Ch.530530. Alcohol and Thrill (1)

Night fell as the moon rose.

Bina, who had been ordered to stop the schemes of three groups using beastkin in the Carpel Barony.

During the day, she checked the connection between her mana and the magic circles she had secretly arranged throughout the streets.

“Fortunately.”

A smile curled at the corners of her lips as she felt that everything—the catalysts to supply mana to each magic circle according to her will—was perfectly prepared without any disruption.

‘They said they appear frequently around this area.’

The path that the beastkin troops supposedly passed through at least once.

The small path leading to the church of the order had already become her domain for illusions.

Especially here, the essence of her magic permeated the area—painstakingly refined to build barriers through illusions and minimize the sense of dissonance between the outside and inside.

‘They’ll enter my domain without any suspicion.’

She was confident.

Even beastkin, with their extraordinarily developed intuition and instincts, would eventually have no choice but to enter her territory.

And also.

‘…Duke Hyun and Princess Leona.’

And unless it was that woman called the pinnacle among shadows.

Within her domain, she was like a conductor whom no one could fathom.

She hoped they would step into the area where the illusions were set up.

“…What do you think?”

“About what?”

“About our captain. He said if we have complaints, we should prove ourselves in a duel, but—”

Now that the beastkin had entered her territory just as she had expected.

‘Illusion construction, closure, and disguise.’

Bina instantly scattered her mana to complete the magic.

‘Disgruntled guests have arrived, so things are going well from the first step.’

She could only smile with joy.

* * *

I’m not particularly fond of drinking and merrymaking.

Even with alcohol, rather than drinking to get drunk, I prefer to sip a little at a time, enjoying the different flavors.

But despite that, I’m the kind of person who has the same bravado and confidence about my drinking capacity as heavy drinkers. Though I don’t use mana to drive away the effects of alcohol when I drink.

“Just keep drinking it straight. It’s good for you.”

“…Is it really good?”

“If it wasn’t good, why would I have gone to the brewery myself and brought back an entire oak barrel?”

Where did her usual adorably blank expression go?

With her emitting blue light from her eyes like someone possessed and pressuring me like this, how could I not be worried?

‘Come on, I’m not going to die from just one drink, right?’

Since there’s nothing strange about its smell or appearance.

After slowly bringing the teacup to my lips and rolling the alcohol in my mouth, a strong alcoholic aroma rose up.

‘…The aroma isn’t bad?’

Whether it was because it mixed with the few drops of sugary black tea that remained, or because the flavor of the alcohol itself was good, a sweet floral scent seemed to envelop my mouth.

And then, the moment I swallowed the alcohol.

I saw it.

“…Heh.”

Unlike the foolish laugh that escaped me, Sione was smiling cunningly as if everything was going according to plan, as if she had been waiting for this.

And right after that.

“What, aren’t you going to drink it all at once?”

“No, wait, this—”

Whoa…

Thanks to the alcohol traveling down my esophagus, I could immediately feel the shape of my esophagus and stomach.

Even though I drink alcohol, I haven’t really tried anything with such a high alcohol content before. I frowned at the unfamiliar and unpleasant sensation.

“…I didn’t feel anything when I put it in my mouth. Just how strong is this?”

“Who knows? The alcohol content is still a secret… but I can tell you that the method of making it is special and it has a nickname because it’s so distinctive.”

“Special, you say?”

“I heard that magicians are involved in the distillation process to help with various treatments. All to make the taste and swallowing as smooth as possible.”

A truly luxurious and special alcohol, with the precious workforce of magicians directly involved in the distillation.

As I was contemplating this, as if not giving me time to rest, she started staring at me intently with her arms crossed.

“So are you planning to drink the rest after taking a break…? I thought you would down it all in one go…”

“……”

“…I guess it’s a bit difficult after tasting it? If so, maybe I should mix in some water or black tea—”

The way she provokes me by asking if I’m scared to drink straight up.

It’s such an obvious statement, but there’s nothing that scratches at one’s pride quite like being taunted about not handling alcohol well.

In the end, I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape along with the remaining alcohol.

“Whew.”

An involuntary exclamation. And then the feeling of warmth spreading through my body.

The taste is sweet and good, but as I felt this heavy sensation, there was something that came to mind again.

“Judging by your reaction, it seems you like it, which is good. Then I’ll fill your next glass right away.”

Glug—

Sione started filling the next glass as soon as I put mine down.

“…Wait, Sione.”

Stopping her action, I immediately asked.

“You said this was made to be as smooth as possible to swallow? As easy to drink as possible despite its alcohol content?”

“…Tsk.”

As if it was troublesome that I was so perceptive, she clicked her tongue softly, and seeing that immediately made me start to worry.

“Sione, this alcohol. How many degrees is it?”

“…What’s important isn’t the alcohol content, but how much you like it, Ray.”

“Quickly.”

“…60 degrees.”

“This is insane.”

So she gave me 60-proof alcohol, and I just swallowed it straight down my throat?

Even dwarves wouldn’t easily chug alcohol that’s 60 proof. What on earth happened during this short time?

As I quickly circulated my mana to dispel the alcohol in my blood and protect my stomach.

Sione smiled brightly at this serious situation.

“It’s okay. It’s alcohol made for Sword Experts and above, so I guarantee that someone like Ray won’t have health problems from drinking this.”

“…?”

“But they said that with special magic, the intoxication comes much faster? Knights at Expert level and above instinctively circulate mana in dangerous moments, right? If the intoxication hits hard before that happens, it becomes difficult to circulate mana, making it impossible not to get drunk. That’s what Lord Bener told me.”

“Wait, if the goal is just to get drunk, we don’t need something like this, we could slowly drink other alcohol.”

“…When we start drinking together, I’m always the one who gets drunk first.”

“No, that’s—”

“So just bear with it and drink a little more? Once you’re properly drunk, I’ll drink too.”

“What kind of conversation did you have for Lord Bener to tell you about something like this?”

“Who knows? A conversation that benefits our family?”

Sione filled a glass with alcohol and brought it to my lips.

‘Whether it’s because of the intoxication or some magic they’ve added, my mana circulation is slowing down. If I keep drinking like this.’

Clearly, I would end up in a terrible state.

As if the high alcohol content alone wasn’t enough, there must be a reason why even magicians were involved.

60 degrees is no joke. At this level, getting drunk quickly is natural, but this was particularly fast-absorbing, making it extremely difficult to prevent the rapid onset of intoxication even when trying to detoxify.

‘Lord Bener… what other benefit could there be for the family besides the work I’m doing now—’

I’m not sure if he told Sione something strange.

But considering the hidden intentions of Lord Bener, who is deservedly called a loyal retainer, and for the sake of our cute wife who really wants to see me drunk just once while she’s sober. I thought maybe I could indulge her this one time.

My wife wouldn’t stab me in the back just because I’m drunk. And my drinking habit is nothing unusual except for getting sleepy.

“Alright, I’ll drink it myself. Now stop bringing the glass to my—”

Clink!

A clear sound rang out as the teacup Sione was pushing hit my front teeth.

“Ah, sorry.”

“……”

“B-but your front teeth are fine, so…”

I thought my front teeth were going to break.

Still, I eventually took the teacup from Sione and drank another glass with my eyes closed.

At this point, I thought I could enjoy the drinking session with a slight buzz, but at that moment.

“Mmph…!”

Suddenly, Sione grabbed my head firmly, literally seizing it.

In an instant, my lips were taken, and for a moment, the alcohol that had been filling her mouth was transferred to mine.

I don’t know how much she made me drink, but only after a long time of ingesting alcohol was I finally released.

The intoxication surged, and my heart began to race madly.

“…Sione, what on earth are you doing!”

“I told you it’s alcohol for Expert knights, right? But now Ray has become a Master… so you need to drink a bit more than the standard amount.”

Well, that’s strangely convincing, but…

The more I think about it, this alcohol doesn’t seem like it was originally made to enhance the mood by raising intoxication. I began to suspect it was literally designed to make one completely drunk and staggering.

It didn’t take long for that suspicion to turn into certainty. After all, even when I tried to drive it away with mana, drowsiness hit me hard.

“……”

“…Hmm, I guess it’s because you’re a Master. You need to drink much more for it to take effect.”

With each opening of my increasingly heavy eyelids, I saw Sione’s wavering figure, and her voice grew distant.

“Ray, have you heard the nickname of this alcohol yet? The nickname is—”

Following her question, I strained my eyes to focus on what was in front of me.

“Sudden Incubus. Of course, for Ray…”

Sione, who had been holding alcohol in her mouth, seemed to have gotten slightly tipsy as well, as I could see her face flushed with a rosy hue.

“It would be Succubus, I suppose.”

After hearing Sione’s grand plan, I finally lost consciousness to the intoxication.