"Just because I don't like drinking doesn't mean one drink gets me drunk, all right, Purvi? Don't listen to Liszt. Sometimes he only says that to mock me," Hill said earnestly. "I used to get drunk because, when I was little, I absorbed more of the unpleasant stuff in alcohol than other people did. I hardly ever drank back then, either, so the effects were more obvious!
"It was just how my body worked. Once I drank more often, it stopped being a problem!
"I could drink fruit wine like water now!
"Of course, I still don't like strong liquor. But ever since I was little, I've wanted to make a substitute for Crystal Mystery to give Uncle Adrian!
"Crystal Fruit Trees are far too particular about where they grow. You can plant only one per thousand square meters, and even I can't make them get along with others of their kind.
"So even I can't give Uncle Adrian enough Crystal Mystery to last him the whole year!
"Now I've found something that might work as a substitute for Crystal Fruit. Of course I want it!
"See? Every new world has something to offer."
Hill sighed, propped his chin on his hand, and looked wistful.
"Well... maybe..."
"Sir, what's that look for?"
"If it's Rose again... Look, she has to meddle even in places the Elves abandoned ages ago. Does that mean I'll only escape her if I find a world where the Elves have never set foot?"
"But aren't you going back to Telashir sooner or later, sir?" Purvi asked, puzzled. "Won't you see her there, too?"
The Otherworld Whale had long since decided to follow Hill to the ends of time. Naturally, he had asked Liszt all about Telashir, and the Undead were hardly tight-lipped!
He knew everything