“From the day people invented booze, the invention of methods to deal with the hangover they caused wasn’t far behind. Such is the way of progress.” - Ferenc Sandoravi, retired former mercenary, self-proclaimed philosopher.

“Ugh…” groaned Elfriede when she woke up on her bedroll the next day. It was already close to noon by the time she woke up, which was much later than her usual habit of waking up at dawn, but that was the price to be paid for guzzling so much alcohol the previous night that her head still spun even then. The headache and dizziness was something she expected, as the burly woman from Caroma proved to be quite capable of holding her liquor.

Just about any of the veterans of the Free Lances who had been part of the Company from before Reinhardt’s time were good at holding their liquor. It became practically mandatory given how nearly half the Company of that time were dwarves, with the heavy drinking habit that implied. The Company also had channels which kept them well supplied with good quality strong dwarven ale, which meant all the veterans were habitual drinkers.

Even so, the rowdy bunch of Caromans the previous night were quite good at it as well. Elfriede saw most of them drop from drunkenness before she left, but she recalled that a few were still drinking and singing by that time as well. All of those bastards would likely have the mother of all headaches by the time they woke up, if they had already woken up at all. It wouldn’t be strange if they slept all the way to the afternoon.

“Oh, up already?” asked Reinhardt from the entrance of the large tent they shared in the encampment. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a fucking elephant stepped on my head,” replied Elfriede curtly to his question. “What are you doing here anyway? Didn’t they have more exhibitions to go through?”

“It’s just more of the Caromans testing themselves against the Militia. Besides, the Marshals were still absent as well. Nobody’s gonna complain if I skip out on one match,” answered Reinhardt. “Anyway, take it easy and stay in bed for now. I had Ursula keep a pot of thick gruel and some fruit juice just for this situation. I’ll grab some for you real quick.”

Elfriede obeyed what he said and laid back down, one hand holding her throbbing forehead. She had perhaps overdone it the previous night, but eh, it was worth it just for the bragging rights of drinking a Marshal of the Army under the table. She closed her eyes for a moment, only to open them once more when she felt Reinhardt’s figure enter her field of perception once more.

“Here you go,” said Reinhardt as he handed a bowl of steaming hot gruel to her along with a wooden spoon. From the smell she could tell that Ursula had cooked it with some bone broth and likely with an extra dose of rendered bone marrow as well. That was good. While Elfriede knew that plain, easily digestible food was best when one had a hangover, she still preferred her food richer when she could get away with it. “Take your time, we’re in no hurry anyway.”

“Thanks,” mumbled Elfriede between mouthfuls of the thick, filling gruel. The food was plain, but still cut with a hint of meatiness and richness, so she kept it in her mind to thank Ursula for the extra treats the next time she saw the woman. For the most part, she ate quietly until the bowl was emptied and Reinhardt proffered a cup of fruit juice to her.

“Times like these reminded me why I stayed together with you after all these years,” said Elfriede with a sigh after she gulped down most of the sweet and tart juice in the cup. It was quite pleasant to have somebody take care of her from time to time, especially on days when she had a hangover. With a smile and a shake of her head, she then downed the rest of the juice.

Her headache had already lessened quite a bit by then, not by that much, but at least no longer torturous.

“What? Not because of my charming personality?” jested Reinhardt from beside her while playfully swatting her ear with his fluffy tail. Elfriede couldn’t help but giggle from the ticklish sensation of his fur rubbing against the side of her face. One other benefit of having a Therian for a husband was that they generally loved to cuddle, which made even cold winter nights a comfortable and fluffy experience.

Deities knew Elfriede regularly hugged Reinhardt’s tail like a body pillow to sleep during winter nights.

“Ehh, rather than your personality I’d say your being rich is more attractive,” replied Elfriede nonchalantly with a knowing smirk. For a mercenary company, the Free Lances were quite well to do. In fact, the money in the company’s coffers at the moment would be enough for most of the command staff to retire in luxury if they wanted to. “That and the big thing you’re packing in your pants, I guess.”

“Am I just a rich patron to be used and discarded to you? You wound me, milady!” replied Reinhardt in overexaggerated mock outrage before the two of them broke into a fit of giggles together. It took a while before their laughter died out and the two regained control over themselves, with even some tears being shed from excessive laughter.

“Anyway, want to see the rest of the exhibition? You can also fill up your stomach some more at the banquet. We shouldn’t have missed all of the first match yet, I think. It was pretty close between them,” said Reinhardt as he wiped some tears with a finger.

“Sure, I guess,” replied Elfriede. It wasn’t like she had better things to do anyway. Some relaxing and watching others beat each other up while enjoying the good food courtesy of the city council was not a bad way to spend her day. “I guess might as well check out just how bad that Lady Marshal had it after last night. Wonder if she could even walk yet after all that booze.”