Chapter 149
“…What’s going on?”
“…Although it’s a regulation set by His Majesty the Demon Emperor, surely it can be applied differently depending on the situation.”
Chris continued.
“Especially since, as of today, I’ve been assigned to the Dark Demon Army, I will be under your command, sir. It’s said that in the battlefield, a commander’s orders take precedence over even the monarch’s, so accepting a drink from you wouldn’t be a crime.”
“…You’ve got a silver tongue. I don’t like men who only talk big.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t just talk well—I perform well too.”
Marquis Shupen scowled and then clapped his hands.
“Fine. Bring out the prepared liquor!”
Next to Marquis Shupen, a demon who appeared to be his adjutant asked cautiously.
“…All of it, sir?”
“That’s right.”
The adjutant stepped outside and soon returned.
Carrying a large earthen jar.
“Wait, isn’t that Black Star Demon Liquor?”
“They brought out that rare drink? And that much of it?”
Chris’s eyes widened.
It was a drink he had heard of before.
‘The treasured liquor of the Dark Demonic House!’
Prominent houses often had their own traditional liquors, and since they weren’t distributed externally, it was nearly impossible for outsiders to taste them.
‘Even cheap booze would’ve been more than enough, but this? I can’t be more grateful.’
To Chris, it was as though a divine light was shining behind Marquis Shupen.
Of course, it wasn’t as if the marquis had prepared such a drink especially for Chris.
True to his hardcore demonic nature, he probably just wanted to get Chris drunk to see his true colors.
But the intent didn’t matter.
There was liquor in front of him.
That was all Chris cared about.
‘Liquor! Booze! Alcohol! How many years has it been?’
With superhuman patience, Chris held back his excitement as he waited for Marquis Shupen to pour the drink.
“Take it. It’s a long-standing tradition in the Dark Demon Army for the commander to offer a drink to welcome a newly appointed demon.”
Finally, Marquis Shupen poured the liquor.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t into a glass—but a bowl.
“Tonight, the two of us are going to empty this entire jar.”
“!!”
“Can you do it?”
It was clearly a huge jar.
Chris swallowed hard.
Nervous? No. He was thrilled.
‘I was worried he’d give me just one drink and stop.’
“Thank you. I’ll gladly accept.”
Chris, with a pounding heart and trembling hand, brought the bowl to his lips.
He could see Marquis Shupen staring coldly at him.
‘Is he telling me to down it in one go? How old-fashioned.’
But actually, that made it better.
The maddening aroma pierced his nose.
Even if it had smelled like cheap alcohol, he would’ve been fine, but this—this was the scent of fine demonic liquor. He couldn’t hold back any longer.
Gulp—he drained the bowl in one go.
Was it because he had longed for this so much? From the flavor on his tongue to the smoothness as it went down, everything was exquisite.
‘Khh! This is the stuff. One more!’
Just as he was about to blurt that out unconsciously—
Something went wrong.
‘Huh? What the—?’
Marquis Shupen’s face split into two.
No, that wasn’t all.
The world looked warped. More precisely, it spun around in circles.
‘…Could there be poison in the drink?’
Startled, he checked his body, but couldn’t sense any signs of poison.
‘…What is this?’
That was the last thing he remembered.
Chris collapsed forward like a puppet with its strings cut, his head smacking the table in front of him with a thud.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence fell over the room.
A demon cautiously spoke.
“…He’s drunk? Off just one drink?”
“…No way? Black Star Demon Liquor doesn’t even have that high of an alcohol content.”
But then came the light snore, kuuu.
He really had passed out from drinking!
“…What kind of tolerance is that, a sparrow’s eyelash?”
“…Maybe it’s because he’s still underage?”
“Even the perfect Young Lord Christian has something he can’t handle.”
Meanwhile, Marquis Shupen casually drained his own drink, then clicked his tongue as he looked at Christian.
“As expected, just a brat.”
* * *
“!!”
Chris’s eyes shot open—and he immediately grabbed his head.
‘Ughhh. Why does my head hurt so much? Don’t tell me… is this a hangover?’
Chris made a face of complete disbelief.
‘I only had one drink, though?’
It wasn’t even a high-proof liquor.
Chris looked as if he had just received devastating news.
‘Don’t tell me… I have a low alcohol tolerance?’
It sure seemed that way!
Drinking capacity was heavily influenced by constitution, after all.
‘But I even underwent total bodily reconstruction—how can I still be weak to alcohol? That makes no sense!’
But on second thought, just because he had a reconstructed body didn’t necessarily mean he’d have a strong tolerance.
If you're genetically lacking in alcohol-decomposing enzymes, then even with a reconstructed body, the result would be the same.
‘N-No way. That can’t be true. It’s just because my body hasn’t fully matured yet. Things will definitely be different once I’m an adult.’
Chris stubbornly denied his low alcohol tolerance.
At that moment, a pure-looking ghost girl, Marie, appeared from the wall.
[You’re awake. A hangover, my young lord? How adorable. You were so lovely while drunk, I could barely stop myself from kissing the sleeping prince to wake him up.]
“…My head hurts, so don’t joke around like that.”
[Ohoho. Shall I prepare some virgin’s blood juice for your hangover? Or perhaps, some forbidden bachelor’s blood juice to boost your energy?]
“No thanks. Anyway, did anything happen while I was out?”
Marie tilted her head.
[Ah, one guest did drop by in the middle.]
“Who?”
[An ill-tempered, gruff-looking middle-aged man… I think he said he was Marquis Shupen.]
Chris tilted his head.
‘Marquis Shupen? Why would he…?’
He must’ve had some business.
[He said he’d depart for the barrier first, and to follow him immediately once you woke up.]
“!!”
Chris’s expression hardened.
It was a test.
“How long has it been since Marquis Shupen left?”
[About half a day. I actually tried waking you up several times, but you just wouldn’t get up.]
Chris swallowed a curse.
Come to think of it, he did recall Marie whispering at him like some kind of paranormal phenomenon trying to wake him.
‘Why the hell is my alcohol tolerance so bad?’
Regardless, this was bad.
In half a day, the distance would’ve grown considerable.
‘Damn that old fossil. Why does he keep testing me like this?’
But it couldn’t be helped.
Right now, he was undergoing the second succession trial, and Marquis Shupen was essentially the examiner.
Tests like this would keep coming until the succession trial ended.
“Anyway, I’ll go on ahead. Tell Alros and Melin to follow behind! Oh, and bring the item I mentioned earlier.”
[The item?]
“Yeah, I’ll write it down now. Make sure they get it.”
Chris mounted his horse and kicked off.
Suppressing the nausea from the hangover, he thought—
‘Marquis Shupen, you damned old fossil. I’ll make sure you bow before me!’
* * *
It took him a full half day of riding at full speed to catch up to Marquis Shupen.
His stomach was on the verge of turning from the grueling forced march.
‘Damn it, this kind of endurance-heavy stuff really isn’t my specialty.’
It had only been about a year and a half since Chris returned to the past.
He’d made rapid progress thanks to his genius talent, but when it came to stamina and endurance, he was still lacking in many areas.
There simply wasn’t enough total training time, so it couldn’t be helped.
But since he couldn’t show weakness, Chris kept his expression composed and approached Marquis Shupen.
“I’ve followed your orders and arrived.”
Marquis Shupen was sitting by a campfire with his adjutant, grilling meat.
Alongside the same Black Star Demon Liquor that had knocked Chris out after just one drink.
‘Tsk. Looks delicious. If only I’d had another glass.’
Marquis Shupen glanced up at Christian and spoke.
“Sit down. Dicks, bring this brat a cup—no, he’s just a fledgling. Better get him some ginger ale instead.”
Chris felt a surge of irritation, but given the fact he’d passed out after just one drink earlier, he couldn’t argue back.
‘Damn it, once I’m an adult, my alcohol tolerance will increase. Just wait. I’ll chug an entire bottle in front of you then.’
Marquis Shupen drank alone for a bit, then suddenly spoke.
“If you’d arrived any later, I would’ve canceled your appointment.”
“!!”
Chris felt his heart sink.
He wasn’t bluffing.
“Are you serious?”
“Do I look like the kind of man who jokes? Of course I’m serious. Regardless of any succession trial, the authority over appointments in the Dark Demon Army rests entirely with me.”
Marquis Shupen took another swig.
“This won’t be the last time. I’ll keep looking for excuses to kick you out, and the moment I find a valid one, you’re gone.”
“That’s hard to accept. Aren’t you being excessively hostile toward me?”
He expected not to be welcomed warmly, but this was beyond what he imagined.
Then Marquis Shupen shook his head and said something unexpected.
“Hostile? Not at all. I’m doing this for the opposite reason.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m doing this because I actually think you’re a decent guy.”
It didn’t make any sense.
Marquis Shupen continued in a low voice.
“If you become Archduke as you are now, you’ll die a meaningless death.”
“!!”
“I could tell right away that you were an exceptional talent. But you’re still too green to become Archduke. If you ascend now, you won’t survive the coming chaos—you’ll just die in vain.”
Chris understood what Marquis Shupen meant.
‘So even Marquis Shupen suspects the turmoil that will hit the Dark Demonic House.’
Soon.
The Southern Magic Nation would be swept into a violent storm.
The Dark, Venomous, and Destruction Houses would all be hit, without exception, and left in ruins.
‘It’ll happen within the next one or two years. Because of that, when the war against the Four Kings breaks out afterward, the Southern Magic Nation won’t even be able to put up a proper fight and will collapse.’
If Chris became Archduke now, he’d have to face that catastrophe head-on.
It was almost guaranteed to cost him his life.
“The political climate is turning grim. A fledgling like you becoming Archduke now would just mean you’re a sacrificial lamb.”
Marquis Shupen, seemingly done with his meal, pulled out a cigar from his coat and lit it.
“What’s about to happen is for grown men like us to handle—not greenhorns like you.”
Chris shook his head.
He knew it wasn’t said with ill intent.
Contrary to his fierce and gruff demeanor, the way he showed concern for a younger member of the family was even surprising.
‘Honestly, I should be grateful for it.’
But it didn’t apply to Chris.
Because he had to become the Archduke no matter what.
Especially because of the coming calamity.
No—if it wasn’t Chris, there was no one else who could stop it.
Even Marquis Shupen, who was now acting like he had all the answers, would soon meet his death.
With that thought, Chris opened his mouth.
“You sound like a stubborn old man.”
“What does age have to do with fighting enemies as a Demon? Isn’t that the kind of logic those Union bastards would use?”
At that arrogant statement, the adjutant next to them gasped.
But surprisingly, Marquis Shupen didn’t look offended in the slightest.
As expected, he didn’t seem to be the type to care about trivial formalities.
“That’s quite the Demon-like thing to say.”
“……”
“But saying things like that without the strength to back them up means nothing. As you are now, you're of no use to the Dark Demonic House.”
Chris's current strength was close to 5-star, and yet he was told he was of no help.
Still, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
A 5-star Demon typically leads a small combat unit or holds an executive position in a knight order.
In the Dark Demon Army, that’s about the rank of a deputy commander.
An essential force, no doubt, but not one capable of influencing the larger picture.
To take on a truly vital role that could make a real difference for the Dark Demonic House, he had to be at least 6-star Master Class.
“Someone like you, whether you’re here or not, means nothing…”
“Do you really believe that?”
“What?”
“I don’t see it that way.”
In that moment—
An unbelievable phenomenon occurred.
For a split second, a strange sensation brushed across Marquis Shupen’s perception.