Volume 2 - CH 1.1

Ryoma didn’t run away from the scene. Well, to be more precise, he couldn’t. No sane person would run away the moment they witnessed such a startling spectacle of a leg suddenly popping out.

The longer Ryoma stood rigid on the spot, the more he could hear.

“Whew～”

“…………”

A sluggish voice that seemed out of place.

If you were to listen closely…you could sense that the individual is asking for help.

Although Ryoma understood it was better for him to stay out of it, his inquisitive nature wanted to know whether that individual was okay.

The individual that was lying on the ground wore high-heeled shoes. From the sound of her voice, it was pretty clear that she was a woman.

Even if he were to call out to her and she attacked, he would still be able to escape. Ryoma’s back was pushed, partly by the decision that he could secure his safety.

He took one fearful step after another, making sure that his footsteps were silent. When he reached the telephone pole, he peered into the back and caught the whole picture.

“E…Eh!?”

A beautiful woman who looked like a model was slumped against the telephone pole. She gave off a certain air that would snatch away the eyes of many men in an instant.

A checkered scarf was wrapped around her neck, whereunder was a white top. Beneath that was a brick coloured skirt rolled up to her thighs, boldly exposing her white skin.

Next to her long, thin, luscious legs laid a branded handbag that looks to have cost several hundred thousand yen.

“Errr…Are you okay?”

“……”

“Um….”

“…………”

Ryoma calls out to her for a response, but her reaction comes in waves instead. Her cheeks were flushed, and the scent of alcohol lingered in her mouth. It was pretty easy to tell that she was intoxicated at a glance.

“I’m…so sorry for the time being. I’ll…b-bring it back. I’m sorry……”

He wouldn’t know what kind of accusations she’d throw at him, drunk enough to sit down on the ground like that.

Still, there’s something wrong with a rolled-up skirt.

Without looking at it directly, Ryoma grabbed the edge of her skirt and slowly pulled it down.

“….T-thank you….”

“No, don’t worry about it……”

Ryoma wasn’t sure whether the lady laying on the ground was her true self or not, but she thanked him nonetheless. She gazed at him with bright-coloured eyes that appeared drowsy. The more they looked at one another, the more handsome Ryoma appeared in her eyes.

“Uhm…are you okay with some water…?”

“Hmm…? S…ure.”

“Okay. There’s a vending machine right there. I’ll go get one for you.”

Ryoma, an adult with the knowledge that water is good for sobering up, takes his wallet out of his pocket, heads to a vending machine that is probably 50 meters away, puts in 110 yen and buys some natural water.

For a moment, Ryoma couldn’t help but 『Falter』.

He’d never encountered anyone like her before. He couldn’t afford to squander the money he had saved on a random stranger. He intended to save as much money as he could for his school fees in order to relieve his sister Kaya’s financial burden. However, he was able to take action right away because he had a conscience. Pressing the purchase button and holding the natural water that had fallen into the outlet, Ryoma ran back to the woman’s side.

“Here you go. It’s water.”

“Hmm, you’re a good man~.”

“Ah, hahaha….”

Ryoma opened the bottle cap and handed her the plastic water bottle; the woman held it sluggishly with both her hands and poured the water down her throat. After drinking about a third of the water in the bottle, she gently removed the tip from her mouth, appearing satisfied──

“You can have it.”

“…Thank you.”

She attempted to return the bottle from which she drank to Ryoma, but he refused. Even if Ryoma took a sip from the bottle, the woman in front of him wouldn’t take notice. She couldn’t make that judgement since she was too drunk.

After closing the cap, Ryoma picked up the bag lying on the ground and placed the bottle inside before calling out to the woman.

“So, what’s your name, Miss?”

“My n-name is…K-kamishiro Hazuki.”

“So, Hazuki, right? Where’s your home?”

Hazuki opened her eyes slightly and looked up at the question, extending her index finger to indicate the location. She pointed to an apartment building a few kilometres away that was well-known to everyone in the area.

“Nnn…over t-there…”

“E-eh!? Y-you mean that Condominium​? T-that fifty-one story…”

“Y-yeah…”

“A-are you sure? Are you super-duper sure that’s the right place…?”

Hazuki is currently drunk. Even if she was carrying a branded bag or appropriately dressed, it could be possible that she was just confused.

Not only that, but as you can see from the 51st floor, it is the most well-known Condominium in the area. It’s also a pricey place to live.

Hazuki appears to be in her early to mid-twenties, based on her appearance. At her age, it’s just not possible to live there.

“…Here’s the proof. Take it “

“Huh?”

Hazuki picked up her bag, opened the button on the side and handed him a shiny gold card. It was a keycard with an engraved stamp. Ryoma didn’t really know whether this was actually the keycard to her apartment, but he still couldn’t help but believe the card he was holding in his hands.

“I don’t want it, so please put it away.”

“Okay…”

When they had this talk, it was well past midnight. There was nothing Ryoma could do on his own. He had no choice but to phone a cab now that he had discovered where she resided.

“Hazuki-san, I’ll call a cab for you now, so please make sure you get home.”

“Mmmm….”

She looked like a career woman on the outside. However, Hazuki seemed to have changed into a kindergartener on the inside as a result of the alcohol.

It’s pretty light to say that her disconnect with reality is bad, but Ryoma really hopes that things will get back to normal soon. He took out his smartphone, looked up the nearest tsukomi taxicab’s phone number, and rang it up right away.

“Yes, thank you for your call. This is Tsukomi Taxi.”

“Excuse me. I’d like to call a cab, but…I have one enquiry for you…”

“How can I help you, sir?”

“Yes. Is it possible for you to appoint a female driver at your accompany….?”

“A female driver? Sorry sir, may I ask why?”

“The thing is…I’d like to send a drunken woman back to her house….”

This time, Ryoma arranged a cab for a complete stranger. It would not be recommended to arrange a male driver for Hazuki, as he might find it difficult to resist. And Ryoma felt that Hazuki would be more comfortable with someone of the same sex. If he was rejected for this very reason, he would go on with calling another company instead──but that idea turned out to be unfounded.

“I understand your situation. If that’s the case, it’s possible.”

“Ah, is that so. Thank you very much. Please take care of the arrangements.”

“Understood. Then may I have your name, address, and contact information?”

“The name’s Ryoma Shiba. As for the address, it’s…sorry, let me look it up right away.”

Ryoma completed the procedure with the receptionist.

“I will send a female driver to your location. Please allow me to take 15 minutes of your time.”

“I understand. Thank you very much.”

Although the person on the other end of the line was not in front of him, Ryoma bowed his head and hung up the phone. All Ryoma had to do was wait for the cab he had called.

“……”

With no one to talk to, Ryoma waited patiently next to Hazuki, who was still sitting on the ground with her head bobbing as if to shield her from random strangers.

A few minutes later, he saw a cab approaching from a distance. The name “Tsukomi” was on the cab’s roof, so there was no doubt that Ryoma arranged it.

When the cab stopped in front of him, the driver scrolled down the passenger window and called out to Ryoma.

“Excuse me! Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“No, no, thank you.”

“Eh…waah…that customer of mine is pretty drunk. Did you give her too much to drink as her boyfriend!?”

“No, ma’am. I’m not her boyfriend. I’m just a stranger who happened to pass by and find her like this.”

A female driver arrived as requested by Ryoma, but she was the most candid woman he had ever seen in his life.

“I see…such a beautiful woman was found on the road…”

“Ah, haha……”

Ryoma was tempted to make a few comments, but he was afraid that the more they talked, the longer it would take for Hazuki to get home. So he held back and urged her to get in the cab.

“Hazuki-san. A cab has arrived. It’s cold outside, so please hurry up and get in.”

“Ah, thank you……”

Hazuki stood up, picked up her handbag and got into the cab, where she expressed her gratitude once again. It looks like this matter is officially settled.

“Um, do you know where the customer is headed?”

The female driver asked Ryoma this question as she was concerned about the drunk Hazuki.

“Uhm…please go to the Alegria Gardens Gr Tower over there….that condominium over there.”

“Eh!? You mean that luxury tower apartment!”

“…Yes.”

“You’ve discovered a pretty amazing woman. Just what kind of person lives in that Condominium….”

“Ah…right behind you. There’s a car coming up behind you, so I think you may have to get going…”

“Ah! That’s right! Thank you for working so hard late at night! I’ll make sure she gets a proper lift back home!”

“Yes, please.”

Then the passenger window automatically closed, and the cab driver, who bid Ryoam farewell, departed.

“I wonder if it was safe to leave her to the cab driver…”

Ryoma couldn’t help but hold the rude emotion of worry in the face of her possibly running away at super-speed because of the high tension behind the ‘Leave it to me!’, but now that she had been tasked with it, worrying about it wouldn’t do him any good.

“Wa-wait…what time is it!? If I don’t get home soon, Kaya nee will definitely get mad at me.”

Ryoma looked at the clock on his phone and saw that he had about 30 minutes to get home. Finally, having solved his problem, he rushed home.

However, in the 20 minutes he had waited for the cab, he never noticed that Hazuki had sobered up due to the cold night breeze…

TL Notes: Turns out my laziness got the best of me. Anyway, I’ve edited v1 chap 1 part 1 of koibito tho it doesn’t really amount to much. Anyway, moving on to more important matters, Koibito v3(Aka the final volume) is coming out either Nov or Dec (My dumb brain forgor) As such, I’ll be releasing new chapters every 2 to 3 days(Along with the edits of course) Plus, it’s also high time I got my ass moving on Koibito. Oh yeah, this may sound silly, but pls help me reach my goal of $1 on Ko-fi. It’s a goal I’m hoping to achieve kekw. See you in the next chappo, till then, byeeeeeeeee!