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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Heavenly Death Star's First Drink
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Party preparations were no big deal.
Rionne snapped her fingers with a crack, and everything was ready in an instant.
Tables and chairs flew into place, a bonfire roared to life, a house-sized wild boar was dressed and roasting over the flames, and simple dishes were whipped up and neatly arranged on the table one after another.
It was the greatness of magic.
Enoch clapped his hands in delight, and Rionne beamed with a pleased smile as she declared the party open.
"Alright! Let's eat and have fun today!"
In truth, they spent most days lounging around and eating without a care, but no one raised any objections.
Rarely, both Enoch and Undine shot their hands up high at the same time.
Yay! Party!
Rionne pulled out a bottle of liquor while checking on the roasting meat, grinning at the sight of the thrilled pair.
"Ta-da! What's this?"
Th-that's...!!
Undine, recognizing the bottle, widened her eyes until they nearly split.
Of course, Enoch just tilted his head in confusion.
Flowing Dragon's Breath, 150 years...! I heard only 200 bottles were released 300 years ago...!
"Heh, it took some serious effort to get it back then."
Y-you're opening it now...?
"Yeah. If I save it any longer, it'll really go bad. Moments like this are what it's for."
O-oh...! Squirt! You have your uses after all!
The excited Undine slapped Enoch's shoulder repeatedly.
Enoch responded with his divine power.
Crackle!
But the highly aroused Undine didn't even notice.
Purple lightning crackled across her body as she hurriedly fetched a glass.
H-hurry! Careful! You know what happens if even a drop spills, right!?
"Hey, it's my liquor. Why are you more excited than me?"
Because I'm getting some for free!
Rionne chuckled and uncorked the bottle.
Due to the artisans' stubborn refusal to use magic preservation, the cork was nearly rotted through and seemed ready to crumble, but a simple spell from Rionne popped it out cleanly with a pop.
Oooh...!
The intense aroma spread through the air the moment it was opened.
Undine shivered at the ecstatic, tingling stimulation.
Q-quick...!
The spirit was already sucking on the cork like a lollipop.
Faced with her friend's maniacal determination to waste not a single drop, Rionne tilted the bottle with a wry expression.
Thick, honey-like golden whiskey filled the glass.
"You gonna drink it like that? Isn't the glass too big for you?"
You don't get it! The smaller I am, the more booze I can have!
"Fine... do whatever."
Rionne sliced off a piece from the roast, which was automatically spinning.
The juices dripped from the perfectly cooked meat—it looked delicious.
Given the boar's abnormal size, it must have packed quite a bit of mana, so the taste would surely be exceptional.
"Good food, good booze, and good company."
Tipsy from the mood, Rionne's head bobbed lightly.
The deepening red of the evening sky reflected in her hair, shining like rose gold.
"Shall we toast?"
The elf held out her glass, and the spirit clinked hers against it eagerly.
Cheers!!
"Enoch, cheers?"
At the elf's invitation, the boy offered his glass of apple juice.
"Cheers."
"Cheers!"
With the clear chime of glass, everyone tilted their glasses.
Oooh, oooh...!
Undine made strange noises the moment the liquor touched her lips.
Her eyes rolled back and her body shuddered—it didn't look normal no matter how you sliced it.
D-de-divine...!!
Rich sherry, deep vanilla, nose-punching alcohol...!
Followed by an explosion of complex, delicate flavors...!
Ignoring her friend's incoherent babbling, Rionne gave a simple verdict.
"Hmm, not bad."
A bit strong, but the flavor was so good it went down smooth.
Drinking with her mana suppressed, she felt a pleasant buzz. Pairing it with a bite of roast in the cool breeze was pure bliss.
"Haaah..."
"Rionne."
"...Yeah?"
Lifting her head at Enoch's call, she saw him holding out his empty glass.
He seemed a bit miffed at being the only one without liquor, just apple juice.
"Wanna try some?"
He nodded vigorously in response.
Well, a little should be fine.
Rionne smiled faintly and poured whiskey into Enoch's glass...
Nooo...! Are you insane!?
"Whoa, you scared me... What's with the freakout?"
Pouring that into a glass that had apple juice...!? Get a fresh one now!
Unable to ignore the spirit's hysterics, she fetched a new glass and poured.
Enoch stared at the whiskey in his glass with wonder.
"Enoch, this is strong stuff, so don't chug it. Just wet your tongue a little at a time."
"Okay."
As instructed, Enoch carefully tilted the glass.
The thick golden liquid entered his mouth.
And then,
"...?!"
Enoch jumped straight up in place.
His tongue felt like it was on fire.
Puhaha...! Serves you right! You don't even know how precious it is!
Flowing Dragon's Breath was a whopping 240-proof madman's liquor.
A insane-strength brew finished through magical processes, made for superhumans.
It was ultra-concentrated alcohol that couldn't normally even be produced.
Drinking alcohol from an alcohol lamp would be several times milder.
Obviously, a normal person would drop dead instantly.
"Water! Drink some water!"
Only after gulping down the water Rionne brought did Enoch calm.
Rionne giggled at his wide-eyed shock.
"Guess it was too strong for your first time. Want this instead, Enoch?"
She had somehow produced a bottle of wine.
Not as legendary as Flowing Dragon's Breath—just a light, sweet wine for casual sipping.
At 12 proof, it was over 20 times weaker by simple math.
"...No, I'll have this one."
But Enoch shook his head.
He wanted to drink the same as Rionne.
"It's strong, though..."
"It's fine."
As if to say not to worry, Enoch took a big swig of the whiskey.
Gulp.
From lips to tongue, gums, throat, all the way down to his stomach.
The fiery pain made him acutely aware of every inch of the path.
"Uwa...?"
Soon, the world started spinning.
Sky whirling, ground whirling, Rionne whirling.
Even the blue fly buzzing around was spinning.
Sigh, what an idiot.
"Enoch, you okay? Enoch?"
Her voice buzzed and vibrated.
Words entering one ear slipped straight out the other.
In his bafflement, he hurled lightning at the blue fly.
"Aah...! My lettuce...!"
But the bolt spun wildly and struck somewhere else.
Naughty fly.
He flicked his finger, drawing magic.
Blue. Purple. Gold. Green.
The multicolored lines formed a wild boar.
The roast floated in a wine glass, rolling over hills, while Rionne plucked clouds and stuffed them into the fly's mouth.
"Enoch...!"
That was the last of his memory.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Don't ever let that kid drink again.]
"Yeah... I won't..."
Rionne cleaned up the disaster of a yard.
Enoch slept soundly, his face flushed bright red.
At least he didn't puke. Imagine if Flowing Dragon's Breath made him breathe fire for real. Blech.
"You should worry about him."
Hmph. Whatever. Heh heh.
Undine cackled as she downed whiskey from a glass as big as herself.
With a sigh, Rionne snatched the bottle beside her.
"That's enough for you too. Confiscated."
Give it back! You can't give and then take!
"I never gave it. We'll drink together when Enoch's older."
Tyranny!
"And? What're you gonna do about it?"
Mean elf!
Ignoring her, Rionne laid Enoch on her lap.
The moon shone bright in the darkened sky.
Under it, she savored her drink and barbecue slowly...
Old hag!
"...Hand that over too."
Undine fled for her life.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day, Enoch sat up in bed with a dazed expression.
"No hangover, huh? Lucky."
Of course not! Flowing Dragon's Breath is famous for zero hangovers...!
Ignoring the fly's chatter, Enoch stretched long and wide.
He had no memory of yesterday.
It was unexpected and a bit disorienting, but since nothing bad seemed to have happened, he was relieved.
Yesterday was chaos. Remember plowing up Rionne's veggie patch?
"...!"
He whipped around to check Rionne—her face looked a little sad.
"...It's okay, Enoch. The veggies'll grow back."
"S-sorry..."
"No, really, it's fine."
She playfully dabbed at fake tears.
She didn't seem mad, so Enoch relaxed a bit.
Rionne grinned and ruffled his hair.
"Even without a hangover, you might still be tired, so how about a light morning stroll in the woods?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
"Then since we're at it, let's go a bit deeper. This forest is huge."
Enoch nodded readily.
They'd gone somewhat deep before and met a house-sized boar—what weird things might live even deeper?
He was a little curious.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Three years flew by.
Enoch still hadn't seen the forest's deepest parts.
No joke—this place was bigger than most countries.
And there were plenty of unheard-of monsters too.
"Yawwn..."
Now quite tall, Enoch sprawled atop a massive tree, yawning lazily.
Every living thing around quaked in terror and bowed its head at his drowsy form.
Enoch paid it no mind, as if it were natural.
—Enoch!
But at the elf's voice,
"Coming...!"
The shallow forest's tyrant bolted off like a neighborhood dog.
Only then did the surrounding creatures breathe a sigh of relief.
The tyrant wouldn't return for a while.