MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin
Chapter 25 CH 24: SMASHED

What was Adam's greatest mistake on this night?

It was none other than thinking that he could keep up with a bonafide and experienced drunkard like Yui while drinking a cocktail he did not know anything about from a woman that quite obviously didn't like him a single bit.

The first few glasses were fine. Yui and Adam had simple talks about how his life had been after he left the gang. The simple mundane things of life.

But he committed the mistake all those who have no experience with alcohol inevitably committed one day.

He went past what he could handle. Then he crashed due to not being able to hold his conscious any longer.

Looking at the sleeping Adam, Yui chortled in a mirthful laugh, "He will need to train his drinking capacity later."

Even though hosts had many techniques to actually drink more in appearance than they really did, it was still important to have a certain type of control over their capacity to drink. They could never be in a position of being inebriated in this kind of job.

Shaking her head, she gave a look toward Nikola. It was a meaningful glance that seemed to be saying she knew what she had done, "You didn't put anything weird in his drink, right?"

"I would never. I simply increased the alcohol percentage by a slight bit, that's all."

Yui couldn't help the small laugh from leaking at Nikola's remarks, "Give him a chance, will you? The boy will surprise you."

Nikola stopped wiping the glasses and gave a serious look toward Yui, "Boss, I do not understand why you put so much importance on that boy. Does he have the Gift?"

She seemed genuinely confused about Yui's inclination toward Adam. To such a question of hers Yui could only shake her head with a sigh, "We tested him. Even though he was stronger than what should be possible for his age and training, he showed no signs of the Gift. He was just a normal human back then. Now though… I am not so sure anymore."

"If so, then… Just why?"

"Because he was there with me, fighting by my side, when I needed help the most. I don't need much more of a reason."

She chuckled at that thought, her eyes glowing in a sad hue, "I do not have the Gift but neither was my mixed blood appreciated by my mother's side. So I left. Alone with no support, not even a bodyguard. But I was lucky. Lucky to recruit Mammoth and later on Adam."

Her life would have been very different if not for those two and this was why she saw them as her dear family.

"But he left you."

"He did indeed. But that's normal, Nikola. Unlike me, Mammoth, or even you, Adam still has a family, you need to remember about that. There are people he needs to care for. It would be unreasonable to ask him for the same level of loyalty as the others."

Nikola grunted her teeth. Clearly, she was not satisfied with that line of thinking of her boss, "I still think it's a bad idea."

"As bad as recruiting someone that was contracted to kill me?"

Yui asked, a teasing tone and a sly smile accompanied her querying voice, causing Nikola to cough out loud in embarrassment. So great was her embarrassment that it became evident on her face as her cheeks were flushed with shame and remorse.

That particular period was a dark part of her life and Yui never missed an occasion to make her remember about that fact. Not in an antagonistic way, but as a form of a tease that made her stone cold front crumble into dust without exception.

"I failed."

"Because I beat you down so bad you couldn't even run."

Nikola could only slump in defeat and dejection under the power of the shameless Yui. That night, she thought her target was a small kitten, but what she found was a powerful tigress with sharp claws and even sharper fangs bared and waiting like the apex predator she was.

She could understand why the Feng family refused to make her the heiress, but she really doubted the sanity of the Hanekawas for denying such a gem of her rightful seat. She couldn't help but wonder if they even knew just what they missed.

Not that it mattered to her.

Standing up, Yui stretched her lithe and beautiful curves in a languid display of exhaustion. She had been very tired for the last few days and what happened to Adam didn't help her at all.

One way or another, Adam was now being pulled to the other side of the world, the side obscured by the 'Veil' and since he didn't have the gift of Abel, this could only mean that he was either an Earthly or Celestial supernatural creature from Cain's lineage. Things were promising to become quite troublesome for the boy she cared so deeply for.

"Once we have confirmation about what he is exactly, I will leave it to you to handle him appropriately. I will be busy searching for that so-called Jack the Ripper in the meantime."

"Understood, boss."

Yui smiled charmingly and approached a totally knocked up Adam before lifting him in her arms.

"Time to go, Sleeping Beauty, a much better bed is waiting for you."

———

When Adam woke up with a startle, he was greeted by a mighty headache that wracked through all of his senses. He didn't know where he was at first, but his conscious was clear enough to belatedly recognize that it was Yui's bedroom.

On the nightstand, he could see a glass of water with a pill and some words written in an elegant font,

[Will help against headaches.]

"*Ugh* Fuck, I swear to never drink again."

Adam swore like a sailor usually did after a night of letting a bit too loose with the boys. His head felt like it was being split open, such was the amount of pain he felt. Thankfully, after he drank those meds, his cognitive abilities were slowly coming back to him in a rapid pace.

"*Sigh*"

He went back to the bed and began observing the ceiling absentmindedly, trying to remember what happened before he passed out or if he did or said anything embarrassing to Yui.

Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case from his current appearance. He was still wearing the same clothes so he clearly didn't barf or made a mess of himself.

Taking his phone, he looked at the time and realized that it was around 2 or 3 am. He immediately sent a message to Shuri, informing her about his condition. Thankfully he had already warned her that he might not come back tonight so she shouldn't be worried about him.

'Now what to do?'

Now that his mind was slowly clearing up, Adam could slowly analyze the discussion he had last night with Yui.

He had confirmed that she was tied to the supernatural world. But for some reason, some sort of oath or promise perhaps? She was unable to say anything to him. Perhaps it was because of the so-called Veil? He didn't know for sure.

Too many possibilities, but nearly not enough information. So he stopped thinking about this.

During their conversation, Yui had clearly hinted that he could divulge his secret to her with no worries but Adam said nothing in response.

Not because he didn't trust her. But simply because trust and love shouldn't be tested if possible.

"Hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

In the same way that Mammoth and Yui still inspected him to see if he had any weapons on him, Adam could not simply choose to give the truth about his circumstances without at least putting some failsafe.

Hopefully, he would obtain that failsafe soon. He had gained the means the last night, after all.

"Book."

The book of Genesis appeared with the pages spread open and floating above him. The pages turned until it landed on the page where rewards were noted.

[Number of Passes Available: 2x Bronze Rank Pass.]

'How do I use them?'

As he wanted to have options, just in case something disadvantageous happened, he didn't use the first pass without having another one on hand. Now that it was done, it was time for him to enter that place again and understand exactly just what the hell was going on in this world. He was sure that the answer to all his questions were present in that place— the Nexus of the worlds.

He hoped that he would be able to meet the Librarian and that she would be willing to answer all of his questions. Their first meeting gave him hope and with that hope he was willing to bet on her cooperation.

'Now then, how do I use it?'

He thought about it for a second and just shrugged, "Use one pass."

[Number of Passes Available: 1x Bronze Rank Pass.]

It was a success.

Finally, Adam once again entered the place that gathered all the knowledge of the universe.

He hoped to finally replace answers to the questions he was seeking after his awakening into the Supernatural.

(AN: If you aren't used to drinking, never drink with strangers and even if you are with your friends, never leave your glass with them and only drink from unopened bottles. Always know your limits. There is nothing wrong with having a cool night out of drinking with friends, but when you become too drunk, you generally become a nuisance to everyone.

By the way, what do you guys think of the pace of the story so far? I am trying to slowly introduce and develop the world since I have many many concepts in my head and don't want to simply dump everything in a few info-dump chapters. But I don't want to be too slow either.)