45 Night visi (1/2)
Part 1
”All right!!! Time to celebrate!!”
The group had returned to their secret hideout once the mission was over. Evllin had used her modeling magic on the trees and the ground to create an especial inn for everyone to sleep in while finishing their business around the town. After storing the recently acquired silver metal with the rest they managed to retrieve so far, Evlin decided to call everyone to the living room to start a party.
”Ash!! Did you bought what I asked!!??”
”Right here sis...”
Ashley revealed two bottles of wine that she got while walking around with Ria earlier. She placed it on the table alongside a lot of delicious-looking food. Daren looked at Evlin a little lost.
”Evlin, did you really enjoyed this last mission that much...?”
”I did in fact! We honestly have been on a winning streak for a while now! We managed to secure a lot of metal, we defeated every single enemy that would come our way, and most importantly... Everyone is safe and sound!! You know what that means?”
”That means...”
”It means I might actually be a good leader after all!!!”
Ashley stared at her as if she realized something.
”Ohhh... I see... So this is a party to celebrate your inflated ego...”
”You shut up! I'm not taking any sassy talk today! It's not just the fact that we've been doing so well lately. Today is the day I finally get to enjoy these babies!!”
Evlin grabbed one of the bottles of wine and started to rub it as if it were her child.
”As of today, I'm officially seventeen!! I'm finally old enough to drink!!”
”Wait! Evlin, today is your birthday?”
Ria jumped out of her chair while asking this question.
”You bet I am!! I've been waiting to take my first drink since forever!!”
Lilith looked at her with judgmental eyes.
”... Is that why you were acting so silly during the mission today?”
”I have the right to act silly in missions when it's my birthday!!”
”... No... That's not how it works... Please don't do that again... We could have been in danger...”
Ria approached Ashley and started to whisper towards her for a moment in the corner of the room.
”Ash, this is perfect! Now the fabric we brought could be used as a birthday gift!!”
”Eh...? Oh right, that... You think she will like it? She kinda looks like she would be happy just by drinking herself to sleep right now...”
”Don't be silly! You're her older sister! You need to show how much you care about her!”
”... I can't believe you just said that with a straight face after today... You just left your own sister alone after not seeing her for years...”
”That was then, this is now! Come on! She will love it! Let's grab the cloth!”
While the two girls were planning their secret present, Auren approached Evlin and offered help to open the bottle.
”Here... Let me...”
”Thanks Auren!”
”Miss... I don't know how things work in your world... But the age to drink around here is actually fifteen...”
”Wait, really??”
”Really...”
It made sense once Evlin thought about it. This was a dangerous world where people could die at any moment. Some might not even live long enough to reach seventeen, so the rules of age restriction were a little looser.
”Ahh... I see... If that's the case, I need to make up for lost time!!”
Daren heard that concerned.
”Please don't... We don't need a drunkard as our leader... Don't make this a regular habit...”
”Daren, you're no fun...”
”... Yeah, I know...”
”That said, Auren...”
”Yes?”
”Does this mean Ria is already old enough to marry you?”
Auren started to splash the entire room when he accidentally opened the bottle with too much force and drenched all those present.
”My wine!!!”
”W- W- Wh- What??? Miss Evlin!! What are you talking about??”
”I mean... It's dead obvious... Right?”
Evlin looked at Lilith, Daren, and Gustav and they all nodded in agreement.
”Yeah, I'm honestly shocked she herself hasn't noticed yet...”
”Same here... To me it was clear from day one...”
”I mean... He doesn't really try to hide it... He looks at her like like a vulture looks at its prey...”
”See Auren? Everyone knew already.”
”Is- Is that so...?”
”The only reason Ria hasn't noticed is because she is an airhead who only thinks about playing around all day... But since we are already celebrating our victories and my special day, why not go ahead and put your proposal on the table as well?”
”P- Propose...?? M- Me?? Now???”
Daren joined the conversation.
”If not now then when??”
”See? Even Daren who never thinks about anything besides our mission agrees you're just wasting time!”
”Hey... I can hear you...”
Daren ignored Evlin's remark and stared at Auren.
”We will be going towards the demon kingdom and if we survive we will try to fight a divine deity. We might die at any time from now on. Enjoy your time together while you still can...”
”...”
Evlin let Daren and Auren enjoy their silent staring contest while she tried to open the second bottle.
”This time for sure! I can already taste it!!”
She managed to open it by herself this time and started to fill her cup. She then decided to serve everyone a cup as well and asked then to make a toast.
”Everyone! Let's officially celebrate our massive success as a team!!”
They all had a look on their faces as if saying ”What kind of team are we by the way?”.
”As a team of thieves?”
”As a team of warriors?”
”As a team of god-slayers?”
”A team of mischiefs?”
Evlin listened to all their suggestions but rejected every single one.
”Wrong!! We are a team... Or rather, a family of survivors!! No matter what life throws at our way, we just take it head-on and move forward!! We don't let anything keep us down!! Not now, not ever!!”
She raised both her cup and her voice!
”To a family that doesn't know the meaning of staying down or giving up!!”
”To family!!” x 4
Everyone started to drink their cups filled with wine. Evlin finally managed to savor the taste of alcohol for the first time, only to start spilling on the wall by being unable to handle the taste.
”Bleerghh!! What is this stuff?? Is this what people drink all the time??”
”First time huh?”
Daren mocked her a bit. Gustav tried to calm her down.
”Miss you don't have to force yourself... The taste is always like this at first...”
”Oh... So I need to drink more to make it taste better? I see...”
”No wait... That's...”
”Thanks Gustav!”
”Eh... Sure...”
Evlin was about to start pouring more wine on her glass when Ria and Ashley called her out.
”Surprise!!”
Evlin was expecting not to receive presents since she didn't reveal to anyone when her birthday was up until now but was glad to be proven wrong.
”This cloth!! It's so soft and the color is so nice!! Thanks, guys!! I can't wait to put this on Sphinx!!”
Ashley was surprised by seeing her react with the same mindset as Ria.
”How did you know this was for Sphinx...?”
”Huh...? Because there is no way you would ever buy me clothing items knowing what I'm like after living with me for so long...”
”... I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react to that, but I'm glad you're happy.”
The three girls were enjoying their moment when Auren suddenly called for one of them.
”Ria! Ca- Can I talk with you for a moment...?”