For Some Reason The Girl Who's Too Popular Only Drinks with Me - Volume 1 Chapter 1.4

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At the drinking party with two oddly high-spirited women and two men drinking at their own pace, totaling four people, things proceeded in a leisurely manner. When the clock struck midnight, the gathering came to an end.

Stepping out of the bar, Sugino-senpai’s ride – a Mercedes – had arrived without us noticing, ready to take her and a thoroughly drunk Mikami-senpai.

I could have gotten a ride too, but I dislike the smell of other people’s cars, and being prone to car sickness when I’ve had some drinks, I always politely decline and opt to head back as usual.

That was the plan, until, surprisingly, Hamasaki Mai also said she’d be taking the train home. By then, her mood had significantly calmed, and she was back to her “smiling yet somehow cool” expression from earlier.

“Today was super fun. Probably the most fun I’ve had at a drinking party ever. Thank you,” she bowed to Sugino-senpai and Mikami-senpai, who were already getting into the car. While they chatted, I couldn’t just leave and found myself waiting for the conversation to end.

As I tuned out their exchange of pleasantries like “It was fun” and “We’ll call you again soon,” the car door finally closed. The engine rumbled deeply as the car carrying the seniors disappeared into the night city.

A warm breeze of spring night passed between us, making me feel awkwardly uncomfortable as I scratched my neck.

“Ah… well, I’m going this way, so take care,” I quickly made some space between us. There’s no way I intend to walk home with Hamasaki Mai. Walking next to such a beautiful person? No thanks. She’d probably feel the same. Surely.

“Yeah, take care~ See you~” She waved her hand flutteringly and walked away in the opposite direction. I thought she was just a normal girl, but she turned out to be quite extraordinary. And Sugino-senpai, having taken a liking to Hamasaki Mai because of today’s events, will probably force her into our circle somehow.

I’m not against it, but I’m not exactly for it either—worrying about it now won’t help anyway. All I can do is wait and see how things unfold.

Time to head home. I pushed the image of Hamasaki Mai’s retreating figure from my mind and started towards the nearest station.

I need to run the washing machine when I get back. I’m running out of underwear to wear—Thud!

A dull, painful sound came from behind me. It wasn’t me; it came from behind.

Turning around to see what happened, there was Hamasaki Mai, having walked headfirst into a utility pole on the side of the road.

She clumsily righted herself and took a step forward, then wobbled and hit the large sign of a nearby restaurant.

“…Are you still drunk?”

She continued to stagger, leaning against the wall of a building, a textbook example of drunkenness.

“…What a pain.”

I don’t want to get involved. I have no obligation to help. It doesn’t matter to me. She’s a stranger. I should just go home. Some kind-hearted person will take care of her. Besides, even if I did help purely out of goodwill, I wouldn’t want to be thought of as having ulterior motives.

So, I decided to leave Hamasaki Mai behind.

I started walking with heavy steps, trying not to think too much and just move. Hands in my hoodie pockets, I walked—and then, I found myself stopping and calling out to Hamasaki Mai.

“Hamasaki-san, are you okay?”

I tilted my head slightly to check on her, who was leaning against the wall with her face down. Between strands of her glossy hair, her eyes sparkled mysteriously, making me instinctively shift my gaze to her mouth. That was a mistake.

My diverted gaze landed on her moist, soft lips, which I ended up staring at as they moved seductively. Then, she whispered faintly, “…I’m hungry.”

“Hungry?”

Why suddenly? What’s this all about? Not feeling sick from being drunk?

As I stood confused, Hamasaki Mai suddenly grabbed my collar with a start. What’s with this woman? Too scary.

“I’m hungry! Let’s eat something!”

My vision swayed back and forth. Stop it. I’ve had quite a bit to drink today too. It’s going to come back up.

Unable to resist, Hamasaki Mai continued to shake me, her face getting closer as if she was about to bite, repeating “I’m hungry.”

The smell of alcohol and perfume mixed together, not feeling as unpleasant as it should – either due to her charm or because my fear and bewilderment clouded my judgment of the scent. Probably the latter.

“I’m hungry~!”

“Yeah, got it. Got it, so let’s go back quickly.”

I agreed to her demands while supporting the yammering Hamasaki Mai, regretting that I should have just left her be. The reason for my regret wasn’t what I expected.

Dealing with a drunkard wasn’t new to me, but it was my first time dealing with someone as aggressive as her. Sugino-senpai could handle her liquor too well to ever be wasted, and Mikami-senpai became quiet when drunk, so the people I had dealt with before were relatively safe.

But Hamasaki Mai was different.

Supporting her wobbly form, she would suddenly groan with “Ah” or “Uh,” and at times burst into laughter, hitting my shoulder as she did.

Moreover, her conspicuous looks worked against her. Very much so. Drunken sights aren’t rare in downtown Tokyo at night, so normally no one would care. However, seeing a beauty like her dead drunk made every passerby do a double-take. Then they’d look at me with a “What’s this?” expression. I’m not helping her because I want to. If I wasn’t there, she’d probably be picked up by some unknown guy in no time.

“It’s like I wouldn’t allow her to be taken away by someone else…”

I found myself making a self-retort. But it’s true. The idea of Hamasaki Mai being caught by some random guy shouldn’t matter to me at all.

“…I want pizza.”

As I pondered whether I actually had feelings for her, a quiet Hamasaki Mai muttered something out of the blue. I decided to ignore it and keep walking. The station was just ahead.

“Pizza. I want pizza.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t asked her where her nearest station was. Hopefully, it’s not too far. If it’s in the next prefecture, I won’t be able to get home normally.

“Hey, I want pizza.”

Wait, do I really need to accompany her all the way to the train? Wouldn’t it be okay to say goodbye at the ticket gates?

“Pizza! I want pizza!”

“Ah, shut up already!”

I might have raised my voice louder than I have in recent times. But even that didn’t stop Hamasaki Mai’s momentum; she kept swaying my body side to side, chanting “Pizz~a.”

I’ve reached my limit. At least, I have.

“Alright, if you insist that much, we’ll eat pizza. Okay?”

“Really!? Let’s eat! Right now!”

My suggestion made Hamasaki Mai’s eyes sparkle. She showed me a bright smile and began hopping excitedly.

For the desired pizza, I walked firmly ahead, with Hamasaki Mai holding onto my shoulder from behind. Eventually, the station came into view, and we entered a nearby eatery.

Despite it being late at night, the restaurant had a fair number of customers, but there was no one waiting at the counter to take orders.

Walking up with Hamasaki Mai, I placed our order with the staff.

“For takeout, one teriyaki burger and one double cheeseburger, please. Also, a small strawberry shake.”

“It’s not pizza!”

Just as I finished ordering, Hamasaki Mai raised her voice from behind. Stupid woman, you can’t expect pizza to be ready immediately in the middle of the night.

“Uh, that’ll be seven hundred and fifty yen, please.”

“Hey, pizza! I want pizza! Not the crispy-eared kind! Not a hamburger!”

“Right, the crispy-eared kind. That’s seven hundred and fifty yen, please.”

“Ah, yes. Seven hundred and fifty yen received… Here’s your change of three hundred yen.”

“Thanks.”

“Pizz~a!”

Hamasaki Mai continued to shout while pounding on my arm. The cashier gave us a “Are you okay?” look, to which I only responded with “Sorry, she’s drunk,” and moved away from the counter. However, it wasn’t long before our order was ready, highlighting the efficiency of fast food in the city compared to the countryside.

“Here, this is yours,” I said, handing the teriyaki burger to Hamasaki Mai immediately after leaving the shop. She took it reluctantly, despite her complaints, and began to eat quietly as we walked.

The once noisy Hamasaki Mai was now silent and behaving. It seems anything would do as long as she had something to eat.

By the time we reached the station, Hamasaki Mai had finished her teriyaki burger, and all that was left was her staggering self. Just having something in her mouth made her this quiet. I thought to myself as we walked towards the ticket gates without a word. You’ve got sauce on your mouth.

“Well, this is where I go,” I said.

“I can’t find my pass.”

One problem solved, another emerges. I sighed secretly as I watched Hamasaki Mai rummaging through her bag.

“Eh~ I can’t find my pass~”

It’s impossible for her pass to be missing. She must have used it to get here, and it’s unlikely she’d hold onto it the entire time without putting it away.

Depending on where she stores it, it’s improbable for the pass to go missing since it wouldn’t be used for anything other than boarding the train.

Well, explaining this to a drunk wouldn’t help, so I took out a thousand-yen bill from my wallet and handed it to her.

“You better hurry.”

Hamasaki Mai took the money and asked, “Is it okay?”

“It’s fine. But what time is the last train?”

“Uh, what time was it again… Wasn’t it around 1:05 AM?”

Believing in her vague memory, I checked the time on my phone—1:03 AM.

“Heh.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“We should hurry. The last train is about to leave. In exactly two minutes.”

“Two minutes!? No way!”

Shocked, Hamasaki Mai sprang into action. We rushed to buy a ticket, passed through the gates, and I quickly followed her silhouette.

We dashed through the still crowded station, ran up the stairs, and dove into the train. We secured a spot in the center of the car, gasping for air as we waited for departure.

More passengers boarded the train after us, and we moved closer to the door, making room.

A couple of minutes might have passed before the doors finally closed, and the train slowly started moving.

Looking out at the passing night scenery, I suddenly came back to my senses.

I missed the last train.