Chapter 1472: Celebration and the Unforeseen
“Cheers!” Agatha raised her cup.
“Cheers—!” The Witches rang back like a bell. Dozens of cups climbed into the air and clashed together. Among those raising them were Taquila Witches, who had lost their sense of taste long ago, and the Union’s senior members who had long since become carriers. It was the latter, especially, who laughed loudest — humans who had survived the previous Battle of Divine Will with nothing but despair and helplessness for company, and who now felt that weight lift from their chests and found they could laugh with the rest, even more freely than the rest.
Not every sacrifice yields a return. Not every persistence ends in light. It was precisely because these centuries of sacrifice and persistence had not been for nothing that they moved people at all.
“Hey…” Nana studied Pasha and the others with unconcealed curiosity. “Can you actually taste anything drinking like that?”
The God’s Punishment Witches had only lost their sense of taste, but Pasha, Alethea, and Celine’s method of drinking had exceeded every expectation. They curled their tentacles and poured the alcohol over their shells as if showering, the liquid sheeting down in amber curtains.
“Of course. We have no mouths, but the short tentacles on our surface can distinguish flavors and absorb moisture — and our sensitivity exceeds the typical human’s.” Pasha smiled back. “Besides, a carrier’s sense of taste is unlike a human’s. We can perceive things we have never encountered before.”
“Wow… What does it taste like? I’m so curious!” Lightning’s eyes lit up.
“According to Quest Society research, humans cannot understand what they have never experienced. Even if she described it, you couldn’t picture it.” The Ice Witch refilled her cup. “If you genuinely wish to exceed that limitation, the only path is to become a carrier yourself.”
“Agatha — are you actually considering it?” Celine said, a strange note in her voice.
“Once this is all over, I intend to undergo a Soul Transfer before rebuilding the Quest Society.” Agatha nodded without the slightest hesitation. “A Witch’s lifespan doesn’t reach a hundred years. As a carrier, I can continue my research indefinitely.” She smiled at Lightning. “As for people like you, who are made of curiosity — you’d be ideal for the Quest Society. Interested?”
“But we can’t fly as carriers, can we?” Lightning thought it through. “I haven’t finished exploring the world. Perhaps I’ll consider it the day I can no longer fly.”
“Phew…” Lorgar drained a large mug in one long pull and set it down with a breath. “What are you all talking about, as if the Battle of Divine Will is finished? We just managed to defeat the demons. There are still stronger enemies on the far side of the continent. No one can guarantee the war ends the moment we reach the Bottomless Land. So we can only drink and celebrate today, as much as we can!” She reached for the barrel beside her. “Eh? It’s empty. Where’s the refill?”
“Everyone, please drink slower. Evelyn has already been making far too much today.” Molly directed her magic servants to carry away the empty barrels. “Everyone on the floating island is celebrating tonight. Even at full strength, she can’t supply all of it.”
Whether Chaos Drink or alcohol, both were pleasures — and no one had been willing to waste valuable cargo space hauling them up to the floating island before departure. The obvious solution had been to bring Evelyn herself. With water, she could convert endlessly. But with the entire island celebrating, even her reserves had proven somewhat thin.
“Pfft.” Anna laughed from her seat of honor, sudden and unguarded.
“What’s wrong?” Everyone turned to look.
“Nothing. I just thought of something amusing.” She shook her head. “Roland used to say he couldn’t understand why civilization simulations treated alcohol as such a necessity. That even when lacking food and clothing, a little alcohol raised people’s contentment and happiness — while adequate food and clothing caused unrest. He said it was completely incomprehensible.” She glanced at the room. “It seems it’s not without reason.”
“Ahh, here we go. Brother’s strange ideas again.” Tilly rolled her eyes.
The room broke into laughter.
“By the way — has His Majesty still not stepped away from his work? Surely he can leave it for a single evening.” Wendy looked toward the passageway.
Roland had appeared at the start of the celebration, given a brief opening address, then retreated to his office. The demons would likely approach them soon, he had said; he needed to handle what was on hand before he could celebrate in good conscience.
“I’ll go hurry him.” Anna stood.
“We’ll leave it to you,” Wendy said warmly.
The underground cave where the Witches gathered was not far from Roland. A narrow passageway connected it to the office area beneath the command center. The staircase between the General Staff and the command center was busy even now — footsteps ascending and descending without pause. The journey to the Bottomless Land was too important to ignore, even on this night.
But she had not come solely to pull him away from his desk. Nightingale was with him, and the war’s end had triggered the beginning of their agreement. Anna held that thought as she knocked.
“Come in. It isn’t locked.” Nightingale’s voice, not Roland’s.
Seeing Anna, Nightingale’s expression shifted — surprise first, then something uneasy. “Uh — why are you here…”
“For the agreement, obviously.”
“N-now? Wait — I’m not prepared yet—”
A rare slyness crossed Anna’s face. “I’m joking. Everyone sent me to drag him to the celebration.”
“Ah.” Nightingale exhaled — relief, and somewhere beneath it, a note of something else. Wistfulness, perhaps.
“Though the agreement is part of it. We can speak about that as well.” Anna looked at Roland, slumped against the desk, motionless. “Is he in the Dream World?”
It took Nightingale a moment to realize the comment was deliberate. “Yes,” she said, resigned. “He said he needed to check on the Design Bureau’s new projects and discuss follow-up matters with the senior lord demon. He wouldn’t be long. If you want to wake him, just nudge him — apparently it can be interrupted at any time. Time doesn’t pass the same way there.”
Anna nodded and reached to nudge Roland.
He didn’t move.
“Strange. That’s always worked before. Is he too exhausted from the past few days?” Nightingale put both hands on Roland’s shoulders and shook — no response. She tried with more force, lifting him slightly, and he fell back against the chair without resistance, arms sliding down along his sides, as though every bone in him had simply stopped cooperating.
Both of them went still.
Their expressions changed at once.
Chapter 1472 - Celebration and the Unforeseen
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Cheers!” Agatha said as she raised her cup.
“Cheers—!” the Witches boomed in reply. Dozens of cups were raised into the air as they clinked with each other. Among them were Taquila Witches, who had lost their sense of taste, as well as the higher-ups of the Union who had turned into carriers. It was especially so for the latter two. As humans who had experienced the previous Battle of Divine Will and through it, immense despair and helplessness, they finally felt the great weight on their chests lifted. They could engage in laughter with everyone else, laughing even more happily than the rest.
Not all sacrifices would have returns, nor was all persistence met with brightness. It was precisely because of this that centuries of sacrifice and persistence which were not for naught that moved people even more.
“Hey…” Nana curiously sized up Pasha and company. “Can you really taste anything by drinking it like this?”
The God’s Punishment Witches had only lost their sense of taste, but Pasha, Alethea, and Celine’s drinking far exceeded everyone’s imaginations. They would curl up their tentacles, pour the alcohol over their heads like they were showering.
“Of course. Although we do not have mouths, but we can use the short tentacles on the surface of our bodies to distinguish flavors and absorb the moisture. Furthermore, our senses are stronger than the typical person.” Pasha smiled in reply. “In addition, a carrier’s sense of taste is different from a human’s, so we can taste flavors we have never experienced before.”
“Wow… What’s the taste like? I’m so curious!” Lightning’s eyes lit up as she said.
“According to the Quest Society’s research, humans are unable to understand things they have never come into contact with. Even if she tells you, it would be hard for you to imagine it.” The Ice Witch refilled her cup. “If you wish to exceed that limitation, the only way is to transform into a carrier.”
“Agatha, are you thinking of…” Celine said peculiarly.
“Yes, once this is all over, I’m thinking of doing a Soul Transfer before rebuilding the Quest Society.” Agatha nodded without any misgivings. “A Witch’s lifespan doesn’t exceed a hundred years. If I become a carrier, I can continue my research in perpetuity.” With that said, she smiled at Lightning. “Towards people like you who are filled with curiosity, you are most suitable for the Quest Society. How about it? Are you interested in joining us?”
“But we won’t be able to fly by becoming carriers, right?” Lightning thought for a moment. “I haven’t even finished exploring the world. Perhaps, I’ll consider it the day I can no longer fly.”
“Phew… What are you saying? You sound as though the Battle of Divine Will has ended.” Lorgar downed a large mug of alcohol before letting out a breath. “We just managed to defeat the demons. There are even stronger enemies on the other side of the continent! No one can guarantee that the war will end the moment we arrive in the Bottomless Land. That’s why, we can only drink and celebrate as much as we can today!” As she spoke, she reached out to the alcohol barrel beside her. “Eh? It seems empty… Where’s the refill?”
“Everyone, drink slower. The alcohol Evelyn had to make today is just too much.” Molly commanded her magic servants to take away the empty alcohol barrels. “After all, everyone on the floating island is celebrating tonight. She won’t be able to provide for all of this even if she uses all her strength in the conversion.”
Be it Chaos Drink or alcohol, as objects of pleasure, it was naturally impossible that valuable manpower was wasted carrying them up the floating island before they set off. As such, the simplest solution was to bring along Evelyn. As long as there was water, she could produce alcohol ceaselessly. However, when everyone was celebrating over the victory, the stockpile they had was somewhat inadequate.
“Pfft” Sitting at the seat of honor, Anna suddenly burst out laughing.
“What’s wrong?” Everyone turned their gaze towards her.
“No… Nothing. I just thought of an interesting matter.” Anna shook her head. “Roland used to say that he doesn’t know why the simulation of civilization evolution would treat alcohol as something that important. Even if one might be lacking in food and clothing, as long as there’s some alcohol, the level of bliss and satisfaction would rise. Instead, people make trouble when there’s adequate food and clothing. It’s completely incomprehensible. From the looks of it, it’s not without reason.”
“Ahh… Here we go again. Brother’s strange words.” Tilly rolled her yes.
Everyone immediately broke out into laughter.
“By the way, is His Majesty still not busy with his work? Shouldn’t it be fine to abandon his work for a moment during such times?” Wendy asked.
Roland had only appeared at the beginning of the night celebrations, returning to his office after he gave a short opening speech. According to him, the demons would likely soon come to them; therefore, he had to handle the things on hand, so as to have confidence in the plans that followed. Only after finishing all of that could he celebrate with everyone.
“I’ll go hurry him.” Anna stood up.
“We’ll leave it to you then,” Wendy said with a smile.
The underground cave where the Witches were celebrating wasn’t too far from Roland. After passing through a narrow passageway, she arrived in an
office area beneath the command center. In fact, Roland wasn’t the only person busy. The staircase between the General Staff and the command center was constantly filled with the patter of footsteps. Clearly, they knew that the subsequent journey to the Bottomless Land was critical to the rest of the project.
Of course, she came to Roland not solely to allow him to relax. Nightingale was by his side and the end of the war marked the beginning of their agreement.
With this in mind, Anna knocked on the door.
“Come on in. The door isn’t locked.” Nightingale was the one who answered her.
Seeing that it was Anna, she appeared somewhat surprised. Even her expression turned unnatural. “Uh, why are you here…”
“Obviously, it’s for the agreement.”
“N-now? Wait… I’m not prepared yet…”
In a rare instance, Anna revealed a sly smile. “Just kidding. I’m here under everyone’s request to bring him over to have a drink.”
“So that’s how it is…” Nightingale heaved a sigh of relief, but she also had a despondent feeling.
“However, the agreement is part of it. We can also talk about it.” Anna looked at Roland, who was slumped onto the desk, asleep. “Is he in the Dream World?”
Nightingale took quite a while to realize that Anna was being deliberate. Helpless, she said, “Yes. He said that he needs to check on the research progress of the Design Bureau of Graycastle’s new project. He also needs to discuss the follow-up matters with that senior lord demon. He wouldn’t take long. If you wish to wake him up, just nudge him. According to him, these sort of matters can be interrupted at anytime. After all, time doesn’t change.”
Anna nodded as she extended her hand to nudge Roland.
The latter did not respond at all.
“Strange. That’s how we woke him up in the past. Is he too tired from the preparations over the past few days?” Nightingale pressed down on Roland’s shoulders and shook him, but failed to wake him up.
When she attempted to wake him up with more strength by raising his body up, he fell backwards without any response, leaning against the back of the chair. His hands slid down without any strength, reaching down to his waist, as though he had lost all consciousness.
The two instantly had a drastic change in expression!