The Story of Becoming a Drinking Friend When I Saved the Cutest Senpai in University

As the end credits rolled with some cheap music playing in the background, we took a moment to catch our breath.

We sat deep on the sofa as we looked up at the ceiling.

There are two breaths in a small room. With a slight movement, the tip of my left little finger touches her hand and it feels comfortable and soft.

“Hah, that was fun. I’ve never laughed like this before.”

“That’s too much to say. It wasn’t that great of a movie.”

“When I’m at home or in front of everyone, I have to be a good girl. I think this is the first time in kindergarten that I laugh with my mouth open.”

Being in kindergarten means that she has been playing the ideal girl for more than 15 years.

I didn’t know she had been acting for such a long time, and I was so shocked that I suddenly sobered up a bit.

While praising her for her greatness, I genuinely felt sorry for her.

I was filled with pointless anger, wondering why the people around her hadn’t realized it sooner.

I spent six years in elementary school on the side of justice, but senpai spent more than double that.

I can’t imagine how much stress she has accumulated under the beautiful smile that she’s been behaving to everyone.

“Itomori-kun, let’s make a toast.”

“W-what? All of a sudden?”

“Just go with it. Come on, you have to drink the alcohol I poured.”

I ran out of cola, so I’ll have carbonated water instead.

The amber whiskey fades and a highball with a color similar to that of senpai’s eyes is completed.

“…You were just thinking something strange. About me.”

“Huh? Oh, um…”

“You don’t have to cover it up. I’m good at reading people’s faces.”

She lifted the cup and handed me one.

With a warm cheek, she made a refreshing sound as we clinked glasses and said “Cheers.”

“I’m not saying who’s to blame. I think it’s a natural price to think about how much money I have and how much comfort I have in many places. The noblesse oblige… is it?”

She had a highball in her mouth and made a gulping sound.

She wiped her wet lips with her tongue and let out a breath of drunkenness.

“…But thank you. Itomori-kun is really nice.”

As she spoke, she sat on the sofa cross-legged.

Because of its soft material, her body’s axis naturally becomes unstable. She swung slightly from right to left and eventually leaned towards me.

“…!?”

Oh gosh.

Her small head rested on my shoulder, and at the same time, a fresh smell of shampoo and alcohol tickled my nose. Her close-up hair seems to have grown out of pure gold, and her beauty is so beautiful that I can’t even speak.

“I found another place I like.”

She said, looking at me while showing her teeth.

Her body temperature rises due to alcohol, and the sweat particles that ooze out slip smoothly through the ceramic skin and disappear into the tempting area of her chest.

Both this situation and those lines are too stimulating for me.

I drink up the highball in one gulp to prevent the collapse of my rationality.

“Y-you’re too close! Did you forget that I’m a guy…?!?”

“But I’m cute. Aren’t you happy?”

“I don’t care now whether you’re cute or I’m happy—”

“You mean I’m not cute or you’re not happy?”

“…Ah! Y-you are cute, and I am happy!”

I was forced to say unfamiliar words, and I was in agony of shame.

On the other hand, senpai makes a deliberate and shy gesture and hides her chest with her arms.

“What? A-am I being flirted with?”

“Please don’t say such troublesome things!?”

She squinted her eyes and smiled mischievous.

Her eyes were completely drunk.

“I’m drunk now. I can’t help it because I’m drunk.”

“Hold on! Where are you touching… Ah, ahahahaha!”

“Your weaknesses. You have a weak side, you little one!”

“Stop! No! Hahaha, ahahahahaha!”

I was tickled in the side and tried to stop her, but I couldn’t muster the strength to resist fully as I feared that if I really fought back, I might hurt her.

Furthermore, moving around while drinking makes the effects of alcohol hit faster.

I lost the energy to resist the alcohol-specific floating feeling, and senpais returned to her original position and breathing heavily, perhaps because she was tired.

“…Do you want another drink?”

“…Then I’ll make it for you this time.”

I used up all the carbonated water I had bought and made two bowls of highball.

The whiskey is still there, but this is probably the last time for tonight.

“I didn’t know it was so much fun to drink. My head and body are so puffy that I think I’m going to fly away.”

“…I’ve been drinking alone for so long that I didn’t know it was so much fun to drink with someone. Perhaps I don’t feel like drinking alone anymore.”

I’ve never had emotional instability tonight.

A feeling of despair and impatience that comes at a moment’s notice. The desire and anxiety are reflected in the sun and overshadowed by senpai’s warmth.

It was just pure enjoyment, happiness, and fun.

I drink not to escape from reality, but to have a good time.

“Hmm. That’s because Itomori-kun is drinking with me.”

“…That’s a lot of confidence. Well, I can’t deny it.”

It’s just a delusion of grandeur when ordinary people say that, but she says it’s very incredibly convincing.

“I’d like to say that at least once…”

I sighed and took a sip of the highball.

As soon as I went to a private junior high school with no acquaintances away from my hometown, my golden age came to an end.

However, I didn’t want to go back to elementary school, but I’m still depressed by the fact that I just took advantage of my father’s reputation. Unlike her, there is nothing attractive about me.

Just as a slightly dark mood began to sprout…

Senpai’s hand gently touched the area around my groin, and I nearly spat out what was in my mouth.

I managed to swallow it, and this time she whispered sweetly in my ear, “Nope!” and made my whole body become hot as if it had caught fire.

“If Itomori-kun becomes like me, you’ll make a lot of friends and I won’t be able to monopolize you. That would be a problem.”

“No, I won’t become like that, and I can’t.”

“But isn’t it possible that a lot of people will show up like, ‘I was saved by Itomori-kun when I was in elementary school?’ If that happens, you’ll be popular all at once.”

“I’m a university student now, and it’s too late for that. Besides, I’m far from my hometown, so it’s impossible.”

After saying it all, senpai muttered, “I see,” and drank up the highball.

She exhaled her breath with the smell of wine and looked at me with a mysterious heat in her eyes.

“…I’m glad.”

She drew with her lips a smile reminiscent of the overwhelming winner and peeped into her white sharp teeth.

“I’ve never experienced having friends taken away from me. If that happened, I… don’t know what I’d do.”

The volume of her voice herself is as small as a bird’s chirping.

But it was as powerful as the roar of a lion.

No matter who stands in the way, she will definitely win.

Her expression, which clearly tells her that she was born under the stars of constant victory, gives me a feeling similar to fear, and at the same time, her strength makes my heart flutter.

…Why did my heart flutter?

Don’t take it seriously, she’s just drunk.

Even as I tried to rein in my self-control, I couldn’t help but be captivated by her smile and how close she was. I desperately think of my younger sister’s face and counteract it to avoid any sinful thoughts.

“Oh… Itomori-kun, do you have any more carbonated water?”

“That’s all I had. Shall I run to the convenience store to buy more?”

“That’s too bad,” she shook her head and looked down at her watch.

It was before eleven o’clock in the night. It’s been almost three hours since senpai came.

“…I got in trouble for getting home too late yesterday, so I think I should head back soon.”

She said with genuine regret as she took out her smartphone, and sent a message somewhere.

She must have called for a ride as she did yesterday.

“Thank you for today. It’s no exaggeration to say that I had the most fun of my life.”

“That’s too much to say. There’s nothing but cheap drinks in such a dirty, small room for a guy.”

“I don’t care if it’s expensive or cheap. If I can be with someone I like.”

She gave me a melted look, and I swallowed hard.

I cleared my throat and stared at senpai with half-closed eyes.