A long silence persisted through our group until Cora sliced through the silence.

"Hey, let's just enjoy our time here. I have no clue what you girls are talking about, but you're killing the mood. Let's have some more drinks and get some alcohol in our system… it's time to party!" Cora shouted before gesturing for a waiter to come over to us.

She grabbed five bottles of beer and tossed them all at us.

"Cheers!" She shouted.

"CHEERS!" We all shouted back before clinking bottles and downing the entire swirling liquid of gluten.

The rest of the party was pretty decent, and both I and Mia got tipsy since our resilience to alcohol had become better after evolving.

Though, there are times like when we were in that underground club where we drink just a bit too much, causing us to puke up all our guts.

"Mia, come on. Stop," I groaned as Mia kept attempting to kiss my neck, but I was already littered with bruises and didn't want anymore.

Eventually, she passed out in Clio's arms from drowsiness, and when we asked her what she had been doing this entire time, she just said,

"Networking. Getting some connections in this cold-ass place… anyway, you two can go sober up somewhere. I'm taking Mia home," Clio yawned, and my sister and I looked at her with suspicious eyes.

"You believe her?" I asked Ethel as the both of them went towards the apartment, and we walked through the snowy night.

"Absolutely not… anyway, let's get something to eat. I'm starving," Ethel complained, but I was the complete opposite.

"How much booze did you drink? I'm filled up for the night,"

"Oh, you're filled up, are you?"

"Shut the hell up and answer my question," I muttered after elbowing her in the side, and after she caught her breath, she quickly opened her mouth.

"I didn't drink much… but still~ come with me. I want to have some fun with you," Ethel whined before taking my hand and ripping me through the snowy street.

We hit up various other bars, and I threw up multiple times throughout the night, but Ethel still dragged me along until around three in the morning; we finally made it back to the apartment.

"Ugh… Help me… Clio, I'm gonna die," I muttered as Clio helped my limp body up while also supporting Ethel, who nearly toppled over several times.

"Lucy, I have one suggestion for you. Never go drinking with Ethel unless you want a hellish experience,"

"B-But you're the one who told me to-"

"Well, I just wanted to teach you a little lesson. Now, get some rest, as you have a big day tomorrow, right? You're heading off once again?"

"Yeah… and you all will be coming, right?" I muttered and gagged, nearly throwing up on Clio, who had tossed me onto the wooden floor and shielded herself with Ethel.

"Of course… n-now get some rest,"

Clio tossed me a pillow and blanket, which I immediately latched onto, hugging until I had finally drifted off into the land of dreams.

…

BANG BANG BANG BANG

I was woken up by the sound of somebody banging on our front door, so I reluctantly stood up but was eventually caught by a pair of warm arms.

As I turned into her chest and began to smell the luxurious perfume sprayed against her neck, I nearly drooled from the comforting feeling.

"Lucy, can you please stop sniffing me like a pervert,"

"You smell too good for me to stop," I muttered, clinging onto her shoulders as she dragged me all the way to the front door.

And as soon as the door was unlocked, it swung wide open, and a woman with long red hair and icy scales crawling up her neck burst through.

"Lucy! Get your ass up! We're leaving! Now!" Cora shouted, but Mia quickly put her hand in front of her, preventing her from pushing any further toward me.

"Mia, save me from the monster," I groaned while hugging her arm pitifully but deviously smiling at the woman in front of me.

A vein looked as if it was about to burst under her neck, but after taking in a light deep breath and pushing it out of her mouth, she walked into the apartment and made herself right at home.

She took some of the leftover morning bacon that Mia had cooked up and chomped on it, crossing her legs as she sat down at our wooden dining table.

"Give her some time to wake up. She'll be ready in a few minutes," Mia said before tossing me into the bathroom and forcing me to clean myself up.

In about half an hour, I was finally ready to head off, and it seemed everybody else was packed as well.

"You're coming with us?" Cora asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Yep… We got nothing else to do here but bring Lucy back, which of course, means clearing this dungeon. Though it doesn't seem like a dungeon, I have no clue what the future has in store for us… but I do know that Lucy is part of my future," Mia muttered before hugging me tightly.

"Alright, you three. You better behave once we get there; otherwise, the queen is going to have your heads on a stick. She's insanely powerful, and the only reason why she hasn't killed us is that we're useful… so any rash movement will also have our heads on a stick! Nothing suspicious either! Just don't do shit!"

"Alright, you royal asshole, we heard you," Clio groaned before hopping on a horse and then suddenly snapping her head towards the unicorn.

"Is that… what I think it is?" Ethel asked as I hopped onto my horned white mount.

"Yep, it's a real unicorn,"

…

An entire month had passed, and we finally made it to the capital of this massive kingdom.

The air was tense, but the people were tenser as everybody seemed like walking sticks as they made their way through the town and to their work.

"Everybody returns to the barracks. We shall be back there after we have a chat with the queen. So, I better not see any broken shit when we come back," I threatened my rowdy and cheerful men, who were ecstatic upon returning home.

As soon as my men split up, we walked up the massive flight of stairs to the top of the garden where the palace of ice sat.

"Move," I ordered the guards who stood in front of the massive gate, and without hesitation, they parted before opening the doors to us.

But, just before the trio was going to follow right after, the guards pulled down their spears, blocking their paths.

I could see Mia ready to burn them to ash, but I quickly stepped in and pulled back Mia's hand, which had raised to their head level.

If I was just a step slower, these two guards would've been a pile of ash before they even knew Mia was attacking.

"Let them through. They're my guests,"

Both guards nodded reluctantly before letting them through, their sleek and reptilian eyes dilating as they passed by each other.

But, it wasn't just them that were threatening, but the trio whose eyes glowed under the sun, threatening to extinguish their lives at a moment's notice.

We all silently walked through the halls, passing various servants that greeted me with kindness, so I also greeted them back with a warm and welcoming smile.

"How has the queen been? As grumpy as always?" I asked the butler with a large, cheery smile.

"Y-yeah, she's been a bit grumpy… to say the least. Please tell her to stop breaking so many plates. Soon we're going to run out of them," The butler sighed, and as I waved him goodbye, my eyes went cold.

What is this queen doing? Her kingdom is going to kill itself before the opposing side even touches us.

Upon arriving at the throne room, I realized nobody was there, despite it being her working hours when she normally had meetings.

So, we ditched the room and went straight to her office, where we, of course, found her drinking her life away.

"Goddammit! These goddamn commanders are so useless !" She shouted before throwing an empty bottle of whisky at me.

I quickly caught the bottle and stared straight into the woman's eyes.

"Want me to take over?" I asked, attempting to use this vulnerable state of hers, but even then, she stood strong, her pressure making it feel like my spine was about to snap in half.

"Ugh, you guys really came. Well, good luck getting out of here 'cause I got no idea what to do!" The queen shouted at the trio behind me.

It took her a while to sober up, and even though it was enraging, I suppressed my anger and awaited her next orders.

"Geez… all of you take a break for now… We need to stick to another plan since your gladiator friends are all horrible at their jobs," The queen muttered, placing her hand over her throbbing eyes.

Seems some have died already…

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