Seeing the two of them with their arms around each other's shoulders, chugging down alcohol, the consistently silent Luna finally moved as well.
Although she wasn't good at comforting others, she could at least provide some basic companionship.
So, she reached out with her long, pale hand, picked up an unopened bottle from the table, unscrewed the cap, and, mimicking Greg and Olivia, tilted her head back and began to chug.
Perhaps because an elf's skin was more translucent than a human's, even though she wasn't drunk yet, a faint blush already dusted her cheeks when she set the bottle down.
Looking at the two women on either side of him chugging alcohol to keep him company, Greg let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Now he could be sure in advance that his plan was on track.
All that was left was to wait for the atmosphere to be just right.
At the same time, he was secretly glad that his increased Constitution had also boosted his alcohol tolerance. Otherwise, with his tolerance from his previous life, he probably would have passed out drunk before he even had a chance to put the rest of his plan into action.
And so, the three of them entered a mode of frantic, heavy drinking.
As she drank, Olivia rambled on:
“Let me tell you, Greg, in this life, there's no hurdle you can't get over! Look at me. Back then, everyone was cursing me. And the result? All those people who cursed me are dead, but I'm still alive and kicking, so—!”
“That's because you killed them all,” Luna interjected expressionlessly.
Olivia choked on her words and glared at her in dissatisfaction.
“Don't go airing my dirty laundry just because we've known each other for a long time, alright? I was trying to express an attitude! It's like how I killed them and used their livers to cure my hangovers—that's the thrill of sweet revenge, you get it?”
Luna corrected her, still expressionless. “A dragon's liver can cure hangovers, but a human's liver cannot.”
“...”
Olivia fell silent, simply picking up her bottle and guzzling it down.
Luna added another remark: “Your drinking posture is wrong. It makes it harder to metabolize.”
“...Now I know why a closet pervert of an elf like you can only ever be friends with me,” Olivia muttered.
And so, Greg drank while listening to Olivia and Luna reminisce about their youth.
Since none of this had ever been mentioned in the original game, he found it quite interesting and treated it as side dishes to go with his alcohol.
As time passed, empty bottles gradually piled up around their feet.
Olivia's red hair was draped messily over her shoulders. At some point, she had undone two of her shirt buttons, revealing her delicate collarbones and pale skin.
Luna's coat had also been removed at some point, draped over the back of her chair. She wore a form-fitting white undershirt that traced her slender and graceful curves.
Her cheeks were flushed with an unnatural blush, and her usually cold, emotionless eyes were now veiled in a hazy mist, making her look softer and more charming than usual.
Greg felt that the time was ripe.
If they kept drinking, the two women beside him would probably pass out completely, which would render his plan meaningless.
Moreover, for the sake of realism, he was actually feeling quite lightheaded himself. If he drank any more, he would probably collapse too.
Thus, while he was still conscious, he let out a heavy thud as he slumped onto the table, his breathing turning slow and steady.
Olivia stared blankly at Greg, who had suddenly collapsed onto the table, before letting out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness he couldn't hold it anymore, or my status as the queen of the drinking table would have been threatened. How can this guy drink so much...”
Luna set down her bottle, reached out to gently stroke Greg's hair, and then looked up at Olivia with a rare trace of worry in her voice.
“I wonder what exactly happened to make him this sad.”
After consuming so much alcohol, Olivia had completely let her guard down against Greg.
She leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, she spoke with equal confusion:
“I'm pretty puzzled too. Logically speaking, he should have gained both fame and wealth in this exchange. Why would he be sad?”
Right then, the "asleep" Greg let out a timely, intermittent murmur in his sleep:
“Wendy... I... know you were framed... so... wait for me... I will definitely come rescue you...”
His voice was very soft, carrying the slurred mumble of a drunkard, but in the quiet room, every single word reached Olivia and Luna's ears with crystal clarity.
Olivia blanked out for a moment, then slapped her thigh in realization. “Oh, so that's what this is about!”
She shook her head. “This kid is really in the spring of his youth. He fell for a girl, but she got into trouble, which is why he's so anxious.”
She picked up her glass and took another sip. “If it was just this, he could have just said so earlier. Why make such a big deal out of it? I'll just tag along with him when the time comes.”
However, Luna leaned against the table, propping up her drunken head. She frowned in thought before slowly speaking:
“Wendy... that name... I feel like I've heard it somewhere recently.”
Olivia grew interested. “What, you actually know the girl this brat likes?”
Luna closed her eyes, trying to search her memories through her drunkenness. After a moment, she opened them. “Wendy... I remember now. It seems to be the name of the Fifth Imperial Princess who returned a few days ago.”
“Oho, Greg has some game,” Olivia remarked. “He actually has something going on with the Empire's princess. Now I have even more reason to support him!”
Luna looked at her and added:
“But the Fifth Imperial Princess has already been ordered to be publicly executed the day after tomorrow.”
Olivia's smile completely froze.
The bottle in her hand hung suspended in mid-air, her entire body turning into a suddenly frozen statue.
After a brief silence, she slowly set the bottle down, her expression growing complex.
“Under these circumstances... if Greg says he's going to save her, doesn't that mean he wants to raid the Empire's execution grounds?”
Raid any country's execution grounds was by no means a simple task.
If successful, one would be wanted by an entire nation.
If failed, the number of people executed that day would simply increase by one.
Thus, there was almost no good ending for doing such a thing.
Olivia turned to look at Luna, who was also looking back at her. Their gazes locked in the air.
After a moment, Olivia sighed and rubbed her temples. “This kid, he's clearly just my student... but he really knows how to cause trouble for me.”
“He is also my disciple,” Luna said calmly.
Olivia rolled her eyes at her. “Fine, fine, I know what you mean.”
She stood up, walked over to the window, and looked out at the scenery. After a moment of silence, she said slowly:
“It's not like the two of us haven't done crazy things like this before anyway... The day after tomorrow, let's quietly follow him.”
“What should we do once we get there?” Luna asked.
“Do you know what the cowboys do when they face similar situations in the films I've watched?” Olivia asked.
Luna shook her head.
Olivia smiled and said, “They disguise themselves and blend in first, then find an opportunity to stir up trouble, allowing their companion to... fish in troubled waters.”
Rate on N.U.
