"Cheers—!"
At the celebration banquet afterward, Zofia joyfully raised her glass, and without waiting for others to respond, she gulped it down herself. After drinking, she didn't forget to urge the others to drink it all at once. Noah's body couldn't withstand the ravages of alcohol, so she could only use tea as a substitute for wine. Maria Nearl was in the same situation; she was already an adult, but it wasn't yet time for her to drink alcohol. Back and forth, among those present who could drink with Zofia, only Uncle Manner remained.
Manner had sat at the entrance of Howling Guard all day, blocking the people inside so they didn't even dare to go out. He only tidied up and went home after the match ended, and then he saw Zofia and Noah happily escorting Maria Nearl home. Seeing their lively appearance, Manner's lips silently curled into a smile.
There were no Witch King Remnants participating in this competition, and as for the reason, Manner didn't want to say.
Tolan felt he had changed. In the past, he would have charged in, drawn his sword, unleashed a rain of light, and made the entire Howling Guard pay the price for it.
But now, he merely sat at the entrance of Howling Guard all day, with no intention of going in, or even drawing his sword.
But he hadn't changed; he was just thinking more. Now that Noah was the spokesperson for the Commercial Federation, during her tenure, if a bloody incident occurred at Howling Guard and the perpetrator was an employee under her, she would definitely bear responsibility, and might even be exiled. For Manner, solving all the Witch King Remnants in Howling Guard was not difficult, but he had to consider Noah's position.
The current situation was not suitable for him to act on his impulses; at least not now. So he chose to make these guys retract their tentacles in his own way—
He had never changed—
Of course, if the Witch King Remnants in Howling Guard still intended to stretch their claws under his nose, then he wouldn't mind cutting off those disobedient extra parts.
Perhaps it was because she was too happy, Zofia drank glass after glass, making Maria Nearl, who was beside her, feel frightened. Eventually, Manner, who had been drinking with Zofia, could only intervene and stop her, "You've had too much to drink."
"I'm happy!" Zofia was already a little tipsy. Ever since Maria Nearl participated in the Knight competition, Zofia often got drunk, occasionally needing Manner to carry her home. Even though she never stated the reason, Manner could somewhat understand. The Zofia of the past and the Maria Nearl of today were almost identical; both eagerly went to the Knight competition arena, both peaked upon their debut, directly fighting their way into the official competition. The saying "spring breeze" (proud on horseback in the spring breeze) probably described this feeling.
However, Zofia's path didn't reach the end. Although she earned the title of Whipblade Knight, she stopped at the top sixteen.
This was partly due to the Commercial Federation's constraints. Zofia participated in the Knight Championship held after Margaret was expelled. At that time, she was holding back a surge of anger. After Margaret's expulsion, her thought was to fight for a breath, to stand up for Margaret, and let these people know that the Nearl Family family was not to be easily bullied.
The result…
This was the reason why Zofia was so opposed when Maria Nearl originally planned to participate. If it weren't for Noah's support, Maria Nearl probably would have had to choose to act first and report later.
But now, the closer Maria Nearl got to the main competition, the more nervous Zofia became. Even after the battle with Rust Copper, Zofia confirmed that Maria Nearl was not weak now, and even had a chance to contend for the championship like her Sister Magarette. But the more this was the case, the more complex Zofia's heart became.
She was happy for Maria Nearl, but also in pain for herself. The seemingly indifferent mask melted under the influence of alcohol, and Zofia's crying and laughing completely revealed her mood.
Only Manner and Noah could probably know all this…
"...Zofia, I'll drink with you." At this moment, Noah, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, "Kuro, please pour me a drink."
"I refuse."
"Just this once."
"..." Kuro gazed at the serious Noah for a long time before sighing, "You can't drink alcohol, you know that yourself."
"Just this once." Noah shook her head, "I'll just accompany Zofia and drink with her once, is that okay?"
"..." Kuro didn't answer, but she stood up and filled Noah's glass with beer. "Don't force yourself."
"I know what I'm doing."
Noah took a deep breath, picked up the glass, and gulped down the liquid. She had never drunk alcohol in her life, and the first time felt a bit strange. The alcohol stimulated her nerves, and the wheat-scented beer itself tasted quite peculiar to Noah. To be honest, she was very curious why anyone would like to drink such a uniquely flavored beverage. Her face immediately turned red. Some people don't get drunk easily, no matter how much they drink, they remain the same as before. Manner is like that.
However, some people get flushed and red-faced as soon as they drink, and usually, these people get drunk very easily. Noah was one of these people—
"...Noah...Noah, what are you doing?" Zofia was startled into sobriety. She knew Noah's body; she never touched alcohol before. "Don't drink anymore, what if you harm your body?"
Zofia's concern didn't seem to reach Noah's ears. She motioned for Kuro to refill her drink again, and Kuro did so, but this time, Zofia stepped forward and stopped Kuro. "Don't drink anymore! Why are you drinking this stuff?!"
Kuro could, of course, have broken free from Zofia's hand, but she stopped as if she couldn't, looking at Noah, waiting for her reaction.
"I just...want to know how you feel, Zofia..." Noah lowered her head. It was her first time drinking, and coupled with her body's sensitivity to alcohol, even though it was only one glass, she already felt a bit dizzy. However, she persisted in speaking. "How many times have you gotten drunk recently, Zofia? Waking up with a headache in the morning, then going out to drink again at night...Day after day, I've always been curious, is alcohol...really that good?"
"...I'm just...happy..."
"Do you think you can fool me?" Noah smiled, "It tastes awful, absolutely terrible, so awful I want to vomit...But you, Zofia, keep drinking, getting completely drunk, losing consciousness."
"...Then why did you drink?"
"But if I didn't drink...how would I have the right to say these things to you?" Noah shook her head, "I was absent back then, I didn't see Margaret being expelled, and I couldn't help you, but...at least I can drink with you. From now on, when you drink, call me. I'll accompany you. However much you drink, I'll drink the same."
"...I..." Zofia's lips trembled, "I...I won't drink anymore, isn't that enough?!"
Zofia's face was flushed, whether from anger or embarrassment, she didn't know. She was the elder, yet Noah was threatening her like this.
—However, for some reason, she was quite happy.
"...Kuro, um...add some juice for me. I won't drink alcohol anymore."
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