# 101
Marianne smiled gently as she looked at the stunned Diarren.
The more surprised she became, the stronger the evidence of the magic's effectiveness.
“Do you feel any discomfort?”
“Oh, no...”
Diaren tried to recall the details of the magical ritual, checking whether she had forgotten anything during the process.
Fortunately, there were no gaps in her memory of how to perform magic.
The magic was subtle, but it wasn't as complicated as I expected, and it didn't require a lot of holy energy.
Now I understood how Marian was able to use it even though she did not possess strong sacred energy.
More importantly, now that she understands the method, she can reverse the magic and restore deleted memories.
Dearyn sighed in relief and smiled.
Then, Marianne smiled back and continued her speech as if she was conducting a final consultation.
"Now you understand why it's dangerous, right? If other thoughts interfere during the operation, the associated memories might be erased as well, so extreme caution must be taken. This is not something anyone can do."
“Yes...”
"So, how would you like to pay? And when would you like to schedule your magic?"
—
“How was it?”
“Do you feel more comfortable now?”
As soon as they left the temple after consulting Marian, the people of the Third Prince's Palace quickly rushed towards them.
Deyarin felt like a bodyguard trying to protect a famous person, so she took the initiative to stand in front of Sirius.
“Ah, my friends, please, take it easy. Sirius is feeling very emotional right now, so he can’t talk for a long time.”
"Oh...! That's completely normal. Nothing eases feelings like a glass of wine!"
...These people, really...
Despite everything, Deyarin couldn't help but smile as she thought about Kiris's social relationships.
“Alcohol may help with feelings temporarily, but it makes you more depressed when it wears off. So, he plans to stay away from it for a while.”
Even while smiling, she did not hesitate to tell the truth.
Anyway, I won't let you drag him into another drinking session!
Dearyn built an impenetrable wall between Keres and these people, but she soon realized that they were no easy opponents.
“Then why don't we drink again before the alcohol wears off?”
“….”
This...makes sense in a way...
Dearyn was almost convinced for a moment, but she quickly shook her head vigorously.
So, this is how they were pulling people into their vortex! What a stubborn group they are.
She was about to argue with them again, but she noticed their innocent pleading looks, which made her step back.
In the end, these people weren't just aimlessly frivolous, they had accompanied Sirius here out of concern for him.
Even if they were very excited about drinking, she couldn't deny that their interest in it was genuine.
“Well... instead of drinking, how about we go for a walk together?”
Everyone looked at each other and began to whisper among themselves, and then finally, one of them asked cautiously:
“But… we can drink, right?”
“…Drink as much as you want.”
How can I prevent your hands from reaching your mouth?
Dearyn raised her hands in surrender.
People laughed and took out the bottles of wine they had hidden in their sleeves or pockets.
“The forest is a good place for a walk. It's also close to the third palace!”
They lined up in a procession carrying their bottles, following behind.
Dearyn felt something was wrong.
These are the ones doing something embarrassing, so why should she feel ashamed?
She walked while thinking deeply about the issue of burdening others with feelings of shame.
But Diaren was not the only one who did not want to accompany these drunks.
“They are annoying.”
Sirius whispered in her ear.
He was still in a “crying” state and was walking with his head on her shoulder.
“Should we continue with them?”
“Not necessarily... but how do we escape from them?”
They decided to endure in appreciation for their efforts in accompanying them.
Plus, they had no other excuse to quit.
But Ceres was different from Dearren. He didn't even think of coming up with an excuse.
As soon as Deyarin gave him permission, he immediately stopped walking, then turned to the people and announced loudly:
“From now on, I will be walking alone with Deyarin.”
"What?! How can that be? We even came here together!"
"We've been together so far! And we must always be together!"
People objected strongly.
Of course, they were not the type to give up easily.
Just as they did with Dearren, they stood up to Sirius as well.
They were brave in a way.
“I don't want...”
Sirius was about to refuse casually, but suddenly stopped.
“You should refuse in a way that doesn't hurt their feelings.”
If he refuses directly, they may feel hurt.
…Though it doesn't seem like they'll really be affected.
But since Dayarin asked him to do so, he wanted to do what he could.
So he decided to refuse in their own way.
“Let's bet.”
"Oh? Are you saying bet?"
As expected, their eyes immediately sparkled upon hearing the word “bet.”
“Excellent. This time the bet will be on a new type of wine...”
“Not the wine, but the running race.”
“Ahh…! That’s not fair, your long legs obviously give you an advantage, how can this be a bet?”
Despite their displeasure, Sirius did not back down.
He had boundless impudence, which made him a well-suited opponent for them.
Deyarin watched the situation curiously.
“I will pick up Darren and run.”
“…Oh?”
They seemed to be starting to find it interesting.
Especially since Hulian, the leader of the morning drinking group, belongs to a family famous for martial arts.
Although he had spent years in a drunken life, his physical foundation was not bad.
"How will we determine the winner? Will he be the first to reach the third palace?"
“No. We start together, and the challenge continues until I get tired and stop.”
“I didn’t know that the young master, who was crying every day in his room, was so confident in his physical strength!”
Holian laughed defiantly, but Sirius remained impassive.
Considering how he had transformed from the “crying young master” into a completely different person, it was shocking.
But no one paid attention to that, because they were preoccupied with the idea of betting itself.
“But this bet is not possible.”
Hulian looked like he was fooled for a moment, but eventually shook his head.
“Why?”
"We drunks don't have any stamina. Just walking is tiring for us."
“…….”
Sirius was about to change his plan and run away carrying Dearyn.
But at that moment, Hulian caught him before he turned his back.
“Instead!”
Sirius turned to him coldly, and Holian continued:
“Let's agree that the race starts at the same time, and if anyone can pass you, the victory will be ours. What do you think?”
In other words, Ceres will still be carrying Darren and running, but the rest of the people will be running carrying bottles of wine.
If someone can overtake Ceres or run longer than him, the drunk will win.
Ceres had to excel in both short and long distance racing.
"We agreed."
But they knew nothing about the immense physical strength of a member of the Eighth Division.
Sirius nodded in agreement without hesitation, then picked up Dearyn and threw her directly over his shoulder.
"Yes!?"
She pressed his arm against her stomach, making a strange sound.
It was so terrible that even the drunkards, who were beginning to feel drunk, immediately lost it.
But Dayarin had no time to feel embarrassed, because the betting started immediately.
"never."
“Come on!”
"You won't run away from us! Ha-ha-ha!"
The drunks started running around like crazy.
Some tried to outrun Ceres at first, but it was impossible.
Sirius ran at superhuman speed.
He ran, and ran, and kept running without stopping.
"Oh! Where are you going?!"
"Wait...! We... huh...!"
People who spent their days drinking had no chance of keeping up with the Eighth Division's physical strength.
Their voices became fainter and fainter.
But Sirius didn't stop.
He continued running relentlessly.
The imperial palace was wider than he expected.
The more he ran, the more the place seemed to turn into an endless maze.
“Where are we going?”
“They are still following us.”
“Oh my God, they are stubborn.”
As Sirius continued to run away from them, Dearyn was going through another ordeal.
She was rocking over his shoulder like a saddle on a horse, making her feel very dizzy.
“I feel...I feel like I'm going dizzy...”
The price for her newfound freedom was harsh.
She covered her mouth and began hitting Sirius' back hard.
Finally, Sirius stopped running.
Deyarin quickly got off his shoulder and panted, trying to catch her breath.
“Are...they still following us?”
“They are on the way.”
“Should we run again...?”
“They're crawling now.”
“What annoying people they are...”
Although their energy had run out, they did not give up the bet, crawling on the ground with incredible stubbornness.
At least, this gave them some time to catch their breath.
Dearyn exhaled slowly and looked around.
However, there was something strange about the place.
They had long since passed the forest they had been hiking through.
They passed several parks, and what appeared to be some public buildings, and then entered another forest.
But this forest was completely different.
There was nothing nicely arranged, and the trees grew thickly, making the place dark even though it was still daylight.
“Sirius, don’t you think we’ve come to a strange place?”
At Dearyn's words, Sirius took a look around as well.
He started to feel something was wrong.
There was no sign of humans, as if this forest represented a limit that should not be crossed.
In these situations, it was better not to go any further.
Even if they ended up drunk and drunk, it would have been better than getting involved in something strange.
“Maybe we should go back.”
Diaren couldn't hide her nervousness as she glanced behind her.
She would rather have people quickly catch up with them, rather than be alone with Sirius in this mysterious place within the Imperial Palace.
But Sirius did not answer her.
“Sirius?”
When she turned to look at him, she found that his eyes were fixed forward, as if he was enchanted by something.
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