Chapter 35: Astrape & Loki Drink Together?
Chapter 35: Astrape & Loki Drink Together?
The spirits aging in the cellars of the Sky, Cross, or Balder duchies bore little resemblance to the mundane beers, meads, and vodkas of Earth. If an ordinary human without a drop of aura or magic took so much as a few sips from those labeled bottles, they would collapse into a sudden, deep unconsciousness.
The reason was simple: mundane alcohol couldn't pierce the physiological defenses of a superhuman ranked at the First Circle or higher. To bypass their reinforced nervous systems, a vintage required genuine aura or fermentation triggered by magical super-yeasts. It was the same principle behind Loki’s own private brews—infusing the mixtures with hyper-active yeasts just to coax out a mild, fleeting buzz. For safety, he marked every single one of his bottles with the word Sky to warn the uninitiated.
In the far Eastern Wastelands, the locals had a much more poetic name for such volatile concoctions: Immortal Brews.
"Count, I can't possibly finish an entire bottle by myself during lunch," Lisa said, her voice dripping with artificial innocence as she gestured toward the top-shelf spirits. "Mind sharing with me? Since Vali is footing the bill, of course."
Loki choked back a laugh. Her finger traced a delicate circle around the astronomical price tag on the menu, and she flashed him a subtle wink while gesturing toward the prince. Ah, Loki thought, I see how this game is played.
"Sky Duchy Vodka?" Loki replied smoothly. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure yet. Count me in."
Amazons were rarely prone to jealousy. Instead of intervening, Ayala merely pointed her finger at the most exorbitant listing on the menu—a rare vintage of Cross Duchy Whisky.
"An entire bottle of this will only leave me slightly dazed at best," Ayala remarked casually, "but I'll let you have a sip to try it, Loki. The flavor is exceptional."
Loki hadn't realized until this exact moment that Ayala, Lisa, and Queen Leandra belonged to the same social circle. More importantly, the instinct to completely drain Prince Vali’s coin purse was clearly a shared genetic trait among them. Blissfully ignorant of the impending financial massacre, Vali was busy recommending a bottle of white wine from the Royal Label for the other three to share.
Before the server could even depart with the drink orders, Ayala’s finger shifted down the parchment to a dish Loki had entirely overlooked the previous day.
"This is Third Circle Demonic Boar meat," she said, tapping the page. "It’s exactly what you need to build up your physical foundation for the Third Circle Vanguard. Order it."
Loki nearly dropped the menu in sheer shock. The price tag read two hundred gold pieces—double the cost of a premium bottle of magical alcohol.
Even so, he managed a tight nod.
Ayala offered an approving grunt. "After yesterday’s exertion, I think I'll order two portions for myself."
Loki did the math in his head. Without Lisa even placing her food order yet, their side of the table had already accumulated a bill easily pushing five hundred gold.
But as his eyes drifted toward a separate, highlighted section at the bottom of the page, the words left his mouth before he could stop them. "King Burger... Sausage Pizza... French Fries... Onion Rings... What in the world is this?"
Thorin leaned over, his eyes widening as he read the section marked Royal Academy Specialties. The two men exchanged a look of profound, shared bewilderment.
"Oh, those strange dishes?" Lana interrupted, breaking their trance. "My father is a culinary master. He came up with those odd combinations years ago. Personally, I absolutely love the French Fries. Our family restaurant and the Academy are the only places in the kingdom that serve them."
The server stepped forward to finalize the tallies. Before letting the man leave, Ayala looked toward Thorin and commanded him to order the large portion of the Demonic Boar to supplement his own Full Knight training.
Loki sat back, his mind racing. He was now almost entirely convinced that King Owen Balder possessed memories of Earth. Of course, there was always the slim margin of a cosmic coincidence; after all, this was a world where Dark Elf Kunoichi wielded Ninjato. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he resolved to pull Thorin aside for a private discussion later.
Clink. Clink. Trickle.
Thanks to local Ice Cores, the realm enjoyed the luxuries of refrigeration and fresh ice. Lisa Swallow expertly dropped a few cubes into a pair of tumblers before pouring a generous measure of the clear Sky Vodka.
She slid one of the glasses across the polished wood toward Loki. "Drink it slowly and with care. It’s deceivingly smooth. Cheers."
Everyone around the table raised a glass in unison—except for Ayala, who bypassed the pleasantries entirely and drank straight from the neck of her whisky bottle.
Loki took a measured sip. The liquid went down like silk, followed instantly by a fierce, blooming burn that he hadn't experienced in ages due to the magical dampening of his aura. It was incredibly good.
If someone back on Earth told people that a former Norse god and a former Greek goddess were sitting together sharing a bottle of vodka, but nobody would believe them. No one will ever know. Not even the people at this table.
As the lunch hour drew to a close, Ayala extended her arm, offering her mostly depleted bottle. "Take a swig, Loki. You need to taste the Cross Whisky."
Loki caught the bottle and took a heavy gulp. The liquor hit his throat with a sharper, more aggressive heat than the vodka, but the depth of flavor was undeniable.
As he handed it back, Thorin leaned forward eagerly. "Teacher Ayala, may I try a sip as well?"
"Scram," Ayala snapped without a second thought. "I don't share my drinks with other men. Only Loki."
The table plunged into a sudden, heavy silence. Loki merely smiled, entirely unfazed. Ayala was a woman who utterly lacked a filter, and her casual dismissal made the reality of their situation awkwardly, beautifully clear to everyone present: he was her man now.
Seizing the sudden tension, Loki’s mouth ran away from him again. "Thorin, if you want it that badly, just order a few bottles to go on the prince's tab."
The dull glaze in the drunkard's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by pure brilliance. Thorin hadn't even considered the option. He immediately signaled the server and added two bottles of the expensive whisky to their takeaway order. Seeing the opening, Lisa and Ayala didn't hesitate to tack on a few reserve bottles of their own.
When the final bill was presented to Prince Vali, Loki had to physically bite the inside of his cheek, nearly sweating from the sheer effort of suppressing a roaring laugh at the royal's pale expression.
All things considered, lunch concluded rather peacefully—though Loki had a distinct feeling it would be a very long time before Vali ever invited them out to eat again.
Step. Step.
The courtyard was exceptionally quiet as Loki and the former Vice President walked side by side toward her classroom.
"Count," Lisa began, her voice turning small, her lips forming a slight pout. "Back then... at your wedding... all I really said was that Prince Vali Balder had asked me to wait for your positive reply. I was just waiting in the Northern Sky Duchy. I never expected things to escalate like that."
She glanced at him sideways. "You thoroughly humiliated me in front of the entire public. But would you believe me if I told you I had absolutely no choice but to show up and deliver those words?"
Loki gave a slow, deliberate nod. "I believe you. But you still earned every bit of that scolding. Coercion and blackmail don't absolve you of a choice, Lisa. When a dog attacks, I beat the dog regardless of what the master commanded. Do you understand?"
Still slightly flushed from the lingering effects of the vodka, her pride flared. "Hey! I am not a dog!"
"You certainly acted like a bitch, didn't you?"
Slap!
The strike landed across his cheek, but there was no real force behind it. When Loki looked down, he was surprised to see a thin sheen of tears welling in her eyes.
"Teacher Swallow," Loki said softly, his tone shifting. "It was just a joke."
Lisa caught his arm, pulling him out of the main walkway and into the shadow of a nearby stone building. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her shoulders trembling slightly with regret. "The slap... it was because of what you said about my mother. She was just a common maid. I shouldn't have struck you for it. I'm sorry."
Loki blinked, completely bewildered. "I don't know anything about your mother, your background, or what I could have possibly said to insult her. I'm fairly certain I never breathed a word about your family."
"You called me a commoner's brat," she reminded him quietly.
Loki stared at her for a beat before a wry smile broke across his face. "Lisa, my mother is a commoner. My father is just a Knight. Why would I use that as an insult?"
Lisa froze, processing the words. Then, a genuine, unburdened laugh broke from her lips. "Ha... hahaha! I cannot believe it. You are infuriating, Count Sky. But that is exactly what you shouted at me in the streets when I was hazing you."
"Ah," Loki murmured as the pieces clicked together. If someone had insulted his own mother, he would have torn the city apart. "I understand now.
Look, my mouth tends to hurl whatever nonsense comes to mind in the heat of a fight. I meant nothing personal by it. If your mother were still here, I would gladly offer her a formal apology."
The remaining haze of the alcohol evaporated from Lisa’s expression, leaving behind the visible exhaustion of a woman crushed under the weight of her family’s political burdens. She shook her head.
"My mother passed away a long time ago. She possessed no magic, so she only lived to seventy-nine. My father is a Count under Duchess Sylvia Sky, and I am nothing more than a Mage Lady caught in the middle." She sighed, leaning back against the stone wall. "I can't reveal what leverage Vali holds over me, but I need you to know that my actions against you aren't personal. I regret how things started. You're... actually a decent young man. I'll do my best to avoid doing anything outrageous moving forward."
She looked up, her blue eyes clear. "As far as this academy is concerned, I am entirely serious about my duties as your instructor. You can trust me in the classroom. In the future, if Vali forces me to harass you, I’ll give you a discrete wink so you know it's a charade."
A sudden breeze swept through the courtyard, rustling her shoulder-length blonde hair. With the tears drying on her face, she gave off the distinct, protective aura of an older sister.
"I can accept your truce," Loki said, his expression hardening slightly, "but on one condition: you must offer a sincere apology to Sylvia. That is my absolute bottom line. I won't look my wife in the eye knowing I'm associating with someone who insulted her honor. Agreed?"
Lisa swallowed hard, holding back another wave of emotion. Standing before her wasn't just a reckless noble boy, but a future titan—a man who had managed to best Ayala herself at such an incredibly young age.
"Associated? You mean a friend?" she asked softly. "Fine. I promise to apologize to her the moment I see her. And... thank you for not retaliating after I slapped you."
"Don't mention it," Loki said.
But as Lisa turned to make her way toward the lecture hall, Loki’s old, villainous habits flared. In a flash of pure impulse, he reached out and delivered a sharp, resounding slap right across her backside.
Lisa spun around on her heel, her short temper igniting instantly, her finger pointing dead at his face as she prepared to unleash an absolute storm of magical fury.
Before she could speak, Loki raised his hands innocently. "My apologies. But I believe that makes us entirely even, right?"
Lisa’s mouth opened and closed, her glare lethal enough to drop a lesser man. Realizing the absurdity of arguing the point in the open courtyard, she turned back around and began marching away at a furious pace.
Watching the disgraced noble woman flee, Loki’s mouth betrayed him one last time. "It really did have a fantastic bounce to it, though!"
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Abandoning dignity entirely, Lisa utilized consecutive casts of Blink Teleport, her form flickering through the courtyard until she vanished into the school building. Loki chuckled to himself.
From the shadows behind him, Yin Meng materialized silently. "Master, do we classify her as an enemy or an ally now?"
Loki looked down at the palm of his hand, thinking over everything Lisa had done to both him and Sylvia up to this point. "An enemy? No. But calling her a friend would be an overstatement. For now, she's just a passerby. Let’s see if she actually keeps her word to Sylvia first."
Yin Meng nodded once. She harbored no personal interest in the social dynamics of the academy; so long as a target wasn't a confirmed threat to her master's life, she would simply remain in the background, keeping a vigilant watch over his blind spots.
When Loki finally walked through the double doors of the Magic Basics lecture hall, every single eye in the room locked onto him.
The room was occupied by a dozen noble students, and not a single individual held a rank below Silver. It was a stark testament to just how prestigious Teacher Swallow’s instructional ranking truly was within the academy. Most of these youths had been forced to inherit their respective family seats at an exceptionally early age; the room was a concentrated gathering of active Counts, Viscounts, and Barons, with entirely no room for ordinary mages or unlanded knights.
Loki scanned the room, located an empty desk in the very back row, and sat down, completely ignoring the whispering nobles around him.
Up at the podium, Lisa purposefully avoided his gaze, acting as though he were an absolute stranger. Given his highly inappropriate behavior in the courtyard, Loki figured that was a perfectly reasonable boundary.
As the chatter died down, Loki felt the last remnants of the alcohol clearing from his mind. A wave of slight regret hit him. Slapping a noble lady's rear was definitely worse than receiving a slap to the face, he thought, rubbing his temples. Highly improper. He shook his head, clearing the thought away.
It was time to focus. Class was starting.
Buzz. Zap. Crackle.
A brilliant spark of blue and gold lightning crackled at the tip of Lisa’s index finger. Using her bare mana, she began carving elegant runes across a massive, floating magical board that served as her chalkboard.
"Today, we are shifting our focus to Secret Realms," Lisa announced, her voice carrying a sharp, commanding authority that commanded immediate silence. "Specifically, we will be discussing the necessary preparations for the upcoming trial within the Royal Realm. To begin—does anyone here know the structural origin of the Royal Realm?"
A haughty young mage woman sitting near the front spoke up instantly, omitting the courtesy of raising her hand. "It is a pocket dimension intrinsically anchored to the primary Plane of Life. Over the centuries, both the Eastern Cultivators and the Elven Kingdoms have attempted to launch invasions through its focal points, but our military forces have consistently repelled them."
Lisa gave a concise nod. "Correct. We do not hold an exclusive monopoly over these pocket dimensions, so you must never allow yourselves to grow complacent. Fortunately, these Secret Realms are heavily governed by planar restrictions, and the Royal Realm specifically caps entry at the Third Circle."
Lisa’s eyes drifted across the room, locking directly onto the back row. "However, Summons are a universal exception to this rule. Why is that... Count Sky?"
The sudden callout caught Loki off guard, but he didn't falter. Drawing directly upon the vast well of Share Master's Skills he had inherited from the ancient entity Shehuang, he stood up and delivered his answer.
"Because a Summon is not an independent entity; it is recognized by the universe as an extension of the Summoner's own soul," Loki explained, his voice echoing clearly across the silent hall. "The fundamental laws of the cosmos recognize the soul above all physical matter. It is precisely why a Summon immediately perishes the moment their Summoner's soul departs from the living plane."
Lisa’s brilliant blue eyes sparked with a sudden, intense fascination. The explanation was flawless—far simpler, deeper, and more accurate than any explanation written in the standard academy textbooks.
"Excellent," Lisa said, a genuine smile breaking through her professional facade. "The soul is the absolute law of Myst. Everything in this world ultimately revolves around the state of our souls. Very well done, Count Sky. I find myself having exceptionally high hopes for your future performance."
Loki sat back down as the surrounding nobles stared at him with newfound wariness. It was clear that out of everyone in the room, only Lisa truly grasped how the world of Myst functioned—a reality engineered long ago by ancient gods from an entirely different existence.
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