Lynn had just walked to Lumière's exclusive habitat when a thick smell of alcohol—mixed with notes of malt, grapes, and oak barrels—wafted toward him.
He fanned the air in front of him without changing his expression, his heart calm, even faintly amused. Hmm… this smell—he had more or less gotten used to it.
"Anya! Lumière!" he shouted.
Instead of the more reliable-looking Anya, a drunken Lumière stumbled over at the sound. Its mane was still stained with wine, and it let out a loud burp.
"Hic~ Lynn? Are you… looking for us to have a drink?"
Lynn pressed Lumière's head down as it tried to sniff his pockets for a bottle and asked, "Levi said Anya was with you. Where is she?"
"Yeah~ she's inside!" Lumière's tone even carried a hint of pride, as if sharing in the glory. "Her alcohol tolerance is amazing! Hic~ she can drink even more than me!"
Lynn: "…"
That ominous premonition instantly became overwhelming.
He pushed the blocking Lumière aside and looked in. The scene before him nearly gave him a heart attack—
Anya, the once holy and noble Unicorn, was standing boldly beside a large wine barrel nearly half her height. Her long neck was lowered as she dipped her mouth directly into the barrel, making joyful glug-glug-glug sounds as she swallowed.
The whiskey in that barrel was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Anya!"
Hearing the call, Anya jerked her head up from the barrel, her silvery-white lips wet and dripping with a few drops of alcohol.
Seeing Lynn, she let out an excited burp. "Lynn~ you're here! Want a drink? This beverage tastes really good, hic~ there's just a bit too little of it."
Lynn looked at the seven or eight empty bottles scattered nearby, then at the hazy-eyed, uninhibited Anya, and felt his worldview refresh itself once again.
He politely declined. "I… I won't drink. Uh… if you like it, you can take some back…"
He was just being polite, but Anya's eyes instantly lit up like searchlights. "Oh, how could I~ hehe~"
Despite her words, the silver tail behind her was already wagging happily.
Thus, that night deep in the Forbidden Forest, a bizarre scene unfolded—one that even made the Centaurs stare: a Unicorn, towing a long line of various wine barrels behind her with levitation magic, walked with firm steps toward the Unicorn herd's habitat…
---
After seeing Anya off, life seemed to return to a brief period of tranquility.
Lynn's pace of life remained the same. Besides classes, most of his free time was dedicated to the Black Lake.
He persistently carried out his grand "fishing" endeavor.
As for whether he actually caught anything? Ahem—don't look too deeply into that. You wouldn't understand the joy of a true fisherman.
Aside from that, he also found time to look after his ever-expanding magic vegetable patch.
With the blessing of the [Abundance] ability, this land had practically become a symbol of harvest.
What had started as basic vegetables and herbs had now developed into a diverse little farm. All kinds of fruits and vegetables grew round and full, generally much larger than their peers, with bright colors and indescribably rich flavors.
This afternoon, Lynn wandered over to the vegetable patch again, planning to see if there were any ripe watermelons.
The big watermelon he had brought back yesterday had sweet, sandy flesh and was bursting with juice. He and his friends had finished it in no time—nowhere near enough to satisfy them.
Lynn bent over and lightly tapped a particularly round watermelon, listening closely.
Thump, thump, thump~
"This one sounds ripe for sure. I'll take it back and slice it up!"
He patted the second melon with satisfaction.
Thump, thump, thump~
"This one sounds good too. Must be full of juice—perfect for juicing!"
So he turned and patted the third melon.
Clip-clop~ Clip-clop~
"Huh?" Lynn looked up in confusion. "How can a watermelon make that sound? Are there bugs inside?"
However, when he saw the source of the sound, he froze instantly.
A large herd of Unicorns had gathered at the edge of his vegetable patch!
There were so many that they had almost completely surrounded the perimeter!
Merlin's lacy triangular camisole!
Lynn exclaimed inwardly. What was going on? Were they gathering all the Unicorns to attack Hogwarts?
As his mind raced—debating whether to draw his wand or simply bolt—a familiar figure squeezed out from the herd, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Um… Lynn… do… do you have any more alcohol?"
Lynn blinked, looked at Anya, then at the massive group of silent Unicorns behind her.
"I do… so you all came in such a big group today to look for… alcohol?"
He then saw not only Anya nodding vigorously, but also dozens of Unicorns behind her bobbing their heads in perfect unison.
Lynn: "…"
"It might… not be possible…"
Before Anya could respond, an older-looking Unicorn stepped forward. Its horn appeared longer and more lustrous.
"Young Wizard, we do not wish to take it for free. We will pay you accordingly—with our tail hair and manes."
Hearing the word payment, Lynn quickly explained, "It's not about payment! Everyone, my stock is truly limited!
The ones Anya took last time were almost all I had! I really don't have enough alcohol to satisfy—uh—satisfy the needs of the entire herd."
When he bought the alcohol, he had estimated the quantity entirely based on Lumière's capacity. How could he have known it would turn into a collective purchase for the entire Unicorn herd? The demand was simply outrageous!
Looking at the group of Unicorns whose eyes were gradually shifting from expectant to disappointed, Lynn's mind raced.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and made a "difficult" decision. It seemed he could only let Lumière suffer a little.
No—how could he call it suffering? Lynn immediately corrected himself. I'm doing this to help the Abraxan overcome its alcohol dependency—for the sake of its healthy growth! What a noble motive!
"Alright," Lynn said with an expression that suggested he had done his utmost, "I'll give you all my current stock. But this is truly everything I have. If you need more, please place a pre-order next time…"
In the end, a transaction was successfully completed beside Lynn's vegetable patch.
Lynn had Levi transport the wine barrels from the trunk directly to the Unicorns' habitat.
Of course, he didn't sell everything. He still left some for Lumière. He wasn't the kind of master who would forget his bonds for the sake of profit…
Inside the trunk, Lumière wailed, "Where's the wine? Where's the wine?! How is there only this much left?!"
Levi replied calmly, "Master said those wines were defective products, watered down by dogs. They're not good for you if you drink too much. He'll get you something better during the holidays."
---
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