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CHAPTER 27 – SECRET TALK AT THE INFIRMARY [1]
For the whole week, they actually made me eat at the cafeteria. Despite my refusals, they always dragged me away, so it was all in vain. And for some reason, the number of people gathering in the cafeteria increased, which the cafeteria ladies thanked me for. Yup, I have no idea what’s happening.
「There’s no shortage of stories about you this year.」
「I’m just being dragged along.」
I’m currently at the infirmary. For one whole week, I’ve been focusing on myself and have ignored the principal’s request, so I thought it might be best to start moving now. Well, there are other reasons too.
「Teacher Saeki. Would you come along for free alcohol?」
「Obviously, I will.」
Isn’t that the part where you at least asked why? Since she answered yes immediately, I don’t need to worry about how to go about inviting her anymore.
「Do you have any concerns regarding the host?」
「I can’t say for sure until I meet them. With alcohol involved, some people just turn completely different after all.」
Well, that’s true. It isn’t rare for there to be docile people who completely change after a few drinks. Now whether it’s for good or bad, there’s no way to tell. Clingy drunks are annoying.
「Do you have any place you want to go? I’m not too knowledgeable, you see.」
「Are you the one arranging this?」
「For some reason, yes.」
Who would imagine that there would be a highschool girl getting a reservation for a pub. Even I am aware that this could turn out bad, but there shouldn’t be any issues as long as I reserve via call. Actually, it’s a big issue, huh.
「That’s dangerous, seriously. I’ll reserve the location instead. There’s this place I’ve been wanting to visit again.」
「Where is it?」
「A pub called Tecchan. I haven’t had the money lately, so it’s been a while.」
Since you probably drink alcohol as much as you shower everyday. They haven’t drank in my room so I have no context on how much she can drink but Akane got that smashed drinking with her, so it’s probably a lot. And then what I’m most curious about, the location. It can’t be.
「Um, do you know the name of the owner?」
「Ooishi Kurasuke, if I’m not wrong. His predecessor was Ooishi Saburo. I can’t really imagine why their pub was named that way.」
Yup, I can’t believe I’m right. It’s a place I know but Kotone doesn’t. Now, if I really think about it, there’s no way she’d know this place where I, who’s changed in both appearance and biological sex, have been before. It’s a pub I’ve frequently been to before I died.
「I hope I’m wrong, but don’t tell me that you’ve been there before?」
「There’s no way a highschooler could go there.」
While I can go there for just the meals on the menu, it’ll be a big issue to go there as Kotone. If I remember, the main star is poultry dishes. They should have some seafood too.
I’ve heard before that there was a customer who went in the red drinking endlessly, maybe that was actually Teacher Saeki.
「When should we go? I still need to gather people, you see.」
「How about Saturday next week? There’s no classes on the next day, so I think it’s good.」
「Understood. Then shall we invite other people now?」
「Don’t invite students. It’ll be hard for me to drink.」
「I’m inviting adults. One pick would be Teacher Kondou.」
「Then it’s fine. Just a warning, but you’re not allowed to drink, okay?」
「I’ll be swigging some oolong tea.」
If I drink in front of the principal, that’s basically a straight road to expulsion. I’m already one move away from getting checkmated after all. Actually, just being seen entering the pub might be bad enough.
The problem here is that the principal was the one who invited me.
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「Still, shouldering the whole bill, there’s quite generous people out there, huh.」
「They’re a real bother for me though.」
「Actually, who is it?」
「It’s something to look forward to on the actual day.」
If I say it’s the principal and they don’t come, there’s going to be tears. From the principal that is.
「Then I won’t ask. Your interpersonal relationships are pretty unpredictable.」
「I know quite a lot of adults after all.」
Just looking at professions, I know a nurse, some teachers, and a cafe owner, that’s a good variety. There’s nothing connecting them at all but, for some reason, this is my web of relations and I have no idea why.
「Would you prefer going with a lot of people?」
「I’ll leave that to you.」
Which means it’s fine even if there’s only a few. I’ve already thought of who to invite but some of them may not join. Still, I can’t ask the owner and Saori for this. Worst, I might have to ask Teacher Kondou or Teacher Saeki to invite other people.
…… Why am I coordinating this again? And now that I think about it, isn’t it bad for me to invite Teacher Kondou to a drinking party? Ethics-wise and appearance-wise.
「Sorry, could you be the one to invite Teacher Kondou?」
「Then I’ll call him here.」
As usual, isn’t Teacher Kondou’s treatment pretty harsh? I can’t really say much about this since I chose him as a non-voluntary sacrifice. Nonetheless, this situation of two teachers and a single student in the infirmary would probably seem pretty sketchy from an outsider’s perspective.
「What is this about?」
「We’re having a drinking party, are you joining?」
「Shizuru, when I drink with you, my pace gets pulled along yours and I just get smashed, you know. Also, why is Kisaragi here?」
「I’m participating too. I have no right to refuse.」
「Who’s hosting this?」
If I say it, nobody might actually come, so I exercise my right to remain silent. At a normal company, it’d be like drinking with the company director. It’d be rude to refuse too, so it gets really awkward. It’s not fun to drink when you’re trying to be considerate.
「So, how about it?」
「I invited you, so you won’t refuse, right?」
「Well, I will join but I’d really prefer if I’m not the only man present.」
「No need to worry. The other one is a man too. Why don’t we invite one more? It’s a bit uneven, since I’m not drinking.」
「That’s true, but since you’re involved, it’s a bit hard to find someone else willing to join.」
Come to think of it, I have a bad reputation amongst the teachers too. Besides that, there are some that would find me, a highschooler, being involved to be an issue, so we’re going to need someone tight-lipped. I’ll leave the hushing up to the principal.
「How about Cathy? You two are close, right?」
「Rather than close, her excessive skinship has been bothering me.」
She’s an English teacher with blond hair and a glamorous body. However, she’s born and raised in Japan, so she has perfect Japanese. One time she called me when the class ended and when I answered back, she suddenly hugged me.