Chapter 113
Sharing an Evening Drink
Editors: Sebas Tian, Speedphoenix, Joker
That evening, Lefi and I found ourselves doing the usual . We sat cross legged and faced each other in front of a game board as we engaged in a battle of wits . By the usual, I meant the usual . Board games had become one of the dungeon's staples, and we almost never passed on them before bed .
"Hey Lefi . " I called out to the dragon girl as I got ready to enact Operation Help Lefi Relax . It was the perfect time for it . Illuna and Shii were asleep, and the maids had already retreated to their room for the night . "Do you drink?"
The game we were playing was shogi, kind of . To be more exact, it was shogi with handicaps . I had chosen not to use either my bishop or my rook in order to even out the playing field . The whole situation made it sound like Lefi was bad at the game . And frankly, she was . But the dragon had come a long way from where she started . The handicap had been a lot more significant at first, as it had also included both my gold and silver generals .
"That is a given . I would be surprised to hear of a dragon that does not . " said Lefi . "However, while I do enjoy the substance, I must admit that I prefer treats of a much sweeter variety . "
"Dragons love booze? That's a shocker . "
"My race's thirst for the substance runs so deep that some amongst us have been known to attack cities in order to acquire it and sate their thirst," said Lefi, exasperated . "I believe it should come as no surprise that fools who know so little patience often meet their fate at the hands of those that they had wronged . "
Welp . That's karma for you . Can't say you'd really deserve much else for causing a bunch of trouble just 'cause you wanted booze .
"I do find this sudden question of yours quite strange, Yuki . " Lefi stopped staring at the board and turned her eyes on me curiously . "I was under the impression that you disliked drinks of an alcoholic nature . "
"Nah . I mean, you're kinda right . I'm not much of a drinker, but it's not like I hate the stuff," I said . "So anyway, you remember how I saved that king or whatever? He more or less rewarded me by giving me several bottles of this super high-class wine he happened to have . It's pretty good, so I figured you might like some . "
"You say that the drink is so delicious that even you enjoyed it? Very well . I shall partake . "
"Alright . One glass of wine, coming right up . "
I produced a pair of drinking glasses from my inventory alongside one of the bottles I had gotten from the king . A delicious mellow scent began drifting about the room the moment I popped off the cork .
I poured a bit of wine into each of the two glasses and handed one to Lefi, who promptly raised it to her face and inhaled its alcoholic fumes .
"It bears quite the fragrant scent," she said .
"Right? Oh yeah, this stuff goes down your throat super easy, so make sure you keep track of how much you drink," I said . "Unless you don't mind being the first to get wasted . "
"You believe that you would be able to outdrink me? Preposterous!" Lefi's face twisted into a dauntless grin . "Listen well, Yuki . Dragons are creatures known for their ability to consume copious amounts of alcohol . As the ruler that stands upon the species' apex, I assure you that no such thing will happen . "
"Heh, bullshit . You know what we call that, Lefi? Overconfidence . " I returned her grin with a fearless smirk of my own . "And overconfidence is a poison . All it does is set you up for someone to turn the tables on you . "
"Hah . Run your mouth as much as you please . Soon, your defiance shall turn into submission," she scoffed . "Very well . I shall tentatively believe your claims and hope to see that you live up to my expectations, Yuki . "
"Bring it on!" I cackled . "I'll show you just what a demon lord can do . "
The two of us raised our glasses and clinked them against each other before each taking a sip of the devil's nectar .
***
"So uhhh…Lefi… you sure you're okay? I dunno if drinking any more is exactly what I'd call a good idea . "
"Sheashe your pwaddoling . You need not be conshenred!" The dragon replied to my question in an adorable display of drunken rage . Her cheeks were dyed red, and her eyes were glossed over . Yet, she continued to drink . And even that action served to demonstrate just how drunk she was . Wine spilled out from the corners of her mouth . The way the excess liquid dribbled down her neck and ran down her chest was so erotic that I couldn't deny its appeal .
The Supreme Dragon was drunk . Dead drunk . Her head tottered to and fro as she spoke with a distorted lisp . Despite her claims, she had turned out to be a total lightweight . Er, actually that's not quite right . I guess it's more like she was more of a lightweight than I'd imagined, 'cause she did technically have a lot .
Lefi drank much less than Nell, but she did still have a bit more than what the average person would be able to handle . Wasn't I supposed to be the one not living up to her expectations? Why's it the other way around? What happened to dragons being heavy drinkers?
I smiled wryly as I headed over to the kitchen and got her a glass of water .
"Here, you might want to have some of this . "
She took the glass from me and immediately drained its contents . She moved both it and the shogi board out of the way once she was done and then laid her head down in my lap . She was warm; I could feel the heat of her body through her thin nightgown .
"What, giving up already?" I taunted .
"Of course not . What a ridiculous proposition," said Lefi . "I am merely in the midst of a brief respite . I shall resume shortly . "
Apparently, the water I gave her had caused her to sober up a bit . She no longer sounded like someone that had too much to drink .
Truth be told, this same process had already happened several times already . She had repeated a cycle of getting hammered and sobering up, with both processes taking only a relatively short period of time . I mean, I guess the whole copious amounts of alcohol claim wasn't all that wrong after all . She can technically drink a helluva a lot of booze in one night if she keeps this up . Just… maybe not all at once .
I smiled at her, placed a hand on her head, and started running my fingers through her beautiful silver hair .
“Hey, Lefi . ”
“Mmn?” She responded to me with a groan as she adjusted herself to be a bit more comfortable .
"You've been pushing yourself pretty hard lately, huh?"
"I-I have not," she turned her eyes upwards towards me as she answered . "W-Whatever are you talking about?"
“Come on . We’ve known each other for almost half a year now . You can't fool me," I said . "You've been acting hella different ever since I got back . "
"…"
She kept silent, I kept talking .
"I don't know what you heard from Lyuu, Leila, or whoever, but you don't really need to keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone . Messing around with you is fun, and so is watching you do the things you enjoy . So you don't have to try to act a certain way . You can just, you know, be you . "
"I am not… pushing myself outside my zone of comfort…" She averted her gaze and started to speak in a bit of a bashful tone . "I admit that I have done many things that even I may find peculiar as of late . They are things that I am not accustomed to, but they do not bring me discomfort . "
Her face started to turn red .
"I-I am frequently initiating physical contact, touching you, b-because discomfort is precisely the opposite of the emotion it dredges from within me," she said . "I-I find myself longing for the comfort of your touch, Yuki . "
Lefi's skin, which was usually as white as a clean sheet of snow, had turned as red as a tomato . The look on her face was so adorable that it felt like my eyes were glued to her . I couldn't take them off her face even if I tried .
And as I stared, I could feel my heartrate begin to quicken .
"The time for respite has ended . " Lefi got off my lap and crawled back over to her seat . "Cease with the silly expressions and provide me another bottle of wine . This one is empty . "
"S-Sure…" I realized that I had been enchanted by her charm and that I probably looked like an idiot, so I quickly tried to cover it up with a sigh of exasperation . "Wait . You want to drink more!?"
"Of course . And it follows without question that we shall also resume our game of Shogi . "
"Alright, alright . " I turned towards the board as I spoke, only to find that something was wrong . "Wait a second! You totally spun the board around! And you've definitely moved a bunch of shit too!"
"I see not why you are accusing me of such foul play despite lacking the evidence to back your claim," she said . "Or is this perhaps just another childish way for you to acknowledge your defeat?"
Lefi's face, which was still tinged in a slight shade of red, was covered by a triumphant grin .
"Son of a…" I sighed as I grabbed another bottle of wine from my inventory . "Alright, you know what, fine . You're on . We can call all this just another part of the handicap . I am thatmuch better than you at this, after all . "
And so, the two of us continued to hang out throughout the night, stopping to pass out only once we were both too drunk to function .