The moment Soren gave permission, it was like someone had flipped a switch.
Felix immediately raised his glass with far too much enthusiasm for someone who had complained about the bill five minutes ago.
"To surviving," he declared, tone strangely solemn for half a second.
Esper squinted at him.
"Since when are you sentimental?"
"I'm not," Felix snapped, then coughed. "I just… It's a good excuse to drink."
"Now you're talking!" Esper cheered, clinking her bottle loudly against his.
Olivia hesitated, glancing between them like she wasn't sure what the correct response was supposed to be.
Lilliana lifted her drink carefully, offering Soren a small smile.
"To… a nice night."
Alex raised his beer slightly without saying anything, then took a sip like he was doing it out of obligation.
Amelia didn't toast at all.
She simply drank.
Soren took a cautious sip of his wine, enough to taste it, not enough to feel it.
It was cheap, like he had asked.
A little too sharp, a little too dry, but it did the job.
The warmth slid down his throat anyway, familiar in a way he didn't like.
He set the glass down and forced himself to relax.
'It's fine. Just for tonight.'
Across from him, Esper was already reaching for the second bottle like the first had been a warm-up.
Felix, of course, had the brilliant idea that pushed the night off the rails.
"We're not just sitting here drinking like retirees," he announced.
Esper's eyes lit up.
"Ooh, are we playing a game?"
Felix grinned, that dangerous grin that only appeared when he was about to become annoying on purpose.
"A drinking game."
Olivia's posture stiffened instantly.
"A-A drinking…?"
Lilliana looked conflicted.
"Felix…"
Alex sighed like he had been personally offended by the concept.
"You're going to regret this."
Soren already regretted it.
Amelia, however, looked mildly interested.
"What game?"
Felix pointed at her with excitement.
"See? Amelia gets it."
"That wasn't an agreement," Soren muttered.
"It counts," Felix said immediately, ignoring him. "Okay. Simple rules. We take turns. Someone drinks. If they finish, they get praised. If they don't, we mock them."
Esper clapped.
"That's so stupid. I love it."
"That is not a game," Soren said flatly.
Felix shrugged.
"It is tonight."
Esper leaned forward, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Who goes first?"
Felix didn't even hesitate.
He pointed at Amelia.
Amelia blinked once.
"Me?"
"Yes," Felix said firmly, as if this had been decided by divine law.
Esper nodded rapidly.
"Yeah! Amelia first! Amelia first!"
Olivia looked like she was about to object, but then Amelia calmly picked up a full mug.
It wasn't a small cup either.
It was one of those tavern-style mugs that looked like it belonged in a warrior's hand, not in a private room full of students.
Soren watched, slightly alarmed.
"Hold on. Shouldn't we—"
""Chug! Chug! Chug!""
Esper and Felix started chanting in unison, pounding their hands against the table like they were trying to summon an ancient spirit of bad decisions.
Soren stared at them, incredulous.
"Are you two five?"
"Chug!" Esper shouted louder, leaning halfway over the table.
"Chug!" Felix echoed, grinning like he had discovered his life's purpose.
Amelia looked between them for a second.
Then, without changing her expression at all, she tilted the mug back.
Soren expected her to drink fast.
He did not expect her to drink like someone who had been born with alcohol in her veins.
The mug disappeared against her lips.
Her throat bobbed steadily, no pauses, no hesitation, no sign of struggle.
Foam rose, spilling slightly at the rim, but she didn't slow down.
Olivia's eyes widened with every second.
Lilliana pressed a hand to her mouth, half shocked, half impressed.
Alex watched with the detached expression of a man witnessing something inevitable.
Soren could only stare.
'That's… not normal.'
A few seconds later…
Thud!
Amelia slammed the empty mug down on the table.
Foam clung to her lip, and she wore a smug smile that looked oddly proud for someone who had been so calm just moments ago.
"Whoa!" Esper shouted, practically bouncing in her seat.
"So fast!" Olivia gasped.
Felix leaned forward, eyes shining.
"That was beautiful."
Amelia wiped her lip with the back of her hand like it was nothing.
"It was fine."
"It was not fine," Soren muttered. "That was insane."
Esper pointed dramatically across the table, gaze locking onto Soren like a predator that had spotted a weak target.
"Cutie! Get over here, it's your turn!"
Soren's stomach dropped.
"No, it isn't."
"Yes, it is!" Esper declared, already reaching out like she could physically drag him into it.
Felix grinned.
"Rules are rules."
"What rules?" Soren snapped.
"The ones I just made up," Felix replied cheerfully.
Soren turned to Lilliana as if she were his last hope.
Lilliana offered him an apologetic smile that said, "I'm sorry, but they're unstoppable".
He turned to Olivia.
Olivia looked torn between wanting to help him and wanting to watch the chaos unfold.
Unfortunately, curiosity won.
Alex didn't even blink.
"Have fun."
Amelia leaned slightly closer to him, voice low and unhelpfully neutral.
"You should do it."
"Why are you siding with them?" Soren hissed.
Amelia tilted her head.
"It seems fun."
"It does not," Soren replied.
Esper had that evil little grin again, the one she wore when she had decided something was happening whether he liked it or not.
"Come on, Cutie. One mug. For the vibes."
"For the vibes," Felix repeated, mocking slightly.
Soren pinched the bridge of his nose again, as if doing it twice in one night would somehow save him.
"I hate all of you."
"No, you don't," Esper sang.
"Yes, I do."
Felix leaned in.
"Are you backing out?"
Soren's eye twitched.
He knew exactly what Felix was doing.
And unfortunately, it worked.
"Ughh…. Fine…"
He reached for his own mug with the resigned dread of a man walking toward the gallows.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
The first sip wasn't awful.
That was the problem.
Soren had been prepared for bitterness, for discomfort, for the taste to drag him straight back into memories he didn't want.
Instead, the alcohol was smooth, strong, yes, but not immediately repulsive.
Warmth spread across his tongue and down his throat before he could brace for it.
Esper leaned forward so close her face was practically in his.
"Well?" she demanded.
Felix's grin was sharp.
"Chug."
"Don't tell me what to do," Soren muttered.
"Chug," Felix repeated, like he hadn't heard him.
"Cutie," Esper said sweetly, "chug."
Soren stared at them both with the dead-eyed expression of someone realising he had made a mistake agreeing to this outing in the first place.
Then he tipped the mug back.
He didn't chug like Amelia.
He wasn't that kind of monster.
But he drank steadily, more than he had planned to, more than he had wanted to, because two idiots were chanting at him like it was a sacred ritual and because he refused to lose to Felix in anything.
He made it about halfway before the warmth turned into something heavier.
A fuzzy pressure behind his eyes.
A loosening in his shoulders.
His thoughts slowed, just slightly, like someone had placed a hand on his brain and told it to stop grinding itself into dust.
Soren lowered the mug, exhaling.
Esper squinted at him.
"That's it?"
"Yes," he said firmly. "That's it."
Felix clicked his tongue.
"Coward."
Soren's eyes narrowed.
"You do it then."
Felix blinked.
"Me?"
Esper immediately spun toward him like a hawk.
"Yeah! Mr Trash! Your turn!"
"Stop—calling—me—trash," Felix hissed through his teeth, but his pride was already on the line.
He grabbed his mug and drank like he had something to prove.
And, to his credit, he did prove it.
Unfortunately, what he proved was that he was an idiot.
He went too fast, coughed, then forced himself to keep going, face getting redder with every swallow.
Esper laughed so hard she nearly fell off her seat.
Olivia watched with horror.
Lilliana looked like she was reconsidering every life choice that had led her into this room.
Alex just sighed and took another sip of beer, like he was trying to speedrun the night.
Felix slammed his mug down when he was done, breathing hard.
"There," he rasped. "Happy?"
Esper clapped wildly.
"Woooo! Trash can drink!"
Felix stared at her with murderous intent.
Amelia calmly poured herself another drink.
Soren stared at the table.
He was… warmer now.
Not just physically, but inside his chest too, like the tightness that had been sitting there all day had loosened.
He hated that.
He hated that alcohol still did that.
But the room was loud and bright and full of people who didn't look at him like he was about to disappear.
He took another sip.
Just a small one.
Felix immediately pointed.
"Look at him. He's drinking on his own now."
Soren glared.
"Shut up."
Esper leaned in with a grin.
"Aww, Cutie's finally joining the dark side."
"This is not the dark side," Soren argued.
"It is," Felix said, far too confidently.
"I'm not even drinking that much."
Esper's grin widened.
"That's what they all say."
Soren opened his mouth to snap back, and then paused.
Because Lilliana had shifted closer without him noticing, her movements slow, careful.
"Ren?" she said softly.
"What's up?" he asked, turning his head.
Lilliana's cheeks were flushed.
Not bright red, but noticeably pink.
Her eyes looked glossy too, the kind that came from warmth and a little too much liquid courage.
Soren blinked.
"Lilly… are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she insisted quickly.
Then her brow furrowed, like she was deeply offended by something.
"But…"
"But what?"
Lilliana stared at him for a long moment, lips pursed, like she was trying to solve an impossible problem.
Then she leaned forward and poked his arm.
"Why are you always… always trying to carry everything?" she began, voice wavering slightly.
Soren froze.
His first instinct was to deflect.
To joke.
To brush it off.
But the alcohol made his thoughts sluggish, and Lilliana's expression was too earnest for him to escape easily.
"What are you talking about?" he said, trying to sound casual.
"You said you didn't want to drink because it's depressing," Lilliana continued, voice growing more insistent. "And you didn't want to tell us because it would ruin the mood."
Soren's throat tightened.
"That's just—normal," he tried.
"No," Lilliana said, shaking her head. "You… you always decide what's too heavy for other people. Like you have to protect everyone from you."
Soren stared at her.
Esper had gone quiet, watching with unusual focus.
Felix was pretending not to listen, but his eyes were angled toward them.
Even Alex's gaze shifted slightly, attention caught.
Olivia looked anxious, hands clasped together like she wanted to reach out but didn't know if she should.
Soren swallowed.
"I'm not protecting anyone," he muttered.
Lilliana leaned in closer, her voice dropping into something small.
"But you do."
Then she frowned abruptly, eyes watering.
"Ren, I don't like it," she said, voice cracking slightly,
Soren's chest tightened.
'Ah. Damn it.'
He set his mug down carefully, like it might explode if he moved wrong.
"Lilly…"
Lilliana's lower lip trembled.
"Rennnnn~" she whined suddenly, like the emotion had overflowed into something childish. "I'm thirstyyyy~"
Soren blinked.
The shift was so abrupt it nearly gave him whiplash.
"...Huh?"
"Thirstyyyy," she repeated, dragging out the word as if it physically pained her.
She leaned even closer, forehead nearly touching the table.
"Feed me…"
Soren stared at her in disbelief.
"Lilly, not now."
"But whyyy…?" she slurred, eyes squinting like she was trying to focus. "Do you hate me? Sniffle…"
Soren's soul left his body.
"...Why would I hate you?"
"Then feed meee~" she demanded, dramatically.
Soren ran a hand down his face.
"I will later. Just… be patient, okay?" he promised, voice forced into patience.
Lilliana sniffled, then nodded so hard her head wobbled.
"Okayyy…"
Esper covered her mouth, shaking with barely-contained laughter.
Olivia looked torn between concern and confusion.
Felix whispered.
"This is incredible."
Soren glared at him.
Felix grinned wider.
And then…
Soren felt weight press against his side.
He turned his head slowly, dread already forming.
Amelia had shifted closer.
No, she had shifted onto him.
Her upper body was resting against his lap, and her position had gone loose in a way that was more forward than usual.
"Amelia?" Soren asked cautiously.
"Nnn…" she responded, eyes half-lidded.
"Hey," Soren said, trying to keep his voice calm, "Amelia, could you get off of me?"
Amelia didn't move.
She adjusted slightly, somehow making herself heavier, then settled more comfortably.
"Stay still," she murmured.
Soren stared at the ceiling, silently pleading with whatever gods existed in Ivansia.
"…Why?"
Amelia's voice came, low and sleepy.
"Your lap's comfy."
Soren felt every neuron in his brain short-circuit.
"…Why is everyone like this?"
Esper finally lost the battle and burst into laughter.
Felix looked delighted.
Olivia looked like she was witnessing the end of the world.
Alex took another sip of beer, eyes dead.
"This is why I train," he muttered.
And Soren, trapped between a clingy drunk Lilliana on one side and a princess using him as furniture on the other, could only sit there and regret every decision that had led him to this moment.
————「❤︎」————