"What are you thinking about? How about another drink?"
Natalia, lost in a daze, was roused by a soft chuckle.
Behind the counter, Samael casually picked up a cocktail shaker, turned around, and took out measures of gin, rum, vodka, tequila, and other spirits. His shifting fingers fluttered up and down like butterflies among flowers as he shook the liquor together, poured it into an ice-filled glass, then cracked open a can of cola and gave the drink its final color.
"Long Island Iced Tea. Please enjoy."
A classic cocktail, black as onyx, was pushed before Natalia.
This was not tea, but hard liquor. It was said that during Prohibition in America in the 1920s, bartenders mixed spirits with cola to evade inspection, thus creating this drink that looked like tea.
As a seasoned drunkard, Natalia perked up at the sight of fine liquor—and free liquor at that! In an instant, she tossed her inexplicable doubts aside, eagerly lifted the glass, and began savoring it with delight.
Phew, that had finally fooled her.
Seeing the bounty hunter shift her attention to the free alcohol, the ancient snake quietly glanced toward the two petite figures huddled together in the kitchen, chattering away, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In truth, as a species highly sensitive to emotions and atmosphere, the dream demon's instincts had not been wrong.
The two little girls in the kitchen were indeed no ordinary children. They were genuine Forbidden Witches, servants of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth.
As such, they had been tainted by the essence of the Great Old Ones' "madness" and "chaos." Unwittingly, they gave off a quality that caused "loss of sanity," affecting the minds of intelligent beings around them to a certain extent.
Rather than adoption, it was more accurate to say that