It had been a long time since the last date with Lily, and as expected…
‘Ahh, I’m happy…’
The rare outing was enjoyable,
and the sense of liberation from the end of the exams made me happy.
I was also happy that thanks to Lily’s new magic, we could date freely without any recognition impediment magic.
The soft touch on my elbow… Hmm.
But simply putting everything aside and just walking with Lily was the happiest thing of all.
When lunchtime came, Lily suggested we go out to eat, so we ended up at the same restaurant we visited last time.
As soon as she was seen, the front desk staff greeted her respectfully.
It seemed the jeweled accessory from last time had been to her liking.
‘Wait, that was a high-end item far beyond the price of a meal…’
Yet selling just one piece fattened her purse.
And it was all in gold coins.
Considering she paid for a meal with something like that, the staff’s attitude made sense.
This time, we paid with money and took the same seats we had last time.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been here, hasn’t it?”
I still vividly remembered the scene when Louis came in, apologized, and left.
I thought back then that Louis was reforming…
but then he ended up being stabbed with a knife.
‘People can’t be reformed, as the old saying goes… There’s no falsehood in the words of the ancients.’
As I chatted with Lily and waited for a moment, the food arrived.
With a slight anticipation, I picked up a piece of meat and took a bite…
‘…Hm?’
I tilted my head.
Mmm…
‘Wait? What?’
I quickly swallowed what was in my mouth, cleaned it with water, and then picked up the meat again.
Mmm…
‘…Huh? Did it originally taste this way?’
I distinctly remembered saying how incredibly delicious it was last time, to the point that Lily had felt jealous.
But now, honestly, it was a bit disappointing.
The texture of the meat, the taste of the sauce…
Nothing was satisfying.
Especially the vegetables on the side were overcooked.
Was my memory altered?
Or did the chef change?
Or, perhaps, has my palate changed?
Noticing my reaction, Lily leaned her head toward me and looked at me.
“What’s wrong, Arthur?”
I turned around, dumbfounded.
“…Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Could you open your mouth for me?”
“Uh, sure. Ah~”
As Lily opened her mouth, I placed my hand over her open mouth.
“Gulp?”
Ignoring Lily’s surprised reaction, I used my tongue to lick around her mouth.
Slurp~
“Out of the blue, a kiss…”
The embarrassed Lily stroked her lips.
I was tilting my head.
‘My sense of taste isn’t off, is it?’
Lily’s saliva was as sweet as always.
What does this mean, then?
I asked Lily.
“Uh… Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Um… I think my sense of taste has changed.”
“Why?”
“The food is a bit…”
Lily nodded as if understanding what I was about to say.
“Hmm, I guess so?”
‘Guess?’
It sounded like she had foreseen this.
On closer inspection, Lily had…
‘Hmm?’
A small smirk was creeping on Lily’s lips.
“Is the food not good?”
“Not exactly…”
I couldn’t focus because I kept finding something unsatisfactory…
But at that moment,
“Then, let’s go.”
“What?”
Lily got up, gesturing for me to follow.
“But there’s food left-”
“We’ve already paid, haven’t we? There’s no need to force ourselves to eat it.”
With her arms crossed, Lily took me out of the restaurant.
And the place she led me to was the park where we had our picnic before.
Sitting on the same bench as before, Lily pulled out a large jar from the air.
As she opened the lid, a mouthwatering aroma filled my nose. It was a true feast just from the smell alone.
It was Lily’s lunch box.
“Here, a custard tart made from giant penguin eggs. Ah~”
I widened my eyes as I ate the tart offered by Lily’s hand.
She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Hehe, how is it? Is it delicious?”
I vigorously nodded my head.
And at the same moment, I realized why I was disappointed by the restaurant’s food.
It was simply contrast sickness.
My palate had already hit its limit, having eaten Lily’s food that boasted fantastical flavors every day.
‘Who would’ve thought this kind of issue would arise…’
A slightly uneasy feeling arose within me,
but,
Mmm…
‘This is good.’
Her food was overwhelmingly amazing enough to make me forget such feelings.
“Lily, such a request could be considered rude-”
“Shall I pack you lunch on every date from now on?”
“…Yes.”
“Alright~!”
Lily’s smile was so bright it seemed like a halo shone behind her like the sun.
‘Truly a goddess…’
How do I express this overwhelming feeling?
…Should I worship her somehow?
While I was eating the lunch box with that thought, Lily suddenly pulled out a bottle from the air.
“What is that?”
“This?”
Lily unscrewed the cap with a mischievous smile and poured its contents into a glass she conjured from the air.
A pungent smell hit my nose.
“Is this alcohol?”
“Yes, here, take a glass.”
“…Lily, it’s still daytime?”
She poured a glass of wine after lunch like this?
“We had some at the restaurant last time too, didn’t we? Since exams are over, how about a drink for a change of mood?”
Back then, it was evening…
Though I hesitated for a moment, since it was from Lily, I kept quiet and took a bite of the old one’s roast as a side dish.
“Here, another glass!”
“But you just said one glass…”
“Ah, isn’t it true that one glass turns into two, two into three?”
“What-”
“Here, drink up!”
“Gulp…”
Lily poured consecutive glasses and handed them to me.
When I tried to refuse, her eyes immediately watered, so eventually…
Glug glug…
When I came to, I had already finished off the third bottle.
In reality, I had consumed 1.5 bottles since we were sharing with Lily.
The problem was,
“Hmm… Am I not drunk yet?”
Despite drinking so much, my mind was crystal clear.
There was no dizziness, no distortion of my surroundings, and I didn’t feel the telltale sign of flushed cheeks.
Though I already knew I had a high tolerance for alcohol, I didn’t expect this much…
Even though it wasn’t a weak alcohol.
“Arthur.”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you drunk yet?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Lily puffed her cheeks, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
…Could she be wishing for me to get drunk?
Why…?
Lily rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers.
A bottle appeared in the air.
It was a jet-black bottle with no label.
“Is this also alcohol?”
“Yes, very strong… but a delicious kind.”
What did I just hear??
“Come on, cheers!”
The alcohol offered by Lily looked water-clear, unlike the bottle, to the point it could be mistaken for water at first glance.
The smell was also pleasant with a sweet fragrance.
Though Lily’s attitude was suspicious, I took a sip nonetheless.
Glug-
“?!”
The first touch on my tongue was sweet.
Then, as it went down my throat, a burning sensation followed.
It felt like my esophagus was being roasted.
“This…!”
“This is made by a certain eccentric Great Outer Being. Since we already transcend the limits of life, normal alcohol doesn’t affect us much. But this one is different. It can even make an avatar of the Outer God drunk.”
Wait, should I even be drinking this?
Is it safe for humans to drink this?
“Hey Arthur, does your vision spin?”
“Uh… No, it doesn’t seem to-”
At that moment, the sky seemed to spin.
“Huh? Why is the sky spinning?”
Now I realized, not just the sky but everything around me was spinning.
“Li… Lily…?”
My words stretched out and turned into an unpleasant noise.
In this swirling, dizzy vision, Lily was the only shining existence.
“Hehe, you’re fully drunk now.”
“Drunk…?”
“This disrupts the mind rather than the body, so even a little makes anyone drunk.”
“Why… would you… do this…?”
Lily smiled faintly then refilled the glass.
“A secret. Here, another glass.”
“Ugh… This is irritating…”
“If you don’t want to, then…”
Lily pondered for a moment, picked up the glass, and took a sip herself.
Her cheeks swelled as if she was holding the drink in her mouth.
In that state, she held my cheek,
And kissed me.
Smack…
My head spun.
Was it due to the alcohol, or did Lily’s lips feel even hotter?
My lips naturally parted, letting the drink flow in between.
Since Lily’s head was higher than mine, the contents directly fell into my mouth.
Gulp…
The alcohol mixed with Lily’s saliva was madly sweet.
I instinctively clung to Lily’s neck, yearning for that sweet liquid.
When the wet kiss ended, my head spun even more.
Lily’s flushed face looked at me.
“Hmm… I drank a little too. It got to me quickly since it’s been a while…”
We stared at each other in a daze.
My heart was pounding, and goosebumps ran through my body at that moment.
“Arthur.”
“Yes…?”
“My legs hurt.”
“Eh…?”
“How about we go somewhere and rest?”
“Yeah… let’s rest…”
Whatever I was doing, I should’ve put everything aside to rest Lily’s legs.
“Let’s go…”
Lily hooked her arm under my armpit and helped me up.
Upon standing, my head became even dizzier.
My body didn’t feel like my own.
I clearly commanded my brain to walk straight, but my legs moved in different directions.
No, perhaps my brain was issuing the wrong commands from the start…
Lily supported me as my legs intertwined and I stumbled.
“Lean on me and follow me.”
“Ugh… Lily…?”
Following Lily’s guidance, we began to walk slowly and entered some building.
Lily briefly chatted with someone and received something before continuing to walk.
A little later, I found myself lying dumbly on a bed.
Lily said she was going to wash and left me on the bed.
The sound of water reached me from a distance.
Looking at the swirling ceiling in a daze, someone was approaching.
“Arthur.”
I weakly raised my head at the voice calling my name…
Lily was there.
Lily was there, “wrapped only in a white towel.”
Her white skin glistened with the remaining moisture, and her figure couldn’t be completely hidden by just the towel.
Then, Lily…
Slurp…
Let go of the towel she was holding.
Thud
The towel fell to the floor, revealing Lily’s naked form.
