(MC POV)

I would say the beach barbecue was a resounding success despite that earlier incident.

I am not a lightweight by any means but I am definitely not a heavy drinker either. Seeing that everyone else had chosen to partake in the alcoholic beverages, minus Cai Hong of course, I chose to refrain from taking it too just in case anything happens to my disciples and sisters again.

I did tell them not to drink too much though, wouldn't want them to get completely smashed while on this island. Being the good disciples they are, they understood my reasoning without me having to say it.

It didn't take my disciples long before they began to unwind themselves, chatting away happily with food and drink in their hands on the beach.

Despite me assuring the four maids that it was fine to enjoy themselves, they still remained in 'service mode' where they made sure all of us were well taken care of. Well, as long as they are happy I suppose, no point in me trying to restrict them either.

After the party had gone for quite a while where most of us had already eaten our fill, my disciples and I decided to just spend the time lounging around the beach, a few of us watching the night sky that was filled with stars or just looking out into the vast ocean.

I was seated on a beach towel laid out in the sand, watching the stars silently while I contemplated on my future actions, especially what I should be teaching my disciples to make sure they can protect themselves.

Cai Hong was curled up on my lap, fast asleep. The little dragon was muttering something about roasting marshmallows with me while I patted her head.

So lost I was in my thoughts that I was surprised by Lian Li suddenly appearing behind me, her arms thrown around my shoulders.

"Masteeeeerrr… It was sooooo horrible…" Lian Li groaned, leaning heavily on my shoulder. "I was all alooooone… In that houseeeee… So… So… Lonely… Mnnn… Zzz…"

Huh, she actually fell asleep on me. I guess she must be much more tired than she let on. Either that or she doesn't handle alcohol that well?

I lifted her carefully off my back, letting me turn around to inspect the beach, only to find all of my disciples and sisters had already fallen asleep at where they had been lounging.

Huh.

I guess their exhaustion must have finally caught up with them from their small adventure in the forest.

The four youkai maids were standing at the side, looking at their collapsed mistresses with a complicated expression. They were most likely at a loss on what they should do since they can't move my sleeping disciples carelessly, not to mention the fact that there was no way to move them back to the villa without waking them.

Gently picking up Cai Hong in my arms while levitating Lian Li into the air, I stood up to move towards them.

"No worries," I assured the four of them. "I'll take care of this. Just give me a minute."

Concentrating for a moment, I teleported all of my disciples and my sisters to their room, depositing each of them in their own beds and tucking them in with a soft pat on each of their heads.

Just in case, I used one of the candles to light an Astral Fire on top of it, bathing the room in a soft warmth. This should help them relax and sleep easier, hopefully also driving away any nightmares they might have of today.

I teleported myself back to the island to see the four youkai maids still standing at the same spot, waiting for me patiently.

The beach was already cleaned with most of our stuff packed up and ready to be moved back to the ship. I guess they must have already been in the midst of cleanup when we had been relaxing.

"You girls work fast huh?" I commented.

Alpha bowed, "Thank you for your praise, Master."

I noticed the stack of half finished alcohol that was placed at the side.

"Hmm… It'll be a waste to not finish those. You girls want some?"

All of them turned to look at the bottles.

Alpha bit her lip, "N… No, we shouldn't…"

I summoned a few of the bottles into my hand, uncorking them with a flick of my wrist.

"It's fine. Everyone else is asleep anyway and you girls have worked hard. Just take it easy for the rest of the night."

The wolf girl hesitated, "If… If Master insists…"

"I do."

She gave in and took the bottle from my hand, passing one to each of the girls behind her, the other girls taking the bottles from her though less hesitantly than Alpha did.

Claiming one bottle for myself, I teleported us back to my room, ain't no way I was going to spend the night on that island anyway.

The four of them seemed to understand my action and raised no questions about it.

I took a swig from the bottle, enjoying the burning sensation as the liquid travelled down my throat, leaving a sweet after taste in my mouth.

The girls followed my lead, taking small sips from the wine cups they had poured into.

"If you're worried about hangovers, don't be. I have something that will prevent that," I assured them. "Just relax, really."

Gamma took my word for it and drank directly from one of the bottles, even letting out a 'puhaa' sound as she sighed in contentment.

Emboldened by their colleague's actions, Beta and Delta followed suit but Alpha still kept up her appearance by drinking slowly from her wine cup.

I will have to say this first, I had absolutely no ulterior motives behind getting them to start drinking. Being one hundred percent honest here.

I knew they were working hard for us so I thought to give them just a bit of a break for now, especially since they were just normal villa staff that got dragged into our crazy events not by choice.

Really.

I really did not know that these four were absolute lightweights.

"Puuuuuuurrrr~ Purrrr~~ So warrrm~~ Nyaaa~" Beta literally purred, rubbing her head on my hand while I scratched her behind her feline ears.

I will add that she literally forced my hand on top of her head, then silently stared at me until I began scratching her.

Well, I guess this is expected of a cat?

"Ehehe… Master is looking at me~" Delta giggled, her face pressed against mine with our noses touching. "Mmm… Master is looking at me~~"

Ok, I get that she had issues with her eyesight before so she might be a little hard of seeing? Not really sure why else she is literally pressing herself against me…

At least Gamma fell asleep after drinking the entire bottle so the centauress was not making any noises.

The only issue was that she had chosen to lay down behind me, resting her massive chest on top of my head as some kind of support.

Unfortunately, her arms were also wrapped around my chest so I was kind of stuck in that position too.

The most interesting one of the bunch however...

"Master! Rub my belly more!! Rub it! Please, please, please, please, please!" Alpha begged, laying down on her back beside me while showing me her belly.

Seriously, where did that serious persona of yours go?

Who knew that the serious wolf youkai would happily roll over onto her back and demand for belly rubs when drunk, whining until I did so?

Her tail was wagging so fast that I thought they might fall off as well, I didn't even need to see that to know she was enjoying herself either, that big sloppy smile plastered on her face and how she was saying 'Kyuu! Kyuu!' was a big enough give away.

This is the last time I get these girls to drink with me...

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