「Oーi! Al! I brought the remarkably expensive sake, not…… I mean, here’s the one with a big cork on it!」


  After I finish making the rackets for four-person, Irvine and Mort joyfully returned while holding a big wine bottle that was almost too big to carry.

  After that, Irvine put the big wine bottle on the table as if to flaunt it.

  「Ohー! Olga’s red wine! That’s a wine that was hard to get your hands on even back in the Kingdom, isn’t it!」


  「We can get it this time since we have the noble Alfried-sama’s order as a good reason. So we can freely walk off with this you know! What do you think, Alfried-sama?」


  Irvine turns his eyes toward me as if to confirm it with me while grinning.

  Err, it’s not like anything will be forgiven no matter what rank of a noble you are though. I wonder just how much does it worth to make it hard to obtain even in the Kingdom?

  Though I heard among liquors, those with premium quality are truly expensive………


  Oh well, when the time comes I’ll complete the table tennis at any cost and sell the completed table tennis to Tori as a product as an apology.

  「Open it if you understand Irvine」


  「Heーi!」


  When I give him permission to open it, Irvine pulls out the wine cork gleefully. A loud *kyupon* sound resounded, I guess it’s because the wine bottle is bigger than the normal one.

  Irvine handed the big cork over to me.

  「So then what are you going to do with the cork?」


  「I’m going to shave it until it forms a ball」


  「If it’s just that then I can do it!」


  When I said that, Roomba took out a knife from his Kagura clothes’ breast pocket and began to shave the cork.

  Even though he didn’t carry his large sword with him, it seems that he still pretty much brought something that can be used to protect himself.

  Honestly speaking, I didn’t have the confidence to make a perfectly round shape for the cork, so I’m glad for his offer.

  Or it might be simply because he thought that it’s dangerous for me to do it myself.

  That Roomba - who doesn’t have a matching personality as his face - skillfully shaved the cork in his hand with the knife.

  Perhaps it’s because of his life as an adventure, he’s great at shaving with a knife like this.

  While giving a sidelong glance at the Roomba’s rhythm of skillful shaving the cork, I don’t know when did Irvine and Mort have prepared some glasses, they already poured the red wine to the glasses to the brim.

  After that, they hit their glass with one another with a clink as if to make a toast, then slowly drank it.

  「Kuhー! As might be expected from expensive wine, it’s easy to drink!」


  「Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve had a delicious wine like this」


  「Oi, you guys. Leave some for me too, will ya?」


  Roomba said as if to remind them, maybe because the two of them are drinking the wine happily like that.

  How nice. Though, if my body is also that of an adult then I would also join them with a sake cup in my hand.

  And just like that, when Roomba shaved the cork and Irvine and Mort are drinking the red wine, I heard the sound of footsteps from a crowd of people coming down from the second floor and heading toward the lobby.

  「Not good! Hide the wine!」


  Perhaps it’s because of their ability to sense danger as an adventurer went active that Irvine stood up immediately, then he hides the wine glasses behind the sofa.

  And then, Mort took the wine bottle silently and hid it behind a stone in the garden.

  And now that they’ve finished hiding the wine, the moment Mort return to the lobby, he shouted in despair.

  「Oi, there’s the smell of wine here!」


  「Whaaat!? There’s nothing I can do about that, y’know! Air the place! Fanned it, fanned it!」


  Even if you said to fan it, there’s not even an uchiwa here though, what are you going to do then.

  「I didn’t drink any of it, so it’s none of my business, right?」


  Roomba said that, maybe Roomba - who is shaving the cork - also thought that they will get exposed this time.

  「Ahー! Roomba-san, that’s cruel!」


  「Alfried-sama! Can you do something about his with magic somehow? 」


  Since I couldn’t bear to see their panicked appearance, I cast Wind magic to stir up the air in the lobby.

  「As expected from Boss Alfried!」2

  Don’t call me Boss. You snatched the wine from the merchants, it makes me feels as if I really became a bandit.

  When I fell into deep thought thinking about such things, a group of men came down from the second floor in droves and come into the lobby.

  Everyone probably wants to take a bath, seeing their appearance bringing a change of clothes and towels.

  Tori called out to us while waving his hand, maybe because he notice us as he leads them.

  「Alfried-sama! D’you want to take a bath together with everyone?」


  「Nah, we already took a bath, we’re relaxing hereー」


  We went to take a bath immediately after returning after all.

  Besides, I don’t feel like I can enjoy taking a bath while being surrounded by twenty, thirty men even if I did go with him. The image is so awful that the ‘flashing’ from yesterday’s pillow fight can’t be compared with that.

  「That’s so? Then we will take a bath first a’ightー」


  When I refuse him, Tori easily went in the direction of the bath accompanied by the men of his Firm and disappeared from our sight.

  Maybe because Tori and his group didn’t have any reaction whatsoever, that Irvine and Mort are sighing as if they were relieved.

  After that, they continue to excitedly prepared the wine again. These people don’t get discouraged by anything as usual.

  「Yosh, it’s done! Al, is it fine with this?」


  Perhaps Roomba has already done with the shaving, he gave me a completely round cork.

  Ohー, it feels strange that the cork is round.

  「Un! It’s fine if it’s like this! We can make some fine adjustments to it later while trying it out」


  「Okay」


  I threw the cork’s shavings into the trash bin, then I immediately took the cork ball with me and move toward the tennis table in the garden. Roomba also followed behind me, along with me Irvine and Mort while they brought their glasses. The same goes for Sannosuke, who monitors us.

  「Then, how do you play with this?」


  I guess it can’t be helped that he’s wondering about it, huh, Roomba asked somewhat restlessly.

  「You hit the cork ball with the paddle-like thing here to the other person’s court」


  「Ooooh!?」


  When I try to hit the cork with the racket while saying that, the cork went to Roomba’s court and bounced.

  Roomba was surprised at the cork that suddenly bounced toward him, but he caught it reflexively.

  「You can’t catch it. You have to properly hit the ball back with the racket」


  「Oh, ou! So it’s something like that!」


  After I said that, Roomba send the cork ball flying to my court with a careful swing, as opposed to his huge build.

  I hit the ball that came bouncing in my direction *thump* in the same manner.

  Roomba hit the ball in the same manner, but this time the ball didn’t get into my court.

  「Aah……」


  「Okay, Roomba lost a point. I got one pointー」


  「I see! So in this way the one who got a lot of points won!」


  Perhaps he got a pretty good idea of what I’m saying, Roomba said that as if he understood.

  He got a good perception since he often played with me.

  「That’s right. You exchange the ball back and forth and whoever get eleven points first win」


  The onlookers - Irvine and Mort - and Sannosuke who is observing us nodded as if they’re impressed.

  「Heeー, it sounds interesting somehow」


  「Well, though it’s not noisy, it might be good for light exercise. I mean, Sannosuke or the proprietress looks like they’re going to be angry if it makes you move too violently.」


  「……that’s only because you all are especially noisy. The ryokan is reserved, yes, but we will not inconvenience you if you keep it in moderation.」


  It’s really just like Sannosuke said.

  However, if it's with this table tennis, I think we will not make loud noises nor will we move violently………probably.

  I think you could enjoy playing it while keeping it in moderation since you only have to exchange the ball over the court. At the very least, it shouldn’t be as noisy as yesterday,

  「Now then, Roomba. We’re going to try playing it now, alright?」


  「Ou! Come at me anytime!」


  I pick up the cork ball that was fallen to the ground and hit it toward Roomba.

  Perhaps it’s because of Roomba’s previous out, he hit the ball slowly and carefully, and send it to my court.

  When a man as big as Roomba is swinging the racket so compact-ly like that, it looks kinda cute.

  As expected, it’s a bit pathetic to strongly return the ball if the other side is a beginner, so I also gently return the ball to continue the rally.

  Hmm, the cork ball is working without any problem so far.

  The sound of it bouncing is somewhat loud, but they probably wouldn’t get angry over something like this. And Sannosuke also didn’t say anything either.

  When I continue the rally while thinking about such things, Roomba’s cork ball struck the wall - that was placed there as a replacement for a net.

  「Oohh!? It got blocked by the wall!? This is a hindrance isn’t it!?」


  「Ahaha, it’s interesting because that was placed there. You have to hit the ball so that the ball properly crosses the wall, alright 」


  I resume the rally while calming Roomba who was trying to demolish the wall.

  The cork ball bounced on the table made with Earth magic as it makes a sound *konkon*.

  When we continue the rally like this - perhaps he also gradually got used to it - Roomba started to hit the ball with more strength in it. I feel that not only he’s somehow hitting the ball as if aiming to strongly return the ball, but he’s also doing it gradually.

  And maybe it’s because of his exceedingly wild intuition, that he increasingly got the hang of it.

  I got cramps just by swinging the racket to return the ball, so I also aimed at the place where it will be hard for Roomba to hit back. Specifically, a course that will only able to be hit with a backhand-ed blow.

  And just as I thought, Roomba can’t hit the ball that I hit ahead of time with a backhand, he hesitated as to how to swing the racket but he swung and missed it.

  It was the typical manner a table tennis rookie swings.

  「Ahahaha! Roomba miss!」


  「It’s difficult to hit the ball that came to your left side, isn’t it?」


  Maybe his head is full of the fact that he missed that ball that he doesn’t respond to my provocation, Roomba tilts his head.

  After that, Roomba has a face that looks like he thought about something, and he suddenly hit the ball to my backhand-ed side. On the spur of the moment, I return the ball with a backhand swing,

  「……hou」


  Seeing that, Roomba muttered while grinning.

  This guy, he’s using me to learn the way to hit the ball backhand-ed.

  As expected from an adventurer, using any means necessary to win.

  If I think about it that way, then there’s no way I can go easy on him.

  I returned the half-hearted ball from Roomba, a smash with all of my strength.

  Perhaps it’s because of my small stature, but it feels like I’m pushing the ball, that cork ball got enough acceleration and it passes through Roomba’s court.

  「Dowaaa!? It suddenly became so fast!」


  Roomba - who couldn’t perfectly react to my smash - raised his voice in surprise. Probably, he thought that it’s just a game where you’re just exchanging the ball and knocking them slowly.

  No, no, that’s too naive. That’s because table tennis is a fairly high-speed sport.

  「Oi, I also want to try and hit like that!」


  「Sure」


  When I answer him, Roomba retrieved the cork ball that rolled far back.

  「I’m gonna hit a high ball just like the one before」


  「……okay」


  Though it’s admirable for me to reply like that, I don’t trust Roomba.

  In table tennis, there is nothing that is scarier than a beginner’s smash. Maybe because it’s easy to thoughtlessly put your whole strength into it, that it becomes dangerous and unbearable.

  So that’s why, the moment Roomba struck the ball, I put up a Shield in front of me.

  「Oraaa!」


  And then, Roomba’s smash hit my head splendidly, got reflected by the Shield, and hit Roomba in the face.