Chapter 191

Because highballs are made with just a splash of whiskey, their alcohol content isn't particularly high, but they're still much stronger than beer.

Miyuki was already a lightweight. If she drank this, the alcohol would hit her fast. Would she be okay?

Still, a single highball wouldn't make her black out, and she'd probably pace herself, so I figured it would be fine.

"I don't mind, but... have you ever had alcohol before?"

"Just a tiny bit when eating out with my family..."

"Go ahead, then. Just pace yourself."

"Okay."

After I finished ordering, Miyuki took off her coat, looked around the pub, and smiled warmly.

She seemed to like the lively atmosphere.

"This is my first time drinking in a place like this."

"Where did you drink when you ate out with your family?"

"Usually inside a Hotel room. Or a Park."

"Your parents must prefer quiet places."

"Yeah. That's why my sister gets so frustrated. She thinks it's boring."

'So Kanna likes loud places.'

'Then again, that matches my image of her.'

After I chatted with Miyuki for a while, the snacks we ordered filled the table.

I grabbed the handle of the final item to arrive—a clear, fizzing highball—and pushed it in front of Miyuki.

She looked a bit unsure at first, but then she gently clinked her glass against mine and smiled shyly.

After our silent toast, we both took a sip at the same time without needing to be told.

Did she enjoy the signature sting of the carbonation sliding down her throat, combined with the sharp bite of diluted whiskey and a hint of lemon?

Miyuki crinkled her face cutely, shuddering slightly as she let out a pleasant gasp.

When I held out a skewer of yakitori, she naturally opened her mouth and took a bite of the meat.

Then she wiped a bit of sauce off her lips with a wet wipe while chewing happily.

"Is it good?"

She nodded in response.

I chuckled and took another sip of my highball before diving into a proper conversation with her.

An hour had passed since we sat down. On the table in front of Miyuki sat a half-empty highball glass, and next to it was a completely empty one.

She was currently staring at me intently, her head tilted to the side.

"..."

Half-lidded, unfocused eyes and a flushed red face.

These two features combined to give Miyuki a completely different kind of charm.

Her gaze was so incredibly suggestive that it made me think sharing a drink with her every now and then wouldn't be a bad idea.

'Maybe when we go on the school trip, we can drink alone in our room without worrying about what anyone else thinks?'

'Miyuki with her limiters off... Just imagining it turns me on.'

"What are you staring at?"

I asked without breaking eye contact. She tilted her head the other way and replied.

"Because you looked first, Matsuda-kun."

'So she isn't drunk enough to slur her words yet.'

'I wanted to see her act all cutesy with a nasal whine, but I suppose I'll have to save that for next time.'

'We still have to sit here for a while after Chinami arrives, so I can't let her get any more drunk.'

"I never did."

"You did, though."

"Did I?"

"Yeah."

'Who cares who looked first? As long as we're happy.'

I picked up a boiled edamame bean from the complimentary appetizers, brought it to Miyuki's lips, and spoke.

"Eat up."

"Why do you keep trying to feed me all this stuff?"

"You need to eat so you don't get too drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

'I've never seen anyone who says that actually be sober.'

I swallowed the words that were about to burst out and pushed the bean closer. Miyuki opened her mouth wide and bit the tip of the edamame.

'It's nice to see her eat so obediently.'

'Maybe in the future, whenever she throws a tantrum, I should get her just drunk enough to make her behave.'

The salty bean must have been good, because Miyuki flashed a bright smile.

I lost track of time chatting with her and watching her various reactions, until—

Bzzzt—!

The Cell Phone resting on the table vibrated noisily. I checked the caller ID.

It was a call from Chinami. She must have arrived at the location I sent her earlier.

I fed Miyuki one more bean, pressed the answer button, and brought the Cell Phone to my ear.

"Where are you?"

"I've arrived. Is it the pub that looks gloomy on the inside?"

"That's the one. Just open the door, tell the staff you're meeting someone, and head straight back. There are a lot of people, but we shouldn't be hard to find."

"Y-Yes, sir...!"

Along with her stiff, military-like response, I could hear her taking deep breaths to calm herself.

She seemed nervous. I didn't know if it was because this was her first drinking party, or because she was meeting face-to-face with Miyuki and me... but her anxiety was making me nervous, too.

'If she's too stiff, it might ruin the mood, so I should do my best to comfort her.'

"I'm heading in, then...! Please wave when you see me."

"Understood."

I hung up the phone and kept my eyes on the pub entrance.

A short while later, the door opened with the ring of a bell, and Chinami stepped inside, her face half-buried in an oversized scarf.

'Is this where the real challenge begins? I shouldn't let my guard down. I need to read the room and act carefully.'

With that in mind, I stood up so Chinami could easily spot our table and waved as she looked around.

"Hello, Hanazawa."

At Chinami's ever-polite greeting, Miyuki beamed and welcomed her.

"Hello, sunbae. Please, have a seat."

Miyuki moved over and patted the empty seat next to her.

Chinami bowed her head in thanks and sat down, her eyes darting around the room.

Looking at her stiff expression, she seemed to be wondering if she really belonged here.

I placed a small plate in front of Chinami and asked a question.

"Did the President head home?"

"Ah, yes."

"Did she say anything else?"

"Um... She didn't say much, but she told me to make sure I contacted her if anything happened."

'She let Chinami go pretty easily.'

'If she knew the three of us were planning to go to a Hotel, she would have thrown a fit and stopped her, right?'

'Maybe next time I should try for a foursome with Renka.'

"I see. Next time, we should invite the President to hang out, too."

"Ah, would that really be okay?"

"Of course."

"What about you, Hanazawa? Are you okay with that?"

At Chinami's cautious question, Miyuki, who had been listening silently, replied.

"I don't mind. I'm already close with Inoo-sunbae, anyway..."

"That's a relief."

We were smiling and talking, but there was definitely an awkward tension in the air.

Miyuki probably had complicated feelings about having to go to the Hotel with Chinami.

And Chinami probably felt guilty for crashing a date between me and Miyuki.

'I need to find a way to lighten this heavy atmosphere.'

I opened the menu and pointed to a picture of ice cream tucked away in the corner.

"Do you want some ice cream? They have a peach flavor."

"Gasp...! That sounds incredibly tempting...!"

Was it Chinami's uniquely innocent yet old-fashioned way of speaking, or the way her eyes went wide at the mention of peaches that was so funny?

Miyuki suddenly burst into a pleasant giggle.

Under normal circumstances, she probably would have just brushed it off, but her alcohol-fueled high spirits made everything seem hilarious to her.

Regardless, thanks to Miyuki's reaction, Chinami seemed to relax as well, a smile tugging at her lips.

Relieved, I called the waiter over to order a beer, a glass, and the ice cream, then scooped some of the appetizers onto Chinami's plate.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Eat up."

"I'm sorry, but could I just have a little bit? Renka and I ate until our stomachs were completely stuffed."

'It's funny how she takes empty politeness so seriously.'

'Anyway, her stomach being stuffed... For some reason, that sounded pretty erotic.'

"Have as much as you'd like."

"Okay. By the way, did Hanazawa drink a lot?"

Chinami asked, seemingly emboldened by Miyuki's earlier laughter.

Miyuki touched her own flushed cheeks and asked back.

"Why? Is my face really red?"

"It's quite red. You look like a perfectly ripe peach."

'Wouldn't people usually say she looked like a ripe persimmon or an apple in a situation like this?'

'That's such a Chinami-like comparison.'

"Really? I've only had about a glass and a half..."

"If you're feeling a bit tipsy, I'll give you some peach juice."

"Peach juice...? You brought some with you?"

"Yes. Since Matsuda asked to drink beer today, I brought some. Hold on a second..."

Chinami opened her crossbody bag, which featured Momo-sama's face on it, and pulled out three pouches of peach juice.

She placed them in front of Miyuki and me, then said:

"It's good for hangovers, so drink up."

We thanked her and agreed, and while we drank the sweet peach juice, the waiter brought the beer and set it on the table.

I finished the sweet juice, popped the beer open with a bottle opener, and poured it into an empty glass half-filled with ice.

I then grabbed the body of the glass and held it out to Chinami. She politely took it, holding the bottom and the handle with both hands.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Should we toast?"

"Ah, yes."

I could see the glass trembling slightly in Chinami's grip.

'Had her relaxed nerves tightened up again?'

'I hoped the alcohol would help at least a little.'

With that thought in mind, I smiled and clinked my glass against Miyuki's and Chinami's.

"Mhm. It's delicious. These snacks are incredibly tasty."

Chinami was busily moving her chopsticks with a bright red face.

You could visibly see the food rapidly disappearing; her mouth didn't stop moving for a second.

'An increased appetite after drinking alcohol is a universal trait.'

'She looked so cute munching away at her food.'

"Mmm...! Fantastic. It's so good it could rival a specialty restaurant...!"

Chinami marveled after tasting the freshly ordered karaage.

Miyuki, whose eyes were bleary and unfocused, spoke up.

"Sunbae, you're going to feel sick if you eat too much..."

Her words were slurring slightly—proof that she was very drunk.

Having drunk four relatively strong highballs, it was only natural.

And as for Chinami... she was about as drunk as Miyuki.

'Even considering Chinami had only drunk half a highball, Miyuki's alcohol tolerance was far superior.'

'Is her liver weak? Maybe I should have fed her oriental raisin tree juice instead of peach juice.'

The awkward atmosphere from earlier had completely vanished by now.

Miyuki and Chinami were talking about personal things, building their friendship.

As I spent time occasionally joining in their friendly banter, I sneakily checked the Cell Phone.

'It's almost ten o'clock. If we spend any more time here, the threesome might be off the table... We should get going soon.'

Having made my decision, I waited for a brief lull in their conversation and spoke up.

"Should we get going?"

Chinami's eyes went wide.

"Eh? Already?"

"It's noisy here, so I was thinking we could move somewhere quieter."

"Ah... So we're not splitting up for the night?"

'Seeing her say things like that, she must have really enjoyed this get-together.'

"Right. We're far from calling it a night."

"Ah...! I see. Let's get going, then."

And with that, we stood up, paid the bill, and stepped out onto the cold Christmas streets.

"B-Brrr... It's cold...!"

Chinami, wrapped up in her scarf, grabbed her own arms.

The alcohol was radiating heat from her body, making the outside air feel significantly colder by comparison.

Miyuki was pretending to be unaffected, but her body was shivering too.

I made sure their scarves were tied properly and pointed to a ryokan-style Hotel nearby.

It was a place I had booked in advance while the two of them were talking.

"Should we go drink in there?"

"In there...? Aha...! It's a Hotel...!"

"Yeah. How about it?"

"It should be nice and quiet...! I'd love to."

'The usual Chinami would have imagined all sorts of weird things and gotten terribly embarrassed, but with the alcohol in her system, she didn't seem to care.'

Unlike Chinami, who nodded innocently, Miyuki's expression was a bit stiff.

'She must be picturing it in her head. What was about to happen at the Hotel.'

While Chinami was busy looking around and giggling, I took the opportunity to smooth down a piece of Miyuki's hair sticking up on top.

"Shall we?"

"...Yeah."

'What's going to happen now? Now that the moment is actually here, I can't predict it at all.'

'It'll probably be impossible to carry this harmonious drinking atmosphere all the way to the bed.'

'Still, there's no denying that this drinking session helped a lot... I'll use it as a stepping stone and try my best.'

After entering the room with the two girls, I told them to rest for a bit and headed to the store inside the Hotel.

I needed to buy some simple alcohol and snacks.

It was also to give the girls some time to talk among themselves.

After grabbing a few cans of beer and some snacks that looked tasty, I purposely took my time. By the time I returned to the room, Miyuki and Chinami had laid out futons on the tatami mats and were already lying down.

Chinami, in particular, was completely buried under the blankets with only her head sticking out, her small body rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

'Is she asleep...?'