After obtaining his reward, Noah walked up to the bartender.


    He sat at the counter, while Orion sat next to him, still deeply focused.


    "Sir, thank you for not turning this into a full-on brawl."


    The bartender beastman, who appeared to be quite aged, as seen by the patches of white hair in his brown hair, smiled.


    "I''m not one to aggravate a situation."


    Glancing over his shoulder, Noah looked at the beastman he defeated in arm wrestling, who was returning to his friend, waiting for him at their table with a strained smile.


    "Some of us have horrible experiences with humans, you see."


    The older beastman grabbed a glass and wiped it clean before placing it in front of Noah.


    "That is the way this continent is."


    With a shrug, he grabbed another glass, repeated the process, and placed it in front of Orion.


    "Sadly, yes. It is quite a shame humans have it in their hearts to never forgive those who attacked them."


    Orion nodded instinctively.


    "You are right."


    Surprised, Noah glanced at his companion.


    "Oh, you''re finally out of it."


    "For now. By the way, you''re quite clever."


    With a faint smile, Noah looked at him.


    "How So?"


    Closing his eyes to rub his tired eyelids, which had been opened for quite some time, Orion continued.


    "I had heard about your love for fluffy beasts. Never would I have expected that to be how you got your fill."


    Suddenly, Noah laughed lightly.


    "Bartender, do you have some whiskey?"


    The old man nodded, turned around, and grabbed a bottle with a liquid the color of an autumn leaf, a deep orange.


    He poured a slither of whiskey into the glass before placing the bottle next to the glass.


    Noah gently picked up the glass and sipped a tiny bit of the liquid. He enjoyed the raw taste of the liqueur and placed the glass back in its spot after smelling its content.


    "I was not expecting to find such refined drinks in such a place."


    With a genuine smile, Noah leaned forward, crossing his arms on the counter.


    With a satisfied smile, the bartender brought out a pitcher of water and poured it into the glass, mixing the whiskey with the water.


    The dark orange color turned lighter after the water was added, and Noah observed this whole process with a lighthearted mood.


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    ''That is a shame ice isn''t available to these people.''


    With some light regret, Noah watched as the old man pushed the halfway-filled glass of whiskey toward him.


    "Thank you, master."


    Surprised, the bartender smiled.


    "Your etiquette is outstanding. It isn''t often in our profession that respectful customers appear."


    "I know my way around these establishments."


    With a nod, Noah picked up his whiskey and began to sip it lightly.


    Then, the bartender turned to Orion, who was silently looking at the scene with great interest. It was the first time he had seen a professional in this field.


    No one in Auro was a bartender in his youth.


    "What can I serve you, dear customer?"


    Orion pondered the question before answering honestly.


    "I am not one to enjoy alcohol usually, so I do not know my way around what each drink tastes like. The most I''ve drunk was red wine."


    He recalled drinking with Motirion after saving Tiohr-nam. That was the only time he touched alcohol in his life.


    "That isn''t that surprising, looking at you."


    Hearing Noah, he looked at him with a sharp gaze.


    "What does that mean?"


    Chuckling with his light orange glass in hand, Noah continued.


    "It means that you''re one of those ''Prim and Proper'' types of people. It wasn''t meant to be a jab at you."


    The bartender nodded while Noah sipped his drink.


    "There are many people who enjoy a drink from time to time. If you''re not used to drinking, it is never too late to start."


    Orion relaxed and nodded.


    "Sure. If you say so."


    Unsure if alcohol was even his thing, Orion looked at the selection of liqueurs displayed behind the bartender.


    ''Orion.''


    Suddenly, Tetra''s voice captured his attention.


    ''What is it, Tetra?''


    ''Could I make a request? I would like to drink my favorite liqueur through you.''


    Even though Tetra was but a soul inside Orion''s core, with some work, it was possible to link Orion''s senses to hers, similarly to how she was capable of seeing through his eyes.


    ''What is it that you like?''


    Noticing the seriousness in Orion''s expression, both the bartender and Noah patiently waited for his answer.


    From the looks of it, Orion appeared confused for a moment before closing his eyes, resolute.


    "Could I have a tequila, please?"


    Both older men looked at him with interest.


    "Why this choice?"


    Curious, Noah asked.


    "I had a friend who liked this drink. I felt like tasting it after recalling her interest in it."


    He wasn''t lying. Tetra appreciated this drink more than any other type out there. To thank her for her constant support, he agreed to drink her favorite liquor.


    "One tequila, then. Do you wish to add fruit to it?"


    Orion pondered, in fact, listening to Tetra inside him.


    With a nod, he answered the man.


    "A slice of orange would be perfect."


    "Understood."


    That was how Tetra preferred her tequila— with a touch of orange flavor.


    Both Noah and a woman, watching them from afar, looked perplexed.


    As the bartender focused on preparing Orion''s order, Noah placed his drink on the table and turned to him.


    "I''m going to ask, and you probably know what I''m going to say..."


    "But that''s ''her'' favorite drink. Were you close to her?"


    Noah purposefully avoided speaking about Tia-Norun or Orion being from the future openly.


    Knowing that this place wasn''t the place to go into details, Orion kept it vague too.


    "For what it is, she is part of the family."


    Orion closed his eyes and leaned backward without falling out of the bar stool.


    "Present, huh?"


    Noticing the little detail in Orion''s words, Noah picked up his glass once again.


    "We hadn''t known each other for long, as it was only a few months. But she knew more about us to make up for it."


    "Even if she is obnoxious sometimes, she is, and will always be, a part of our family."


    A low grumble echoed in his head before her voice boomed in his head.


    ''Hey! I''m not obnoxious!''


    He could even hear the other Tetra scream at him for grabbing this low-hanging fruit.


    "I see."


    With a satisfied smile, Noah sipped his drink, which was now less than half full.


    "It is honestly a relief to know she found a place where she could be accepted."


    ''...''


    Tetra calmed herself and looked through Orion''s eyes.


    "I have no idea how difficult her task is, but she''s holding back many emotions. She appears strong at first, but I can see it in her actions."


    "She''s afraid of what''s going to happen. The two of them are in a situation that I couldn''t even start to understand, as they are the only two to manage the entire state of this world."


    The cold drink in his hand shimmered as the light of the sun shone through it.


    "Can you imagine the pressure on their shoulders? I, personally, can''t. All I have to do is fight, and that''s it."


    Maybe because of the alcohol or because he was talking to Orion, Noah shared his feelings, something he never did in the past.


    "I... hadn''t really thought about it."


    Orion realized that his selfish goals clouded his vision. Of course, he wasn''t oblivious to Tetra and Henrietta''s struggles, and he never pushed them away, but he never tried to truly understand them.


    Henrietta was Amelia''s mother, and that''s how he registered her. Yet, he never questioned her existence.


    What was she before becoming a Remnant? What did she go through? Why was he so obstinate about stopping Miasma?


    The same could be said for Tetra.


    Even after Noah''s death, she took it upon herself to continue her duty, even if her heart was broken.


    Tetra never opened her heart to let Orion or anyone besides Henrietta in. Even at this time, he knew barely anything about her.


    But this was something that needed time. Slowly, Tetra was showing her true self to him. He had seen her usual cheerfulness disappear occasionally and her true feelings about Noah earlier, too.


    As he nodded internally, he looked at Noah.


    "This proves that I am still immature. I have barely scratched the surface of what a true Hero needs to be."


    Noah silently nodded.


    "There is no need to rush. Nothing should stop you from finding the answer one day."


    As Noah spoke those words, a tall glass slid gently in front of Orion.


    "Here is your order. A tequila with a zest of orange."


    The bartender smiled professionally as he stood on his spot.


    "Thank you... master."


    Orion copied Noah and thanked the older man, who appeared delighted.


    Picking up his glass, Orion brought the cold, crystalline liquid to his mouth.


    "..."


    From the look on his face, this wasn''t pleasing to his taste buds.


    "That was to be expected."


    Noah returned to his drink with a faint smile that had no mockery in it. The bartender noticed another customer asking him for an order, making him walk away.


    ''So?''


    Orion closed his eyes while drinking the


    liquor in silence.


    ''It tastes wonderful. Thank you, Orion.''


    With a genuine tone of delight, Tetra enjoyed the taste of her favorite drink.


    When the two finished their drinks, Noah paid the bartender, and they walked away from the tavern.