Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Festival - 10
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Before she could even react, Ellie collapsed right onto the table.
The sound of the table and Ellie's head colliding was substantial.
"Whoa, that was a really hard hit?"
"...Ellie?"
There was no response.
I wondered if she had fallen asleep, but a few seconds later, she lifted her head as if nothing had happened.
No, it wasn't nothing.
Her eyes had gone slack and unfocused, her face flushed bright red.
Every word that escaped her lips was slurred, her tongue twisting into garbled sounds.
"Ugh..., dizzzy..."
"Is your forehead okay? I didn't expect you to down it like that—"
"Sleepy."
"Huh?"
"Wanna sleeeep...!"
- Thunk!
She slammed her head down again.
It was worrying enough to think her head might start bleeding.
I gently touched her bangs to check her forehead, but fortunately, it didn't seem injured.
"One sip and she's totally wasted. Even with a low tolerance, to react like this right away?"
"Weaker than she looks. Way beyond imagination."
It was only natural for someone who rarely drank, and couldn't hold it well, to end up like this after chugging a whole glass at once.
If she had sipped it with some food, maybe, but she had started by pouring it straight down her throat.
Ellie wasn't the type to get feisty like that, but this time, Sua's provocation had been too lethal.
She had even done it with the street vendor selling bracelets earlier. Today, Sua's teasing was way over the top.
"Why say something unnecessary like that..."
"If she passes out after one glass, she really is a kid, isn't she?"
Sua smirked.
- Whoosh!
Ellie lifted her head again.
Maybe Sua's word "kid" had tickled her ears.
Being treated like a child by another adult wasn't exactly pleasant.
Fortunately, she hadn't lifted her head in anger.
Drunk Ellie's face bore only a goofy, dopey grin.
"Hehe, Earthbound Spiiiirit siiiir..."
"Good to know she still has enough wits to recognize me."
"Come to take a requeest?"
"Here to take a request?"
She seemed to think this was her request office.
As if I were just an adventurer showing up for a commission, like any ordinary day.
"Viiillage outskiiiirts..., slime subjuuugate..."
Her slurred pronunciation was off, but she was trying her best to explain the request. It felt refreshingly different from her usual self.
Honestly, I found this side of Ellie so cute that I wanted to see more.
I decided to play along for a bit.
"What do I need to do?"
"Slimes allll goooone, nuuumbber...!"
After that, it was hard to make out what she was saying.
Her already garbled speech lost all structure, and I couldn't tell what she was getting at.
She mumbled something about cores and forests.
From the familiar words slipping out here and there, it seemed like she was repeating the guidance she gave adventurers as a receptionist.
Had those phrases become such a habit, etched into her mouth?
Maybe her hazy mind mistook today for a busy workday, or perhaps even drunk, she was diligently clinging to her role.
Whatever the reason, the request office doors were closed today.
Right now, in this place, there was no receptionist or adventurer.
We were just two ordinary people enjoying the festival.
"Take caaaare out theeeere..."
"..."
That final farewell came out as clearly as she could manage.
It was so endearing that my hand naturally reached out to stroke her hair.
"Hehe, feeeels goooood..."
Leaning into the petting, she laid her head comfortably on the table this time—without the thudding sound.
She didn't lift her head again or whine anymore, so she must have fallen asleep just like that.
Even while preparing for the festival, she had seemed most excited about the moment we'd share a drink together, but instead of getting a buzz alongside her, Ellie had dozed off without even properly tasting the food.
Like the tea time we shared after quests, we could always drink together on a non-festival day if she wanted.
So there was no need to feel regretful now.
Her sleeping position looked uncomfortable, so I scooped her up in both arms and carried her to a new spot.
I considered asking Raymond for an empty room, but since she might wake up before the meal ended, I decided to keep her nearby.
"Maybe it's the alcohol, but her body feels so warm."
I found a long resting bench shaped for several people to sit.
I took off her outer clothes, folded them a few times, and placed them where her head could rest.
It would serve as an instant pillow.
After laying her down on her side, I finally returned to my seat.
"I thought honey was dripping from your eyes."
"Huh?"
"Nothing, just talking to myself."
Ellie's glass was completely empty from chugging it, but mine was still full.
And Sua's was the same.
"Anyway, let's keep drinking, just us? Cheers—!"
My glass stayed put again, but she moved hers to clink against it.
I took a sip and picked up one of the appetizing dishes on the table, swallowing it down.
"You're pretty weak to alcohol too. You can't drink much."
"Who? Me? I'm weak?"
Sua made an incredulous face, but she had no idea how much more ridiculous I found it inwardly.
"Have I ever drunk with you?"
"I have—with you. You haven't."
"Aha."
Sua took another sip in the meantime.
"But aren't you misremembering? No one in the guild could drink like me."
"..."
"You don't know my exact tolerance. I've never gotten completely wasted. Do levels and stats affect drinking capacity?"
"Skills probably influence it somewhat. There are a few from the lower floors that help with detox or mental protection."
"No detox skill, but the one from the 20th floor must be pretty effective."
The skill from the 20th floor meant the reward from clearing the "Trauma Room."
It was the most basic mental protection skill.
Thanks to it, adventurers who cleared the 20th floor gained immunity to crude hallucinations and such.
It had positive effects on finer things like concentration too.
Eventually, difficulties after the 20th involved stronger hallucinations and mental interference, but having one more skill increased your options, making it a solid reward overall.
"No wonder. I don't feel drunk at all even now."
The issue was that my memory of Sua's tolerance was also based on post-20th floor times.
Strictly speaking, mental protection skills didn't actually increase your tolerance.
They just suppressed the buzz and kept your mind seeming clear, but once you exceeded what the skill could handle, everyone just blacked out the same way.
Someone with a two-bottle limit couldn't drink more just because they had mental protection.
They just felt far more sober right up until blackout.
"Kyaha—, it goes down even better after a long time off. You'll drink more too, right?"
"I haven't even finished this one."
"Come on, it's almost empty. Hey! Two more over here, please!"
I didn't know the exact pour size for a glass here in the village, but I could gauge it roughly.
Sua's limit would be about three glasses of this size.
If quicker than expected, she'd hit it before finishing the third.
Sua was absolutely not a good drinker.
My memory proved correct soon enough.
"I can drink moooore...!"
"Sigh... Should've stopped you from ordering the third."
"The adventurers said I was goooood... One moooore!"
Of course the guildmates would say that.
Who would dare contradict the guild master insisting she was strong?
They'd all just nod along.
"You're drunk right now. What more do you mean to drink?"
"Ehhh? I've never been druuuunk..."
"Listen to your pronunciation. That's what being drunk sounds like!"
Compared to wasted Ellie, it was intelligible, but the drawn-out ends and face red like it might burst...
Sua was drunk too.
As if she'd never been drunk before—she couldn't even remember her own drunken states.
"Why no more...? I definitely ordered one moooore..."
"Who would pour more seeing you like this?"
"I just moved here, so they're excluding me from the festival...? Treating me like an outsider? Right?"
Now she was even sniffling.
It felt like ages since I'd seen Sua make that face—since that day.
Just as my head started to ache, there was a clink, and a glass appeared in front of Sua.
Following the hand that placed it, my gaze rose to Koon's face.
"Ooh! Guard, it's you! Thanks for bringing it!"
Sua immediately downed the new glass.
"See! I'm a goooood drinker! Down it like waaater!"
No matter how I looked, the liquid was clear.
It wasn't "like water"—it was actual water.
Koon nodded at me.
He had filled the glass with just water.
"Looks fine? Said it had been a while, but she's handling it well."
"No, sir. More would be tough for me too."
"Have a seat here. Let's drink together."
Leaving her to keep drinking water, I sat Koon in the spot where Ellie had been moments ago.
There was still talk to be had after the match.
I needed a drinking partner too, and with both Ellie and Sua wasted, no one fit the bill like Koon.
"How is it? Having fun?"
"Today's festival?"
"Overall."
Koon wet his throat before answering.
"A bit more drunk, and then I'll tell you."
"Sure."
He seemed to need more time, so instead of talking, we enjoyed the drinks and food in the moment.
Even without words, clinking glasses was plenty to share the festival spirit.
It wasn't until Sua demanded two more glasses of water that Koon finally cleared his throat.