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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 2 of 2))
Hector wondered briefly if he should actually admit this, but he supposed there was no harm in it now. "Yeah."

"Ah," the King said. "The prospect never occurred to me before, but could it be that you are one of those servants who is far older than he appears?"

Hector lost a bit of his mirth at that question. It reminded him of far too many other occasions where there had been much less enjoyment to go around. He considered his next words for a moment, contemplating if he should actually lie to the King of Atreya.

He didn't have the heart for it, he realized.

Instead, he explained about the sensitive nature of a servant's age.

"Are you saying that you cannot tell me your true age, then?" the King asked.

"Ah... something like that," said Hector.

"How disappointing."

"Sorry."

"Are you sure you are not just making excuses for your past underage drinking?"

Hector squeezed his lips together and exhaled through his nose. "Depends on if you plan to punish me for it."

"Oh, I certainly plan that, yes. Your punishment shall be to tell me of this sordid event in excruciating detail. As your king, I command it."

Hector scratched his head. "Uh... okay, well... I don't know about 'excruciating detail,' since there's not really that much to tell, but... basically, I was with a few friends who I've since lost contact with... and, uh... I drank so much that I puked."

"Ah. And you lost all affection for alcohol due to that one experience? Not that I wish to encourage your misconduct, but that seems a hasty conclusion to reach."

"When I puked, it made one of my friends puke, too. But his puke landed on me."

That made the King pause and stare at him.

"It was just, like, being hosed down with barf. Got all over me." Hector's expression twisted as he recalled that horror from his middle school days. "It went in my mouth."

"In that case... I retract my previous statement," said the King. "That is the worst thing I have heard in some time."