"Then just think about those guys who were deceived by her and wasted more than half their lives, won't you?"
Seeing Fíliya in this state, Frieren turned around and went over to Fass, bringing back a drink for Fíliya. Mn, naturally, it was the non-alcoholic kind.
"Oh, that feels much better. Happiness really is something derived from contrast, isn't it?"
Fíliya chuckled lightly, lifting the drink with her hand and taking a sip.
"..."
Solitär looked at the drink Frieren had brought for Fíliya, then lowered her head slightly as if pondering something.
"Sorry about that. I didn't know if you guys could drink human stuff," Frieren continued, her gaze unconsciously sweeping over the three demons by Fíliya's side.
Hearing Frieren's words, Solitär and Linie didn't show much of a reaction, but Aura knit her brows tightly, slowly shifted her feet, and leaned in close to Fíliya.
"That guy did it on purpose, right? No matter how you look at it, she's seen us eating human food over the past two days. Yet now she doesn't get us drinks? What a truly vicious and petty fellow," Aura whispered, suppressing her voice right into Fíliya's ear.
Fíliya merely smiled flatly at this, then stood up and went over to Fass.
"Oh, it's Miss Fíliya. Can't you not drink alcohol?" Fass asked in confusion. Over these past few days, he had been the one paying for the meals of Frieren and Fíliya's group, so he knew Fíliya couldn't touch alcohol. He had even specially prepared non-alcoholic drinks today... One had to realize that in this city of alcohol, getting hold of non-alcoholic beverages was actually the harder task.
"I'm getting them for others. Give me three cups... no, two beers."
And so, Fíliya returned to her original spot carrying three drinks. She pushed the two beers in front of Aura and Linie, while Solitär was assigned a non-alcoholic drink just like hers.
"?"
Solitär tilted her head slightly, thinking to herself that she could clearly drink alcohol.
"Mn... I felt that you might want to drink the same thing as me?" Fíliya winked one eye at Solitär.
With that, the trace of displeasure lingering on Solitär's face vanished, and she smiled, picking up the cup before her.
"Drinking something comfortably in this underground mine tunnel really has a unique flavor to it," Fíliya said, leaning back on the recliner with a very satisfied expression.
Just like that, after resting for a short while, Fíliya put down her empty cup and gathered everyone together again. She used magic to move a round, stout wine barrel over, stood on top of it, and looked around at everyone.
"Mn, at a time like this, if we can't raise a glass together, it really lacks a bit of meaning... So, everyone fill your cups to the brim for me!"
Under Fíliya's supervision, everyone refilled their cups, and under her command, they raised them high together.
"Mn? Fass, what are you doing? Why are you drinking water?" Fíliya suddenly grew curious seeing the clear, colorless liquid in the cup of the dwarf who loved wine as much as his own life.
"Well... because the seal is already open. I want to ensure the purity of my palate... Before drinking the Emperor Alcohol, I probably shouldn't let other things coat my tongue."
"You really are something..."
Fíliya said no more on the matter.
"Alright, a toast to... uh, to what exactly... Let's just toast to us still being alive!"
After thinking for a moment, Fíliya came up with a random reason. But no one voiced any objections. Mn... regardless of whether some people still held grudges in their hearts, in this instant, under Fíliya's lead, everyone raised their respective glasses.
"Cheers to still being alive!"
After resting for a period of time like this, Fass, being the client, was indeed the first one unable to sit still. He directly proposed that they should hurry inside the seal to take a look. Naturally, the group had no objections to this.
"Is this that 'Emperor Alcohol'...? Sure enough, it's not anything good. However, the fact that there is actually so much wine, and not just empty bottles, counts as Milliarde growing a conscience for once."
After entering the wine cellar storing the Emperor Alcohol and seeing the walls upon walls of wine bottles, Fíliya couldn't help but shake her head. The reason she made such a definitive judgment was that she had actually picked up a bottle of Emperor Alcohol, opened the cap, and placed it under her nose to sniff.
A sensation of low quality hit her face. What surprised her even more was... sniffing the scent of this 'Emperor Alcohol' didn't actually trigger any adverse reaction in her. She was quite sensitive to alcohol; usually, even the smell of ordinary beer would make her frown. But this Emperor Alcohol... gave her absolutely no feeling.
This was certainly not because the Emperor Alcohol was too high-grade. The facts were quite the opposite; the alcohol content of this Emperor Alcohol was likely pitifully low, and... it was mixed with quite a few impurities. That was why even Fíliya, with her alcohol-sensitive constitution, could actually accept it.
"Mn... It's preserved quite perfectly. Is this the thing I've been pursuing for two hundred years...?"
Fass also held a bottle of Emperor Alcohol in his hand, his expression very grave.
"Well then... I'm digging in..."
After Fass said this, everyone in the wine cellar turned their gazes toward him. Even Solitär, who had previously lacked interest, looked at Fass. Of course, as a 'Human Expert,' she was observing with a research-like gaze. She wanted to witness exactly how a human would react when their dreams were shattered.
Mn, although Fass himself was a Dwarf, in this world, Dwarves and Elves were both considered branches of humanity.
"This is!"
Under everyone's curious gaze, Fass's eyes went wide.
"Frieren, and Lady Fíliya, you've all got it wrong... This 'Emperor Alcohol' is indeed a rare vintage! I've struck it rich this time!"
Fass widened his eyes in excitement and immediately began to drink heartily.
Hah? Huh?
At this display from Fass, Fern and Stark first looked at each other, both seeing the color of shock in the other's eyes.
"Real or fake..." Aura muttered, seeming to doubt the facts before her eyes. How is that possible... Milliarde definitely said the 'Emperor Alcohol' tastes terrible... Could it be that the taste buds of Dwarves and Elves are different...?
Even Frieren frowned and lowered her head to think. Only Miss Fíliya curled her lips, because she could tell Fass was lying right now.
This had to be attributed to the sublimation she obtained after that death match. Ever since then, she could observe various reactions of the human body more thoroughly. In her eyes, she could clearly observe the micro-expressions Fass made while lying—expressions difficult for normal people to catch—as well as his body's subconscious reactions.
"Can you let us try it?"
Ultimately, under Fass's exquisite performance, the two youngsters, Stark and Fern, were the first to fall for it.
"Uh... I want to taste it too..."
A greedy, foolish look also appeared on Aura's face.
And so, Fass very 'generously' and 'heroically' shared the Emperor Alcohol with everyone.
It wasn't until everyone except Fíliya and Solitär had taken a sip of the Emperor Alcohol that Fass finally let out exaggerated laughter.
"Haha! Now we've all been duped!"
"Blargh... This... What is this stuff! This is too disgusting to drink!"
Aura spat the Emperor Alcohol right out. While the others' reactions weren't as intense as hers, they all clearly frowned.
"Mn... It is indeed very hard to drink... You could say it's the worst thing I've drunk in my entire life."
After putting down the wine bottle, Frieren shook her head helplessly. she reflected internally for a few seconds, thinking to herself that she had actually been swayed by Fass's performance just now. And given her age, being able to say the phrase 'the worst thing I've drunk in my entire life' raised the gold content of this Emperor Alcohol up another notch.
"Didn't I say it? The Emperor Alcohol is one hundred percent terrible," Fíliya finally spoke up. Although she had seen through Fass's thoughts, she hadn't been willing to speak up and expose him. After all... she also really wanted to see this scene playing out now.
After pranking everyone present (except Fíliya and Solitär), Fass slowly put down the wine bottle, revealing a relieved expression.
"I seem to understand that 'Milliarde' a little bit now," he said.
"Compared to 'disappointment,' 'resentment,' or 'anger'... sure enough, pranking others is the best choice to restore a smile."
Fass laughed loudly, but Fíliya held a different view on the matter.
"Mn, I think the main reason she liked playing pranks so much was that she hoped to be remembered by future generations, right? Even if she's viewed with hostility or loathing, Milliarde hoped to be remembered by those who came after... After all, isn't there a saying? Once a person is forgotten, that is true death... What do you say, Frieren?"
As Fíliya spoke, she looked toward Frieren once again. Frieren met Fíliya's gaze while recalling Milliarde's face in her memories.
"Who knows..."
____
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