TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!
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After spending two days, Victor Wang "created" one tragedy and one comedy.
The tragedy was King Lear, one of Shakespeare's Four Great Tragedies. This time, the comedy was not inspired by Shakespeare, but by The Miser by Molière.
As soon as he finished, he sent both books via express delivery to the Opera Epiclese. Fortunately, the straight-line distance between Sumeru City and Opera Epiclese wasn't very great, and the entire route was accessible by water. With a speedboat in service, the delivery would take just one day.
Almost exactly when the two books arrived at the Opera Epiclese, Eula's invitation followed soon after.
"Sumeru's spiced specialty cocktails really live up to their reputation," Eula said enthusiastically. "Spicy on the first sip, then a sweet-and-sour aftertaste. They're gentler than Snezhnaya's 'Firewater,' more stimulating than Mondstadt's dandelion wine, and far more layered than either."
She spoke at length about her gains from this trip—gains that also happened to be the alcohol she intended to make Victor Wang drink next.
Victor Wang let out a silent sigh. Somehow, he'd ended up with no path of retreat. All he could do was follow Eula to Gandharva Ville.
All the old Withering Zones had been completely cleared, and no new ones had appeared, so the Forest Rangers' workload was much lighter. It was evening by the time they arrived, and both Tighnari and Collei happened to be home.
Collei, however, looked quite busy… busy learning to read and write. So having guests arrive was truly an unexpected delight for her. She looked toward Tighnari, who had been supervising her studies rather strictly.
Since someone had come all this way to visit, it really wouldn't do to begrudge such a small amount of time. Tighnari smiled helplessly, and just like that, all the dreaded homework was officially cast aside. Collei poured tea, made polite conversation, and then eagerly prepared to have a long, heartfelt chat with Eula about Amber.
But the situation quickly took another turn.
Eula presented Collei with a carefully chosen gift on Amber's behalf—a stack of books.
"Amber was very happy to hear that your Eleazar has been cured," Eula said. "She said she wished she could fly straight to you this very second to celebrate together. Even though she couldn't make it this time… she heard that once you're able to stand on your own, you plan to personally visit her and report on your growth. She's really looking forward to it. She also said it would be wonderful if you could make it to the next Windblume Festival. I think these books will be very helpful to you."
Collei immediately caught several key words—Amber, happy, looking forward to it, next Windblume Festival. She was completely won over.
"Hehe… I'll definitely read all of these books carefully!"
The topic naturally returned to studying, and Tighnari seized the opportunity to change tactics.
"The fairy tale you especially like, Tales from the Box, was actually written by Victor. Now that you've met him, you can ask him how much knowledge it takes to write a book. At the very least, you need to learn and write every single character properly."
Collei's excitement skyrocketed when she heard that. She looked at Victor Wang in disbelief.
"Tales from the Box…?!"
"Ah—yes. That was me."
"Amazing… amazing…! Can I get your autograph?"
"Of course."
"I'll go get the book!"
Collei hurried off to fetch it. Tighnari smiled and said, "I only found out a few days ago from the newspaper—so you're actually 'Dust.' Collei likes fairy tales, so I use them to teach her literacy and general knowledge. I realized that the fairy tales you wrote are not only very interesting, but also deeply meaningful."
What followed was casual conversation and greetings. From it, Victor Wang learned that Lisa and Kaeya had also visited Collei before leaving Sumeru, and had discussed some cooperation matters with Tighnari.
They talked all the way until dinnertime, then cooked together using fresh ingredients from the forest, preparing a table full of delicious dishes.
The small gathering ended—but Eula still hadn't mentioned drinking at all. Victor Wang's lingering anxiety finally settled a little.
Then, at Eula's call, he was asked to help carry a wooden barrel from the Gandharva Ville pier…
It looked exactly like a Dawn Winery barrel. And the sloshing sound when it moved made it very clear that it was filled with liquid.
"The drinks are here~!"
"So much…?"
"What, are you scared?"
"..."
Eula rested her left hand behind her head, grabbed her right arm, and stretched vigorously. Her already well-proportioned figure looked even more striking as she sighed theatrically.
"Sigh… I was actually supposed to arrive in Sumeru together with this wine. But because I had to deliver the letter, I rushed through the night instead."
Victor Wang refused to be completely cornered. "Even so… there's no need to prepare this much wine, right?"
"Haha, I'm just joking. Look how scared you are." Eula laughed. "This barrel is Dawn Winery's dandelion wine. It was shipped all this way for spice ratio experiments. We don't need to drink it all—just enough until Tighnari finds the right blend."
"Tighnari… is this the cooperation Kaeya and Lisa discussed?"
"Exactly. Cocktails—blended drinks."
As they walked, Eula explained:
"Cocktails usually use strong liquor or wine as a base, then mix in ingredients like fruit juice, milk, or coffee. This lowers the alcohol content and changes the flavor and mouthfeel.
Most cocktails taste sweet and sour. Sumeru's specialty cocktails add spices, so they're spicy as well. But Mondstadt's dandelion wine has a slight bitterness.
Kaeya was worried that people accustomed to dandelion wine wouldn't easily accept Sumeru-style cocktails, so he suggested using dandelion wine as the base to create a Mondstadt-style cocktail instead.
That means the spice ratios and quantities can't simply copy Sumeru's recipes. So, they found a genius botanist from the Amurta—Tighnari."
"I think I understand…" Victor Wang went straight to the point. "So, you don't actually know how much of this barrel we're going to drink either, right?"
"How could I not know? One cup for me, one cup for you. Fair and square—no one gets to bully the other with superior alcohol tolerance."
"..."
Back at the residence, Tighnari had already laid out various spices he'd collected during his patrols and ground into powder, ready to be added to the wine after blending.
He gave them an early reassurance: "Even if you get drunk, it's fine. I've prepared sobriety potions and healing potions. There won't be any health issues."
And then the tasting began.
Dandelion wine as the base, mixed with spices, without adding anything to dilute the alcohol. The first sensation was spicy, seamlessly followed by bitterness, and only then a faint sweetness lingering at the end. The alcohol content hadn't increased—but it felt like it had doubled… at least to Victor Wang.
After tasting it, Eula commented, "Diluc wants something that tastes like 'Firewater,' but isn't as intense as actual Firewater. This fits perfectly. But if it's for the general public, this ratio is far too stimulating. We'd need to lower the strength or reduce the amount of spices."
That was the last scene Victor Wang clearly remembered.
When he regained consciousness, he was already in a hotel room in Sumeru City.
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