He changed Tiwat

What would be an unbearable drinking burden for ordinary people, these individuals drank without even turning red or out of breath. Judging from their appearance, even if they were to compete for several more rounds, there would be no winner...

Should the time limit be temporarily shortened?

But even with a shortened time limit, it probably won't be a problem for these heavy drinkers, right?

Although young master Kaiya had never participated in the competition before, the other four were old acquaintances of the "Drinking Contest". If they got together to drink, it would take at least from daytime to late at night to determine the winner. As for who would win or lose, it would mainly depend on the condition of these four people that day, or rather, luck.

The reason they are called the "Four Kings of Mondstadt Beers" is naturally because all four of them have won the "Beers Championship." If Kaiya doesn't use any cheating methods, he doesn't have any advantage over these four.

...But how can we help young master Kaiya win the championship?

Although Kaia hadn't greeted him, as a senior manager who had followed Lord Kripps, Eze had practically watched Kaia grow up and was very familiar with the young master's temperament—Kaia never did anything pointless, and he must have his own purpose in participating in the competition, perhaps related to the Knights' mission.

As a family member, Eze naturally wanted to help him discreetly.

But how can we best help them?

At this moment, Han Fulai, who was watching, also realized that these contestants were all very strong. He whispered to Yura beside him, "Miss Yura, you know a lot about wine. Which one of them do you think has the best chance of winning the championship?"

Yura shook her head and said three words: "I don't know."

She used to go to bars to drown her sorrows, and sometimes she would see those "drinking kings" getting together for a drinking contest, usually with a lot of onlookers watching. Basically, they would start drinking as soon as Yura entered the bar, and they would drink until the onlookers were all passed out without a winner. In the end, the bar would close and the bartender would kick them out.

As for Kaiya... let alone being drunk, Yura has never even seen him in a so-called "slightly tipsy" state.

When Kaeya tries to extract information from others at a drinking party, he always drinks more than them, yet he's always more sober. As the holder of the Eye of God, he has plenty of ways to sober up using elemental power if he wants.

People who work in intelligence will not allow themselves to make mistakes while drunk.

If she knew Kaia's hidden "spy" identity, she would probably have a deeper understanding of Kaia—many spies spend half their lives socializing at drinking parties, yet they never get drunk; even their drunken talk and sleep talking are disguised. Such people are completely unrelated to the word "drunk."

In short, when it comes to who among these heavy drinkers is the best, Yura really can't say.

At this moment, Amber chimed in, "I bet Kaeya will win."

Her tone was quite confident, which piqued the interest of Han Fulai and Youla, who asked in unison, "Why?"

Amber explained with a grin: "Because yesterday, Kaia gave me a bag of Mora and asked me to help him place a bet with Miss Marjorie, the representative of the shopping district, that he would win the title of 'King of Beers' this year!"

As she spoke, she pulled out a lottery ticket from her pocket.

The betting at the "Badminton Festival" is, after all, just "a little gambling for fun." With the serious and conscientious head of the troupe in charge, it's impossible for them to turn a perfectly good celebration into a farce of fighting over gambling money. Therefore, there is a limit to the number of bets that can be placed per person.

Kaeya, on the other hand, confidently bet the maximum amount, a full 100,000 Mora.

Because his reputation in the wine world is not as high as those other contestants, his odds are the highest at 1 to 10. For the million-dollar prize, Kaia will undoubtedly give it his all to win.

Making money by taking advantage of this opportunity is indeed Kaia's style... and daring to place a large bet proves that he is indeed very confident in himself.

The only question is, what makes him so confident?

—Han Fulai has already begun to think about how he would cheat if he were Kaiya.

Seeing that Eze was having trouble, a maid standing next to him suddenly leaned down and whispered a few words in his ear.

The only maid who could offer advice to the executive chairman of the winery in such a setting was Adeline, the head maid of Dawn Winery.

At the same time, Kaiya glanced casually in Miss Adeline's direction, a mysterious smile on his face.

Following Miss Adeline's advice, Eze nodded repeatedly, stood up, beckoned Charles over, and whispered, "Charles, do you still have those sample bottles of wine that the merchants brought to Mondstadt a year ago in winter?"

Charles was taken aback: "You mean... 'fire and water'?"

"Yes, it's 'fire and water'."

Now it was Charles's turn to be in a dilemma: "You want them to switch to 'kerosene'? There is some... but there isn't enough to go around, is there?"

The "firewater" currently found in "Angel's Gift" was brought to Mondstadt by the Winter Solstice merchant during his mission. Lord Diluc was unconscious for three days after tasting it, and upon waking, he declared unequivocally that the wine did not suit the tastes of the Mondstadt people, and thus the winery never imported it. The only remaining bottle in the tavern is a sample brought by the Winter Solstice merchant; it is displayed on the bar counter and not for sale.

Although "Hot Water" was indeed the strongest liquor Charles had ever seen, a single bottle of "Hot Water" would probably not be enough for these heavy drinkers.

Eze knew Charles would ask this question, so he immediately replied, "Do you remember how to make 'Sweet Fragrance Wine Lake'?"

Charles scratched the back of his head: "Of course I remember, one sparkling fruit juice with two servings of milk... but that's not alcohol..."

"Sweet Fragrance Wine Lake" is a recipe invented by the winery's previous owner, Mr. Cripps. To put it bluntly, it's milk and fruit juice that looks like wine... Wouldn't it be a laughing stock if this were put in a "wine connoisseur competition"?

Eze, however, said to him very seriously, "That's right, just follow the 'Sweet Fragrance Wine Lake' recipe, listen to me..."

After hearing Eze's words, Charles, though still somewhat puzzled, went back to the bar to get his drink as instructed.

Eze then announced the next round of the competition to the contestants and the audience: "Ladies and gentlemen, everyone has witnessed the strength of these five contestants. It would be difficult to determine the winner in the traditional way... So I have decided to increase the difficulty of the competition and use the strongest liquor to decide the winner!"

Chapter 290 Bouncing Bomb [4k]

Upon hearing Eze's words, the audience immediately began to murmur among themselves.

If we're talking about the strongest liquor in Mondstadt, it has to be the Dandelion Liqueur, which gets richer and more mellow with age.

If we disregard the private wine collection buried under the Great Oak by a certain green bard, the 82 Dandelion Wine that Han Fulai and Yura opened that night at "Angel's Gift" was the strongest wine in Mondstadt.

The wine is good, but it's too expensive. Even Margaret, who runs her own bar, might not be willing to bring her treasured wines to the competition for people to drink for free.

Is Eze really going all out for this match?

Drouot, Jack, and the others were also pleasantly surprised. If they could really taste the winery's rare vintage wines during the competition, they would definitely try their best to drink as many glasses as possible, even if they got drunk... Their reputation as the "Four Kings of Mondstadt Wine Drinkers" couldn't just get them a free meal at the tavern...

However, as a fellow wine industry professional, Margaret keenly noticed that Eze had not added a regional modifier before the word "spirit" he had just mentioned.

If we expand the geographical scope to the entire Teyvat region, the strongest liquor is no longer dandelion liqueur.

“Could it be… ‘fire and water’?” Margaret asked Eze.

Eze didn't keep him in suspense and nodded readily: "That's right, it's 'fire and water'."

A gasp rippled through the audience. For these heavy drinkers, the name "Winter's Fire and Water" was legendary—especially after the Winter Merchant arrived in Mondstadt a year ago with the Fatui delegation. Many had still felt a pang of regret that Lord Diluc had refused "Fire and Water."

The fact that "Angel's Gift" only displays "fire and water" on the counter and refuses to sell it has further piqued the curiosity of drinkers.

Many rumors circulate in Mondstadt about "Firewater": for example, that "Firewater" is actually water that can be ignited; or that "Firewater" is a medicine commonly kept by the Fools' army, used to treat wounds and known as "Water of Life"; or that just one sip of "Firewater" will make your lips and tongue numb as if burned...

These kinds of rumors at the dinner table are always described in great detail, but most drinkers have never actually tasted this famous spirit.

Those who actually tasted it, like Lord Diluc, never spoke of the flavor of "firewater."

This made "fire and water" even more mysterious in the minds of these Mondstadt people.

Today, I heard that I will be able to witness the real "fire and water," the strongest liquor in the world. How could the audience not be excited?

The same applies to the contestants, of course.

Quinn, the fruit stand owner who never hides his feelings, was all smiles.

But Margaret didn't laugh. When Eze admitted that "fire water" was needed, she rested her chin on her hand, pretending to wait, but actually, while the bartender Charles was not around, she secretly put a small pill into her mouth—a hangover cure that Diona had made to deal with her drunken father.

"The Blessing of the Spring Spirits" doesn't work on anything other than alcohol, so Diona's hangover cure isn't tasty at all.

Rather, the taste was incredibly... foul. Holding it in your mouth felt like eating a piece of rotten, improperly prepared pork intestines.

But the effect is truly amazing. Margaret is sure that as long as you have this stuff in your mouth, even if you've passed out, you'll be stimulated awake.

"Cat Tail Tavern" and "Angel's Gift" are, after all, competitors. As the owner of "Cat Tail Tavern," she participated in the competition with the intention of promoting her tavern to tourists.

As the champion, she defeats everyone on the stage of "The Battle of the Wine Kings," and then proclaims that only her own genius bartender, Diona, has the ability to mix drinks that can get her, the queen of wine, drunk—alas, if little Diona didn't dislike being used as a living advertisement to attract customers, she wouldn't have to work so hard.

Her subtle movements did not escape Kaiya's notice, but Kaiya simply smiled and remained silent.

Soon, Charles came out carrying a large pile of things.

There were more than a dozen cups of various sizes, several bottles of liquor, as well as lemons and ice cubes, which looked like the bartending equipment in his bar.

He lined up several large glasses on the table, and then placed small glasses on the rims where two large glasses met, arranging the glasses in a wave-like shape.

It looks like they're going to mix drinks on the spot?

Facing the audience's questioning gazes, Eze spoke again: "Ladies and gentlemen, for this competition, we've decided to present a brand-new experimental recipe and have Mr. Charles mix a new spirit for the contestants on the spot. If all goes well, this will be the strongest and most potent spirit in the entire history of Mondstadt, and even the entire history of Teyvat!"

After hearing Eze's words, the audience became even more curious—the strongest and most potent spirit in the entire history of Teyvat?

Sitting in the players' seat are the five people with the best drinking capacity in all of Mondstadt. Aze, aren't you afraid of being proven wrong by these heavy drinkers for bragging so much?

Charles then began his bartending process with great professionalism: he first added a small ice cube to each large glass, then wiped the rim of the glass with a lemon slice, and then poured in most of the glass of beer and a little bit of sparkling water.

After the whole process, the row of large cups were filled with a bubbly, pale yellow liquid...

"Isn't this just ordinary beer?" Some onlookers had already started to complain.

Charles ignored the audience's murmurs and picked up an exceptionally large bottle from the barrel, labeled with the words "Winter"—it was "Hot Water".

Charles uncorked the bottle and filled a small, shallow glass perched on the rim of a large glass. The glass appeared to hold only a few milliliters. Then he put down the bottle and pulled… a box of matches from his pocket.

Then he struck a match and dropped it into the small cup—with a "whoosh," the cup of wine actually caught fire!

A faint blue flame emerged from the rim of the cup, resembling a tiny "alcohol lamp".

Charles held the burning cup high and circled the room to show it to the crowd.

The onlookers immediately cheered: "Wow, it really is 'fire and water'!"

"It really can be lit! The legend is true!"

The reason why "Fire-Water" is called this is actually related to the fact that it can be lit.

In addition, it can also be used to temporarily disinfect wounds... It is a spirit made from grains and tubers, and distilled more than seventy times, with an alcohol content of up to 96%. It is not unreasonable to use it directly as alcohol.

In addition, it does have analgesic effects when ingested—of course, the pain will subside once you're drunk and pass out.

Moreover, because its taste is very similar to water when consumed, and it is an indispensable part of people's lives during the winter, it truly has the title of "water of life".

Charles lit the "fire water" to demonstrate the strength of the liquor to everyone.

Margaret was well aware of the power of this "fire and water".

Although the Mondstadt Brewers Guild forbids the sale of "Hot Water" in Mondstadt, Margaret managed to obtain two bottles through her own channels. The Winter Merchant who gave her the wine boasted to her, a Mondstadt wine connoisseur, that "if you can finish a bottle of 'Hot Water' and still walk in a straight line, you can have it for free."

Margaret didn't pay; she got drunk after drinking half a bottle.

She still vividly remembers the sensation that made her entire mouth numb.

If she hadn't been so aware of the horrors of "fire and water," why would this heroine, known for her love of alcohol, have needed to resort to hangover pills beforehand?

"I remember you said you drank 'fire water' when you were in the snow mountain?" Yura turned her head to look at Han Fulai.

Han Fulai silently took out the genuine "fire water" from the Ninth Company from his storage space and pretended to open the bottle.

"Want to give it a try?"

Yura quickly refused.

In terms of alcohol content, beer usually has an alcohol content of around 5 to 8 degrees, while wine usually has an alcohol content of 8 to 15 degrees.

For Mondstadt residents accustomed to beer and various wines, a distilled spirit of about 40 proof, also known as dandelion liqueur, is considered the strongest liquor. But when it comes to "fire and water," all of Mondstadt's so-called "strong liquors" are reserved for the children.

In other words, Han Fulai is not a big drinker and did not develop a high alcohol tolerance in Liyue. Otherwise, if the people of Liyue who are used to drinking baijiu came to Mondstadt, he would definitely have a place in the "battle of the drinking champions".

At this point, Charles, who had finished demonstrating the "fire water," returned to the table, filled five small glasses with the "fire water," and then, to everyone's puzzled looks, silently poured the five small glasses directly into five large glasses of beer.

Eze then announced the name of the new drink: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the latest drink we've developed for 'Angel's Gift,' and I've named it, uh... 'Bouncing Bomb'!"

"Huh, it's actually a 'depth charge'!" Han Fulai, who was watching from a distance, blurted out.

"'Deep-water bomb'...what is that?" Amber couldn't help but wonder.

Han Fulai quickly explained, "The so-called 'depth charge' is a way of mixing drinks, usually referring to a mixture of low-alcohol and high-alcohol beverages. Just like Charles did, you use a large glass of beer as the base, then place a small glass of spirits on top of the large glass, letting the small glass of spirits drop into the large glass of beer. Yeah, like a bomb weapon that explodes when dropped into water..."

This bartending method is quite famous around the world: the bartender throws vodka into the beer like a bomb. The combination of low-alcohol and high-alcohol drinks makes the drink very potent, and even people with a high alcohol tolerance will be left dizzy and disoriented by this drink.

Amber didn't doubt the time-travel term he used, and simply nodded, "Oh... isn't that the 'bouncing bomb' that Klee uses when she's frying fish?"

Yura tilted her head slightly: "So what if it's mixed? The drinks we usually have at 'Cat's Tail' are all mixed."

She was naturally referring to the cocktails Diona made.

Han Fulai twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself, you guys really don't know the power of real mixed drinks. The cocktails sold in Mondstadt Bar are just a few low-alcohol drinks mixed together, like RIO juice. The alcohol content is so low.

Back in the day, I had a roommate from the north who was a bit of a simpleton and would bring Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) to our dorm beer party... After you've been through that, you'll never underestimate this "deep-sea bomb."

Of course, he didn't say this out loud, but simply gestured for them to watch the game.

On the field, each of the five contestants had a "Bouncing Bomb" in front of them.

Eze then announced the competition for this round: "The contestant who drinks the most 'Bouncing Bombs' in one go will be the winner!"

To be honest, apart from Kaiya, no one really thought this "bouncing bomb" could be that strong. It's just a beer with a few drops of "fire water" added, right?

No matter how strong the "fire and water" is, it will be diluted to a large glass of beer, just like adding water to a drink. How dare they call this the "strongest drink in history"? Isn't that insulting?

Even Margaret felt that Eze was exaggerating a bit, and since she was secretly taking a hangover pill, she was the most confident and picked up her glass without saying a word and drank it all in one gulp.