129 Straight Face
Makeover.
That’s what Eren’s newly bought house had received.
Eren and Reece worked for hours on end without any breaks to achieve this. By the time the sun had started to set, they were done with their work.
The duo was currently in the large living room. There was an unmasked smell of wet paint inside the house. But rankers could tweak their senses to a certain level. So Eren and Reece had no problem staying inside.
Eren’s house featured a color scheme of white and azure shades from the outside. The interior of the house boasted a range of color combinations. Both of them were satisfied with the result.
“Not bad, Reece.
I can get used to this.”
Eren said while looking around. Reece smiled before responding.
“Indeed. And a certain someone was saying he preferred monochrome white…”
Reece giggled and made fun of Eren’s initial plan. The latter smiled bitterly before deciding to change the subject. It was about time he celebrated this achievement.
Eren retrieved a runic bottle of ale from his storage and placed it on the table near him. He also brought out two tiny glasses for shots before calling out to Reece.
“Reece, you know what this is?”
Reece was also intrigued by Eren’s words. She walked toward him before picking up the bottle.
Reece immediately realized the booze inside was different from ordinary ones. Even its container featured runic engraving to retain its effects, highlighting how special it was.
“Looks expensive to me. I don’t think I’ve tried it. What is it?”
Reece asked while wrapping the bottle up with her mana sense. Eren chucked before answering.
“This is something I got from Malcolm. It’s a Rank 1 dwarf ale that tastes like Vodka. They say that the ale aids us in getting rid of any anomalies in our mana circuits.
I haven’t tried it myself. But Malcolm says it’s pretty strong.”
Eren sat in the chair and held the remaining glass. He had decided to share this expensive booze with Reece as a way of saying thanks. The latter decided to take Eren up on his offer.
***
Evening 9 PM.
A chilly night. The eastbound winds carried the salty freshness of the distant sea.
Eren and Reece were playing a drinking game. They were already halfway into the game and looked to be having quite a fun time.
They were both laughing like it was something they had to get out of their system. Then all of a sudden, they both got quiet. It was time to play the game.
Eren poured the booze into the tiny vodka glasses to the brim for both of them. He then put the bottle aside.
As a result of the runes on the bottle, it contained ten times more ale than its size indicated. The pair had already gulped down one and a half bottles’ worth of dwarven ale. But the bottle was nowhere near empty.
It wasn’t that the pair had decided to get sloshed. They had a report for the guild tomorrow. But at this point, they didn’t want to call it quits just yet.
Eren wore a serious expression on his face. And Reece tried to mimic him. However, one could tell she was having difficulty maintaining a serious look for too long.
“Alright. Here’s something that should make you die of laughter.”
Eren said and slapped the surface of the table with his open palms. This was something Tory had said to him a long time ago. He decided to use the pun to crack Reece up and make her drink her shot.
Up till now, both Eren and Reece had drunk equal amounts of booze. Reece was surprisingly talented at puns. This was something Eren was not aware of. At least the current Eren wasn’t.
“There was a magician who said he’d disappear on the count of three. You know what he did next, Reece?”
Eren said while narrowing his eyes on Reece. The latter pursed her lips like she was dependent on them before taking a long breath. She met his gaze before responding.
“What DID he do?”
Eren leaned forward and said to Reece in a low voice.
“He said Uno, Dos, and poof. The bastard vanished without a Tres.”
Eren delivered his punch line and stared at Reece. He raised and lowered his eyebrows rhythmically to make his post-pun effect more impactful.
Reece had managed to hold out her laughter for the first two seconds. But Eren’s funny gestures finally cracked her up. She broke her straight face and started laughing.
They both knew the pun wasn’t that funny. But what made it funny was the atmosphere they created around them. Since Reece had lost, Eren didn’t have to maintain his straight face anymore. He started laughing with her too.
Reece chugged the contents of her vodka glass when the laughter subsided. The residual effects of the pun were still there. But the duo quickly got ready for the next round.
It was Reece’s turn next.
“Okay. Eren, answer this one. What did the buffalo dad say to his son before leaving for work?”
Eren shrugged his shoulders before coming clean.
“I have no fucking clue.”
Reece was just about to break her face. But she quickly pressed her palm against her lips and controlled her laughter. Since using hands to control wasn’t allowed, Eren looked at her displeasingly. But Reece ignored him before answering her own question.
“Bison!”
Eren’s eyes immediately started twitching when he heard Reece’s pun. That twitch soon turned into a burst of laughter as the pun’s effects kicked in. The dwarven ale had managed to loosen them both up.
The two kept playing the game until they were both tipsy. Reece had a bit of pink in her cheeks. Eren’s pale skin had also gotten a bit of red on it, as the blood had finally decided to show its existence.
Eren and Reece decided to quit the game and do something else when they both ran out of puns to make.