For over an hour, Zoe continued dancing merrily, while the poor servants struggled to keep up with her on their already tired legs. Naturally, after so much dancing, all the servants were crying out to finish the dance so they could eat the delicacies they had prepared with so much effort. However, their lord's watchful gaze prevented them from stopping to rest, except to hydrate themselves with drinks from the alcohol bar. This continued until the servants finally realized something important had happened: Apolo was drunk! And what did that mean? It meant they were free to stop dancing for once!

The young lord, for his part, was drinking from two jugs at once while eating like a pig, loading plate after plate of food and soiling all his clothes. Apolo was too bored from all the dancing and too drunk to care about what Zoe thought of him. So, he followed his instincts and finally sat at the table to devour the food.

Zoe, on the other hand, noticed that the partygoers were sitting at the table to eat, so she skillfully teleported herself next to Apolo and reminded him loudly:

—Sir, you should say a few words before starting to eat!

—Mmmm...—Apolo looked grudgingly at the green sprite that had just shouted at him. Fortunately, Zoe's image was so distinctive that even in his drunken state, the young man remembered he couldn't ignore what had been said. He stood up with a beer jug in hand and shouted:

—My loyal warriors! Are you not dying from heat and hunger?

—Yes!!—The whole table shouted in unison. It seemed the servants were also quite affected by the seductive power of alcohol to the point where manners didn't matter.

—Then eat and drink like pigs, because in my house, manners don't matter when celebrating a battle!—Apolo shouted, downing the entire jug in one go as he got up to fetch another barrel of alcohol for the table. Luckily, Zoe had gone overboard with the quantities, so there was more than enough food and drink, even if everyone was eating exaggerated amounts due to the exercise they had done and drinking like there was no bottom to the barrel because of the increasingly stifling heat in the room.

Seeing that the nobleman himself was disregarding protocol, the servants didn't hold back and abandoned any attempt to eat like a noble would, opting instead to use their hands to eat everything on the table while drinking like living barrels of sand.

Apolo and the servants continued eating as their drunkenness grew, and conversations became increasingly exaggerated. It didn't take more than an hour, and the fog in the room began to cover them all, although for now, the fog wasn't so thick that they couldn't distinguish the faces of the people nearby.

—The fog is getting thicker, and it's getting hotter. At this rate, the room will end up just like my training room, haha!—Apolo laughed like a maniac, noticing that the fog was now up to his waist, as he lifted two large barrels and brought them to the table.

—Where does all this fog come from?—Orrin asked as he drank. While the old man wasn't accustomed to drinking much alcohol, today he had also gotten drunk. Part of the reason was that Zoe had only prepared alcohol, so there was no water to drink in the barrels, and on the other hand, today was a day to celebrate in style: From tomorrow, his son would be going to the Ministry of Magic to become a wizard!

—It comes from little things floating in the fog: they're not visible anymore, but it would be fun to try to find them—Apolo replied, spitting corn pieces everywhere as he continued "cleaning" a cob with his teeth.

—Isn't it strange that there's fog at the party?—Orrin asked, looking worriedly around the room, realizing there was so much fog that he couldn't see the walls anymore.

—I'm also somewhat taken aback by this strange tradition, but knowing how ugly the members of the imperial family are, I'm not surprised they hide in the fog while they celebrate—Apolo responded, taking another cob to peel.

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—It's too hot to get off this damn chair!—Mateo complained, wiping the sweat from his face with a dirty cloth with food on it. He was already too drunk to notice that he had stained his face even more—What a crappy night! I hate the heat!

—Haha, but it's fantastic that it's like this. That way, this party night will be even more unforgettable! It really reminds me of...—Apolo exclaimed, passing some food to Mateo, although he could only see his silhouette, so he wasn't so sure it was him.

—Of that, I have no doubt!—Mateo interrupted, just as Apolo spoke, the music in the room suddenly changed to a faster, more upbeat tempo, causing the red lights mixed in the fog to flash intensely in the room—Did you change the songs, Apolo?

—No, I have no idea how to change the music; it must have been Zoe. But it's better this way; this music is more fun and lively—Apolo commented with a smile, though to his dismay, the music seemed to be getting louder and had become annoying, making it difficult to hear the other people in the room.

What Apolo and Mateo didn't know was that Zoe hadn't actually touched anything. Instead, the crystals had once again malfunctioned due to the fog, which now reached the ceiling of the room.

—Yeah, that other music was incredibly boring, although Zoe went overboard with the volume: I can't even hear myself speak— complained Mateo, almost shouting to be heard—I'll try to lower it a bit...

Mateo got up from the table and ventured into the fog, trying to find Zoe to ask her to turn the music down a bit, while Apolo continued enjoying the corn on the cob in his hand.

—This atmosphere reminds me of my dreams!— Apolo shouted towards Mateo, trying to find an excuse to talk about his dreams with his cousin.

—...— But logically, Mateo didn't respond, as he had gotten up a few minutes ago. Despite this, the music was so loud that Apolo couldn't hear what the man had said, and the fog was so thick that the young man hadn't seen Mateo get up, and he had been talking to imaginary faces for a while.

—This atmosphere reminds me of my dreams!— Apolo shouted again, but this time with more force.

—...— No one responded, or at least Apolo couldn't hear anything over the music.

—Are you there, or am I talking to myself, cousin?!— Apolo shouted, realizing he could no longer distinguish Mateo's silhouette; it seemed he had gotten up to find a drink.

Apolo waited for his cousin to return while feasting on the delicacies on the table. Selecting the food had become quite fun because the young man couldn't see which dish he was choosing due to the thickness of the fog. Nevertheless, Apolo could remember the positions of the dishes, but not for long, as the barrels of alcohol continued to empty. Time passed this way, and when Apolo finally noticed, he had completely forgotten that he was waiting for Mateo to return, and instead, he was more concerned with battling the heat in the room, which was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

—What a discomfort. If it weren't for this lousy toga, I wouldn't mind this fog so much. That's why I always use my old reliable robe for training: I can't stand the feeling of this sweaty fabric!— Apolo shouted, but no one responded to his complaints, or at least, he couldn't hear anyone consoling him. Used to not being able to hear others due to the loud music, the young man got up from his chair and, using his memory, found the barrels. To his dismay, he discovered that the drunk servants had left very few barrels, even though Zoe had brought more than one whole barrel per person. Seeing that the alcohol was about to run out, Apolo didn't hesitate and greedily took two barrels at once.

With some effort and struggling not to fall due to how drunk he was, the young man once again found the table in the thick fog and sat down in the first seat he found. Realizing how strange and solitary the giant hall felt, Apolo, with an amused smile, proceeded to remove his clothes, wanting to be more comfortable in the room's heat. He didn't care much about the curious looks of others since absolutely no one could see him in the thick fog.

—Ha, ha, ha, this party is spectacular...— Apolo laughed while naked, swaying in his chair and filling his mug from the barrels he had claimed—It just lacks one little detail...

After saying that, Apolo focused on the thick fog in front of him and stared at it with a silly smile for a few minutes, as if waiting for some kind of spirit to manifest in response to his call.

—Come on, show yourself and say: "Apolito, you seem a bit lonely at this party, is everything okay? Do you need to talk to someone?"— Apolo shouted, looking at the fog with a smile as if he really expected someone to respond.

However, nothing happened, disappointing the young noble.

—I never thought I'd say this, but I really miss you, Fausto...— Apolo murmured reflectively, looking around. This red fog with flickering flashes and the incredibly loud music reminded the young man of some of his incredibly bizarre dreams.

Feeling like time had stopped, Apolo continued to drink while reflecting on his life, enjoying the pleasant sensation of being completely hidden from the world behind the protective shroud of thick fog.