After that, the two of them, carried a bit by the buzz of the alcohol, drifted into all sorts of scattered conversations. Complaints about teachers, grumbling about school courses… Since Mizuno Kanade had taken a year off from school, Asakura Kaito also told her about all the changes that had happened at school over the past year.
A few bottles of beer later, Kaito was already slightly tipsy.
Good beer makes my head spin…
Kaito never had much tolerance for alcohol. Normally, two bottles of strong beer were his limit. With this cheap, ordinary beer, five or six cans were about all he could handle.
He glanced at Mizuno Kanade.
Surprisingly energetic!
She didn't look like someone who drank often, yet she downed bottle after bottle without the slightest sign of stopping. She looked like someone who had just discovered a fun new world—take two sips, check the ingredients list, take two more sips, look at the nutrition label.
Her curious-kitten expression made it look like she was studying how something this delicious could even exist.
The person who invented beer must've been a genius.
Meanwhile, watching all this, Kaito felt like he was barely holding on.
Is this what they call natural talent?
A man being outdrunk by a girl was pretty embarrassing.
But, well… it was her first time drinking.
Even though Kanade didn't seem to be slowing down at all, she was clearly getting a little muddled already.
How could Kaito tell?
Because Mizuno Kanade had taken off her shoes and put her feet up on the sofa. Thankfully, her skirt was long enough that she wasn't flashing anything. She hadn't even asked Kaito if it was okay!
Kaito suddenly missed the modest, reserved Kanade he'd first met. Back then, she would ask permission before entering, before sitting on the sofa… back then, Kaito had still been skinny.
Though it had only been half an hour since then.
For Kaito, he didn't need to do anything now—just drag things out. Drag the time until it was late enough that she wouldn't go through with suicide tonight.
Once she got through tonight, he'd have plenty of time to learn what was going on with her.
"Asakura Kaito… what year are you?"Kanade suddenly asked out of nowhere, her voice sticky and slurred now.
"What do you mean, what year? School year or age?"
"When were you born?"
"'05."
"What month?"
"June."
"Damn it, I'm December. I'm younger."
…What's 'damn it' supposed to mean??Isn't it perfectly normal for you to be younger?!
Kaito couldn't stop himself from mentally complaining. It seemed like she really was drunk.
"You have school tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. Don't you?"
"I took a week off."
Suicide and still taking leave… how meticulous.
Still, that was probably her way of "not causing trouble for the teachers."
After all, in their country, once you took official leave, your life or death wasn't the school's responsibility anymore.
"Then you need to wake up early tomorrow. I feel like… I shouldn't stay here and bother you."
Kanade tried to force some clarity into her mind and stood up from the sofa.
"It's fine. You're this drunk—where are you even going?" Kaito stood up too.
"Yeah… where can I go…"
Kanade suddenly stopped and looked out the window.
Under the vast night sky, the neon lights of the city flickered.
Hearing this, Kaito finally sensed something was wrong.
In fact, from the moment he returned to the coffee shop earlier and saw its front door tightly shut, he'd already felt uneasy. Then her calls wouldn't go through. And even though her grandfather's apartment was in the next building over, Kanade refused to go back.
Could it be that her grandfather…
Kaito didn't dare continue that thought, but he had already braced himself for the worst.
Yet from beginning to end, he never dared ask Kanade directly.He was afraid of triggering her.
"Asakura Kaito… thank you."
"What's wrong?"
"Even though today is the first time we've met, I really feel like… you're a good person. You kept trying to get me to stay because you were worried about me, right?"
Kanade held a beer can in her hand and looked straight into Kaito's eyes, speaking with complete seriousness.
"Grandpa wouldn't like someone who's bad. You're kind. Even though we're strangers, you've treated me so well. You even have your own understanding of classical music. If we meet again in the future, I think we'll become great friends. But right now… I really can't stay here any longer."
"…"
The living room fell into a deathly silence.
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Kaito's lips.
The truly kind person… is you.
For some reason—though he was just trying to finish a system task… or repay Kanade's grandfather—it felt like he had sunk deeper into this than he expected.
He had already done enough. He could say that he had a clear conscience.Even if Kanade left just like this, he could still bind another partner. It wouldn't affect anything.
But…
Looking at the girl before him, earnest and serious, with a faint resigned smile in her eyes…
Kaito simply couldn't bear the thought of her dying.
He'd spent the first half of his life drifting aimlessly. Doing a good deed for once… he could consider it accumulating virtue.
Tonight, no one was taking her away.
Asakura Kaito said so.
"Alright, if you want to go, fine. But you're drinking with me until we finish."
Kaito's tone suddenly hardened.
"I'm not done drinking yet. If you leave halfway through, who does that? Who leaves someone alone at the table?"
"Aren't we already done?"
Kanade looked at the table. In the past hour, the two had downed seven or eight bottles, leaving only empty cans scattered across the table.
"Nope."
Kaito walked to the fridge, grinning mischievously.
He pulled open the lower compartment—
Stuffed full, with another huge bag inside.
Never underestimate a man who treats beer like a soft drink.
"This…"Kanade's expression twisted into a conflicted look, her teeth biting her lip.
She started muttering under her breath.
"No, no… If I drink more, I'll collapse here…"
"This is craft beer. Totally different from what we just had—completely different level of flavor."
Kaito took one bottle out and set it in front of Kanade.
The ingredient list and nutrition table were packed tightly together.
Like some ancient script.
Kanade stared blankly at it, eyes burning with interest.
"Then… maybe a little."
[Binding Mission:
Make the target spend the night at your home.
Extract bodily fluids to perform an intelligent physical analysis.— Completed]
[Partner binding successful — Mizuno Kanade]
[Loading interface…]
Looking at the system interface floating before him, Kaito turned his head toward the sofa—where Kanade was already fast asleep.
He let out a breath of relief.
A man's pride… was safe after all!
Kaito had slowed his drinking on purpose, just enough to reduce how much he actually consumed, and barely managed to defeat Kanade in the end.
Her natural drinking talent really was terrifying.Next time, he probably wouldn't win.
Looking at her calm, peaceful, beautiful sleeping face…
Kaito felt a sense of release.As if everything he'd done tonight was worth it.
He gently lifted her feet and placed them properly on the sofa.
Her feet in his hands were like tiny figurines.
Then he carefully supported her waist and adjusted her position, laying her comfortably on the sofa, before bringing over a blanket and gently covering her.
"Grandpa…"
Just then, the girl murmured softly.
Kaito froze and looked at her.
Talking in her sleep?
He suddenly remembered—Kanade had severe mental health issues. Talking in her sleep wasn't unusual.
"No…"
A moment later, her brows scrunched tightly, her expression pained, and she spoke again:
"I still want to play the violin… please…"
"I'm willing to do anything if you'll let me keep performing…"
"Why…? I didn't do anything wrong…"