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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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On Arvis Island, late at night.
The first day of the school trip was coming to an end.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Anya opened the door to reveal a sullen Sepia.
“What’s up, Anya? Why did you call me?”
“You came! Sepia, come on in.”
“W-what’s going on?”
Anya pulled Sepia inside by her arm.
Tesha and Tia were already there.
Sepia was puzzled. Why were they all together in Anya’s room?
“Welcome, Sepia. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Sepia met their gazes, refusing to back down.
She didn’t want to be intimidated by them.
“I thought we should all get to know each other better.”
“This is pointless.”
Tia crossed her arms.
Sepia sat down in the middle of the room.
She considered both Tia and Tesha rivals.
“Let’s clear the air!”
Tia still hadn’t forgotten the incident with Sepia threatening her raven.
And Tesha had had a minor disagreement with Tia. Although she hadn’t had any direct conflicts with Sepia, she didn’t particularly like her.
They didn’t get along.
Anya was aware of their animosity, which was why she had arranged this gathering.
The four girls sat facing each other, the atmosphere thick with awkwardness.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Yes, why did you call us here?”
Sepia and Tia looked at Anya expectantly.
Anya chuckled.
She pulled something out of her bag.
“Ta-da! The finest wine and 30-year-old whiskey from the Central Ward distillery!”
Gulp.
Someone swallowed audibly.
Tesha and Sepia stared at Tia.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Drunkard.”
Sepia’s words made Tia look away.
Sepia hadn’t forgotten.
She remembered Tia clinging to Ethan while completely drunk.
She couldn’t forget, no matter how hard she tried.
They had even fought that night.
And Tia was the one who had started it.
“You were so drunk, you couldn’t even stand up straight.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sepia wanted to call her a shameless hussy.
But she held back.
It wouldn’t do any good.
“Come on, let’s not fight. Let’s have a drink!”
“Isn’t whiskey a bit too strong? We have things to do tomorrow.”
Tesha looked anxiously at the whiskey bottle in Anya’s hand.
“Okay, you can have wine, Tesha.”
Tesha was speechless by Anya’s simple solution.
“How about you, Sepia and Tia? Can you handle whiskey?”
“Bring it on. We should have a drink, since Anya went through the trouble of arranging this.”
“Don’t get drunk and make a scene.”
Tia ignored Sepia’s jab.
Losing her temper would be unladylike.
“Okay, here you go. One shot each.”
Anya poured them each a shot of whiskey.
The other three girls stared at Anya, their glasses in hand.
“Let’s drink and clear the air! Cheers!”
They drank.
Sepia maintained her composure despite the alcohol.
But the mood remained tense.
“So… Sepia and Tia, why don’t you two get along?”
Sepia and Tia glared at each other.
And sighed simultaneously.
‘Why are you sighing now?’
‘Why are you sighing?’
Sparks seemed to fly between them.
Anya contemplated.
She had arranged this gathering to help them bond, but there was no sign of reconciliation.
‘Should I call Arthur and Ethan?’
But Anya shook her head.
This was supposed to be a girls’ night, a chance for them to build friendships.
If Arthur and Ethan were there, everyone would just act polite and distant.
“Sepia, why don’t you start by telling us what you don’t like about Tia.”
“…W-why me?”
“Do you want Tia to go first?”
“I refuse.”
The conversation had returned to square one.
Anya laughed awkwardly.
She had plenty of alcohol, and the night was young.
‘They’ll open up once they get drunk.’
Anya decided to introduce a drinking game.
It was a popular game among barbarians.
They would clear the air after a few rounds of penalty drinks.
The game was a truth game.
The person chosen had to answer the question truthfully or drink.
It was a simple game.
“What if they lie?”
“Yeah, they could just pretend to be telling the truth.”
Sepia and Tia were surprisingly in sync.
“If you can’t even tell the truth in a game, how can we trust each other? We’re supposed to be comrades! We have to watch each other’s backs on the battlefield.”
Anya’s words were strangely persuasive.
They all agreed to play the truth game.
“I’ll have whiskey this time.”
Tesha’s decision surprised Sepia and Tia.
Tesha didn’t even flinch as the strong alcohol burned her throat.
It was impossible to tell if she was being truthful or not.
“Okay, my turn. Sepia, answer truthfully. Do you like Ethan?”
“Yes, I do. As a servant. And actually, he’s head over heels for me.”
I’ll endure it. It’s a long night.
It was Sepia’s turn.
“Okay, my turn. Tia, do you like Ethan? Romantically?”
“That’s a silly question. No, I don’t like him romantically. I just want to hire him.”
It was Tia’s turn.
“My turn. Tesha, do you like Ethan?”
Tesha drained her shot of whiskey without hesitation.
Sepia and Tia were speechless.
She didn’t even bat an eyelid as she swallowed the strong liquor.
It was impossible to tell if she was being truthful.
“My turn? Okay, I have a question for Sepia. You don’t like me, do you? Tell me why.”
Sepia hesitated.
She was jealous because she thought Ethan and Tesha were involved.
But she couldn’t admit that.
She drained her shot of whiskey.
The strong liquor burned her throat.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“My turn. Tia, why did you spy on me when I was walking with Ethan? And what deal did you make with him?”
You asked me to buy a pornographic novel for you.
Tia couldn’t reveal that secret, even if her life depended on it. It was a secret she would take to her grave.
She drank her shot of whiskey.
It was her first time drinking hard liquor, and she felt a hiccup coming on.
“Whew… My turn. I have a question for Sepia. I heard that Ethan was on a date with a girl with brown hair last weekend. It was your maid, Vivian, wasn’t it? What’s going on?”
Blinded by jealousy, Sepia had asked Vivian to test Ethan’s feelings.
She couldn’t reveal that embarrassing secret.
She drank her shot of whiskey.
“My turn. Tesha, why don’t you get along with Tia?”
“Wait, why are you asking Tesha that?”
Tia interjected.
If Tesha answered truthfully, everyone would know that Tia had been trying to keep Tesha away from Ethan.
‘They’re drinking so obediently.’
Anya smiled, observing the situation with amusement.
“What? I asked Tesha.”
“Tesha, just drink. No! I’ll drink for you!”
Tia quickly snatched Tesha’s glass and drained it.
It was black rose whiskey.
As the night wore on, they all got progressively drunk.
“Hic… This is strong…”
“If you’re drunk, go to sleep.”
“I’m not drunk!”
Tia and Sepia started arguing again.
Tesha, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up. It was her turn.
“Since it’s my turn to ask a question, I’ll ask Tia. You and Sepia have fought before, haven’t you? Why did you fight? Tia, you have to answer truthfully.”
“Why… why are you asking Tia? Tia, what are you doing? Drink!”
“I was going to drink!”
Tia had embarrassed herself by getting drunk at a social gathering.
It was a major blow to her pride.
She couldn’t reveal her embarrassing past.
So, she drank.
In the end, no real secrets were revealed that night.
They just kept passing the bottle around, the atmosphere growing increasingly heated.
How much time had passed?
Anya glanced at the empty whiskey bottles on the floor.
There were three empty bottles.
And the three girls were drunk, their eyes glazed over.
None of them were used to drinking hard liquor, and they had failed to pace themselves.
“Hey, Miss Honesty… why are we fighting?”
“Yeah… why are we even fighting?”
“Heehee… Isn’t it all because of Ethan?”
They were so drunk, they didn’t even know what they were saying anymore.
Anya sipped her whiskey, observing them with amusement.
“Why don’t we go and teach Ethan a lesson?”
“That’s right! Miss Honesty is right! We should do that!”
“Yeah! Why are we fighting? Ethan should be our common enemy!”
They suddenly seemed to have reached an agreement.
Great minds think alike.
“Follow me, comrades!”
Tia, who had managed to stand up, declared.
Sepia and Tesha also struggled to their feet.
They stumbled towards the door, Tia leading the way.
But before they could reach the door, Tia collapsed.
Anya, who had quietly put down her whiskey glass, was standing behind them, knocking them out one by one.
“You all have terrible drinking habits…”
Anya sighed, looking at the unconscious girls.
Their night of shame had just begun.
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Tia gasped as she sat up.
It felt like a nightmare, but her head was pounding, and her stomach churned. It was a sign that last night’s events weren’t a dream.
‘Oh my god… I was crazy… crazy… crazy…’
She banged her head against the wall.
She remembered everything.
The memories were vivid, and they only became clearer as she tried to forget them.
‘Hey, Miss Honesty… why are we fighting?’
‘Yeah… why are we even fighting?’
‘Heehee… Isn’t it all because of Ethan?’
Tia shuddered at the horrifying memories.
‘Why don’t we go and teach Ethan a lesson?’
‘That’s right! Miss Honesty is right! We should do that!’
‘Yeah! Why are we fighting? Ethan should be our common enemy!’
The last thing she remembered was walking towards the door.
And then she had blacked out.
Did Anya stop them?
She wanted to believe that. But she wasn’t sure.
‘How… how can I even face them now?’
She had even spoken in a dialect.
She wanted to die of shame.
She saw Sepia and Tesha at the morning assembly.
They all looked like they had gone through hell.
They remembered everything.
‘I suggested we attack him… Did I do anything embarrassing?’
‘Why does everyone look so gloomy…?’
‘We agreed to make Ethan our common enemy… I’m a terrible princess…’
They sighed simultaneously.
Then they looked at each other and laughed.
Ethan was walking towards them with Arthur.
“We didn’t do anything embarrassing, did we?”
“I blacked out as we were leaving…”
“Me too… I don’t remember anything after that.”
There was no point in asking each other.
They could only hope that Anya had stopped them.
A glimmer of hope flickered in their hearts.
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Okay, that was funny lol