Tokyo: Oreimo

This was the first time he had ever tasted this kind of drink in his life. He couldn't remember ever getting drunk this quickly, even when he drank strong liquor.

He had just drunk three bottles of beer in the banquet hall, and before he had even finished the third one, his vision started to blur.

"Why don't you go relax for a while? It'll be boring staying here."

Ryosuke looked at Hououin Saori and noticed that the beauty was also staring at him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Why do I have this bad feeling?

The other person leaned closer, their warm breath wafting towards me, carrying a faint fragrance.

Saori rested her cheek on his shoulder, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him.

"Let me tell you a secret, Shi Yuze."

"Ok?"

"Actually, as long as I'm with the person I like, I'll never feel bored, no matter when."

Thump... thump... thump...

As the night breeze blew by, Ryosuke felt his heart pounding rapidly.

The heartbeat was so loud and rapid, it felt like it was going to burst my chest.

He instinctively tried to back away, but the back of his head hit a pillar, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

Saori's eyes were so close, reflecting the moonlight and the warm glow of the corridor lanterns, as if tiny specks of stardust were swirling within them.

Her breath gently brushed against his chin, carrying a hint of plum wine sweetness. She had also drunk some tonight, but her alcohol tolerance was clearly much better than his.

"Stop making jokes like that..." Ryosuke heard his own voice tighten, as if someone was choking him.

"I'm not kidding..." Saori blinked, her voice as soft as a night breeze. "Or... should I be more direct?"

Her hand had somehow landed on the back of his hand, which was resting beside him; her fingertips were slightly cool and soft to the touch.

The moment they made contact, Ryosuke felt something explode in his head with a "buzz".

His gaze became uncontrollable, moving down from her eyebrows and eyes to her slightly pursed pink lips, where a trace of wine clung, glistening moistly under the light.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

Phoenix Inu Saori's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not back away. Instead, she slightly raised her chin and moved slightly to close the gap.

The distance was gradually closing, and she could already smell the youthful scent mixed with the smell of alcohol on him.

The two got closer and closer, and Ryosuke could even see his blurry reflection in her eyes and feel the tip of her nose brush against his nose.

He felt that if he could just take one more small step forward, just one small step...

"DO! DO! DO! Dreaming! Dreaming!"

Suddenly, the banquet hall door was pulled open from the inside, and a girl's clear singing voice, accompanied by karaoke music, poured out.

"Then the door to dreams will open!"

It's Takashiro Ryouno singing.

Ryosuke jolted violently, as if someone had doused him with a bucket of cold water. He sprang back instantly, and the back of his head slammed against a pillar with a thud.

"hiss!"

"puff."

Saori covered her mouth and laughed out loud, her shoulders shaking slightly, and the tips of her ears were faintly red in the moonlight.

Ryosuke covered the back of his head, his face burning hotter than when he was drinking. He didn't dare look at Saori and could only awkwardly turn his head away.

"Um...I..."

"Shigaze." Saori stood up, brushed off non-existent dust from her yukata, and her tone returned to its usual gentle yet slightly teasing tone, "You're not drunk, are you?"

"Huh? Well, I'm more awake now."

Ryosuke was taken aback.

"Really?" Saori tilted her head, touching her index finger to her lips. "Then what were you trying to do just now?"

“…”

He opened his mouth, only to find that he had absolutely no way to answer the question.

Could it be that I wanted to kiss her just now, or was that ambiguous atmosphere just my imagination?

"Heh." Phoenix Inu Saori didn't press the matter, but simply chuckled, picked up the now-cold tea from the tray, and turned to walk towards the banquet hall.

Seeing how easily the other party left, Ryosuke finally realized the truth.

It seems he's been tricked again.

Ryosuke was the only one left in the corridor.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms into my nose in waves.

He looked up at the retro-style lamps hanging from the ceiling of the corridor and let out a long breath.

"This guy, he's never going to stop..."

He raised his hand to touch his burning cheeks and found that his heartbeat had not yet returned to normal.

.....

After resting in the corridor for a while, and waiting until the temperature on his face finally dropped a bit, Ryosuke finished the rest of the tea in his cup in one gulp.

He took a deep breath and pushed the sliding door open.

The light from the banquet hall was dazzling, so he squinted and went inside.

"The president is back!" someone shouted. "Come on, you can't have run away like that, you have to drink a penalty shot!"

"Wait, I really can't drink anymore..." Ryosuke raised his hands in surrender.

The club members laughed. Phoenix Saori sat in the corner, holding a teacup, watching him being surrounded by the crowd.

Her gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on him, meeting his eyes for a second before naturally looking away.

"What a pity, I was just a little bit away from doing it... Saori."

Only then did a blush creep up her face, like a blooming rose.

Chapter 174 You are... my brother (Bonus chapter for monthly votes, no more debts owed!)

The banquet lasted until late at night.

By the time the event ended, it was almost midnight.

From the moment he returned to the banquet hall, he stopped drinking alcohol and substituted fruit juice.

On the other hand, Takashiro Ryouno didn't touch a single other beverage after drinking that first glass of sweet beer until the end of the banquet; she seemed to really enjoy the taste of alcohol.

As a result, she eventually started trying other types of alcohol at the banquet, and basically drank them all.

Unsurprisingly, the guy was drunk and started acting crazy.

"You're such a lightweight! You only lasted three bottles before you were done!"

"Unlike me, I'm very capable, right?"

As the party was about to end, the blonde girl was so drunk that her face was flushed. She reached out and hooked her arm around Ryosuke's neck, clinging to him like an octopus.

"Yes, you can drink the most."

Ryosuke sighed helplessly, holding onto Ryouna who was hanging around his neck with one hand, and trying to pull her off him with the other.

"let go."

"do not want!"

Ling Nai buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled something, but instead tightened her arms around him.

The girl exuded a faint scent of alcohol mixed with beer and plum sake, and the sleeves of her yukata slipped down, revealing a section of her fair arm.

Ryosuke could feel her burning body temperature emanating from through the thin fabric of her yukata; she felt like a piece of mochi freshly pulled from a hot spring, soft and sticky against his body.

The hot breath sprayed onto his neck, giving him goosebumps all over his body.

Why did things develop this way?

This girl has such a bad habit when she's drunk.

This trait is most likely inherited from the father in the Takashiro family.

Even their drunken behavior is exactly the same; when they get drunk and act crazy, they like to hook their arms around people's necks.

"Ling Nai, I can't walk like this."

"Then don't leave! Stay right here!"

"..."

Ryosuke looked up and saw Phoenix Inu Saori standing to the side, arms crossed, a smile playing on her lips, looking like she was watching a good show.

"Aren't you going to help?" he asked, giving him a pleading look.

Saori tilted her head. "I was going to help you earlier, but your sister didn't seem too keen."

As she spoke, she reached out her hand to Ling Nai.

"I don't want you! I don't like the Giantess!"

Ling Nai suddenly raised her head, staring at Phoenix Inu Saori with blurry, drunken eyes. Her blonde hair was disheveled from the earlier friction, and she still had a wary expression on her face.

"She keeps saying she wants to marry this guy, but I don't agree..."

Before she could finish speaking, she let out a hiccup and buried her face back in her mouth.

Upon hearing this, Phoenix Inu Saori's face flushed slightly, but she still forced herself to remain calm and pretended to be indifferent.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Ryosuke felt genuinely embarrassed, having been teased by the beautiful woman next to him just two hours earlier.

It was a joke we made when we first met more than a year ago, and Ling Nai still remembered it.

A few club members who hadn't gone far were still in the corridor. Seeing this scene, they covered their mouths and chuckled, then wisely quickened their pace and left.