NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Chapter
Preparing for the party was no big deal.
When Rionne snapped her fingers, everything was ready in an instant.
The table and chairs flew into place, a bonfire blazed up, and a wild boar as big as a house was not only prepped but also roasted over the fire, with simple dishes popping up and neatly lining the table.
It was the greatness of magic.
Enok clapped enthusiastically, and Rionne, smiling with satisfaction, declared the party open.
“Alright! Let’s eat and have fun today!”
In truth, it wasn’t just today; most days were spent eating and having fun, but no one raised an objection.
Remarkably, even Enok and Undine raised their hands in unison.
[Yay! Party!]
Seeing their joyous expressions, Rionne checked on the roast and casually pulled out a bottle.
“Ta-da! What do you think this is?”
[Th-That’s…!!]
Undine’s eyes went wide as she recognized the bottle.
Of course, Enok merely tilted his head in confusion.
[The flowing breath of the dragon for 150 years…! I heard they only released 200 bottles 300 years ago…!]
“Hehe, that was quite the effort to get back then.”
[Are you really going to open that now?]
“Yeah, if I don’t drink it now, I feel like it’ll go bad for real. It’s a time to enjoy it.”
[Oh, ohhh…! Little one! You’ve finally become useful!]
Excited Undine patted Enok’s shoulder hard.
Enok responded with his power.
*Crackle!*
Undine, overly excited, didn’t even care.
With purple electricity crackling all over her body, she quickly grabbed a glass.
[Okay, okay! Be careful! If even a drop spills, you know what happens!?]
“Um, it’s my liquor, so why are you more excited?”
[Because I’m getting to drink it!]
Rionne chuckled as she uncorked the bottle.
Due to the craftsmen’s insistence on not magically treating it, the cork looked like it would crumble from decay, but with a simple spell from Rionne, it popped out with a nice *pop* sound.
[Ooo…!]
As soon as it was opened, an intense aroma spread through the air.
That intoxicating and thrilling sensation made Undine tremble with delight.
[Quick, quick…!]
The spirit had already bitten down on the cork and was sucking on it.
In her friend’s madness, resolved not to waste a single drop, Rionne tilted the bottle with a slightly annoyed look.
Rich, honey-like golden whiskey filled the glass.
“Are you really going to drink like that? Isn’t the glass too big for you?”
[I don’t care! The smaller my body, the more liquor I get!]
“Well… do as you please.”
Rionne automatically sliced off the outer layer of the roast, cooked to perfection with juices flowing, looking quite tasty.
Given how abnormally large the wild boar was, it surely contained a lot of magic, so the taste would be significant as well.
“Good food, good drink, and good company.”
Caught up in the atmosphere, Rionne’s head nodded rhythmically.
As the sky’s red hue deepened, it reflected in her hair, glowing like rose gold.
“Shall we toast?”
As the elf raised her glass, the spirit eagerly tapped hers against it.
[Cheers!!]
“Enok, cheer?”
In response to the elf’s invitation, the boy offered his glass filled with apple juice.
“Cheers.”
“Cheers!”
With a clear sound of glasses clinking, everyone tilted their drinks.
[Ooo, ooooh…!]
Undine made strange noises as liquor touched her lips.
Her eyes rolled back, and her body trembled; it was hard to see that as normal.
[So, so delicious…!!]
Thick sherry, rich vanilla, the sting of alcohol…!
Then came an explosion of complex and delicate flavors…!
Ignoring her friend’s incomprehensible sounds, Rionne left a simple comment.
“Hmm, it’s pretty good.”
It was a bit strong, but the flavor was so excellent that it slid down easily.
Drinking while suppressing her mana, she felt a slight buzz as she took a bite of the roast; it was pure bliss.
“Ugh….”
“Rionne.”
“…Huh?”
At Enok’s call, she looked up, and he offered his empty glass.
He seemed quite forlorn about just having apple juice while everyone else drank.
“Do you want to try?”
Nodding, he quickly responded.
Well, a little bit wouldn’t hurt, right?
With a gentle smile, Rionne poured whiskey into Enok’s glass…
[Wait a second…! Are you crazy!?]
“Whoa, what was that for all of a sudden?”
[You’d pour that into my glass that had the apple juice!? Get a new glass right now!]
Faced with the spirit’s fussing, she had no choice but to bring a new glass and pour it in.
Enok looked at the whiskey in the glass with wonder.
“Enok, it’s strong liquor, so don’t just gulp it down. It’s a drink you savor, a little at a time.”
“Okay.”
Enok carefully tilted the glass, following Rionne’s advice.
The thick golden liquid entered his mouth.
And then,
“……!?”
Enok jumped up from his spot.
It felt like his tongue was on fire.
[Hahaha…! Serves you right! You didn’t even know how precious this is!]
The flowing breath of the dragon was a psychoactive drink that could set your mind spinning.
Crafted through magical processing, it was an insane spirit for superhumans.
It was a super-high-concentration alcohol that couldn’t be made ordinarily.
Drinking liquid from an alcohol lamp would be a hundred times milder.
Naturally, a regular person would die immediately upon drinking it.
“Drink water, water!”
Only after drowning it with the water Rionne provided did Enok calm down.
With his eyes still wide in shock, Rionne couldn’t help but laugh.
“Turns out I gave you something too strong from the start. Want to drink this instead?”
She held up a bottle of wine she seemed to have taken out from nowhere.
It wasn’t as special as the flowing breath of the dragon, just a sweet wine that was easy to drink.
At 12 degrees, it was simply 20 times weaker than the flowing breath of the dragon.
“…No, I want to drink that.”
But Enok shook his head.
He wanted to drink the same thing as Rionne.
“It’ll be too strong…”
“I’m fine.”
Ignoring her concern, Enok took a big gulp of whiskey.
Gulp-
The burning sensation followed his lips, tongue, gums, and down his throat to his stomach.
It felt like a fire ignited in him, each place vividly sensitive.
“Ugh…?”
Slowly, the world began to spin.
The sky spun, the ground spun, and Rionne spun.
Even the blue fly circled around.
[Ugh, that idiot.]
“Enok, are you okay? Enok?”
The buzzing voices vibrated through him.
His ears heard sounds that simply went out the other side.
Facing this unexplainable phenomenon, he struck lightning at the blue fly.
“Ahh…! My lettuce…!”
But the lightning spun around and struck in an unexpected place.
Naughty fly.
He waved his fingers and drew magic.
Blue. Purple. Gold. Green.
Connecting in a burst of colors, he created the wild boar.
The roast spilled into the cups, and Rionne shoved it into the fly’s mouth.
“Enok…!”
That was the last memory he held.
*
[From now on, never let him drink again.]
“Yeah… that’s what I’ll do…”
Rionne cleaned up the mess in the yard.
Enok slept soundly, his face red as a tomato.
[At least he didn’t throw up. If he had breathed a breath of the flowing dragon, urgh.]
“Worry about him.”
[Humph. Whatever!]
Undine giggled, finishing her whiskey that was about her size.
With a sigh, Rionne snatched the bottle beside her.
“You’re only allowed to drink that much. I’m confiscating this.”
[Hey, you can’t just take it back after giving it…!]
“I never gave it to you. We’ll drink together when Enok is older.”
[That’s unfair!]
“So? What can you do about it?”
[You mean, nasty elf!]
Rionne ignored her and laid Enok on her lap.
The moon floated brightly in the darkened sky.
Beneath that, she slowly savored barbecue and a drink…
[Oldie!]
“…You, bring that over too.”
Undine dashed away in a huff.
*
The next day, Enok woke up groggily in bed.
“Thank goodness, no hangover?”
[Of course! The flowing breath of the dragon is famous for having no hangovers!]
As he let Undine’s words go in one ear and out the other, Enok stretched.
He couldn’t remember anything from the previous day.
It was unexpected, so it was slightly disconcerting, but thankfully it seemed like nothing serious happened.
[Yesterday was quite the chaos. Do you remember when you flipped Rionne’s garden upside down?]
“……!”
Whipping his head around to look at Rionne, her expression appeared a bit sad.
“…It’s okay, Enok. We can grow back the vegetables.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“No, it’s really fine.”
Rionne wiped away fake tears in jest.
Seems like she wasn’t really mad, so Enok felt a bit relieved.
With a bright smile, Rionne patted Enok’s head and said,
“Even if you have no hangover, you might be a bit tired still. How about we take a simple stroll in the forest this morning?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
“In that case, let’s go a bit deeper while we’re at it. This forest is enormous.”
Enok nodded obediently.
After having met a wild boar as large as a house at some point, he was curious about what other strange things lived deeper within.