CH 36

“In the state in which you were drunk and doing such a thing,Toma-kun, it’s not fair… It’s only natural to go along with the flow in this situation.”

“-Hah!”

It wasn’t the sound of an alarm that woke me up. In a hazy state, I suddenly heard that voice echoing in my mind and regained consciousness from deep sleep.

(What was that voice just now…)

I got up from the bed with my heavy body, pressing my throbbing forehead while grimacing. I also felt a little nauseous. These were the symptoms of a hangover. It was only natural since I had drank twice or thrice as much as usual yesterday.

(But how did I manage to get back home yesterday… I can’t remember)

This phenomenon is called a blackout in medical terms. It’s when memories after a certain point disappear when you drink alcohol.

Even if I tried to remember, it would be difficult to do so without a trigger.

(Well, I made it home, so I shouldn’t worry too much about it)

Toma took it easy.

He pressed the power button of his smartphone and checked the screen displayed on the liquid crystal.

-11:14 AM.

Today is Tuesday. He wasn’t late for university since he had lectures in the afternoon.

(After finishing work and going straight to sleep… I need to take a bath)

Toma put his feet on the floor and slowly stood up from the bed, heading towards the closet to get his change of clothes.

“Hmm…?”

Just then, Toma felt something strange in the pockets of his pants. It was a sensation like something was poking him, and he could feel something bulging out.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out what was causing the sensation.

“Huh? Why are Gengar and Lucario in my pocket…?”

What appeared in his hand were two kinds of Pokemon toys called “Choco Eggs.”

As he tilted his head, looking at the toy Pokemon in his hand with a question mark above his head, it suddenly dawned on him.

“Oh, Mio-san remembered that time…”

It was the time when they went shopping together at the TRIYL trial supercenter.

“I have two of them, Lucario,” Mio had said.

“Eh, really!?”

“Hehe, I’ll bring them next time. Toma-kun, you seem to want one.”

“Thank you so much…”

That conversation had taken place in front of the candy aisle, while they were looking at Choco Eggs.

“Mio-san, I’m glad you were able to complete your promise safely.”

Thinking that she had probably hit several of the same character when she saw not only Lucario but also Gengar attached, he smiled alone as he displayed the Pokémon he received from Mio on his desk.

At this moment, Toma couldn’t recall another conversation.

“Buying twenty of them means you got a lot of the same character, right?”

“I got ten Pikachu.”

“Ten?… Wow, that’s pretty biased.”

“My friend said the same thing as you, Toma-kun. If it were the other way around, I would say the same thing.”

“Do you have all ten Pikachu displayed at home?”

“No, I gave them to my friends. If it were my favorite Gengar, I would have displayed them all.”

She didn’t give the Gengar just because she got a duplicate. Because he was a special person, she sent her favorite Pokémon as a report that she had completed the set.

“Well, it’s time to go…”

Toma finally headed to the bathroom, feeling fully awake now. After a 20-minute shower, he dried himself off with a bath towel and put on clean clothes. When he returned to his room, he looked at the Pokémon he had displayed on his desk again.

“Hah!”

Toma’s eyes widened, and he gasped when he saw them. His body stiffened, and he uttered a word in the silent room.

(Oh, I remember now…)

After taking a refreshing bath, perhaps his memory had been restored. As if shining a flashlight in the darkness, everything became clear to Toma.

He remembered being escorted by Mio after work. Every conversation they had on that park bench…

“…Mio-san, I think you’ll be okay. I believe your confession will be successful.”

Everything started from there.

“Well then, just one question for you, Toma-kun. What were your thoughts when you said those words?”

“Well, umm… Do I really have to say?”

“We’re both drunk, so it’s fine. We’ll forget about this conversation by the time we go home and wake up, right?”

Because Mio prompted him and because he was drunk, Toma ended up blurting out his confession.

Yes, “forgetting” was the right word. After all, Toma had forgotten about it until now. However, if Mio was in the same state as him…

If one was to send off a drunk person, the sender needed to be less drunk.

In other words, Mio probably remembered everything from that night…

“To be honest, I think about 50% of me want to support confession… “

“Are you kidding me?”

The power of alcohol was immense. He wouldn’t normally say something like this, especially not in front of the person themselves…

“It’s hard to put this feeling into words, but to put it simply, I just didn’t like the idea.”

“Oh come on…”

Toma instinctively covered his head with both hands.

“I really enjoy talking with you like this, Mio-san. If possible, I don’t want to lose this time we spend together.”

“Oh come on, come on, come on…”

There was no way to turn back time like that. His nighttime blunder couldn’t be undone. Overcome with shame, Totsuka crouched down.

“I, I was drunk and this is bad… What the h**l was I saying?!”

This was exactly what it meant to have no face to put forward. He couldn’t act like everything was normal after making such a declaration. It was impossible.

“I-this means I have feeli…”

Toma couldn’t finish his sentence. He was confronted with his own realization.

“It’s like saying I like her, isn’t it?”

Yes, he couldn’t deny it. In that moment, his heart raced and his breathing became difficult, even though he was still breathing.

“If you like, Toma-kun, wouldn’t it be okay for us to continue with the rumors that we’re dating?”

“Co-continue?!”

“Well, to calm down the rumors, Toma-kun, you would have to do something, right? It would take a lot of effort, and if we just leave it alone, you wouldn’t have to do anything.”

And with that, Toma was reminded of their last conversation in the park.

Mio gently took Toma’s hand and said,

“I’m happy if there are rumors that you are my boyfriend, Toma-kun.”

She wasn’t just being considerate; it was a confession that seemed to point to something.

In the corner of Toma’s memory, he saw Mio’s face turn bright red.

(Could it be that Mio has feelings for me?)

Even Toma, who was dense when it came to love, could understand what she meant.