The Promise

"Ugh, hah. As I thought, a celebration just isn't right without alcohol." Ishizaki popped open a can of beer, downed it in one go, and wiped the corner of his mouth as he voiced his thoughts.

"You guys, if you keep this up, I'm going to end up in jail." Sakagami wore a wry smile, feeling completely helpless toward the students in his class.

Minors are not allowed to drink alcohol, nor are they allowed to buy or sell it, but as an adult, Sakagami could. Although inducing minors to drink is illegal, he had agreed to it due to the earnest requests of his students.

"Don't worry, teacher. We've rented out this entire restaurant for tonight, so no one will find out." Sawahara smiled, raised his glass to Sakagami, and then downed it in one breath.

"Cough, cough, cough--"

Because he drank it too quickly, the sudden spicy sensation in his throat made Sawahara cough uncontrollably.

"Hahaha, Sawahara-bro, your tolerance isn't very good, is it?" Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, Ishizaki burst into loud laughter at the sight.

"Whew..." Sawahara patted his chest and carefully sniffed his glass again. "Who swapped my drink?"

He had originally poured himself a glass of low-alcohol fruit wine, which he could have downed without issue, but it had been replaced with Spirytus.

There was only one person in Class C who would pull a stunt like this. Sawahara turned his head, and sure enough, Ryuen was holding a bottle of vodka, shaking it provocatively.

"..." Sawahara rubbed his stinging throat. Lately, this guy Ryuen seemed to be getting more and more out of hand.

"Sawahara-kun." Shiina handed him a cup of tea at just the right moment.

"Thanks." Sawahara took the tea and drank it down, finally soothing the burning, spicy sensation in his throat.

"Tch." Seeing this, Ryuen, who had intended to challenge Sawahara to a drinking contest, had no choice but to abandon the idea.

"Sakagami-sensei, it shouldn't matter if we drink a bit more tonight, right?" Sawahara asked Sakagami about the time of the next exam.

"Hmm, it's fine for today." Sakagami nodded. "But it'll be troublesome if you can't get up in two days."

The hint was clear enough: the next exam was in two days.

As for the content of the exam, Sakagami could not say; that was a bottom line that absolutely could not be crossed.

"Did you all hear that? Everyone, enjoy yourselves and have a blast tonight."

"Yes!" The class cheered excitedly.

Sawahara rarely drank in the past because alcohol numbed the brain. Confirming that there was nothing to do for the next two days made him let his guard down, and combined with the high-proof alcohol he had consumed, he soon felt a wave of intoxication.

"Sawahara-kun, tomorrow, please accompany me..."

In his hazy state, Sawahara vaguely remembered promising something.

"Tch, this bastard's tolerance is really pathetic."

That was the last memory Sawahara had of the banquet.

"Ugh, my head hurts." Waking up, Sawahara found himself lying on his bed in the dormitory. He rubbed his forehead, which still felt uncomfortable from the alcohol, and struggled to sit upright.

"Heh, you finally woke up, huh?" From the bed nearby, Ryuen spoke in his usual tone. "You really are useless, you know? You went down after just one glass."

"Coming from the guy who swapped my drink, that's rich." Sawahara rolled his eyes. That was 98-proof alcohol; let's see you down a glass of that.

"Still, thanks for waiting here until I woke up."

"Hmph, since you're awake, don't forget what you promised her yesterday." Ryuen snorted without refuting him. He had indeed waited for this bastard to wake up, but it was mainly because someone had asked him to.

"What did I promise yesterday?" Sawahara's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Heh, you promised the young lady you'd accompany her to a play yesterday, and you've already forgotten after just one night of sleep?" Ryuen sneered, his gaze like that of someone looking at a scumbag who refuses to take responsibility after pulling up his pants.

"...Why does your tone make it sound like I slept with her?" Sawahara was speechless, though he did have a faint impression that he had indeed agreed to this.

"It's not much different, anyway." Ryuen curled his lip. Was this guy playing dumb?

It was a huge difference, Sawahara muttered to himself as he got up to wash up in the bathroom.

"Sorry, I'm late. I kept you waiting."

When Sawahara arrived at the theater, Shiina was already waiting there. Because he couldn't remember, Sawahara didn't know what time they had actually agreed upon. But since she was already there, he decided to just treat it as if he were late.

"No, I arrived a little early." Shiina shook her head. In truth, because Sawahara was drunk yesterday, they hadn't set a time at all.

Shiina wasn't wearing her school uniform today; instead, she had changed into a light purple dress. She wasn't wearing the knee-high socks she usually wore, leaving her jade-white skin exposed to the air.

"You look beautiful in that outfit." Sawahara glanced at her fair legs for a second before quickly averting his gaze to offer the compliment.

Although Sawahara's gaze hadn't lingered for long, Shiina still noticed, and a fleeting blush flashed across her face.

"Um, thank you."

There was no one else in the theater besides them. Perhaps due to the changing times, students these days weren't very interested in things like theater.

Young people today were more interested in games, popular music, idols, celebrities, and the like. Girls like Shiina, and people who came to this theater, were equally rare.

Sawahara and Shiina sat in the middle of the theater, where the viewing experience would be better.

The play Shiina had invited him to watch was Prometheus.

"Does Sawahara-kun have any thoughts on it?" Shiina looked at Sawahara.

"Is Shiina trying to say that I'm a tyrant like Zeus?" Sawahara pondered the emotions the play was trying to convey.

"That's not true, Sawahara-kun has never been a tyrant." Shiina shook her head, "In my heart, Sawahara-kun has always been a hero like Prometheus, it's just... I hope you can believe in humanity just like Prometheus did."

Prometheus, the god who sacrificed himself to bring welfare to ordinary humans? I'm sorry, Shiina, I am not that kind of person. Perhaps I will indeed bring victory to everyone in Class C, but I am not someone who would sacrifice myself.

"Believe in everyone in Class C, you say?" Sawahara already understood what Shiina wanted to convey.

"I will."

After watching this play, Sawahara and Shiina prepared to leave; the next play was called Wings of Icarus, if he recalled correctly.

Click, click, click—the sound of high heels striking the floor echoed, and a third visitor had arrived in the theater.