Chapter 30: Getting Drunk
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: CaiCai, Kris
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“Now?” Lin Nuo was taken aback.
“Yes, yes,” Martin was excited. “The young master can transform into a dragon and fly there; no one will notice!”
Lin Nuo’s left hand touched the magic array on his right arm. He didn’t immediately answer Martin. If this magic array continued working after his transformation into a dragon, Rennes would know that he had left the room in the middle of the night. Knowing Rennes, he might immediately follow.
What explanation would he offer then? Ah, the valley scenery is so beautiful; it was too hard to resist taking a nighttime stroll and incidentally found a coin? Who would believe that? If the magic array broke after my transformation, the consequences would be worse. The sudden failure of the magic array would attract Rennes’s attention. He might even think that I destroyed the array on purpose to sneak out. Lin Nuo thought back to Rennes saying, āI’ll carve a permanent magic array on your back,ā and shuddered.
Too scary. No, I donāt do it. Lin Nuo shivered, pretending to contemplate deeply before saying to Martin, “No, it’s dangerous at night. How about this: I’ll find a chance to go tomorrow.”
Martin wouldn’t have any reason to suspect anything wrong with the young master’s instructions. So Martin immediately nodded, “Okay. I’ll guide the young master tomorrow!”
Lin Nuo frowned, “No need. After knowing the location, I can find it myself.”
Disappointment appeared on Martin’s chubby round face. He murmured, “Oh, I wanted to help the young master a bit more…”
Lin Nuo looked at Martin’s disappointed expression; the hint of āa nearby valleyā was too vague. He sighed and said, “How about this? If the paladin allows me to go alone, you can secretly follow. But if he accompanies me, don’t show up. Can you do that?” He added, “Try not to appear in front of Sir Clement in the future too; if he realizes you’re a magical creature, it will be troublesome.”
He didn’t want these adorable fat pigeons to be frozen or turned into snow powder by Rennes.
Martin nodded seriously, “I understand! I’ll be more cautious and never let the knight discover my presence! Young Master, don’t worry too much. After all, we have many companions all over Saros, and the knight has never suspected us once.”
After saying so, Martin transformed back into a gray fat pigeon and flew out the window. Lin Nuo leaned on the window sill, watching the pigeon fly away in the moonlight, suddenly realizing a problem. Indeed, the Coo-Coo Delivery service covered such a wide range, with pigeon spirits everywhere in Saros. And yet, Rennes, who often roamed around, had never suspected that these pigeons were not ordinary?
Could it be that the man’s ability to detect magical creatures wasn’t as strong as rumored? Or was there some other reason? Lin Nuo looked at the vineyard in the silver moonlight, scratching his head, completely puzzled.
—
The next morning, as Lin Nuo nibbled on the soft fresh bread, he glanced at Rennes, who was sipping coffee.
When Rennes noticed Lin Nuo’s gaze, he raised his head, asking with his eyes, āWhat’s wrong?ā
Putting down the bread, Lin Nuo gestured toward the large window directly facing the table, saying, “Teacher, I just noticed how beautiful the scenery outside the window is, and I really want to take a walk.”
Indeed, outside that large window wasn’t a grapevine but a field of flowers, filled with vibrant roses that captivated the eyes. Lin Nuo’s tone sounded entirely casual, almost like a spur-of-the-moment idea. He didn’t notice that his other hand was involuntarily pinching his ear.
Rennes set his coffee cup on the table, looking at Lin Nuo, “Oh?”
Lin Nuo felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze and nervously said, “The morning sunlight is so beautiful, and the air in the estate is so fresh. I want to wander around the estate.”
Rennes replied, “Your Highness said yesterday that you didn’t want to delay the trip for even a minute and wanted to leave as soon as possible.”Ā
Lin Nuo was rendered speechless immediately. He tore off a piece of bread and put it in his mouth, thinking about what to say next, but Rennes spoke first, “If Your Highness wants to rest a bit more, I have no objections.”
Lin Nuo’s eyes lit up, quickly swallowed the bread with milk, and hurriedly said, “Then I’ll go for a stroll later. During that time, could you please wait for me here, Teacher?”
He rushed the words out, fearing Rennes might accompany him. Rennes looked at him, tapping his fingers lightly on the oak table, not responding immediately.
“Teacher, since this is the Clement family’s managed estate, it should be very, very safe, right?” Lin Nuo persisted, trying to secure the chance to go out alone. “So, it shouldn’t be dangerous for me to go out and wander by myself, right?”
Rennes stared at him for a while and finally said, “Fine. Return within an hour, so we don’t delay the departure time.”
Lin Nuo immediately jumped up from the table, excitement in his eyes. “Okay, okay, I’ll definitely be back on time! You’re so kind, Teacher! I really like you!”
After saying that, Lin Nuo hurriedly rushed out of the mansion. For Lin Nuo, saying āreally likeā was just an excited expression, much like saying āwow,ā āgreat,ā or āoh my goodness,ā without much actual significance. So, he didn’t think twice about the knight, who had been about to rise, remaining motionless for quite some time.
After a while, the person placed slender fingers on his forehead, his expression unusually complex as he sighed softly, “This guy, really…”Ā
Of course, Lin Nuo was oblivious to all of this. At that moment, he was being led by a pigeon spirit, running in the direction of the valley. The sun had just risen, the air was moist and mild, carrying the fragrance of leaves and flowers, making it delightful.
Lin Nuo ran with a smile, exhilarated by the thought of the gold coin he was about to acquire. Along the way, he saw hyacinths on both sides of the road continuously swaying like little bells, dewdrops rolling down the violet petals, and ladybugs hopping among the blades of grass. A hint of regret emerged within him; the scenery here was truly fresh and charmingly wild. Much more appealing than the palace courtyard.
Such a beautiful sightā¦ If only I were strolling with Rennes, then I could point out these scenes to him one by one, right? Even though he probably wouldn’t comment much, he would listen patiently to meā¦ Ah, why am I thinking like this again? The quest for gold coins shouldn’t involve Rennes accompanying me. Should I pretend to point at the ground in front of him and say, “Oh, what’s that! Oh, it’s a gold coin!”āthat would be too fake.
Lin Nuo shook his head, refocusing his thoughts, and continued to run through the field. Perhaps due to the recent intensive evasion training, he didn’t feel tired at all. Even his breathing remained steady, without any signs of disturbance.
In less than half an hour, led by the pigeon spirit, Lin Nuo stood in a low valley. Maybe because the valley was too low for enough sunlight, it hadn’t been developed into a vineyard or a flower field, left untended by anyone. Therefore, wild flowers and plants grew here, particularly lush and rampant.
Clusters of bluebells & bunches of violets crowded together, while blueberry trees and tiny raspberries spread all around. It was also the season for ripe strawberries. Bright red strawberries gently swayed in the breeze, faintly visible among the light green bushes.
The pigeon spirit flew above a wild strawberry plant, flapping its wings and cooing loudly. Actually, even if the pigeon spirit hadnāt flown over there, Lin Nuo had already sensed something different about the soil nearby. Rubbing his hands, he waded through the dense bushes and finally arrived next to the wild strawberries.
Wow, these strawberries are so well grown!
Before digging for gold coins, Lin Nuo’s attention was captured by the strawberries that kept swaying on the branchesā each one plump, vibrant, and swaying incessantly. No matter how attractive the strawberries were, they only held Lin Nuo’s attention for a second. He quickly shifted his focus to the land beneath the strawberry bushes.
Indeed, in the brown-black soil, there was a faint glimmer of gold. As Lin Nuo squatted down, his fingers aimed at the glint, pinching firmly, and pullingā
The gold coin, the adorable little gold coin, didn’t budge.
Holding his breath, Lin Nuo applied more forceā
The gold coin remained firmly buried in the soil.
What’s going on here? Am I supposed to transform into a dragon to dig up this gold coin? Lin Nuo furrowed his brow, staring at the edge of the coin. If tugging didn’t work, should I try the method Rennes taught me?
Lin Nuo withdrew his hand, closed his eyes, and focused on feeling the unusual energy in front of him.
āConcentrate your mind, move it according to your willā¦ā
Half a minute passed.
The pigeon spirit hovered above, not daring to even look at its young master, unsure of what Lin Nuo was doing.
One minute passed. The gold coin hidden in the soil finally trembled slightly and emerged on its own.
Lin Nuo opened his eyes, gesturing towards the small coin, “Come.”
The coin slowly floated up, spinning and ascending before gently falling into Lin Nuo’s hand. Lin Nuo smiled with satisfaction. Great, that was so smooth!
The pigeon spirit above him started spinning 360 degrees while cooing incessantly. Although Lin Nuo couldn’t understand the pigeon’s language, he could guess that the spirit was probably saying something like āYoung Master is amazing! Young Master is incredible!ā
Thankfully, he couldn’t understand and didn’t need to respond. Putting the gold coin away, he gestured to the pigeon spirit, “Let’s go.”
As he turned to leave, he noticed that something was amiss about the scenery before him. Before, the bushes and flowers around had been swaying gently in the morning breeze, making for a serene sight. But now, whether it was flowers or grass, they had begun to quiver at the same rapid frequency, as if shivering collectively.
What’s going on? Lin Nuo was puzzled. Even stranger, the leaves of these shrubs were curling on their own. They turned from open, extended leaves into cylindrical pipes. When the wind blew through them, it produced a mournful *whoo-whoo* sound, as if… they were crying?
Lin Nuo stood still, looking around with suspicion. At this moment, the pigeon spirit, spinning in the air, started arguing vehemently with these sobbing trees, cooing incessantly.
As Lin Nuo watched, he suddenly had a thought and shouted at the pigeon spirit, “Martin, what are you all saying?”
The pigeon spirit shivered all over, feathers trembling for a few moments, and landed on the ground somewhat grumpily. Transforming into a gray-haired young man, he looked around, confirming there was no one nearby, and addressed Lin Nuo, “Young Master, the trees in this valley have turned into spirits. Theyā¦ they’re not very willing to let you take the gold coin.”
“Not willing?” Lin Nuo subconsciously tightened his grip on the little coin, furrowing his brow. “Why?”
Martin lowered his head, hesitant to speak. At that moment, the surrounding vegetation began to shake violently. Every branch and leaf seemed to have a lot to say.
Lin Nuo stared at Martin, saying each word firmly, “Martin Paget, I command you to tell me everything these spirits are saying.”
Martin’s shoulders trembled, looking down, speaking in a low voice, “Young Master, these spirits say that they only became spirits because of this gold coin. If you take the coin away, they’ll revert to being ordinary trees.”
“Revert?” Lin Nuo squeezed the small gold coin in his pocket, his brow furrowed. “Why?”
Martin looked up, then down again, speaking even quieter. Then, the surrounding trees and grass began to shake vigorously, their branches and leaves twisting. It was evident they had a lot to say.
Lin Nuo stared at Martin, saying each word deliberately, “Martin Paget.ā
Martin’s voice became almost inaudible as he lowered his head. “Young Master, they also say… it’s not just that. If this gold coin is taken away, not only will they return to their former state, but all the plants in the entire Summerset Hill region will gradually wither and be unable to bear any fruit.”
Shocked, Lin Nuo exclaimed, “Is it that serious?!”
All of the plants in the Summerset Hills? Meaning, this fertile vineyard, this magnificent wine cellar of Saros, won’t yield a single grape?!
“And they also said,” Martin’s voice grew quieter, “they also said that once the plants die, this land will lose its vitality, reverting to an all-consuming swamp.”
Lin Nuo gasped in shock, immediately understanding: Summerset Hills, once a barren swamp, was transformed into this estate by the Clement family by using this mysterious gold coin’s magical powers.
The more Lin Nuo thought, the more reasonable this speculation seemed. At this moment, the plants that had been swaying and moving vigorously at first finally changed their posture, nodding vigorously instead. For a moment, all the flowers and grass around were nodding in unison, looking rather eerie.
Lin Nuo, who had already guessed the ins & outs of the situation, turned to ask these now sentient plants, “If I put the coin back, will everything return to normal?”
Even without Martin’s translation, from the frantic nodding of the plants, Lin Nuo knew the answer. Upon hearing Lin Nuo’s words, Martin immediately jumped up, distressed, “Young Master, are you really going to put the coin back? Shouldn’t you reconsider?”
Lin Nuo chuckled, “What is there to reconsider?”
Would he just watch this beautiful estate turn back into a foul-smelling swamp?
Martin paced in circles, muttering, “But this coin is so special! For you, it must be a very useful coinā¦ And also, when that knight returned the other coins to us, didn’t he say they were your favorite?”Ā
Lin Nuo patted the young man, who seemed more reluctant than himself, saying, “Ah, it’s alright. It’s just a coin. I’m sure I’ll find other coins in the future, right?”
Despite these plants and flowers crying pitifully, Martin continued to glare at them with an expression that said, āYou’re disappointing our young master,ā and āI’ll summon the pigeon family to flatten you when he’s not around.ā
Meanwhile, Lin Nuo took the coin out of his pocket, sighed reluctantly, and buried it back in the soil. As he buried it, he thought: It’s a good thing I’m in human form now and relatively rational. If I were in dragon form, I wonder if I wouldāve recklessly run away with the coinā¦Ā
Just as he was thinking this, Martin ran over joyfully, holding an object shaped like a gem, “Young Master! Young Master! As a token of gratitude, these strawberry spirits have decided to give this to you!”
Lin Nuo looked at the shiny, egg-sized red gem and asked, puzzled, “What is this? A ruby? You don’t have to give me this; I have many of these kinds of things now.”
Yes, in his bedroom drawer, there were plenty of rubies and sapphires of this size, all rewards from the king.
Martin shook his head, “No, Young Master, this isn’t an ordinary ruby. This is a dried strawberry. You can eat it right away!”
“A dried strawberry?” Lin Nuo widened his eyes involuntarily, taking in the āgemā seriously. Hmm… Apart from the shape resembling a strawberry, this thing had no difference from a high-quality gem in terms of color and brightness. Could this really be a dried strawberry?
Seeing Lin Nuo’s puzzled expression, Martin quickly continued to explain, “These strawberries take many years for the tree spirits to produce. They bury the strawberries in the ground for many years, constantly nurturing them with magic, and finally, they can create these special dried strawberries! They say that in the past hundred years, they have only made two of these dried strawberries. The previous one was stolen and eaten after a dozen years, so this is the only one.”
Martin sounded proud, showing no hint that he had obtained this dried strawberry by himself, “And, Young Master, don’t worry. We, as pigeon spirits, can naturally discern whether fruits are poisonous or not. I’ve checked; this dried strawberry is absolutely non-toxic. You can eat it with confidence!”
Looking at Martin’s expectant expression, Lin Nuo asked, puzzled, “Um, but why should I eat it?”
Yeah, why should he eat a fruit that had been buried in the ground for over a hundred years?
Martin hurriedly said, “Ah, I forgot to tell you! This dried strawberry has a special ability: it allows humans to understand the language of magical beings. It’s very, very useful! Young Master, since you’ve left the coin with them, this dried strawberry is their gift to you!”
Of course, Martin didn’t mention that the coin was handed over to those creatures while they were crying and being threatened by his āmenacingā pigeon army.
“To understand the language of magical beings?” Upon hearing this, Lin Nuo was pleasantly surprised. If he could understand magical beings, he wouldn’t need the pigeon spirits or goblins to transform into humans or himself into a dragon to communicate. He realized that changing forms so frequently was quite noticeable.
Thinking about this, Lin Nuo happily put the gem-shaped dried strawberry into his mouth.
Hmm… This texture is quite similar to strawberry-flavored hard candyā¦ Sweet and sour, with a hint of fragrant strawberry wine aroma…Huh? A wine aroma? By the time Lin Nuo realized that something was amiss, he had already swallowed the dried fruit.
“Is it delicious?” Martin looked at Lin Nuo expectantly.
“Delicious… but why does it taste like wine?” Lin Nuo still had some hope in his heart, such as this dried strawberry just having a unique taste or something.
At that moment, Lin Nuo heard the voices of the swaying flower & grass spirits, “Oh, esteemed young master of the dragon clan, this is a strawberry we had buried underground for a century. In one hundred years, the juice inside the strawberry ferments into a fragrant wine.”Ā
Indeed, he could understand the voices of magical beings now! But Lin Nuo couldn’t dwell on this success for too long. His face was already reddening, and he was starting to stutter, “So, this, this, dried strawberry… is akin to a hundred-year-old wine?”
The strawberry bushes nodded in unison, “Yes! Yes!”
Lin Nuo’s head began to spin. He didn’t dare waste any more time talking to these creatures. Instead, he dashed toward the main mansion. Martin, seeing something amiss, promptly turned into a pigeon and flew after Lin Nuo.Ā
He hadn’t run fifty meters before Lin Nuo started feeling dizzy, his cheeks getting hotter. He initially wanted to whisper to the pigeon spirit circling above his head, but what came out was an unintentional shout, “Martin, if I can’t control turning back into a dragon, you must take me away and hide me…”
He couldn’t continue. Because in his swaying vision, there appeared a slender figure walking straight towards him. Oh, it’s the knight.
Lin Nuo halted, trying to find something to support his unsteady self. But there were only wildflowers and lush shrubs along the road, nothing tall enough to lean on.
So, after a few wobbles, he almost fellā But he didn’t hit the ground.
In an instant, Rennes had rushed to his side, reaching out to hold his arm. Now, Lin Nuo was almost hanging on Rennes, his face pressed against the other’s upper arm.
Through the layer of soft fabric, the refreshing cold scent from the other person seemed even stronger than before. Lin Nuo instinctively sniffed, attempting to lift his head a bit, but he had lost all strength and could only lean on the other to avoid falling.
Lin Nuo strained to keep his eyes open, gathering the remaining shreds of his consciousness to stutter out a complete sentence, “Teacher, how… how are you here?”
Rennes didn’t answer, just supporting the nearly collapsing little prince, and asked in return, “Are you drunk?”
Lin Nuo was now completely unable to control his movements and facial expressions. He couldn’t help but grin and shake his head, “No, not drunk. It’s strawberries. I ate a strawberry, um…”
Rennes sighed, steadying the guy who was already drunk after just one sip, heading towards the main house, saying, “Your Highness didn’t drink?”
Lin Nuo couldn’t keep his eyes open, hanging onto Rennes’ arm, continuing to murmur, “That… that wasn’t wine!”
Lin Nuo dragged his feet a few more steps, but finally, his eyes closed, and his body went limp, unable to take another step. But… I should still be in human form, right? I haven’t transformed?
In a daze, it felt like someone had lifted him horizontally. I don’t need to walk myself? That’s easy. Moreover, his cheeks, burning hot with fever, seemed to be pressed against a chest that had a slight chill. During my last high fever, this personā¦ This person had helped me cool down.
In his memories, this person’s skin, this person’s fingers, were refreshingly cool and made one unwilling to let go once you touched them. I really want to press my scorching hot face and reddened skin against him. Wouldn’t it feel very refreshing if we leaned against each other?
Vaguely, Lin Nuo felt like he was being laid down on a bed. The person who had carried him was pulling away his arms while softly saying, “Sleep, just sleep.”
Huh? So, this cool compress is leaving me?! That won’t do! In a daze, Lin Nuo reached out, pulling at the humanoid cooling pad in front of him and began to mumble & grumble.
Good, the cooling pad didn’t leave, obediently staying by my side. But why isn’t he touching me? I remember, last time when I had a fever, he clearly used his cool hands to touch me from head to toe, didn’t he? No, this time he must touch me! Lin Nuo struggled to open his eyes, his vision blurry, his voice carrying a tinge of grievance and a bit of anger, “Why aren’t you moving? Come on, come andā¦ touch me!”
Ā
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Ha! He was only touching Linnuo when he was in Dragon formš
Now in human form it will sound rather ambiguous šš
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