Magic Stone Fragment and a Drinking Contest!

Yuno froze stiff.

Beside him, Asta looked at the scruffy bearded man and muttered, "Isn't that way too uncivilized? You're going to pee in public? If it were me, I'd at least find an empty corner."

Hearing that, the man beside them tossed his messy black hair and turned to look at Asta, an amused expression appearing on his face.

At that moment, he was no longer in such a hurry to pee. Instead, he grabbed Asta's white-haired head and looked at him seriously.

"Kid, do you know what's most important about drinking?"

The moment Asta heard the word "drinking," his eyes lit up.

"Of course, drinking means using big cups, especially the chilled one on top."

Asta's eyes were full of excitement, and he paid no attention whatsoever to the scruffy man pawing at him.

He reached out, grabbed the man's hand, and said:

"Mister, who are you?

From the sound of it, you seem pretty experienced with drinking."

The man immediately sneered, then pulled a slightly bent cigarette from his pocket. He took a deep drag, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and said:

"The most important thing about drinking is drinking it all the way through.

And the most important thing about drinking it through is peeing.

"My name is Yami Sukehiro, brat.

I heard you spent quite a bit of money to enter the competition, so that makes us opponents.

"Once I'm done peeing, let's have a proper match.

Show me some manly spirit."

Asta's eyes immediately brightened as he looked at Yami Sukehiro, sparkling with excitement.

"I see! Sure.

How could such delicious juice possibly be too much to drink?

At worst, I'll just pee more, like you!"

Hearing Asta's words, Yami Sukehiro was unusually stunned for a moment.

Then he reached out and gave Asta's small shoulder a hard pat.

"Kid, I think highly of you.

You really are an interesting guy."

After that, Yami Sukehiro directly found a corner and relieved himself on the spot.

This left the owner at a complete loss for words.

Yami Sukehiro had spent quite a lot of money in his establishment.

At this point, the customer was king. What could he do even if he said something? Besides, this man clearly wasn't someone to provoke.

That black longsword over a meter long on his table made it obvious he was no ordinary character.

Yuno immediately blushed bright red and quickly turned his head away.

Meanwhile, Carl watched everything with great interest.

That guy called Yami Sukehiro looked rough and unkempt, like a washed-up middle-aged man, but the aura around him was unfathomably deep.

Ever since gaining the system and the Eight Gates, Carl had become extremely sensitive to the auras of powerful people around her.

The instant Yami Sukehiro appeared, she had even felt the blood and vitality of the Eight Gates hidden within her body becoming slightly sluggish.

And that was only from the pressure Yami Sukehiro had inadvertently leaked.

It was hard to imagine how terrifying this scruffy middle-aged man would be if he truly made a move.

Carl became even more interested in what would happen next.

As for Yuno, who wanted the Magic Stone Fragment, Carl could only say—this would come down to their own abilities.

After thinking it through, Carl entered the tavern with Yuno and Asta.

But the moment they went inside, everyone froze.

Because Yami Sukehiro, who had already "wrapped things up" in a rough manner, had returned to the tavern with his clothes hanging loosely around him.

Several enormous beer mugs sat before him, making his true strength obvious at a glance.

Everyone else had practically hidden in the corners of the tavern.

At the table in the center, besides Yami Sukehiro, there were two women seated opposite him.

And those two women were what shocked Carl and the others.

Asta immediately pointed at her, trembling as he said:

"Y-you, you, you, you... you're that lady?!"

Yuno's expression was somewhat complicated.

He had previously told her that one day, he would become the Wizard King.

He hadn't expected to meet her again so soon.

Upon hearing them, Charlotte Roselei, who had just set down her beer mug, flushed slightly.

When she raised her head and swept her gaze over them, her eyes finally landed on Carl, and her expression became somewhat unnatural. When Carl sat down beside Yami Sukehiro, Charlotte nearly knocked the beer mug in front of her flying.

Sol Marron, who was well-endowed but clearly had short hair, gave Charlotte a worried look before saying:

"Big Sister, are you okay?

Why don't I handle the drinking?

That bastard across from you is obviously taking advantage of you.

"Look at him. He's covered in bad habits from head to toe. How could you possibly outdrink him?"

Charlotte looked slightly embarrassed before saying to Sol Marron:

"Nonsense.

I want what's inside that beer mug.

"And as members of the Blue Rose Knights, we naturally have our own pride."

Sol Marron immediately nodded firmly.

She picked up the beer mug beside her and took a huge gulp.

With a bang—

The mug smashed directly onto the table, and she promptly fell asleep, snoring away.

Carl stared in dumbfounded disbelief.

Her impressive assets were nearly split in half by the edge of the table, yet she paid it no mind.

Carl was speechless for a moment.

This woman really had no worries in her heart. She could fall asleep just like that.

Charlotte was somewhat embarrassed, but she still raised her head with blazing eyes and looked at Yami Sukehiro.

"I don't care. No matter what, that beer mug and the Magic Stone Fragment inside it are mine."

Yami Sukehiro looked indifferent. He even took another drag from his cigarette before slowly saying:

"That's none of my business. Drinking is my hobby.

"As long as you can drink me under the table, they naturally won't dare drink against you anymore. Then won't the item be yours?"

Hearing this, Charlotte's lips tightened slightly.

"Then let's compete. Who's afraid of whom?"

She glared fiercely at Yami Sukehiro, but a trace of grievance rose in her heart.

This was clearly the man who had saved her and once made her feel fond of him.

But why did every conversation between them always turn so confrontational?

Her feelings were rather complicated at that moment.

Yet when she looked up at Carl, she found herself unable to say anything for a while.

What had happened a few days ago was still vivid in her mind.

Carl had held her so tightly back then. If Sol Marron, who deeply hated men, found out about it—

Who knew whether she would overturn the entire beer tavern?

Charlotte gathered her thoughts and picked up the beer in front of her.

At first, it had seemed cool and delicious, but after a few more gulps, she felt as though she simply could not swallow it anymore. It filled her stomach far too much.

Thinking of that, her gaze drifted toward Carl, seemingly unintentionally.

Meanwhile, Asta looked completely at home as he turned to Yami Sukehiro and said:

"Mister, how about we join the competition too?

As long as someone can outdrink everyone and drink them under the table, the final mug of iced beer belongs to the winner, right?"

Yami Sukehiro immediately raised his head.

"You want to compete with me?"

Asta grinned.

"What, can't I?

This little juice smells way too good."

Hearing Asta's words, Yami Sukehiro unusually showed a trace of seriousness.

"Kid, you're one of the few people who could say something like that about beer. Looks like you're one of my kind too. Fine, let's compete."

As he spoke, he glanced again at the dumbfounded Charlotte and said:

"What?

Are you surrendering?"

Charlotte's face flushed red as she said coldly:

"Of course I'm not surrendering. What kind of joke is that?

That Magic Stone Fragment will definitely be mine!"

Yuno silently sat down beside them and pulled over a mug of iced beer.

Carl simply sat down on Charlotte's other side.

Seeing Sol Marron in the way, Carl directly nudged her aside.

Under Charlotte's reddened gaze, Carl said:

"I'll join the competition too, Lady Charlotte.

Surely you don't mind?"