Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Riana took me to the largest room in the mansion. The room was dimly lit, with one weak light emitting a soft yellow glow. She hadn’t just invited me—everyone else was already seated around the table and sofas in that room. I was the last one to arrive.

On the table, there was an ice bucket surrounded by various unknown bottles.

“... Wow.”

“The servants would freak out if they saw us drinking, so we had to wait until we got to the lodging.”

I mean, I had rushed over as soon as I heard there was alcohol, and drinking with friends on a trip was a common scenario, but it felt like a strange and mixed up thing in this different world.

How much of the real world was mixed into this fantasy setting?

There was wine as well as high-proof spirits that were slightly different from soju. I was unsure if minors were allowed to drink. Harriet looked a bit nervous, and so did Heinrich and Adelia.

“Have you tried drinking before?”

I nodded in response to Riana’s question. “Um, yeah... Not much though.”

Ellen was just sitting quietly, and Riana seemed to have had her fair share of sneaking drinks before.

And here she was, trying to get her classmates to drink as well.

‘Was she the troublemaker type at home?’

The more I got to know her, the more interesting she became.

“If you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to. No one’s forcing you.”

Riana skillfully opened a bottle and poured a small amount into each of our glasses, adding ice to each of them.

“But, but... won’t we get in trouble for this?” Harriet said in a worried voice.

“I’ve never had a drink before...” Adelia added.

Harriet and Adelia looked a bit nervous, a hint of fear in their eyes.

“Who’s going to scold me about this?” said Riana. “You just have to go for it.”

She was basically saying that she could be forgiven for anything.

Ellen stared quietly at the golden liquid in her glass. I remembered Ellen mentioning in the Dark Land that we should try drinking together some time, because she was curious about the experience.

It seemed like it was going to happen, but in a very different place.

Heinrich looked a little tense as he stared at the drink in his glass.

I didn’t hesitate at all and downed the whiskey in my glass.

“Ah... this is it,” I said.

Since I’d decided to have fun, I had no reason to refuse the alcohol. Everyone watched in a daze as I drank without hesitation.

The sensation of heat down my throat...

This was it.

I had forgotten what it felt like for far too long.

“U-Um... then I’ll try too!” said Heinrich, who made up his mind after witnessing me and drank his shot.

Immediately he sputtered and choked, falling into a coughing fit, then sneezed several times.

“Huff... huff... it feels like my throat is peeling off...”

Riana, who had been patting his back for a while, sighed.

‘You have to brace yourself for the burn before drinking; no wonder your body reacted that way.’

“This drink isn’t made to be gulped down the way he just did,” Riana cautioned Heinrich. “He’s just weird.”

She clearly thought it was odd to do what I’d done.

Adelia and Harriet sipped the whiskey cautiously, then stuck out their tongues.

“Bitter!”

“Yuck...”

Ellen took a sip of the whiskey and furrowed her brow slightly.

“Bitter.”

Well, what would they know about the taste of alcohol anyway?

Riana seemed to anticipate this reaction and opened another bottle.

“Then you guys can drink something sweet.”

It appeared to be some kind of sweet wine. Riana poured the wine into glasses for the three of them. She seemed pretty experienced at choosing drinks.

Did she leave the Temple every weekend to return to the Grand Duke’s house in the capital not because it was more comfortable, but because she couldn’t drink at the Temple? I was almost certain of it.

All three of them tried the sweet wine and nodded.

“Wow, this is delicious,” Harriet said.

“Yeah... it’s sweet.” Adelia commented.

“This is better,” Ellen added.

“Really? Then you guys can drink this.”

Riana looked at me, tilting the bottle and her head.

“You didn’t try the sweet one, right?”

“Yeah. Don’t give it to me.”

She surprisingly remembered the conversation we had at the dessert cafe the other day. Though I could clearly see Heinrich furrowing his brow slightly at that.

“And you, Heinrich? Should I give you this too? In case the other one’s too strong for you.”

“... No, I’ll stick with the same one.”

It seemed Riana had no idea that Heinrich was interested in her, so she wouldn’t have realized that her words were irritating him either.

‘Why do I feel like that guy keeps wanting to compete with me? I understand not wanting to show weakness in front of a girl you like, but still. I’m not your competitor, you idiot.’

I couldn’t tell him that, though, so I just watched silently.

*** Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

Riana, Heinrich, and I were drinking whiskey and Ellen, Harriet, and Adelia were having sweet wine. There was chocolate and cheese laid out in front of us as snacks.

Initially, everyone was a bit nervous, but after one or two drinks, they started drinking comfortably.

However, this kind of situation usually led to trouble.

“Oh? This tastes quite good and I don’t feel tipsy at all!” Then suddenly, you find yourself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

The Orbis Class would be sharpening their knives to defeat us, and the Royal Class, due to teamwork issues, was slated to lose in team events, and win only a few individual bouts.

Ludwig would face and lose to the top freshman in the Orbis Class during the individual matches. However, given the additional members to the Royal Class, I wasn’t sure how the matchups would play out this time.

Riana then turned to Ellen. “By the way, Ellen, are you going to participate in the tournament?”

“Tournament?”

Aside from the rivalry event, the festival also hosted large-scale events for the entire Temple cohort, the largest among which was the tournament that was held for each grade. It primarily featured those majoring in close combat.

In the original storyline, Ellen would compete in the tournament with the intent of winning the freshman championship. Her final opponent in the tournament was the top freshman in the Orbis Class—the same one who would easily defeat Ludwig in their individual match. Ellen would defeat this individual effortlessly, mirroring the scenario on the deserted island and setting Ellen up as the main hurdle that Ludwig had to overcome.

Of course, this tournament was roundly criticized by the readers. Readers complained about being tired of martial arts tournaments, bored by the repetitive pattern of fight and win, fight and win.

“So, how many chapters until this part is over?” was a frequent comment that I received.

After writing it, I even had to take tranquilizers because of all the hate comments...

That “boring part” was now becoming a reality.

“I’m not sure,” Ellen replied hesitantly.

Ellen’s response was somewhat negative. It would have been natural for her to take part and win it, but it seemed things had changed a bit.

After a moment, Ellen shook her head.

“I don’t think I will.”

“Why not? Honestly, I think you’d clinch first place,” Riana said.

“I just don’t see a reason to compete.”

I knew why she was so hesitant.

Ellen had unlocked Mana Reinforcement. At this point, she had such an overwhelming advantage over her peers that she didn’t see the point in participating.

I put a hand on Ellen’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you’ve made a good decision. Don’t compete in it.”

Ellen looked puzzled, and I grinned at Ellen.

“If you compete, I can’t win first place.”

My sudden declaration took everyone by surprise. Their expressions were priceless.

“... I don’t think you’d get first place even if I’m not there,” Ellen remarked.

“... That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

Everyone burst into laughter at Ellen’s sudden jab.

My unexpected declaration of joining the tournament, followed by Ellen’s disparagement, lightened the mood.

‘Does someone have to sacrifice themselves and be miserable just for you all to laugh? You guys are awful.’

“Why wouldn’t I win first place, huh?!”

I tried to play along and whined a little, but Ellen quietly sipped her wine while staring at me.

“... Do I really need to spell it out for you? You can’t even handle Cliffman. What if he competes?”

“... Oh, right.”

‘Oof.’

She hit me with the hard truth, and I had nothing to say. Even with my supernatural powers, I couldn’t beat Cliffman. I might have improved a little over the break, but Cliffman probably hadn’t been slacking either.

If I couldn’t beat Cliffman, that meant I also couldn’t beat anyone who could defeat him.

“Hmm, okay. Then I’ll just have to break the legs of all those Royal and Orbis Class guys who are stronger than me before entering the tournament.”

Riana glared at me with a sense of caution at my ominous remark. “Don’t say things like that. I’m scared you might actually do it.”

“And how do you plan on breaking the legs of those who are stronger than you?” Harriet chimed in.

“Ambush. No one can withstand a surprise attack, right?”

Harriet’s face went pale, clearly considering the possibility that I might follow through on my outrageous statement.

“... Are you seriously going to do that?”

“No, no. I’m just kidding. It’s not worth the trouble.”

I was just joking, and I didn’t seriously think I could win first place just because Ellen wasn’t competing. It was all in jest.

Honestly, I didn’t have much interest in participating in the tournament. Spending time sparring and bickering with Ellen was the best way to improve my skills.

Moreover, I planned to focus more on other things starting next semester, which would leave me no time to idle away in such events.

The festival? Forget it.

The grand martial arts tournament? Not interested.

Rivalry event? Count me out.

My life wasn’t so rosy that I could just live like a carefree student.

“Still, you should participate,” suggested Ellen out of the blue.

“What? Didn’t you say I wouldn’t win?”

After basically telling me that I sucked at fighting, now she’s encouraging me to compete? What was this about?

“I’m just curious,” Ellen said, looking at me intently.

Was she curious about my abilities? But she had already seen a bit of what I could do in the Dark Land.

In the original storyline, Ellen easily won the tournament. However, Ellen had grown much stronger compared to her original self. She had decided not to participate in the Temple tournament as the result would be too predictable.

“You should at least make it to the quarterfinals.”

She wouldn’t be the one competing, but she seemed curious to see how far I could go, considering I had learned swordsmanship from her.

It seemed she wanted to send her student in to compete, and watch from the sidelines.

“... Are you drunk?”

Everyone’s expressions turned odd as Ellen, who was usually modest, suddenly exhibited an unusual confidence. She wasn’t typically like this, saying things like how I shouldn’t fail to reach the quarterfinals since she was my teacher.

The yellow lighting had masked it at first, but I could see that her face had turned slightly rosy.

“If you don’t make it, I’ll be mad.”

The subtle smile on her face was almost too intense to look at.

It would have been better if she were just drunk and throwing a tantrum.

Her current demeanor made my whole body feel stiff.