They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 226 Praise, Ourselves

But Ivand clearly understood the meaning conveyed in his eyes—

"I can drink more than any of you."

"You're quite proud."

Ivand took out a wine bottle with gold lettering engraved on its surface from a cabinet and tossed it to Ria without any concern about the bottle breaking.

Ria casually reached out and caught it securely, then watched as Ivande brought out some more fruit and spices.

"I've heard of a way to heat red wine in some places, where you heat white sugar, chopped fruit, spices, and red wine together, and it's used to warm you up in winter."

"But it's not winter now."

"That doesn't stop us from trying to make this. To be honest, I'm already looking forward to this sumptuous meal."

As he spoke, he began looking for utensils to brew red wine. After helping for a while, Ria went to practice her marksmanship in the nearby jungle and successfully hunted a pheasant and two large rats.

He returned to the office and was told that rats were edible, but people generally didn't eat them. Helpless, Ria could only stuff the rat into her hat to hide it, and together with everyone else, they dealt with the colorful pheasant.

As evening falls, the aroma of the food is fully aroused by the addition of spices, and the golden-brown grilled meat on the grill is so tempting that you can't wait to pounce on it and devour it all.

The red wine bubbled and simmered, releasing a fruity aroma as the alcohol evaporated.

Empty plates, forks, knives, spoons and other tableware were placed on the table, and everyone gathered around with great enthusiasm, waiting for the meal to begin. Of course, before eating, it was customary for everyone to praise the sun.

But none of these people except for Ria believed in the sun. Ria wasn't particularly devout to begin with, and now that she has amnesia, she can't remember any of these things.

But Ivand still suggested that everyone thank any god they could find, and if they couldn't find one, they should thank themselves and wish themselves to become better and better in the future.

"In my opinion, believing in yourself is worse than believing in anyone else, isn't it?"

Calvin smiled gently: "In fact, we should praise order, but it seems to be just a concept. After all, no one has said that there are gods in order... So today, let's raise a glass to order and to all of us."

"To order and to all of us!" The other investigators raised their glasses, and Ria also raised her glass, which contained a layer of original red wine.

The alcohol in the boiled red wine had completely evaporated, leaving it with virtually no alcohol content, and it was immediately distributed to the children.

Little Swarth used his tentacles to hold up the glass in front of him and toasted along with them. The three children, Rabbit, Octopus, and Bear, also eagerly raised their glasses filled with simmered red wine.

Ria: "Praise to all of us."

Calvin and the investigators: "Praise us all."

The three children said, "Praise us all."

Little Swarth: "Aww!"

Ivand smiled and said, “You’re right. Praise us all. Every one of us deserves praise. After all, in this world, who isn’t living for themselves?”

"But we are not only allowed to live for ourselves."

As soon as the words were spoken, they all shouted in unison, "Cheers!!!"

"boom!"

Everyone clinked their glasses together, sipped the red wine, and felt a warm glow in their stomachs.

"Come and try today's barbecue, how is it?"

"good to eat!"

"Try the salad made with freshly cut fruit, and the fruit pie."

"This is delicious too!" "You should eat more, there's more here if you're still hungry."

"Yes, yes, children need to eat more. You are... well, growing."

"And that creature that looks like an owl, I forgot what it's called, stop gnawing on the plate, and stop gnawing on the table!"

"It's an angel!"

"An archangel like this!?"

"Why have you turned into a bunch of tentacles? Change back! We're eating!"

"Goo!"

Lia propped his head up with one hand, squinting, while holding a wine glass in the other, occasionally taking sips of wine. The sounds around him were very noisy, quite close yet seemingly quite far away.

Little Swarth ran to his side and wrapped a large piece of roasted meat around his tendrils. Ria patted its soft body, which looked like a bunch of tumorous horsehair worms, and thought it was very well-behaved and sensible, a good child.

“You’ve grown up.” Ria started rambling, not even knowing what she was saying. She only remembered that the air was filled with the smells of alcohol, fruit, and charcoal, and that everyone had genuine smiles on their faces.

There was no deception, no backstabbing. It might have been an ordinary day, just a routine dinner for many, but for Ria, even with amnesia, he could feel how precious time was now.

"I already said I wouldn't get drunk, but for someone like me who can't see, just pretend I'm drunk."

Lia closed her eyes, and everyone joked, "Are you writing poetry?"

“I’m a poet, even if my poetry isn’t great.”

"What do you mean it's not good? Look how enthusiastically Schwarz applauded. Art is judged by people. If someone is willing to appreciate it, then it is the most perfect art."

The group began to chat and laugh. They talked about many things, and Lia listened quietly, occasionally interjecting with her own insights.

The three children soon got sleepy and went back to the room that Ivand had tidied up to sleep.

Little Swarth lay on the table, blinking as it listened to everyone talking; it was unclear whether it could understand.

Ria put the hat on its body, and it used its tentacles to lift the edge of the hat to look at everyone. People praised it, saying, "It's actually quite pleasing to the eye after looking at it for a while."

Ivan put down his glass and continued smoking.

Calvin advised, "Please stop smoking. Smoking is harmful to your health. My grandfather died because he smoked too much."

"Why do you care so much? I'll stay up until you leave, it's not a problem. Do you know how hard it is for me to get a cigarette?"

Ivan took a deep drag angrily, then exhaled white smoke. He raised his pipe and tapped Calvin on the head. Calvin cried out "Ouch!" and rubbed the ash off his head, feeling very aggrieved.

Little Swarth blinked and looked in that direction, only to inexplicably meet Evans's gaze and realize that the man was staring right at him.

However, Ivan quickly looked away, pretending he had never seen it.

"Johnson, you seem drunk."

"No."

Ria shook his head; he was perfectly sober, and this little bit of alcohol wouldn't get him drunk.

"What will others think if they see us all gathered together today?"

"Who cares what they think? Can those old fogies control the behavior of the younger generation? Their era will eventually come to an end, and the future belongs to you."

Ivan flicked his cigarette ash a few times, but Ria said, "That doesn't sound like something you should be saying."

(End of this chapter)