After Ren successfully finished her conquest of Itsuka-kun, the location changed from the pool to somewhere else.
That new place was none other than a cocktail bar.
In the upscale-looking bar, musicians who must have been hired sometime before were playing soft classical music.
And everyone was dressed accordingly, in dresses instead of swimsuits.
Seeing that they even prepared something like this made me realize once again that [Fraxinus] was an organization with absurd amounts of money.
"Wow! Uncle! What’s that place?"
"Ah, that’s a bar. You can go there when you’re an adult."
Rio was seeing a cocktail bar for the first time, so her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
She looked so cute that I let out a snort before I knew it.
[Hey, hey, hasn’t the mood changed quite a bit from just now?]
Itsuka-kun looked around at the changed atmosphere and said that.
Well, it would be weird if he didn’t find it strange that the location had suddenly changed from a pool to a cocktail bar.
[If you stay on the beach too long, you’ll get bored, right? From here on out, it’s adult time. Elegant time.]
"You’re not adults to begin with, though...."
I reflexively shot back at the commander’s words.
No, seriously, why was that?
Other than the crew members, there wasn’t a single adult here.
I was technically an adult too, but since my official status was high school student, I couldn’t exactly count as one.
More than that, it was ridiculous hearing the commander, who was only a middle schooler, say something like that.
If Ren had said it, maybe I could have accepted it....
"Well now, I should have done that too."
"Ren!"
"Ren?"
Speak of the devil, and Ren appeared—except instead of being over there, she had returned to [Fraxinus].
"Why are you here?"
"My body has returned to normal, after all. My angel has recovered to a fair degree too, and I heard help was needed."
"Ah, that."
If Ren was needed, it would probably be for summoning my shadow.
But there was one thing that bothered me: Ren had only been able to summon shadows because Samael had put up a barrier.
Now that Rinne had been sealed, her angelic power had weakened, and all [Eden] could do was generate light bullets.
There was no guarantee Ren would be any different.
"I can tell what you’re worried about, but don’t. Samael’s abilities are still alive to some extent."
Reading the unease on my face, Ren shrugged and told me how much of Samael was still functioning.
The most fundamental ability, the one that granted wishes, was gone, but summoning branches to attack and erecting barriers were still intact.
Inside that barrier, it could absorb spirit waves.
In a way, you could say it had become an ability with a flavor similar to the castle that eats time, in terms of concept.
However, it only absorbed spirit waves, so my souls apparently wouldn’t work, and even shadow summoning was limited to one person.
Still, transferring souls could be done through the Fire Keeper, and all I needed for the plan was one shadow, so the restriction was meaningless.
"That’s a relief."
"Yes, it is a relief that Higakieta won’t be kissing Shido."
While we were both nodding, relieved, the commander’s conquest of Itsuka-kun was already nearing success.
[Ladies, if you look away, you’ll be changed before you know it, you know? Got it, big brother?]
Ta-da-da-daa~!
"As expected of the commander! Clear~!!!"
I didn’t really understand what she said, but the moment the commander leaned against Itsuka-kun and called him big brother, he was done for.
Well, that much was understandable.
"Ugh...!!"
I just couldn’t bear to watch the commander acting like that.
"Ahaha! Looks like Higakieta doesn’t really like seeing Kotori like that."
Was my reaction that funny?
"No, honestly, it’s just so different from how she usually is...."
It was a complete 180 from the commander’s usual charisma—or whatever you’d call it—so the psychological aversion was huge.
You could say it was the kind of thing people describe as disgusting.
It was on the same level as seeing Gyeongsik act cute.
"Ugh, that’s seriously gross."
Thinking about it that way made it even grosser.
"Um, Mr. Kannazuki."
While I was suppressing my gag reflex at the commander’s appearance, Miss Maria called out to Mr. Kannazuki.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Including Shido, everyone over there is a minor. Is it really okay for them to drink?"
Indeed, Miss Maria’s concern was a valid one.
If those minors ended up drinking alcohol, who knew what would happen.
One of them was even in a rampage state.
However, those worries were apparently unnecessary, because Mr. Kannazuki snapped his fingers and said,
"Ah~ You don’t need to worry about that! The drinks over there are non-alcoholic!"
"...Right. As if we’d actually prepare alcohol."
"I see."
At Mr. Kannazuki’s and Ms. Murasame’s answers, Miss Maria and the rest of us listening nodded.
Good. So it wasn’t alcohol.
"Anyway, next is... Tobiichi, I guess."
The conquest had already reached its final stretch before we knew it.
If Tobiichi’s turn now and Tohka’s turn after that went smoothly, we’d move on to the final stage: the kiss.
[Hey, next is Origami, huh.]
[Shido!]
[No alcohol?]
Itsuka-kun said that and looked at the drinks behind Tobiichi.
We knew they were non-alcoholic, but he didn’t, so that was probably why he reacted like that.
[No problem. It’s non-alcoholic.]
At Tobiichi’s answer, Itsuka-kun nodded as if he understood.
But then....
"Earlier, didn’t Miss Origami put some kind of powder in it?"
"I saw that too."
I had seen Tobiichi add something to the non-alcoholic drink before Itsuka-kun arrived.
What on earth had she put in it?
"Could it be an aphrodisiac!? If so, I’d like some too...."
"Miku, I’m really curious about your mindset...."
Tobiichi might have been capable of that, but to think of aphrodisiacs the moment she saw that.
Was she really a Japanese idol?
"Marina-chan, what’s an aphrodisiac?"
"Hmm, it’s nothing. I’ll tell you when you’re older."
Marina dodged Rio’s innocent question about what an aphrodisiac was.
Thanks to Miku, Rio had learned a strange word.
"I really need to cover that mouth."
"Then cover it with a kiss!"
"...What am I even supposed to say to that?"
Shoving Miku away as she leaned in, asking to be covered with a kiss, I looked at the screen and saw Tobiichi hesitating for a moment.
Before I knew it, there were two drinks.
[It’s become impossible to tell.]
[What has?]
[Nothing.]
"So it really is a random draw."
Who would take the drink Tobiichi had put something into?
In the end, the situation had become a pure gamble, and the two of them each lifted a glass and spoke at the same time.
[Cheers.]
Clink
The glass rims touched with a clear chime, and the two of them took a sip from their drinks.
[Mm... definitely non-alcoholic.]
Itsuka-kun was certain it was non-alcoholic because he didn’t feel any buzz after drinking it.
But Tobiichi’s condition was a little strange.
"Uh, why’s that one turning red?"
Her face was getting redder and redder.
"Hey, that wording is a little weird."
"That’s a slightly controversial statement."
"Enough nonsense, look at Miss Tobiichi’s face."
I thought my own wording was a little weird too, but I brushed that aside and pointed at Tobiichi on the screen.
"Looks like she’s drunk?"
"Didn’t they say it was non-alcoholic?"
I hadn’t seen wrong—her face really had turned red.
They said it was non-alcoholic, so why?
"Could it be powdered alcohol?"
"Wow...."
I’d been wondering what she put in it, but it seemed to be powdered alcohol.
Tobiichi really was Tobiichi.
Admiring the fact that some things never changed, I focused on the screen, and Tobiichi leaned against Itsuka-kun.
[What’s wrong, Origami?]
[Itsuka-kun... why are you so cool~?]
"I-Itsuka-kun...?"
"...Looks like it’s Origami from back then."
As I was puzzled by the suddenly changed way of speaking, Ms. Murasame quickly came to a conclusion beside me.
If she said Origami from back then, she probably meant the time when history was altered and her personality split apart.
So she was still split?
And alcohol brought that side out?
[You... are you Origami from back then?]
Itsuka-kun also noticed which Tobiichi this was from the changed way of speaking.
[That sort of thing doesn’t matter~]
While Itsuka-kun was flustered by the sudden appearance of another personality, Miss Tobiichi pressed even closer to him and continued speaking.
[When I think about Itsuka-kun, I get all fluffy and soft and....]
"Tch. This looks dangerous."
She kept talking, but something about the situation felt dangerous.
Tobiichi had already been openly showing her feelings for Itsuka-kun all along, but now she was drunk too, and another personality had surfaced, so she was showing even more.
And since she was wearing such a thin dress, her curves would be easy to feel too.
[But it’s also a little sad... Itsuka-kun, I like you.... I really like you...! I like you so much I don’t even know what to do anymore!]
Ta-da-da-daa~!
In other words, this was the perfect situation for Itsuka-kun to be conquered.
I said it was dangerous because if Miss Tobiichi came to her senses later, she’d probably be dying of embarrassment.
"A split personality... Yuzuru, should we try it too?"
"Lecture. Kaguya, please stop saying weird things."
"Ah, why not? It’s good!"
Seeing Tobiichi put on a split-personality performance, Kaguya apparently got hooked on the idea and clung to Yuzuru.
It was the same as always, so everyone was looking at the screen instead of paying attention to them, but maybe it was just my imagination that Kaguya looked oddly pitiful.
"Then that leaves just one person, right?"
While I was watching the Yamai sisters, Natsumi came up beside me and asked.
"Huh? Ah, yeah, I guess so."
Only one remained now.
Tohka.
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