The Drunk Elf

Leonhardt dreamt of bizarre landscapes, with endlessly scaling towers reaching into the heavens, strange creatures of all shapes and sizes. He tried to speak, but his lips refused to move, his hands and body paralysed, an overlooker of this world.

Even his thoughts remained out of his control, unable to understand the rapidly transmitted information.

All he could do was watch.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the saintess candidate Erina lay on her bed, the morning light flowing through the tattered cloth curtains illuminating her face. 

The priestess looked exhausted. Her eyes had dark circles around them, her eyelids twitched, and her dry skin lacked a glossy sheen. Maybe because he wrapped his arms around her, Erina seemed completely shocked. 

『Why did this man grab me?』

Because his physical power was too strong for her to break free.

His body now lay against her back while breathing like a baby, with skin shining like the surface of a river and a brilliant complexion.

The opposite of the priestess.

"Ngh! Come on." 

With a desperate push, the priestess pulled herself from his grasp before flying off the bed and landing with a loud thud. 

"Uh." The priestess scrunched her eyes tightly closed, rubbing her lower back while pressing her lips together to hide her painful cry. 

She turned back to face the sleeping male, now grasping the cheap pillow in her place.

'Why did I save this sinful man?'

Although she became a priestess due to her awakening as a saintess candidate, Erina's original standing was that of a noble lady.

Thus, experiencing this kind of thing, touching a male while unmarried and sharing the same bed, left her shocked and confused. 

Quickly, to avoid showing her current face, she rushed into the small room with a wooden basin; luckily, she could use basic water magic and cleanliness spells. 

Not long after, she came from the bathroom with her dark circles and dry skin much better, though if someone looked closely, the circles would be obvious. "He still hasn't woken up?" a soft yet slightly jittery voice came from her lips as she clenched her fists. 

'I should ask the others for help.'

Erina first visited Sylvie's room, where she normally read books. However, when she knocked on the door, there was no answer.

Knock

"Sylvie, it's me. Erina." The priestess called out, grasping her robes while looking down both sides of the hallway. 

Knock! Knock!

However, the silence prevailed. Not even a shuffling noise echoed through the other side of the door.

There was something unnatural about her friend's behaviour.

Sylvie normally did nothing special in the mornings—she should have been inside.

Still, Erina remained in front of her friend's dorm for several minutes before sighing and twisting the door handle.

To her surprise, with a click, it opened.

Immediately, a thick scent of alcohol and various snacks scattered everywhere greeted the saintess.

In fact, piles of books covered the floor, leaving little space to walk properly, but worse of all…

"S-Sylvia! What happened?"

Sylvie lay face-down on top of many books, dressed in only her underwear.

Her pale white skin was exposed, while drool leaked from her lips. 'Didn't Sylvie dislike alcohol?'

The saintess closed the door behind her quickly, gazing at the elven girl with blue hair wrapped around her body as she rolled on top of her books. Her flushed cheeks told a story of much drinking last night, yet Erina had never witnessed such a sight.

"Please wake up." The saintess whispered, shaking the elf's delicate shoulder carefully. 'She is so light.'

When Erina lightly lifted the girl, Sylvie groaned and rubbed her face on the floor.

"Don't touch me, perverted man!"

"What are you talking about? Please, open your eyes." Erina begged her friend, yet not long after, she couldn't help but clench her teeth.

"You really drank a lot, what happened?" Erina asked while lifting Sylvia in her arms, holding her by her stomach. "Your skin is beautiful." Although Erina knew Sylvie was an elf, normally, when they shared a bath, the elf never looked this glowing before. Her smooth skin looked like fresh winter's snow.

"Nghm Erina? Why are you here… ugh… my head hurts." Finally, the elf sat up, covering her eyes with one arm.

"Why were you sleeping here drunk? Come on. I'll bring you some water."

The priestess used her magic to produce a ball of clean water with one hand. Then, she grabbed an empty cup on Sylvie's table and washed it with holy energy. She poured the purified water into the cup and handed it to Sylvie.

"Thank you~ Erina."

"Sylvie is strange." Erina muttered with a complex expression.

In the past, Sylvie acted more like a cat, pushing herself further away the more Erina approached. Yet somehow, today, the elf seemed friendly and bright.

After the saintess made sure her friend finished drinking, Erina stared at her suspiciously. "What exactly did you do?"

"I don't quite recall what happened, but why does everything look like it's spinning? It makes my head dizzy. However, it's rather pleasant otherwise." Sylvie put a finger on her lips while tilting her head cutely.

"Are you still drunk? What on earth did you drink?"

"Ah, that perverted handsome guy, he made the drink so tasty." She began murmuring while rolling around on top of her books, twisting and turning around. She grabbed Erina's robe skirt before rubbing her face against it.

Erina immediately turned into a frozen statue, her face flashing between red and green. "Y-You're going to get my dress dirty, s-stop!"

"Erina~ You smell really nice~ Did you bathe?"

"No, but come on, stop messing around! We have training today."

"Hmm, nahhh~"

Erina held her chest, unable to accept how lovely the cold elf suddenly acted—where did this sudden change come from?

"What kind of stupid questions are you asking? Are you alright, Sylvie?"

"Ah, right. Didn't you ask if I was alright? That is funny."

"You need to sober up! Let's go outside, come on."

"Outside?"

Sylvie stretched her hands toward the discarded robe, tunic, and other clothes before they floated off the ground.

They were instantly wrapped around her body as if invisible strings controlled them.

"Such refined wind magic as always." Erina watched the process intently while waiting for Sylvie.

"Finally, are you done?"

"Mm." The elf seemed to have changed slightly, her eyes gazing at the ground, covering the view of her face with the oversized witch's hat. "Sorry."

Sylvie apologised after sobering up.

Currently, both girls stood in the inn's hallway, making their way to another of their companion's rooms: Asuka, the red-headed dragonoid.

"There's something I need both of your help with, you see." Erina finished explaining to the sober Sylvie, who avoided her gaze and nodded. She then knocked on the dragonoid's door. "Asuka? Are you there?" A soft voice called out to the girl behind the closed room door.

However, no noise came from the other side.

"Do you think she's dead drunk again?" Sylvie said whilst pinching the end of her pointy witch hat.

"Yes. Let us see."

After meeting Sylvie, somehow, Erina didn't think Asuka could be any worse, so she pushed open the door, wondering what the male in her bed was doing right now.