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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Drunken Confessions
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"Wahahaha! Drink more! More!"
"Ugh, I'm finding it a bit hard..."
"Aw, you can do more! You're a superhuman!"
"Even superhumans have limits..."
"Nah, nah! Drink! Bottoms up!"
Amelia's loud voice echoed.
Doesn't that girl ever get tired?
She had drunk the most, yet she kept pouring herself drinks without rest, tormenting Dorothy.
"Hmm..."
As I sighed, wondering how to stop Amelia from her pathetic antics, a mumble came from beside me.
Arte was nodding off, half-asleep.
"...Arte? Are you sleeping?"
"..."
No answer came back.
From her half-open red eyes, she didn't seem to be fully asleep, but it looked like she was struggling to stay conscious.
I'd been a little worried ever since she obediently drank everything Amelia gave her, but I never expected it to come to this.
It was the first time Arte had shown such a defenseless side to us.
"Amelia."
"Huh? What?"
"I'm going to take Arte back to the lodging. She looks tired."
Amelia was half-drunk herself, so asking her was impossible.
A drunk person can't take another drunk person, can they? What if something happened?
...You might say I could ask Dorothy.
But I didn't want to.
Dorothy didn't seem as drunk, but if I asked her, that drunkard would obviously turn her attention to me.
I ignored Dorothy's pleading gaze and saw her looking at me with eyes mixed with betrayal.
Absolutely not.
I felt betrayed by you today too, Dorothy.
I'll forgive you for tricking me and making me your entertainment.
"I'll be back. It might take a while."
"Alrighty. Come back! Alright, Dorothy! Less people now, let's drink! Bottoms up!"
"Ah, don't we need some snacks? It's a bit... hard without them?"
"Hmmmm...? Don't worry! There's more!"
*CRASH!*
Dorothy rejoiced, thinking she'd found an escape route upon seeing an empty box, but that was short-lived.
I thought all the ingredients in the box were gone, but from where Amelia had hidden them, all sorts of ingredients began to pour out.
Dorothy had nowhere left to run.
"Alright, eat, eat! Today's the day we eat, drink, and die!"
"Siu, it's really not proper for a man to take a woman..."
"I'll be back!"
"Ah, please! Please save me!"
I left Dorothy groaning and Amelia, who was simply enjoying herself, and headed out.
"Arte, are you okay?"
"Mmm. I'm okay..."
A flushed face. Unsteady steps.
A tongue all tied up. And, crucially, a hazy expression.
I was certain. What do you mean, okay? If I let her walk alone, it was obvious she'd trip and fall in no time.
"...What should I do?"
"Ack."
"Arte?!"
How could I best get Arte back?
While I was pondering that, I took my eyes off Arte for a moment, and as I'd feared, Arte tripped and fell.
"Are you okay?!"
"...Heh."
"Phew..."
I let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. She was fine.
...No, wait. Come to think of it, Arte's a superhuman too. I worried for nothing.
A fall like that wouldn't even leave a scratch.
As proof, there wasn't a single scratch where she fell, only soft-looking skin...
"Aaaaaagh!"
"..."
I tried not to think about it...! I absolutely tried not to think about it...!
What I had temporarily pushed out of my mind because of the fun atmosphere and delicious food suddenly came back.
Arte was currently in an outfit that was fatally revealing no matter where you looked.
"What do I do, what do I do...!"
I looked at Arte, who was already nodding off again.
At this rate, far from taking her to the lodging, we'd end up spending the night in the middle of the road.
...There's no other choice, right? Right?
Steel yourself, Yu Siu.
This is unavoidable, unavoidable...
"Hop on my back, Arte."
"Mmm...?"
"If we stay like this, dawn will break. Quickly."
No matter how I thought about it, this wouldn't do.
Arte, completely drunk, might just fall asleep on the way.
In that case, I had no choice but to carry her.
"Alright..."
Arte mumbled and began to move.
*Thump, thump.*
Perhaps because only the sound of insects chirping could be heard.
It felt as if Arte's approaching steps sounded even louder.
"Phew..."
Calm down, Yu Siu.
This is nothing.
Just an act of carrying Arte. That's all it is.
My resolve, which I had been repeating to myself, shattered instantly the moment Arte got on my back.
Several months ago, when Arte had comforted me.
I had felt Arte's touch then.
I still vividly remember how I couldn't sleep because of her soft touch.
I had experienced it once then, so I was somewhat prepared...
"Mmm, why aren't you moving...?"
"...I'm going."
Nonsense.
I stood up awkwardly and began to move.
The feeling itself was different from back then.
Arte, when she comforted me then, was wearing clothes.
The feel of the leotard was unmistakably there, but at least she was wearing a leotard.
I was wearing clothes too.
...But now?
Forget a leotard, it was a bikini.
And she'd even stripped off her pareo and top, saying it was hot while drinking.
Having to carry Arte in that situation was torture.
I was also wearing a swimsuit, so there was practically no barrier to create distance between Arte and me.
A thin, small piece of fabric was the only barrier between me and Arte, who was pressed against me.
Two masses of flesh pressing against my back, felt from behind.
And her soft thighs, which I was supporting with my hands to carry her.
Even her slender hands wrapped around my neck.
...To be honest, it was agonizing. Hard to endure.
I had also drunk alcohol, though not as much as Amelia and Arte.
Though it would never happen, it was hard to control my desires.
I needed Amelia.
But Amelia wasn't here. Only Arte and I.
I slowly walked through the place where only insects chirped and no sign of human presence existed, moving my steps.
"...Hey, protagonist."
"...Me?"
"Yes."
I was puzzled by the sudden remark.
Protagonist, it was a sudden thing to say.
It was the first time she had called me that.
Her calling me something strange, and Arte's speech becoming informal.
She must have been quite drunk.
"I'm scared."
"...Of what?"
"That the people I killed might actually be people."
"..."
My steps stopped.
Right now, Arte was spilling out her deeply hidden thoughts.
Siu instinctively realized it.
"You know. Were the people I killed really just dolls? What if they were actually people?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"Are these dolls in this puppet show truly dolls without free will? I've always wondered. Because there was no way to know."
Puppet show, dolls.
Suddenly, I remembered Arte's excited expression inside the Ferris wheel.
She had said something similar back then.
That she had no intention of befriending dolls without free will.
At the time, I couldn't understand what she meant at all.
...But now, I felt like I was beginning to vaguely understand.
Arte couldn't see people as people. She only saw them as dolls.
It felt like I'd uncovered an aspect of her that I hadn't been able to understand before – why she had been so cruel to the villains.
"I still think they are dolls. ...But were they really just dolls?"
Arte's voice gradually faded.
She probably didn't even know what she was saying.
She was drunk, after all.
"..."
Arte seemed to have fallen into a light sleep again.
Confirming Arte's steady breathing as her head rested on my shoulder, I started walking again.
People and dolls.
I didn't quite understand why Arte was so obsessed with that.
For that matter, what did "people" and "dolls" even mean?
Why did she call me the protagonist?
As I walked, trying to sort out my chaotic thoughts, I realized we had arrived at the villa.
Siu laid Arte down in the villa's bedroom and fell into thought.
This story I unintentionally overheard, it must be Arte's true feelings.
Her inner thoughts, unintentionally revealed by someone who always seemed so composed.
It seemed she was categorizing humans into people and dolls.
...I wasn't sure what her criteria were for distinguishing between humans and dolls.
But Arte became incredibly cruel to those she considered dolls.
Like killing Lyra, and cruelly killing Übermensch.
I gently stroked Arte's head as she slept soundly.
I consider Arte my friend.
So if she has worries, I'm willing to help her as a friend.
Arte's actions, which I couldn't understand at first, used to scare me, but not anymore.
Looking back, the longer I knew Arte, the more my fear of her faded.
She wasn't as scary as I thought, nor as inscrutable as I imagined.
It was fortunate that I realized what Arte was afraid of through this incident today.
Arte was judging people based on some kind of standard.
Whether they were a doll, or a person.
If so, I could help.
If I could find the cause for such thoughts, and resolve it.
Then Arte wouldn't have to worry about such things anymore.
Even if what Arte had already done might be beyond repair, I no longer wanted to see Arte suffering.
"I'll help you, Arte."
Because I'm your friend.