The first sake brought out before Rei and Elena came in a small barrel.
It was the kind of barrel sold to individuals, holding roughly two liters.
Not enough to drink to one's heart's content, but more than sufficient as sake meant for slowly savoring.
"Since you mentioned souvenirs, how about something like this? This sake is on the sweeter side, but it has a clean finish, and I'm confident it's a taste anyone can enjoy. In fact, many people buy this sake in bulk when they're hosting banquets."
"I see. Then I'll take that barrel for now... let's see, give me about ten of them."
"Huh?"
The clerk was slightly startled by the words that came out of Rei's mouth without a moment's hesitation.
He never expected them to buy so readily.
The sake sold at this brewery was not exactly premium.
Even so, for ordinary people, much of it was priced like sake one would drink during a somewhat luxurious meal.
There were also some quite cheap options, but the one the clerk had recommended this time was something that could fittingly be called slightly high-end.
However, he quickly recalled what kind of people Rei and Elena were, and a happy smile spread across his face as he spoke.
"Understood, I'll have them prepared immediately. By the way, we have various other types of sake as well — what would you like to do?"
At the clerk's words, Elena looked at Rei as if asking, What should we do?
Receiving that look, Rei figured that sake was not something one would ever be troubled to have around — though he personally didn't drink it willingly — and nodded in response.
"Alright, bring them out. If they're good, I'll buy them."
"Thank you very much! Please wait a moment!"
Judging from Rei's words that this was a high-value customer, the clerk wore a delighted smile and headed toward the back of the shop.
Given that he knew who Rei and Elena were, there was no doubt he had never thought they would be bad customers to begin with.
But even so... they were far better customers than he had expected. That much was certain.
The sake sold at this brewery ranged from cheap to expensive.
Even the expensive varieties weren't so costly that one could build a house with the money, but there were still many that would be considered a certain level of luxury goods.
Specifically, sake for drinking at small celebrations or giving as gifts when something auspicious occurred.
If it were Rei and Elena, they might buy that kind of sake in large quantities as well.
With that thought, the clerk hurried off to fetch the sake.
Naturally, this brewery was reasonably well-known in Anesis, so the clerk who had been assisting Rei and Elena was not the only staff member. Others were, of course, attending to different customers.
Those other customers couldn't help but have their eyes drawn to Rei and Elena's presence.
(People are staring... well, it's the usual, I suppose.)
Feeling the gazes from other customers and staff, Rei called out to Elena without paying it much mind.
"How much sake do you think we should buy, specifically?"
"Hm? That is a difficult question. After all, sake is not only for drinking ourselves — if the alcohol content is high, it can be used for disinfection, and it can also serve as a gift. Besides, I have heard from Georgima that he uses sake in his cooking."
"Ah... well, for cooking, yeah."
Rei found himself strongly convinced by that explanation.
Back when he was in Japan, an acquaintance who had gone hunting shared bear meat with him, and Rei had seen it slow-cooked with a large quantity of sake alongside aromatic vegetables like ginger and long green onions to remove the gamey odor.
In fact, the bear meat prepared that way had no beastly smell at all, and thanks to the long simmering, it became so tender it fell apart the moment it entered the mouth. Rei remembered it as an exquisite stew.
Beyond that, though Rei had never actually eaten it himself, he had seen dishes like beef red wine stew introduced on TV.
He had also seen Marina use alcohol when she cooked.
Considering all of that, he could honestly agree with Elena's mention of using it for cooking.
(Though I think there was something called cooking sake, too... if you can just use regular sake for cooking, what exactly is cooking sake for?)
That question crossed Rei's mind, but before he could voice it, the clerk from earlier reappeared carrying a tray with several cups of sake.
He probably would have liked to bring barrels, but that clearly wasn't possible this time.
Just how many varieties of sake were being offered... the cups on the clerk's tray told the story.
"Thank you for waiting. As recommendations, I've brought some slightly premium varieties, as well as others that are inexpensive but more than delicious enough. These are all sake I can confidently recommend."
Working at a brewery, the clerk genuinely loved sake.
Even now, standing before Rei and Elena, he wore the happiest smile imaginable.
"Normally, we supply various shops, but the advantage of buying directly from the brewery is that you can purchase sake slightly cheaper than at those establishments."
"Well, that makes sense."
Rei nodded readily at the clerk's words.
If you bought sake at some shop — a tavern, for instance — the price would inevitably go up because the tavern served as a middleman.
Buying it at the place where it was produced would naturally be cheaper.
For Rei, who had enough money to live lavishly for several lifetimes even if a person were reincarnated multiple times, he honestly didn't care about that degree of price difference.
But that was strictly Rei's situation. For others — for those who had come to this brewery to buy sake — that price difference was undoubtedly significant.
"Now then, please. Start with this one. This sake is inexpensive, but in terms of taste, it is unquestionably a first-rate product."
"...First-rate taste, but inexpensive? That sounds contradictory to me."
"No, the year this sake was produced had poor weather, and the harvest was bad. Because of that, sake from this year was deemed unlucky or judged to be of poor quality, so there were no buyers... The taste itself, as I mentioned earlier, has absolutely no issues, though."
The clerk let out a breath, looking genuinely disappointed.
For him, the fact that delicious sake was being unfairly perceived as cheap was something he couldn't accept.
Elena apparently felt the same way, as she accepted the cup from the clerk and brought it to her lips.
The way Elena's pale throat moved with each sip was almost bewitching.
Even the professional clerk found himself captivated by the sight.
That brief moment of visual pleasure soon ended, and Elena closed her eyes as if savoring the aftertaste.
The clerk, snapping back to himself at Elena's gesture, spoke in a flustered manner.
"So, how was it?"
"Delicious. For something this good in taste to be cheap... I wonder about that. Though if it was indeed a bad harvest year, there probably isn't much of it to begin with."
"R-right, that's true. But when someone with a discerning palate like yourself, Lady Elena, drinks it, I'm sure the sake itself is pleased."
"Hehe, you say the smoothest things. ...Very well, I shall take this sake. Rei, I too have need to distribute souvenirs, so may I be the one to purchase this?"
Rei nodded without any particular hesitation at Elena's question.
They were buying souvenirs together, but there was no rule that Rei alone had to pay for them.
If Elena said she would buy it, Rei had no objection.
"Hmm. Then, this sake... how much can you sell in individual-sized barrels? You said the original quantity was limited, correct?"
"Let's see. Ten... no, how about fifteen barrels? We still have some in stock, but considering we need to sell to other customers as well, I'm afraid I can't part with all of it."
As a brewery, they naturally wanted their pride-and-joy sake to be drunk by someone worthy of it.
But even so, there was no way they could sell everything to Elena.
They never knew what might happen in the future, and there was always the possibility that sake might be needed if something came up.
Elena, as a noble, seemed to understand those circumstances and accepted the clerk's words without pushing for more.
"Very well, that will do. Now, the next sake..."
Wrapping up the transaction briefly, Elena reached for the next cup.
After that, Elena continued to sample sake and describe each one with precision, delighting the clerk.
Not only that, but other idle clerks gathered wanting to hear Elena's descriptions, and eventually even other customers, the clerks attending them, and the brewery's craftsmen all came flocking around.
"Are you alright?"
Having finished buying sake — enough that an ordinary household would take a year, or in some cases even longer, to consume — Rei and Elena were walking down the street after leaving the brewery.
Honestly, for Rei, buying that much sake when he rarely ever drank himself made it seem like little more than a waste of treasure.
Such thoughts had crossed his mind, but he figured they could distribute it as souvenirs or let Marina use it when cooking, so he decided to simply buy as much as they could.
Above all, there was the thought that perhaps... truly just perhaps... the day might come when Rei would drink sake and find it delicious.
As Rei was now, he couldn't possibly think sake tasted good.
But there were people who brewed sake with such passion, and at the same time, there were people who genuinely enjoyed drinking it.
To drink it and find it unpleasant seemed somewhat wasteful, didn't it?
The biggest reason Rei felt that way was undoubtedly the presence of the clerk who had assisted them at the brewery earlier.
Seeing him exude such a straightforward devotion to sake — a genuine love for it — Rei had honestly thought that if the man was that passionate about it, then maybe...
Of course, after trying a little sake, Rei concluded that it absolutely didn't suit him and had no desire to drink any more for now.
After all, Rei only drank what he found delicious.
...If it were something like fruit water, Rei would gladly drink it.
"Yes. I... drank a little too much. The cold wind feels pleasant."
For Elena, who was now somewhat tipsy, the winter wind was a pleasant thing.
Having inherited an Ancient Dragon's magic stone, even in Anesis where snow had begun to fall, it was not cold but rather what one would call refreshing.
Her cheeks faintly flushed red from a slight intoxication — not from embarrassment — gave Elena an alluring quality at this moment.
When Rei thought of an alluring woman, the strong impression that came to mind was Marina, but the current Elena possessed an allure that rivaled even hers.
Glancing at Elena's profile, Rei handed her some fruit water he had taken from his Misty Ring.
Even if each type of sake was only consumed in small amounts, drinking all of them naturally added up to a considerable quantity.
Thinking that the refreshing fruit water would be welcome for the tipsy Elena, he had offered it.
...It was a response born from having seen, many times during his time in Japan, his father coming home drunk from banquets and wanting water.
The fruit water, though quite diluted, was precisely why it tasted exceptionally good to Elena. She drank it down happily.
"Phew... Delicious."
"I see. Glad you enjoyed it. Anyway, heading to the next shop... doesn't look like that's happening."
She wasn't completely drunk, but Elena was certainly intoxicated at the moment.
Slightly tipsy, one might say.
Normally, at this level of intoxication, she would have no trouble functioning at all.
But Elena was the Daughter of Duke Kerebel, the one who bore the alias of Princess General.
Given that, if she were to cause some kind of incident while under the influence, it would bring shame to Duke Kerebel's House.
With Elena's reputation, it was highly likely that such a thing wouldn't even become an issue, but...
(Elena doesn't exactly have no enemies, either.)
He recalled the woman who had harassed Elena at the New Year's party.
From what Rei had seen, Elena had paid her no attention whatsoever... but that didn't mean they could just let their guard down.
"No, I am perfectly fine."
"Are you sure? In that case, why don't we wait somewhere until you've sobered up a bit more—"
Let's sober up first, then go.
Rei, who had been about to say that, abruptly stopped mid-sentence and directed his gaze in a certain direction.
At the end of his gaze... atop the roof of a building, was the figure of Black Wolf.