109. Drunken Truth... Or Something Like That?
109. Drunken Truth... Or Something Like That?
During the day, she was active with the orchestra team as Minerva, the Athena Guild heiress.
At night, she was active at Club BBC as 'Minae', the goddess of the battlefield.
Twice a day, performing completely opposite styles of music, Minerva was suffering under conditions where it wouldn't have been strange if she was half-dead, by common sense standards.
"Today was... a good performance too...!"
"....Yeah. It looked that way."
After finishing on stage,
Minerva was rather energetic, ready to go all day long.
"First, shall we drink something?"
The two of them sat down by the bar and wet their throats with beverages.
"Ah, I'll have a highball──"
"─Two glasses of orange juice."
"Ah, aaah....."
"You're not drinking alcohol in a place like this."
Naturally, I refused the alcohol.
Because if you drink more than 5 glasses, you have to spend the night with those scary broad-shouldered black men.
The NTR event itself was scary enough, but it was an even more vicious event in that you might end up building comradeship in arms if things went wrong.
'Protect my ass....!'
It was Chrono's gatekeeping, which must never be opened.
"....Chrono."
"Huh?"
"Chrono.... Chrono...!"
"Uh-uh."
"Tch...."
Of course, Minerva's gatekeeping was also essential.
Ultimately, Minerva sipped her orange juice with a gloomy expression.
After actually drinking it, whether it suited her palate or because it was a drink she had after singing for so long, the wrinkles on her face gradually began to smooth out.
Far from showing any fatigue, her face was full of vitality.
"Kkheu.....! It's good!"
".....Whoa."
No, maybe it wasn't vitality but 'madness', but the point was that she was smiling often.
"Ah, come to think of it, Chrono, what are you going to do about this?"
"Huh?"
"That one, that one. The [Goddess Rapper]."
"Of course I'm going to enter."
"...That's unexpected?"
Unexpected, my ass.
'Actually, I came here to enter that.'
Right away, I could obtain the 'Electric Guitar with the Queen's Soul', one of Minerva's awakening items, from here.
For reference, the Queen mentioned here is that queen (Queen) you're all thinking of.
You might wonder what that queen has to do with 'rap', but if you look for setting errors in an eroge, your jaw will drop, so let's just move on.
"Let's enter together."
"............."
Because I was a bit uneasy about sending Minerva alone.
I immediately wrote out an application, handed it to the bartender, and sat back down.
"....Chrono."
"What."
"....It's nothing!"
"What is it?"
How bland.
Minerva immediately changed the subject and downed the orange juice in front of her in one shot.
Just how thirsty was she to do that?
"Sure enough, should I say it's the electric guitar, its artificial tones so different from the violin, that actually sets the human heart ablaze... Music that can never come from nature, solely human 'music', seems to attract people more than anything else!"
A sudden lengthy speech about the electric guitar began.
Minerva diligently talked about the day's events, more precisely, what happened at the club.
"Especially today's performance, because Chrono was with me... I never imagined the drum beat supporting my back would feel that reassuring!"
Boom, ba-boom, thwack!
Doo-doo-doo-boom, boom, doo-dook, thwack!
Gesturing with her hands and feet. A sight of her tapping her fingers on the table and humming.
It was a side she would never normally show, but already drunk on the madness of performance, she was unleashing 'her true self' with all her might, as if she had no sense of shame or embarrassment.
"I hope... days like this continue on and on...."
Her eyes suddenly grew dreamy.
The breath spilling out a hint of regret seemed to show just how much she treasured this time.
"....Chrono. Hey, I'm saying this just in case.."
"Let's go out and hang out often even after we return to the Academy."
".........."
"It was written all over your face like that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I won't show it again in the future.
Minerva covered her face with both hands.
Though she covered it, she was glaring at me through the clearly visible gaps between her fingers.
I grinned silently, and Minerva also started giggling wordlessly.
"Puhut.... Peuheut! Haaaa...."
The sound of laughter.
A thin, long sigh followed.
Slowly pushing the table with both hands to stretch her body backward, Minerva smiled brightly and asked.
"Are you trying to seduce me right now?"
"....All of a sudden?"
Had this girl still not come to her senses?
I was so dumbfounded words wouldn't come out, and Minerva, going "Anyway, just listen," was grinning.
"Well, I mean... bringing a girl to a club late at night like this."
Well, I had no time during the day, so only the nighttime was available.
"On top of that, begging her while giving her a justification even though she keeps saying she doesn't want to."
I don't think I ever begged though....
"Saying you're not interested, yet constantly leaving room for interpretation."
I never really intended that.
"Always being by my side when I'm struggling, or tired, or lost."
That's because I hate seeing NTR happen, so I put in the effort.
"Even now... pretending not to, but constantly, constaantly trying to seduce me...."
So I said I'm not?
"And on top of that, this... Hihk! Ugh.... making me drink 'orange juice' and all...."
...Wait, I can't just let that one slide.
With the chills rising up my spine, I quickly grabbed the cup Minerva was holding and drank from it.
".....This is..."
A cocktail based on orange juice.
I looked at the bartender with eyes asking what the hell this was about.
"It's 'orange juice', sir."
"No....."
Well, it is orange juice, but
This is alcohol disguised as orange juice.
'How many glasses did she drink?'
I hurriedly counted the number of glasses on Minerva's table.
"3 glasses.... Counting this one, that makes exactly 4 glasses."
Fortunately, it seemed mine was literally just orange juice.
Minerva shouting 'highball' had been the root of the trouble, and this was the result.
"Gimmeeee..... give it to meeee...! I'm telling you I'm thirsty!"
"Drink mine. Don't drink this one."
I cleared Minerva's glass and handed her my juice.
".....Chrono."
"What now."
Minerva stared quietly at the glass.
Then, glancing sideways at me, she asked.
"As I thought... you are trying to seduce me...?"
"..........."
"An... indirect kiss... I never imagined Chrono was the type of person who could approach someone this way, really...."
"Fuck."
I can't hold this spot any longer!
Just as I was about to get up from my seat and leave, Minerva grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
"Ahhh, no! Don't go! I won't tease you anymore!"
"...You? Tease? I didn't know you could do that."
It was disorienting enough that the model student was actually a hardcore true heavy metal fangirl,
but if the setting that she's a little devil gets added on top of that, wouldn't Merk's position be in danger in the distant future?
Engaging in these useless worries and pointless thoughts, I sat back down. Minerva pouted her lips and said.
"I'm not like this outside.... It's because it's Chrono, because it's you, Chrono."
Before I knew it, she was dropping the honorifics.
She closed her eyes gently and murmured.
"Because Chrono already knows the 'real me'."
"Because it's that Chrono, I can be like this."
She bowed her head deeply.
I couldn't tell if it was to hide her face, or if it naturally came to be that way.
"Do you... hate it......?"
".....Wow."
A line that bordered on foul play in many ways.
I turned the question back onto Minerva.
"If I said I hate it right here, wouldn't that just make me trash?"
"Yes. You know well, don't you?"
"Wowww....."
"Hihit...♬"
A beaming smile.
A slightly reddened face as if drunk, weakened reason.
She even showed an eye-smile I could never see usually.
"Anyway... I can't have you, can I?"
"Huh?"
And then.
"Because Chrono isn't trash."
"......What?"
Between her weakened reason, her true feelings leaked through.
"Chrono, you love two people, don't you? You said it would ab.so.lute.ly never be like that with me...."
"Uh.... uhuh....."
"So."
Words she had said once before.
Minerva repeated those words and said.
"You can allow me... this much, can't you....."
"......Tch."
Allow.
Not yield, or understand.
The word, 'allow'.
Just from that one word, I could tell Minerva's humanity, her disposition, her character.
"Good friends... close friends who can open up to each other──that much is okay, right...?"
Her true feelings.
Her sincerity.
I didn't look at Minerva.
"...Wouldn't it be okay?"
"Wow.... He... hehet....."
Friends...
Fri, ends.....
With that as her last word, Minerva got drunk and planted her head on the table.
"....Haaaa."
I felt oddly short of breath.
My head was dizzy, my heart was pounding.
A feeling like my face was flushing red.
'....Did I get drunk too?'
I glanced around.
"............."
"....It's fine, just go about your business."
Nearby, my eyes met the two black men who were about to demonstrate comradeship in arms.
'Yeah.'
Apparently, I was drunk too.
After that, without looking back, I took Minerva and slipped outside.
Build your comradeship in arms amongst comrades.
Because for me, jerking off alone at home is more than enough.
****************
The next morning.
Dragging my fatigue-ridden body, I went to the front of the room where Minerva was sleeping.
"Are you in there....."
[She is not here.]
"Aha."
So she's not there.
Then I guess there's no helping it──what do you mean, what did I just hear?
"Minerva?"
[That kind of woman isn't here.]
".....??"
What's wrong with this girl?
Did she eat something weird?
'Eating something weird was yesterday's story, wasn't it?'
If so, was it the aftermath of her drunken ramblings?
At a surprisingly plausible guess, I spoke to Minerva beyond the door.
"I'm asking because I don't remember anything from yesterday, but did we have any big incident yesterday?"
[Yes...?]
"No. I remember up to drinking the orange juice, but after that my memory's fuzzy...."
[...Don't tell me Chrono is too....?]
"Minerva?"
[Ah, no! I'll open the door right now!]
With a flustered start, Minerva dutifully opened the door.
I went inside the room and checked Minerva's condition.
"G-good morning, Chrono!"
"Good morning... it is, but."
Neat and tidy.
Not a trace of sleep was visible.
Her hair was glossy, her clothes were neat.
'....Whoa.'
She looked fine except for the fact that the area under her eyes was slightly dark and the state of her bedding was very poor.
Well, this much was certain.
'She was really embarrassed, huh.'
This is why you have to be careful when drinking alcohol, dear.
Because when you can't handle the aftermath later, there's just no answer for it.