Volume 5, Chapter 30 – Children Shouldn’t Drink

This was a room whose furnishings looked quite plain.

All that met the eye were low tables and chairs at just the right height.

After the Fortress Emperor left carrying the equipment he had just forged, Tianyin followed him to this room in the furnace building that looked like it was used to receive guests.

When she walked into the room, Tianyin saw the Fortress Emperor already sitting on a chair at one side of the table.

“Little one of Dawn, since you’ve come from so far away, I can’t treat you poorly. Come and try the strong liquor specially brewed by us Dwarves.”

After seeing Tianyin come in, the Fortress Emperor busied himself pouring liquor into a rather exquisite-looking cup.

While Tianyin was still wondering what she should say, Samael’s voice sounded in her mind at just the right moment.

「Xiaoyin, good kids shouldn’t drink alcohol~」

『Wuu… I know, I know, I’m not going to drink, Samael.』

「Mm, mm, remember, you mustn’t drink alcohol~」

With Samael nagging her like that in her mind, Tianyin could only look at Fortress Emperor with an apologetic face and shake her head.

“Um… Fortress Emperor, I… I don’t drink…”

“You don’t drink?”

Hearing Tianyin’s refusal, Fortress Emperor looked at her with a hint of surprise.

“Mm… um, because I’m still young, I haven’t reached the age where I can drink…”

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Tianyin explained it like that.

Of course, her actual age really was only sixteen, and in the real world, she had never drunk strong liquor either.

So Tianyin still felt a bit of resistance inside toward something like hard liquor.

“…Even though I call you ‘little one, little one’, that’s just how I address you based on your appearance. I didn’t expect you to really be a little one… alright, I was indeed a bit rude on that point.”

The Fortress Emperor did not make things difficult for Tianyin. From what he said though, it seemed that earlier he had not thought Tianyin was truly that young.

“Since you can’t drink strong liquor, then forget it.”

There was a hint of regret in the Fortress Emperor’s voice.

Even so, after saying that, he still poured Tianyin a drink that looked like juice.

“Try this. Of course, this also has a certain alcohol content, but among us Dwarves, even children can drink this fruit wine.”

“Wuu… then alright.”

Since the Fortress Emperor had already said this was fruit wine that even Dwarf children could drink, Tianyin had no reason to refuse again.

However, after she tried a sip of the fruit wine in the cup that the Fortress Emperor had said even Dwarf children could drink, in just a few seconds Tianyin’s head started feeling a bit woozy.

“Your capacity for alcohol isn’t that good, is it, little one of Dawn?”

Seeing that Tianyin was slightly tipsy, the Fortress Emperor grinned, then drained his own strong liquor in one go.

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“Look, little one of Dawn, you have to drink your liquor dry like I do. Only then will you be worthy of your Throne-tier strength!”

“Wuu… i-is… is that so?”

A bit muddled now, Tianyin heard Fortress Emperor’s words and, without thinking at all, completely ignoring Samael’s helpless voice in her mind, started trying to drain the fruit wine in her hand in one go.

Things did not go as she wished. Tianyin could not finish it in one breath.

“Wuu… i-it tastes so bad…”

She still had no idea why she had somehow ended up drinking with the Fortress Emperor, but at this moment Tianyin couldn’t help complaining about the taste of the fruit wine she had swallowed.

“Hahaha, little one of Dawn, with that kind of capacity for alcohol, how am I supposed to see your strength? Besides, with a capacity like that, I won’t hand the power of Sloth over to you.”

“Wuu… Sloth… the power of Sloth.”

Fortress Emperor’s sudden reminder made the slightly drunk Tianyin remember the goal of this trip.

“Fortress Emperor… what do I have to do… for you to give me the power of Sloth…”

Gulp. Gulp.

The Fortress Emperor downed another cup of strong liquor in one go.

“That’s very easy. As long as you drink until I am convinced, what does it matter if I give you the power of Sloth?”

“Eh?”

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Even though she was a bit drunk, Tianyin still understood what Fortress Emperor meant.

“Something like that… something like that is impossible for me…”

Tianyin answered with some helplessness.

She might have the power of Gluttony and be able to keep digesting the fruit wine, but even if she could keep digesting it, she couldn’t digest the drunkenness that came with it.

So Tianyin knew that Gluttony among the Seven Deadly Sins would be useless here.

“You can’t do it? That’s a pity then, little one of Dawn. I won’t give you the power of Sloth.”

The Fortress Emperor shook his head with a look of regret.

“Wait… then… then Fortress Emperor, can you tell me why I have to drink until you are convinced before you’ll give me the power of Sloth?”

Tianyin was a bit puzzled.

The power of Sloth was such an important kind of power, yet the Fortress Emperor only needed her to drink until he was convinced before he would hand it over.

Although that was very hard for Tianyin, in a sense it was also a very easy method.

“Little one of Dawn, this is just how we Dwarves are. As long as you drink until the other party is convinced, we can help with anything that isn’t related to matters of Original Sin.”

“And as for the power of Sloth, from my point of view, as long as you drink until I am convinced, giving it to you is also a very easy thing.”

The Fortress Emperor answered honestly.

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“Wuu… I see… then, Fortress Emperor, is there any other method? Do you Dwarves really only have this one custom?”

Although she felt a bit disappointed about the Dwarven custom Fortress Emperor had explained, Tianyin still wanted to ask if there were any other ways.

“Other customs? Mm, actually, there is another.”

Seeing Tianyin’s helpless expression, the Fortress Emperor put down the cup in his hand.

Under Tianyin’s confused gaze, the Fortress Emperor casually picked up the brand-new iron sword he had just forged.

“Little one of Dawn, are you sure you want to use our other Dwarven custom to obtain the power of Sloth?”

“Mm.”

At the end of the day, Tianyin still felt that asking her to drink was too much.

She had no idea why the Fortress Emperor suddenly picked up the sword he had forged, but enduring her dizziness, Tianyin still nodded in response to his question.

“I see… I understand.”

The Fortress Emperor nodded lightly, and the slightly kindly expression on his face suddenly turned serious.

Then, under Tianyin’s blank stare, the Fortress Emperor tossed the sword in his hand down at her feet.

“Little one of Dawn, challenge me. As long as you defeat me in battle, then I will hand over the power of Sloth to you without holding anything back!”