Chapter 38: Exam’s over! Part 2

Surprisingly, even after the establishment of modern states, it took a long time before age restrictions on alcoholic beverages were introduced.

Even in the 21st century, there were significant differences in the legal drinking ages by country.

For example, in Germany, with parental consent, you can drink fermented beverages (such as beer or wine, which are low-alcohol) from the age of 14, and you can buy them on your own starting at 16.

Distilled spirits are allowed only from the age of 18, however.

In this world, the standards were even more relaxed.

As long as puberty seemed to have hit, it was common to hand over a beer.

So, Ellie didn’t feel the need to stop her friends who showed interest in alcohol.

Instead, she said, “Okay, but only if it’s just us.”

She firmly laid down one condition.

“Yeah, only us, right? I don’t want to drink with strangers or anyone else.”

“No.”

Ellie shook her head.

“It’s not that, I mean, we should drink when it’s just us around.”

Just like how street vendors developed due to the need to quickly eat, inns naturally developed in cities where many people came and went.

Furthermore, due to the nature of the system, local nobles needed places to stay temporarily, so accommodations ranged from dirty but cheap inns to the finest hotels.

“This room’s nice.”

Thus, a suitable place for four noble youths and one friend to spend the night was quickly found.

“Two beds? Oh, there’s one here too.”

“It’s not cramped.”

“You can even call for a carriage late at night. I think you just need to pay a little extra.”

After dropping off their luggage and staying for a while, the inn staff brought over a small wooden barrel of beer and several cups.

This was something they had bought for them at the request of a messenger.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“No, it’s no trouble.”

“If you need anything else, feel free to call us.”

***

After they left, Ellie stretched and collapsed on the bed with a yawn.

“Want to take a short break and eat?”

“That sounds good. I also wanted to rest my legs a bit.”

Stella sat next to Ellie, took off her shoes, and let down her ponytail.

Her hair, the color of fresh leaves, flowed gently.

Isabel, fascinated by the beer barrel, suddenly made an exclamation.

“Ah! I should’ve brought cards!”

Cards referred to playing cards: the deck of 52 cards—spades, diamonds, hearts, clubs—and the joker.

Ellie had created them to replicate the composition of the original world, and the kids used them to play games like One Card, Hula, or Thief Catch.

By the way, Ellie was surprised to learn that, until she made them, this world had never had playing cards or anything similar.

There were chess-like games and simple board games, ‘but why had there never been playing cards?’

“Right. If we’re going to do this again, it wouldn’t hurt to bring some.”

Nothing’s more fun than playing card games with friends while drinking.

“But how old are you all?”

Thinking about it, she realized she had never asked.

After combining the ages the girls had shared, she figured out:

Philia and Stella were 16.

Ellie and Clea were 15.

And Isabel was 14.

“…Wait a second.”

14 years old.

In modern Korea, that’s second year middle school.

Ellie suddenly felt a headache coming on.

No matter how much the world allows adults to serve beer once a person starts growing body hair and hits puberty, ‘is it really okay to drink with a 14-year-old?’

“Why?”

But seeing Isabel’s innocent eyes, Ellie suddenly thought, I really need to teach her how to handle alcohol.

‘Even if they were friends, it wasn’t possible to be with each other 24/7, 365 days a year.’

‘What would happen if she met a guy who wanted to get her drunk for bad purposes?’

Of course, such a person would end up suffering a painful death, but ideally, there wouldn’t even be a situation where revenge was necessary.

“…Isabel. Take the cup.”

“Uh? Oh, okay!”

Ellie poured beer for Isabel with the same heart a father would have when teaching his daughter how to drink for the first time.

Now that she thought about it, she needed to talk to Duke Shuker about this.

“Your daughter seems a bit naïve. Before you send her far away from home, at least teach her how to handle alcohol. I’ll take care of it for you.”

“You don’t need to be too nervous, but don’t get too comfortable either. You shouldn’t pick up bad habits.”

“What do you mean by bad habits?”

“For example, some people always cry after drinking. Just thinking about it makes me tired.”

“Really? They laugh one second and then cry the next?”

“Yep, that’s what I mean by a bad habit.”

Ellie pointed to Isabel’s cup.

“Just drink it slowly for now. If you start feeling bad, put it down immediately.”

“Ugh, okay…”

Isabel cautiously took a sip of the beer and scrunched her face.

“Ugh, what is this? It’s bitter. And it tastes kind of weird. I don’t want to drink it anymore.”

‘Should she be happy or angry?’

Either way, Ellie definitely felt a sense of emptiness.

With a sigh, she poured beer into her own cup and gulped it down.

The rich flavor of barley spread across her tongue.

Since the standard of living in this world was high due to magic, the quality of the beer was excellent.

“Ha…”

Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she’d ever drunk alcohol in this world.

‘So it’s been 15 years?’

‘…Or maybe even longer, since she didn’t have the luxury of drinking before she died.’

She wasn’t sure whether the alcohol made her think of the past or if thinking about the past made her think of alcohol.

Ellie took another sip of her beer.

“Fuuu…”

Beside Ellie, who let out a slightly deep sigh for a 15-year-old, Philia, Clea, and Stella all filled their own cups.

“Hey, what’s this? Are you guys really drinking that?”

Isabel asked with a look of disbelief, as if questioning whether they were in their right minds.

“It was awful, wasn’t it?”

“Just one drink?”

“It’s unfamiliar at first, but after a few sips, you get used to it.”

“Hmm, I think the beer from our kingdom tastes better… Maybe it’s because of the long history of brewing, huh?”

The three of them were only thinking of sipping the drinks they had just filled.

Whether until they fell asleep or until they returned home.

***

However…

“Kuahhh!!”

In an instant, an empty cup was placed with a thud on the table.

It was Ellie’s.

“…Hey, Ellie? Are you okay? You’re drinking so quickly, aren’t you?”

Clea asked, and Ellie raised her head slowly.

“Mm?”

Her usual tone was replaced with a slow, slightly excited “Mm?”

“Don’t worry, I can hold my alcohol. This much won’t get me drunk.”

Her previous self, or rather, ‘she’ could handle alcohol well.

But, of course…

Her body had changed, so her alcohol tolerance had changed as well.

As was clear from not realizing such a simple thing.

Ellie, in her dazedness, unknowingly drank the beer, and at that very moment, she had already gotten drunk.

“Hehe, hey, this alcohol tastes good. Pour me another one. Okay?”

Between the three of them, except for Isabel, quick glances were exchanged.

If translated into words, it roughly went like this:

—What do we do?

—It looks like she’s already drunk.

—Is it okay to give her more?

But…

“It’s not like we can’t give her more, right?”

“…Well, since we’ve already booked a room, it’s fine if she gets drunk. Just make sure she doesn’t throw up or anything.”

“Honestly, I kinda want to see Ellie drunk.”

“You just revealed your true thoughts.”

“Ugh, Clea, you’re the same!”

“That’s true. But actually, I feel the same.”

Though this specific communication wasn’t actually spoken out loud, the conclusion of the silent meeting was clear.

“Here, Ellie.”

“This goes well with beer.”

“Shall we toast?”

The three of them eagerly began offering Ellie more alcohol.

‘It wasn’t exactly a kind act, but at this point, it could be seen as a prank friends might do, right? And isn’t it a friend’s role to bring out a human side from someone who’s always been great and cool?’

“Mm…? Ah!”

At first, Isabel didn’t understand why they were doing this, but as she saw Ellie’s tongue twist and her giggles become more frequent, she immediately understood.

“Eh, Ellie, do you want to toast with me?”

It was the power of shared thought.

‘Humanity?’ Yes, humanity.

“Hehe, eheh…!”

And thinking about her previous self’s alcohol tolerance, Ellie eagerly drank more and more, quickly becoming completely drunk.

Fortunately, she didn’t make a fool of herself while drunk.

However…

She started doing a bit of an awkward thing.

“Hehe, eheh…”

“Eh, Elli…?”

Clea, who was sitting next to her, became the first victim of Elli’s behavior.

She cautiously spoke.

Because Ellie suddenly exclaimed “Waaang!” and then hugged her tightly.

Not only that, but she also rubbed her cheek against Clea’s arm and shoulder.

“Heh, hehe…”

Then, Ellie made eye contact with Clea.

“Hehehe!”

She laughed and then started rubbing her cheek against Clea again.

Ellie.

The cool and composed Ellie!

…t.

Clea had a feeling that she was about to realize something, or perhaps, Elli’s actions were opening a door that had already been slightly ajar.

But from the way it looked, Clea seemed too flustered to say anything.

Philia approached to help her friend.

“Hey, Elli? If you keep hugging her like that, Clea might—”

“Waaang!”

But then Ellie suddenly stood up, grabbed Philia, and threw her onto the bed.

A shrill sound escaped from Philia’s mouth.

“Ahhh!?”

“Hahaha!”

It seemed that Ellie found it amusing, as she let out a bright laugh right after.