Chapter 151: The Wine Doesn't Intoxicate; People Intoxicate Themselves
When a knock sounded at the door, Claire was curled up on the narrow balcony, engrossed in 'Vampire Diaries.'
It was a story of tormented love between a maiden and a vampire, widely circulated during wartime.
Aside from the cliché trope of falling in love with an enemy,
the novel itself, from the maiden's perspective, meticulously analyzed vampire characteristics and habits, giving it a certain academic value.
She was so absorbed that she didn't hear Dark knocking.
After knocking three more times,
Dark lowered his hand and sighed.
"It seems Claire hasn't released her animals today."
If it were anyone else, they would probably assume Claire wasn't in her dorm room.
But Dark knew very well that it was completely normal for Claire not to open the door.
If she had released her animals, the one opening the door would be that Lazy Lynx who liked to lie by the door.
But for every policy, there's a countermeasure.
Dark quickly summoned a DemiDevimon, instructing it to bypass the long corridor and fly from outside the castle to the balcony window of the teachers' dorm.
The DemiDevimon indeed saw Claire's figure curled up in a lounge chair on the balcony.
Then it raised a paw and tapped on the glass window.
"Tap tap tap!"
Claire finally looked up.
Her heart stirred slightly, and she moved towards the door.
A cat spirit appeared from within the light, and with a few swift bounds, it arrived at the door and opened it.
Dark pushed the door open and entered, rubbing the furball's head, and casually closed the door behind him.
Teachers' dorms were, of course, different from student dorms.
While student dorms were quite spacious, they only had one bedroom, one living area, and a balcony.
Teachers' dorms, on the other hand, were three bedrooms and a living room, excessively spacious.
The dorm was very clean, imbued with a faint, fresh scent.
This, of course, couldn't have been cleaned by Claire.
Ever since the war began, Claire had become less diligent.
Fortunately, she had a host of animals that could take care of her daily needs.
Dark glanced around briefly, then asked, "Professor, is Professor Claire here?"
Claire opened the bedroom door, draped in an oversized, loose-fitting pajama top, revealing a translucent shoulder.
She was holding a book, her posture relaxed, her eyes heavy with sleep.
"She's here, she's here, ha ah~"
She yawned.
Dark glanced at her and placed the gift he brought on the table.
Claire's eyes immediately lit up, and she strode over.
"Fairy Wine! How did you get your hands on something like this?"
Dark watched the ungraceful Claire and felt a slight sense of relief.
After all, they hadn't seen each other for many years, and over the past half-month or so, Claire had been busy adapting to her new job and hadn't had much contact with him, which naturally created a slight sense of distance.
But now it seemed Claire was no different from before.
He sat down on the sofa and explained, "I found it in a small tavern on Traveler's Street. It was thanks to Professor Lily's letter of introduction that the tavern owner was willing to bring out his prized collection."
"Of course, Fairy Wine is only sold to fairies. The last time I drank Fairy Wine, Peter gave it to me."
Claire placed 'Vampire Diaries' on the table and picked up the Fairy Wine, examining it closely.
The liquid shimmered ambiguously, emitting a dreamy color.
She exclaimed, then jogged to the kitchen and returned with two wine glasses.
She uncorked the bottle and poured the wine in one fluid motion.
As the wine flowed into the glasses, a faint, delicate aroma wafted out.
Fairy Wine contained no alcohol.
But it could draw out people's chaotic thoughts.
It was a classic case of the wine not intoxicating, but the person intoxicating themselves.
After pouring the wine, Claire casually sat down next to Dark, her plump figure sinking into the sofa.
"Why did you suddenly think of your Aunt Claire today?"
She picked up her glass and glanced at the golden-haired youth.
Dark picked up his glass, observing, sniffing, and taking a tiny sip.
The legendary Fairy Wine.
Only those close to fairies could truly appreciate its taste.
The closer the relationship, the sweeter the wine's fragrance.
And the more beautiful its taste after it passed their lips.
He closed his eyes, savoring the lingering aftertaste.
His thoughts swirled, a mix of bitter and sweet memories.
When he opened his eyes, he only then re-registered Claire's question.
"I want to learn how to refine [Zoo]."
But Claire had only asked casually; the wine's aroma had already clouded her mind.
Every person was composed of countless fragments called "the past."
Joy, sorrow, bitterness, sweetness.
After one glass,
Claire was forced to recall the past.
The sweeter the memory, the more bitter it tasted upon recollection now.
But only bitter memories could be truly etched into one's heart.
Claire paused slightly and looked at Dark beside her.
She found that Dark looked melancholic and seemed quite intoxicated himself.
"It seems his relationship with that little fairy is truly very close."
Claire continued to pour herself another glass.
When Peter shared Fairy Wine with her back then, she only tasted the sweetness of youth and the immersion of literature.
How could it compare to the myriad of thoughts she had now?
The more complex a person's heart,
the more things held deep within their heart,
the stronger the effect of the Fairy Wine would be.
The more one drank,
the more it would even reveal secrets deeply locked away in one's heart.
She didn't know.
Dark was intoxicated even deeper.
After one glass, he was already completely intoxicated.
This was perhaps something Dark himself hadn't anticipated.
After two glasses,
Claire had already reached her limit.
She looked at the wine remaining at the bottom of the bottle, simply poured it all out, and then drank it in one gulp.
Afterward, she was utterly intoxicated.
Her gaze towards the golden-haired youth became like that of a hungry carnivore.
In her eyes, the youth turned into a cat.
She pounced like a lion.
The large one pinned down the small one, rolling around on the thick, plush carpet.
The moon was round.
Dark had a dream.
In his dream, he had turned into a cat, caught between Aunt Claire and Alvit, struggling to survive.
Four o'clock in the morning.
A faint sliver of dawn, like a fish's belly, appeared on the horizon.
Feeling an unprecedented suffocation, Dark suddenly opened his eyes; the snowy white filling his vision, the fragrance twining around his nostrils, and the icy coldness touching his lips made his face flush crimson.
[Lust +1]
[Lust +1]
[Lust +1]
After three consecutive jumps, he suddenly threw his head back and gasped for air.
Fortunately, he hadn't been turned into a cat.
It seemed Aunt Claire still had some sense of propriety and hadn't continued her pranks after he grew up.
Thinking this, Dark carefully extricated himself from Claire's embrace, and then realized that they had both fallen asleep on the carpet.
He sat up, rubbing his still-dizzy head.
"Fairy Wine... I didn't expect to be unable to handle even one glass. It seems I have a low alcohol tolerance in this life. I should really try to drink less in the future."
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