Once the juice was served, our conversation naturally drifted toward the coffee samples I’d brought.
"I heard from Alice that most of the Dragon King’s subordinates—or rather, the Four Great Magic Dragons—prefer coffee over tea."
"True. Most dragon species tend to prefer coffee over tea, actually," Flare-san replied. "At least, as far as I know. I’m not sure why; there’s no clear evidence for it, but it might be a racial trait. That said, I wouldn't say coffee is my favorite. If forced to choose between tea and coffee, I’d take the coffee, but if I could have any drink at all, I’d prefer alcohol."
"Ah, I see. Megiddo-san was the same way. But that actually raised a question for me. I’d imagine most high-ranking Demons could nullify status ailments—so do you actually get drunk?"
For instance, I couldn’t imagine a status ailment actually affecting someone like Megiddo-san, one of the Six Kings. In my case, Shiro-san’s blessing neutralized the alcohol once I hit a certain point, and it wouldn't be surprising if Megiddo-san could do the same.
I didn't quite understand back during our first drinking contest, but from my perspective, the Six Kings were practically all-powerful beings. Since Megiddo-san also has high-level magical techniques, I figured he'd be able to do it.
"We can adjust that however we like," Flare-san explained. "It’s hard to describe, but you can decide how drunk you want to get before you start drinking. And if you want to sober up, you can do it in an instant. So, hypothetically, if two Demons who can nullify status ailments have a drinking contest, the rule is to deactivate that ability beforehand. Any high-ranking powerhouse would be able to tell if that kind of nullification was active anyway."
"I see... Hmm. Well, actually, I once won a drinking contest against Megiddo-san. At the time, I had Shiro-san’s blessing, which kept me from getting drunk past a certain point. When Megiddo-san found out, he conceded... but wouldn't that be considered a foul?"
"No. In your case, comrade, that was a different factor than status ailment nullification magic. Even if you had been using magic, if your opponent couldn't see through it before the match, that would just be a lack of skill on their part. Megiddo-sama likely felt the same way. Since he failed to realize you had the blessing of the Creator God, and that it would nullify your intoxication, he viewed it as his own defeat."
When she put it like that, it certainly made sense, and it definitely sounded like something Megiddo-san would say. In our interactions since then, he hadn't seemed to care about the outcome at all. He genuinely accepted the loss, and he wasn't the type to dwell on the past anyway. I wasn't particularly worried about it either; I was just curious. Flare-san's answer was a relief.
"I have a feeling you’d like sake, Flare-san... Oh, wait, does sake even exist in this world?"
"I’ve heard of it. A liquor made from rice, right? Rice is relatively rare here, but I’ve heard that Noin, from Kuromueina-sama’s side, and Blossom, from Lilliwood-sama’s side, both enjoy it."
"Ah, yeah, those two definitely would."
"Hmm... Still, if you think I would enjoy it, I’m interested. I’ll have to try it eventually."
"You should. If you ever have the chance... oh!"
Since rice was such a niche ingredient in this world, sake wasn't very well known. However, it did exist, as I saw it from time to time... and talking about it just now made me remember something.
"...Flare-san. Actually, I happen to have some sake—well, a sake-like liquor—with me right now. Would you like to try some?"
I had completely forgotten, but I had a bottle of that Japanese-style liquor I’d bought at Kaori-san’s shop. I’d enjoyed it so much when I drank it with Fia-sensei that I bought another bottle to have later, but I’d totally forgotten it was in my Magic Box.
"I would appreciate that... but is it all right?"
"Yeah. To be honest, I forgot I even had it, so I’m glad our conversation reminded me. Here it is. Go ahead."
"Thank you... It has a lovely, refreshing aroma. Well then, if you’ll excuse me... Oh, I see. This is wonderful. Despite the scent, it has almost no sweetness, and the crisp flavor is very pleasant. Just as you said, comrade, this suits my tastes perfectly. I have encountered something truly good; you have my heartfelt thanks."
"Haha, I'm just glad you like it."
"Indeed. However, drinking alone is a lonely affair. Since we’re here, would you care to join me?"
"Sure, let’s drink together."
I took out a glass for myself, shared a light toast with Flare-san, and took a sip. As I’d thought before, the alcohol content felt quite high, but just as Flare-san said, the aftertaste was crisp and it was very easy to drink.
It was still the middle of the day... but I supposed it was fine to drink at this hour once in a while.
Serious-senpai: (Come to think of it, he did buy that alcohol... I completely forgot about it too.)