As the liquid in the bottle decreased, the thirst in Altair's mouth gradually subsided, her pupils returned to their normal amber color, and her mind slowly cleared.
After drinking the entire bottle, Altair instinctively closed her eyes and licked her lips, her expression looking like she was savoring a delicious meal she had just eaten.
When she opened her eyes, she looked at the wine bottle in her hand with a thoughtful expression; her instincts told her she could have another bottle.
However, she restrained the desire, took the bottle, and entered the Spirit World 'library'.
Walking slowly toward the area dedicated to empty bottles, she set the bottle down and checked the remaining number of full wine bottles.
After confirming that the remaining 'wine' was enough for a week's usage, she chose to return directly to the real world.
Ever since Altair advanced to sequence 7 and completed her potion, she had been forced to consume blood due to the nature of the Moon Pathway's sequence 7 'Vampire'.
Moreover, this craving was extremely intense and difficult to control, requiring frequent blood consumption to maintain her state.
According to normal logic, Altair should have chosen to use the power of the 'Ancient Castle' (the complete 'library') to 'expel' it.
But after some thought and weighing the pros and cons, Altair did not choose to 'expel' it.
Because once she expelled this side effect, more than half of the abilities granted by her Moon Pathway would be rendered useless. Doing so held little meaning for her, which led to the current situation.
As for where the 'blood' came from, one could only say that Beyonders are also human and need to eat; under great rewards, there will always be brave souls.
100cc could be exchanged for 10 pounds, along with a blood-replenishing agent made by an 'Apothecary'. For anyone, this was essentially free money to some extent.
Simon's team could completely cover Altair's daily consumption, so she would collect some from them every once in a while. Publicly, she claimed it was for research.
Of course, the main reason Simon and his team dared to sell to Altair was because they knew her; if it were a stranger, they wouldn't dare. After all, occultism was full of things like curses.
Different blood had different tastes. Ordinary people's blood held no nutritional value for her and could only be used to quench her thirst.
As for Beyonders, perhaps because different Beyonders possessed different spiritualities, the taste Altair experienced when drinking was also different.
When drinking from a 'Dawn Paladin' like Simon, Altair felt as if she were drinking a carbonated beverage, with a 'tingling' bubbly sensation.
A 'Harvest Priest' was like drinking from a'Sweet Flower'.
When Altair opened her door, she saw Irene standing at the entrance.
The two looked at each other; one chose not to explain, and the other chose not to ask, acting as if nothing had happened. They continued their normal lives as usual.
October 21, 1346
After attending Mass, Altair took a carriage from Saint Samuel Cathedral in North District back to the manor. Just as she reached the main gate, she saw everyone already waiting.
Once the carriage came to a steady stop and she stepped out, Altair asked Vivian once more, "Are you really not going to leave Backlund with us to spend the winter in the ancestral land?"
Vivian's only response to Altair was a smile and a shake of her head.
"Fine then~" After saying that, Altair added, "Finish up your business in Backlund as soon as possible. I'll be waiting for you to come home for the New Year in the ancestral land. If you encounter anything you can't handle, you can go find Uncle-Grandfather Leif; he chose not to leave Backlund this year. Um~ you know where his house is."
"The most important thing is to stay safe."
Then, she turned to look at Hahn and asked:
"Is everything prepared? If it's ready, let's set off now."
Hahn replied directly, "Countess Altair, everything is ready. We can depart now."
"Then Vivian, you should head inside. No need to see us off at the station. Backlund has already cooled down, it's cold outside..." Altair said.
Vivian did not choose to go back inside, but instead explained, "I'll just stand here. I'll go back in after I watch you leave."
Once everything was ready, Altair and the others left the manor by carriage.
As the carriage moved further away, Vivian waited until she could no longer see its shadow before returning to the villa.
In fact, on the night of October 14th, Altair had suggested that Vivian leave Backlund with her to spend the winter in the ancestral land.
However, because of her mission for the Demoness Sect, Vivian was not her own master and could not leave Backlund with her.
But they had agreed that she would try her best to complete the mission before the end of the year and then head to the 'ancestral land' to spend the New Year with Altair.
In the carriage, Vera asked excitedly, "Countess Altair, is the temperature in the ancestral land better than in Backlund? Are there pastures there? Are there dessert shops that make delicious treats?"
Vera asked non-stop throughout the journey, but her concerns were mostly about whether there was good food or fun things to do.
Altair wanted to answer these questions, but since she had actually spent very little time living in the ancestral land, she could only signal for her to ask Butler Hahn later.
Upon arriving at the Backlund Steam Locomotive Station, Altair entered a private carriage. Just as she opened the door, she found someone already waiting for her.
Walking to sit across from Him, Altair asked curiously, "What wind blew a busy person like you here today?"
The person sitting opposite Altair did not choose to reply immediately.
Instead, He took out a wine bottle, opened it, and poured two glasses. Handing one to Altair, He took a sip and said, "Although it has been restored quite well, it is still difficult to capture the feeling of the past."
Altair said irritably, "That's still better than your envisioning. At least it exists."
Adam nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you."
Altair did not choose to reply to Adam's words, but instead asked, "Is there something today? Don't tell me you came over just for a drink."
While tasting the wine in His hand, Adam said, "Just now, the war in the Southern Continent has ended. The Loen Kingdom has achieved an unprecedented victory this time."
After an "Oh," Altair added nonchalantly, "Loen's victory has absolutely nothing to do with me."
"Just tell me what you want."
Hearing Altair's words, Adam went straight to the point, saying, "I will be starting another gathering tonight. I want you to sell some arms at the meeting."
Hearing Adam's words, Altair asked curiously, "It should be very simple for you to create and sell them, right? After all, they're just little toys to you. Also, why ask me to make them?"
"It is indeed as you say, but the cost and revenue do not align." After saying this, Adam added, "The Calamity Pathway is very suitable for you."