High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1352: Chapter 99: The Drinking Big Mouse

When the hunters from the Absolution Hunting Team noticed the doors of the Wandering Bar were tightly shut, inside a private room on the second floor of the Wandering Bar, a wizard peered through the narrow room window, and through the glass, he was observing the small store across the bar.

It was the weekend, and D&K had no shortage of customers. Hank the Fox Five was behind the counter, busy accounting, surrounded by four or five abacuses buzzing nonstop; Ding Dang Ears, wearing a green vest, was dragging a feather duster longer than its own body, striving to dust off the corners of the store.

Tiny specs of dust sparkled with myriad colors in the sunlight, with Ding Dang Ears pursuing them with the duster, unintentionally creating a sense of tranquil leisure.

”Your little mouse over in that store across the street is really putting in the effort,” the Wandering Wizard, with his back to the guests in the room, scrutinized D&K’s business and clicked his tongue in approval, ”... that Little Fox from the Greenhill Mansion isn’t doing bad either... Perhaps I should hire an accountant from the Fox race as well.”

No one answered him.

The only sound in the room was the glugging of drinking.

The Wandering Wizard let out a sigh, turned around, and looked towards the Big Mouse curled up on the couch: ”You’ve been drinking all night and all morning... time for a break, yeah? If you don’t leave, I can’t even open the shop.”

The Big Mouse on the couch didn’t make a sound, continuing to gulp down the bottle. However, the large tail behind it shook a few times in dissatisfaction.

The thick tail slipped off the corner of the couch onto the plush carpet, then snaked out of the room, disappearing around the corner of the door.

As it swung, the tail surged like waves, bursting out of the small private room. Soon after, the entire bar shuddered like a cardboard box stuffed with a wild cat.

Shortly, the anxious voice of the bar’s server came from outside:

”Boss, this guest’s tail has broken the second pillar, the Starry Sky magic attached to the ceiling on the eastern side of the hall has been smashed, and several pieces of glass have fallen too...”

”Charge it, charge it! Put it all on its tab!!” The Wandering Wizard shouted towards the door, then sighed again and looked at the Big Mouse on the couch:

”You are a Big Wizard, don’t always throw tantrums like a child... Controlling your emotions is especially important for wizards in your condition. Mendel’s Law shouldn’t be that profound a concept for first graders nowadays!... Also, you’re about to drink up all my stock.”

The Rat Immortal tilted his head back, drained the last drop of liquor from the bottle into his mouth, and without wiping the few drops left on his lips, casually tossed the bottle away.

The bottle disappeared as it landed on the soft carpet.

As if a mole had dug into the soil.

”Do you... want me to steal wine from the principal’s office for you? Or maybe, you should bring out some more stock from below the current stock yourself.” The Rat Immortal, with a drunken look on his face, spoke with a voice not at all drunken, just somewhat desolate: ”... at least, you have a choice.”

The Wandering Wizard glanced at the Big Mouse on the couch, and in the end, did not say more. He reached again into the highest shelf behind the small bar, fumbled around for a while, and pulled out a bottle of Amber Light.

”From ’99, this is the last bottle,” he warned, signaling the Sprites to pass the bottle over.

Big Mouse’s eyes gleamed as he reached out a paw and grabbed the thick neck of the bottle, but he scoffed at the bartender’s warning: ”You said the same thing three hours ago...”

The Wandering Wizard stood behind the bar, leaning on his elbows with fingers interlaced, and spoke with a measured tone: ”Drinking doesn’t solve any problems... It’s often said that everything happens for a reason...”

”It sounds like rubbish,” muttered the Rat Immortal, as he bit off the top of the Amber Light’s bottle stopper and poured himself a big mouthful of fresh liquid.

”Perhaps,” the Wandering Wizard wouldn’t tangle with a drunkard over such matters; he merely used that line as a lead-in: ”...every moment we’re making decisions, we’re making choices... which lead to different consequences. What decision brought a torrential rain to sweep across the entire south? What caused an entire Wolfman Village to be plagued? What made a seven-year-old Little wizard become mute...”

”She’s not mute!” Rat Immortal rudely interrupted the Wandering Wizard, answering his previous two questions: ”The torrential rain was probably brought by a butterfly in South America... As for the plague... If the Wolfmen ate fewer Vampires, the plague wouldn’t have broken out.”

The Wandering Wizard felt the room was getting a bit stuffy.

He took off his pointed hat, revealing sparsely white hair.

”That’s not the point,” he murmured, scratching his thinning hair, still trying to continue the topic he started: ”That’s not the point... The point is, sometimes, you make an inconsequential decision, and then some terrible things happen... At times like these, a phrase ’everything happens for a reason’ could make one feel a bit better...”

”Not a bit better,” the Rat Immortal took another big gulp of liquor, ”Moreover, that wasn’t an inconsequential decision.”

The Wandering Wizard took a deep breath.

He started to consider adding some snacks to the bar, like fried rat ears, pan-fried rat tongues, or cold tossed rat tails.

Then he came up with a new argument:

”The line between significant and trivial isn’t so clear.”

It was a somewhat philosophical statement, and though upon close examination it lacked substance, without scrutiny, it seemed like old wisdom, perfectly fitting to end the conversation with Rat Immortal.

But this time, he wanted to end the topic, and Rat Immortal did not.

”Yeah, just like selling Satoguya flesh in the Wandering Bar was a trivial matter for you,” Big Mouse’s voice was full of sarcasm and mockery: ”If it hadn’t attracted two Outer Gods, destroying a small part of the Silent Forest... But, on the flip side, that girl Korma has advanced to Big Wizard... a blessing in disguise, I suppose. Oh, I forgot. For you guys living off dirty money, having one less North District Mage is not good news.”

The Wandering Wizard turned a shade paler.

”You were involved in this too.” He glared at Big Mouse in a warning manner, then glanced unnaturally out the window.

As if at the next moment, a joint Law Enforcement Team from the First University and the Trident Sword would barge in and take him to Danghag—or worse, Black Prison.

”I’m just a mouse, I can dig a hole to hide,” Rat Immortal was unconcerned, shaking the whiskers at the corner of his mouth. A few drops of sticky Amber Light made him a little uncomfortable: ”But you can’t... The Dark Council won’t allow you to give up this stronghold.”