Chapter 80: This Taste Is Wrong

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, the little succubus Lilith walked to the very center of the stage.

There, a large wine basin filled with grapes had already been prepared in advance.

She gently slipped off one of her stockings, while leaving the other on, and just like that, stepped right in.

Yet even so, the crowd still watched the little succubus with eyes like ravenous wolves.

Red could even hear Tos beside him breathing heavily.

“Well then, I’ll begin now~”

Standing in the basin, Lilith pressed down with a little force, and the ripe grapes instantly burst open with a “splurt,” their juice staining the white stocking she hadn’t taken off a deep purplish red.

“Ohhh!!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Watching this scene, even Red, who hadn’t planned on drinking, couldn’t help but want to taste what the wine in his cup was really like.

Just as he was about to take a sip…

“Yo? What a coincidence, you’re into this sort of thing?”

A familiar, slightly teasing female voice sounded right by Red’s side, catching him off guard.

“I can step on some grapes for you too… as long as you pay.”

Red was so startled he almost spilled the wine from his cup.

Somehow, Letia, dressed in her trademark black priest robe, had appeared beside him like a ghost, claiming the empty seat next to him.

She too was holding a glass of grape wine, but compared to Red’s, her wine looked much clearer and brighter red, probably brought from outside, while Red’s appeared more cloudy.

Thinking about it, though, considering this wine was made purely by foot, it wasn’t surprising the quality wasn’t great.

But… why did the taste seem a little off?

Red sniffed it; the aroma was faint, but there was a strange sour and rancid smell.

Could this really be safe to drink?

Looking around, everyone else seemed utterly entranced by the wine.

Even Mason, who had tasted National Cellar Wine before, couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement after drinking it.

“This is truly excellent wine—rich, fresh, fragrant and sweet. I’ve never tasted grape wine so wonderful.”

Looking at him, Red thought he didn’t seem drunk; he looked more like someone high on something else.

Red glanced at Letia, and when he saw her face full of mischief and amusement, he knew… there was definitely something fishy going on.

“Cheers?”

He sniffed the grape wine in his cup again… and the smell was honestly hard to praise.

Sure, a girl’s stockings might have a bit of a scent, but wasn’t this a bit much?

Red had smelled stockings before—even after a whole day of battle, soaked in sweat, it didn’t get to this level.

Seeing Letia raise her glass, urging him to drink as if it were a matter of life and death, only made things seem even more suspicious.

Just to be safe, he sent out a Bloodhound Hunting Spider, which fetched back the stocking the little succubus had taken off.

When no one was looking, Red ducked his head under the table and took a sniff up close.

The smell wasn’t right!

It was absolutely, undeniably off!

The scent on the stocking and the wine’s odor were totally different.

He looked at Letia’s face, which was barely holding back laughter…

At that moment, a terrifying guess formed in Red’s mind.

Maybe… the wine wasn’t made by the little succubus after all…

Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he quietly formed a test needle and dipped it into the wine.

“Beep~”

The test needle beeped.

He saw the indicator show a hallucinogenic mushroom component, and he fell into deep thought.

Looking again at his three buddies happily drinking, and the adventurers in the shop cheering away, he stood up.

At that moment, Red realized exactly what he ought to do.

In the shop, everyone’s eyes turned to Red, as if confused by his actions.

Even Letia didn’t quite understand what he was planning.

She had been egging him on to drink, yes, but Red—having been pranked so many times—should surely know there was something wrong with this wine.

If he didn’t know… well, then it’d just be another joke at Red’s expense.

Anyway, hallucinogenic mushroom isn’t poisonous; drinking this wine is no worse than eating some old pickled sauerkraut from a previous life.

Heh~

It’s fine~

But the point wasn’t that.

The point was: why had he stood up?

Letia asked with confusion, “Where are you going?”

Red didn’t reply.

He just picked up his glass of grape wine and slowly walked onto the stage.

As he did, the others looked even more baffled—they truly couldn’t figure out what Red was up to.

With a look of compassion, as if about to sacrifice himself for a righteous cause, he moved.

“Um… Sir, what are you doing?”

Red took a deep breath, bent down a bit, and moved closer.

He sniffed the ice cream.

No sour, rancid odor—on the contrary, there was a faint milky scent, unique to a young succubus.

Even more fragrant than the stocking he’d brought back.

“This flavor really isn’t right…”

But this scene left the people below the stage dumbfounded—and completely wild!

“Ahhh!! So fragrant!”

At that moment, the same question flashed across everyone’s mind as it did in Red’s.

Was this wine… really made by the little succubus stomping grapes?

Just as everyone was wondering, the shop owner came running out from the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh grape wine, his Minotaur face beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum.

“Ahahahaha~ Grape wine is here~!”

But as he came out and saw the silent, stunned scene in the shop, he paused, bewildered.

“What’s going on with you all?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“The wine’s out, so why isn’t anyone drinking?”

The crowd stayed silent until Brian finally spoke up.

“Boss, no one dares drink… Someone said… said the wine wasn’t stomped by the little succubus.”