Chapter 18 Emperor's Wine· Frieren is Regretful
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After giving up on waking Frieren, Ash followed Millie out of her room—no, her wine cellar...or rather, her residence.
Just looking at the rows upon rows of wine barrels packed into the stone house made his scalp tingle.
"...Why is there so much alcohol here?"
"Hehe~" Millie didn't answer his question but instead pulled out a bottle of wine, proudly introducing it: "Did you know? This is Emperor's Wine~"
"No idea."
"The Emperor's Wine is a wine dedicated to the emperor of the vast empire that ruled most of the continent." Millie continued, smiling slyly as she handed him the bottle. "This is the finest nectar. Don't you want to taste it?"
"Taste it? Then I'll… let you go first!"
He opened the bottle cap with some doubt, but suddenly, he grabbed the elf by the chin and poured the wine into her mouth as if refueling a machine. The next moment...
"—Pffft!!" The elf girl choked, spitting out a mouthful of wine.
Instantly, the room was filled with the overwhelming stench of cheap alcohol.
Just from the smell alone, one could question the quality of the wine.
Millie, now with wine all over her face, glared at him angrily. "...You made me drink something so awful again... Have you already tasted Emperor's Wine before?"
"My sister usually has a similar look on her face when she's up to no good."
Though he couldn't quite understand why other demons had such emotionless faces while Aura was so expressive... Was it really thanks to him?
He still hadn't figured that out, and Millie, looking annoyed, muttered, "...Someone beat me to it?"
"So? It really does taste awful, doesn't it?"
"Forget the taste; this is precious! It's really Emperor's Wine!" Millie emphasized, clearly upset.
This made him hesitate for a moment, still looking warily at the wine in his hand. "...When you put it that way, I'm a little curious."
"Hurry and try it!"
"...Is anyone going to die?"
"You just made me drink some. Do I look dead?"
"That's true."
Nodding slightly, he threw caution to the wind and drank it in one go.
There was no soft flavor, no smoothness. The harsh, sour, and pungent taste exploded in his mouth and throat. The wine's acidity was way too high, and its sharpness made him recoil. Just drinking it filled him with distaste, and he couldn't help but frown. "It's horrible…"
"Yeah, I thought so too. Before I came to this village, I even carved a stone tablet praising the taste of Emperor's Wine."
"...Your character is worse than this wine."
"Thanks for the compliment, but you don't seem much better off." Millie nodded nonchalantly, giving an amused smile. "I think we'll get along well."
"...I just want to learn magic."
"It's fine; we have plenty of time."
"Don't use elves time on me."
"Alright, then we'll officially start in a few years…"
"No more waiting! Today! Now! Right this second!"
He couldn't take the elves' relaxed sense of time anymore. Frustrated, he grabbed Millie and shook her until she finally gave in.
But even though she agreed, Millie was still moving so slowly that it made Ash anxious.
After constant urging, Millie reluctantly began to make preparations... that is, after eating breakfast, she mentally prepared herself to teach. However, the magic she eventually decided to teach him was to help wheat grow better.
This kind of magic was completely useless to him, no matter how he looked at it. Frustrated, Ash chased after Millie, who had somehow escaped happily. He was determined to tie her up and make her teach him something more meaningful.
But before he could catch Millie, around noon, he spotted Frieren emerging from her room, stretching lazily in the sunlight.
"...That lazy look is like an old lady..."
"—?!" he muttered without thinking, causing Frieren to sharply turn her head toward him.
Her expression was clearly one of displeasure, as if his comment had struck a nerve. But he chose to ignore her and simply said, "What's the matter? Shouldn't young people be going to bed early and waking up early?"
These weren't modern-day kids staying up all night playing with their phones or computers. Why would medieval villagers, with nothing better to do, be so lazy? Ash was genuinely puzzled.
Frieren, with a stern face, retorted grumpily, "We have all the time in the world. What's the rush?"
"...Alright."
He initially wanted to give her a piece of his mind, but remembering that he still needed her help, he decided to hold his tongue.
This left Frieren, who had been ready for a confrontation and prepared to scold him for lifting her up earlier, feeling like her efforts had been wasted. She didn't get the chance to say anything further.
And so, Ash's learning in the elf village continued uneventfully in this peculiar atmosphere.
...
Life in the elf village could be described as the very definition of monotony.
It was dull and uneventful. Every elf seemed to exude a sense of laziness and lack of drive, which made Ash feel even less motivated than when he was with Millie.
At least Serie, despite being idle, still had the urge to do something... although, thanks to her magic, her clothes never actually got moldy.
In contrast...
"...It's already evening. Aren't you going to rest yet?"
Ash stood in Frieren's room, having entered without hesitation. He looked at her, already lying under her quilt with a blank expression on her face, clearly regretting agreeing to teach him magic in the first place.
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T/N: Bring forth unto me the power stones, be they cursed or blessed. For with Them Shall I rise in rankings.