"Even more suitable for a Holy Maiden baby physique…"
Kurose Akira took two bottles of wine out of his backpack. They were rare items he had just purchased from the player marketplace at the steep price of two gold coins apiece. The wine was called Moon's Daughter.
It was produced in the Moon God Empire, and legend claimed it contained the power of moonlight itself. Its flavor was said to be exceptional.
The moment Akira placed the two bottles—each emitting a faint, milky-white glow—on the table in front of Lucia, a glimmer immediately flashed through her golden-red eyes.
"Is this wine from the Moon God Empire?" Lucia asked, looking at him.
"Yeah. Pretty expensive, too," Akira replied with a smile and a nod.
Across the entire marketplace, only these two bottles of Moon's Daughter had been available for sale. That alone spoke volumes about its rarity.
Even so, because the wine's true effects were unknown, no one had been willing to take the risk of buying it.
Lucia lightly flicked her finger. The cork popped free with elegant ease, revealing the wine inside.
In an instant, a wisp of white magical energy drifted out of the bottle, slowly coalescing in midair into the phantom image of a crescent moon. At the same time, a faint, intoxicating aroma spread through the room, enough to make one feel lightheaded.
As Akira looked at the bottles, a prompt flashed before his eyes:
[Moon's Daughter (Epic): A legendary beverage most beloved by the Moon Goddess herself. Brewed through a unique process, it contains the power of moonlight and the goddess's blessing.]
"?"
Akira couldn't help but feel curious about what the wine actually did.
"If I remember correctly…" Lucia poured Akira a glass while speaking calmly, "…this wine was originally brewed exclusively for rituals dedicated to the Moon Goddess. Under normal circumstances, it's not meant to be consumed. Only the High Priest of the Moon God Empire would take a small sip during major ceremonies, as a sign of reverence."
Hearing that, Akira frowned slightly.
So he'd bought ritual wine?
Didn't that mean it wasn't really drinkable?
He stared at the liquid in his glass—clear and luminous like condensed moonlight—and hesitated.
Just then, Lucia had already drained her own glass in one smooth motion. In that elegant movement, a few stray drops spilled over the rim, sliding slowly down her snow-white skin, a sight so beautiful it made one's heart tremble.
"Not bad~"
After finishing the glass, Lucia showed a satisfied smile and offered genuine praise for the wine.
Akira's gaze was unconsciously drawn to her softly flushed lips. Inwardly, he sighed in admiration: the Holy Maiden truly was breathtaking, like a celestial being descended into the mortal world. Every glance, every gesture carried an irresistible allure, as if the entire world tilted around her.
In short: I want…
Lucia, however, misunderstood the reason for his intense stare. She thought he was worried about whether ritual wine was safe to drink.
So she spoke gently, "You don't need to worry. Although it's mainly used for rituals, a few bottles do circulate on the market from time to time. They're rare, but not completely unobtainable. It's drinkable—and it tastes quite good~"
"That's a relief!" Akira said, finally relaxing.
He eagerly drained his own glass in one go.
The moment the wine touched his lips, it felt as if actual moonlight flowed down his throat—warm and soothing, like a gentle lunar baptism washing over every inch of his body.
"Delicious…"
He murmured the words in a daze. The flavor was even more peculiar and wonderful than he had imagined.
But just as he was sinking into that intoxicating sensation, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind—the voice of the vampire true ancestor, Kanlutia.
"What's this? The power of moonlight? Speaking of the moon reminds me of that damned pair of dog men and women. They always transform when the moon comes out. Their presence is impressive, but their strength is nothing special. Still… that little sister's blood tasted pretty good. I liked it a lot~"
"?"
Akira raised an eyebrow slightly at Kanlutia's words. From what she said, it sounded like she was talking about werewolves—those races that transformed under moonlight.
And from her tone, it seemed to be a pair of siblings… yet she'd called them "dog men and women."
Akira rubbed the bridge of his nose and shifted his gaze toward Lucia beside him.
He noticed that Lucia was staring at the bright moon hanging outside the window, lost in thought.
And then—
He saw what looked like shimmering tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, making a wave of tenderness rise in his chest.
"Go ahead and cry if you want," he said softly. "I won't tell anyone."
Lucia shot him a cold sideways glance, her voice carrying a chill. "Since the day I became aware of myself, I have never cried."
Hearing that, Akira chuckled with curiosity. "Really?"
"..."
Lucia froze for a moment, then said nothing. She simply drank the wine in her glass in silence.
Akira followed suit, downing the glass he'd just refilled in one breath, then poured both cups full again.
But at the instant he set the bottle down, he suddenly noticed something strange—on the back of his hand, three crescent-moon-shaped markings seemed to flicker.
"Huh?" Akira rubbed his eyes. The crescent marks vanished.
That left him confused. Was he already drunk after just two glasses?
He immediately looked at Lucia. She was clearly still lucid, sitting steadily in her chair. There was no reason he should be drunk before her.
"An illusion?" he muttered to himself, deciding not to dwell on it.
Soon after, he and Lucia continued drinking together. Before long, both bottles of Moon's Daughter were completely empty.
Surprisingly, Lucia showed no signs of intoxication. She sat upright and composed, only a faint blush coloring her cheeks, as if the alcohol had barely affected her.
Akira, on the other hand, began to feel tipsy.
His consciousness slowly blurred, as if some unseen force were luring him in, like a spell being cast upon him.
"It's really there?"
He raised his right hand—and froze in shock.
The crescent-moon markings were glowing once more on the back of his hand, eerily reminiscent of a succubus's magic crest…
No, no—that wasn't right.
It was more like a Command Seal!
What the hell?
What was going on?
Was he actually drunk?
Akira lightly patted his slightly flushed cheek, then turned his gaze back to Lucia, staring at her with intense focus.
Feeling his concentrated stare, Lucia frowned slightly, confusion in her eyes as she asked coldly, "What is it?"
Snap!
Without warning, Akira stood up and tightly grabbed Lucia's right hand.
Startled by the sudden action, she asked, "What are you doing?"
But Akira's grip was abnormally strong. On top of that, Lucia was suppressing the rising intoxication within her body, making her unusually sensitive. With her Sensitive Authority, any touch triggered an amplified reaction.
As a result, she couldn't break free from Akira's grasp at all.
Worse still, his reckless behavior made it even harder for her to suppress the drunken heat surging inside her.
In an instant, a deep flush spread across her entire body. Her delicate form trembled lightly, exuding a bewitching charm of a different kind.
Through the veil of white gauze, her golden-red eyes stared into Akira's face, and an image surfaced in her mind—the last time she had briefly tasted holy light.
Back then, she had exhausted all her strength to expel it from her body, and yet…
For some reason, she now felt an inexplicable longing for that dazzling radiance.
Akira, however, noticed none of the strange emotions flickering in her eyes.
He was gripping Lucia's hand tightly, his gaze fixed on the back of it.
Confusion filled his mind.
Why were there no crescent-moon markings on her hand… while his own bore them?
Just as he was lost in thought, a system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes:
[Blessing of the Moon Goddess: In effect…]