PFC Chapter 417 Happy New Year
Chapter 417 Happy New Year
"The teleportation array of the witches' coven?"
The training ground at Taylor Manor was bustling with activity. As everyone was clamoring to hold a bonfire party, Lilith thought it was not safe to light a fire in the winery, so she chose the training ground at home. Everyone also invited their friends, and there were at least thirty or forty people at this moment. Everyone had to shout to talk to each other, as was the case with Lilith, Catherine and Lariel.
The bonfire was made very large, with blazing flames rising high, warming everyone sitting around it. Lariel, who had been starving and freezing all the way, felt extremely happy when he was close to the warm fire, and nodded obediently as Lilith said.
"That's right, it's the one you used when you first came here!" He always felt that he was very wise about this decision, and he couldn't help feeling proud when he talked about it. He had been secretly exploring for a long time before he found the teleportation array that was hidden by the forest rangers!
"When we arrived at the Western Highlands, we took the local griffins. Although they were not as steady as those in the Elf Forest, they were still easy to talk to. They sent us all the way to the border of the Empire before leaving—"
"We?" Catherine caught something sharply.
"Me and my classmates!" Lariel said cheerfully, then paused. He remembered the man's advice.
"You must not tell Catherine that I'm back. I want to go home secretly to give my family a surprise. If I tell her, everything will be ruined. She loves to complain..."
"--Yes, with some classmates!" Lariel finally felt a little guilty. He stretched out his arms and pretended to concentrate on warming himself by the fire. He is an adult now. He cannot be a complaining boy. He must live up to his friends' trust!
"Some classmates who all want to visit the Gaia Empire... those you don't know!"
Although there was a hint of trying to hide something, Lilith seemed to trust him completely and didn't think much about it. Instead, she became more curious, "So you went to different places? Aren't you required to work in a team? Is this similar to our holiday practice?"
"Holiday practice?!" Lariel's eyes lit up and he turned his head again. "Is it to go on adventures around the world and fight monsters during the holidays? Like a legendary hero? I want to go too! Can I go, Lilith?"
"Great, great!" Lilith's eyes also lit up. "My classmates are all very nice. You two will definitely get along well!"
"Lilith." Catherine's somewhat disapproving voice sounded from the other side, but the noise at the scene was so loud that her voice was almost completely covered up. Lilith seemed to have sensed something and turned her head, and was about to ask.
"boom--"
A loud bang interrupted the conversation between the three people and drew everyone's attention.
"Hey, hey! This isn't fair!" Lucas yelled, pointing at the target in the distance that was bursting into pieces.
"Magic arrows are still arrows." Leila, who was acting as the judge, didn't think there was anything wrong with it. She gave Jaina a thumbs up and pointed at the wine jar next to Lucas and said to the knights of the Taylor family, "Move it quickly, he lost again!"
"How can an arrow that tracks its target miss its target..." Lucas muttered angrily, watching the others happily move their "chips".
"Can I join?" a voice said.
Lucas turned his head upon hearing the sound and found that the elf who had just been sitting near Lilith and Catherine had suddenly jumped to his side with an excited look on his face. There was a bulge on his back, and when he took off the tattered cloak, Lucas discovered that there was a long and thin bow hidden underneath.
"Brother!" Lucas' eyes lit up, and he instantly forgot that he had teased him not long ago. He kept looking up and down at his slender body, as well as the calluses on his hands that were completely different in shape from those of the sword holder. "I can tell at a glance that you are a professional! Come on! You and I will be on the same team..."
The young elf was pushed into the crowd. Although it was eye-catching, it was very harmonious. It seemed that they were just like this, and it was supposed to be like this...
Catherine watched quietly, and decided to put all her worries behind her. They were creatures that were supposed to coexist here, and they were comrades who had fought against natural disasters together thousands of years ago. Moreover—
Catherine turned her head to look to the side, and saw Lilith laughing and scolding the group of crazy guys not to put apples on their heads as targets.
She is Lilith.
A fragrance wafted in the wind. On the other side of the grill, Ian was taking the last step, brushing honey water on the grilled meat. This was the flavor that Lilith and the others liked.
Bobby squatted beside and opened barrel after barrel of wine. He lifted the barrels and poured them into the rows of glasses on the long table next to him. Then he picked up the glasses and rushed into the crowd. It was obvious that Catherine and Lilith were his top priorities.
"Come on, dear ladies!" Bobby stuffed the wine glasses filled with fine wine into the hands of the two, and then raised his own high.
Lilith and Catherine didn't say much, but clinked glasses with him and drank it all. This party was not only to celebrate the victory of the College Cup, but for them, it also meant the day to say goodbye to Bobby. It was both a gathering and a farewell.
"——The Book of Answers told me to enjoy the moment!"
Bobby didn't want to get caught up in the sentimental farewell atmosphere, so without waiting for Catherine or Lilith to say anything, he smiled and showed his empty cup, then turned around and went to find others to drink.
The cheerful atmosphere continued and became more and more intense as night fell. Bobby, who was trying to get people to drink everywhere, eventually became the first person to get drunk. Everyone laughed and carried him into the room and threw him on the hall floor covered with soft pillows.
Lariel was the second one to get drunk. He patted his chest and boasted that he was already an adult, but he became unconscious after drinking only one glass, helping the human wizard to successfully complete the incomplete knowledge about the elves' alcohol tolerance.
Later, more and more people got tired or drunk, and the training ground gradually became empty. Only a few people were left gathered around the campfire in small groups, some playing the piano and singing, and some cuddling together.
The group of people closest to Lilith were telling ghost stories at the moment. Lilith moved a huge soft chair from the room and lay on it with a fur coat on. She listened to the people next to her telling the stories in a serious manner, while drinking sip by sip and refused to leave.
Someone came closer, and Lilith smelled the familiar scent of cold pine, then raised her glass bottle and shook it without looking back.
"Would you like a sip? It's from the brewery owner's private collection, and it's very sweet."
Fruits are scarce in winter, but there is a big, plump peach in the bottle swaying with the transparent wine, adding a charming summer flavor to the winter night.
Catherine looked down at the yellow peach and shook her head to refuse - "I'll get drunk if I drink any more."
"So are you looking for Leila? I hid your little knight!" Lilith showed a sly smile on her face and lifted a corner of her fur cloak to the princess.
Leila came over at some point. She had also drunk some wine and was now sleeping soundly in Lilith's arms. Her face was flushed and she was obviously drunk too.
"It seems you really drank a lot, otherwise why would you let her drink..." Catherine also squeezed onto the recliner and got into the big woolen cloak, so there was no room for the chair. Lilith squeezed towards Leila, and the little girl muttered a few words in a low voice, but she still didn't wake up.
Neither of them said anything. The fire of the bonfire gradually weakened. Someone stood up and added new firewood, which made a crackling sound. The jumping flames reflected golden spots on the glass bottle. The summer peach sealed in alcohol swayed with the wine, like a star that could never be reached.
From the other side came the impromptu variation of the lute. Someone had made a funny tune out of the long title that Instructor Hurst used when he introduced himself every year. Lulu's laughter swept through the night sky like wind chimes.
Lilith was also smiling, but Catherine, who had been observing her, keenly noticed the melancholy in her misty eyes.
"Lilith," Catherine spoke softly, her voice as gentle as a feather brushing past, "Sometimes I feel that friends are like this bonfire. The flame will slowly get smaller over time, or even go out, but there will always be new firewood added to rekindle the flame. Look, haven't we welcomed a new friend today?"
"I understand." Lilith put away the wine and put her hands back into the warm woolen coat. "I understand everything."
It's one thing to just understand, but it's another to feel sad to see your friends go their separate ways, Lilith pouted.
Catherine reached out and gently held Lilith's slightly cold hand, warming her as she had warmed her own. "It's normal to feel reluctant, but Bobby is here to find his book of answers. This is his own journey, and we will definitely meet again soon."
"You're right." Lilith blinked and tried to stay awake. In fact, she drank more than anyone else and her speech was a little lisp. "We won't let him experience all the fun adventures alone, right?"
Seeing her like this, Catherine finally realized that this girl was really drunk. She couldn't suppress her smile at all and nodded vigorously so that the other party could see clearly. "That's right, and don't forget, you are Lilith, nothing can stump you."
"Hehe, hehe..." As the alcohol rose, Lilith's brain became more and more dizzy. When she heard Catherine's encouragement, she could only smile foolishly.
The laughter was carried by the night wind to the starry sky. More stars peeked out from behind the clouds. The night sky suddenly became much brighter. Lilith was grinning foolishly when she saw a huge light rising into the sky from the distant edge of the horizon, drawing a complex and beautiful huge totem in the sky.
"Ah, is that a firework?" Lilith pointed toward the sky blankly, then emerged from her fur coat and walked toward that direction. Catherine hurriedly followed and supported her as she was unsteady on her feet.
"Those must be fireworks!" Lilith pointed at the blue and purple totems blooming in the sky and said excitedly, "It must be to celebrate... the New Year!"
Then she turned her head suddenly and looked at Catherine happily.
"Happy New Year!"