Then I wish you a long and happy life together."
"Wait a minute, you two! Something's not right here!"
Gengping turned around and roared loudly.
"What's wrong? Isn't this the happy college life you've been dreaming of?"
Hachiman looked left and right but couldn't see anything wrong, so he asked Iori.
"Have you noticed anything wrong?"
"No, it's very harmonious." Iori took out her phone from her pocket and pointed it at the two of them. "Come on—cheese."
"You bastard!"
"never mind."
For some reason, the girl suddenly said something listlessly and then hurriedly left, leaving the three of them watching her retreating figure from afar.
"Send me a copy of the photo later."
"You two are inhuman! Delete the photos!"
The three of them were playfully fighting and pinching each other in the bushes when two senior members who happened to be passing by took them back to the activity room.
On-campus activity room
As soon as Hachiman entered the room, he noticed a very jarring spot and pointed incredulously at the various drinks laid out on the table.
Coke, Sprite, oolong tea, marble soda—what's going on?! Why no alcohol? Are they already preparing for tomorrow?
"How come there's no wine?"
Iori was also greatly shocked. Something was wrong! Could it be that the exterior was just a disguise, and they had actually emptied the cans, filling them with extremely strong liquor?
"We still drink beverages occasionally."
Shinji Tokita handed a can of Sprite to Hachiman. Looking at the unopened can, Hachiman pulled the tab, and the burst of carbon dioxide mixed with the sour smell of lime filled his mouth and nose. Yes, this was real Sprite!
"I was so fortunate to taste real oolong tea on a certain day. I will remember this day forever."
Holding the oolong tea, Iori spoke with tears streaming down her face, her sobbing making the two seniors wonder if they had gone too far before.
"Yes, today is truly a wonderful day! The Izu Spring Festival! Happy!"
Kohei picked up a bottle of cola and drank it all in one gulp. It was his favorite drink while staying at home, and he hadn't had it in a long time. The moment the drink entered his mouth, he was trembling all over, and his excitement was no less than, and perhaps even far greater than, that of Iori.
"You're exaggerating a bit too much."
"That's right."
The three chuckled as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day's lesson.
"School's out."
"In other words..."
"What are you waiting for? Bring it up quickly, I want to take a bath in the wine pool!"
The group, who had been peacefully drinking, suddenly transformed into giants, grinning maliciously as they pulled out various alcoholic beverages they had prepared from hidden corners of the room.
In an instant, the room was filled with an aroma of alcohol strong enough to make anyone drunk. This sudden change did not surprise Hachiman; on the contrary, he felt it made more sense.
"Come on, Hachiman, catch this!"
Hachiman instinctively caught the object thrown to him, and when he looked down, he saw it was an empty glass.
What's the meaning?
He didn't understand for a moment. Did he have to pour Sprite into this and drink it?
etc.
Hachiman looked to his left and realized that the can he was holding had disappeared. How could that be? He hadn't felt anything! Just then, he felt that the glass in his right hand was a little heavier. He turned his head and saw that the glass was filled with clear yellow beer.
Wang Defa? How did he do that? There was clearly no one around him.
Hachiman was completely baffled. Just as he was about to scratch the back of his neck to think, he felt a cold sensation on his left hand. Looking down, he saw a can of beer.
"..."
Substituting one thing for another, plus fabricating something out of nothing?
"Which of you brought the Invincible weapon?"
No one answered. Hachiman glanced over and saw the two of them being forced to drink by the rugby club seniors who had just walked in from outside. After downing bottle after bottle of 'oolong tea,' they were like a female protagonist in a hentai anime who had been thoroughly played with, their eyes rolling back in their heads.
No, you can't count on those two.
"I brought it."
"Really? That's great, may I borrow it?"
Hachiman was about to express his gratitude when he heard the voice, but suddenly felt that something was wrong; the voice sounded so familiar.
He turned his head, and Chisa was standing next to him, holding a bottle of wine that was almost as long as her upper body.
"Flawless".
She handed him the bottle of soju, which contained at least four liters, her face expressionless, her voice soft and sweet.
"...You don't mean you want me to drink it, do you?"
Hachiman swallowed hard. This could kill someone.
Chisa didn't answer, but just looked at him with her big, bright eyes and stretched the bottle out of her hand again.
Oh no, she seems really angry.
"Actually, I didn't mean to do that. They forced me to! I actually threw the ball off target several times, but Iori hit it back. And I didn't throw the last ball either."
Chisa remained silent, her soft eyelashes fluttering gently like butterfly wings, her brown eyes reflecting only his image.
"No, no, no, attack." She said slowly, word by word.
"...I won't be polite anymore."
Chapter Forty-Two: The Corpse Monster
"You really drank all four liters of liquor?"
"How could that be? I couldn't take it after only drinking half of it. Fortunately, Chisa didn't really want me to finish it."
"But she looks very serious."
He tossed in a coin, bent down to take a coffee from the vending machine, and took a sip: "She's waiting for you two to come back and drink it."
"Really?"
Iori tossed the cantaloupe-flavored soda to Kohei, while she bought a can of citrus juice. The three of them leaned against the wall, chatting idly.
The crimson light of the maple leaves bathed the world as they gazed together at the distant sunset. Peaceful days always evoke a sense of melancholy, but none of the three spoke, perhaps because tranquil moments are always so hard to come by.
The sound of footsteps echoed as Hamaoka Azusa rubbed her head and walked up to the second floor of the teaching building, appearing before them. She seemed quite troubled, and after greeting the three of them, she couldn't help but sigh.
"What's wrong? Sister Zi, you're unexpectedly late. The party is almost over."
Iori sniffed her sleeves; the smell of alcohol had dissipated considerably.
"Ah, I've run into a tough one."
Hamaoka Azusa recounted what had just happened. She was walking along the street when she ran into the tennis club member who had tried to chat her up that morning. This guy was like a leech, sticking to her like glue, and eventually pinned her against the wall, using incredibly cheesy lines to flirt with her.
"And then?" Kohei asked.
"Then I made up some excuse to send him away to participate in the men's competition. I was able to slip away while he was registering."
Hamaoka Azusa shrugged, looking quite helpless.
"People with high self-confidence are often like gorillas in heat, overflowing with hormones," Hachiman remarked.
"Oh! That's very well said. As expected of Hachiman." Hamaoka Azusa was pleased to hear such understanding words and gave a thumbs up.
"It's good that you're alright."
"That's right, Iori, aren't you going back to the party?"
"We just escaped."
"Haha, I feel like I missed something exciting." Hamaoka Azusa laughed regretfully, waving as she walked past the three of them. "Well then, I'm going to have some fun."
"Bon Voyage."
"Oh, right!" Hamaoka Azusa turned around, looked at the three of them, and pointed to the corner by the stairs. "There's a strange girl there, is she someone we know?"
"No," Hachiman replied.
When he first arrived, he noticed a noise not far away, so he secretly went over to take a look. It was the heavily made-up girl who had pursued Gengping. She was drunk and lying there, but fortunately she was still somewhat conscious, so he didn't need to worry about anything.
"A strange girl?"
The other two didn't notice; they arrived a little later than Hachiman because the senior members of the rugby club were overly enthusiastic.
"Hmm." Hamaoka Azusa nodded. "Since we're not acquaintances, let's just leave it at that."
After she left, the two looked at Hachiman.
Who is it?
"Didn't Senior Azusa say that she's a strange girl?"
"I'm not surprised at all!"
A voice, clearly tinged with drunkenness, came from around the corner. Dissatisfied with the way he was addressed, he raised his voice in response.
Hachiman stared blankly at the corner. Just now, when Azusa-senpai said you were weird, you didn't argue, but when I spoke so softly, you argued back. Do people have to be so hypocritical?
"That voice sounds familiar?"
Kohei frowned, trying to recall where he had heard that voice before. No, he couldn't remember any female voices other than those of voice actors.
In order to find out, he took a few steps forward, but Hachiman grabbed his shoulder.
"That's hell, definitely not heaven."
What are you saying?
Kohei was completely baffled. It's just a girl, isn't it? What's with all this talk of heaven and hell? Is this some kind of three-dimensional term for a specific race of modern women?
"He means that something good will definitely happen if you go there. After all, there are succubi in hell, and maybe it's the girl you like." Iori took a sip of orange juice, her expression strange.
"She likes lesbians too?"
He got excited at the mention of Kohei, because he was a fellow countryman. So he broke free from Hachiman's hand and quickly walked to the corner of the stairs. Then the two of them saw his expression freeze like plaster.
"You really don't hold back when it comes to messing with him."
"I didn't expect him to actually fall for it."
This was obviously a lie, but Gengping actually believed it. It seems he hasn't been drinking enough oolong tea.
"Is it that corpse-masking monster?"
"Hmm, what a strange nickname that is?"
"Isn't it a perfect description?"
Iori calmly walked to Kohei's side and watched with him the girl lying on the ground surrounded by empty bottles. She wasn't asleep; her eyes were still open. After hearing the two of them make noise, she only turned her head to look at them and didn't do anything.
"He was completely drunk."
"I'm not drunk."
Yoshihara Aina said angrily, and after seeing Hachiman, she reached out and threw something to him. Iori looked at it and saw that it was a bottle of hangover medicine.
"When did you prepare this again?"
"When I realized I couldn't leave the diving club."
Hachiman put the medicine into his pocket. Well, he was still a little worried beforehand. After all, the other person was a girl, and he was afraid that she might cause trouble if she drank too much. So when he turned around, he pretended that the medicine had fallen out of his pocket and slid down the sloping ground toward her.
It seems she did eat, but the smell of alcohol is still very strong.
"I feel like such a failure."
Yoshihara Aina sat up, burying her head in her knees. Her muffled voice reached the ears of the three of them. Hachiman, who often played RPG games, knew that this was a scene dialogue being triggered.
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