Chapter 271: Bruice

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Diona went back to her room to make Yomite the famed Bruice,and just as she left, Draff reappeared with five doves.

"Here, you can take them." He handed them to Yomite, who accepted the freshly hunted doves with an appreciative smile and put them into a bag.

It was more than obvious to him that five doves wouldn't be enough to feed all of the girls, but his plan was to make them feel better, not to feed them.

As after all, a delicious soup was one of the best ways to sober up.

"Was Diona down here yet?" Draff asked.

Yomite nodded, "Ye, she was. We talked for a bit before she went to make a non-alcoholic drink for me."

Draff chuckled, "My adorable girl woke up and immediately got to working again. How amazing she is!"

The two of them talked for a bit longer, though none of them mentioned anything about Draff's health condition anymore.

After they finished talking, Yomite thanked him for the doves and handed him some Mora.

Lastly, Diona finished her Bruice and gave him that glass which he gratefully took.

"Say, Diona, is there a chance you can mass produce this in, let's say...thousands?"

She gave him a look that seemed to have more judgement than it did actual anger.

"Why would you want so many drinks? Even if it's non-alcoholic...It's not like this doesn't require ingredients and time to make! I can make you at most five!"

Yomite raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, Alright. I get it. I was just wondering. Thank you anyway."

"Hmph! You better be thankful." She grumbled.

"Thanks for showing up, lad! Please, consider the request I mentioned to you before. I'm grateful."

"Yes."

Yomite bid the two of them farewell and left the village.

Once he saw his departing figure, Draff laughed and spoke, "Hey, Diona...how about you marry hi—"

"—DADDY! Could you stop with that!? Ugh, you're so embarrassing... I hope the request you mentioned at the end wasn't about this! I don't want to marry anyone! Stop talking to me about it every day!"

"Heheh, alright alright."

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Now, it was a bit awkward, walking with a glass of the Bruice all the way back to Mondstadt, but Yomite didn't want to drink it at the moment.

He wanted to wait for a good opportunity to arise before using it.

And for that, he would need to store it into Lumine's inventory, where it wouldn't go bad or lose its effects.

Once he returned back to his mansion, he finally went to check out how the living room was faring after yesterday's night...

And oh boy...was there so much mess.

First, there were the dishes, empty plates lay everywhere, then there were wine bottles, both empty and half full on the floor...

It was a terrible sight to behold...

Barbara was passed out on the floor, whilst Iris was awake and clutching Paimon.

"Cold floor...so nice...have more cold floors..."

It didn't seem like alcohol affected her in the least, but she was still lazing around on the ground.

"...What were you girls doing here yesterday...the whole living room is... disgusting to look at!"

It looked like some crack den, but instead of crack, wine bottles lay everywhere...

Sighing, he sat in a chair next to Lumine, who looked very worried, "I was the one who gave them alcohol and food...Even though I knew I shouldn't have...Hu Tao convinced me...it's my fault, please punish me..."

"Well...there's no punishment, except for your cleaning duty today. Which I'll also assist in, but first. Can I ask you to put this drink into your inventory?"

"A drink?"

"Yes, it's non-alcoholic but it has special effects so please, don't let anyone else drink it but me. And definitely don't give this to Paimon..."

The last thing he needed to see was a hyperactive Paimon, drinking an energy stamina drink...that might result in him passing out from exhaustion.

There would be no way of shutting up the fairy at that point...

Lumine nodded and decided not to question anything.

After putting the Bruice into her Inventory, and asking her to give him some vegetables, he headed towards the kitchen.

It was time to make the soup.

"You enjoying yourself?"

"I want to know how to cook better..." Lumine said, leaning on the door frame and watching him carefully.

Cooking had been a hobby Yomite had found himself doing quite often back on Earth. He cooked for his father, who had always seemed more than happy with it.

"You can help me with a few things if you want to. You can peel and roughly grate the carrots, cut them into slices or cubes. The onions can be chopped as much as you like."

Lumine nodded and went over to the cutting board where she could begin peeling away the outer layers of carrots with a knife. After several tries and failures, she decided to try again.

"No, no. With that type of movement you would at most injure yourself. Here, let me show you how to do it right..."

Yomite put one carrot in Lumine's hands, and guided her gently, making sure he wasn't holding onto her arms too tightly, until her first attempt produced some results.

The intimate way in which they were standing together made her feel very embarrassed suddenly, especially the way he held her hands, but it was also a little warm...

She looked back at him a few times to see whether he'd noticed, but it appeared he hadn't; His concentration was fully on cooking, and explaining the stuff to her until they'd both successfully peeled off the carrots.

Yomite then grabbed two glasses of water and spoke, "Do you mind me leaving for a bit? I want to check on Fischl and Hu Tao to see if they're already awake. You don't need to do anything, only stir the soup for a bit, kay?"

"Oh, okay." Lumine said, letting go of his hand reluctantly as he headed towards the kitchen door.

She watched him leave and she missed the feeling immediately; she wanted to hold on to him just a little longer.

Despite the temperature near her rising, the room seemed so cold all of a sudden when he was gone...

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As Yomite had anticipated, both Fischl and Hu Tao were already awake, albeit struggling to get up from the bed they were lying on.

"Rise and shine! You sure messed around yesterday didn't you? Why did you drink so much?"

He then handed both of them one glass each.

"Thirsty...this Prinzessin's mouth ist as dry as the famed desert of Sumeru." Fischl said, trying to speak in between sips of water. It was praiseworthy that she still continued with her roleplay even now...

Yomite chuckled a little at that, before turning to Hu Tao, who appeared to have a headache.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore..." She replied, looking rather miserable.

"You shouldn't have drank so much, wasn't this your first time?"

"No...no...but this is the first time I've ever had a headache..."

"Is there anything you'd like? Like...maybe an ice pack for your head?"

Hu Tao shook her head. "No...just stay with me for a bit."

Yomite sat down beside them and put an arm around Hu Tao.

"It seems like you don't feel well at all."

She nodded slowly, closing her eyes for a moment, "I'm fine...it'll hopefully pass soon..."

They stayed like that for a while.

Then, the smell of food started wafting its way upstairs.

The soup was almost ready.

"That smells good." Hu Tao opened her eyes a little and tried to stand up from the bed, only for Yomite to stop her.

"What are you doing? Lay back down." He said, gently pushing her back against the pillow.

"But...the food..."

"We'll eat afterwards." He reassured her, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. "Try to rest for a bit. Don't worry about anything else."

Hu Tao sighed and closed her eyes again, leaning into Yomite, who continued stroking her hair.

Fischl also snuggled close to them, wrapping an arm around Yomite's waist.

Her body felt heavy...she really hoped that by leaning onto him for a while, he would give some warmth and energy.

As the two girls clung on him, he couldn't help himself and hugged them closer. If anything, it felt good to have them like this.

After a few passing moments, he stood up and went downstairs to check on the soup.

"I think it's almost done." Lumine called out from the kitchen.

"Alright, prepare a few plates and spoons," he said before entering the living room again.

As soon as he did, he heard a voice, "...Yum-Yum...I don't feel so good...where is the bathroom...?" Barbara asked, sounding very faint.

"Ah, it's this way."

Yomite immediately helped her up from the floor, and led her through the hallway, stopping by a door before opening it.

After showing her the way, he returned to the kitchen and together with Lumine, brought plates of soup and delivered them to the girls who felt sick.

The cruel morning full of hangover had finally ended.