Chương 101: 98. Beer and Milk

"Our little lord is back!" a man shouted from the bar. From one of the tables, a girl in her early twenties stood and stared at Eurynomos.

"Little Eury! Where have you been for the last week? Has Xenia corrupted you?!" Adolin was left speechless. The guild's bar was filled to the brim, and everyone there seemed to know Eurynomos one way or another. Most of them were teasing him about becoming the greatest ruler or something equally ridiculous. What had the fool told everyone about himself in the new world? They sat at the only two available seats at the bar. The teasing didn't stop.

More people kept joining in, calling him everything from the ruler of the demons to the prince of the underworld. The Demon King was really popular in the new city... for all the wrong reasons. Eurynomos... Little Eury paid them no attention and climbed onto the barstool with some effort. The barkeep was already heading toward them when Eury leaned closer and whispered, "Order something strong for both of us." Adolin shot him a sidelong glance.

"Why?"

"I... I don't want to talk to Dave."

"Who's Dave?"

"The barkeep, obviously." The barkeep stopped in front of them and glanced at Eurynomos before turning to Adolin.

"What can I get you, lad?"

"Beer," Adolin said, glancing toward Eury.

"And whatever Little Eury usually gets."

"Got ya," Dave said with a smile and winked at Eury.

"Really, mage?" Eury said.

"You couldn't do me this one minor favor?"

"Buying alcohol for minors is not a minor favor," Adolin said.

"It's a line I don't intend to cross."

"..." Eury was left with his mouth hanging open.

"Bastard," he muttered.

"You know I'm older than the whole city."

"You don't look the part."

"You really are starting to piss me off." It seemed like Eury was about to curse him, but Dave returned first, setting an ice-cold beer in front of Adolin and a glass of... milk in front of Eury. Adolin didn't waste any time and downed the whole glass in one go. When he lowered it, Eury was staring daggers at him.

"Can I get another one?" Dave nodded before heading back behind the bar. Eury took a sip from his glass. Judging by his expression, he was actually enjoying the milk.

"So, what nonsense did you tell these people?" Adolin asked. His bad mood from earlier had lifted after watching Eurynomos suffer. Well, it didn't really look like he was suffering all that much. There was a hint of pride behind his scornful expression.

"Nonsense? I did no such thing. I just told them the truth, and they thought I was putting on a play or something." Adolin chuckled.

"Did you really think they would believe a nine-year-old brat was the Demon King?"

"... Perhaps?"

"Why did you reincarnate into a human body?" Adolin finally asked. It had been bothering him ever since they met. It just didn't suit him.

"I don't think there are demons in this world. From my research, almost all the races from our world are present here, but there wasn't a single mention of demons. And no, I didn't make the stone turn me into a human. Everything that happened after I used it had nothing to do with me." Soon, Adolin's second beer arrived, and just like the first, it was ice-cold. The barkeep was either a mage, had a class that granted access to the Ice Element, or had simply learned a spell.

"Well, that sucks," Adolin said as he took a sip. He really didn't know what else to say. Every single thought that spun in his head wasn't something he wanted to talk about, or even think about. Meeting Eury had awaken them and now, they were causing havoc inside his mind. He ignored them and focus on his beer.

"Oh, no worries. It's a new world, a new life. There's no reason to dwell on the past, not even on my race. Not when all my closest friends and allies are in the same world. Wherever they are, they'll find me soon enough," Eurynomos said. Adolin nodded.

"So, what kind of help did you need from me?" Eury's eyes brightened as he leaned toward him.

"From my research, there was a way people used to tame and refine the core to gain control over a dungeon. Whatever that means. Once that was done, they had control over the whole dungeon. From the stories, it acted like a domain, albeit a much better one. Whatever they wanted to happen, happened. If you wanted to change the first floor from goblins to, say, a freaking wyvern, you could. The only restriction the books mentioned was mana, and with the blessing, mana is really easy to get!"

"And?"

"Well, I'll need some help refining the core..."

"Do you at least know what you need to do?" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Eury shook his head.

"The books did mention something about being worthy. Who's more worthy to refine a dungeon core than me? The Demon King who reigned over the whole Demon Continent." Eury said the last part with pride.

"Everyone else?" Adolin said, holding back a chuckle. Eury ignored him.

"So, I need your help studying the core and figuring out how I can refine it... take control of the dungeon." Adolin took the corrupted core out of his inventory and rolled it around in his hand. The core pulsed with intensity, like a fire burning within it. The green veins—the corruption—had spread even farther through it.

"What's that?"

"Hmm," Adolin muttered as he brought the core closer to his eyes and studied it.

"It's a dungeon core." Eury stared at him with wide eyes.

"And why didn't you mention it before?"

"I kinda forgot about it..." Adolin said. He really had forgotten about it. After everything that had happened at the Count's estate, there had been little time to think about anything else. Afterward, he'd simply enjoyed relaxing in the wagon since there was no longer any reason to pretend to be a beggar. Eury studied it for a few moments.

"It's corrupted," he said. Adolin nodded.

"Yeah. We discovered a corrupted dungeon a few days away from Mith, the capital. The dungeon had been acting strangely from the start, and in its lower rooms we found corrupted ones. They'd been trying to use the dungeon to somehow attack the villages around it, and probably the capital as well."

"Those bastards wanted to corrupt my dungeon?"

"It seems so," Adolin agreed. A man sitting next to them, in his early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, chuckled.

"Why are you filling the boy's head with stories? From tomorrow onward, he'll be off defeating corrupted dungeons, and we'll lose our Lord Eury." Eury stared daggers at the man.

"Old man, don't you have anything better to do?"

"Not at my age," the man muttered. Adolin didn't enjoy people listening in on his conversation, but he was powerless. His core had only just started pulling in mana, and he barely had a wisp of it. He pulled up his blessing screen and looked at the mana section. [Mana: 6] It looked like he'd be walking to the other side of the city, and he really didn't want to do that. Eury was still studying the orb intently, and Adolin didn't say anything.

He simply enjoyed his beer while thinking about helping the Demon King with the dungeon. It wasn't like he had anything to lose, but he needed to extort enough out of him to make it worthwhile... Twenty percent of the future earnings sounded reasonable. Well, it all depended on how much Eury managed to make from the dungeon. If his business flopped, Adolin wouldn't get anything. Looking at his face, he was certain the boy... demon would give it his all. So twenty percent of his best sounded like a lot of coins.

Before he did anything, though, he was locking himself in a room for at least two days. Adolin was on his third beer when Eury finally looked away from the core and finished his glass of milk.

"You look like you really enjoy milk."

"It's not too bad," Eury said, avoiding his gaze.

"So, what did you find?" Adolin asked. Eury looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I'm not sure. It somehow resembles a person's core, but at the same time, it's also different. The corruption inside isn't helping at all," he muttered.

"There's also some kind of disconnect. The mana inside isn't flowing. It's more like it's drifting aimlessly. That could be because it's been taken out of the dungeon, because of the corruption, or because of something I don't understand yet." Adolin nodded.

"Any progress toward refining it?"

"Bastard," he muttered.

"I'll need to study it further... Can I have it?" The last part was almost a whisper.

"What was that?" Adolin asked, clearing his throat.

"Can I have it?" Eury repeated, this time loud enough to hear.

"Can I... please?" Adolin corrected. Eury shot him a long sidelong glance.

"Can I please have the core so I can study it further..."

"It's not that hard, is it?"

"Don't push it." Adolin chuckled.

"Fine, you can have it for a few days." The moment the words left his mouth, the core disappeared from his hand.

"Easy," Adolin said.

"I'm not going back on my word."

"I'm not taking any chances," Eury said, staring at the core. The rest of their time in the bar was spent with Eury studying the core and Adolin finishing his fifth beer. It seemed he really had needed a few cold ones. They had improved his mood, and they tasted much better than he'd expected. His core slowly refilled as well, enough to use a few basic spells. He didn't mind taking it easy and enjoying a few beers with the Demon King... or milk in his case.

He also noticed that even after five large beers, he didn't feel any effect that usually came from alcohol. Maybe the attribute points had something to do with that. Was it the constitution? He wasn't sure, that would require further study. He'd always wondered what their lives would have been like if they hadn't been used as puppets. Yet, the current situation had never crossed his mind. Sitting in a bar, enjoying a cold beer and... milk.

Like he used to with his friends from the Mage Academy of Northus, excluding the milk part. Most of them had died in the wars soon after graduation. The thought soured his mood a little, but he didn't let it linger. They left the adventurers' guild soon after.

"So, what do you say?" Eury asked as he finally managed to tear his gaze away from the core.

"We'll talk in a few days," Adolin said.

"I have some terms you'll need to agree to if you want my help."

"Works for me," the boy said. They walked toward the wealthier part of the city, where Revel's estate was located. It was already dark outside, and although the streets were still busy, they weren't nearly as crowded as when he had first arrived.

"Where are you staying?" Eury asked. Adolin wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Revel's estate? It answered the question... just barely.

"One of the estates in the city," he said. That sounded much better to him.

"Oh, nice." Adolin studied the streets. They were lit by oil lanterns, dozens lining every street he passed. It made walking through the city at night much more pleasant. Eurynomos continued following him even after they had crossed half the city.

"What about you?"

"Umm... Whatever alley seems the cleanest."

"Oh... Well, I did spend a few hours on the streets when I woke up in this world," Adolin said.

"It's not so bad..." Eury said with a hint of sadness—or something similar that Adolin couldn't quite place.

"Well, you're learning the city better this way... or something."

"Yeah, yeah... you're right. But I think I've learned enough." They turned left, entering another street. Navigating the city from the brief look he'd gotten from above wasn't as easy as he'd thought. Most of the residential streets looked the same. He only recognized the ones lined with shops.

"So, which alley did you choose for tonight?" Adolin asked with a smirk.

"Well... I was hoping I wouldn't have to choose one tonight."

"How so?" Was the little brat trying to get him to bring him back to Revel's estate?

"How do I say this... Hmm, let's see. Isn't it against your ideals to leave a little kid to sleep on the street?" Adolin stopped, speechless.

"Did you think that would work?"

"Well... not really, but I really don't want to sleep on the streets..."

"How will you pay?"

"Pay? Now how do you expect me to pay? If I had any coin, I wouldn't be sleeping on the streets," Eury stopped, considering.

"And I'm only a nine!"

"It's really easy to make money."

"Oh, don't get me started on that. I did everything I could to get a job, and I couldn't. It's really hard living as a human boy. And don't even get me started on having to find food three times a day."

"You really must have had it tough," Adolin said with a chuckle.

"Very funny."

"Well, I won't stop you. You'll have to plead your case with the staff at the estate. I'm not keeping you in my room."

"Hey, that's not fair. You can just say I'm a guest or something."

"Ah, yes. The stray I found outside in the forest is my guest." Now that he thought about it, this was the second stray... the other one was already in the estate with Lira. A few minutes later, Adolin finally found the estate. Its walls were just as tall as those of the Count's estate, and four guards stood watch by the gate.

"Good luck," he said, glancing toward Eurynomos.