Chapter 1221: You Get Stripped Literally

(MC POV)

Wait, wait, wait... Did I hear the announcer say correctly? What the hell is 'make a drink worthy of Master Lin to strip'?!

What kind of... Wait... Is that a setting of this World?

All I checked when searching for a World that Brendan and I could have our outing was the relationship between him and me... Or err... In this case, her and me, were at least at a level where we were somewhat in a relationship of some sorts together.

And yes, there were a few of those Worlds where we were quite intimate but I thought Brendan would most likely not want those.

In this case, I found that the two of us were both business partners and also roommates, plus the fact that we were also bartenders which I felt would be an interesting experience for both of us which led me to choose this World in the end.

I did not go and check all the details about this World since I thought their culture and common sense might have been similar to ours... Turns out that was absolutely not the case...

I went ahead to check with omniscience and I quickly found out that in this version of the World, there is something that happens that doesn't occur in our original World. When someone tastes something that, in their own opinion, was exceptionally good, their clothes apparently get ripped apart.

No, I really mean that it literally gets ripped apart, not figuratively. What's more, their underwear wouldn't be spared either.

There's apparently no shame in that and it's seen as a very high form of praise in this World. It's also apparently commonplace for people to carry around multiple sets of clothes when they go dining and some restaurants even prepare clothes that customers can change into before they start eating to prevent their own clothes from ripping.

The fashion industry here was also booming because of that as they competed on making the best kinds of clothes to be ripped apart in style... Or that's what I managed to learn from omniscience... I didn't really look into that one too much.

For bartenders like us, it's quite difficult to have our patrons strip due to drinking because of how alcohol works. Even if someone were to strip, it's usually something they ate instead of what they drank.

That's why, to have someone strip because of a drink you made was enough to cement your status as a top class bartender. Some would even judge the skills of a bartender from the number of patrons they managed to strip.

In this World, I was given the moniker 'Master' because I have, without fail, caused every single one of my patrons to strip when I get serious.

Trust me, it's taking all I have to maintain a neutral face when I learned that fact.

Now I understood why Brendan was asking me if I was fine with this competition because I may potentially be stripped of my clothes. That would have been fine if I only had memories of this World since this would be seen as a normal thing... But since I know about the existence of other Worlds and their differences, this might feel really awkward to me if it does happen to me...

Well... It's actually not that big of a deal for me because I've technically experienced this World when I had been fractured, so even if Brendan were to strip me, I'll be fine.

Brendan really is cute for worrying about something like that.

Although... The real problem isn't me stripping, the problem would be the fact that my standards being too high that I end up not stripping at all.

I guess if I need to, I could just forcefully strip myself later if I find someone worthy of it...

All the contestants started crowding around the bar, each of them taking turns to mix their own drinks. The way they were mixing it looked really unique and I think I see a few of them even using beakers and bunsen burners to prepare their ingredients.

Seems like we have some molecular gastronomers in our midst too.

Some of them even brought in their own mixology sets which looked to be custom made. They're really taking this seriously it seems.

The first one to finish was a young girl who looked to be in her twenties carrying a champagne glass towards me.

The announcer noticed this, "Oh! It seems the upcoming star Miss Julianne of Club Klub will be the first to present her drink to the Master! Is it enough to gain his approval?!"

The champagne glass contained an azure blue liquid where several flakes of what looked like dried fruit were sprinkled in to rest at the bottom. The rim of the glass also lined with what I presume to be salt and the condensation around it told me that it was chilled before serving.

The young lady was visibly nervous when I picked up the glass from her tray. Some of the contestants had even paused in their preparations to watch my reaction.

I lifted the glass up to the light, admiring the colour of the cocktail before bringing it to my nose.

Almost immediately, the scent of crushed fruits and alcohol wafted up to my nose, creating a rather soothing scent reminiscent of ocean waves.

I placed my lips on the rim of the glass and allowed some of it to slip past my lips, taking some of the salt along with it.

A few bits of the fruit inside also flowed in with the liquid and when I chewed on them, I was treated to a mixture of a sweet, bitter and sour taste that wrapped itself up into an explosion of flavour inside my mouth.

Inside my mind, it felt like I was transported to a serene beach where I was standing at the edge with my feet buried partly in the sand. The waves would then roll in and wash over my feet, burying it even deeper in the sand.

At first, it felt calm and relaxing, enough to put a person's heart at ease.

That was until I turned around to notice the distinct lack of any flora except for a single coconut tree, making it look really out of place.

I swallowed before sighing and shaking my head.

"You tried blending bits of dried orange to pair with the Blue Curacao to turn it into a fruit cocktail. It does work in giving it a calming and citrusy flavour but... It lacks real excitement after the first sip. You can try having a mix of different fruits instead."

She seemed to be a little disappointed that my clothes didn't rip but she perked up quickly when I gave her my advice.

"Thank you, Master!" She bowed quickly before returning to the bar, preparing to try again.

Ah, that's right... In this competition, they aren't limited to only a single try. They can keep mixing and try again and again until the time limit is up or they choose to drop out.

Damn... If I wasn't Origin, wouldn't the normal me here get alcohol poisoning from all the drinks he would need to taste?

Oh wait, I forgot I'm also a Practitioner in this World so that wouldn't matter.

Now I wonder what Brendan would make to strip me?

That sounded a little wrong...