The Story of Becoming a Drinking Friend When I Saved the Cutest Senpai in University - Vol 1 Chapter 16

“…Yes?”

“Hold me in your arms and whisper ‘I love you’ in my ear.”

“No, it’s not that I didn’t hear you.”

“Well, then go ahead.”

She opened her arms vigorously.

…Go ahead? That’s not it.

Does she know what she’s saying?

“Um, s-senpai. That’s kind of a bit much.”

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“There’s nothing but a problem! Oh, I love you, we’re just friends…!”

“Then Itomori-kun must not love me. Do you mean there is no friendship?”

“Friendship… oh, I do. But, that’s different…”

“If you have, go ahead. Whisper it in my ear, preferably in a breathless voice.”

For some reason, the order has increased by one.

“Don’t look at anyone but me, and add a bit of wildness.”

The order has increased further.

I’m not a voice actor. What is this wild taste?

…What am I going to do with this? Am I really going to do this?

Well, I’m the one who started it, and I don’t think it makes sense to ask to come up with another plan without doing anything.

“U-understood. I’ll do it. But don’t complain about sexual harassment later on.”

I don’t think that’ll happen, but just in case, senpai nodded with her arms still wide open.

“… Alright, h-here we go.”

Inhale, exhale.

I take a deep breath.

I turned to senpai and put my hand on the back of the sofa.

My eyes met her golden eyes. Although it is inorganic, it is indeed hit by a hot twin, and my body temperature rises all at once.

My sweaty back. In contrast, my desert-dry mouth is tense.

It seemed the same with senpai, and her tongue glistened and lightly traced her glossy red lips. But that movement seemed so mysterious that my heart leaped so fast.

“…Itomori-kun?”

Her call was implicitly saying, “Hurry up!”

I know. I know, but if I can do it quickly, I won’t have to worry.

The last time I hugged someone was more than ten years ago.

I think the other person was my younger sister. I couldn’t hug her unless I was with my family.

…Well, it happened once in elementary school.

Who was it? I forgot their name and face, but it certainly happened only once.

No, no, no. What am I going to do when I’m immersed in memories?

Now I have to focus on what’s in front of me.

“If it hurts or is uncomfortable… p-please let me know.”

I put my right hand around senpai’s waist and my left hand around her shoulder blade.

We are in the same position and embrace each other with all our might.

The sofa creaks with a squeak.

From the next room, I could hear a joyful voice again today.

My chin touched senpai’s shoulder.

It was the first time I had ever been so close to her, and I was suffocated by a lewd smell that stirred my mind, whether it was pheromone or what.

“….”

Senpai’s body trembled.

I relaxed my arm to let go, but on the contrary, she held my clothes tightly.

Is this okay?

I’m not sure, but if she’s not willing to let go, I can’t help it.

Let’s see, what’s next?

Right, the line… Do I really have to say it?

“A, ah… A, ah…”

Get a grip, me.

This is the same as Kaonashi^[1]Kaonashi or No-Face is a character in Spirited Away. If you watch this anime, you know what it looks like..

“I… I love… you…”

When I said it myself, I was surprised at how flat it sounded.

As expected, I can’t do this. Even kindergarten children’s performances would be a little more upright.

Let’s calm down. Let’s be cool.

Friendship, yes, this is friendship. It’s not a confession of love between lovers.

It’s full of wildness while breathing.

Let’s do it. If senpai gets the hang of it and naturally gets back to normal, it will be more fun to be together.

“…I love you.”

I had a handsome actor in my heart and said to the best of my ability.

I don’t care about my face.

What do you think of this…?

I nervously checked senpai’s expression.

What I saw was… nothing. Her face was as empty as when she dropped the noodles into the sink while trying to drain them.

Why!? You’re the one who told me to do it!?

I was about to scream in a boiling sense of shame, but I breathed to calm myself down.

That’s it. If she doesn’t give me one shy face, my hard work won’t pay off.

I’m sure I’ll destroy that iron mask of hers.

“…Alright.”

I hugged senpai again tightly.

Firmly, firmly, and be determined not to let go.

My brain turns pink with the feeling of her big chest, but I bite my lips to drive out my sexual desire.

I don’t care now.

I don’t need anything but to win this battle.

“Senpai—”

Maybe what I lacked earlier was feeling.

I need to recall the days I’ve spent with senpai up until now.

To think about what she really means to me.

Then the words will come out on their own.

“I love you… From now on, please stay with me forever.”

I don’t know if I was breathing.

It may not have been wild.

Nevertheless, this is true.

It’s different from the previous act. I didn’t read the script that way.

Seriously, it’s just my feeling.

◆◆◆

Tennouji’s POV

“… Alright, h-here we go.”

As Itomori-kun said, it would certainly be quite convenient if I could switch between acting and being genuine on my initiative.

This is special training for that purpose… well, I am quite selfish, but I don’t care. With this method, I am confident that I will never be able to continue acting.

Someone I like hugs me and whispers “I love you” in my ear.

I can’t be happier than this. My face will definitely collapse.

“…Itomori-kun?”

Is he nervous?

He said he would go, but there was no sign of him coming, and so I called his name without thinking.

That’s true, isn’t it? Everyone is nervous about this.

…Actually, I don’t like it if Itomori-kun acts like nothing. That would make him some kind of a bad guy.

“If it hurts or is uncomfortable… p-please let me know.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

He’s coming! He’s finally coming!

Itomori-kun’s arm touches my back.

W-what should I do? For now, should I keep it the same way?

“…”

What is this? Wow, this is too much.

I can see that my head is floaty and I’m happy.

I heard that hugging medically relieves stress. I am sure this is it.

…Itomori-kun smells good.

The scent of softener. And the smell of sweat.

It’s comforting. I wish the time would stop like this.

“A, ah… A, ah…”

He seems to be trying his best to say it.

That’s cute. I bet my face must be red right now.

“I… I love… you…”

Oh, that was close!

Not bad at all, but it’s a bit too monotone.

Still, I guess it’s a passing grade.

I don’t want to push him too hard―wait, is he still going to do that? Did he get into it?

“…I love you.”

…..

……..

………..

…Oh, my gosh. He’s a real guy.

My spine was chilling and my lower abdomen was hot.

…But why is that?

His expression didn’t change at all. Actually, for some reason, it’s harder than usual.

Itomori-kun gave me a little hug to check my face.

Under his gaze, the inside of my body gets hotter.

It seemed to melt and become muddy, but I didn’t move a bit outside as if I was frozen.

…Maybe the purpose is to cancel the acting, so am I holding on to it so that I can’t solve it unconsciously?

That seems likely.

In fact, I have never intentionally tried to solve my acting in a sober state. Why would I? I have never had a reason to.

“…Alright.”

Huh? Alright? What’s good about it?

Why is he hugging me again? Is he hugging me tightly?

Wait, wait, wait, I’m having a hard time!!

It’s not that I don’t feel anything, just trying not to show my feelings! I always love Itomori-kun!

“Senpai—”

With a thud.

A sweet sensation ran through my back.

This is bad. This is really bad.

I’m going to explode. He’s going to melt me, boil me, and I’ll just burst from the inside.

“I love you… From now on, please stay with me forever.”

Unlike his earlier realistic act, this had warmth in it.

It’s probably his true feelings.

As soon as I understood it, my body became even hotter.

It’s like pouring boiling water into a balloon that never pops.

It’s swollen, but it’s creaking, and it’s about to burst because of the heat. It would be nice if it could burst, but unfortunately, there is no sign of such a thing, and only pain presses on the chest.

“…What do you think?”

As he spoke, Itomori-kun checked my face again.

In an instant, I push him away and reach for a bottle of whiskey on the table.　

“W-what are you doing?”

I put my mouth on the bottle and gulped it down.

A quarter of the time I put it in my stomach, it snapped, and the switch in lady mode was turned off. My expression crumbled and all the heat that had built up inside me was finally released.

“I love you too! I love you, Itomori-kun! Stay with me forever!”

“W-well, I don’t think it’s meaningful to drink it. What was my hard work for…?”

“Hehe, I’m sorry. As a token of my apology, I’ll give you a big squeeze!”

“No, not really! I’ve already done it!”

“Come on, come on, b**bs! You were thinking how soft they felt while hugging me, right? Itomori-kun, you perv!”

“I-I wasn’t thinking that! Not at all!”

“…You’re not interested in me. You don’t care.”

“N-no, um, I-I’m interested! I’m sorry, I’m really interested…!”

“I knew it! Itomori-kun, I love you!”

At last, I was able to say everything I wanted to say, and I was able to do everything I wanted to do.

…But I am a coward because I still can’t work up the courage to directly ask him out.

Itomori-kun told me “I love you”, but I wished it was “I love you” which was the kind of love I want, not just friendship.