**Knock, knock**
There was a knock on the bedroom door. It was the middle of the night.
“Co in.” (Yuri)
Thinking it was Enrique again, I said so. However, it was Myaro who entered.
Was sothing wrong?
“What’s the matter? Has there been so great catastrophe?” (Yuri)
“No, I just heard that Yuri-kun was drinking.” (Myaro)
‘Indeed, I had been drinking. So what?’
“There’s no problem with that. I’m 20 years old now, so it’s legal.” (Yuri)
“The maids say you opened a whole bottle of distilled spirits in one night. You’re drinking too much.” (Myaro)
“Does it seem excessive to you?” (Yuri)
I wasn’t drunk enough to be reprimanded. It was alcohol I bought with my own money, so it should be fine.
“May I sit?” (Myaro)
“Go ahead.” (Yuri)
Myaro sat on the single-seater sofa opposite the table.
“Did you get to talk to Carol before the end?” (Myaro)
Myaro brought up an old topic. This was the first proper conversation we’d had since Carol died.
“I did. She said she was sorry to you.” (Yuri)
I poured myself another glass of whiskey and downed it. I felt the searing heat in my throat.
‘The good thing about whiskey that isn’t diluted with water is that it gets you drunk quickly.’
Myaro looked at reproachfully.
“I see.” (Myaro)
“What was in that letter, anyway?” (Yuri)
“…” (Myaro)
Myaro remained silent.
“It’s a secret.” (Myaro)
‘It seems to be a secret. Well, whatever.’
“Still, to think she would go for a Caesarean section. You were in on it too, weren’t you?” (Yuri)
“Yes. That was Carol’s wish.” (Myaro)
“Was it Lily-san’s first ti performing an abdominal surgery?” (Yuri)
“No, she practiced on a pregnant death row inmate. I arranged it.” (Myaro)
‘What a horrible thing to have soone do. Even for Lily-senpai, it must have been a tough experience because of dealing with soone else’s blood-soaked insides.’
“That death row inmate is still alive. Her skills aren’t bad.” (Myaro)
‘Impressive. I wonder how they managed things like drainage.’
“Well, whatever. It’s all over now.” (Yuri)
‘I won’t praise or bla anyone. That’s the end of it. I don’t want to think about whether Carol’s lifespan was shortened or extended because of Lily-senpai’s surgery.’
“… I’m sorry. You can deal with however you like.” (Myaro)
“It’s fine.” (Yuri)
‘No one needs to be punished.’
“No one did anything wrong. Carol seed relatively happy.” (Yuri)
“In that case, please don’t drink.” (Myaro)
“Don’t be so uptight. Everyone does it, both n and won.” (Yuri)
I poured myself another glass of whiskey. I wanted to try sothing else, but when it ca to dostically distilled spirits, my only choice was malt whiskey made from malted barley.
“… I’m worried.” (Myaro)
“Don’t be. I’m handling things properly during the day, aren’t I?” (Yuri)
‘It would be a different story if you were drinking a lot in the middle of the day.’
I drained the whiskey I had poured into the glass.
“Then. I’ll join you.” (Myaro)
Myaro took the glass I had placed on the table, filled it to the brim with whiskey, and gulped it down.
“Ah, ugh—cough, cough!” (Myaro)
As expected, she started coughing violently. Pouring straight whiskey into a throat that probably hadn’t even tasted beer before was bound to cause that.
“What are you doing?” (Yuri)
“Because… you said not to worry.” (Myaro)
Myaro began to pour whiskey into the glass again.
‘Seriously?’
“Stop it.” (Yuri)
“I can do what I want! Don’t worry about !” (Myaro)
Myaro gulped down the glass of whiskey again.
“What on earth are you trying to do? Stop it.” (Yuri)
“But, but…” (Myaro)
She looked dejected. It seed like the alcohol was already affecting her.
“You said not to worry, so… at least let worry about you…” (Myaro)
“You’re right. I’m grateful for your concern.” (Yuri)
I decided to play along and poured myself another drink in a fresh glass.
‘Drinking straight from the bottle is never a good idea, no matter the situation.’
“But seriously, stop drinking.” (Yuri)
The alcohol was clearly affecting her, making her voice sound unsteady. It seed she was quite susceptible to alcohol.
“I’m going to keep drinking.” (Yuri)
“Then, you have one week.” (Myaro)
That sounded alarming.
“If you don’t stop in a month, I’ll be really angry. You can’t be depressed any longer.” (Myaro)
“Why?” (Yuri)
Her deadline had suddenly extended from a week to a month.
“Is Carol everything to you? I’m worried about you too, and so are Lily-san and Shamu-chan. Are you just going to ignore all of us?” (Myaro)
“Let grieve as long as I need to.” (Yuri)
“I understand that you’re grieving, but telling us not to worry is just too cruel…” (Myaro)
Tears began to well up in her eyes.
‘Is she a tearful drunk or sothing?’
“Don’t cry…” (Yuri)
“Sniff… Then don’t say such harsh things… If I started drinking heavily, you would worry about too, right?” (Myaro)
Sniffling, Myaro took the glass I had just poured and started sipping it slowly. She didn’t seem to enjoy the taste, but the effects of the alcohol were evidently appealing to her.
“Of course I would.” (Yuri)
‘I know it’s not my place to say this, but drinking high-alcohol whiskey on its own isn’t a good idea, so I prepared so water as a chaser. I an, don’t take my drink…’
“Then, don’t tell not to worry…” (Myaro)
‘Hmm…’
“Alright, alright, I’ll cut back on the drinking.” (Yuri)
‘She’d probably forget by morning anyway.’
“It’s not just about the drinking…” (Myaro)
‘Hmm?’
“I know, you slept with a woman nad Enrique about a week ago.” (Myaro)
‘Eh…?’
“Don’t do things like that just because you’re feeling reckless. There’s a proper order to things…”
Myaro downed the remaining whiskey in her glass in one gulp. Her anger was rising. She was steering this conversation in a strange direction.
“I didn’t sleep with her.” (Yuri)
“Liar…” (Myaro)
“Well…” (Yuri)
I didn’t think I could explain Enrique’s peculiar fetishes to Myaro in a way that made sense.
“Seriously, I didn’t sleep with him.” (Yuri)
“n are just… really…” (Myaro)
This was a terrible misunderstanding. I felt like I was getting blad for everything.
“Seriously… you’re just ssing around. Do you know how much I’ve been worrying… and yet…” (Myaro)
“I told you, I didn’t sleep with her.” (Yuri)
‘Why do I have to defend myself like a defendant in court, even though I was the victim of a random attack? This makes no sense. It’s incredibly unfair.’
“Please don’t lie to .” (Myaro)
‘This is a pain… I didn’t sleep with her. I just went to another room because she couldn’t move after I killed and revived him. How am I supposed to explain that?’
“…” (Yuri)
‘Better to stay silent. The phrase “silence is golden” seems made for situations like this.’
“Say sothing…” (Myaro)
“…” (Yuri)
I stayed silent. I poured a little more whiskey into my glass and took a sip.
“Why are you mad… and why are you drinking? You said you wouldn’t drink…” (Myaro)
‘I didn’t say I wouldn’t drink.’
“I can’t sleep, so what else can I do?” (Yuri)
I seized the opportunity to change the subject.
“You can’t sleep?” (Myaro)
Myaro looked at with a puzzled expression.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m drinking.” (Yuri)
“Then I’ll sing you a lullaby.” (Myaro)
‘A lullaby? Oh no, she’s definitely drunk.’
“Alright, alright, let’s get you to bed.” (Myaro)
‘What? I checked the clock. It was still 2:30 in the morning.’
“Co on, get in bed.” (Myaro)
“Okay, okay, I got it.” (Yuri)
I decided to go along with it.
‘Even if I try to kick her out, who knows what a drunk Myaro might do. It seems better to comply. Besides, we are setting sail tomorrow, so I should get so sleep anyway.’
I pulled back the covers and got into bed.
“What’s the matter? Move over.” (Myaro)
I thought she was going to sing beside the bed, but she was getting in with . As I scooted over, Myaro climbed into bed. Lying on my back, I watched as Myaro turned to face who was smiling widely for so reason.
“The river of Epito flows, bringing blessings and nurturing the lands…” (Myaro)
What she began to sing wasn’t a lullaby. It was a folk song.
“The river waters flow into the sea, nurturing everything from the source of the water…” (Myaro)
‘Is this uninhibited behavior the result of being overworked and experiencing a ntal breakdown as a backlash? Even though she’s tired, she ca to check on out of concern… I should be thankful…’
“As the mountains rise…” (Myaro)
The song stopped.
“I’m starting to feel sleepy… Can I go to sleep?” (Myaro)
‘She really lets loose when she’s drunk…’
“Sure, go ahead and sleep.” (Yuri)
‘I actually hope she’ll sleep.’
“Goodnight…” (Myaro)
With that, Myaro snuggled closer and embraced like a body pillow. Soon, she started to breathe softly in her sleep.
‘I wonder what he’ll do when he wakes up… Alcohol is scary…’
—
A loud voice rang in my ear, waking up.
‘Oh, what is this feeling? It’s been a while since I’ve felt this not-quite-rested sensation. I feel not-quite-rested, but strangely, I feel like I slept deeply.’
“Y-Y-Y-Yuri-kun, I-I-I-I…” (Myaro)
Myaro, sitting up in bed, seed to be acting strange.
“No way…” (Myaro)
She hurriedly checked her lower half, and it was uncomfortably vivid.
“I didn’t do anything…” (Yuri)
‘She really seems to have no mory of it. Alcohol is scary.’
“How much do you rember?” (Yuri)
“Uh, you said not to worry, Yuri-kun… and I got really angry… and that’s about it.” (Myaro)
“Then, you started talking sothing about Enrique, and when I said I was drinking because I couldn’t sleep, you said you’d sing a lullaby to help sleep.” (Yuri)
“–Huh!?” (Myaro)
‘She seems to have so awareness after all.’
“After we got into bed together, for so reason you started singing ‘The Blessings of Mount Sibyaku’ instead of a lullaby, then declared you were tired and just went to sleep on your own. I didn’t do anything.” (Yuri)
“Huh… ? Did I do that?” (Myaro)
“Who else would it be besides you?” (Yuri)
‘Seriously, who else could it be…’
I looked at the grandfather clock and it was already 10 AM.
‘Well, damn.’
“Whoa! It’s already 10 o’clock!” (Myaro)
“Ah, I guess I should get going too.” (Yuri)
I sluggishly got out of bed. I felt like I wanted to go back to sleep for the first ti in a while, but that would make the ship wait.
‘But man, I really did sleep well. My body feels heavy.’
“Um, Yuri-kun, I’m sorry…” (Myaro)
“Nah, thanks.” (Yuri)
As I said that, Myaro looked bewildered.
“What do you an?” (Myaro)
“It seems I feel better now. I’ll rely on you again soti.” (Yuri)
“Please spare …” (Myaro)
Myaro looked genuinely displeased and hurried out of the room.
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