As Victor drained the wine in his cup, everyone at the table picked up their cups as well and said to him, "Thank you, Lord Marquis!" Then they finished the wine in their cups.
After everyone had finished drinking, Victor said, "Don't just drink. Eat first—you must all be hungry!" With that, he took the lead in eating.
Horne and Zaro copied the way James drank, but the moment they poured the liquor into their mouths, they suddenly began coughing.
Horne covered his mouth to keep the liquor he spat out from spilling onto the table. After catching his breath, he said, "Why is this liquor so spicy?" His face had turned red as he spoke.
Zaro reacted differently. After coughing for a while and swallowing the liquor completely, he felt wonderful. His entire body was heating up, and his eyes lit up as he looked at the metal flask beside him.
James smiled and said quietly to them, "This is a specialty liquor from our Two Rivers County. Lord Marquis invented it. It's called Firebrand Liquor. Because it requires a great deal of grain to brew and must be distilled and purified, production is low. You can only drink it at celebratory banquets after a battle.
Although it is normally supplied to senior officers in the territory as well, their quotas are very limited. It is hard currency in our territory, and quite a few merchants even buy it for hundreds of gold coins."
Horne was somewhat puzzled. "This liquor tastes so spicy. Would anyone actually like it?"
James turned to Zaro. "Chief Zaro, what do you think? You seemed very satisfied after that sip."
Zaro nodded, his face red as he said happily, "This liquor is wonderful. It really packs a punch. In winter, one sip would warm