“If you’re okay so far, I think the chances are pretty good you’ll be fine. But just to be on the safe side, I think I should watch you for at least another four hours.”
“So until ten… Twelve hours after I was scratched.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I might already be asleep by then.”
“I want you to tell me as soon as you notice any changes happening to you, so I’d appreciate it if you made an effort to stay awake.”
“Yeah, makes sense…,” Kamiji said, roughly scratching her head. “Tell me, is there anything to do here at night?”
“Not really… As things stand, we don’t have power or internet.”
“There aren’t any jobs to do inside the building?”
“Let’s see… We just cleaned yesterday, and we can’t do anything at night…”
“I’ll be so bored. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake.”
“Why don’t we have a welcome party for you and Amano?” Haruka suggested suddenly. “If we’re partying and having a good time, four hours will fly by in no time.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea. In that case, I’m gonna drink tonight!”
“Huh…?! Again…?”
I frowned, but Kamiji replied casually, “Oh, come on. I’ll get serious starting tomorrow.”
“Well…I don’t mind since all we’re doing after this is going to bed.”
And just like that, our impromptu welcome party began.
First, we got the drinks ready. Kamiji nonchalantly poured a can of shochu and soda into a cup, then suggested that Amano join her.
“I’ll just have a soft drink…”
“Aw, come on. Have a drink with me.”
“Okay… Just one.”
“Yes! Hey, Kousaka, everyone—let’s all get drunk. I found whiskey bonbons at the supermarket.”
“Whiskey bonbons?”
“They’re a type of candy made of hardened sugar with whiskey inside and coated with chocolate.”
“They’re alcoholic? None of us can drink.”
“What are you talking about, Kousaka? The law only prohibits minors from consuming drinks containing an alcohol percentage of one percent or more. That means food items are okay.”
“How do you know so much about the law?”
“Looking for loopholes in the law is my favorite pastime.”
“That’s a weird hobby.”
“You’ll have some of these, too, won’t you, Kousaka?”
“No thanks. I won’t be able to fight if I’m drunk and zombies come to attack us.”
“Always so serious, huh? What about you, Tsukishiro?”
“I’ll refrain as well.”
“Two peas in a pod. No wonder you’re together.”
“I’ll have some,” Haruka said, giving me the evil eye. “I can’t put up with this if I’m not drunk.”
With the preparations complete, we all clinked our glasses together.
It was all well and good that we’d gotten worked up and were having a welcome party, but what did people even do at these sorts of events?
“Um, excuse me. Before we forget, can we decide on our sleeping arrangements for the night?” Mai asked after the toast. “In the dorm, we have one room with a single bunk bed and another with three. We’re all sleeping in the same room right now because we feel uneasy without Yuuma there with us.”
“So essentially, you have one room for two and another for six, and we’d be short one bed if Amano and I slept in the same room as the rest of you?”
“Well, no. Since one person always keeps watch over the front gate at night, everyone else can sleep in the same room. The only thing is that we’d have to use the beds in rotation, so it might be a little tough if you don’t want to sleep in a bed someone else has used.”
“I see… Either way is fine with me… Amano? What do you want to do?”
“Mmm…,” Amano responded sluggishly. “Let’s see… What should we do?”
I hadn’t noticed how droopy Amano’s eyes looked until now. Our eyes met, and she bashfully turned away, then suddenly let out a strange shriek.
“Eek!! Kousaka, you’re so good-looking!!”
Huh…?! Was she already drunk…?
“Amano can’t hold her liquor,” Kamiji explained, looking pleased for some reason. “Oh, and be careful. When she’s drunk, she starts fawning over anyone who’s near her.”
“Why did you make her drink, then?”
“Why else? Because it’s funny.”
I felt a headache coming on.
I knew it. Kamiji really isn’t cut out for communal living…
But just as that thought went through my mind, Amano pulled her chair toward me and closed the distance between us.
“Hey, Kousaka. Are you interested in older women?”
“Huh…?! Well, uh… Sure.”
I had to answer in the affirmative because Mai, who I was supposed to be in a relationship with, was older than me.
“Then how much older can a girl be for you to be interested in her?”
She was being awfully straightforward.
Was she trying to make a move on me…?! But Haruka (my real girlfriend) and Mai (my pretend girlfriend) were both right here with us…!!
“Um, I’ve never really thought about it…”
“Then think about it now.”
“I’m already dating Mai…”
“But you said you were turning this into a polygamous dorm.”
“—!!”
Amano’s shocking statement made everyone freeze, and the room became quiet.
A few seconds later, Amano seemed to realize she’d said something she shouldn’t have and turned red, flustered.
“Ah! Was that something I shouldn’t have said in front of Tsukishiro?”
Mai, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber.
“…No, don’t worry. I’m aware of the relationship between Yuuma and Hyuuga.”
Apparently, she’d decided to play the role of girl who knows her boyfriend’s two-timing her.
Still, it didn’t change the fact that the atmosphere in the cafeteria was ruined.
“—Well then, I guess there’s no avoiding it. Let’s all talk about who we like,” Kamiji said, looking around. It was a hell of a suggestion. “First of all, let me ask you guys something. Does everyone here know about the situation between Kousaka, Hyuuga, and Tsukishiro?”
Lisa and Ichinose both shook their heads.
“Okay. Kousaka, why don’t you tell them?”
“Why me…?”
“Well, it’d be weird if I did it, right?” Kamiji said.
“It seems kind of weird for anyone to explain…”
But I couldn’t bluff my way out of it at this point.
I explained to everyone that I was in a relationship with both Haruka and Mai and was thinking about polygamy as the way to go. Of course, it was a lie, but Lisa and Ichinose had to be confused since they were completely in the dark.
Even I didn’t really understand how things had gotten so complicated. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if you act on the spur of the moment, things will eventually come back to haunt you.
“Thanks for laying it all out, Kousaka,” Kamiji said. “So now that everyone has a grasp of what’s what, I have a question for Tsukishiro. You’re in love with Kousaka, right?”
“Of course I’m in love with him.”
“And you have no complaints about him fooling around with other girls?”
“…He’s a popular guy, so I think it’s only natural.”
“Wouldn’t you normally want him all to yourself?”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel that way…but considering the world we now live in, I know I can’t keep him all to myself.”
It was my fault that Mai had to come up with a flimsy excuse like that.
I’m so sorry…
“So does that mean I can make a move on him, too?”
It was Amano again, speaking without reading the room and staring at me with those droopy eyes of hers.
“…I don’t think I have the right to stop you,” Mai said, sounding confused. She gave me a concerned look.
I probably should have said something, but if we were going to keep up this facade of thinking about polygamy, my only option was to accept Amano. She was pretty, and I had no reason to complain…