Chapter 53: The Unexpected Power of Alcohol

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“Why the hell are you already wasted, hey, Temari!!”

The moment I stepped into the venue, all unnecessary worries flew right out of my head. Naturally, there was no way Temari could give a crisp, coherent answer.

Naegi-san looked worried as she acted as a makeshift chaperone by her side.

“U-Um, you see, a bunch of people kept pouring her drinks saying ‘Congratulations on coming of age!’, and she couldn’t refuse, so she drank at a crazy fast pace and just like that…”

“That’s textbook alcohol harassment. You should’ve stopped her, Naegi-san.”

“Sorry…”

Did the option to refuse alcohol even exist in Temari’s head?

Well, even if rejecting goodwill was tough, the percentage of genuine goodwill that was ‘purely celebrating Temari’s coming of age’ in the hearts of the people around her was probably less than ten percent.

Were they just having fun with it, or were they planning to get her wasted and drag her home…

Ah, Yoshizaki-san on the other side was flashing a wicked smile. It was definitely the latter.

“Glaaaaaaare!!”

“Whoa, eyes like a cannibalistic hamster.”

“…Did you say something?”

“Nope, nothing.”

Sure enough, Yoshizaki-san had me in check.

Was he telling me not to snatch his prey, Temari? But well, as long as Temari wasn’t dragged off to a private room, things could be managed. The party had just started, so it certainly wasn’t time to panic yet.

“…By the way, I haven’t seen your face before. Who are you?”

Oops. Since I had absolutely zero acquaintances here, it couldn’t be helped that some random handsome guy called me out. However, I was a man who believed in being prepared. I had come up with an excuse just for this occasion—

“U-Um! H-He’s my boyfriend. He looked a bit worried when he heard I was joining a drinking party, so I thought we could come together…”

“What did you saaaaay!?”

“Bwuh.”

Hey, Mahiro, don’t say unnecessary s**t!

First of all, who the hell is the boyfriend?

Who did you think you were, Darenogare? Even Akemi, I, and the guy who asked the question were completely shocked.

“E-Eh!? Mahiro-chan, you have a boyfriend!? It’s a lie, it’s a liiiieee!! Just the other day you said ‘I don’t have a boyfriend’!! You did!! Aaaaghhhh!!”

See, just like this… just like, this…?

“…Naegi-san, I have a quick question. Could it be that this guy screaming in absolute despair is…”

“Yeah, he’s the one who’s been desperately hitting on Mahiro-san.”

“Ah…”

I looked with pity at the man weeping bitterly, completely crushed by the tragic news that barged in without even knocking, but then reconsidered.

Well, whatever.

This technically solved the issue regarding Mahiro. Thanks to that, I could throw all my energy into keeping an eye on Temari’s movements.

However, that relief was short-lived.

The man, who should have been at the absolute rock bottom of despair after learning Mahiro had a boyfriend, suddenly stood up and shoved a bottle of Chamisul straight into my mouth.

“Mmph!?”

“Unforgivable! The very existence of Mahiro-chan’s boyfriend is unforgivable! At the very least, get wasted before you go home!! Did you do it already!? You did it, didn’t you!? With a girlfriend that beautiful, it was ‘ahh’ within two minutes of dating, wasn’t it!? Hell, you probably conquered every single hole she has, huh!?”

“Mmgghgagh!”

“By my estimation, Mahiro-chan is a pure, untainted virgin!! You, the b*****d who conquered her front, back, and top mouth, covering her in your genes, are at the very top of my hit list, so rejoice! Even if there is true love between you two, I will never acknowledge itttttt!!”

“M’dellih yoo m’nod hew boyfwend ah all, ah haven’ dushed hew ah all!”

“I have no f*****g clue what you’re saying even if you’re bragging! Hey, bring the next round of booze!!”

My words were definitely not getting through to him. Or rather, I was under twenty and legally couldn’t drink yet, so what the hell was I supposed to do here?

It turned out Mahiro was surprisingly popular, as bottles of alcohol were brought over one after another as if to support this guy, and I was relentlessly forced to drink.

Before I could even throw a punch, I was suffocating…

Ah, the world is spinning… Temari was telling the truth… But, I can’t afford to collapse just yet… From Yoshizaki-san’s evil clutches, I have to… save Temari… ………… …… Chirp, chirp.

“…Hm?”

I woke up alongside a terrible headache, the likes of which I had never experienced in my entire life. My memories were completely blown away.

I want to vow to never, ever drink alcohol again.

******

The very first thing that jumped into my vision when I opened my eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling. At the very least, it wasn’t the familiar ceiling where I had memorized the exact number of stains.

“Where am I? Here…”

The mutter slipped out unintentionally, and I looked to my right to assess the current situation.

“！？！？！？！？”

I hurriedly suppressed the scream that was about to burst out.

For some unknown reason, the person breathing softly in her sleep on my right, looking slightly sick and wearing absolutely no clothes, was none other than Sakuma Temari.

What the hell is this!!

Keeping that Yusaku-level scream confined within my brain, I next checked my left side.

“Nn…”

“Fhdwfhowefr3ufrofgvrekfujik!”

This time, I genuinely couldn’t suppress my voice. On my left was Mahiro, who was also not wearing any clothes!!

This is way too f*****g unexpected!!

I instinctively bolted upright, yanked back the sheets covering us, and timidly checked inside. …………

I’m not wearing any clothes either!!

Even though my boxer briefs were still on—the final bastion of defense—I was practically naked!

As for Temari and Mahiro, they were completely naked!

Buck naked!!!

My intoxication vanished in an instant, but my headache somehow felt even worse.