Chapter 307

Chapter 307

Arnold still had his hand on Cyril's back, and as Norton approached, he stepped back, frowning slightly. "He drank half a glass. Must have thought it was a regular drink."

Norton glanced at the cup on the table that looked like strawberry juice, then leaned down to check on him, calling softly, "Cyril?"

Cyril's face was flushed, and Norton couldn't help touching his cheek to feel its warmth.

Cyril was lying on the table. He moved a finger, opened his eyes to look at Norton, and pressed Norton's hand against his cheek, mumbling somewhat slurredly, "Dad."

Norton was taken aback. Cyril used to call him "Dad" when he was little; after growing up, it was usually "Father." Only when he was very relaxed would the old address slip out.

Cyril continued, "Why are you talking to me through glass..."

As he spoke, a faint sweet scent mixed with a hint of alcohol lingered; even with his Grath senses, Norton had to discern carefully.

Norton was slightly relieved. The alcohol content probably wasn't too high. He stroked Cyril's hair and face. "Do you want some water?"

Cyril tried to shake his head while it was still on the table, but only managed to wobble his face from side to side against the table's surface.

On the other side, Deenlie and the others had already noticed the commotion and gathered around.

Deenlie asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Herli answered him, "He accidentally drank some alcohol."

Arnold was regretful. "I should have noticed earlier."

Deenlie glanced at him. "Cyril isn't your sole responsibility."

Elia, sitting on Cyril's other side, also frowned and nodded. "I didn't notice either."

She had even glanced at Cyril just a moment ago. If she had known, she would have paid more attention.

The abnormality was too conspicuous. Several of the Grath had gathered together, and not far away, Ye He noticed and stood up.

His subordinates, who were chatting, instinctively followed his gaze. "What's wrong, Commander?"

Ye He watched for a few seconds, then sat back down. "Nothing. Keep eating."

The Graths didn't look particularly anxious. Maybe he had fallen asleep?

Having made his judgment, Ye He picked up his cup again, feeling relieved but also a bit curious. He decided to find out later.

On the other side, after checking Cyril, Norton looked at the Grath. "Find some hangover remedies or food."

None of the Graths had ever used such things. Their only knowledge came from Adelaide occasionally preparing such things for Sylvia, but Sylvia had a high alcohol tolerance and never needed them.

Herli held Arnold back, turned, and said over her shoulder, "I'll go ask Secretary-General Lin."

She quickly vaulted over the table and ran off.

Deenlie said simply, "I'll contact Adelaide."

Cyril opened his eyes again. He grabbed Norton's hand. "Dad, did Baide turn on double gravity? My head feels so heavy..."

Norton held Cyril's hand in his and replied, "No."

He looked at Cyril. "You're drunk."

Hearing this, Cyril struggled to lift his head to prove he wasn't drunk, his tongue already thick. "Liar, I haven't been sneaking drinks."

He wobbled his head and finally tilted to the side. Norton caught him, simply hummed an acknowledgment, and didn't argue with the little drunk.

Cyril leaned against Norton and calmed down a bit. One hand clutched Norton's clothes, the other held Norton's hand. "Why is everything spinning..."

Norton let him hold on and pressed him against his chest. "Close your eyes."

Cyril muttered to himself, "Close my eyes, close my eyes..."

Just then, Herli also returned with Secretary-General Lin and Baide.

Secretary-General Lin brought a small case, opened it, and took out two tubes of medicine. "There's an oral medicine and an injectable one. Can the young lord take oral medicine? If so, this will work. If not, we'll need an injection in the neck—"

Cyril perked up a bit, forced his eyes wide, and stuck his head out, saying seriously, "No shots."

"Alright then."

Secretary-General Lin put one tube back and took out the other, discarding half. "For the young lord, half this dose should be enough. He'll be fine after a night's sleep."

Hangover remedies are usually dosed for adults.

Norton took it. Whether because of the threat of a shot, Cyril was remarkably cooperative. He gulped it down as soon as it reached his lips.

Baide, from the moment he arrived, had been frowning almost imperceptibly at Cyril. After seeing him down the medicine and noticing nothing serious, he began to tease him. "This is the first time I've seen a Grath get drunk. Getting tipsy from a little sweet drink—even Arnold has never been drunk."

Cyril stirred again. He turned his head from Norton's embrace and peered out, struggling a bit. After a glance around, he couldn't spot Baide, but he reiterated, "I didn't drink. It's just... my head feels heavy."

He tried to sit up on his own, but felt dizzy and quickly leaned back against Norton, pulling Norton's hand downward. "My head is about to fall off. Dad, hold me."

Norton patiently cupped his face with one hand, supporting his head.

Baide looked almost eager to try, but before he could speak, Norton shot him a glance.

Baide withdrew his hand, rubbed his nose, and put on a more serious expression. "Take him back and check him after he wakes up."

Norton hummed in agreement, draped his cloak over Cyril, and picked him up. "I'll take him back first. You all continue."

Arnold followed. The other Graths exchanged glances and also went along. Adrian, walking at the back, glanced at the drink again. "I didn't expect Cyril to have such a low tolerance. He reacted so strongly."

He had never seen a Grath get drunk like that.

Elia sighed. "Cyril never touches drinks from the alcohol section. He said he wanted to go to the amusement park, but now he can't."

Baide also looked back. "Exactly. It was just one cup—"

He stood there, looking at the drink and the tray beside it, paused, and fell into thought. Wasn't that the one he had asked Secretary-General Lin to bring?

Passing by, Herli gave him a strange look. "What's wrong?"

Why did Baide have such a serious expression? Besides Cyril getting drunk, nothing else happened, right?

Baide composed himself. "Nothing."

He could never let Norton find out.

...

Ye He found out what happened that same evening. The medical case Secretary-General Lin had brought was from their corps, and the Graths hadn't gone out of their way to keep it a secret.

Others began to discuss, "Are there any Graths who have gotten drunk?"

Another person thought for a moment, "The little prince might have, too."

"But no one would dare to force the little prince to drink, would they?"

The speaker paused. They exchanged glances, and the same name came to all their minds.

Another interrupted their discussion, "It seems Emperor Bode had nothing to do with this time. I heard he accidentally drank it, and luckily nothing serious happened."

On the side, Ye He thought for a moment and sent a message to Mrs. Ye.

...

Ye Mo woke up the next morning at his usual time. Instead of getting up immediately, he turned over, intending to laze in bed for a while like before.

A few seconds later, Ye Mo sat up. This was his room. They had already returned, but he had no memory of coming back.

Then he slowly recalled the events of the previous day.

The Grath family's strong physique left him with no discomfort, and his memory of being drunk was exceptionally clear.

Ye Mo let himself fall back onto the bed, pulling the blanket up to cover himself.

Theodore, who had been watching him, stayed tactfully silent, allowing Ye Mo to shrink under the covers and pretend he didn't exist.

But soon, there was a knock at the door.

Ye Mo responded instinctively from under the blanket. Norton pushed the door open and walked to his bedside. "Are you awake?"

That was a rhetorical question—Norton had only come because he sensed Ye Mo was awake. A muffled "Mm," came from under the blanket.

Norton continued, "We need to go for a check-up today."

He didn't mention yesterday. Ye Mo popped his head out. "After breakfast?"

"Mm. Adelaide should be preparing breakfast. I'll wait for you outside."

Norton stepped out.

As Ye Mo dressed, he worried. Baide would definitely laugh at him.

In the dining room, the other Graths were already there.

When Ye Mo and Norton arrived, Arnold spoke first. "Ye Mo, are you okay?"

"Fine, don't worry."

Ye Mo replied as Adelaide poured him a glass of milk and placed it at his seat.

He took the glass and shot a worried glance at Baide.

Baide happened to look over at the same time. He spoke first. "After the check-up, do you want to go see Pawpaw?"

Ye Mo immediately hummed in agreement. Both tacitly dropped the subject.

Only Herli watched Baide with suspicion—something felt off.

...

The Star Alliance was livelier than before. During the purge, only the Graths were the leading team, unlike the resource war where there were multiple perspectives. This time, the Graths' performance hit all viewers right in the face.

Moreover, wiping out the Zerg was the most direct measure of a nation's strength, and it created an even bigger uproar than before.

"Has anyone tried to copy the Graths' tactics? If they can copy it, then they can start talking with some credibility."

"Hardly. Everyone knows their own limits against the Zerg. So many so-called imitations before made me laugh. Putting a mech on flat ground and imitating moves, then saying 'it's nothing, anyone can do that.' Well, now let someone take on the Zerg. I'd gladly give up the infested zone near my home."

"Such efficiency is truly incredible. It feels like it could shake the Star Alliance's long-standing tactics against the Zerg."

"I wouldn't count on it. Not that many soldiers have the physique and skills to pull it off. It's easy to talk about jumping into a mech when danger shows up, but it's not. A split-second hesitation in a Zerg swarm costs you your life. The Graths who came this time are all elites—every single one is a badass."

"Those skills are probably forged through thousands of battles and attempts."

At the Grath Palace.

Sylvia put down her terminal, satisfied, letting her tense nerves ease off a bit. Herbert stood up beside her. "A document from Secretary-General Lin. He checked out a few more countries and put them on the shortlist. Also, Keller said we can use the manned channel."

"That's a huge help. Get someone to carefully draw up the relevant paperwork for Keller's side."

Sylvia took the file and, as usual, expertly scrolled to the end, pulled out the section Baide had snuck in, and dropped it into a special folder before storing the file.

Herbert peeked at the folder. The folder was named—"Cultivating Virtue."

He looked away, remembering that two days ago it had been called "Garbage Dump," and three days ago, "Don't Get Mad"...

...

That evening—in fact, all day—Baide didn't mention yesterday's events.

Ye Mo relaxed. Before bed, he picked up his terminal as usual, planning to say goodnight to Mrs. Ye, Sylvia, and also Ye Yun, since he knew Ye Yun would hunt him down if he skipped him.

Sylvia went to bed later than Ye Mo.

Ye Mo talked to Mrs. Ye first. As soon as the call connected, he blurted out eagerly, "Mom, we went to eat something yummy yesterday, but we didn't make it to the amusement park since I crashed early."

Ye Mo sounded a little bummed. "I should've hit the rides first."

Mrs. Ye laughed softly. "I know. Ye He told me Little Mo got drunk, didn't you?"

Ye Mo's face instantly turned red. "Mom! How could big bro—"

Mrs. Ye skillfully soothed him. "Alright, alright, let's not talk about that. Little Mo is a good kid; you wouldn't have had it on purpose. It was an accident, right?"

Ye Mo nodded. "Yes. I just wanted to taste it, but it wasn't what I wanted to drink. It was sweet, but it had no other flavor. It wasn't good at all."

All it did was make him miss the amusement park.

It was delicious—how could something sweet not be delicious? But juice was also sweet, and juice wouldn't have made him miss the amusement park.

Author's note:

Ye Mo, with a serious face: Don't drink alcohol.