Chapter 280 Alcohol Sampling
After finishing all the required setups, I lay prone once more on the cold stone wall and peeked into the scope without hesitation. Igni was already aware that I was covering for her, but instead of easing down and moving out of danger, she went further into the crowd instead.
"That girl...!"
Although I'm happy that she trusts me so much that it was leaking into our special link, at least feel some sense of danger! I'll definitely scold her later, when all this is over.
Fang was moving so fast that it was impossible to catch her figure. Even if she accidentally got in the way of the bullet, I guess with her speed, she would easily dodge it without any problem.
As they evolve further, I'm getting the feeling that they're getting closer and closer to their noble title. Fang, as the "Shadowless Death", was literally bringing death to all without letting them even see her shadow. Igni was slowly approaching her "Burning Rage" title too, while Ember had already owned her title for a long time, being the bearer of the "Infinite Changes" title.
Anyway, while covering for the three, I emptied almost all of my 50% concentration clips. I guess I would need to go back to the Seimei to gather the bullets that I tasked them to produce in large batches.
The sun was setting, and the time had almost reached the end of our shift. To speed up the process, I asked everyone to participate in collecting the cores. Threya was done already, though, as the demons on their side were completely turned to ashes. There wasn't any loot to claim at all.
"The ones we collected after the first day were more than enough to last us a year, after all."
Threya said with a shrug as they left before us. I guess the buff limited the pug's form to its true form, as even as they were on the way back, he maintained the gigantic flaming dog form.
She didn't head for the gathering but instead went straight to the city. The "handover' of the area we were covering was completely passed to me, it seems. Well, she handled it the first day and even yesterday, so I guess it's fine.
After we met the night shift worker who would be taking over our area, we left immediately. She seemed cold after all, so there was nothing much to say to each other.
We reached the town earlier than intended, but as planned, we still marched for the nearest restaurant, the same one as yesterday, upon everyone's unanimous request. I guess they liked the food there better than the other locations we have checked in the past.
Tomorrow is the day that the next batch of defenders will come, replacing us, so tonight will probably be the last night we will be staying here. Knowing that, the girls completely let loose, ordering alcohol and wine like there was no tomorrow.
It was Fina's idea, though, to let the others try wine and other stronger alcohols too, to search for their preferences.
"After all, for future references too, it should be pretty useful."
Or so she said to convince them.
Of course, to make it relatively more accurate, they decided to go from non-alcoholic Wine, weaker than beer even, to normal wine, rum, and lastly spirits of over 90% alcohol content.
The non-alcoholic wine was well received, probably because it wasn't much different than juice. The girls, especially Ember, liked this one. When they moved to the normal wine and took a sip, Ember said it was better than the earlier one since it had "additional flavors" that made her feel warmer.
"I could even drink this all day!"
Ember cheered as she took another sip, completely enjoying it. Igni and Fang had mostly the same reaction to the first one, mostly unimpressed but feeling it was delicious.
The next one was the rum, since the restaurant isn't a bar and didn't really have that much variation in drinks. When it came, it was loaded in a barrel and pushed by a layman using a small handcart. Ember quickly reeled from the strong alcohol scent, making her not even want to try it.
Fang and Igni were curious, though. They had a stronger sense of smell than Ember, so they could faintly detect various smells coming from the glass of rum that was served.
"It's pretty strong, so don't chug it down like water, alright?"
Just in case, I warned the two of them beforehand. This rum is pretty weak with only around 30% alcohol, a light one, but it's still stronger compared to the others they have tried.
"This..."
After taking a sip, Fang closed her eyes as if trying to figure out what her tongue detected.
"The scent is of fragrant wood as if I'm in a forest. The taste is somewhat fruity and sweet, but still burns my throat... What is this thing, Leader?!"
Her tail was wagging, excited as if she had found something that she would favor. I just smiled lightly, patting her head.
"It's a barrel-aged rum, and they added some fruit essence to add flavor. It's pretty strong, though, so drink slowly."
The color is weird, though. It's as if it was pee after holding it in for a day..."
Igni's unconscious comment made some of the guests who heard her glare in our direction. But seeing that it was a beautiful girl who said it, they just scratched their heads and let it go. Well, men will be men, I guess?
Lastly, came the finisher. It was a single bottle containing a transparent liquid, as if it were water. As soon as it was uncapped, however, a powerful alcohol scent wafted into the surroundings. Ember covered her nose, completely uncomfortable with it. Fang only furrowed her brows, probably detecting something in the scent that we couldn't.
Igni was still the same as before, although with a faint blush on her cheeks from all the taste-testing.
"Alright, this is the last one. After this, we'll return, okay?"
I clarified just in case, setting up a time limit for our little sampling period. Igni nodded her head lightly before picking up a shot glass filled to the brim with it. With a frowning expression, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, downing the contents of the glass in one gulp.
"Errrghhh!"
Her reaction at first was priceless and made the others laugh. However, after a few seconds, when the aftertaste kicked in, her expression turned a little softer. Her gaze returned to the bottle, brows furrowed, before she whispered in a little voice.
"... Another."
She repeated the same process and gulped down a shot glass, but unlike before, as if she had been used to the texture, she let out a satisfied breath.
"Aaaahhhh~!"
It must have been my imagination when I saw little flames escape her mouth. Yep.
After that, Igni refused to stop and took another, another, and another shot. After she almost finished half of the bottle alone, she was finally smashed, completely unable to speak fluently or stay sitting straight.
"Eheheh~! My Looooord... I did my bessssht today toooo~! Prase me~?"
She kept on saying that exact same phrase since she started getting tipsy, and now she was still saying it while sitting on my lap and holding my head in a tight embrace.
"Ah, unfair!"
When Fang finally couldn't hold back, she roared in envy before rushing to my other thigh, copying Igni's action, and similarly wrapping her hands around my head.
"..."
These two... Compared to yesterday, I could say they got a little stronger against alcohol, but... They're completely drunk now.
"Fang, Igni, Master's getting smothered. Release him."
Ember warned them lightly, patting their shoulders as she walked to our side of the table. However, unlike what I thought, she didn't really stop them but rather joined in.
After opening the zipper of her jacket and complaining that "It's hot~," two humongous mountains popped out like a magic trick. I could hear hard gulps echoing from all around us, but when I turned to them, they were already diverting their gazes. Ember was the one who silenced them with her normal-looking but scary smile.
Fang is to my right, Igni is to my left, and now Ember is at the top of my head. I guess all men have imagined being in my position at least once in their lives, but in reality, it was suffocating, literally.
"F-Fina... Help!"
As I couldn't even stand up or move away, I could only call for backup. This time, Fina avoided drinking at my personal request.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her show an impish smile before standing up.
"Girls, if you want to continue, let's return to the inn first."
Her words made the three stiffen for an instant before they released me from their grasp. However, I feel like they were holding me tighter than before, metaphorically.
Three sharp gazes pierced my very being, while two worried gazes and one amused gaze watched over the situation silently.
Without any warning, Ember opened a portal behind me before pushing the entire chair into it. The three of them followed in shortly after, while Fina, Minerva, and Hekate rushed to catch up after leaving money on top of the table to pay for our food and drinks.
After that, it was... Disappointing.
I thought we'd be having some sexy time, but as soon as Ember teleported us back, just as they took off a layer of their clothes and pushed me on top of the bed, they fell asleep.
Well, they were lightweights, after all, and yesterday was their first experience with alcohol, so their tolerance was still low. I could only scratch my head while being bathed in three awkward gazes.
"... I'll go out for a bit."
I muttered before escaping, taking the gun with me, and heading for the rooftop once more.
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