Chapter 52: Tagging Along, Tagging Along…

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“I’m home… Oh? Yuuya-kun?”

In the midst of all this chaos, Chihiro-san finished work and returned home. Had it gotten that late already?

“Welcome back, Mom.”

“Pardon the intrusion.”

“My, my, I wouldn’t mind at all if you stayed the night, Yuuya-kun. Actually, it’s been a while since you last came over. Did something happen?”

Chihiro-san seemed to be in a strangely good mood. Maybe something good happened at her workplace. Because she was in such high spirits, she would probably forgive me even if I asked a slightly rude question.

“Um, Chihiro-san, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, sure. What is it? Are you wondering if Mahiro has a boyfriend right now?”

“I couldn’t care less about that. Do you remember the first time you drank alcohol, Chihiro-san?”

“…Eh?”

It must have been an incredibly out-of-left-field question, because Chihiro-san completely froze for a second.

“Well, long story short, I just wanted to ask if you were able to grasp your own alcohol tolerance limit right from your very first drink.”

“Ah, I see what you mean… Well, that makes sense. But I do remember taking one sip, feeling strangely good, and ending up blacking out after drinking everything I was offered.”

“It’s a miracle you came out of that safe.”

“…”

That silence from Chihiro-san was incredibly awkward.

Did she not come out safe?

Well, thanks to that, I figured Mahiro finally understood that her first drinking party would be fraught with danger.

“You get it now, Mahiro? Stay with Temari and make sure you keep an eye on each other while you’re drinking.”

“Eh… so, does that mean you won’t be coming, Yuuya?”

“I'm an outsider, remember? Do you really want me there that badly? Besides, Temari probably doesn't want me tagging along.”

“That's not true! Please, just come as my boyfriend… No one will know you're an outsider. It'll be completely fine.”

So she wants to chug alcohol that badly, huh.

However, there was no way Chihiro-san would let her desperate daughter’s nonsense slide.

“Ah, I get it. That’s a brilliant idea! Mahiro can relax even if it’s her first time drinking. As her mother, I could never forgive her getting carried away and doing something stupid at a drinking party. But if she’s with you, Yuuya-kun, I wouldn’t have a single complaint, even if that happened.”

“Chihiro-san, what kind of next-level nonsense is sleep-talking while you’re wide awake? Nobody benefits from that, especially not Mahiro. That’d be pure torture.”

“Eh, l-like I said, I don’t really mind or anything…”

“Actually, even if I go, I don’t really have to pretend to be her boyfriend, right?”

“But then it won’t work as bug repellent!”

What the hell is this completely disjointed, three-way conversation?

There was no f*****g way we could become a real couple. I really wished they wouldn’t lump me into the same world as someone like Mahiro, who had supposedly managed to find true love.

—・—・—・—・—・—・—

Ultimately, I was somehow bulldozed into sneaking into the party alongside Mahiro. I just had a really weak spot whenever Chihiro-san pleaded with me.

By the way, I continued to politely decline the boyfriend role even after that. I didn’t want any weird rumors starting over something so stupid, and I definitely didn’t want to get shanked by some guy aiming for Mahiro.

Also, I properly warned Temari about the Yoshizaki-senpai situation. However, the response I got was, “I messed up back when it came to you, Yuuya, so I’m only going to believe what I see and feel with my own eyes,” delivered with absurdly masculine bravado.

I had no idea what to say after that, so my warning ended right there.

And just like that, the day of the drinking party arrived.

Mahiro wasn’t at the meeting spot at the designated time. For someone who dragged me into this by force, she sure had some nerve showing up late.

Maybe this is all a prank. What if she tricked me into waiting pointlessly while she’s laughing at me from the shadows? The thought processes of a bottom-feeder really are hard to shake off.

“…Guess I’ll go home.”

It was already fifteen minutes past our meeting time. Since I wasn’t keen on going in the first place, I had zero hesitation about cutting my losses…

“I’m so, so sorry I’m late.”

…Or so I thought, just as Mahiro finally showed up, completely out of breath. Her outfit for today was something I had never seen before: an off-white dress with an open neckline, paired with a blue-based bolero. Her eyelashes and makeup were noticeably sharper and more defined than usual.

“…Whatever. Let’s just hurry up and go.”

“A-Ah, yeah.”

For some reason, it felt like Mahiro had put a shitload of effort into getting ready.

Do girls attending drinking parties normally put this much energy into oozing sex appeal? You’re just throwing back some booze, for f**k’s sake.

This was exactly why they ended up getting played. If she honestly thought it’d be a hassle to get hit on while everyone was drunk, she shouldn’t have dressed in a way that screamed for male attention. Frankly, she might as well show up completely naked since that was the absolute peak of male appeal.

Because I was pointlessly fuming over such stupid s**t, the mandatory action of complimenting Mahiro’s stylish outfit completely slipped my mind. So, I hastily threw out a safe compliment.

“Nice socks.”

“Eh? O-Oh, thanks.”

Socks were truly magnificent; there was even a specific fetish where wearing nothing but socks got you rock hard far better than total nudity. Thinking about it, mermaids were pretty damn pitiable. They couldn’t do sex or socks.

Shrouded in silence from then on, I walked side-by-side with a dissatisfied-looking Mahiro as we headed toward the den of debauchery.

However, when we arrived at the venue and I peeked inside…

“Ahahaa… And yet, the Earth still mooooves…”

Temari was already sprawled out, completely wasted like a mermaid washed ashore.

You absolute idiot, Temari. It’s way too early for you to get crushed. Look at Naegi-san, she’s watching you dumbfounded.