"Do you really want another one?"
"Yes, fill it up!"
Meari had a drunken smile on her face. Whether it was the alcohol giving her courage or not, she reached out both hands and touched Ayanokoji's face, teasing him: "Come on, sit down and drink with me..."
This guy... Ayanokoji shook his head speechlessly, poured her a low-alcohol rum, and also poured one for himself.
Meari said she wasn't drunk, but she sat down and hadn't had many sips before suddenly collapsing onto the bar.
At this moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had just brought his glass to his lips.
..."
Helplessly, Ayanokoji had no choice but to put down his glass, help Meari to a sofa booth to lie down, while he sat opposite her, drinking and reading.
Time passed without realizing it, and the other two groups of matches in the first half had also ended.
After concluding the morning's matches, several subordinates of Ikishima Midari and the host Yumemi Yumemite left after greeting Kurume Laiwei, Hanatemari Kazura, and Togakushi Yukimi. The three of them then pushed open the door and entered the Cooking Room.
"Everything is already prepared! I've always wanted to try bartending!"
Looking at the bar full of alcohol, Kurume's eyes lit up, and she curiously fiddled with the bartending tools, even pulling Togakushi Yukimi, hoping she would be her first customer.
Hanatemari Kazura placed the Captain Dragonfly she was holding on the bar in the Cooking Room. After looking around, she found Ayanokoji sitting in a booth, and Meari sleeping on the sofa opposite him.
Hanatemari Kazura's expression tightened, and she quickly came to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's side, anxiously asking, "What happened to Meari?"
"Don't worry, she's just drunk." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka closed his book: "You came at a good time, take her back to your dorm."
"Is she really just drunk?"
Hanatemari Kazura helped Meari up, looking suspiciously at Ayanokoji: "Ayanokoji, you wouldn't intentionally get Meari drunk to make a move on her, would you?"
"Don't wrongly accuse me. I didn't expect her alcohol tolerance to be so bad."
Ayanokoji shrugged helplessly, looking at Hanatemari teasingly: "Besides, if I wanted to make a move on Meari, there's no way I'd let you know."
Hanatemari's face flushed. She clearly didn't want to recall that day.
"Didn't we agree not to mention it...?" Hanatemari said with a red face.
"You were the one who brought it up first, weren't you?" Ayanokoji rolled his eyes.
He was kindly protecting Meari and letting her rest here, but in Hanatemari's eyes, he was a bad person who deliberately got her drunk to "pick up a corpse"? What kind of image did he have in her heart?
On the other side, Kurume's drink was also mixed.
She didn't know any cocktail recipes or proportions, but simply poured the alcohol by intuition. Although the drink she finally mixed looked good, Togakushi Yukimi really didn't have the courage to try it.
Togakushi Yukimi was thinking about how to refuse to drink this glass when she suddenly noticed Meari lying on the sofa and couldn't help but ask, "Hanatemari, what happened to Meari?"
"Meari drank a bit and fell asleep."
Hanatemari glared at Ayanokoji, then smiled normally at Togakushi Yukimi: "Togakushi, Kurume, you two go eat lunch. I won't be going."
"Alright then." This gave Togakushi Yukimi an excuse. She quickly pulled Kurume out of the bar: "Kurume, let's go eat quickly, I'm starving!"
"What about the drink I mixed?"
"We'll talk about it when we get back..."
The two hurriedly left the Cooking Room. Hanatemari Kazura wanted to pick up Meari, but she wasn't strong enough, so she had to look at Ayanokoji.
"Ayanokoji, can you help me carry Meari to my dorm?" she requested softly.
"You're not worried about me making a move on Meari now?" Ayanokoji teased deliberately.
..."With me here, I won't let you make a move on Meari." Hanatemari said seriously: "If you want to make a move on Meari, you'll have to get past me first."
Ayanokoji raised an eyebrow. Did that mean she was willing to sacrifice herself for Meari again?
Girl, you shouldn't say such things.
Of course, Ayanokoji didn't say that out loud.
"Then I'll help you out."
Ayanokoji stood up, pulled the sleeping Meari up, and carried her on his back.
Meari was considered tall among girls, but she was still very light, and it was effortless to pick her up.
She didn't wake up in her sleep, perhaps sensing something, but she voluntarily wrapped her arms around Ayanokoji's neck, rubbed his back, and continued to snore.
"Luna, I'm going out for a bit, will you be okay here alone?"
Ayanokoji turned to ask Yomotsuki Runa, who was still playing a game.
"Don't worry, I won't steal anything from you!" She was in the middle of an intense game and didn't even turn her head, merely dropping this light remark.
"I'm not afraid of you stealing anything, but don't touch Captain Dragonfly. If you want to play, wait until I get back. If you break it, you won't be able to afford to pay for it even if you sell yourself."
Ayanokoji wasn't afraid of her stealing, but he was afraid this mischievous child would dismantle the Dragonfly Captain Robot.
Although the instruction manual left by the system included a warranty card, which seemed to allow for repairs at a certain location, Ayanokoji didn't want to gamble on that possibility, so he still cautioned her.
"I know, I'm not a child! Hurry up and go, I promise not to touch your robot!" Luna waved her hand dismissively.
Ayanokoji carried Meari to Hanatemari's dormitory, with Hanatemari naturally following closely behind.
So, in this Cooking Room, only Yomotsuki Runa remained.
After an intense game ended, Yomotsuki Runa didn't start a new one. Instead, she stood up and scanned the room, finally focusing her gaze on the bar counter.
"Hmph, you all treat me like a child, but I'm going to show you that I'm an adult!"
She leaped lightly from the sofa like a rabbit, her eyes red as she approached the bar counter...
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka originally intended to see her all the way through, but when he delivered Meari to the girls' dormitory building, he was stopped by the dorm matron, who wouldn't allow Ayanokoji, a male, into the girls' dormitory.
Hanatemari alone couldn't carry Meari. Fortunately, they met a girl at the dormitory building who knew Hanatemari, and the two of them together carried Meari upstairs.
There was nothing Ayanokoji could do but watch them go upstairs; he returned the way he came.
He had wanted to see what Hanatemari's room looked like, but now that wasn't possible.
On his way back to the Cooking Room, he stopped to buy lunch for himself and Yomotsuki Runa. When he returned to the Cooking Room, Kurume Laiwei and Togakushi Yukimi had already returned.
The two of them had their backs to Ayanokoji, whispering and discussing a girl who was sprawled on the bar counter.
"What happened?" Ayanokoji greeted them.
"Ayanokoji, you're just in time!"
Kurume, as if seeing a savior, quickly pulled Ayanokoji over, looking anxious: "What should we do? Yomotsuki Runa drank the cocktail I mixed, and now she's completely passed out!"
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