Chapter 72: The Pinnacle of Side Quests in the Novel World

However, Draxel had already drunk quite a bit. He asked, “Did you guys mix this up? This clearly tastes like grape wine. What the heck is this magical flavor?”

Just then, Merchant Marnid came in for breakfast. Seeing the situation, he immediately understood, “My noble lord, here’s what happened. I’ve been experimenting with making grape wine using the grapes from our villages.”

“Oh, so you’re trying to produce grape wine instead of just selling the grapes. That’s a great idea. Profit Empress Ronnie’s tavern has been unattended lately, and there’s a gap in the market for wine.”

Draxel was very pleased with Marnid’s foresight and actions.

[System Prompt: Your friendliness with Merchant Marnid has increased by +5. Current friendliness: 65.]

[Comment: You’re smooth as silk with Marnid, layer after layer like Russian dolls. Why doesn’t it work with Safiya? Not a single move lands!]

Merchant Marnid nodded respectfully and said, “Yes, you’re right, my noble lord. That’s exactly my intention. It seems Ol’ Aubreyand the others might have mixed up the grape wine with the new sauce.”

At this moment, Draxel felt dizzy. It seemed the grape wine experiment wasn’t quite right, with an alcohol content too high.

“Alright, Marnid, keep up the good work. I have other things to do,” Draxel said, staggering to his feet. 

He wobbled out of the lord’s hall, walking like a drunken cat.

He silently communicated with the system, ‘System, let’s call it a day. I’m drunk. Let’s skip the side quest and do it tomorrow. My brain is having a party right now; I can’t stop wobbling.’

[System Prompt: Are you and I doing the social shake here? No way. Today’s the day. You’ll use your drunken strength to complete the tasks. Now, head to Yanzi-Ronnie Casino!]

Draxel stumbled three steps forward, two steps back, turning every few steps. He almost perfected drunken boxing by the time he reached Yanzi-Ronnie Casino. Thankfully, the fresh air cleared his head a bit.

The doorman at the casino recognized Draxel immediately and greeted him, “Good morning, my noble lord. What brings you here today? Are you here for a little gambling?”

Draxel, drunk and unsteady, slurred his words, “This music is called soc- soc- social shake, keep the beat going! Oh yeah!~~~”

“My noble lord, I don’t understand what you mean.” 

The doorman was utterly confused by Draxel’s antics.

“Um… Um… Help me in. I want to play mahjong!”

“Mahjong? What does that mean, my noble lord? Please forgive me, I don’t understand.” 

The doorman looked troubled, unsure of what to do.

Just then, Safiya, who was out shopping, saw this scene. She hated seeing Draxel drunk out of his mind and immediately twisted his ear hard.

The doorman, not recognizing Safiya at first, thought she was an unruly guest and shouted, “How dare you! Who do you think you are, touching our noble lord like that.”

Slap!

The servant reached out to stop Safiya from twisting Draxel’s ear, but Safiya quickly withdrew her hand, causing the servant to accidentally slap Draxel hard in the face.

The unexpected slap left Draxel dazed and seeing stars.

“Damn it, who hit me?” Draxel snapped fully awake, feeling the stinging red marks on his face, seething with anger.

In this situation, hitting the Count and his lord wasn’t just a serious offense. I it was punishable by death, potentially endangering the servant’s entire family.

The servant’s legs trembled, and he stammered, “It… it was…”

“It was me. Not only did I slap you, but I also twisted your ear.” 

Seeing the servant’s distress, Safiya, with her kind heart, stepped in to defuse the situation.

Though she felt a bit sorry for Draxel, she had to admit that the slap had been strong enough to leave a lasting mark. His face would likely swell up like a balloon.

Safiya turned to the servant, noticing his strength. Curious, she asked, “Hey, what did you do before this? You seem pretty strong.”

“I… I used to guard the prison. I often had to deal with dangerous criminals, so I had to stay strong. When I heard the casino was hiring, I wanted to earn more to support my family, so I came here,” the servant replied cautiously, still shaken by the incident.

“Oh, that makes sense. Speaking of prisons, we don’t have a decent one in Uxkhal. We can’t even properly hold hostages or prisoners. Do you have any ideas?” Safiya asked.

“The captain of my old prison is in the casino right now. Maybe you can ask him for advice. His name is Borcha, and he’s probably playing poker,” the doorman answered.

Hearing this name, Draxel perked up immediately. “What did you say? Say that name again.”

“Uh… my lord, his name is Borcha. We call him Captain Borcha.”

Draxel grabbed the servant’s hand and marched into the casino, saying, “Lead the way. Take me to him. Now.”

Curious, Safiya followed behind, wondering what had gotten into the Count this time.

Inside the noisy and crowded casino, at a large poker table, there was a scruffy, seedy-looking man playing cards. He had messy hair, dirt under his fingernails, and reeked of booze and cigarettes, standing out in the clean and tidy Yanzi-Ronnie Casino.

But Draxel had always maintained that all were welcome at the casino, as long as they could afford the chips, regardless of their status.

The servant pointed at the scruffy man and said, “That’s our Captain Borcha.”

“Good. You can go now,” Draxel told the doorman, who nodded and left to resume his duties.

Draxel approached Borcha and introduced himself, “Hello, I’m—”

“Shut up, don’t bother me while I’m playing cards.”

“You… haha, alright, I’ll join you then.” 

Intrigued by Borcha’s attitude, Draxel decided to join the game.