"Wow, the customs of the Otherworld are really interesting. I love those little drinking games where you can drink openly, and I finally figured out why those apprentices are so good at forming hand seals.
"So they've been training their fingers to be nimble by playing finger-guessing games since they were little! No wonder even the complicated secret seals that could twist your fingers into knots were no trouble for them."
At midnight, Murphy returned to the Blood Vulture Gallery, supporting a thoroughly drunk Triss, her face utterly blank. The Blood Vulture Grand Duchess, her waist in his grasp, had lost all the dignity of a powerful figure. Her cheeks were flushed as she went on about how delightful the Otherworld banquet had been.
Of course, she hadn't actually eaten much.
After all, Otherworld Sichuan cuisine was a little too "ferocious" for a traditional vampire's palate.
Even the usually fearless Maxim had been defeated by a plate of spicy rabbit heads, let alone Triss, a "grandma" with a milder palate. When Murphy cooked for her, even a tiny bit of chili oil in her meatball soup was enough to make her cry out.
Triss's happiness didn't come from tasting the Otherworld's dishes.
Her joy was simple.
It had started when the students came over to toast Murphy and Mrs. Triss during dinner, hoping to show their respect. But once Triss had learned the Otherworld's dining etiquette, she'd perked right up. In just two hours, she'd demonstrated the extraordinary drinking prowess of a vampire alcoholic.
The students had all been knocked out, and even the old hands of the Big Bird Spin-Spin-Spin group had staggered off one by one, seeing double.
The fact that Triss was still standing proved she had a remarkable talent for drinking.
It helped that vampires had