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Ao-chan Wants To Hear It Again

Nakabayashi Aoba's POV

"Hey, that teacher, the way he looked at me was creepy, you know? He had this 'I'm thinking dirty thoughts right now' look on his face."

"That teacher, even the girls said he was creepy."

"Oh, really!?"

Aoba and Minato were getting excited talking about the other world.

They had been drinking, and their voices grew louder, but no one in the cafeteria cared.

It was not particularly unusual for adventurers to be drinking loudly during the day.

Minato took another sip of the drink Aoba recommended as easy to drink.

"Minato-kun, you're drinking quite a bit."

"It's not that big of a deal. Here, Ao-chan has some too. I don't want to be the only one drinking."

...In a place where I'm not around, does he call me Ao-chan?

The casual change in how he addressed me felt a bit ticklish.

Minato, who was muttering incomprehensible words, was on the road to being drunk.

Watching Minato, who was getting increasingly tipsy, Aoba thought vaguely.

He's kinda cute...

His usually cool expression had softened, probably due to the warmth of the alcohol, and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

His head was swaying slightly, like a baby who couldn't support its neck.

"Are you completely drunk?"

Aoba asked, and Minato replied.

"Ao-chan, if you quit adventuring, I think that's perfectly fine."

Since he didn't provide a proper answer when I asked, it was clear he was already a full-fledged drunk.

"Well, I've earned enough money, and even if I disband the party and join someone else or do safe solo quests, I won't have trouble making a living."

"I don't want to disband the party. I..."

"I don't want to do it, because I like you, Ao-chan."

"...Huh?"

Aoba repeated the words she heard in her head once more.

And then, she repeated, "Huh?" once more.

"What? Say it again?"

"I think it's perfectly fine if you quit adventuring."

"Not that part..."

Aoba gently shook Minato's shoulder, who seemed half-asleep.

The answer Aoba had hoped for didn't come, and Minato fell asleep.

I knew Minato had suggested taking a break from adventuring for my sake.

Aoba was happy that Minato was so considerate.

"Too perceptive and thoughtful..."

Leaning on her hand, Aoba poked Minato's leg under the table.

She didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't help but think, should they disband the party for Aoba's sake? That was typical of Minato.

"It's because you can worry ahead of time."

Why did he have to go through all this? 

Why was he getting into such dangerous situations? 

Aoba had thought that many times since coming to this world.

If there had been an option not to adventure, Aoba on the first day would have chosen it without hesitation.

But...

"I'm having fun. Being with Minato-kun, going on adventures."

Even if more unreasonable things happened in the future, even if they faced greater dangers, Aoba felt that with Minato, they could get through it all.

After paying the bill and offering his shoulder to Minato, Aoba and Minato left the tavern.

"Minato-kun, we're going to the inn."

"Yeaah..."

"Hahaha. See, I told you?"

As punishment, Aoba lightly pinched Minato's cheek.

They had entered the cafeteria during the day, but the sun had set without them noticing.

They entered an inn they had used several times and rented two rooms.

The innkeeper offered to carry Minato, but Aoba declined, saying, "He's someone important to me. I want to take care of him myself." without thinking.

A slip of the tongue made Aoba blush.

Without looking at the innkeeper's face, Aoba slowly carried Minato to the room they had been assigned and finally laid him on the bed.

Their arms were still entwined, and because of that, Aoba was pulled down with Minato as he fell.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—Ack!"

When Aoba realized it, it seemed like she was being used as a pillow by Minato.

I felt the solidness of the bone and the elasticity of the muscles that I didn't have in Minato's arm. It made me feel the masculinity of Minato.

When Aoba looked up, Minato was peacefully snoring in his sleep.

"...I'm a bad adult, so if anything happens, I'll just blame it on the alcohol."

I kissed Minato on the cheek and froze as I felt embarrassed by what I had just done.

"Ugh..."

After the freeze had thawed, Aoba turned around, and Minato rolled over, following him closely, and their backs were pressed against each other.

"Y-you're awake, right? I mean, that was kinda... adult stuff..."

I tried to act mature and scold, but there was no response.

Looking back, Minato was still asleep.

Feeling relieved, Aoba muttered, "Next time, please ask me when we're sober. Then, I'll say okay right away. Not that. I'll take it back home and think about it carefully. You know, the age difference isn't that simple."

Quietly, I slipped out of bed and returned to my room.

"...From now on, I'll ask you to call me Ao-chan when we're face to face."

I undressed and got into bed, savoring the lingering feelings of the day.