The buildings begin to duplicate themselves; Leor can’t clearly make out the faces of people passing by. His walk is stunted by the dragging weight of his feet; he is only able to keep straight with Ceri’s help, supporting his ever-shifting weight. Her tight grip on his side digs into his skin.

“Wh- where are we headed?” hiccups Leor.

Ceri hesitates. Her lips curl only a little; Leor isn’t sure if she’s actually upset or not.

“We’re going to a tavern,” says Ceri with a forced smile.

“A tavern? What for?”

“The night’s still young. We should enjoy our last day in Logtown.”

Bright, yellow lights from the windows of a building cast over the moonlit floor. As they approach the building, the musty mixture of sweat and alcohol fills the air; the clinking of glasses and laughter echo from inside. A long line of patrons stretches from the entrance to the end of the street, waiting to get in.

“You want to go here?” questions Leor, pointing his swaying finger at the line.

Without saying anything, Ceri drags him to the front door. A large, burly man with his arms crossed, dressed in tightly fitted black clothes, stands guard at the doorway. Stepping in front of their path, the guard raises his large, rough-looking hand and stops their entry.

“And, where do you think you’re going?” asks the guard in a deep, raspy voice. Pointing his thumb to the side, he says “The lines back there if you want to get in. We’re very busy tonight.”

Ceri strides up to the guard with power in her steps. Taking out her insignia and flashing it to him, she exclaims “I am one of the priestesses of Lord Alden, and I wish to gain entry into your tavern.”

A quick glance at the glimmering gold, curve-like emblem is enough to change the guard’s demeanor. He chuckles nervously while rubbing the back of his head. “O-oh, my dearest apologies.. You must be the priestess everyone’s talking about. I’m sorry for my harsh tongue. It’s only part of the job. Please enjoy yourselves!”. He smiles at them weakly, pulling the door open and guiding them inside with an open hand gesture.

Ceri smiles at him genuinely, a smile that Leor hasn’t seen since dinner. Walking into the tavern, the stench of alcohol floods the air. Both the bottom and top floors are filled with guests, laughing up a storm while bumping each other’s glasses with frothy mustaches across their faces. Every table is occupied by large groups, but Ceri spots two open seats at the bar amongst the sea of people.

“What’s gotten into you, Ceri? Is something the matter?” asks Leor as they quickly claim their seats.

“Nothing” responds Ceri with her hand raised at the barkeep. With a smile, she says “Let’s drink! Two Ales, please!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The barkeep nods silently.

“Two? You’re going to drink?” smugly chuckles Leor with his cheek resting upon his fist and eyebrows raised.

She hits the table with her fist with enough force to get her point across, while also trying not to disturb others. “Yeah, I drink! Sometimes… Is there a problem!?” pouts Ceri.

“No, not at all,” laughs Leor. “You just don’t seem like the type to drink, if you know what I mean”. A cheeky smile creeps onto his face. Despite the air being so tense earlier, he can’t help but tease Ceri a little, especially when she pouts so innocently.

She turns cheek. “Hmph. Maybe you had me wrong this whole time. Perhaps I can drink more than you.”

As if on cue, the barkeep places two glasses of ale in front of them. Leor picks up his glass in one hand and hands Ceri her’s with his other.

With a devilish grin, Leor says “Oh, really now? Let’s test that shall we?” He raises his glass with eyes determined to meet such a disrespectful challenge.

Ceri raises her glass with equally unwavering eyes and an uncharacteristic smirk. “I hope you’re ready!”

CLINK!

Leor’s adam’s apple jiggles up and down rapidly as he flushes down the ale. The foamy, fizzing beverage causes his eyes to water a bit, but he forces down the uncontrollable gag. He lets out a gasp of relief and satisfaction as he removes the empty cup from his lips and props it back onto the counter.

“Ahhhh~ not as good as Yui’s place, but that still hits the spot!”

Strangely, there is no noise coming from Ceri.

No way.. Is she done already?

Leor edges his gaze at her to find that her cup is completely untouched. Ceri stares at the liquid in her cup with a disgusted face and puffy cheeks,

“Uh, are you going to finish your drink?”

She looks at him with defeated eyes and her tongue sticking out. “Why does it taste like that?”

Slapping his thigh to the sudden disappearance of Ceri’s confidence, Leor can barely contain his laughter. He tears up more from laughing than choking back his gag reflex. “What happened to all that bravado? I thought you were going to surprise me for a second!”

“I was... But I didn’t expect beer to taste so...bad. Do they have something tastier?”

“I’m sure they do.” Leor signals to the barkeep with his pinky raised as he drinks from an imaginary cup. The barkeep raises his lower lip and nods in agreement. Or perhaps in surprise. “So if you can’t handle it, why drink?” asks Leor as he chugs Ceri’s beer on her behalf.

She squirms in her chair and twirls her hair with her finger. As she remains silent, her eyes shift around the room. Her silence only intrigues Leor more.

“I-it’s to get you to open up more... “

“Huh?” Leor cocks his head to the side. He looks up, trying to understand what she means by that.

“Miss Yui told me that if I made you drink, you’d be more open to talking! And, I felt bad about doing that so I thought I’d make it up to you by being your drinking partner…”

The lengths she goes to show consideration to someone like him never ceases to catch Leor off guard. He smiles at her, but this one is different. It no longer hides behind a mocking attitude or witty remark; it’s a gentle one that Leor himself thought he had long forgotten. Is it the drinks or perhaps something else? Leor doesn’t know himself; all he can do is smile back at her.

“Well… I guess you better start drinking then.”

The barkeep hands Leor a fancy wine glass with a bubbly transparent yellow liquid inside. With a big smile on his face, Leor lifts four fingers and repeats the drinking gesture; he slides five gold coins to the barkeep. Even the barkeep can feel the infectious pleasant air radiating from Leor. With his first smile of the night, the barkeep quickly swipes the coins and hands Leor four large servings of ale.

Turning to Ceri, who’s been patiently waiting to taste her mysterious, new drink, Leor locks eyes with her and raises his glass. “Let’s see what you got!”

Clink! The sounds of glass colliding echo through the tavern; it is like the whole bar had joined in on their celebratory challenge.