“Sure, sure, but aren’t all you monster girls here looking to get married?” the punk asked.
“I suppose~” Miia replied.
“Then how ’bout it? Do a good job, and I’ll marry you! You’ve just gotta let me touch those titties, Miss Lamia!”
Miia went completely silent. That was it. She’d ascended to a higher plane of rage.
Yes, there was a hot springs resort where liminals and host families could apply to be matched together. Kimihito had even assisted its proprietor, a Yuki-Onna, once. But the idea that all monster girls were here to find husbands was an insulting stereotype. For a liminal who came to study abroad, their relationship to their host family was vital, which was why a proper matching service for finding the right partnership between them was so important. Besides, she already had that sort of bond with Kimihito. Although…
Smith-san did tell me I’d have to marry one of my guests, Kimihito recalled. That was a completely different situation, though—totally different from going into a normal bar and harassing the employees like this. If he wanted to treat this ordinary bar like it was a brothel, he couldn’t be surprised when he got kicked out on his ass. So why hadn’t anyone done that yet? Why wasn’t Miia crushing that punk like an empty can?
“Oh gosh, what should we do?” Miia faked confusion for a moment, before sticking her pointer finger in the air. “I know! How about a drinking game? If you win, you can touch me however you’d like. Interested?”
You’ve gotta be kidding me! Kimihito screamed in his head. What is she thinking?!
The punk just laughed. “Yeah, hey, why not?! I can hold my liquor though, Miss. You’d better be prepared to keep your promise!”
“Of course! But, sir, if I win, you’ll have to pay for both our drinks. Fair?”
“Ha ha ha ha ha! She’s got moxie! That’s how a woman should be. Hey, spider lady, can we get two tequilas?”
Rachnera took the order in silence and prepared two glasses. She was clearly just as furious, but she’d agreed to let Miia take charge, so she didn’t interfere. Zombina delivered the drinks, and the punk accepted them happily, not seeming to notice the dangerous looks from every staff member in the joint.
“Cheeeeeers!” Miia sang.
The two of them downed their glasses in unison, and though Kimihito had heard that tequila was some of the strongest liquor out there, they both reacted like it was water.
“Huh, that’s right. Yeah, that guy’s famous around here. Not many people with mohawks like that,” Lilith piped up as Miia and the punk called for their next round.
“Lilith!” Kimihito snapped around to look to her. “You’re still here?!”
She was staring at the punk like he was the lowest of the low, even by her standards. “He wanders the cabaret clubs and bars around here. He gets the female employees drunk, then molests them while their guards are down. It’s become a big problem.”
“Shouldn’t he get in trouble for that?”
“Places keep banning him. I bet he came here because he’s got nowhere left to go. He’s the worst kind of garbage.” Her eyes narrowed into an intense glare.
The punk and Miia had made it to their second shots of tequila. If what Lilith was saying was true, Miia’s offer of a drinking contest was the perfect cover for his usual MO.
Kimihito’s jaw clenched as he watched. “I’ve got to stop this.”
“If you went out there now, you’d just make it worse,” Lilith said. “Miss Rachnera can step in if she needs help. Watch yourself, human.”
“Ugh,” was all Kimihito had to say about that. He watched Miia and the punk drain their third shots with fists clenched in preparation.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Miia drink before. None of the girls drank much, but he was especially surprised to see Miia knocking them back like this. She was several shots deep, but she seemed fine. Is she really okay, though?
“It’s not healthy to drink on an empty stomach,” Miia said gently, like a mother chastising a child. “Why not order some food?”
“O-okay… I’ll have a snack,” replied the punk.
“Zombina, can you bring us some mixed nuts? Thanks!” Her cheer was less forced than before, the alcohol lifting her mood, but there was still tension underneath. She was stuck beside a no-good punk, and she had to either outdrink him or let him touch her… Of course she was feeling stressed and uncomfortable.
And besides all that, her darling Kimihito was watching all this. She knew he’d be impressed if she handled this herself, but, ugh, talk about a big obstacle to a successful work experience. She glared at the punk when he turned away—the man was a mess, his personality was awful, and despite his boasts he was wildly unappealing. He couldn’t hope to compare to Kimihito. He was lucky she hadn’t destroyed him yet.
For now, though, she’d make the best of it. If she could get rid of this customer peacefully, she would totally outshine Rachnera—and Centorea, too. This plan had to work.
Kimihito was much too nervous to understand what she was doing, but of course Miia didn’t realize that.
“Sooo, why’s a monster girl working, anyway?” the punk asked.
“It’s a work experience test program, so we’re trying out some jobs,” Miia replied.
“Huh. That’s nice. You’re s’posed to be kinda stupid, so it’d be cool if some of you got jobs at the cabaret clubs. Yeah, there’d be no problem getting you to drink, then I can do whatever I want.”
“I see.” Her eyes widened at his speciesist, sexist comments, but she shoved the anger down and refused to let herself respond. If she could, she would constrict him until his bones warped and broke, but she knew she couldn’t do that. The Interspecies Cultural Exchange Accord wouldn’t let her. That was why she’d devised this roundabout plan to get him drunk in the first place. Shoving aside her murderous desires, she drank another shot. “Mmm! Yeah, that’s good!”
“H-hey now, girlie, haven’t you hit your limit yet? You’ve sure had a lot.”
“Oh? I’m doing perfectly fine, thanks! But what about you, sir? Your face is so red—maybe you should quit before you’re too wasted?”
“Huh?!” he snarled, suddenly aggressive. “Don’t look down on me! I got this!” He downed another shot and caught up with her.