The party was going as boringly as Amane had wanted it to go. People were eying her like she was a piece of candy but her earlier performance had put everyone on edge.
She could even hear whispers coming from behind well-hidden mouths.
These people were likely trying to stay out and out of the way but their words were coming across as really loud. It was a pity that Amane had to stay here and note everyone down for later.
But not everyone was at the same level of eye soreness. Some people made Amane genuinely curious as well.
Like, Lady Zhen for example. The poor girl was glancing toward Amane once in a while, her expression a mix of curiosity as well as longing to come over.
'Ah, is she that shy? Then, should I take the initiative to call her over?'
As much as Amane wanted to be left alone, it was quite boring to stay back and do nothing. Even the baby phoenix on her shoulder could not help elevate Amane's boredom.
And just when the girl finally made up her mind and headed over to Amane's direction, she was stopped by an annoying pest.
The girl looked uncomfortable with the talk taking place between herself and the new man. Amane was sure that the man also pointed toward herself but Lady Zhen shook her head in return.
"What should I do, Angle? Should I go and help the poor girl?"
The phoenix chick on her shoulder gave out a hoot in agreement. And that decided what Aamen was going to do next.
Amane had to give it to the man. He was quite bold in offering his hand to an unwilling lady, knowing that there was a chance that he might be humiliated.
But the Lady Amane had been observing did not look the type to either be direct or be harmful. She was likely going to go along with whatever the man wanted.
'Such a rash decision. Lady Zhen is so lucky to have me here.'
"I don't think the lady wants to go with you, mister. Now, how about you find someone interested in you for real and leave us alone?"
The man looked startled and so did Lady Zhen. Those twin looks of surprise were so funny that Amane forgot to not let it show.
'What do these people want me to do? Not taking pleasure in their misery?'
The man attempted to defend himself but gave up when he saw he was no match for Amane. Especially when the Baby Phoenix was still lecturing on Amane's shoulder and making frightening hoots.
"Wow, for someone who looked desperate, he gave up pretty quickly. You didn't get hurt, right?"
Amane had seldomly seen people run away like this in such a big social gathering. But the man was not Amane's main concern.
The main concern was the pair of eyes looking at Amane from the top of the staircase. Charlie was eying Amane and her new friend.
And the look in Charlie's eyes was predatory. But Amane could not tell if the divine leader was looking at her or her company with those eyes.
"T-Thank you for your help. Lady Yoko did not need to go out of her way to help me out and yet she did. I will find some way to repay her in the future."
Amane broke that eye contact with the half-fox and focused on Lady Zhen instead. The girl was purer and more innocent than she looked.
All the surveillance Amane had asked Sakura to gather failed to highlight just how earnest Lady Zhen was.
'Poor innocent rabbit. She's gonna get devoured by a big bad wolf like me before she even realizes what is happening.'
Compared to Sakura, Lady Zhen was more Amane's type. It was always fun when the innocent got corrupted. They made for the best doms in the scene.
Since Amane was a 'switch' kind of person, she liked these kinds of people.
"You don't have to be so on-guard with me Lady Ely Zhen. Your grandfather and my uncle are good friends so I want to get along with you as well. I hope you don't find this too troublesome."
Amane gave the sweetest smile she could to the poor girl. And the girl melted like Amane had expected her to.
There was low laughter that resonated in the hall. It was familiar enough to let Amane know who it belonged to. But she also had a feeling that Charlie had laughed like that for a specific reason.
"Ah, what is this Yoko? Are you making friends with Lady Zhen behind my back? And to think that I even offered to introduce you two to each other. How cruel of you to ignore me like this."
The hall tensed at the confrontation. Everyone had seen it coming when they had seen Lady Suzuki headed this way.
If there was one thing the people gathered here knew, it was that Lady Suzuki was possessive over her interests. And she was very much interested in Lady Yoko.
"Lady Suzuki, may I speak frankly?" Amane took in a deep breath.
"Sure. It's not like you need permission to do that anyway." the fox-lady had a mischievous grin on her face.
'Ah, she realized what is going to happen next. I don't need to hold back now.'
"How many fucking times will I have to ask you to leave me the fuck alone? I will not take your harassment sitting down and it'll come to bit you off in the ass sooner or later."
Everyone looked at Amane like she had lost her head. How could she yell at the divine leader like that?
'Pansies. No, simps. They are all simps and I hate that.'
"And now you spoiled my mood so I want to go home. Lady Zhen, we shall meet again soon. I had fun talking with you"
The green-haired lady looked red in the face. Amane had most likely fucked up the impression she had tried to cultivate with the other female.
But, oh well. This was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Amane had decided not to hide so this was really for the best.
"Yo~ko~ you are too harsh but I love that about you as well. You can be as harsh as you want with me and I won't mind. How about we go for a humiliation play next time? I want you to talk down to me even more."
Charlies Suzuki made the most horrifying display she had ever made in public. Her face made a love-sick expression that freaked all the on-looking people.
But most of all, it made Aamne cringe at seeing this display.
'What crimes did I commit against Charlie to be faced with this? What happened to the straight-faced girl from my past?'
"No more. I am going now."
"Alright, have fun on your way back, and don't drink too much at home. An empty stomach is not good for alcohol consumption."
Amane did behave immaturely and stuck her tongue out toward Charlie. As expected, everyone looking toward Amane had a horrified expression.
Amane was tired of seeing that. All she wanted to do now was to go back home and drink the night away. (And maybe, just maybe spend the night with Sakura to lighten her mood.)
"Ummm…..Lady Yoko…..Ugh, I mean, Lady Tsurugi! T-Thank you for your help and c-company. I will s-see you soon. A-And you can c-call me Ely from t-today onwards."
Ely's voice was a surprise to hear. Amane had not thought that the shy girl would come out and say anything.
But this development was not bad at all. It was what Amane had been expecting from this party.
"Ah sure. You can drop the formalities and call me Yoko as well."
The younger one looked relieved at Amane's words. Her expression showed how good those words must have felt to hear.
For someone who had next to no friends, Lady Ely was surprisingly charismatic and cool about things.
"Ohhh, then what about me? Can I call you Yoko as well?"
"No. Please keep yourself in your line Lady Suzuki. You are not someone I want to get close to."
With that bomb dropped, Amane left the party scene. Her driver looked worried to see Amane come back so soon but he could not ask what had happened inside the party.
He was not close enough to Lady Amane to ask such silly questions and he also did not want to anger Lady Yoko.
The phoenix chick on Lady Yoko's shoulder was already giving him the stinky eye. The driver did not want to know what else would happen if he misbehaved.
He had heard of the 'accident' Lord Akabe Tsurugi got because of this bird and he did not want to risk losing a limb as well.
"Don't be foolish and think stupid thoughts. Just take me home and you are free for the night."
Those words caused whatever stress the man had to evaporate. He was getting off work early today which was fortunate.
What else could he ask for than to get his pay and an early off as well? It was worth more than getting his curiosity sated.
Amane let the driver do what he wanted to. It was not like he could help Amane's forming a headache out. All she wanted to do was to drink and not forget.
And that was exactly what happened as well. As soon as Amane got home, she easily drowned 2-3 glasses of strong whisky.
If anyone asked her why she did that, she would reply that it was a 'habit' she had picked up while she had picked up in her previous life.
It was not something one could easily forget after doing again and again so this was just how things ended up this time as well.
What Amane forget was that her current body had shitty alcohol tolerance. She had never really drank in this body and it was also not used to the strong presence of alcohol.
The Phoenix baby on Amane's shoulder gave a huff at the smell of the alcohol before taking off into its nest.
A separate room had been prepared for the small bird to rest in and Amane did not stop the bird from leaving.
She still had to change from her dress into more comfortable clothing when someone opened the door.
"What are you doing? Were you drinking? Tonight? Tomorrow is a school day and you should be a little more responsible-"
Amane pulled Sakura closer to her body. The younger girl was so soft and cuddly that it made Amane feel good.
And aroused. Alcohol never failed to turn Amane up.
One could even say that she was a horny drunk and tended to get others drunk with her as well.
"Sakura, you should drink up as well. I don't want to be the only one drinking tonight."
The younger sighed as if her patience was being truly tested right now. It made Amane giggle but she did not give up on her objective of getting Sakura drunk.
If she was not able to get Sakura drunk today then it would be impossible for her to fall asleep either.
"Drink"
Amane held the glass in front of Sakura's lips. She was not giving the younger person any room to back out.
"Fine. I will drink if you want me to. But I want my reward after that."
Amane gave a small cheer as Sakura finally took her first mouthful of alcohol. The younger would not likely be able to drink a lot but even the smallest bit was a win for Amane.
"Here, are you happy now?"
'So cute. Sakura is cute when she tries to please me. I want to touch her more.'
Amane pulled the poor unexpected girl into a long and hard kiss. Sakura's body felt tense and her face looked startled.
But then she melted into that kiss and Amane decided to reward her for it.
The sound of a slap and a moan echoed in the empty and dark room as soon as Amane's hand made contact with Sakura's back.