"What is this thing?"
Blaze leaned in with a doubtful look, twitching her nose as she sniffed at it.
Lucian couldn't help laughing.
Seeing her act so cautiously, the ears on her head twitching nonstop, she really did look like an oversized cat.
He set a bowl of Red Sugar on the table. "Just some candy I made. Good for blood and all that, pretty nutritious."
"But the taste's a little intense. Let's see if you've got the guts to try it."
Blaze's ears perked, her brows rising. "Something I don't dare eat? Don't be ridiculous!"
Unhappy, she scowled, grabbed a piece, tossed it into her mouth, and crunched down.
Yep, just like that. Lucian nodded, extremely satisfied.
He was starting to figure this big cat out. Flattering her didn't work half as well as poking her pride a little.
Be gentle and she gets bored; push her a bit and she suddenly turns surprisingly cooperative. Honestly, what a ridiculous troublemaking cat.
And right on cue—the reaction came.
Lucian watched her with a distinctly sadistic grin. Blaze glared back, stubborn as ever, and then—
"Mm—!? Cough cough cough— wuwaa!" she cried in distress. "What is this!? My throat—my throat's on fire…! Water! I need water!"
"Here, here, here." Lucian poured her a bowl of Soy Milk.
Blaze, face flushed bright red from choking, grabbed it and drank without even looking—and then—
"WAAAH! " she cried out tearfully. "This is even hotter than the candy! What is this!? Red milk!?"
Lucian said proudly, "This is my special red date Soy Milk. Also good for the body. Haven't even sold it in the shop yet—you're my very first test customer. Come on, don't be shy, drink up."
"How does anyone eat this stuff!?"
Blaze shot to her feet, completely puffed up like an angry cat.
She shrank into a corner, wary and teary-eyed, tongue sticking out. "Uweh. It still burns. It's like it's glued to my throat… This is even stronger than Ursus vodka! 'Good for the body' my ass, you're totally screwing with me!"
"What nonsense. Do I look like that kind of person?"
Lucian sighed dramatically, as if she were hopeless.
He turned and reached toward Hoshiguma. "Look at my big sis here—that's what I call a real man."
"I'm a woman," Hoshiguma said flatly.
She popped Lucian's Red Sugar like peanuts, crunching through one after another and washing them down with beer.
Mixing antibiotics and alcohol had nothing on this. The sheer brutality of it stunned Blaze.
"For real? You're okay? It's that spicy and you just… eat it? Doesn't your throat burn?"
"No."
Hoshiguma remained perfectly calm. "Everything this kid makes tastes great. I don't understand you—why can't you handle it?"
"Guh!?" Blaze's pride took a direct hit.
On all fours, tail twitching wildly, she crawled back to the sofa. "I'll eat it! I can eat it too!"
That's how people get when they start feeling the buzz.
Her whole face scrunched up like she was facing some kind of monster—but she still gulped down the candy in one go.
"AAAGH! Still spicy!" she wailed pitifully.
Hoshiguma kept fanning the flames. "Here, wash it down with some beer."
Tears streamed from Blaze's eyes, but she forced herself to drink.
And that was when Lucian felt something dangerous spark inside him:
…Bullying a tough-girl type… is kind of fun?
He leaned close to her. "Come on, have some Soy Milk too. Sweet or salty—Soy Milk and candy go great together."
"Uuuugh… fine! I'll drink! Watch me!"
This woman was way too easy to provoke.
Lucian and Hoshiguma kept egging her on until Blaze was crying, sniffling, and stuffing anything she could grab into her mouth.
Once the alcohol and sugar finally hit equilibrium, she burped, face blazing red.
"So hot! So hot! What is this candy!? I feel like I'm on fire… ugh it's seriously so hot!"
When she got drunk, men didn't stand a chance.
Before she could yank her clothes off, Lucian grabbed her. "Wait, wait, calm down! El, can you— Huh?"
He looked back—and Exusiai was already out cold.
She had curled up like a little caterpillar, hugging a pillow while drooling in her sleep.
Hoshiguma shrugged. "She can't drink much. I stuffed a few cans into her and she went down immediately."
Lucian groaned. "Hoshiguma, do you know why only me and Ch'en are willing to drink with you?"
He had never once seen Hoshiguma drunk—not even a blush.
And if that wasn't bad enough, she was too good at pressuring people to drink, and enjoyed watching them get wasted.
Lucian was starting to think she only ever dragged him into drinking sessions to watch him blackout.
…But what was he like drunk? Surely he wouldn't strip and start dancing… right?
Lucian began to suspect Hoshiguma had several dozen gigabytes of blackmail material on him. What if she used it someday?
He sighed and looked around while still holding the overheated cat in his arms. "Where's Croissant? Where's Texas? Where did everyone go?"
"Croissant threw up. Texas felt a little tipsy and went back to her room. She's the most disciplined one here. If you want to get married someday, I recommend her. Just invite me to the wedding so I can drink."
"Wow, thanks a lot, Hoshiguma! When I get married, I'm absolutely not inviting you!"
So now what?
The only people left in the room were Lucian and these two heavy hitters. There was no way he could handle them alone.
And Blaze was now fully under the influence—booze and candy both.
"Lucian! I can still drink!"
The overheated big cat climbed onto him like he was an ice block, arms and legs clinging tightly, trying to maximize skin contact.
She rubbed her face into the crook of his neck… and even licked him.
"Hmm…? This taste…"
Her brain was basically mush. She leaned in close, confused.
"Sweet. Kind of like candy… No, I know this flavor… This isn't candy… Lucian, your blood… why is… hic"
She exhaled a puff of alcohol, wrapped herself around him, and fell asleep.
Lucian held the loudly snoring woman in his arms—soft, curvy, overwhelmingly… troublesome.
He sighed helplessly. "Hoshiguma, look—"
"I'm not responsible."
Hoshiguma instantly distanced herself. "Do whatever you want with her. Take her to your room if you want. As long as she doesn't object, you're not committing a crime. Just get her to agree."