Everyone of the Five Elders and Mashiro

"Huh? There's a drinking party going on."

When I returned to the base after doing Healer work with Aishia, I found the Five Elders and Mashiro-san having a drinking party.

Oh, dried Crawler meat. This stuff is pretty addictive, you know. The rehydrated version is good, but there's something nice about eating it dried too.

"Hey, Karina! I was just having some drinks with the new ladies here. Geez, if you've got more people living here, introduce them properly!"

"Oh, yeah. You're right. Sorry, sorry."

They're already pretty far gone, huh.

Wait, what's with this huge barrel? It's all fire liquor inside. Huh, Ruu-chan made it herself? Wow… Isn't this more than what I bought the other day? Wait, you're going to empty this whole thing today? O-oh. Sasudowa. (Short for "as expected of dwarves.")

"Okay, let me give a quick introduction. This is Mashiro-san. And these are the Five Elders."

"""""Nice to meet you!"""""

"Yeah, nice to mee… Go-tai-roFive Elders? … F-Five Elders!?"

Mashiro-san choked. Want some water? Here you go.

"See? If you don't know who they really are, you naturally end up becoming friends with them, right?"

"Wha-, are you stupid!? Use some common sense! I just sobered right up!! I thought the Five Elders were supposed to be old people! Nobody told me they'd be this young!!"

Mashiro-san shouted at me with enough force to bite my head off. Her tail went all poofy. Like, poof. What kind of emotion is that? Wow, I really want to fluff it.

"Right? Dwarves look so young. I can't tell them apart at all."

"No, I can tell to some extent by smell, but… this isn't just a 'my nose was messed up from the booze' level of difference…"

"Ah, maybe it's because I rejuvenated them a little. Yeah."

When I said that, Mashiro-san pressed her hands over her eyes, mouth hanging open as she looked up at the ceiling.

Speaking of which, Mashiro-san can tell a dwarf's age by smell, huh.

As expected of Mashiro-san.

"Aww, what a cute reaction! You can keep calling me Mie-san like you were earlier, you know?"

"That's right! Call me Shii-san too? Come on, come on!"

"So fluffy, so soft, your tail is wonderful, I want to use it as a pillow…"

"If you've sobered up, that means you can drink lots more, right, Mashiro-chan?"

"No need to hold back, okay? Here, let me pour you a refill."

"O-oh. Th-Thank You Very Much…"

Ah, so they knew and deliberately hid that they were the Five Elders, huh? Mashiro-san is so serious that reveals like this are really fun to watch. I totally get it.

"Geez, you're all such pranksters. Don't tease Mashiro-san too much, okay? But do get along with her!"

"""""Okaaay!"""""

They all raised their hands and answered cutely. Yep yep, perfect synchronization. All five of them are such good friends.

"You guys… ugh, come on! These aren't people you can treat like children…!?"

"Now, now, Mashiro-chan is going to continue drinking with us!"

Mie-chan grabbed Mashiro-san's tail firmly.

"Alright, I'll join in too! I did a good day's work today, so it should be fine, right Aishia?"

"Then please go drink in the workshop. This is likely to be a bad influence on Dea-sama's education. I'll bring snacks over."

"… Good point! Everyone, we're moving to the workshop!"

After that, my memory went blank as usual, but…

For some reason, when we all took a morning bath together the next day, the Five Elders were calling her Mashiro-san with the -san attached too.

I wonder what they got up to while drunk. No clue.

(Apparently, empty bottles of the aphrodisiac the Five Elders had purchased were rolling around in the workshop bedroom.)