Saint, You Should Quit Smoking

Adela Ciagria. The Sage of the Pitch-Black Tower.
One of the world’s top three great mages, she displayed her brilliance from a young age and is said to have left new footprints in the lineage of mages.
A few years ago, such a person ceased all magical activities and began living in seclusion.
And after her seclusion, the place where she recently appeared was right here, Bardishe Academy.
I gazed at her while extracting information collected by the imperial family from my mind.
She was smiling like a child on a picnic.
“Would you like to order?”
At the owner’s question, Adela replied confidently.
“Long Island Iced Tea! Since I couldn’t drink it yesterday. I must drink it today.”
“I’ll keep it a secret that you also had it the day before yesterday.”
“Shut up, Master.”
Watching the two talking casually as if they’d had this conversation often, I gently asked Adela.
“Will you be alright?”
“Pardon?”
The Sage tilted her head. I added further explanation.
“That drink must have an extremely high alcohol content.”
“Ah.”
At my concerned words, Adela grinned. Her inner confidence was glimpsed.
“Don’t worry. It’s a bit inappropriate for a lady to say this, but I’m quite a heavy drinker.”
“I see.”
A heavy drinker, she says.
Well, it would be impossible to live in a bar without being a heavy drinker.
Hearing that, I felt slightly reassured.
Because I didn’t want to be the only one not getting drunk.
‘I’ve never been drunk even once.’
Since learning the way of alcohol in the imperial family, no matter how much I drank, I never felt intoxicated. Even when drinking consecutive glasses of high-proof alcohol.
Father praised me, saying I had the qualities of a ruler, but well… I couldn’t help but be a little curious about what it feels like to be drunk.
Anyway, if my drinking companion was a booze hound, there would be no problem. I nodded.
“Then there shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll trust you.”
“Hehe. And Prince, it’s not the alcohol content that’s important in drinks.”
The alcohol content isn’t important? What does she mean by that?
If you don’t consider the alcohol content when drinking, what criteria do you use?
With such questions in my eyes as I looked at her, Adela straightened her shoulders proudly and said confidently.
“Whether it’s sweet or not, that’s all that matters.”
“…”
A statement that clearly explained why she ordered Long Island Iced Tea.
This woman, she won’t drink anything but cocktails even if she dies.
It seems I’ll have to order a cocktail too.
“Owner. I’ll have a Blue Hawaii, please.”
“Order received.”
The owner turned and started preparing the drinks, and soon brought them to us.
Adela’s drink, which looked similar to a regular iced tea. However, its alcohol content was insanely high, and one would quickly get drunk if drinking it carelessly.
Gulp- Gulp-
She drank it all in one go without any hesitation.
“Ahh-”
Adela made a satisfied sound and wiped her lips.
Seeing that, I asked about a slightly concerning point.
“Sage.”
“Yes.”
“Do I need to down mine in one shot too?”
At my question, Adela made a face as if I had asked why the sun rises in the east.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“…I understand.”
Just because I don’t get drunk doesn’t mean I can drink as much as I want.
I inwardly sighed and downed the blue drink.
A sweet yet alcoholic beverage. The taste of a cocktail itself.
“Hehe. That’s right. You’re doing well, Your Highness.”
The Sage addressed me with a voice that still dripped like honey.
Regardless, I only responded calmly.
“Do you feel like talking now?”
“What are you saying?”
However.
To my reasonable question, Adela made a face as if I had asked whether the sun rises in the west.
“We need to have at least three drinks.”
“…Let’s do that.”
“Master-! Refill here-!”
As Adela shouted excitedly beside me, I felt a bit of concern.
‘Should I leave now?’
It feels like I’ve stepped on a landmine.
The owner, hearing the Sage’s words, prepared two more drinks.
Then the owner refilled again for a third round.
Only then did Adela open her mouth.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
Is it finally starting?
Without revealing the sigh escaping from within, I looked at her.
Adela was gazing at me with honey dripping from her eyes.
“I’m grateful for last night.”
“Didn’t you already mention that yesterday?”
“No, that’s not it.”
The Sage lightly shook her head at my words.
If not that, what could she be grateful for?
As I sent her a look indicating she should elaborate, Adela pointed out a hidden fact from last night.
“You knew I was about to take action and stopped me beforehand. Correct?”
“…”
I quietly narrowed my eyebrows at those words.
‘She read it.’
The reason I intervened at the exact moment Adela was about to raise her hand.
The reason I, who had been ignoring the Northerner’s provocations, suddenly changed my mind was simple.
The Sage opened her mouth with a chilling smile.
“If Your Highness hadn’t stepped in, that person would have died.”
“…”
At those words, I glanced toward the owner.
She didn’t seem to be paying attention to our conversation and continued making cocktails.
“Of course, saying I would kill him is an exaggeration, but I would have done something to him.”
Adela added.
“What did that person say? Something about not being defeated as long as he’s standing?”
She smiled brightly as she said this.
“I could have made it so he would never stand again. What a pity.”
The Sage’s words felt like frost fragments dropping.
She appeared that cold and unforgiving.
But Adela didn’t stop there. She penetrated deeper into the core.
“So that person should be thankful.”
“For what?”
“Your Highness intervened to save that person’s life, right?”
“…”
I responded silently to those words.
Adela continued, seeming even more confident in my reaction.
“I think you judged that him losing his life was more dangerous than me committing murder. I wonder if that person even knows.”
The Sage seemed more angered by this fact than I was.
Perhaps she was regretting that my consideration hadn’t been conveyed to the person concerned.
However.
I simply replied calmly to her words.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…?”
Just those three words.
At those words, Adela’s eyes narrowed.
My words continued steadily.
“Whether that person understands my intentions or not, it doesn’t particularly matter. I didn’t do it hoping he would understand.”
“Hmm.”
What part of my words impressed her? Adela made a nasal sound.
“Even if no one understands? None of the students at that place would ever dream of it.”
“What need is there for that? I’m not particularly displeased.”
This wasn’t just lip service.
I truly didn’t care either way. I hadn’t shown consideration hoping for recognition, nor did I intend to boast about it.
I just did what I thought needed to be done.
Perhaps something about my answer pleased her.
Adela moved her white, slender arm to rest her chin on her hand.
Her red lips formed a long crescent moon.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Your Highness is a good person.”
“Is that so?”
I didn’t particularly think that.
But if she thinks so, that’s a good thing in its own way.
Adela, as if she had heard good news, raised her voice energetically again.
“Master- Another Long Island Iced Tea-”
“Are you only going with that today?”
“Yes. It’s going down especially well today.”
Looking at that conversation, it seemed we would have to drink a few more rounds.
I didn’t know when I would finally get to start discussing my business, but I had decided to accommodate the Sage.
In first impressions, it’s better to be accommodating to gain favor.
And, again.
One drink.
Two drinks.
Three drinks.
After repeatedly drinking three more glasses, I thought it would be alright to bring up the topic now.
I set the mood and addressed Adela.
“Sage. Now, shall we finally talk about-”
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
What business does she have now?
Though I inwardly sighed as I looked at her.
Adela’s face wasn’t in its place.
Where the Sage’s face was supposed to be.
“Is your arm from then alright?”
It was over my forearm.
Adela was stroking the arm that had been injured last night as if it were a baby bird. And she was staring at it intensely.
‘What’s this?’
I felt a bit perplexed.
How could she act like this when we’ve just met, and considering our status, she shouldn’t behave so casually.
With such questions in mind, I checked the Sage’s eyes.
Her pupils were clearly dilated.
In other words, she was drunk.
“…”
This woman, where did her claim of being a heavy drinker go?
I felt my composure severely shaken.
I wasn’t drunk, but it was difficult to maintain my mental clarity for other reasons.
“This won’t do. What if Your Highness’s noble body gets even a slight blemish?”
The way she stroked my arm was getting faster. The soft fingers brushing against my arm created a truly peculiar feeling.
I answered while maintaining composure as much as possible.
“It’s my body, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“That won’t do. You didn’t even wrap mana around it.”
“Yes. My mistake.”
“But it was fascinating.”
Fascinating?
I thought there was no point in listening to a drunk person, but I was curious about what the Sage had to say, so I lent an ear.
“What did you find fascinating?”
However.
The words that came from the Sage’s mouth were beyond my imagination.
“You directly controlled the mana inside the opponent’s body, didn’t you?”
“…”
“The timing was probably when you blocked the axe blade with your hand. Seeing how you made him drop the axe, it’s clear.”
My brows furrowed sharply. Considering how extremely rare it is for me to show my psychological shakiness through my expression.
This truly meant she had hit my core.
Adela, still intoxicated, continued speaking in a daze. She seemed unaware of what she was saying.
“Making him kneel, making him lie on the floor. You disturbed the mana inside his body and timed your words to when his body would collapse, right? Isn’t that right?”
“…How did you know that?”
I asked as calmly as possible to prevent her from reading my flustered emotions.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t prevent it from showing slightly.
Fortunately, the Sage was too drunk to notice such things.
“I can see it all~ At my level, I can see things like mana flow.”
“Is that so? That’s impressive.”
“Right? Isn’t it impressive? It’s a level other youngsters can’t even dream of~”
Now I could understand how Adela had seen through the secret of my victory.
Saying she can see mana flow means she can see both the mana traveling through the air and the mana inside each person’s body.
If that’s the case, she would naturally know how I won.
Because.
‘I am the same.’
The power to see mana flow.
That power, only possible for those who have reached the level of one of the world’s top three great mages.
The fact that I, Loran, the Third Prince who supposedly lost all his powers, possess it. That was precisely the imperial family’s top secret.
I had taken on the burden of figuring out what to do now that Adela knew this fact.
“…”
I suppressed the sigh that was about to escape from my lips.
Originally, I had intended to ask Adela why she was residing at Bardishe Bar and neglecting her Academy life.
‘Given this turn of events, the conversation will be delayed.’
I needed to resolve this first for my peace of mind.
As I organized my thoughts with that in mind, the Sage suddenly blurted out.
“By the way, Your Highness. Shall I tell you a secret?”
“A secret, you say?”
Are there more secrets here?
I felt a bit of amazement at the Sage’s wisdom, whose depths seemed unfathomable.
How much more surprising information would emerge from here?
But, whether it was about her or something else, I needed to continue the conversation with the Sage in the current situation.
If Adela was spilling information defensively due to intoxication, that was fine too.
“Yes. Are you curious?”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“Hehe. Listen carefully.”
With that, Adela looked at me and smiled brightly. It was a beautiful smile like a flower in full bloom.
Therefore, I couldn’t possibly anticipate what was coming next.
“Actually, I fell in love with Your Highness at first sight.”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what I had heard and foolishly asked her to repeat it.
At my reaction, Adela puffed her cheeks strongly with a “puu-“.
“Oh my, a man who makes a lady repeat herself is a bad man.”
Leaving me dumbfounded, Adela continued speaking.
Then, exclaiming “Ah!”
“So, what do you think of me, Your Highness?”
“…”
“I-”
Thwack!
Before Adela could continue her words.
The owner approached and struck the back of her neck with a clean blow.
Thump. The owner quietly supported the Sage’s body as it collapsed powerlessly.
“…”
“…”
We exchanged silent glances.
After a moment of silence, I spoke first.
“…Does this happen often?”
“Yes.”
An immediate answer.
The owner added an explanation.
“That’s why she resides at the bar. I need to take care of her at the scene of drinking.”
“That must be tough.”
I shook my head.
She seemed to clearly enjoy alcohol, and confidently claimed to be a heavy drinker, so I trusted her and became her drinking companion.
‘And she passed out by herself.’
If this was going to happen, why did she say she would only open her mouth after drinking?
After staying silent for a while, feeling absurd, I suddenly recalled something and looked at the owner.
“By the way, you.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear all that conversation just now?”
The owner merely smiled in response to my question.
“I couldn’t help but hear it.”
“Then-”
“But, Your Highness, hearing it means nothing.”
“…”
As I probed the meaning with my gaze, the owner provided a definitive answer that eased my concerns.
“For generations, every Bardishe Bar master without exception has made a geas to keep students’ conversations confidential. Breaking it would result in terrible consequences.”
“…That must be tough for you.”
Whether I should find it unfortunate or expected.
At that ambiguous answer, I shook my head again.
I dusted off my clothes and stood up. It seemed I should return to my quarters. It was already late, and I didn’t want to expend more energy here.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, but can I leave the aftermath to you?”
“Don’t worry. I’m already used to it.”
“…”
There was no need to say it must be tough anymore.
I quietly tidied my attire and gave my farewell.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Yes. Next time-”
Just as the owner was about to say something.
Adela, who had fainted and was lying down, mumbled something.
Its content was truly remarkable.
“Mmm, Your Highness… No, this maiden is not yet mentally prepared…”
“…”
“…”
Silence.
Both the owner and I watched the Sage silently.
After exchanging glances, we simultaneously nodded.
“Keep this secret.”
“Yes.”
For the sake of the Sage’s honor, it would be better to take it to the grave.
The scenery visible when leaving Bardishe Bar was the dark night sky.
But the stars shining resembled the features of the girl I met today.
As I left and returned to my quarters, what I pondered for a long time was.
Why on earth did I appear in Adela’s dream when we had just met two days ago.
“…”
That was truly puzzling.