My head felt unbearably heavy, and even opening my eyes is a struggle.
“God, my head hurts… Ugh…. I feel like crap…”
I tried to sit up, but my entire body felt as heavy as lead. A sharp headache stabbed through my skull, and every time my pulse throbbed inside my head, the nausea grew worse.
“Did I… drink too much…?”
I tried to search through my hazy memories, but I couldn’t remember a thing about last night.
Well, technically, I did remember one thing.
After the toast, I had downed three large mugs of draft beer in rapid succession. Everything after that was a complete blank. It was like I’d been watching some painfully boring late-night anime and simply fallen asleep halfway through it. So I had absolutely no idea how I’d even made it to this room.
“Where… am I…?”
I somehow managed to force myself upright despite the crushing headache and overwhelming nausea, then looked around.
“W-what the hell is this place…?”
I felt absolutely miserable, but the sheer extravagance of the room that greeted my eyes somehow cleared my head a little.
As my memories from before I started drinking gradually came back into focus, I began to piece together my current situation. This is probably one of the guest rooms at the Guild Headquarters’ directly operated ultra-luxurious five-star hotel, Grand Hills Tokyo.
And judging from the room itself, this is probably their highest-grade Deluxe Suite. The sheer size of the bedroom and the luxury of its furnishings were on an entirely different level from an ordinary hotel room. Even the bed was enormous when I looked at it closely, while the feel of the sheets against my skin and the way they molded perfectly to my body were in a league of their own.
“Damn… this is one hell of a room… Ugh, my head hurts… I need something to drink…”
Unfortunately, I am in absolutely no condition to appreciate any of it. The alcohol still hadn’t completely left my system. I need to drink some water to dilute the alcohol in my bloodstream even a little.
Holding my aching head, I pulled back the covers and get out of bed.
“!?”
I noticed that something is wrong almost immediately.
No, not immediately.
My senses had been too hazy to notice until I pulled back the covers. It was only when a faint breeze from the air conditioner brushed coldly across my skin that I realized it.
I am completely naked.
“…Huh? Wait. Did I get so drunk that I stripped everything off?”
I had been sleeping on the far left side of the absurdly enormous bed—big enough to comfortably fit three adults. I glanced down beside the bed, searching for my clothes, and immediately found them.
My slightly grimy Twilight Robe, my boxer shorts, and the rest of my things were scattered carelessly across the floor.
They were obviously mine.
Of course, I had absolutely no memory of when—or how—I’d taken them off.
“I really got carried away and drank myself into a stupid state…”
“Mmm… nnngh…”
“!?”
…Huh?
The bed was so ridiculously huge that I hadn’t noticed. There was someone else on the far right side of the bed!
W-whaaaaat the?!
Don’t tell me I…
I had my first ever morning-after incident?!
“Fwaaah… Ah! Daishi-san! You’re awake?”
“S-Satsuki-chan…?”
“Honestly! You got completely carried away and drank way, way too much! Seriously! After that, it was such a pain to— Wait, KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”
I had thrown all the covers aside. And for some reason, I was giving Satsuki—who had apparently been sleeping beside me—a full view of my birthday suit.
Huh? But something felt…
This was a seriously strange reaction for a “morning-after” situation.
“What happened?! Is everything all right?! …Hm?”
“Satsuki?! What’s wrong?! …Eh?”
“SHAAAAAA!! …Sha?”
Apparently, this suite had a living room separate from the bedroom. Shion-san, Mina-chan, and Ryunosuke—who had, for some reason, been in there—immediately came rushing in after hearing Satsuki scream.
The scene they found was me, a completely naked grown man, and a girl covering her face while screaming.
Objectively speaking, this looked really, really bad.
“Ah, no. This is…”
“I have no idea why you stripped and left your clothes lying around, but why don’t you just go take a bath as you are?”
“Yeah. We already had ours ages ago. You passed out drunk and went straight to sleep, so you’re pretty filthy right now, Daishi-san.”
“SHAAAAA!! (Stinky, stinky, stinky)!”
…Huh?
Shion-san and Mina-chan were surprisingly calm.
They weren’t going, “What the hell are you doing, old man?! You pervert!!” or anything?
“Ah, I was just a little surprised because you were suddenly naked, but it’s really fine! Everyone was worried about you, so we took turns looking after you!”
Satsuki-chan turned her back to me and sat down again, finally regaining her composure.
So everyone had been taking care of me…
Incidentally, aside from naked me, everyone else was wearing what looked like expensive hotel-provided nightwear—something along the lines of elegant negligees. They were all dressed comfortably and casually, looking completely different from how they had in the dungeon, and I couldn’t help feeling a little flustered.
“Huh? So that’s what happened…”
“Yep! I was tired too, and it was a little cold, so I thought I’d just get under the covers for a minute… and then I ended up falling asleep.”
“…Sorry about that.”
I was genuinely, deeply relieved to learn that I hadn’t done anything stupid while drunk. Thank God I wasn’t about to get arrested over some non-consensual-whatever situation.
“But Daishi-san, you look absolutely terrible. Is the alcohol still in your system?”
“Y-Yeah… (*urp)…”
Mina walked over to me while I hurriedly pulled the covers back over myself to hide my naked body.
Apparently, she could tell immediately that I was having hungover.
“Honestly. This is why adults…”
“?”
“Drink this.”
Mina-chan pulled a tablet from what appeared to be a pocket in her negligee and handed it to me.
“If the toxins in your system are alcohol-related, this should break them down immediately. Chew it thoroughly before swallowing.”
Just what I’d expect from Mina-chan, our resident healer. She’d actually prepared medicine in advance, taking my condition into account. That was seriously thoughtful of her.
Still, I had to admit—I wasn’t a fan of chewing tablets. Doing that while I was still nauseous sounded less like treatment and more like torture.
“Uh, y-yeah… but I still feel really sick…”
“Enough complaining. Hurry up and take it.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
The pressure in her voice left me with no room to argue, so I did exactly as I was told.
Fighting back the urge to throw up, I somehow managed to chew the medicine and swallow it.
Ugh… I feel awfu—
…Wait.
I don’t feel awful now?!
No way! Even my headache was gone!
“What the heck is this medicine? It’s amazing!”
“You’re better now, right? Then hurry up and take a bath. Get yourself properly awake. We still have some time before we leave for Guild Headquarters.”
There was a digital clock built into the headboard above the pillows, so I checked the time.
5:30 a.m.
“We’ve been told that someone in black will come to take us at eight. Before then, we should discuss what we intend to do next. That is why we are gathered in this room.”
Shion-san’s explanation instantly snapped me out of party mode and back into serious mode.
Ah. So that was what this was about.
Right. We weren’t here for a relaxing vacation!
This was enemy territory!
I needed to stay sharp!
“We didn’t really have time to sit down and talk properly while we were in the Nether Class dungeon. I think everyone’s had a chance to recover and clear their heads now, so first things first—strategy meeting!”
Satsuki-chan, standing beside Mina-chan, clenched her fist with renewed determination.
Obviously, we couldn’t just go meet the head of the Guild without any kind of plan!
All right! Then I’d better hurry up, take a bath, and get myself cleaned up!
“While Daishi-san is in the bath, why don’t the rest of us get our combat preparations in order as well? Oh, and don’t worry about your filthy, stinky clothes. I’ll make sure to get them nice and clean for you!”
“R-Right…”
I had no idea what kind of secret technique Mina-chan intended to use, but apparently, she’s going to wash my clothes at high speed or something.
Filthy and stinky…
Well, I couldn’t exactly deny it.
Still… That kind of hurt a little.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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