Hii Kōri let Akane lead the way to a bar inside the guild complex reserved for senior staff.
When he pushed open the door, it was unexpectedly quiet. Though all the mood lighting was on, there wasn't a single person in sight—not even the bartender who should have been waiting behind the counter.
"Hmm?"
Catching his mild surprise, Akane shot him a smug smile and slipped inside first: "Don't bother looking. I booked the whole place tonight~"
She snuck behind the counter with practiced ease, opened a finely crafted wooden cabinet, and retrieved a slender porcelain bottle and two matching ceramic cups, setting them on the bar before sneaking back out.
When she pulled the stopper, a clean, fruity sake aroma rose into the air.
Judging by her smooth movements, she was clearly quite familiar with this place—she had definitely come here often to drink away stress.
"Here. Special reserve from the Land of Alcohol. Only a few hundred bottles a year—we managed to get a third of them~"
She introduced her favorite drink while pouring clear liquid into both cups. Hii Kōri raised an eyebrow with interest and took the cup.
Akane, meanwhile, downed hers in one go, then let out the kind of weary but satisfied groan typical of a corporate drone: "Haaah—I'm alive again~"
Then she set down her empty cup and saw Hii Kōri only sipping him. She couldn't help but complain: "Hey, you said you'd drink with me. This isn't very satisfying!"
Hii Kōri shrugged, swirling the clear liquid in his cup: "An arabashiri like this should be sipped. It's barely alcoholic anyway—if you gulp it down, you'll waste all the fragrance."
"Hmph. Mr. Know-It-All." Akane pouted, unconvinced.
Compared to fruit wine, this sake was much stronger!
Hii Kōri didn't argue. With one hand on the counter, he vaulted over smoothly and landed inside.
His gaze swept the rows of bottles behind him, finally settling on a completely unmarked glass bottle with clear liquid inside.
He picked it up, weighed it, then casually broke off the neck with a flick of his finger. Before the sharp, blade-like scent of grain spirits could spread, he tilted it back and took a long swig.
Then he held up the now noticeably shorter bottle and grinned at Akane: "This kind of stuff—this is what you gulp down."
"What's that supposed to mean? You think I can't handle it?"
His challenge seemed to make her want to win. With a childish gesture, she took the bottle from him, copied his movement, and drank deeply.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough—!"
The next moment, intense heat and burn shot straight up her nose and throat. The explosive harshness made her face turn crimson, tears streaming uncontrollably as she doubled over, coughing.
For someone like Akane, who only drank arabashiri sake, vodka was simply too much.
"Told you. This stuff isn't for you."
Hii Kōri patted her back gently—his tone, a mix of resignation and amusement, made it clear he was anything but innocent.
Akane certainly thought so. But by the time she recovered enough to scold him, he was already rummaging through the fruit basket.
He picked out a fresh, ripe orange, juiced it, and mixed the juice with the spirits in a metal shaker filled with ice.
With a ninja's triple-speed reflexes, the shaker became a blur in his hands. The sound of ice against metal blurred into a single note. Seconds later, he strained the mixed liquid into a clean cup and slid it toward Akane.
The amber liquid glowed enticingly under the lights.
She gave him a skeptical look, then studied the pretty drink. Taking a cautious sip, she found none of the harshness she expected.
The alcohol's burn was perfectly balanced by the orange's sweet-tart flavor. The chill made it refreshing.
"Mm... this is good!"
Akane's eyes lit up. She soon finished the large glass of screwdriver, licked her lips, and tapped the counter, pushing the empty glass back toward him—clearly asking for another.
She'd said earlier that he was going to "serve" her, and she hadn't been joking!
Determined, she tried to put on what she thought was her most fearsome "dangerous woman" expression.
To Hii Kōri, though, her flushed cheeks and hazy, tipsy eyes were anything but dangerous—they gave her a rare, endearing softness.
Then again, he hadn't actually seen her in ordinary situations all that often.
Catching his amused gaze, Akane—already quite drunk—rested her warm cheeks in her hands and stretched out her words like a child whining: "Heyyy… what are you staring at?"
Hii Kōri wiped the glass and answered as if it were obvious: "At you, of course. My queen, who can't handle her alcohol."
"Hmph! How dare you, a mere bartender, look your queen in the eye! Such disrespect! Off with your head!"
Akane tried to sound outraged, but she couldn't keep it up. A giggle escaped, and she slumped bonelessly against the cool bar, cheek pressed to the surface, drawing out her words lazily: "Hurry up~ One more~"
"Even if you encore at me like that, I should warn you, one more and you might actually do something crazy."
"I'm not drunk…"
Akane squinted, tracing the condensation droplets sliding down her empty glass with a delicate fingertip, one after another. "Besides… I want to get drunk. And I don't do crazy things…"
"Mm-hmm. I have my doubts."
Hii Kōri's lips curved downward, but he didn't refuse her request.
After all, he'd promised to drink with her properly.
As she sipped her second screwdriver, Akane seemed to remember something. She looked up at Hii Kōri, who was currently chugging straight from the bottle like a "dragon drinking water," and giggled: "Is this the first time you've poured a drink for anyone?"
"Mm... yeah."
Caught mid-chug, Hii Kōri nodded, then went back to it.
Once it's open, it's a waste not to finish it.
He'd barely set down the empty bottle and swallowed the last mouthful when Akane kicked off her shoes, wobbled across the bar stool, and threw herself at him—kissing him, just as she had when they parted.
The sweet, lingering citrus flooded his mouth, as if trying to steal the taste of spirits from his lips.
Between breaths, most of what was left in his mouth spilled from the corners of their joined lips, trailing down their necks and soaking the fronts of their clothes.
Finally, Akane broke away, gasping, and grinned: "This way… it's not so strong…"
Her face was deeply flushed, but her eyes were startlingly bright.
Hii Kōri caught her now-pliant body, unsurprised. "See? I knew you'd do something crazy when you were drunk."
"I didn't~" She pressed against him, tilting her head back, her voice sticky with wine. "It's only because I'm drunk that I dare do this~"
"Oh? So you knew what you were doing. Long-planned, then. That doesn't sound like being drunk."
He brushed aside her stray hair, then added: "And honestly? Your kissing is still terrible."
Akane didn't get angry. Instead, she held him tighter, pressing her hot cheek to his neck, her voice damp and intimate: "Yes… So won't you teach me, Teacher Kōri~"
From that thin, fragile voice—sweet with the fermented scent of fruit and wine—Hii Kōri could feel how much courage the trembling body in his arms had mustered, pressing against him as if wishing to become one.
So…
"Is that so?…Then as you wish."
—
When Akane finally woke up from a deep sleep, sunlight was pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the room.
The sun's position, high overhead, made the time obvious.
Ah… I've already missed the morning shift…
Her eyes followed the refracted light from the water glass on the nightstand, tracing patterns on the ceiling. The thought made her laugh—what a corporate drone's concern.
Feeling sticky all over, she sat up—and a wave of soreness washed through her limbs.
The air was heavy with lingering scent. The sheets were a tangled mess. Her skin was marked with vivid red traces and fingerprints, stark in the morning light. Her throat was raw and dry—the aftermath of last night's… vocal performance.
But alongside the discomfort was a long-missed sense of satisfaction and release.
All of it was clear evidence of how intense last night's "drunken indiscretion" had truly been.
She reached out, and the sheet, barely clinging to her shoulder, finally gave way, revealing more pale skin marked with evidence of thorough play.
She ignored it, weakly reaching for the glass of water on the nightstand. She sipped slowly, holding it in her mouth before swallowing.
As the cool liquid soothed her raw throat, she sighed, curling beneath the tangled sheets.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty."
The greeting made her notice Hii Kōri, sitting across the room with his back to her.
He was shirtless, his lean muscles catching the morning light. A white towel was wrapped around his hair—he looked like he'd just showered.
He was hunched over the table, writing something.
Akane squinted, her voice still hoarse: "You even found time to work at a time like this?"
"It's not like I could just leave while you were still asleep."
She hummed noncommittally, too lazy to call out his obvious evasion. Once her throat had eased a bit, she asked: "Don't you have one of those quick-dry jutsu? Why are you wrapped up like that?"
"Not like I was in a hurry to change clothes or get to sleep. No need to rush."
He tossed his pen aside, turned to lean against the desk, and smiled at her. "Unless… you're that eager to kick me out? Even though you were so clingy last night."
That shut her up for a moment. She turned away. "We're both adults. I never said you had to… anything. I told you, last night was just you 'serving' me. I'm not asking you to take responsibility—"
"All that talking just makes you sound guilty, my Queen~"
Hii Kōri walked over, waved a hand, and his standard cleaning jutsu freshened both Akane and the sheets. He sat beside her. "Why did you go this far, anyway?"
"Back in Rōran, I told you this wasn't necessary."
"Hoo… you're too sharp."
Akane let out a breath, then slo
wly curled up, hugging her knees, cheek pressed against them. Her voice was muffled. "Because… I'm scared…"
"...I see. You saw it too."
Rōran's future was no longer a concern—so there was only one thing Akane could mean.
Something only the two of them knew: the Star Memories from the Dragon Veins.
"I am the Queen of Rōran. The shrine maiden who inherited the Dragon Veins' power."
Akane smiled peacefully, but her voice was strained.
"Just thinking that this world was once invaded by such predators, that we might face them again… I'm so, so scared. Even just handling Rōran's daily affairs wears me out. I don't know how to face something like that…"
She looked up, took Hii Kōri's hand, slid it up his arm, pressed it against his chest, and finally settled against him, listening to his steady heartbeat.
"But… how can you still stride forward so boldly after seeing all that?"
"Why… I'm still looking for that answer."
Hii Kōri looked out the window at the winter sun—white in the cold air but still spreading light and warmth—and smiled.
Life is a pure flame. Inside us all lives an invisible sun.
"Since you're scared…" He pulled her close, chin resting on her messy hair, speaking in the same steady, persuasive voice as always, "then take as much extra courage from me as you need."
"Don't trust yourself. Trust me instead. Until we reach a new world together or burn up in the flames."
***
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