Magic's Return: I Can See The Spirits

Both fighters were given a short break because of Elara's sudden and surprising demand, Vaan ordered Gabel to bring some alcohol, however, when he was making a shot for Elara to drink, the girl boldly grabbed the Bottle and drank the contents in one go,

Without water.

"…"

Vaan who was carefully making her shot blinked in surprise with the glass still in his hand, he was in the middle of mixing the alcohol with water, however, when his mind finally registered what Elara had done, he panicked.

"E-Elara! What are you doing!?"

He placed the glass down and rushed towards his fiancée.

"What…?" Elara tilted her head in confusion as she questioned, the taste of alcohol was bitter, and since it was her first time drinking it like that, the taste that still lingered on her tongue made her feel strange.

"Should have I not done that…? Would the alcohol not work anymore…?" Elara questioned.

"No! You are not supposed to drink it like that! It can be dangerous!" Vaan warned.

"How would it be dangerous…? You are telling me that drinking it with water is good but drinking it without water is dangerous, Vaan, how does that make sense? You sometimes act so silly Vaan, you are so cute~"

Elara chuckled.

Then, she looked into Vaan's eyes and, "Anyways, just answer my question, would it not work without water? Do I need to drink another bottle? How about I drink water now? It eventually goes into my tummy, doesn't it? I think it would mix there if I drink water now." Elara spoke as she tried to grab the bottle of water from Vaan.

"…"

Vaan turned silent for a while as he placed the bottle away and gently held Elara in his arms. As she finally got support, Elara let go of her body and pushed all her weight onto Vaan. She was too lazy to stand on her own.

Vaan was there to carry her anyway, wasn't he?

Thinking about it, Elara chuckled to herself.

Vaan, who was observing her all this while replied, "It is already working."

"Hmm?" Elara tilted her head as she glanced at Vaan.

"Alcohol, it is already working."

"I don't feel any different…" Elara replied, completely oblivious to the changed air around her. Not to mention her red face due to intoxication.

"Heh, so you are telling me it is the sober Elara hugging her fiancé because she loves him so much? I am glad." Vaan smiled and when Elara finally realized what she has been doing, she blinked in surprise.

Then, she buried her face into Vaan's chest and didn't say anything.

Vaan was helpless.

Being hugged by his adorable fiancée felt so good that he completely forgot his 'crush' who stood behind the two of them and observed them with a ridiculous look on her face.

'Did they call me here to make me the third wheel?'

Seraphina wondered in her head.

How was she supposed to act in this situation?

Should she interrupt them?

Or should she just continue watching?

She always did her best not to get on Vaan's bad side, however, right now, she couldn't understand what was the best course of action to do that.

Both options seemed bad.

And as if she sensed Seraphina's worry, Elara suddenly moved her face away from Vaan's chest and glanced at Seraphina,

"You…"

She called out, her voice becoming tipsy.

"Y-Yes?" Seraphina stepped forward, not knowing how to react.

"Let's start another round," Elara spoke as a weirdly confident smile appeared on her face.

"H-Huh? Oh, okay." Seraphina nodded.

Elara then stepped away from Vaan, since she now had to carry her weight herself, she momentarily lost balance, however, before Vaan could catch her again, she stopped him and corrected her stance.

Then, she glanced at Seraphina, and with the same confident smile on her face, she glanced at Seraphina and, "Are you ready?"

Seraphina, on the other hand, glanced at Vaan, waiting for his confirmation. After all, with how Elara looked like she was barely standing, Seraphina doubted she was in any condition to fight.

She had seen how Elara had drank a complete bottle in one gulp, Seraphina didn't think she could fight, therefore, she wanted Vaan's permission before doing anything.

The Drunk Elara, however, didn't like that.

She stepped in front of Vaan and with her eyes narrowed, "Seraphina Stormweaver." She called out.

"Y-Yes?" Seraphina was taken aback. There was a strange power in Elara's voice.

"You look at me when you talk to me, is that clear?" Elara spoke.

"Y-Yes, I understand."

Seraphina nodded without realizing it.

This was the first time Elara had talked to her in that tone.

"Now, I will ask you again,

Are you ready or do you need more time to prepare?" Elara questioned, from how she acted, she sounded like a highly esteemed noble, if you of course, ignore the fact that her face was red due to intoxication and she could barely stand.

"I-I am ready." Seraphina nodded, this time, she answered without looking at Vaan. Not that she had the option to ask for his permission since Elara still stood in front of his fiancé.

"Then I am coming."

Saying those words, Elara rushed towards Seraphina.

The Drunk Elara was different, she didn't care about reservations and fears the Sober Elara had, or more accurately, her mind didn't have the capacity to think about all that.

She approached the second round of the fight with newfound determination, her mind free from the thoughts that had once restricted her actions.

As the battle resumed, Elara's movements were swift and precise. Her fists struck with a newfound strength, and her footwork was agile and relentless. Of course, the excess of alcohol did affect her body balance to some extent, however, against someone who was completely new to fighting like this, Elara was an overwhelming opponent.

Seraphina couldn't even understand where Elara's punches came from, she was barely holding on with the help of her instincts and the fact that Elara was not completely right in her mind, however, as Elara adapted, or more accurately, as she made her mind about hitting Seraphina for sure,

Things got difficult for the poor secretary.

*Bam*

Elara's first punch finally landed right on Seraphina's nose.

"Ugghh!" Seraphina groaned in pain as she held her nose.

Elara, however, rushed forward and punched again, this time, aiming at Seraphina's stomach.

"Aaahh!"

From then, the chain started.

Each punch landed with a satisfying thud, and it was evident that Seraphina was on the defensive.

Seraphina, who had previously held the upper hand, now struggled to keep up with Elara's unrelenting assault. She could no longer think about impressing Vaan or anything like that anymore. She had been holding back in order to not hurt Elara all this while, however, she realized she couldn't do that anymore.

Thinking about that, she tried to counterattack, this time, without any reservation whatsoever, however,

As she moved forward to push Elara away, the drunk girl simply rolled away, then, she slapped the back of Seraphina's head using all her strength.

*Slap*

Seraphina lost her balance.

"Why are you so weak?" Elara questioned in her tipsy tone.

Seraphina didn't have the time to reply, she was trying to regain her balance and punch Elara again, Elara however, ducked, dodging the punch and as she stood up, she hit Seraphina's chin with her head.

"Ouch!" Seraphina groaned in pain, she could feel her vision blurring.

"You are quite slow as well. Have you never fought anyone before? Have you never trained your body? I heard your Magic Talent was quite bad, so shouldn't you at the very least be focusing on your body instead?" Elara questioned as she started to ponder why the girl in front of her was so weak.

Then, as if she got her answer, her eyes brightened up and,

"Ah, I got it! You were busy trying to steal others' fiancés!

That is why you came out to be so useless! It all makes sense now!"

Drunk Elara was savage.

Seraphina didn't know how to answer Elara's questions, she felt a sense of helplessness as she fought Elara, the girl was barely standing, just one punch, or even a small interrupt in her rhythm would be enough to make her fall on the ground,

Yet, here she was, in pain and unable to process what was happening.

Drunk Elara was just that strong, from start to finish, Seraphina stood no chance.

Then suddenly, Seraphina felt an acute pain in her head,

"Aahh!" She screamed as she realized Elara was pulling her hair. She opened her eyes, wanting to surrender, but her body froze when she noticed Elara's face right on top of her.

She was glaring at her with an intimidating look on her face.

*Gulp*

Seraphina gulped.

"Stay away from Vaan."

Suddenly, Elara spoke.

This time, her voice was not tipsy, with how clear her eyes looked, she didn't even look intoxicated.

Seraphina even felt like her intoxicated act was all an act,

However,

Before she could analyze this situation even further,

A heavy punch landed on her face and she passed out.

The 'spar' ended.