied.
"Ah, I get what you mean now. But even so, our stomachs have limits, right? If we eat too much, we'll just end up with a stomachache," I said.
While we were still watching those people, someone approached us—eh, this person—
"You two, how is the party?" the person asked.
Luke and I turned at the same time and saw Marcen-sama speaking to us.
"M-Marcen-sama? Sorry, we didn't notice you," Luke said as he placed his plate on the table and stood up.
I did the same. Yeah, that was because our status compared to his was vastly different, so at the very least, we had to be polite in front of him.
"It's fine. Besides, those two have been approached by many people since earlier, haven't they?" he said while looking toward Hime and Yuu-chan.
"Even Anggie has been doing the same… hah, are they really that popular?" he muttered again.
"Anggie-san is your fiancée, right?" I asked.
"Yes, it's already been a year since we've been in that kind of relationship," he said.
"By the way, what are your party's plans after this? You're not just going to stay idle and return to Necvalion, are you?" Marcen-san asked.
"We might go to Riruyo. The guild master requested something that only our party can do. Well, it's not confirmed yet, I haven't talked about this with the other two either," I said with a small smile while scratching the back of my head.
"I see. By the way, is your party made up of couples? Two women and two men— is that how it is?" he asked again.
"You think so? Well, I haven't been in this party for that long, so you'd better ask Yukito about that, Marcen-sama," Luke replied while looking at me with a gaze that seemed like he was trying to tease me.
"Hoho~ I see. Then Yukito, explain to me what happened between you and those two girls before Luke joined your party!" he asked again, a glint in his eyes.
"I-it—" before I could continue my sentence, Luke added something.
"I want to know too, you know, Yukito-kun~" Luke said in a tone that sounded like he was trying to mock me.
I couldn't stop the topic they were pushing, and eventually, ten minutes passed with me telling them everything.
Of course, I didn't mention the kiss. I didn't want them to get even more curious and ask more questions.
The same went for when Hime and I were alone—was that a date, maybe? I had already forgotten.
"I didn't expect you guys not to do anything strange," Marcen-san said.
"What kind of person do you think I am?" I asked.
Marcen-san looked at his wristwatch to check the time.
"Ah, I have to go now. It's time for the real party to begin. Wait a moment, okay?" he said before leaving us and standing at the entrance of the palace.
He clapped his hands, causing the surrounding conversations to immediately stop, and everyone's attention focused on him.
I didn't know what he meant by the real party, but hadn't the party already started earlier?
"Everyone, this is the moment I've been waiting for!" Marcen-san said.
Bang.
The door behind him opened from the inside, and I could see several people coming out carrying large barrels in their hands.
On top of those large barrels was a tap used to easily pour whatever was inside.
That meant it was some kind of liquid or drink, right?
"Yukito, how old are you?" Luke asked me.
"Huh? I'm still eighteen. How about you?" I asked.
Why did he suddenly ask about my age? Did he need to know that right now?
"I'm nineteen myself, Yukito. When we first met, you saw me drinking sake, right?" Luke asked.
"Y-yeah, but what about it?" I asked.
The people carrying the barrels placed them in several spots, and one of them was set just a few steps away from us.
Another one was placed right next to Marcen-san. Oh—he took a glass and turned the tap, filling the glass with the liquid inside the barrel.
He raised the glass as high as he could.
"This is what you've been waiting for! The sake party!!!!!" he shouted.
People began taking their own glasses and lining up to get the sake from the barrels.
"Yukito, I'm going to grab a glass!" Luke said as he ran off, leaving me behind, and took some sake from the barrel.
The people who had been surrounding Hime and Yuu-chan also began to disperse and went to get the prepared sake.
Wow, do these people really like sake that much?
"Oi, aren't you two going to get some?" I asked.
"I-I'm still too young for that…" Hime replied.
"I'm thinking the same. My age is the same as Hime's, so you should do it instead, Yukito-sama," Yuu-chan added.
"Well, Luke already went ahead, but I don't have any intention of taking it," I said.
"Really? I thought you'd drink it too," Yuu-chan said.
As I was about to turn around, Luke suddenly forced me to drink the sake from his glass.
He restrained me and poured the sake into my mouth.
I never expected something like this, and in the end, for the first time in my life, I drank sake—even though I didn't want to.
"Ah! Luke! What are you doing?!" I shouted at him.
W-what kind of taste is this… the fruity flavor is really strong, but I can already feel my cheeks getting slightly warm. Am I starting to get a little drunk from just a few sips?
I looked at Luke, and he drank the sake in his glass until it was empty, yet I didn't see his cheeks or face turning red at all.
"Yukito, are you really not going to drink more? Come on, keep me company!" he said.
At first, I refused his offer, but once again, he casually took another glass and handed it to me.
And so, that was how my first experience drinking sake went. I could only manage to drink four glasses at most, and even then, Luke forced me to do it.
My head felt a little dizzy, but I was still able to maintain my consciousness.
Yeah, doing something like this once in a while isn't so bad either.