The Royal Capital and the Scruffy Man!

Asta's slightly exaggerated expression immediately made Yuno's face stiffen.

Seeing Asta's excited look and hearing what he was saying, Yuno felt a surge of embarrassment.

Yuno glanced awkwardly at Carl, then said with embarrassment,

"Asta has no filter. It's honestly too humiliating."

At that moment, Yuno forcibly suppressed the urge to beat Asta black and blue with wind magic.

They had already entered the Royal Capital, yet he was still acting like a country bumpkin. It was unbearably embarrassing.

Carl smiled and shook her head, indicating that it was fine.

However, once Yuno and Carl stepped through the gates of the Royal Capital as well, their expressions stiffened almost exactly like Asta's.

"Ah... so white."

"Such long legs..."

No wonder Asta had said that.

The Royal Capital's Drinking Festival truly surpassed anything they had imagined.

Back in the outskirts, even getting enough to eat was a problem. They often went hungry and had to hunt or gather wild fruit to fill their stomachs.

But what about the Royal Capital?

The moment the three of them entered the city, they were practically hit head-on by an overwhelming sight.

That was because right beyond the gates stood a massive parade float.

A huge flower basket sat atop it, surrounded by beautiful women in all kinds of revealing outfits.

Their legs were long, their curves were fully displayed, and their alluring cleavage was impossible to miss.

Each of them held a huge barrel of beer, continuously splashing it into the sky.

"So this is the Drinking Festival..."

"Forget the nobles of the Royal Capital—even the commoners know how to have fun."

"If we were going to come anywhere, it had to be somewhere this big."

Yuno was a little embarrassed, but his eyes were extremely honest as they swept over everything before him.

As for Asta—

Although he had been briefly stunned by the beautiful women, his entire attention was drawn to the huge beer barrels in the next moment.

The rich scent of wheat and hops washed over him, making Asta's nose twitch nonstop.

The next moment, a besotted expression appeared in his eyes.

"It smells so good!"

"What kind of fruit juice is this?"

Yuno hurriedly tried to stop Asta, saying,

"That's alcohol! Didn't Father and the sisters tell us? Drinking is bad."

Asta nodded repeatedly.

But when one of the beautiful women on the parade float waved at him and offered him a huge cup of iced beer, Asta still accepted it without hesitation and drained it in one gulp.

"Ah—this is so refreshing!"

Asta felt completely invigorated, as if his whole body had been revitalized.

Yuno stood awkwardly beside him, unsure whether he should pull back his outstretched hand or leave it there.

And in the instant he froze, a fair-skinned young woman in light purple clothes with an extremely revealing neckline tossed him a flirtatious glance. Then, she boldly left a lipstick mark on the beer cup and held it out to Yuno.

Yuno jolted all over, holding the beer cup as he stood frozen in place.

Asta burst into laughter beside him.

"Yuno, are you made of wood or something?"

"She handed you something that delicious. Don't you know how to thank her?"

Yuno immediately became flustered.

Asta continued mocking him.

"Look at me. I've liked Sister Lily since I was little."

"So what if they're pretty? They can't tempt me at all."

"But you, Yuno—look at yourself. You're disgracing Hage Village."

Yuno snapped coldly,

"Asta, shut up!"

Holding the cup, he did not know whether to drink or not.

In the end, under Carl's smiling gaze, Asta snatched the huge beer cup away and poured it straight down his throat.

"Ah—this is so refreshing!"

Asta's eyes gleamed as he watched the parade float gradually move away, clearly wanting to find more free beer.

However, that was ultimately just one ceremony of the Royal Capital's Drinking Festival.

He could not exactly chase the float around and drink until he was bloated with water.

Thus, Asta's expression became somewhat disappointed.

"Where can I keep drinking such delicious little fruit juice?"

He lowered his head to look at his completely empty pockets, and his expression became a little awkward in the next moment.

"What a shame... I don't have any money."

Then Asta turned his gaze toward Carl and scratched his head.

The Anti-Bird in his hair raised its head, gave Asta a contemptuous look, then flew off without a word.

Asta did not mind and turned to Carl.

"Can you lend me some money?"

"That little fruit juice is just too good. I want some more."

"Once I make money, I'll pay you back double!"

Carl waved her hand and said,

"This money belongs to the three of us anyway. Use it if you want."

Clatter—

Carl poured out the coins from her money pouch.

Asta cast her a grateful look once more.

However, it still did not increase Carl's favorability by even a single point.

Carl could not help feeling as though she had fed a meat bun to a dog—once gone, never returned.

Still, the joy and companionship along the way had naturally been genuine.

At that moment, Asta was extremely excited. Gripping a handful of gold coins, he rushed straight toward a beer stall, determined to drink his fill.

Under the sunlight, the Royal Capital radiated a dazzling golden glow.

Asta, Yuno, and Carl quickly arrived at a stall.

Asta grandly slammed a handful of gold coins onto the table and shouted at the beer stall owner,

"Boss! Hurry and bring me that delicious fruit juice from earlier!"

"I want a big cup! No, I want it by the barrel!"

Hearing Asta's bold declaration, the surrounding people immediately showed surprised expressions.

The beer stall owner, meanwhile, looked at Asta with a smile and said,

"Are you not an adult yet?"

"Minors are forbidden from drinking."

Asta immediately pouted.

"What are you talking about? I'm just short. Who said I'm not an adult?"

The moment he said that, everyone around them burst into laughter.

But Asta did not care in the slightest.

"Bring the alcohol, bring the alcohol! That wheat fruit juice from earlier smelled amazing!"

Seeing this, the owner said no more and directly served him a huge cup of beer.

Under Asta's slightly resentful gaze, the owner collected the gold coins and then said,

"Guest, since you're willing to spend so much money on beer, and since today is the Drinking Festival..."

"Our little shop has a special competition. Perhaps we could invite you to participate."

"It's a very rare event. Only customers who spend enough can take part."

Asta's eyes immediately lit up.

"What kind of event needs that much money for an entry fee?"

The owner gave a mysterious smile, then pointed at the enormous barrel behind him.

Above the barrel sat a huge cup of pale yellow beer bubbling continuously.

A layer of frost had even formed on the outside of the beer cup.

In the scorching weather, the sight of that icy beer immediately made Asta's eyes light up.

But Yuno, standing beside him, involuntarily took a step to the side.

His eyes were locked tightly onto the beer cup.

That was because a thumb-sized gemstone was floating inside the beer.

The gem was pale blue, with snowflake-like patterns on its surface.

Although its shape was slightly irregular, it emitted an extremely dense magical aura.

Yuno's eyes immediately became excited.

"A Magic Stone..."

"I actually found another Magic Stone Fragment."

"If I can get that, maybe my necklace can still be saved."

"Even if it's not as good as before, it's better than having nothing."

Carl naturally noticed it as well.

When she clearly saw the Magic Stone Fragment inside the beer cup, her eyes lit up too.

If she passed up a skill resource delivered right to her doorstep, she would really be losing out.

Even if it could not directly generate a skill, gaining a little magic resistance or self-healing ability like Asta had would still be an enormous profit.

Carl immediately stepped forward and slapped down another large handful of gold coins.

Yuno's face immediately reddened a little as he quietly said to Carl,

"Um... could you cover my entry fee too? Sorry for the trouble."

Carl waved her hand.

"What's the big deal? We're buddies. Why be so polite?"

Yuno gave her another grateful look.

However, his favorability still did not change at all.

Carl could only helplessly accept reality.

Just then, the noisy shouting from a drinking contest inside the beer stall drew everyone's attention.

A bearded, broad-built man was swaying unsteadily inside.

He wore a white tank top on his upper body, brownish-black trousers below, and black shoes on his feet. The whole outfit looked utterly mismatched.

At that moment, his eyes were unfocused, and he was still muttering,

"Finral... where are you?"

"I gotta piss..."