Chapter 50
Kasahara soured the mood at the very start of the mixer, but surprisingly, the bad vibes didn’t persist, and the gathering is progressing in a lively hubbub. I vaguely thought it was remarkable how Kasahara, who would be likely ostracized if she behaved like me, managed to blend in with everyone else.
Come to think of it, I was just enjoying my solo time as usual, whether Kasahara spoils the mood or whatever happens. The only thought in my head was to enjoy the meal worth the participation fee.
“Yamamoto-kun, are you going to eat the fried chicken?”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’ll get it for you.”
After we changed seats, the girl sitting next to me took the effort to put some fried chicken on a plate for me. She even got me two pieces.
“Thank you.”
I said my thanks and was about to call her by her name, but… I couldn’t remember it. At the start of the mixer, we all introduced ourselves. I had even had a brief conversation with her in the university cafeteria while Kasahara was talking, but despite all this, I couldn’t recall her name.
“Irie-chan.”
Kasahara, sitting on the other side of me, immediately came to my rescue.
“Irie-san.”
Without hesitation, I called her by her name.
“No… you can call me Hikari.”
“Alright. Irie-san.”
I was coerced into calling her by her first name. But me, not being accustomed to women, naturally, I called her by her last name.
“Ha ha. Yamamoto-kun, you’re interesting as I expected.”
Despite my behavior suggesting some distance, Irie-san’s response was exceedingly positive. Perhaps she had been prepped about my personality, probably by Kasahara.
“…Is the fried chicken good?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to eat one more?”
“No, everyone else should eat too.”
I said this and looked at the group who had gathered for the mixer, but they were so engrossed in their conversations that they were neglecting to eat. Looking around, I realized that all six people besides Irie-san and me were having a great time chatting.
I felt a bit left out.
“Go on, eat.”
“Alright.”
“Do you like fried chicken?”
“I do. My favorite is beef tongue, though.”
“Oh really, it’s delicious, isn’t it? I like the texture.”
“Hmm. Irie-san, you really know your stuff.”
Then, I spent about five minutes explaining the charm of beef tongue to Irie-san, who seemed to like it. She listened to my story with a smile on her face.
It was a refreshing response.
For example, Kasahara. When she listens to my trivia, she always interrupts halfway through. She probably prefers talking about things she likes rather than listening to topics she’s not interested in.
And then there’s Hayashi. When she listens to my trivia, she obviously isn’t paying attention. She’s not interested. Her attitude oozes disinterest. She’s the worst kind of person.
In contrast, Irie-san probably isn’t interested in my beef tongue trivia, but she doesn’t show any signs of disliking it.
“Irie-san, you should tell me if you don’t want to listen to something, okay?”
Despite the fact that I was enthusiastically sharing trivia and she seemed interested, I pointed out to Irie-san that she should indicate her disinterest. I wondered what perspective I was speaking from. It was something I thought about later.
“There’s nothing like that. I like listening to your trivia, Yamamoto-kun.”
“…Really?”
Her unexpected response confused me. Or rather, it made me worried. It’s better to say you dislike something if you do, right?
… I think I should avoid topics that others might dislike.
“Do you, Yamamoto-kun, workout?”
“Eh?”
“Do you?”
“…Ah, back in high school. I get into things quite a bit.”
“I thought so. I go to the gym quite often.”
“What?”
Back in high school, I went to the gym religiously for a while. I think working out is one of the most productive hobbies in the world. The pleasure of seeing the beauty of the body shaped by exercise was an irreplaceable happiness.
But if you’re wondering why I stopped going to the gym in high school, it’s because I started studying for exams and couldn’t find much time. Once I stopped going, my enthusiasm for weight training instantly cooled off.
Despite appearances, I’m the type to heat up and cool down easily.
But having a fellow gym-goer made me remember the passion I used to have for it.
Our conversation easily took off from there.
“Ah, hey, are you okay, Akari-chan?”
While feeling a warmth on my back, our conversation was interrupted by a voice coming from behind.
Looking behind me, it was Kasahara who was leaning on my back. Her face looked a bit red.
“Eh, are you drunk?”
“Hey, who gave her alcohol?”
The girls said it to the boys, except for me. I was excluded. Probably, because it was clear that the relationship between me and the others didn’t seem very good, I was intentionally left out. Well, they spoke in a way that seemed reproachful, but the girls didn’t seem too angry.
The engineering department party people denied in a flustered manner that they had made her drink.
“Really now. It’d be bad if that got out.”
“Well, yeah, right?”
“Eh, so why then?”
“…Maybe, she got drunk from the smell.”
The girls looked at Kasahara and laughed oddly, and the boys were captivated by Kasahara who seemed to have a low tolerance for alcohol.
So Kasahara can’t handle her booze, huh? That’s a little surprising.
I thought about it. It’s not like I’ve ever drunk with her before. I just thought she was the type who could hold her liquor. To think she gets drunk just from the smell…
“Kinda cute.”
“Ah, emo.”
The guys were whispering some nonsense.
From then on, Kasahara spent the rest of the mixer in this state. With a gentle warmth on my back, I was forced to continue the conversation with Irie-san. Following the flow of the conversation, I ended up exchanging contact details with Irie-san.
“Hey, let’s go to the after-party.”
At the end of the mixer, the guys were inviting the girls to the after-party.
“Ah, sorry. Seeing as Akari-chan is in this state…”
“Ah, yeah. I see.”
The boys were clearly dejected. If the girls were interested in the boys, they would have probably left Kasahara behind and gone to the after-party. The reason they didn’t… tough luck.
“Hey, Yamamoto-kun, can you help look after Akari-chan a bit?”
“Eh, me?”
“Yeah. Among us, you look like the strongest one. I trust you can handle the night road.”
The two other girls besides Irie-san were grinning at me. Come to think of it, they were also the ones who had learned about my relationship with Kasahara in the cafeteria the other day.
…I thought about it for a while.
I had quite a history with Kasahara from our high school days. Honestly, spending time alone with her is very awkward.
However, being alone with her in her drunken state… If I left her alone, Hayashi, her best friend, would likely have a lot to say to me later.
“Alright.”
“Thank you. Please take care of her, prince.”
“Could you not say things that give me the creeps?”
“Ahaha. Well then, take care. Bye bye.”
I took Kasahara from the girls.
“Carry me, Yamamoto-kun.”
“Ah, alright.”
As directed by Kasahara, I carried her on my back.
“…Yamamoto-kun, please take care of Akari-chan.”
“Yeah.”
Irie-san also gave us a glance and left.
The boys didn’t even look at me and quickly left the pub. Probably they were going to another pub, just the guys.
“Yamamoto-kun, you got left behind.”
“It’s because of you.”
“You weren’t exactly friends with them to begin with, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
I had a sparse conversation with Kasahara. I took a brief look at the still noisy pub.
“Let’s go home.”
“Mmm.”
Kasahara’s voice was bright.