Chapter 28: A Drunken Airael
“Well, as long as you understand,” Axi replied mercilessly.
Airael puffed her cheeks in displeasure and said, “Hey—! Even though I said that, your blunt acknowledgment really hurts our already fragile relationship. We fought side by side, like comrades in battle!”
Axi took a sip of his drink, still without mercy, “But you’re just a nuisance to me, that’s an undeniable fact.”
Seeing that this wasn’t enough to touch Axi’s heart, Airael changed tactics and asked, “Are you really planning to spend your life all alone?”
Axi blinked, slightly taken aback, but then responded, “Being alone isn’t bad. It’s freeing. I think my previous life was just fine.”
Hearing the nostalgic tone in Axi’s voice, Airael retorted, “I think your future will be even better.”
Talk about a total buzzkill!
Sure, her behavior was a bit annoying, but your reaction is way over the top!
Besides, if it weren’t for figuring out what special something about you is drawing me in, I wouldn’t bother dealing with you, you smelly jerk!
So stinky and rough, not gentlemanly at all.
You definitely deserve to be alone for the rest of your life.
When you grow old, no one will care for you.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Airael mentally cursed Axi.
Axi, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to her internal monologue and continued to eat and drink.
With a feast like this, he wasn’t going to skimp on himself.
Especially after all that intense exercise, he needed to replenish his body with plenty of nutrition.
As for Airael’s earlier comments, he merely heard them but didn’t react.
Truthfully, he was a bit conflicted.
Though he disliked trouble, especially the kind caused by Airael, he had to admit she had actually helped him a lot in today’s battle.
And he and Airael could indeed be a good combination.
He was a warrior with little knowledge of magic.
He had suffered quite a bit because of magic in the past, while Airael was clearly an expert in that field.
She knew a lot of spells.
On the side, Airael noticed Axi wasn’t paying her any attention and chose to ignore him as well.
Although she needed to stay close to Axi to learn more about him, she also had her pride.
Axi had really annoyed her earlier.
So, she decided to give him the cold shoulder for a while.
Even if that might just suit Axi’s wishes, Airael didn’t care!
What she wanted now was to follow her heart and have her little tantrum.
For all these years, she had been carrying quite the burden.
She was the Elven Queen, and while she hadn’t officially taken the throne, everything regarding the Elven Race was inherently tied to her.
In a world filled with chaos and war, her primary responsibility as queen was to lead her people to survive.
But that wasn’t an easy task.
The current world was very tumultuous, with war raging everywhere.
It’s worth mentioning that the Elven Race had enjoyed peace for three hundred years, not just due to their own strength, but also thanks to the pact signed three hundred years ago.
As long as the Human Race didn’t oppose the Elven Race and maintained a relatively friendly relationship, no other race dared to challenge them.
But this wasn’t Airael’s ideal scenario.
Relying on the Human Race was merely a temporary fix; she wanted to see the Elven Race grow stronger.
And she absolutely didn’t want to get married!
Yet now, she had no means to resist.
She hadn’t even taken the throne yet.
And once she did, managing the country would be a huge challenge.
Over the past three hundred years, even though Airael had mostly kept to herself in the Elven Royal Palace, she had gotten a clearer understanding of the Elven Race’s situation through her teachers and books.
She knew she had a long road ahead.
This pressure had been building up on Airael’s shoulders.
Aside from that, there was the war from three hundred years ago.
While Airael had displayed some prowess during that conflict, it had also exposed many of her shortcomings.
She knew a lot of theory, but theory and practice were still worlds apart.
In reality, theory and practice might not even align at all.
Thus, the pressure on Airael had become quite substantial.
The “spoiled” Airael began to pour drink after drink into herself, looking quite the free spirit.
Her consciousness was becoming increasingly hazy under the influence of alcohol.
At this moment, Axi looked at the slightly tipsy Airael beside him and said, “Ailia, you’re already drunk, so don’t drink anymore.”
“Who… are you calling?” Airael asked in a daze.
She didn’t even know her own name anymore? She was really out of it!
Axi shook his head lightly, replying, “I’m talking about you.”
If you can’t handle your drink, don’t overdo it!
Otherwise, it’ll just become a hassle for everyone.
Thinking about the possible mess he might have to clean up later gave Axi a headache.
Sure enough, this person was a big nuisance.
“Oh! You’re talking about me! So why did you call me?” Burp!
After asking, Airael couldn’t help but let out a drunken burp.
What an ungraceful scene! If Hela saw this, Airael would be in for a world of embarrassment.
Thankfully, she wasn’t in the Elven Royal Palace right now.
She was in Human territory, disguised as a Human to gain experience.
“You’re already drunk, so you shouldn’t drink anymore,” Axi said as he reached for Airael’s drink.
“I’m not drunk! I can keep drinking!” Airael declared as she tried to gulp more alcohol down.
But Axi stopped her movement.
His hand was gripping Airael’s drink, trying to pry it from her grasp.
Airael naturally wasn’t willing.
“Let go! I said I’m not drunk! I want to keep drinking!”
Inevitably, a struggle ensued between them.
However, at that moment, Axi had no thoughts of being gentle, so the outcome was clear.
Airael’s drink was snatched away by Axi.
“You big meanie! If you won’t let me drink, I’ll beat you up!”
With her drink gone, a furious Airael pounced on Axi, knocking him down, and then sat on him, starting to pound her tiny fists against his chest.
Did Axi even feel any pain? Who knows, but Airael’s little fists had turned red.
Even though Axi had changed into casual clothes for the banquet, he hadn’t removed the chainmail underneath, which he wore the whole time.
Thus, after just a bit of fighting, Airael stopped and looked at her now-red fists, crying out, “It hurts!”
Though her appearance beneath the cloak was hidden, her soft voice was undeniably irresistible.
Nearby villagers’ eyes were drawn to the scene.
The sudden commotion left the villagers confused about what was happening.
Why were the two adults fighting each other?
It seemed like Lord Axi was bullying Lady Ailia.
Based on their assessment of the situation, the villagers naturally sided with Airael.
However, given the complex scenario, they felt uncertain about helping Airael, who appeared to be in the weaker position.
Axi found the sight before him quite irritating.
This person was definitely a huge troublemaker.
After thinking for a moment, he looked at the surrounding villagers and said, “Ailia is drunk; I’ll take her home. Additionally, I’ll be taking my leave now, since Ailia and I need to continue our journey tomorrow. You all can keep enjoying the banquet and don’t worry about disturbing us.”
After saying that, Axi put down his drink, lifted Airael, and stood up.
Then, he casually slung Airael over his shoulder and headed toward the house the villagers had prepared for them.
The swift and decisive action left the surrounding villagers stunned.
“Wow, so cool!”
However, the thoughts of the lovestruck girls seemed quite different from the other villagers.
But Axi hadn’t gone far when Airael, still perched on his shoulder, suddenly vomited.
Although he managed to stop in time and avoid getting any on himself, the overwhelming smell was certainly hard to appreciate.
Then Axi frowned and didn’t continue walking, instead letting Airael down so she could continue to vomit.
They would wait until she was done before moving on.
Axi wasn’t keen on getting any of that mess on himself.
As Airael was let down, she continued to throw up.
At first, she could still get something out, but gradually it got stuck, and she just couldn’t get it out.
Seeing this, Axi stepped up and gently patted Airael’s back.
With Axi’s help, Airael was suddenly able to expel everything that was stuck inside her.
That smell was something words could hardly describe.
Axi’s already furrowed brows knitted even tighter.
“Are you done throwing up?” he asked.
“I want more drinks!”
“……”
Faced with the undeniable reality, Axi stopped speaking, hoisted Airael onto his shoulder again, and carefully walked around the vomit to move forward.
They proceeded to Airael’s room.
Once inside, Axi first turned off the lights, placing Airael onto the bed before lighting the oil lamp on the table.
With the dim light, Axi examined the figure lying on the bed.
Airael wasn’t being still; her body was restlessly moving about on the bed.
“You jerk Axi! I want to drink! Hurry and get me some booze!”
At the same time, she kept mumbling under her breath.
In response, Axi couldn’t help but twitch his lips.
Drink more? Just look at what state you’re in!
But then Axi’s eyes went wide.
