Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 603: A Wish To Stay Together Forever

"This is one sweet drink," Alex said, smiling politely. "But it packs a punch. Does this have alcohol?"

"Alcohol?" Francesca asked. "What’s that? Some kind of human drink?"

"Uh..." Alex had forgotten that the Dryads hadn’t left the Shadow Forest for hundreds of years. They might not know the term alcohol. Still, it would not be a bad thing for the Dryads to know about it.

"You see, it’s a part of a drink that makes people drunk," Alex explained, but he was limited by his patchy knowledge of alcohol.

Francesca raised her brows. "What does drunk mean?"

"It means that when people drink a lot of it, sometimes they turn funny."

"Turn funny... like Dim Dim?" Francesca pointed at the little bun that was chugging the fruit juice the Dryads had given it. When Dim Dim put down the empty cup, it giggled. It then swayed side to side, fell to the ground, and rolled two-and-a-half times before coming to a stop.

Without getting up, it laughed again, as if amused by its movements. For some reason, Alex knew that Dim Dim had no intention of getting up for the time being.

"Y-Yeah... something like that." Alex now knew that Dim Dim’s alcohol tolerance was very low. He made a mental note to himself to keep alcohol from the little bun next time.

Suddenly, the young man heard the Dryads cheering and clapping. He turned to see what the commotion was about.

"Wow Finn! You’re amazing!"

"Here, drink one more mug of fruit juice."

"Hm... I can drink this all day," Finn replied boldly. His cheeks were a bit too flushed. Alex concluded that his future brother-in-law should also stay away from alcoholic drinks.

He then glanced at Fran. She looked perfectly fine even while drinking the fruit juice.

Her face wasn’t the least bit red. In fact, she looked the same as usual.

However, the young lady put down her mug the very next moment and moved closer to Alex.

"You shouldn’t drink a lot of this, or you will end up like my brother," Fran said.

"I know." Alex nodded. "I’m a lightweight, but a glass or two is fine."

Alex had regularly gone to his guild’s drinking party, so he had a good idea of how much he could drink. The first time he had drunk too much, he had woken up with his Guildmaster beside him. The shock had instantly banished all drowsiness from his hangover.

But that was a story for another time.

"I know that look," Francesca said, grinning. "I bet you’re thinking of a girl right now."

"W-What are you talking about, Ms. Francesca?" Alex stuttered.

Fran calmly sipped her fruit juice right beside Alex. A moment later, she poured more fruit juice into the young man’s cup and smiled.

"Here, cheers."

"C-Cheers!" Alex clinked his mug with Fran’s before drinking the fruit juice slowly.

He then glanced at Finn, who was now starting to dance with the Dryads. This was something he would never do when sober.

"Oh dear, it seems that your brother is weak to this fruit juice." Francesca muttered. "I better take a lot of them when I leave this forest with him."

Alex blinked once, then twice. Did he mishear the sweet Dryad? He wanted to think so, but there was a glint in her eyes that made her look like a wolf that had caught sight of its prey.

"I’ll get him to sleep before he does anything stupid," Francesca said before walking to the drunken dwarf, who was still dancing with the Dryads with a big smile on his face.

"Okay, girls. Pack up. It’s time for Finn’s bedtime."

"H-Hey! No fair!"

"Don’t hog him, Auntie!"

"That’s right! Down with the Auntie!"

"A-Auntie?! Hey! I’m a hundred years younger than both of you! How dare you call me Auntie?!"

The Dryads became rowdy. A moment later, there was a tug of war with Finn at the center.

"Who knew your brother would be this popular with the ladies," Alex said in a teasing tone.

"My brother has always been popular," Fran replied. "Many seniors have confessed to him. But he turned them down. Some even tried to join the Farm Club because they wanted to be closer to him.

"My brother really doesn’t know how to socialize with people. Ever since we were young, he only had protecting me in his mind and neglected everything else."

"Actually, I feel a little guilty about it. Sometimes, I think I have stolen my brother’s childhood. Instead of doing the things that would make him happy, he prioritized my happiness. Without him, I would have suffered in life."

Alex was aware of the siblings’ backstory. This was why unless Finn approved of his relationship with Fran, she would never attain true happiness.

That was how much she cared about her brother, who had protected her until she became strong enough to protect both of them.

Just as Alex was about to say something, a little white bun rolled over to his side.

"Kukuku!" Dim Dim chuckled before taking out a pirate hat and a small eye patch. "Yaaar!"

"And now, we got ourselves a little pirate." Alex lightly squeezed the drunk bun’s cheek, making it giggle.

"Don’t bully Dim Dim when he’s drunk," Fran said before picking up the little bun and hugging it gently. She even patted its little head.

A minute later, a soft snore escaped Dim Dim’s lips. It was out like a light, and still looked every bit as adorable in its sleep as it did when awake.

Alex was very tempted to pinch its squishy cheek, but a glare from Fran stopped him in his tracks.

"Take out Dim Dim’s sleeping basket," Fran ordered.

"Yes, My Lady," Alex replied and took out Dim Dim’s sleeping basket.

Fran gently tucked in the little bun, and took it to one of the two tents that they had erected outside of the flower field.

Alex then shifted his attention to the Fairies who were flying happily in the distance. They, too, were celebrating their return to the grave of the Lonely Fairy.

A small part of the young man wished to know how they would react if he were to tell them that Fran was actually the Lonely Fairy of the Shadow Forest.

But he tossed this thought aside, for it would only complicate things.

They planned to stay for one more day in the forest before returning to the academy. Alex didn’t know when they would visit the Shadow Forest again or if they would ever return to it. This trip was meant to bring closure. But if Fran wished to return to visit the graves, he would of course accompany her.

Suddenly, Alex felt drowsy. He then realized that he had accidentally drunk four cups of fruit juice.

He could feel his cheeks burning and his body heating up.

’Fortunately, I’m not an annoying or crazy drunk like other people,’ Alex thought as he forced his eyes to stay open.

It was then that a pair of small hands reached out to hold him before he could fall face first on the ground and embarrassed himself in front of everyone.

"Time to sleep, Mister," Fran said while supporting Alex’s body.

"Thank you, Fran," Alex replied. "You’re the best."

The dwarf hummed and carried her lover to their tent.

The moment he was laid down on the makeshift bed, Alex reached out to take Fran’s hand and gave it a kiss.

"Please stay with me tonight," Alex said. "I don’t want to sleep alone."

"Un." Fran nodded, her cheeks a little flushed.

The night was cold, but Alex felt warm as he hugged his lover under the blanket.

Fran had very little opportunity to spend intimate time with Alex like this, so she decided to be selfish this one time.

"I love you, Fran," Alex said softly.

"I love you too, Alex," Fran replied.

The two then shared a kiss.

This wasn’t the first time they kissed after learning about their past lives. But after visiting the Shadow Forest, this kiss held a different meaning.

The kiss said what they couldn’t bring themselves to say: "Thank you for once again being a part of my life."

And under that starry sky, both of them wished that they would continue to stay together for a very long time to come.

—-------

A/N: Regular 2 Chapter update of ELO will resume in the middle, or third week of March. System’s POV will be ending at that time. I apologize, and thank everyone for their continuous support for this story.