CHAPTER 147: TWO DRINKS

"Why not lead the world yourself?" Asked the elder brother to the younger one as he observed him making them a unique concoction.

He pressed and squeezed out a few unique herbs, cleaned what seemed like berries and fruits with certain fluids that almost seemed alive, and following that, he made them something unique.

His was a green beauty, a champagne glass with a green, bubbling drink that wasn’t made using any carbonated water.

The drink did not have alcohol either, but the things that were used to create it were most certainly not normal in any form or manner.

The potent herbs were originally poisonous, but after a long processing, they were toned down to a usable level.

Using Mana and his Holy power to temper with the properties of some of the herbs, he also enhanced their unique flavors and individuality.

There were some who weren’t easy to find but thanks to Lia, finding herbs was relatively easy for them.

"Oh, I didn’t catch the last part. What did you just ask?" KiRA sat down after finishing the decoration of his own drink as well, a red one served in a wine glass, with red salt-like substance covering the glass’ edge.

Both the drinks were bubbling, though not like some questionable potion.

They looked extremely elegant. Thinking about it, they were also very potent in their own right.

The green was as fresh as the spring forests blooming with a new life while the red was as red as the Red Night that they all had lived through just recently.

Both of the drinks had herbs at the base of it– something one would see as a dark mesh thanks to the dim lighting of the evening.

The two of them were sitting in their terrace’s outdoor bar, watching the sunset from a not-so-good angle.

The drinks were special celebratory drinks KiRA was making to congratulate him on getting worldwide recognition for his contribution for the raid and for being the student of the being that was ranked 1st in the contribution order of the raid.

They had gone through a lot together, but this was also simply just a fun thing he liked doing. Today, however, he was spending some quality time with his big brother after a long while.

"Haaa..." Ziggy smiled as he saw the sunset on the other side of the terrace. It wasn’t as pretty as the one they could see on the second or the 3rd floor. The dark, heaven-kissing Tower of Cessation was present on their far left, in the middle of their city that used to be some of the biggest commercial squares.

"I was asking why you don’t lead the charge yourself. Why put me in front of the masses and Izzy in front of the bigger corporations that want to dominate the market?

We may lack resources and backing but, with all your knowledge and skills, leveraging advantages against all those powers wouldn’t be a big deal, no?"

He calmly asked the question before picking up his glass and observing it from up close by putting it before the light of the dusk.

The tone of the drink was immaculate. This was the kind of stuff you’d find in the best of the bars which would usually be sold for hundreds perhaps thousands.

Just from the appearance alone, he could tell they wouldn’t have any problems selling it for even a few hundred IX.

But that wasn’t even the best part.

"Mmm..." One sip, and his inner world was teleported.

The thin fluid that smoothly slid down his lips, mouth, and throat left a unique, strong, but earthly taste.

The freshness of ingredients was obvious. The way they were prepared seemed just perfect as well.

His tastebuds felt blessed after a long time. It was simply amazing... but the experience was short lived. Soon, he opened his eyes and looked back at the glass, wanting to take another sip immediately, but not finish the precious glass too soon at the same time.

So he waited, and looked back at his good little brother who, as he had always known, was undoubtedly a blessed chef.

"Good, right? I knew you would like it~." Ziggy hadn’t even said his compliments but that look alone was more than enough for him to know all that he wanted to see.

Seeing him, seeing others being impressed by his cooking was one of his pleasures. He wasn’t proud of it, there were countless beings who were much better at cooking than he might ever be.

As a matter of fact, the drink he had created for Ziggy today was also something originally found on the 60th floor of the Tower.

"On the 60th floor, this is one of the staples for the aristocrats of the highest lineage. Named after the Great Sage of the Six Elements, Master Jacob L. Vienna, the Green Jacob, is enjoyed by the aristocrats, mostly ones who had just returned from the battlefield."

KiRA told Ziggy how the version they have on the higher floor was so much better than what he could make, but Ziggy simply didn’t accept it.

"I’ve never tried what you’re calling ’the’ better version. This is the best thing I’ve ever had and that will remain the truth until I try that one on the 60th floor myself."

He took another sip of the drink and enjoyed it for a minute longer, almost forgetting about the question he had asked KiRA a moment ago.

But KiRA had remembered the question, so he waited until Ziggy was out of his zone.

It took him a good minute to slowly digest the tastes and the strong yet comforting energies of the drink and open his eyes only to find a smirking look on his cheeky younger brother.

"Do you know you just made the most funny expression while at the same time looking as cool as a real noble?" His unexpected comment caught Ziggy off guard. "Leading others directly would be a much better idea, sure. However, I cannot do that yet."

KiRA didn’t really talk much about why he wanted Ziggy and Izzy in the spotlight instead of being the one on the big screens.

He was strong and his recent contribution in the 3rd floor raids were enough proof of his prowess, however, they were not everything there was to him.