Chapter 22: 22 Drinking Alcohol Is Harmful to Health... Being Too Confident Is Too

22 Drinking Alcohol Is Harmful to Health... Being Too Confident Is Too

"Give it to him, I don't need a menu."

Smoothing the hem of her bright red high-waisted tight skirt, the red-haired woman sat by the restaurant window, waved her hand to refuse the menu handed by the waiter, and directly 'named' the order with extreme familiarity:

"First, bring a dozen Bass Pale Ales to whet the appetite. During this time, wake up a bottle of dry red from the Margaux estate to clear the malt flavor of the beer. Then, one bottle each of the affordable classic whiskies from Bowmore, Talisker, and Glenfiddich."

"Finally, wait until I... wait until we have drunk enough, then serve a bottle of Macallan Sherry Cask whisky to finish, and add a bottle of Captain Morgan black rum to take away."

"Hmm... that's all for now. By the way, write the name on the bill as Hearing Li Ang Laien, and then send it to the Cleaning Bureau under the Police Department, and pay it on payday."

"..."

Looking at the red-haired woman who finished the menu... or rather the wine list in less than five seconds, and even settled the bill directly, Hearing Li Ang, who was holding another menu, felt his heart skip a beat, and reminded with a forced smile:

"Director, all the things you ordered are alcohol. Should we order some food?"

"Ah, it's okay, you eat yours, don't worry about me, I'm fine as long as I have something to drink."

"..."

Not eating anything else, just drinking? So are you planning to drink yourself to death here?

Opening the alcohol section of the menu and finding the wine types the other party ordered, looking at the five or six bright dark 'spirits' labels, Hearing Li Ang felt his scalp start to go numb.

According to the alcohol classification standards promoted by the kingdom's Ministry of Commerce, varieties with an alcohol content of over 30% must be labeled as spirits, but these few are not only spirits labels but also dark spirits labels, proving that the alcohol content starts at 40%.

I... I was truly full and had nothing to do, why did I treat her to a drink!

Looking at the menu, which wasn't expensive but definitely couldn't be called cheap, Hearing Li Ang, whose intestines were almost turning green with regret, hesitated for a long time, but ultimately couldn't bear to spend too much money.

After picking and choosing, he finally only chose a shepherd's pie made of lamb, mashed potatoes, and lettuce, and ordered a plate of vegetable-stewed veal for after the meal, preparing to pack it back for the two little ones at home, and then watched the performance of his own Director with fear and trepidation.

"Hmm~ truly nostalgic~"

After finishing half a dozen pale ales with a speed Hearing Li Ang couldn't understand, elegant yet wild, amidst the whispers of others in the restaurant, Olivia tucked her red hair behind her ears, leaned over regardless of others, and sniffed lightly at the opening of the decanter, a pretty blush appearing on her pretty face.

"Raspberry, toasted bread, a very mellow coffee taste, and a little bit of faint truffle aroma~ it's been a long time since I've had such exquisite wine~"

"..."

Is it that powerful?

Startled by the red-haired woman's expression of enjoyment, Hearing Li Ang sniffed quietly, but only smelled a little sour and sweet fruit aroma and didn't smell anything else, so he frowned somewhat suspiciously.

Where is the bread and coffee... is she lying?

"What? Don't believe it?"

After glancing at Hearing Li Ang's expression, the red-haired woman took a glass, poured half a glass of bright red wine for him, and handed it over with a smile.

"Want to taste?"

"Hmm..."

Smelling the slightly pungent alcohol, Hearing Li Ang, who didn't drink, frowned subconsciously and wanted to refuse instinctively.

But thinking that he had spent money on this wine, and quite a bit at that, his hand couldn't help but take the wine glass, take a big gulp according to the method taught by the red-haired woman, and used his cheeks to move the wine, turning it around his tongue twice, and swallowed it with a gulp.

"How is it?"

Looking at Hearing Li Ang, who was sucked into a straight line by the sourness,

the red-haired woman supported her cheek with her hand, observing his flushed face, and said with a smile:

"For those who have just come into contact with wine, actually some sweeter types are more suitable. This kind of stronger and more stimulating dry wine is probably a bit too early for you... heh, little guy, do you still want to drink?"

"Hiss..."

After slowly taking two breaths, feeling the slight sourness around his teeth, Hearing Li Ang's eyes lit up involuntarily.

"Drink! And I want a glass of the others too!"

The reason for such a quick change in attitude wasn't that Hearing Li Ang had realized the beauty of alcohol, nor was it that he was stimulated by the red-haired woman's teasing attitude toward a little brother, but rather...

【First time tasting 'craft' level good wine, you successfully activated the Black Iron badge "Wine Country Newcomer"】

【Wine Country Newcomer: Don't persuade me, I know, loving it will harm my life, but the thing that makes me unable to be happy is precisely my long and boring life itself】

【Wearing effect: For a period of time after drinking liquid containing alcohol, the influence of negative emotions such as fear, timidity, and panic on you will be weakened】

【Advanced route: After tasting ten kinds of 'craft' level or higher good wines, this badge will automatically advance to the Bronze badge "Wine Country Gourmet", current progress 1/10】

【Hidden characteristic (no need to wear): Your alcohol tolerance has been greatly improved】

I really didn't expect you to have such a talent for drinking...

Looking at Hearing Li Ang, whose eyes were shining and clearly excited, the red-haired woman, who had only wanted to tease him, also became spirited. She raised her hand to pour him a glass of high-degree whisky, and pointed lightly at the golden wine liquid through the glass wall, explaining with a smile:

"This is a single malt whisky aged in barrels for over 10 years. The smell is very similar to cinnamon and vanilla. Although it is very strong, it is very smooth if you taste it carefully.

Drink it like this... here, if your tongue is sensitive enough, you should be able to taste the mature flavor similar to dried fruit and oak... okay~"

Looking at Hearing Li Ang, who hadn't even waited for her to finish introducing it, and drank the wine glass in one gulp, only to be choked by the spiciness and have tears in his eyes, the red-haired woman shook her head and said with some amusement:

"You drank too fast; the degree of this glass was more than four times the previous one. Were you choked? You... hmm? You still want more?"

"Yes!"

After blinking his eyes and slowly recovering, Hearing Li Ang looked at the alcohol tolerance boost entry under 【Wine Country Newcomer】, and holding the idea of brushing more badges if he could, nodded confidently:

"I feel my alcohol tolerance is actually okay. Even if it's not as good as yours, it shouldn't be too different... hmm, but I'll only drink one glass of each."

Oh? Not too different?

As if opening Pandora's box, as soon as Hearing Li Ang said this, the eyebrows of the red-haired beauty, who had only prepared to drink a little, lifted, and she raised her hand to summon the waiter again with a smile.

"Then let's drink to our heart's content today~ rest assured, I'll treat the rest, no need to spend your salary~"

After the new round of drinks was carried over by six waiters, panting, the image of the red-haired beauty standing up to pour wine with a smile became the last scene in Hearing Li Ang's memory tonight...

"Hmm... why is the sun up again?"

Holding his head, which was almost splitting with pain, and waking up hungry from the small bed at home, looking at the sunset that had miraculously climbed back above the horizon outside the window, Hearing Li Ang widened his eyes in shock.

After summoning the badge panel with trembling hands and seeing the 【Wine Country Martyr】 shining with golden light in the slot, he was directly stunned in place, his lips trembling involuntarily.

Black Iron—Bronze—Silver—Gold?

Three levels in one night? How much did I drink?!!! ===== CHAPTER 23 =====