But with the pure-love amulet on her, Hikari didn't have to worry that anything suddenly unsafe would happen to Miyuri while he wasn't by her side.
After all, there was still the pure-love radar and the warning paper-crane monitoring things. If anything came up he could rush to Miyuri's house immediately. Tonight there shouldn't be any issues on Miyuri's end.
Compared to Aunt Miyuri, who was at home right now.
It was Aunt Sayako, running the izakaya all by herself at this hour, who was more worrying.
Hikari opened the pure-love radar.
On the map, next to the pink light representing Sayako, there were two dangerous red lights.
Seeing that, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
———
"Drink! Another one!"
"Come! Come! Come! Drink with us!"
Inside the izakaya Sayako ran, the place was lively and packed.
Maybe it was because the owner, Sayako, was a great beauty, and also a young widow. A lot of men liked coming to support Sayako's business. Sayako, drenched in sweat, was rushing around nonstop.
While carrying drinks and dishes back and forth, Sayako would also glance from time to time at Natsuki Akito, who was sitting at the innermost table.
Before, Akito's house had been very close to Sayako's, basically neighbors. Sayako knew Akito's parents, the two families interacted a lot, so her relationship with him had always been decent.
After putting down a fresh round of beer, Sayako tried persuading the bitter-faced Akito, "Akito, don't drink so much. It's bad for you. I know you're frustrated, but there's no need to punish yourself like this."
Hearing her, Akito just smiled, took a big gulp of beer, then gave a bitter smile and said, "Sayako-nee, you know, I got rejected by Miyuri-nee again today."
"And because I didn't have the courage, I left her behind and ran here alone."
"But can all of this really be blamed on me? What can I do? Kazuto is my older brother. How could I betray him?"
"I really really like Miyuri-nee, but how can I tell my own big brother Kazuto that?"
"If Miyuri-nee likes me too, she should be the one to tell Kazuto and then be with me."
Tipsy, Akito muttered in pain, full of misery and cowardice.
Listening to his complaints, Sayako's thoughts grew tangled.
Akito had just told her what had happened recently.
Basically, he'd just been rejected by Miyuri.
Sayako had never really liked Miyuri much, but on this matter, she actually sided more with Miyuri.
Because she knew Akito wasn't wrong that, as the younger brother, it was hard for him to go to his older brother Kazuto and bring this up.
But as Kazuto's fiancee, how easy did he think it was for Miyuri to go to her fiance and say she wanted to be with her brother-in-law instead?
Besides, wasn't it Akito himself who pushed Miyuri toward Kazuto in the first place?
If you asked her, it still felt like Akito was the one more at fault.
'Sigh!'
This whole nephew-in-law and sister-in-law mess was just a complete tangle.
She thought that, but gentle Sayako of course didn't say it out loud. She only smiled and said, "Then keep drinking if you want, but drink a bit less, okay?"
Then she turned away and went back to her busy work.
Akito didn't pay attention to Sayako's flustered movements at all. He naturally kept drinking the alcohol she brought him, letting the booze numb him and sinking into his own self-pity.
Seeing Akito like this, a flicker of disappointment crossed Sayako's eyes.
They had known each other since long ago, and she had always treated Akito like a younger brother. They got along fine.
But Akito just never grew up. He ran to alcohol every time something went wrong, numbing himself instead of facing things.
Yet another junior she cared about just as much... He used to be just a little brat, and now he was only a high schooler, but he had become strangely mature, giving off a reliable feeling that even she sometimes wanted to lean on.
In her mind, Sayako couldn't help picturing Hikari's young, handsome face with a hint of youthful softness.
'But that kid, he said he'd come hang out at my izakaya tonight. Why isn't he here yet.'
She grumbled in her heart and kept working.
At that moment, a group of middle-aged men stinking of alcohol suddenly walked toward Sayako while she was wiping a table.
The leader was a bald man holding a cup of alcohol.
Sayako quickly asked, "Sirs, is something wrong?"
The bald man smiled, "Nothing at all. We're regulars here, so today we want to ask Manager Sayako to give us some face and drink a cup with us."
Sayako looked troubled, "Ah… this…"
Being a woman running an izakaya alone, she was always cautious, and she knew these men had ulterior motives.
If she actually sat with them and drank, she might get drunk and something could happen.
But just as she was going to refuse, the bald man suddenly said, "Manager Sayako, we're old customers. You're not going to refuse us, right? Just one drink with me. One cup. Isn't that fine?"
Seeing the bald man immediately down his drink, plus the others shouting along, Sayako looked helpless. She poured herself a cup and drank it in one go.
"Is that enough now, gentlemen? Please don't crowd here. I still have to work," Sayako said.
"Eh! Manager Sayako, wait! You drank with Miura-aniki, but you haven't drunk with us! Don't tell me you're looking down on the rest of us? At least have one with each of us before you go!"
Another skinny man suddenly piped up with a grin.
Sayako could see it clearly now. These alcohol-soaked middle-aged men just wanted to make trouble for her, maybe even get her drunk.
What they were planning behind the scenes was probably disgusting.
But with so many people egging her on, it was hard for her to refuse outright.
Her drinking capacity was only average. If she went cup by cup, she'd end up drunk. And once drunk, who knew what could happen.
As they kept pressing in, Sayako turned her head to look toward Akito in the corner, silently pleading.
As a w*man in this situation, she desperately hoped Akito, a man, would step up and help her block the drinks.
As long as a man stepped in to drink in her place, things would be much easier.
But what made her heart sink was that although she clearly saw Akito meet her eyes, he immediately looked away, pretending to be drunk and turned his head.
Sayako's heart dropped, disappointment flashing through her eyes.
As expected, just like before, when something happened, Akito would shrink back again, wouldn't he?
Looking at the group shouting things like "Drink with me!" "Just one drink!" all around her, Sayako froze, not knowing what to do.
At that moment, a voice came from the side.
"Aunt Sayako still has to work. Let me drink in her place."
Suddenly, a not-very-big but completely shielding figure stepped in front of Sayako.
He separated Sayako from the noisy group of men.
Everyone stared, stunned, at the slightly youthful-looking high school boy.
Sayako gasped, "Hikari-kun?"
Hikari turned back and gave her a small smile, "I'm here, Aunt Sayoko."
Sayako first showed surprise, then grumbled, "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you tonight?"
Hikari smiled, "Something held me up. But I'm here now."
"You…", Sayako wanted to say more but was cut off.
"Hey! Where'd this brat come from? Why are you helping Manager Sayako block drinks?"
"Yeah! Move! We're drinking with Manager Sayako!"
"Some high school kid, seriously!"
The men grumbled angrily, trying to push him away.
Hikari turned around and stared at them with a blank expression, "I'm Aunt Sayoko's nephew. If you want to drink, drink with me. If not, get out. Stop causing trouble."
When he'd walked in, he'd already seen them cornering Sayako.
He knew she didn't refuse or snap because she didn't want to hurt business. A woman working alone had it tough.
That was the only reason he hadn't used force yet. Otherwise he wouldn't bother with words.
Hearing him, the bald man frowned, "Oh? A high schooler with some attitude?"
He rolled up his sleeves, pretending he'd throw a punch to scare him.
But Hikari didn't move. He just stared at them calmly.
That calm stare made the bald man uneasy.
He was annoyed, but this was still an izakaya with plenty of customers watching. And Hikari, though young, was taller than him. So the bald man didn't dare make a move.
"Aiya! We're just offering a toast, not causing trouble. Don't misunderstand!"
"Fine, you drink in her place. You!"
The bald man was the first to break the silence and accepted the deal.
Hikari immediately clinked glasses and drank one cup.
But just as he was about to drink the second, a pale soft hand grabbed him.
"No, Hikari-kun, you're too young. You can't drink that much," Sayako held him, trying to stop him.
She was deeply touched by his sudden appearance and his protecting her, a warm feeling blooming inside.
But letting a high school boy drink for her against so many men felt wrong.
Hikari shook his head, gently moved her hand aside, and gave her a reassuring look, "It's fine, Aunt Sayoko. I handle alcohol well. Don't worry."
The bald man, who wanted to teach him a lesson, chimed in, "Yeah yeah! This kid can drink! Let him!"
Looking at the men egging him on, Hikari gave a crooked smile, "Drinking's fine, but doing cups with you one by one is annoying."
The man blinked, "Huh? You trying to cheat?"
Hikari shook his head, "Your little cups are boring. How about this. Each of you takes one cup. I'll drink this whole bottle of soju. Then this whole toasting business is over."
Everyone froze.
The man stammered, "Are you joking? Don't spout nonsense, kid. Do you know how strong this bottle is? You must already be drunk."
Sayako also panicked, "Hikari-kun, stop! If you keep going something bad will happen."
She too thought he must be a little drunk.
Hikari didn't reply. Under everyone's stunned gaze, he picked up the bottle of soju and chugged it down in seconds.
The middle-aged men stared, dumbfounded.
That soju was way stronger than ordinary liquor. They normally sipped it slowly. Who chugs it like water?
"Done with the toasting? Then leave."
He tossed the empty bottle aside and spoke flatly.
"N-no… no problem!"
Seeing his calm expression, they realized he was trouble. After finishing their own drinks, they scattered.
Sayako finally relaxed once they were gone.
Then she hurried to Hikari, her hands patting all over him.
Her pretty face was full of worry, "Hikari-kun, how could you drink a whole bottle like that? You could die from that."
"Do you feel anything wrong? I'll take you to a clinic right now."
Hikari caught her soft hand, stopping her wandering touch, and smiled, "It's fine, Aunt Sayoko. I told you, I can drink."
"I don't feel anything wrong at all. I'm perfectly fine. But I do really need to pee, so I'm going to the bathroom first."
Sayako blurted out, "Then I'll go with you!"
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