Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

61  Your world has alcohol and you didn't treat me to any?!

I wasn't deaf enough to hear the hostility in the dryad's voice. And if she was speaking with a certain dose of superiority while talking to Madam, then she now talked as if she was somewhat forced to talk to a mere bug crawling at her feet. And given how she was a dryad, not just some random and possibly nature-beneficial bug, but a damn parasite that spoiled the plants whenever it appeared. 'Ugh, assuming humans of this world are anything like humans of earth, then I can hardly fault her for this,' I thought, recalling how the problem of mass cutting the green lungs of the earth continued for years, only growing more profound when the new cold war put a huge dent in the volume of global trade. But as little as I cared for the Dryad's attitude and as much as I could excuse it… If I were to admit to being just a parasite that she took me for, how could I ever ask her a single damn question?

"Am I such a lesser being if my brethren defeated all that's holy and divine and took our whole world under their rule?" I asked, no longer showing the unnecessary humility and politeness. I might be far too weak to face this dryad if the situation escalated… but when it came to trash-talking, then I had the power of the whole modern earth and the cancerous games it developed behind my back!

Yet, the very moment I uttered those words, I realized that I've, in fact, fallen into a trap. "So you are not from this world," Leinei smiled with an even greater sense of superiority as if to rub her clever play into my face. And faced with that smile of hers I actually struggled to keep a straight face. 'Is she really that damn smart if she bragged like that instead of just taking a silent note and moving on?' I thought, calmed down by the exhibit of arrogance to the point I actually had to hold back a smile from appearing on my own lips. Right now, though, was not the time to be smiling. Right now, I could only show my tough face. "We are here because I'm in search of some simple herbs that humans would find beneficial," I spoke, answering the question that the Dryad posed. "And, according to Madam's advice," I looked at Fay's mom just to indicate who I meant by Madam, "I came here to beseech your help."

Yet, hearing my words, the dryad only squinted her eyes as the hostility in her eyes exploded, taking over the disgust that she showcased whenever looking down on me. "So you desire high-grade ingredients for healing potions. Then…"

Before the dryad could explain to me what kind of path I should take to go fuck around and find out, or alternatively, to get the hell out of here, I raised my hands and shook my head to the sides. 20:02

Before the dryad could explain to me what kind of path I should take to go fuck around and find out, or alternatively, to get the hell out of here, I raised my hands and shook my head to the sides. "That's not it, not at all," I aggressively denied, putting the dryad on the spot. And I could almost hear her asking herself, 'What kind of human wouldn't want those? Isn't this one of the reasons why you keep invading this land?'

"Those, ekhem, high-grade ingredients as you called them, are bound to be valuable, especially for someone as close to nature as you, right?" Judging from how the dryad bit down on her vine-based lip, I hit the nail straight on its head. So, I shook my shoulders to showcase for the last time how little I cared about that kind of precious herb. "All I want are herbs that do not exist in the world I come from," I revealed, admitting to hailing from a world different than the one we were in. "And to be more precise…" I took a short pause, raising my hand to rub my chin while pretending to be deep in thought. Even though I only knew we were going to visit a friend of Madam who knew her way around herbs, I came prepared. 'At this rate, method acting is going to become my forte,' I thought, rolling my eyes while keeping my head lowered to hide this motion from everyone's eyes. "Do you maybe have some herbs that could restore one's body to its original state?" I asked, only to bite myself on the tongue a second too late, forced to watch how Leinei narrowed her eyes. "Ah," I gasped and rapidly shook my head again. "I worded that pretty badly," I mentioned before lowering my head for another bout of fake thinking.

"Rather than a herb that could restore one's missing limbs…" I muttered to myself to indicate the line of thought that I was forming in my mind, giving the dryad some time to prepare herself for my ideas. "Wait," my eyes suddenly widened, making it seem as if I just figured something out, rather than simply checking off the boxes on the list of things I planned to mention. "Do you maybe know of alcohol?"

Boom. "Ah, sorry," I instantly apologized, noticing my mistake and willing to rectify it as soon as possible. "I didn't think you would be interested in drinking it, so I didn't bring any. I formally apologize and promise, as soon as we get back, I will bring you some of the good stuff!"

20:03

Ignoring the dryad, I glued my eyes to Fay's face. Thankfully, she couldn't bear to be angry with me for long, soon dropping her pout and simply avoiding my eyes. It felt as if lighting struck squarely in the middle of the clearing… Or rather, that's how I felt when Madam's and Fay's eyes suddenly zeroed in on my back. As I looked up, I could see Leinei's eyes fill with reluctant curiosity too. "So you have alcohol back in your world," Fay muttered, encouraged by her disappointment enough to walk out from behind my back… all to put on a pouty face and look away. "Ah, sorry," I instantly apologized, noticing my mistake and willing to rectify it as soon as possible. "I didn't think you would be interested in drinking it, so I didn't bring any. I formally apologize and promise, as soon as we get back, I will bring you some of the good stuff!"

Ignoring the dryad, I glued my eyes to Fay's face. Thankfully, she couldn't bear to be angry with me for long, soon dropping her pout and simply avoiding my eyes. "I will take you up on your promise, then," Fay said, before turning around with a "humph" sound on her lips. "I don't think I even need to mention it…" the madam spoke while giving me an eye. "Yeah, I get it. When we return again, I will be sure to pack some bottles with me," I agreed to the unvoiced request with a sigh. Then, I finally turned my eyes back to the dryad. "You know how if we were to drink ourselves silly today, we would have to pay the price tomorrow?"

This time, it was the dryad's turn to squint her eyes as she looked at me with an inquisitive stare. "Only humans experience problems like this. Don't you dare insult my ability to craft simple rejuvenation teas!" Leinei spat in response, obviously insulted by my question.

But rather than feeling bad or wronged by her reaction, I couldn't help but feel excited instead. 'Rejuvenation teas? So I was fucking right!'

Still, I held my excitement back with a surprising ease. "Those teas… No, the herbs to make those is what I'm interested in," I spoke out, finally driving the discussion to its main point. "Nothing more, nothing less. And seeing how you reacted to my mention of alcohol, in a few days, I will be sure to pay you back with drinks that no one ever had in this world before!"

And that's it for today, folks! Been a great run! I fought, I've won. Now, I rest. 

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