A faint, hot mist was rising from the large wooden cup standing in front of me. If only it had been something like coffee or hot chocolate I would have emptied half of it already, but the strong smell of alcohol combined with the curious eyes of all the strangers surrounding me made me swallow my own salvia instead.
«I rather have a real breakfast ...»
On our way to the town hall to report yesterday's adventure, we had bumped into Risa. She was browsing through Knives, Daggers, and other blade weapons on an old man's stall.
It probably had been more than easy for her to recognize us, thanks to my big, red-furred ears and the tail of the same color, combined with the children pointing their fingers at me.
Risa had invited us to a rather large tavern that had several groups of adventurers wasting all their money on cheap drinks. She had told me something about a tradition spread among those who come back to the town after killing their first monsters, which somehow lead to my current face-off with this ridiculously large cup of liquor.
"Drink it, Rika!" A far too joyous Risa animated me. "They are all waiting!"
Once again my gaze wandered over the round tables surrounding our own. All of them had men and women waiting for me to chug down the alcohol, with the men being a clear majority.
It was obvious they would love to see me drink from this ominous looking liquid, as this body of mine clearly was younger than any of their own. It looked like a fourteen-year-old girl, maybe fifteen or even sixteen, but not a single year older.
If I was honest, I would have stared just like they did now. A cute foxgirl trying her first liquor? Hell yeah! Nothing would have stopped me from staring at her! But being at the receiving and of all those stares felt humiliating, ashaming even.
I felt as if that fancy dress the vixen had given me would suddenly turn invisible should I do a wrong move. Luckily, even that goddess wouldn't go that far.
"Just do her the favor," Ofris commented, "she has no other joy in life."
"What did you say?!" Risa shouted at him, playing angry.
«They seem to be good friends. I am somehow envious of her ...»
I leaned forward, grabbed the cup with both hands and led it towards my lips.
«Only because it is you asking, pal.»
A spicy, hot sensation invaded my mouth. The liquor tasted like a weird mixture of pears, chili peppers and the smell of glue, but it somehow still tasted good enough to have people paying for it.
While it made me feel slightly dizzy even after taking only as much as three sips, it also let a comfortable warmth spread in my body. If I were a catgirl instead of a fox, I would certainly have started purring by now.
"So good~"
"Glad you like it!" Risa laughed.
Ofris revealed a smile, but he seemed slightly worried too. "You don't have to drink all of it if you don't want to."
"It tastes good~" I reassured him. "Don't worry!"
My slow sips turned into gulps within seconds, then I even lost this last hesitation and finished half of the remaining liquor all at once. Risa watched all of this with a mischievous grin. She waited for me to place down the mug before she spoke out to me.
"You almost drink like a man!" She laughed. "Good job!"
"I am a man!"
Her laughter grew even bigger after hearing my tipsy voice. "Oh yes, you are!"
"Finally someone gets it!" I cheered.
"Now tell us more about your adventure today!"
Ofris tried to intercept. "Just don't ask, ok?."
"Why would I not ask! Isn't she a real adventurer now? What did you defeat? Tell us!"
Colorful scenes appeared in front of my inner eye. They showed several massacres, a heartfully laughing foxgirl and a pale Ofris trying to calm her down again. It got funnier the more I watched them.
"There were those goblins," I began to explain after staying silent for what must have been like half an eternity, "they wanted to hurt Ofris! But I showed them! I burned away all of their little rods!"
"Little rods?"
"They are goblinas now! Hehe~" I again took a minute to recall it. "Ah, no! They are all dead! All of those little goblinas are dead!"
"You ... burned away their d*cks?" Risa hesitatingly asked.
"I burned away all of them! Nobody hurts Ofris! I am the only one allowed to hurt him!" I took a long look at him. "Maybe I will bite him. He tasted salty when I licked him! Like pretzels!"
Ofris stared at me in disbelief. He clearly didn't know about any of this ever happening, but I couldn't care less.
"You- you licked me?" He asked stammering.
"I tried to heal you, but you wouldn't move!"
His voice became louder: "But why would you lick me?!"
"You looked so exhausted. I tried to make you feel better!"
Risa's eyes grew wider and wider, but even though shock and disbelief flooded her face, I continued telling them any detail I could think of.
"All I had to do was kiss him! He was looking much better after that!"
"You- you did kiss him after licking his ..." Risa stammered.
"Yes, I did! It was my fault he was hurt, so I wanted to make him feel better!" I fell silent for a split second. "But that kiss doesn't count since we are both men!"
Risa looked somewhat distressed. "It- it seems a lot happened yesterday without me realizing." She stammered.
"I learned a lot!"
Risa answered with a voice deprived of all emotion. "That seems so ..."
"I learned how to dance! I never danced before! Do you want me to show you?"
I didn't wait for an answer - why would I? Who wouldn't be proud to learn dozens of dance moves within a day!? I had never danced before!
Without hesitation, I used the command the vixen has given me. 『Skills』
A familiar wall of text appeared in front of my eyes. Now that I had become weirdly restless, I couldn't even think of wasting my time on studying it. I had to make it a bigger font or at least less text!
『Dance』
The screen instantly made way for a new one.
『Dancing Skills:
~~~Dancing:
A Series of alluring dances. You may choose from:
⇒Foxtrott ⇒Vixen's Waltz
⇒Vixen's Pole ⇒Foxy Belly Dance
⇒Foxmenco ⇒Foxy Tango.
~~~Battle Dance:
Fiery ...』
I closed the window without finishing to read the text. I was slightly angry.
«To much text! Who is going to read all of that bullshit!? I want to dance!»
Only two of the words had stayed in my mind. They didn't fit each other, not even a bit.
«What is this? A vixen has no pole! That goddess is stupid!!»
Driven by curiosity I chanted the words that had caught my attention.
『Vixen's Pole』
...
⊱————- Extra ————-⊰
???: The drunk Rika is the best Rika!
Rika: I'm not drunk!
???: No, you are not! You are just happy, aren't you?
(◔◡◔✿)
Rika: I am! Dancing is fun!
???: I can see that just fine~
Rika: I feel funny~
???: You should hug Ofris. It feels good!
Rika: He really looks good.
Ofris: What- what are you doing?! Rika?! They will get the wrong idea!!