Farewell Banquet – 2

Perhaps because it was a banquet personally prepared by the Popes, there was no way to describe it other than as tremendous.

In a banquet hall large enough to fit an entire average single-story house with room to spare, huge tables were lined up, and on them, countless dishes, easily hundreds or even thousands of types, were laid out.

Even if one only took a single bite of each type, it seemed as though one would feel full before tasting all the food. Even counting the number of dishes on a single table was overwhelming.

Even the Knight Captains, who must have experienced all sorts of hardships, were so stunned by the immense scale that they stood frozen in place with their mouths agape. It was a mystery how a banquet of this scale could have been prepared in just a few days.

We were completely overwhelmed by the enormous scale, and only after the Popes reassured us and practically led us by the hand into the banquet hall did we hesitantly step forward.

Fortunately, the stiff atmosphere did not last long.

As the alcohol began to flow, Claudia, whose body was slightly flushed from the intoxication, was the first to uninhibitedly wander through every corner of the banquet hall.

The next to move were Rije and I, and Erica and Iris were the very last. Iris followed Claudia with a sigh, while Erica munched on snacks with sparkling eyes.

After that, the atmosphere felt somewhat lively in its own way. Floretta clung to me with a bright smile. Luna also took a seat near me with an expressionless face.

With the Popes acting that way, it was Rije who was anxious. Rije seemed unable to bring herself to tell the Popes to leave, so she just fretted to herself. The hand gripping my arm was very tense.

I also couldn’t completely push the Popes away, so I only gave the impression of keeping a slight distance, but Floretta and Luna had no intention of leaving my side, regardless of my reaction.

Time continued to flow.

“Now, it seems about time to offer that to our Honored Guests.”

Around the time complete darkness had settled outside the stained-glass windows, Luna gathered us, saying she had something to give. All the Knight Captains were slightly tipsy.

Except for Claudia, of course. Claudia had clearly drunk the most among us, yet she was also the one who seemed the most sober. There wasn’t even a hint of redness in her face.

“Would you bring it?”

Luna lightly clapped her hands together, making a *jjak* sound. The nuns who were waiting near the wall prostrated themselves before the Pope in a deep bow, then collectively scurried off towards somewhere.

We watched them with bewildered eyes. We wondered what they were going to bring that required such formality.

The mystery was quickly solved. Soon, twelve nuns approached with very careful steps, supporting a large oak barrel. Claudia’s eyes sparkled when she saw the oak barrel.

She had just been drinking alcohol moments ago, yet her eyes sparkled as soon as she saw another barrel of alcohol. No matter how I thought about it, I doubted if that was truly a human’s alcohol tolerance.

“Perhaps, do you know the identity of what is inside this?”

“I don’t know. Is it… alcohol?”

“You pointed it out accurately. However, this is a little different from ordinary alcohol.”

The nuns remained standing in place, still holding the oak barrel. Luna approached the valve at the bottom of the oak barrel. She placed a small glass in front of it and turned the valve clockwise.

A liquid, appearing to be a mix of half gold and half silver, began to pour into the glass.

Since the glass was not very large, it filled quickly. Luna, having closed the valve, extended the glass in her hand to Floretta. Golden divine power enveloped it.

Trapped between the golden divine power and the transparent glass, the liquid, which felt both sacred and peculiar, quietly glowed within the glass, illuminated by the chandelier’s light.

“This is an alcohol called ‘Kiss of the Moon’ in the Holy Nation. What covers it can be called ‘Radiant Sun’.”

“Kiss of the Moon… did you say?”

Round, wide-open red eyes gazed at the liquid in the glass. Erica seemed to know something.

“Yes. Have you heard of it?”

“I only know that the Holy Popes personally make it, and its production is so small that it’s an alcohol that cannot even be obtained with money. They say it can only be obtained through faith, not money.”

“You pointed it out accurately.”

Luna nodded her head.

“The consumption of this alcohol is permitted only to the Pope of the Sun, the Pope of the Moon, and the Inquisitors and Interrogators. For any other being to taste this alcohol, there is no other way than to be personally chosen by our Popes on the Holy Nativity Day, and even then, it is limited to just a few drops.”

“And, they say that even just a few drops are enough to keep one intoxicated until the next day.”

“You know it very well, Honored Guest-isiyeo.”

At Luna’s praise, Claudia patted Erica’s shoulder with an “oh” expression. Erica subtly averted her gaze, saying she had only seen it in a book she read long ago.

I also knew nothing about that alcohol. It was an item that had never appeared in the game. “Kiss of the Moon” and “Radiant Sun”-these were names I had never heard of.

All five of us, including myself, seemed interested, but Claudia’s reaction was particularly unique. It seemed her curiosity was greatly piqued by the mention of such a rare and potent alcohol.

“The process of concentrating pure divinity must be repeated hundreds of times or more, and since we are the only ones who can handle such pure divinity, the annual production of this alcohol does not even amount to three bottles of wine. We would like to offer one glass of this to each of our Honored Guests.”

Luna brought another glass under the valve. She poured the liquid from inside the oak barrel into the glass, and golden divine power covered the glass.

That process was repeated exactly for our number. Four Knight Captains, and me. A total of five glasses sparkled on a golden tray.

Claudia giggled and smiled. She seemed truly delighted. Not only that, Rije and Erica’s eyes also sparkled. Only Iris maintained her usual indifferent expression.

Luna beckoned to one of the nuns. The summoned nun approached with a face that looked half-crying, and supported the tray with both hands. Envy was clearly visible on the faces of the other nuns.

“However, can you truly handle it?”

“…Yes? What do you mean by that?”

Floretta, who had picked up one of the glasses, chuckled and continued speaking.

“The Kiss of the Moon is so potent that even a single drop can shatter a person’s mind and make them lose their reason. If it’s the liquid contained in this one glass… surely no one except us Popes would be able to withstand it. I asked if you can truly handle that.”

Green eyes slowly swept over us. It was a gaze that seemed to be testing us.

We looked at each other. Claudia’s expression clearly showed she had no problem at all, and there was no particular fear on the faces of the other Knight Captains either.

“It’s okay, Your Holiness. I’m confident when it comes to alcohol.”

“I will ask again, Honored Guest-isiyeo. Are you truly saying you can handle what is inside this?”

“Of course. Even if I can’t, I have no regrets just by being able to taste this alcohol.”

Towards the confident Claudia, Floretta displayed a benevolent smile. The small glass in her hand was extended forward. Claudia, having received it, examined the liquid inside.

A glass no longer than my pinky finger, and no thicker than my pinky finger.

But if that alcohol could truly make a person pass out with just a few drops, then there would be no guarantee when they would wake up the moment they drank it.

“I will gratefully accept it, Your Holiness.”

Claudia, who had expressed her gratitude to Floretta, gulped it down.

Claudia, who had emptied the glass in an instant, was checking where her esophagus extended by touching her neck and chest, when she suddenly whipped her head towards me.

“…Wow, this is really strong-!”

And then, she immediately fell sideways.

From beside me, I heard Rije and Erica gasp in shock. Claudia was the kind of person who wouldn’t even get tipsy, let alone have her face turn red, even after drinking beer by the oak barrel, not just by the glass.

Claudia, *that* Claudia, was brought down by a single mouthful of alcohol?

“I asked if you could truly handle it, didn’t I?”

Fortunately, the battle nuns reacted quickly and supported her body, so she didn’t roll on the floor. A moment later, Claudia’s face began to turn bright red.

One of the nuns retrieved the glass from her hand and placed it back on the tray. Luna’s purple eyes and Floretta’s green eyes turned towards us once more.

It was a gaze that seemed to say, “Didn’t we tell you so?”

“What will the rest of you do?”

Luna picked up the next glass. Floretta smiled brightly and said.

“It’s alright if you refuse. They say people of the Empire have a lower alcohol tolerance than people of the Holy Nation. It’s a perfectly understandable matter.”

‘…….’

As soon as I vaguely regained consciousness, I instinctively clutched my head. My head throbbed as if it would split open.

My memory cut off at the point where I gulped down the alcohol that Floretta and Luna had emphasized they had “specially” prepared. I slowly traced back my memories.

The Knight Captains, who had heard Floretta’s words, drank the Kiss of the Moon one by one, as if to say “just watch us,” and passed out in the exact order they drank it. And I was the last one.

As I instinctively clutched my head and groaned from the surging headache, something soft enveloped the back of my head. And both of my ears were also enveloped by something soft and squishy.

“Have you regained some consciousness?”

At the stern voice heard from above my head, my fading consciousness returned somewhat. I tried to force open my incredibly heavy eyelids. But no matter how long I tried, it didn’t work well.

Something warm gently closed my eyes. Judging by its shape, it seemed to be a finger. Long, slender fingers were gently pressing and massaging both of my eyes.

The hand withdrew. When I opened my eyes again, a much clearer vision greeted me than before. I lifted my head.

“It’s a relief that you’ve regained consciousness.”

Luna was looking down at me from above my head.

“…Luna?”

“Yes, it’s Luna. Honored Guest-isiyeo. You were asleep longer than expected. It’s a relief that you’ve regained consciousness now.”

“Longer than expected…? No, more than that, what exactly is this situation…?”

As I instinctively tried to sit up, I fell back down due to Luna’s hand pressing on my shoulder. I felt a soft sensation behind my head again.

The place I was sitting was a large sofa. At the edge of my vision, a pale spherical object was faintly visible. It seemed that the source of this soft sensation I had been feeling was that object.

“Luna, what’s behind my head right now… there’s….”

I stopped speaking mid-sentence and froze. It was because I had realized what the object supporting my head was. Large, hemispherical, soft, two of them, and about the height of a sitting person’s head.

My head was buried between Luna’s breasts.

Luna was standing behind the sofa’s backrest, burying my head in her cleavage and warmly embracing me with both breasts, while staring intently down at me.

The scent of skin that had been lingering at the tip of my nose since earlier was not very difficult to guess whose it was.

“What in the world are you doin’-!”

“Shh. Please do not move, Honored Guest-isiyeo. Isn’t my sister still serving our Honored Guest-nim?”

For a moment, my thoughts stopped at the word “serving,” and a thrilling sensation shot through my lower body. I directed my gaze downwards.

“Uhm… Ung….”

A woman with long, abundant golden hair had her face buried between my legs and was diligently moving her head up and down.