Lilith proudly led the entire group straight into the heart of Alesta Village, stopping right in front of its most luxurious, high-end restaurant. The place was absolutely stunning, reserved only for top-tier elites, but Lilith simply waved her hand and ordered the finest, most expensive delicacies on the menu without a single care for the bill.
The moment the massive feast was laid out, all discipline collapsed. Everyone completely went wild and dove into the food. Even Haruto, who usually kept a strict, calculated control over his actions, couldn't say no to the incredible spread. He joined the party, matching their pace as they emptied plate after plate.
As the night progressed and the food tables were cleared, the drinks were brought out. Lilith and Seraphine immediately poured glasses for everyone, cheering loudly. Up until this exact moment, Haruto had never touched a single drop of alcohol in his entire life. Looking around at the high morale of his party, he decided to make a rare, spontaneous choice to try it out.
He picked up a glass, steeled his resolve, and took a drink.
The reaction was instant and violent. The taste hit his system like a massive piece of corrupted data, completely rejecting his palate. His face contorted, and before he could even process the shock, he had to rush out. Haruto ended up throwing up two or three times behind the restaurant, his entire stomach completely turning inside out. Wiping his mouth, thoroughly miserable and exhausted, he swore a silent, unbreakable oath to himself: he would permanently delete alcohol from his life and never, ever try it again.
While little Aeterna stayed completely safe drinking juice, the rest of the table had absolutely no limits. By the end of the night, Lilith, Seraphine, Toya, and even the goddesses were completely wasted, swaying back and forth and laughing hysterically.
The only one left standing perfectly fine and completely sober was Haruto, who, despite his ruined stomach, was now fueled by pure, survival-driven frustration as he looked at his completely functional but utterly useless, drunken party.
The walk back to the mansion was a complete, chaotic mess. When they finally stumbled through the front gates, the sight in the hallway was something no one could have ever predicted.
Lilith and Ivory, who usually couldn't spend five seconds together without starting a massive argument, were now completely draped over each other, leaning heavily for support as they took clumsy steps forward. Right behind them, Lustra and Bellona were doing the exact same thing, locked arm-in-arm just to keep from tripping over their own robes. Seraphine was leaning heavily against Asobi, trying desperately to maintain a tiny shred of her dignity, while Toya was practically hanging off Rutherford's shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
The only ones perfectly sober were Haruto and little Aeterna, who was fast asleep, cradled safely in his arms.
Ivory let out a loud, goofy laugh, her cheeks completely flushed. "You know... humans did one thing absolutely right. Whoever invented alcohol deserves a literal medal. My entire mind feels so incredibly happy right now!"
Lilith grinned sleepily, patting Ivory's shoulder. "Right?! If you want more, just say the word! I can order as many crates as your divine stomach can handle!"
"Send a hundred bottles to my room tomorrow then!" Ivory cheered, raising a fist in the air.
Lustra let out a massive yawn, rubbing her eyes as she leaned against a pillar. "Ugh... enough talking. The world is spinning, and I am so incredibly tired."
"Yeah, real talk," Toya mumbled, his eyes half-closed as Rutherford held him upright. "We need to hit the sack right now."
Suddenly, Lilith broke away from Ivory, stumbled over to Haruto, and pointed a finger at him with a sleepy, mischievous smirk. "Hey, Haruto... I'm sleeping in your room tonight, okay? No arguments!"
Instantly, the entire hallway went dead silent. Lustra, Bellona, Seraphine, and Toya all slowly turned their heads to look directly at Ivory, bracing themselves for the massive, explosive jealous tantrum she usually threw whenever Lilith got too close to Haruto.
But to everyone's absolute shock, Ivory just waved her hand dismissively, letting out another massive yawn. "Oh, whatever. Just go wherever you want, guys. Sleep in his room, sleep on the floor, I don't care. I'm too tired to fight. Goodnight!"
Leaving everyone completely stunned by her uncharacteristic, alcohol-induced calmness, Ivory shuffled off toward her room, leaving Haruto standing in the corridor with a sleeping child in his arms and a house full of completely functional but utterly wasted roommates.
Following Ivory's lead, the rest of the group slowly dispersed, staggering down the corridors. Rutherford and Asobi, who possessed the higher resilience of spirits, were the only ones still showing a decent amount of sobriety. They efficiently guided everyone to their respective rooms, making sure they didn't collapse in the hallways.
Downstairs in the main hall, Haruto met up with them. He gently transferred the sleeping Aeterna into Asobi's arms. With a respectful nod, Rutherford and Asobi carried the little girl away to her room, leaving the hall completely quiet.
Lilith, barely holding her eyes open, stumbled over to Haruto and mumbled, "Alright, Haruto... let's go sleep..."
Instead of heading to his own quarters, Haruto guided the thoroughly wasted princess back to her own room. He carefully laid her down on her bed, pulling the covers over her as she immediately drifted off into a deep sleep.
Finally free of the chaos, Haruto headed straight for his own bathroom to take a long, hot shower. Standing under the running water, his mind replayed the disaster at the restaurant, and his internal consciousness recoiled in disgust. Ugh, that alcohol was absolutely vile, he thought, shuddering at the memory. It tasted like someone took a bunch of giant, mutated mosquitoes, fried them alive, crushed them into a paste, and turned them into juice. Never again.
As the hot water washed away the exhaustion, a sense of absolute peace finally settled over him. The house was quiet, the party was safe, and the emotional drama had subsided.
But the tranquility didn't last long.
Suddenly, a massive, echoing void sparked inside his consciousness—a sharp system ping that made his single crimson eye snap wide open. The artificial calm shattered instantly, replaced by a surge of raw, focused energy.
Haruto stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and put on fresh clothes. The time for resting and playing the domestic visual novel was officially over. His internal processor shifted back into hardcore gaming mode as he thought to himself: Alright. Now that the distractions are cleared, it's time to get some real work done.
The moment the void fully loaded around him, Haruto realized this realm was entirely different from before. The space wasn't just a blinding white; instead, it was a striking split of black and white. Standing inside the void were two distinct entities. On one side stood a figure of absolute darkness, emitting a strange, heavy black light. On the other side stood a figure of pure, radiant white light.
Haruto instantly decoded the data in front of him. The white entity was Creation, and the black entity was Nothingness.
Sirehtea stepped forward, breaking the silence. "Hey there, Haruto."
Haruto stared at her, his mind immediately racing. Mhhh... so I can actually speak right now, he realized, tracking the vocal latency in his system. Without wasting a single millisecond, he blurted out, "Sirehtea, I have a massive list of questions I need answered right now."
Sirehtea calmly raised a single finger, cutting him off. "Haruto, I already know what you're going to say. I know a lot of things are glitched right now and feeling completely off. But you need to listen to me carefully. The magic of Creation and the magic of Nothingness are currently clashing and canceling each other out inside you. That is the exact reason why you haven't been able to use your magic properly. Give us some time; both of us are actively working together to stabilize the core balance."
The white entity, Aetheris, nodded in agreement, his voice echoing smoothly through the void. "Have a little patience, Haruto."
"If that's the case, then why am I suddenly able to speak right now?" Haruto pressed, demanding a direct answer.
Aetheris looked at him calmly. "That is likely a lingering side effect from when Sirehtea had to possess your almost entirely destroyed, dying body to rebuild you from scratch. Your vocal files are still adjusting. However, we've managed to clear the system block temporarily. You will be able to speak normally for the next three hours. But for now, leave this space and give us the time we need to patch the system. That is all we can do for today. Just keep in mind, you won't be able to cast any magic for the next few days."
As they finished speaking, the black and white void began to glitch and fade away around the edges.
"I'll see what else I can investigate by tomorrow," Sirehtea added quickly as her form started to dissolve. "Go back for now, and enjoy those three hours of free speech. We're leaving your vocal functions completely unlocked."
Haruto snapped his eyes open, finding himself back in the quiet safety of his own bedroom. The lingering glow of the void was gone. He immediately cleared his throat, pushing his vocal cords to see if the patch worked.
"Hello...?" he muttered aloud. The sound of his own clear, steady voice echoed back at him in the dark. Wow. I can actually speak normally, he thought, a rare spark of satisfaction hitting his internal log. But wait... what's the point of having a three-hour free speech pass when absolutely everyone in the mansion is dead asleep? Who am I supposed to talk to?
Realizing staying in bed would just waste the countdown, Haruto decided to go for a midnight walk around the estate. He quietly slipped out of his room and headed outside into the cool night air.
As he walked down the grand pathways of the courtyard, he instantly noticed dozens of shadows shifting in the dark. The entire perimeter was completely locked down by armed guards.
"You guys are still out here?" Haruto spoke up smoothly, his voice cutting through the silence.
One of the nearby guards jumped slightly, clearly startled to hear a voice behind him. Recognizing the young master of the house, the guard quickly straightened his posture, looking a bit nervous. "Sir! We are incredibly sorry, did our movements wake you up?"
"No, not at all," Haruto replied calmly, adjusting his collar. "But why are there so many of you stationed inside my gates?"
The guard lowered his head respectfully. "We are under strict, direct orders from the King himself, sir. We are here to ensure the absolute safety and protection of Princess Lilith at all costs."
Haruto stared at the massive line of guards and internally sighed. Great. With a small army watching my every move, this casual midnight walk is completely ruined, he calculated. There's no point in wandering around like a suspicious target. I might as well just go back to bed.
Turning on his heel, he walked back inside, navigated the quiet corridors, and opened the door to his bedroom. He walked over to his bed, completely ready to finally get some rest, but the moment he was about to lay down, a pair of slender arms suddenly shot out from under the covers. Before he could calculate a countermeasure, he was violently yanked forward and dragged straight onto the mattress.
"Whoa, hold on. What the hell?!" Haruto blurted out, trying to stabilize his posture.
It was Lilith. She was still completely wasted, her eyes glassy and a goofy, half-asleep smile plastered across her face. Somewhere between getting dropped off and now, she had managed to change out of her heavy royal robe and into her sleeping attire. She was wearing revealing, lightweight nightclothes that were slightly transparent, leaving very little to the imagination.
But Haruto's interface didn't log a single romantic emotion. His speech parameters had been restored, but his emotional firewall remained completely cold and detached.
Lilith's eyes suddenly went wide as she processed the sound of his voice. She blinked heavily, leaning in close until her face was inches from his. "Wait... Haruto? Did you just... speak? Oh my god, you can actually talk?!"
"No. You're hallucinating. Forget you heard anything and just go to sleep," Haruto replied, his voice completely flat.
Instead of listening, Lilith scrambled up and crawled right on top of him, pinning him down against the pillows as she stared down at his unbothered, stoic face.
Even with a gorgeous princess sitting directly over him in revealing nightwear, Haruto's expression didn't change a single bit. He looked up at her with his usual icy, unreadable glare and said coldly, "Get off me. You are drunk, and you need to go to sleep right now."
Lilith let out a soft, giggling laugh, her breath smelling slightly of the restaurant's premium wine as she leaned closer. "Go to sleep? Are you kidding, Haruto? The night has literally just begun!"
Haruto didn't shift his posture, his expression remaining as solid as stone. "You shouldn't be doing this," he said, his tone flat and completely clear. "Actually, you can just stay here and sleep in this bed. I'll find another room to sleep in tonight."
As he made a move to slide out from under her, Lilith aggressively pinned his shoulders back down onto the mattress, her grip surprisingly strong for someone so drunk. Her violet eyes locked onto his with stubborn determination.
"Oh no, you don't," Lilith muttered with a sleepy but unyielding smirk, completely blocking his exit path. "Tonight, you are absolutely not going anywhere, Haruto. You're staying right here with me."