Chapter 56 - Love at First Sight

The white-haired girl on stage soon finished her song, looking up at the spotlight shining down on her.

“I never lived in a forest!” Elania complained. “Elves haven’t lived in forests like that for millennia! And I definitely didn’t sing love songs by myself.”

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind living in one, though," Daniel said, unable to suppress the grin spreading across his face. He leaned back in his seat, savoring this reversal of their earlier positions.

Elania loved trees. Loved trees.

Her face flushed immediately. “...You really didn’t have to say that in front of Lucian—or Felicia.”

"Those two were the least likely to understand the implication." Daniel's grin widened as he watched her squirm. "And you wanted something only I knew."

“Mmh… You did at least convince me.”

Daniel found it quite funny as he wrote. Including elves in his story, but removing all the tree-hugging aspects of them, then introducing one that loved trees perhaps too much.

Just another charming quirk of hers.

A knock sounded from the door, and soon a maid walked in with a trolley of different drinks. “Honored guests, would you like anything to drink? It is on the house.”

“Hmm, I think some white wine for me,” Elania replied, turning in her seat. Then another mischievous smile appeared. “Maybe a bottle of Artorian?”

Daniel felt his eyebrow twitch. Sure, why wouldn’t there be a wine named after me?

"Certainly, ma'am." The maid took out a stemmed glass and a deep-green bottle with gold lettering on the label, setting them on the small table beside Elania. “And for the sir?”

“Do you have any strong starpop?”

The drink Rowan had shared with him left an impression, that strange combination of burning warmth and energizing mana. He'd been wondering about how stronger versions would feel ever since.

“We do, sir. Level requirements are three hundred, six hundred, a thousand, and fifteen hundred.”

Daniel sat forward, interested now. That was much higher than the one he tried, at only one hundred. "Oh, let me try the fifteen hundred one, then."

The maid's professional composure cracked slightly. “...I must warn you, if the level exceeds your own, there is a high chance of injury.”

Elania laughed, almost spilling some of the wine in her glass as her shoulders shook. "That won't be an issue."

The maid bowed in apology, then pulled a black bottle with barely visible fragments of light shining through. She gave him a similarly dark glass, short and wide, and began pouring some of the liquid into it with careful movements.

There’s definitely a spatial storage in that trolley; there’s no way she had all these things prepared. Maybe there’s an entire wine cellar in there, complete with glasses?

It lit up the whole room as it poured down from the bottleneck, filled with tiny lights that reminded of small suns. Stars, of course. The light painted dancing shadows on the ceiling and walls, transforming their lounge into something magical.

Ah, so the dark glass is to protect from the intense light.

“I will leave the bottle, sir. But I ask that you drink slowly.” The maid's voice was filled with concern as she set the bottle down.

“Thank you, I’ll be careful. I doubt we will need anything else, so you may leave us now.”

"Of course. If you should change your mind, you need only ring the bell by the door." She bowed again, deeper this time, before rolling the trolley back through the door. The soft click of it closing seemed to seal them back into their private world.

“Starpop, huh?” Elania asked, glancing past him at the cup, which was casting light on the ceiling. The glow reflected in her amethyst eyes, making them sparkle. "Have you tried it before?"

"Yeah, an old index maker up in the north gave me some." Daniel watched the lights swirl in his glass, mesmerized by their movement. "It was rather weak, but very interesting, so I've been hoping to try a stronger version."

"Ah, that makes more sense." Elania settled back in her seat with the glass cradled in her hands. "They will probably think you went for the most expensive drink they had once you heard it was on the house."

The accusation in her tone was teasing, but it made him pause. "Oh… I should probably pay for it before we leave."

"Depends on the taste, doesn't it?" She gestured toward the stage with her glass. "Oh! You've entered the stage!"

Daniel set his cup back down and turned to the stage again. The same forest as before, but now the white-haired girl and the man playing Artorias stood next to each other, positioned perfectly in the spotlight. They were staring intensely into each other's eyes with an exaggerated longing that would have been at home in the most dramatic romance novel.

"You're beautiful," Artorias whispered, though the whisper somehow carried to every corner of the theater.

The girl blushed, looking away for a moment with a coy smile. "Thanks… You're not bad yourself."

Both Daniel and Elania were holding back laughter now. Daniel pressed his lips together, feeling his chest tighten.

"Love at first sight," Elania said through barely contained giggles. "Is that how you remember it?"

"Well, you definitely left a deep impression," Daniel replied, grabbing his collar and pulling it down to reveal an old scar. “In my neck!”

Elania laughed hard this time, slapping her thigh. “Aah, good times! I had to see if my impression of you was right, you know? This scrawny student without any backbone is joining our party?”

Daniel's hand went to his neck, finding the old scar right next to the still-healing wound. “And what did you learn?”

"That you were dumb as bricks, not even trying to protect yourself. That hasn’t changed, I guess." She grinned at him. "But at least you were brave."

"Exactly your type, right? Perhaps it was love at first sight." He leaned toward her slightly, close enough to see the flecks of deeper purple in her eyes.

"Mmh, no." She took a sip of her wine, considering. "You had to prove yourself quite a few times before I became interested."

On stage, Artorias and Elania had moved to a different scene. The forest backdrop had been replaced by what looked like a temple interior, with all-white columns and ethereal lighting. An older man, dressed in pure white robes, stood before them, arms spread in blessing. It took Daniel quite a while to figure out who it was supposed to be.

"That's Valkor? White robes?" He squinted at the stage, trying to reconcile the figure with his memory of his old friend.

“He’s the first prophet, you know? Obviously he’d be dressed in white.”

"...Well, it might suit him." Daniel tried to imagine it and failed. "But your party was already formed when I joined. This makes it seem like I gathered you."

"Details, details." She waved her hand dismissively, bracelets clinking softly. "Seb is probably next, then maybe the dragon fight, then the journey to the corrupted one."

"That's an extremely condensed version… But yeah, the journey is probably the focus."

Daniel finally felt he had time to try the starpop again, picking the glass up and swirling it in his hand for a moment. The lights inside moved like living things, tracing patterns against the dark glass. Then he brought it up to his mouth and took a sip.

The liquid hit his tongue like fire, burning its way down his throat. It still carried the same flavor profile as last time, only richer now—honey, herbs, cinnamon, and that slight bitter note that rounded everything out.

Pffaaa, that’s way stronger than last time!

His eyes watered slightly, and he had to breathe carefully through his nose. The aftertaste lingered, coating his mouth with warmth and making his tongue tingle like he'd bitten into something electric.

But then the real effect started. His stomach started rumbling, almost like an engine, as the spots of light popped one after another. He could feel each individual burst, miniature explosions of power. 

The mana sailed through his body in waves, giving him a sudden burst of energy and warmth much stronger than expected. His muscles felt charged, ready to move, like he'd just woken from the best sleep of his life.

"Fffuck! That's so much more power than I expected!" The words came out in a rush as energy coursed through him.

"Of course the scholar can't handle his liquor," Elania teased, taking a sip of her wine with deliberate delicacy.

"Easy to say when you're sipping grape juice!" Daniel stood from his seat, too much energy in his body to sit still. The room suddenly felt small. He paced toward the barrier with his hands flexing at his sides. "I imagine a three-thousand-level starpop would have me flying through the roof."

"I think this is the strongest they've produced." Elania watched him move with amusement in her eyes. "They might need a mage of a similar level to create the strongest ones, and not everyone can hire an archmage to make alcohol."

"Makes sense," Daniel replied, doing stretches in front of the barrier to expel some of the energy. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the mana settle into his muscles. His reflection in the barrier showed him illuminated from behind by his abandoned glass. "Oh, I think Seb has joined already. But he looks like a businessman?"

"He founded the biggest business empire in history. What do you think people imagine him as?"

On stage, a well-dressed man with slicked-back hair was shaking hands with the actor playing Artorias, both of them grinning like they'd just closed the deal of the century.

"Fair enough." Daniel watched the scene unfold, still bouncing slightly on his feet.

The play continued much as Elania had predicted, eventually culminating in their confrontation with a dragon. They were protecting a city near the middle of the continent, in their famous four-man squad.

A few flashy light effects later, and a heroic charge from Artorias to deal the final blow, the dragon was down. They even had a large dragon head falling down from the side of the stage, halfway realistic-looking.

“Sure, you take credit for that final blow,” Elania sneered, pretending to be insulted. “Not like I had to dig myself out of its chest or anything.”

Daniel still stood straight, but had expelled most of the sudden energy now. “Well, I did save you a few times.”

“That’s your job, barrier-mage.”

“Barrier-archmage, thank you.” He smiled at her, watching as she took another sip of wine.

Then a sudden flash of light from the stage forced his attention back. A woman dressed in black had appeared on stage, standing on the dragon’s head, all evil-looking. “You dare stop me from achieving my evil plans?! I will kill everyone in the world for this insult!”

Is that… what?

This time, Daniel really felt unwell. His knees went weak and he fell back down in his chair, hitting the seat hard enough that it creaked.

"Art?" Elania's voice cut through his thoughts. She'd set down her wine, grabbing his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Is that how they remember her?" His voice came out hollow. He stared at the stage, unable to look away from the caricature before him. "They think she was evil, that she was doing anything on purpose?"

The actress on stage cackled, a sound designed to chill audiences and mark her as irredeemably wicked.

That was so far from the truth, so insulting to her memory. She had been an intensely good person, desperate to heal the sick and cure the many diseases spreading through the lands. Her only fault was being too brilliant, developing her Sarun magic too fast. 

Whatever remained of her after the spirit corrupted her soul must have been screaming for someone to kill her.

Then, finally, the memory returned. The memory he'd been missing, the one that had been hovering just out of reach since he woke in this world. The memory of his final moments before the seal was completed. 

Of the actions that made Vixani furious with him.

Ch.55 --I-- Ch.57