Chapter 18 - Banquet of the North
Chapter 18 - Banquet of the North
The drinking battle with Vasily was a bloodbath that swallowed the attention of everyone in the banquet hall.
Like a true Northern knight, Vasily emptied his silver cup with terrifying vigor, but once he passed five cups, his eyes lost focus and began to waver.
On the other hand, I maintained my composure thanks to the liver power I'd trained by 'appeasing department heads' in my past life.
I could have used my skill, <The Bird That Drinks Poison>, to break down the alcohol, but as a heavy drinker, I couldn't forgive myself for doing such a thing.
At the eighth cup, Vasily's hand holding the cup trembled, and he lost his balance and fell backward.
Thud—!
"V-Captain Vasily has collapsed!!"
"No way! Captain Vasily, who is called 'Volkov's Cask', lost!?"
The banquet hall was turned upside down.
I elegantly set down my cup and narrowed my eyes like a snake.
In truth, I was thinking, 'Ah, I'm starting to get drunk,' but I tried not to lose my usual smile.
"Is there another challenger?"
"A-Another!?"
"Yes, I can still drink more."
I looked around at the Northern knights with the most natural smile I could muster.
They looked at me with fearful eyes, as if they had seen a ghost.
Why are they like that? I'm just smiling like I always do?
Just then, heavy footsteps cut through the commotion of the banquet hall.
Thud-! Thud—! Thud-!
Large footsteps like a bear's; as far as I knew, there was only one person who could make such sounds.
Grand Duke Sergei Lyudmila, the master of the North, walked directly toward me.
Wow, is this a bear or a human? The pressure radiating from the Grand Duke in front of me was beyond imagination.
"Sir Edric Noel, to think you knocked out Vasily, that is truly an impressive drinking capacity."
"Y-You flatter me, Grand Duke-nim."
The Grand Duke lifted the collapsed Vasily with one hand and entrusted him to his subordinates behind him.
To think such a giant could be lifted with one hand...
"Then... shall we have a drink together now?"
"W-With you, Grand Duke-nim?"
He said as he sat in front of me.
A heavy thud resounded.
I really thought his eyes and body were just like a bear's.
"Yes... we have something to talk about, don't we?"
"I-If it's something you wish to say..."
No. I think a bear would have been gentler.
The Grand Duke's eyes were radiating killing intent like it was on a clearance sale.
If he had a shotgun in his hand right now, it felt like he would shoot me, reload, and shoot me again.
No, I'm a victim too, you know!?
It's unfair!
"Yes. Not as a Grand Duke, but as a father with a precious daughter, I must verify what kind of vessel you are myself."
The Grand Duke muttered lowly as he held out an empty cup.
His eyes were shining intensely like a bear that had spotted its prey.
"Come... pour me a drink..."
For a moment, silence flowed through the banquet hall.
In the original work, Grand Duke Sergei was a well-known heavy drinker, to the point of being called the 'Northern Whale'.
Sensing that if I messed up here, not only the mission given by the Prince but also my life could be in danger, I switched my brain to 'company dinner mode'.
"How could I refuse when a precious person like you, Grand Duke-nim, asks?"
"Oho, you have good spirit."
The Grand Duke pushed the glass toward me, signaling me to pour him a drink.
I smiled as I looked at the glass.
"However, I don't think it's polite to pour ordinary alcohol for a precious person like you, Grand Duke-nim."
"Not polite? Then what are you going to do?"
Ordinary alcohol isn't polite?
At my words, the Grand Duke asked, propping his chin on his hand as if interested.
"If it's not rude, may I serve you with my own 'secret method'?"
"Secret method? ...Interesting. Go ahead and try."
I ordered an attendant to bring the smooth fermented liquor brought from the Central region.
And while everyone watched with bated breath, I mixed the alcohol.
I mixed the Northern strong liquor (4) and the Central liquor (6) in a golden ratio, then finished it off with a clean silver spoon.
Ting—!
As I flicked the bottom of the glass hard with the spoon, tiny bubbles exploded inside the glass, and a cream-like, smooth foam rose up.
It was my manufacturing method that I had learned while making Somaek hundreds and thousands of times in my past life.
With this, I was once called the 'God of Company Dinners'...
Once the Somaek was finished, I offered it to the Grand Duke.
"I offer you a drink, Grand Duke-nim."
"Hmm..."
The Grand Duke's expression upon receiving my Somaek was subtle.
What's so special about mixing alcohol?
That exact expression was on his face.
Hehehe, once you drink my Somaek, you'll change your mind.
The Grand Duke took the glass with a skeptical expression and downed it in one gulp.
"Alcohol tastes the same everywhere, what's so spe... Huk?!"
The Grand Duke's eyes, which had been touching the glass, widened in real-time.
Gulp, gulp, the alcohol began to empty in an instant, and the Grand Duke's eyes were filled with astonishment.
He set the glass down, touched his throat, and shouted.
"Th-This taste, what is it?! It's intense, yet it goes down as smoothly as silk!"
"I'm glad it suits your palate."
"Amazing... is this really the alcohol I was drinking?"
At the Grand Duke's exclamation, the surrounding knights swallowed their saliva.
Just like Russia, people in cold regions drank alcohol like water to keep their bodies warm.
In other words, there were many people crazy about alcohol.
"Sir Edric! Can't you make that alcohol for us too?!"
"Of course, that's fine."
I gladly put on a 'Somaek making show'.
Like a famous bartender, I mixed dozens of glasses of Somaek at once and provided them to everyone, and exclamations of "Kiha—!" erupted from here and there.
As the atmosphere ripened, the Grand Duke praised me with a face flushed with drunkenness.
"Sir Edric, you really have many talents. To capture people's hearts with such a fascinating trick."
I set down the liquor bottle.
The most important moment of a company dinner, the moment of 'flattery', had arrived.
I said with a serious expression.
"Grand Duke-nim... the real talent isn't this alcohol trick."
"This isn't a talent? Then what is the real talent?"
Not only the Grand Duke but the gazes of those around me gathered on me.
I raised my voice and said.
"The loyalty of you, Grand Duke-nim, and the knights who silently protect the North for the Empire even in this terrible cold is the Empire's greatest talent and treasure. Compared to that, my talent is very small."
At my words, the knights' eyes became moist.
They had only been momentarily chilled by the harsh Northern wind, but they were all warm humans to their own people.
I raised my glass for them.
"To the Grand Duke-nim who protects the North, and the knights who guard them!"
[ "Cheers!!" ]
With my words, everyone downed their drinks heavily, and the banquet atmosphere reached its peak.
The Grand Duke watched that scene with satisfaction, and then he laughed heartily and slapped my shoulder hard enough to crush it.
"Hahahaha! Your way with words is also top-notch! I'm starting to like you more and more!"
I could see the wariness in the Grand Duke's eyes melting away little by little.
But he soon filled his glass to the brim again and said.
"But keep this in mind. My daughter is the treasure of the North. I cannot give my daughter to a weakling just because he makes good alcohol."
"......"
"Prepare yourself, the real thing starts now!"
Thus began the second round with the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke brought a glass twice as big as before and filled my glass to the brim.
I'm sorry. Liver, hold on!
An hour after the second round with the Grand Duke began...
"Ugh... Long live the Empire... Long live my daughter..."
The strongest drinker in the North, Grand Duke Sergei, slammed his head onto the table and was KO'd.
Silence flowed through the banquet hall.
"G-Good heavens... just how many cups did he drink?"
"Roughly over 20 cups..."
"Is that guy's liver not human?"
I'm really sorry, Grand Duke-nim.
Honestly, I felt like I was going to die too, so I used the skill <The Bird That Drinks Poison> to break down some of the alcohol.
"I... I'll go get some fresh air for a moment."
The Northern knights looked at me as I stood up with eyes mixed with awe and fear.
It is said that later, someone started calling me by the nickname 『Edric of the Red Snake Wine』, saying I was a monster who defeated the Grand Duke with alcohol.
If I ever catch that bastard, I'm definitely going to sue him.
The cold night wind of the North was sharp enough to instantly cool down the heat of the banquet hall that had been burning hot.
I stepped out onto the terrace, suppressing the alcohol energy that felt like it was about to burst with the cold air.
"Haa... I thought I was going to die."
The alcohol the Grand Duke gave me was twice as strong as other Northern liquors. To think it was like this even after using the skill...
As I was catching my breath while holding onto the cold railing, I heard the sound of clothes brushing behind me.
"To defeat Father with alcohol, that's impressive. You are the first man in the North to defeat Father head-on with alcohol."
When I turned my head at the familiar voice, Natalya was standing there, having taken off her armor and wearing a dark blue dress.
Her blue hair, bathed in moonlight, shone mysteriously like an ice flower.
"Natalya-nim... I thought you were in the banquet hall."
"The person who will be my husband went outside, so I couldn't just stay in my seat as his wife."
She approached my side nonchalantly and leaned against the railing next to me.
I sighed, clutching my trembling heart.
"Natalya-nim. That 'husband' talk is really dangerous. If the Grand Duke wakes up, he will really try to cut off my head."
"Northern women don't use honorifics to their partners. Call me Natalya comfortably."
"Haa... Natalya, listen carefully."
I narrowed my eyes like a snake and stared straight into her eyes.
Cold reason poked its head through the fog of alcohol.
"I know why you're doing this. But you don't have to use me. His Highness the Prince has no intention of threatening you or dragging you away by force."
At my words that there was no need to avoid the engagement with the Prince like this, Natalya's pupils wavered for a moment.
Her lips stiffened for a moment as if I had hit the nail on the head.
And soon, she smiled slightly and said.
"Caught, huh. As expected, you are clever. But you are half right and half wrong."
"What do you mean?"
Natalya looked up at the sky.
The Northern sky was much clearer than the Capital, and the blue stars were clearly visible.
"Trust without a token is bound to weaken as time passes."
"That, His Highness the Prince..."
"Even if His Highness the Prince is fine, what about His Majesty the Emperor, the Prime Minister, and the other retainers? Are they all fine too?"
"That is..."
"Yes, there is no better token than an engagement to prove the solidarity between the Central Empire and the North. For the sake of my family and the North, I must become that proof in some form."
She looked at me.
Her eyes, like blue sapphires, looked even colder and more beautiful as they met the Northern winter wind.
"And half of it is sincere. I swore that I would marry a man stronger than me. You defeated me, and you defeated Father... How about it, Edric? Why don't you forget the busy power struggles of the Central and live in the North with me?"
"What!?"
The proposal thrown by a peerless beauty like Natalya, and a woman who would become the master of the North, was fatal.
I almost wavered for a moment, but I shook my head.
"It's an attractive proposal, but I will decline. I have already sworn to protect His Highness the Prince's side. And... it's because I have a personality where I have to work as much as I've received."
I couldn't imagine how the route would get twisted if I left the Prince's side.
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed that my peaceful future could only be completed if I did something by his side.
At my words, Natalya burst into a short laugh, "Pfft."
"Heh, interesting. Usually, they say the woman keeps her chastity and the man leaves, but it seems our roles have reversed."
"That is true."
She stepped closer to me and stood on tiptoe.
And just like she did at the training ground during the day, a soft sensation touched my cheek this time and then pulled away.
"Don't forget, Edric, Northern women do not let their prey escape."
She turned around without hesitation and disappeared into the banquet hall.
The warmth left on my cheek and the cold snowflake scent that wafted from her lingered at the tip of my nose.
Northern women were truly, even scarier than the rumors.
At that time, on the outskirts of the Iron Gate,
An ominous shadow was casting over the Empire's largest defensive wall.
Rustle, rustle.
Along with footsteps that were barely audible, men wearing rough leather clothes and carrying giant axes on their backs climbed onto the castle wall without a sound.
The Northern barbarians, who had been holding their breath for decades, blocked by the Empire's defensive wall, had finally drawn their frozen blades and begun to bare their teeth toward the Empire.
In the darkness, their leader muttered lowly.
"It is a night when the wolves of the North are drunk and asleep. Now... let the plan begin."