Adopting Disaster

Reed had no reason to refuse them.

If the merchant alliance cooperated with the HupperKingdom, Reed thought positively about the increasing range of knowledge he could utilize.

At Reed's words, the merchant magicians laughed playfully and raised their wine glasses.

"Ha ha! Since you're so friendly, if there's a wine you like, I'll give you a bottle as a gift. How about this wine?"

"At first, I thought it was sweet, but it had a lingering taste that stuck to the mouth."

"Indeed, those from noble backgrounds are different. An accurate evaluation."

Although he drank it quickly, Reed savored the taste.

And he did so quite thoroughly.

"Now, now, there's still a lot of wine left. Let's try them one by one!"

The continent is vast, and there are many grapes cultivated.

Each region has different grape characteristics and manufacturing methods, so it was a great tasting party for wine lovers.

'I'm going to die.'

Reed was already half out of his mind.

He was drinking twice as much wine as everyone else, so he was twice as drunk.

"The Tower Master of Wallinis surprisingly strong with alcohol."

"Right, it's really unexpected."

The magicians, who had been expecting Dolores to be fun when she was drunk, were surprised at her sober appearance.

Unlike the magicians whose faces were flushed red, she showed no sign of being drunk, so they couldn't help but be puzzled.

In fact, since Reed had been drinking it all, it was only natural that she wasn't drunk.

"They say I'm not the type to show it on my face."

She had no choice but to lie.

As she was sober, Reed's face was even redder than the others.

Dolores secretly pushed her glass of water towards Reed and spoke to him with her lips.

'You don't have to drink anymore.'

She looked up at Reed with concern.

Reed glanced at Dolores, holding onto his dizzy consciousness. She had a sorry face, seemingly aware that this was all because of her.

Maybe that's why.

His stubbornness began to grow.

"Don't worry."

He said that and looked at the table again.

Magicians who were starting to get drunk and laughing happily were visible.

The most favorite ones were the bishop-level magicians who had been immersed in ascetic life.

Bishop-level magicians, who had no occasion to drink alcohol except for a few glasses of sacramental wine, enjoyed this moment the most.

The merchant alliance side clapped their hands and smiled provocatively.

"Now that the atmosphere has warmed up, shouldn't we enjoy the main stage? Bring that out!"

"What are you trying to bring out?"

"Have you heard of it! It's called Volcano?"

"Volcano?"

"It's the northern polar region. A region where alcohol overflows as much as beautiful women."

High-proof strong alcohol is needed to overcome the cold weather.

"The strongest alcohol recognized even in the North, I tried a glass, and as soon as I drank it, my face flushed and I was gone! If you drink two glasses, it just explodes. That's why we named it Volcano."

"It seems you like the bitter stuff. Let's drink half a glass each."

"Half a glass? Are you scared that you'll die if you drink one glass?"

"Is that all your faction can handle?"

"The light of the Holy Altheaalways protects us."

The magicians of the church provoked the faction.

"Right, it's really unexpected."

Magicians who couldn't ignore the provocation half-drunk.

"Let's have a glass! Let's all have a glass each!"

"Hehe, it's fun when you come out like this!"

'What a waste of time competing for something so pointless!'

Swearing words came halfway out of his mouth, but he suppressed them with reason.

'Really, the biggest problem has arrived.'

The strongest among the strong liquors.

Just smelling it already made him feel dizzy.

If you drink one glass, it goes up, and if you drink two glasses, it explodes.

'Should I protect Dolores to the end, or live?'

Reed pondered.

And he let out a hollow laugh.

'I'm having doubts.'

That meant his judgment had become blurred.

It meant he was already drunk enough.

'I have to drink both.'

One thing for sure was that if what they described was true, Reed would explode as soon as he drank a glass.

It's better for only one person to go.

"Now, let's toast!"

"Cheers!"

***

Children who couldn't join the adults' drinking party stayed in the dormitory room left for the top graduates.

Thanks to the policy of Escolleia, which generously supports talented individuals, the room was the largest, with wooden desks, chairs, sofas, and even private bathrooms and baths.

"Why is it so cramped? It's supposed to be a prestigious school, but I wonder if it's worth attending the academy."

Yuria started grumbling like a young lady who didn't know the ways of the world.

On the other hand, Rosaria's eyes sparkled with the fact that they had come to a new room.

"Wow! Look at this! There's a bathroom attached!"

"Lady Roton, if you fuss like that, you'll lower your dignity as a lady. You should know how to be calm like a lady."

"But it's fascinating."

"Do you need to fuss about everything that's fascinating?"

"Yuria, join in too! It's fun!"

Yuria thought Rosaria, who was innocently pleading, looked like a child.

'Does that fool have so much talent?'

No matter how she looked, she seemed like an ordinary common girl who was inferior to her.

The ability of a magician was heavily influenced by lineage, and she was the daughter of a master magician of the faction, so she never doubted her ability.

On the other hand, Rosaria was an adopted child.

She was a girl who didn't even know her lineage, so there was no doubt that her ability was below hers.

'I'm much better!'

Rosaria took out some items from her bag.

Holding a teddy bear and a few toys, she spoke to Yuria.

"Yuria, let's play together with Rosaria!"

Yuria looked at Rosaria calling her and said,

"Lady Roton, I always tell you this, but I'm two years older than you. Please address me politely!"

"Can I say Yuria unni?"

"Frenda! Call me unni!"

"But calling by the last name makes us feel distant."

"Well, we're not that close."

"Hmm..."

Rosaria, who was holding a toy, had a sullen expression.

Seeing the lively child lose her spirit, Yuria felt guilty as if she had committed a crime.

"Ah, ah! I'll play with you! I can play with you!"

"Really?"

Rosaria's expression brightened up instantly.

Yuria had no way to beat Rosaria.

"So, what kind of game do you want to play?"

"It's a tower-building game with sticks. Dolores unni taught me, and it's really fun!"

A genius magician who receives the affection of the dean.

Since she said it was a game taught by her, Yuria became interested.

"If it's Dolores... she's the tower master of the Wallin. How do you play?"

"Just stack them like this and secure them with magic."

As a talented successor praised as the next Archmage, Yuria quickly grasped the core of the game.

'It's a game that values mana manipulation.'

She thought that a promising talent like her would easily handle that.

Yuria immediately began to build the first tower.

"Wow, this... is quite difficult... Ahh!"

As she stacked about 15 floors, the tower of sticks collapsed.

Rosaria, who had been looking down at it, muttered.

"It already collapsed."

"This much is a lot! Lady Roton, how much can you stack?"

"Rosaria can stack up to 60 floors!"

60 floors.

As soon as she heard that, Yuria preached to Rosaria.

"Lady Roton! A lady shouldn't lie! How can you stack up 60 floors? This thing!"

"It's true?"

"Then give it a try."

Yuria pushed the sticks towards Rosaria.

Rosaria picked up the sticks with a snort.

"Watch closely!"

Yuria, who saw Rosaria's face, was sharpening her knife inside.

'Hmph! Just try not to stack even 10. I'll scold you until your tears run dry... Huh?'

Before that thought even finished, Rosaria was already stacking the 20th floor.