Chapter 45

The day after the drinking contest with Gareo.

I woke up feeling refreshed in the crisp autumn air. Despite drinking and eating so much yesterday, I didn’t feel the slightest bit of indigestion. The wall clock pointed to six in the morning, and it didn’t seem like dawn had broken yet. It was still too early to get up, but I was too alert to go back to sleep. I recalled that the dining hall usually opened around seven, so after stretching, I decided to get ready.

(Still, I can’t believe that Kilstilneak could be such a high-quality drink.)

At first, I was put off by the unique herbal scent, but after finishing my first glass, I became completely hooked on that smell. Gareo told me that in his hometown of Sidrem, Kilstilneak is consumed as a medicinal drink to alleviate fatigue and chills. It makes sense that it has such nourishing and invigorating effects, especially since I didn’t feel any aftereffects despite drinking so much.

(But, snakes... I don’t think I need to eat them.)

Snakes, whether magical or not, are generally not suitable for consumption. I had never tried Kilstilneak, but in Marshall Raid, there’s a region where they eat Dandal snake meat, which is minced and stir-fried with a sweet and savory sauce, then served in a sandwich. The meat has a unique smell, so it’s hard to eat unless the flavor is strong.

(It seems the knights didn’t like it much either, so it might be difficult to popularize it as a drink.)

I wondered if the Duke, who had a little drink to keep me company, and Chaos, who said, "I’ll drink Melfiela’s share!" and drank quite a bit, were okay. I glanced at the door in the corner of my bedroom that led to the Duke’s room. The Duke was extremely worried about me last night, so should I report that I’m fine?

After I finished my seventh glass, Gareo kept drinking until the Duke stopped him. To prevent drinking on an empty stomach, which is bad for the body, I subtly offered him a stew of Loyamoodler and a sauce-covered Zanas. Although Gareo initially showed reluctance, he eventually ate without a word. At the end, he gave a grumpy "Not bad" and seemed to prefer the spicy sauce. According to Chaos, knights and blacksmiths, who sweat a lot, prefer salty and spicy foods.

In the end, when two of the four bottles of alcohol were left, Captain Blanche came to fetch Gareo, who was starting to become incoherent. It seemed someone from the knights had called her, and she said, "I thought it was suspicious that you were delivering goods! Your Excellency, Princess, I’ll take Gareo to reflect for a while!" while dragging him away and apologizing profusely. The contest’s outcome became unclear, but Gareo, who usually has a stern face, looked cute when he was scolded and looked dejected.

Before leaving, Gareo told me to bring the knife I was using to the workshop. He said he would start working on my order after finishing the current one. Now that I have secured his promise, I’m more motivated for my research.

After washing my face, I decided to change into a reddish-brown dress I brought from Marshall Raid. The dress, with white lace trim, is a two-piece, so I can put it on by myself.

(But if I have to dress up in the morning, what should I do? It’s better to be as comfortable as possible...)

The two-piece dress is very practical, but it can look plain and like work clothes. I’ll ask the three ladies or someone from the Blanche squad, who are supposed to wake me up soon, whether I should change.

By the time it was past half past six, I had nothing else to do. The Duke told me, "You can sleep in tomorrow. I’d rather you sleep," so I decided to leave my room for a bit. I left a note to reassure the three ladies and the Blanche squad.

I opened the door as quietly as possible and walked slowly to avoid making noise. My destination was a room on the third floor of the west wing. Yesterday, I asked the Duke to give me the remains of the berserk Bergenion for an experiment to extract the miasma. I couldn’t conduct such research in my assigned room, so the Duke let me use a room in the west wing. It was built to be sturdy, with unusually thick walls and reinforced to withstand even minor magic without a scratch.

"Princess, where are you going?"

"Good morning. I’m going to the room on the third floor of the west wing."

"Understood. I’ll inform them right away!"

"Ah, I left a note just in case..."

The first person I met was a patrolling knight. I walked through the corridor from the south wing to the west, passing a few servants who were already awake. When I reached my destination on the third floor of the west wing, I stood in front of a heavy door with a magical lock. I recited the spell the Duke taught me, placed my hand on it, and entered.

This room was apparently renovated when the Duke was adopted into the Galbreath family to prevent magical outbursts. The Duke gave me permission to use it as a temporary laboratory, and I had my belongings moved in. Although an outdoor facility would have been fine, this location within the castle required fewer guards, and since its location was known, I could focus on my research without worry.

"Well, how is the Bergenion doing?"

I locked the door as the Duke instructed and approached the small magic circle I drew in the center of the room with excitement. The Bergenion I received had its fur removed and its organs extracted. I had placed its right leg in distilled alcohol and its left leg in salt on the magic circle I constructed to extract the miasma. Of course, I had also set up a cloudy crystal to sustain the magic circle and another to extract the miasma.

"Hmm... It seems the blood coagulation is making the process inefficient."

The cloudy crystal for extracting the miasma contained a small amount of dark miasma. Based on the size of this Bergenion, the amount extracted from both the alcohol-soaked and salted legs was still far from sufficient.

The Bergenion’s condition confirmed, I went to a desk with rounded corners and began to record the progress and my hypotheses in my research notes.

(The alcohol seems to extract slightly more miasma, but it will spoil if it takes too long... It will probably take four or five more days, and I can’t afford to spend that much time on the limited amount of meat. Practical application seems difficult.)

I had already proven that a Backhorn, a much larger creature, could have its miasma extracted within two weeks if processed before the blood coagulated. Once the body is completely dead, it takes much longer to extract the miasma with my magic circle.

(Maybe I need to find the ancient magic language for ‘miasma’.)

My magic circle uses ancient magic language, which expresses the essence of phenomena. Ancient magic language is said to have been taught to humans by spirits long, long ago. Although I don’t know the full extent, the ancient magic language that has been passed down to the present is preserved in various ways. I learned it from my mother’s books, but the library of Midleag Castle also has old books on ancient magic language, so I might have to search through them.

For now, I decided to enhance the magic circle’s effectiveness by layering incantations. Just as I was about to place my hand on the magic circle and recite the spell, the door, which I had locked, opened on its own.

"Melfi, are you okay?! Do you have a headache or feel unwell?!"

"Oh, Duke? You’re up early..."

"You’re the early one. It’s only half past five. Are you feeling unwell?"

The Duke, wearing a thick robe haphazardly, frantically checked my body. His hair was tousled, and he seemed to have rushed here right after waking up. The knight I met earlier must have informed him. I felt a bit guilty for not waiting for him to wake up.

"Good morning, Duke. I feel very well. Maybe it’s thanks to Gareo’s drink."

"That’s good... I’m relieved."

The Duke bent down and gently touched his forehead to mine. I could feel my heart racing as I saw his long eyelashes up close.

"Good morning... It’s a refreshing morning... Are you tired, Melfiela?"

Chaos, who entered after the Duke, greeted me with a far from refreshing morning. He looked more tired than I did. He walked over and slumped onto a couch.

"Don’t overdo it, Chaos. Take the day off today."

"Your Excellency, but I can’t..."

"You’re still feeling the effects of the alcohol. It’s because you drink despite being weak."

It seems Chaos was the one who wasn’t feeling well. I took out some herbs and other items from the box I brought from Marshall Raid, which are effective for hangovers.

"I brought these from Marshall Raid. They have a refreshing taste of Solanil."

Solanil is a dried citrus fruit, and the powder contains hangover remedies and painkillers. I poured water from a pitcher into a glass and dissolved the powder. I handed it to the slumped Chaos, who drank it in one go and let out a long sigh. I also gave the Duke a glass of the dissolved powder, which he drank in one gulp.

"I didn’t expect you to be such a drinker."

"Marshall Raid is cold. We have a tradition of drinking spiced fruit wine from a young age. Although the alcohol is removed, it might make us stronger."

"Tsk, I feel so sorry. I still feel the effects of the alcohol."

Chaos slumped even more. Then, an idea came to me. Could I use my magic circle to extract the alcohol from Chaos’s body? The ancient magic language for alcohol is ‘Amurita.’ If Chaos agrees, I’d like to try.

I drew a modified magic circle on high-quality paper to extract the alcohol without drawing blood. This would test my concentration and magic power.

"Hmm, that looks like an effective magic circle."

"Hehe, as expected of the Duke. To read the meaning of this magic circle instantly..."

"I’ll allow it even if Chaos refuses. Help him feel better quickly."

"Yes, I’ll do my best to avoid drawing blood!"

I attached the magic circle to Chaos’s forehead, and he started saying incoherent things like, "Oh, both of you, what are you doing? I’m still useful, please don’t punish me!" Well, he’s still hungover, so I’ll help him feel better quickly.