Chapter 130 - Mixer
(1)
Piroriin.
I woke up to the notification sound of a message on my smartphone.
I wonder who it is at this hour?
As I tried to get out of bed to grab my phone, Airi clung to me and wouldn't let go.
"You're awake, right? I'm just grabbing my phone."
As soon as I said that, her grip released.
When I looked at Airi's face, she was smiling brightly.
"You have your first period today, right? I'll go prepare breakfast."
Airi changed her clothes and left the room.
I checked my phone.
"Katagiri-kun, do you have a moment? Sorry for the early morning."
"Sure. What's up?"
I finished changing before the reply came.
Being a university student is so easy.
Even casual clothes are acceptable.
Well, I tried to wear a tracksuit from a certain sports manufacturer to see just how far I could go with casual wear, but Airi got angry at me.
"Are you trying to embarrass your fiancée!?" she had said...
The reply came back.
"You have your first period today, right? I have something to talk to you about."
"That's fine, but wasn't Sakai-kun starting from the second period?"
"I want to talk leisurely, so I'll do it during the first period. Foreign Language was the class, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Then, see you then. There's someone I want to introduce, is that okay?"
"Someone you want to introduce?"
"Ah, it's not a woman or anything, so don't worry."
Well, I'm usually the one asking for favors, so maybe once in a while is fine?
"As long as it's a conversation that's okay with Airi being there."
"That'll be fine."
"Then, in the classroom."
Having said that, I grabbed my things and went downstairs.
First period.
"But what is it? To come just because you have something to talk about during a time for a subject you aren't even taking."
I was asking Sakai-kun.
"First, let me introduce you. This is Nakajima-kun from the Soccer Club."
A slightly dark-skinned man with a good build bowed.
"I'm Nakajima, nice to meet you. I've heard rumors about you..."
"If this is a recruitment for soccer, I'll refuse."
"It's not that. Actually... it seems I was told to invite you and Katagiri-kun to a welcome mixer."
Soccer, mixer...
Every time those words came out, I felt a surge of fighting spirit emanating from Airi.
"The seniors told me to invite you even if you aren't in the Soccer Club,"
Nakajima-kun said apologetically.
"Um, if you don't like it, you can refuse."
"It's fine."
Huh?
I instinctively looked back at Airi, surprised by her unexpected words.
"There was that whole cherry blossom viewing incident, after all. Let's save Sakai-kun's face for once."
I didn't know Airi cared about that kind of social obligation.
"Thank you, that helps a lot."
Nakajima-kun practically bowed in gratitude to me.
"However, there is a condition~"
I had a feeling about this.
"I'm going too~"
The two of them were stunned.
"I-In fact, it helps that you're coming... but is it okay?" Nakajima-kun asked.
"As a fiancée, I cannot permit Toya-kun to go to a mixer alone."
I figured. I knew she'd say that.
"I have one more request..."
Nakajima-kun made a plea.
"What?"
"I want you to bring one more woman. Even if I ask Sakai, he only knows people like Ichinose-san."
"I'm pretty much the same."
"Kanna said she has a part-time job... Ah, it's okay if they're from a different faculty, right?"
"Well, I think that's fine."
"I'll arrange one person. I think one more man will probably increase as well, is that okay?"
"Of course."
I should have asked properly who he was calling at that time.
Rather, considering Airi's social circle, I probably should have realized.
(3)
Evening, 18:00.
We were gathered in front of an izakaya within the prefecture.
Shimizu-san, a woman who captivates most men, was facing the other woman Airi had called... Eguchi-san.
"Ara, it's been a while, Eguchi-san."
"Good evening, Shimizu-san. It's been a while."
Ishihara-kun, who was by Eguchi-san's side, was flustered.
Do your best, Ishihara-kun.
But is an izakaya really okay for a welcome mixer?
And in general, is there any point in calling us, who aren't even in any circles?
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Now, please come inside the shop!"
When the captain of the Soccer Club shouted that, everyone filed inside.
Airi clung tightly to my side, and next to her were Eguchi-san and then Ishihara-kun.
Opposite me were Sakai-kun, an unknown woman, Shimizu-san, and Nakajima-kun.
Sakai-kun was dressed in his usual attire, in his usual attire.
The woman next to him seemed to have no desire to get close to him, leaning toward Shimizu-san instead.
Shimizu-san and Eguchi-san glared at each other with smiles.
Shaking hands with the right and punching each other with the left.
It's impressive that anyone can approach Shimizu-san, who emanates an aura like a summit meeting between certain North and South countries.
"Well then, please enjoy yourselves tonight. Cheers!"
We had ordered soft drinks.
"Ara? Are you a child who can't even drink alcohol?"
Eguchi-san easily fell for Shimizu-san's provocation.
"I'll drink something like champagne, you know?"
"Ara? Is that so? How unfortunate! This shop doesn't have champagne."
This woman is really provoking her.
Did it make her tick, seeing Shimizu-san laugh loudly?
"Excuse me, I'll have the same thing this woman is drinking."
"Wa-Wait, Emi, stop it..."
"I think so too, Emi... it'll become a disaster again."
Airi and Ishihara-kun tried to stop Eguchi-san, but...
"I've left the ride home to Shinjo, so it's fine! I don't want to be looked down upon by such small fry."
Ishihara-kun's expression froze.
A wrinkle appeared between Shimizu-san's brows for an instant.
But she immediately returned to a smile.
"You shouldn't do things you aren't used to, you know? It'll end up embarrassing later."
"Don't worry, it's not my first time."
Sakai-kun and I watched this exchange blankly.
"Katagiri-kun, is Shimizu-san always like this?" Sakai-kun asked.
It seems she is, Sakai-kun.
"Isn't the young lady over there drinking?"
A style of picking a fight with Airi as well.
"That's right, drink up," the woman next to her egged her on too.
However, Airi did not take the bait.
"I've decided that the first time I drink will be alone with him~"
Saying so, Airi clung to my arm.
"Ah, you had a boyfriend. I mean, I thought only women were here~"
"I-I'm here too," Nakajima-kun added.
"Ah, right. By the way, who are the other three?"
What an incredibly rude woman.
"W-Well, shall we all introduce ourselves? I'm Nakajima. I'm in the Soccer Club."
"I'm Shimizu, nice to meet you."
"I'm Sakai. I don't know why I was called here, but..."
"Too long, next!"
You didn't even introduce yourself properly.
"I'm Katagiri, nice to meet you."
"I'm Tosaka, Katagiri-kun's fiancée. Nice to meet you."
Her appeals have been intense lately.
"Ara? Did you receive a proposal from Katagiri-kun?"
Eguchi-san looked surprised.
"He told me to wait just four years. Then he'd let me hear some wonderful lines."
I wonder if Airi is secreting alcohol in her brain?
Her delusions are incredible... though it's not a lie.
"Hmph, to think you'd even consider an engagement with such a dull man, what a waste... another refill," Shimizu-san said.
"Uuu... even if it looks like this, Toya-kun has cool parts too..."
Eguchi-san covered Airi's mouth.
"Airi-chan, it's useless to argue with a low-life who can't even discern the true value of such a thing... another refill."
No, wait a minute, she just said something huge. It's like pouring gasoline on the liquid she's drinking.
"Lastly, it's me, I'm Ishihara—"
"I didn't quite catch what you just said. Eguchi-san?"
"Don't mind it. I just told the truth."
"Is that so? Since you can discern the true value of things, the man to your left must be shining like platinum, then."
Shimizu-san scoffed.
By the way, Nakajima-kun and the woman had gone to greet other tables.
"He looks far more wonderful than platinum. I told you, didn't I? A time will come when you realize something far, far more important than some random pebble. Or are you still satisfied walking around with small fry?"
"There are occasionally people like you. Losers who are satisfied with any random man."
"I don't mind being a loser. I'm fine with losing, you know? Because I have a man by my side that no one else could possibly understand. I don't care what anyone says."
Airi joined the conversation.
In a sense, is this a girls' night out?
Ishihara-kun, Sakai-kun, and I were already left out of the loop.
Should we just move to another table?
That would be impossible for Ishihara-kun. He was holding back Eguchi-san, who was desperately trying to stand up. When she tried to order oolong tea...
"You mean an oolong high!" she was cut off.
She knows quite a few common drinks.
Me? Yeah, if I were alone, I would have run away. However, Airi was gripping my arm next to me and shaking her head. Could I really leave her behind after that? I couldn't, right?
Sakai-kun felt like he was staying because I was the only acquaintance he had.
However, he was staring intently at Shimizu-san next to him.
"The moment you say you're fine with losing, you're a loser. It's just a small fry who can't aim for the heights desperately trying to inflate their own value."
"Small fry!?"
"What's wrong with calling small fry small fry...!?"
Sakai-kun took a surprising action.
He grabbed Shimizu-san's arm and led her out of the shop.
Everyone watched the two of them in stunned silence, but Shimizu-san's entourage hurriedly tried to go outside.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the door.
"Get out of the way."
"No, Shimizu-san is upset right now, so I think she wouldn't want anyone to see her. You wouldn't want to be disillusioned by seeing that, right?"
Did the persuasion work... no, it didn't.
The target just shifted. To Airi, who had opened the seat next to me.
"You're cute too. Which faculty?"
"Are you alone right now? Do you have a boyfriend?"
"How old are you? Can you drink? Let's drink instead."
Ah, this is just too much.
I returned to Airi's side.
"You again! You should just follow after Shimizu-san, right?"
No, I was chased back after being called small fry.
I'm sure she thinks you people are more suited for her.
At that moment, she let out a scathing remark that I felt poured not just oil, but jet fuel on the fire.
"This is why every single one of you are just small fry who can neither bloom nor find a beautiful flower of your own."
For a moment, silence enveloped the area.
The next moment, it erupted into a blaze.
"You're beautiful too, what's your name!?"
"Which faculty!?"
"Want to go to a second party, just the two of us, after this?"
Before she reached her critical point, the shop door slid open with a clatter.
Shimizu-san was standing there.
"The goddess has returned!"
As the crowd tried to move again, a single word from Shimizu-san stopped them.
"I'm going home."
With a smile, she said that and left the shop.
The men crowded around Sakai-kun, who had returned to the shop.
"What the hell did you do!?"
Sakai-kun laughed "hahaha" and looked at me.
No, even if you look at me with eyes begging for help, there isn't much I can do, you know?
Because I was doing my best to deal with Airi, who was clinging to me saying...
"Toya-kun, that was scary~"
Nakajima-kun was drinking happily with the girl who had been next to him earlier.
(4)
It was a split-second decision.
I had acted before the word "small fry" came out.
The act of catching Shimizu-san and leading her outside.
Outside, I was pressed by her: "What do you think you're doing?"
"That statement earlier wasn't good. Though you probably wouldn't understand."
"What do you mean?"
Hmm, an analogy is difficult.
I'll try it with a Toya-kun style of thinking.
"Shimizu-san is the sauce faction, isn't she?"
I'm being looked at with eyes that say what is this guy talking about, but I wonder if it's okay...
"Like prioritizing the way of cooking over the ingredients themselves. Like deciding value based on a brand like A5."
The judging eyes continued.
"But Eguchi-san is different. She prioritizes the ingredients themselves. The seasoning doesn't matter. Brands are irrelevant; it's like she evaluates the masterpiece she chose and then cooks it herself."
"Are you saying I only look at the surface?"
"I don't intend to deny that way of thinking. However, regardless of which side's argument, if a customer pours super-spicy sauce on it, you'd get angry that the dish is being desecrated, right? What Shimizu-san did was like that."
"I see... so the playing field was different from the start."
"That's it."
It seemed she understood.
"Then, let's compete on the same playing field. I'll compete with the 'ingredients' she talks about. ...You're the right person."
"Huh?"
"Was it Ishihara-kun? You're about as dull as he is, making it a fair match. I'll compete by seeing how elegantly I can finish you."
"I-I think that's also wrong."
"Why?"
"Ishihara-kun has become irreplaceable to Eguchi-san, right? No matter what you do to me, there's no way I could become a greater existence than Ishihara-kun to Eguchi-san."
"...In other words, I just need to fall in love with you, right? And then we'll become a couple greater than those two."
I forgot this person was drunk.
She'll probably forget by tomorrow.
"Well, I can't deny the feeling that my feelings are being completely ignored."
"...I showed a pathetic side of myself today. I'll come to see you again properly another day."
Huh?
"Thank you for today. You're the first person to lecture me. You've got guts. I'll acknowledge that much."
She took out her phone and contacted someone.
Then she went back into the shop, said "I'm going home today," and left.
"Well, my ride is coming, so see you tomorrow. Bye, Sakai-kun."
Saying that, she walked away.
...But I can't just let that happen.
I can't leave a drunk woman to walk alone.
I chased after Shimizu-san.
"What is it?"
"I can't let you walk alone."
"So you do have that kind of consideration."
Then, as we waited in front of a department store, a limousine stopped.
There really are people who ride in cars like this.
"Well, thank you, Sakai-kun."
The limousine drove away.
"Sauce and spices... something feels off," I thought.
I got a critique from Katagiri-kun.
"Then what would you compare it to, Katagiri-kun?"
Katagiri-kun racked his brain.
"Maybe like the difference between beef bowl shops?"
Ah, I see.
"Whether it's cheapness, speed, or taste. I feel like it's a difference of that sort. Anyone would get angry if their preference was denied."
"In that case, a family restaurant or a ramen shop would be fine too, wouldn't it?" Tosaka-san said.
"I mean, I think just asking 'who is your favorite' in an idol group would be enough," Ishihara-kun added.
Pokka
Katagiri-kun's head was smacked.
"It's because you try to compare everything to food that you struggle!"
Tosaka-san said.
"Even so, Isshy, you were cool earlier. The way you stepped in between me and the flock of small fry to protect me was quite something."
So that happened.
"I've told you so many times. It's fine to get angry about me, but keep it in moderation. To take the bait and drink this much... can you walk?"
"Of course I'm fine. This is nothing."
"The mood is great, but it's time to end the first party. Those going to the second party..."
"I'm going home, what about you?"
"We're going home too," Katagiri-kun said.
Adding, "I have to see you home."
(5)
"But it's tough. In the end, you caught Shimizu-san's eye, right? What are you going to do?"
Katagiri-kun said in the car.
"She was probably drunk, so she'll forget after the holidays are over."
When I said that, he muttered a single "I hope so..."
"Sakai-kun, you mustn't waver!"
Tosaka-san said forcefully.
"It'll turn into lovey-dovey talk again, but we wavered many times too. But if there's a bond, you can start over as many times as it takes. By thinking strongly of the other person."
I don't think it's at that stage yet.
"It'll come soon."
Katagiri-kun said that and laughed as if it were someone else's problem.
"What do you mean...?"
At that moment, a message arrived. It was from Ichinose-san.
We've been messaging since yesterday.
"Did you see the group chat? I'm looking forward to the day after tomorrow."
What is she talking about?
I checked the group chat.
"Thursday 12:00, meet at the Yufuin roadside station!"
Huh?
How are we supposed to get there?
"I'll go pick you up at 10."
You knew, Katagiri-kun.
"I've already passed the ball, the rest is just deciding."
At that time, we didn't know yet.
That we would encounter an unexpected DF...