As Shiro walked toward the manager, passing by the two idiots, some strange brainwaves started transmitting…
Sunrise. Beach. Fruit. Sex. Yamamoto…
"What the hell are you two imagining now?!" he yelled.
"Iori made me think of it!"
"Screw you, it was your twisted brain! And why does 'Cherry Poppin' remind you of Yamamoto?!"
"You three are too gross—stop it already!" Aina shouted. Shouldn't they be doing something elegant in a place like this?!
"Elegant?" ×3
The trio looked confused. Wasn't this place for spending money, drinking, and hitting on girls?
"Think about it! In movies, the bartender does that cool 'shake,' passes a drink from across the bar, and says stuff like 'Here's to your eyes'!"
The trio nodded thoughtfully. That did make sense.
"In that case, let me start!"
Shiro took on the first role. He had to show these two idiots what true bartending looked like!
Without hesitation, he added a few base spirits and started shaking smoothly. His piggy face even looked somewhat handsome.
Then—boom!
Mid-shake, the shaker exploded. Liquor splashed everywhere.
All three were drenched.
"So… the question is… who put cola in the shaker?"
Shiro's face darkened. He could smell cola in the air.
First round—failed!
"Let me do it."
Kohei, with golden hair and a handsome face, sat like the star of the bar.
"This one's on me!"
He slid a drink to Shiro.
No surprise, the drink flew right out and drenched Shiro again.
Second round—failed!
"Here's to your eyes!"
Final round: a simple toast. Iori and Shiro clinked glasses gently like old friends.
Then Iori poured his drink directly into Shiro's eyes.
Third round—failed!
"My glamorous fantasy is ruined!" Aina cried, clutching her face. How could these three be this ridiculous?!
"You idiots, who pours drinks on someone's face or in their eyes?!"
"Huh? You did a sake fountain too!"
"That was because of the cola!"
…
The bar manager watched them with a smile. Though it was chaotic, witnessing such youthful energy was nice.
"They seem to have a great relationship."
"Probably because they're always together," Kotobuki explained proudly. He and Tokita took great pride in these rookies.
"Oh? Then what's their relationship exactly?"
The question made Kotobuki and Azusa think for a moment… then they remembered that party.
"They've seen each other naked."
!!!
The manager's mental CPU crashed. His slicked-back hair became a mess.
"Ahaha… you're joking, right?"
"Nope. It's true."
"You can confirm it with one of them."
The manager, overwhelmed by curiosity, stopped Shiro, who was holding a glass of brown liquid.
"Kamishiro-kun, can I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure, go ahead."
He wasn't sure what was happening, but he figured he could spare a moment.
"So, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Hmm, not really. But I've got a few ambiguous relationships."
!!!
The manager's hair got messier. Ambiguous?! With Kitahara and Imamura?!
"Didn't you use to flirt with girls at the bar?"
"Yeah, but I'm kind of over that. I lose interest fast."
No longer interested?!
The manager was panicking now, imagining that all the flirting was just a cover for his true preferences.
"Final question: Have you faced many obstacles before…?"
Shiro thought back to high school and university and the beasts he had to deal with.
"Everyone always hated me!"
!!!
The manager was now completely convinced. Their relationship was exactly as strange as Kotobuki and Azusa said!
His eyes widened in horror. Thank goodness he listened to his wife and didn't learn bartending from Kamishiro!
His throat felt dry. Kamishiro's drink looked like oolong tea… but he didn't dare try it.
Then he saw Kohei had a similar drink. After Aina refused it, the manager took it.
"Well then, I won't hold back."
Before Shiro could stop him, the manager downed the entire 'special oolong tea.'
Bam!
The manager passed out on the table.
"He's down."
"Guess his tolerance is low."
"He needs more practice."
"Anyone who drinks that thing would black out!" Aina shouted. It was an entire glass of vodka and whiskey!
"So that's what you were gonna give me?"
Hanabi approached, eyeing the suspicious "oolong tea."
(;?＿?)
"Wha… what are you talking about?!"
Shiro averted his gaze. No way he could admit it!
"Let me go wake up the manager."
He approached the manager. After all, if he stayed like that, he'd catch a cold… cold… wait…
That was the See You Tomorrow cocktail!
Bam!
Shiro passed out on top of the manager.
At that moment, the manager instantly regained consciousness!
…
...
The next day
Shiro groggily woke up in bed, surrounded by a delightful, mouthwatering aroma.
The smell of food!
He shook his head, trying to clear his foggy mind. Last night, he had been drinking at a bar, originally planning to outdrink his editor...
But it seemed he had ended up outdrinking himself instead.
He sighed and glanced around. This was definitely his own home—someone must have brought him back.
On the table sat a bowl of steaming hot porridge.
He walked over and noticed a note beneath the bowl.
"You won't be so lucky next time. Stay away from that woman—your light novel is turning into someone else's memoir!
And get me a new manuscript in a month!
If you're awake, drink the porridge. It's pigeon porridge. If I don't see a new novel next month, you'll be the one turned into porridge!"
{{(°△°; "}}!
Shiro instantly sobered up after reading the note. What kind of message was this? It was practically a threat letter!
But at least there was some good news—it seemed the issue with his novel had been dropped?
Gulp~
The pigeon porridge was delicious!