It was roundabout.
But it was acceptance.
Ethan rose abruptly, voice ringing with sincerity.
"Thank you, Sir!"
He instinctively slipped back into formal respect.
Asterion scowled.
"Sit down, fool. We haven't finished drinking."
"Ah… right."
Ethan sat once more, studying the drunken legend before him.
"When do we begin?"
"Soon," Asterion replied casually, finishing yet another bottle.
Ethan repeated the word internally.
"Soon…"
His gaze drifted toward the mountains of empty bottles already consumed ..
And the fresh ones still waiting.
"How soon… exactly?"
He wondered.
But Asterion ignored the question entirely.
Instead, he shifted topics.
"Tell me, Ethan… what do you think of this world?"
The question caught him off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"You've seen them yourself, haven't you? The creatures you hunt in the cursed lands."
Asterion's voice deepened.
"In case you fail to realize, the things you hunt, they're not beasts... they're people."
