After some small talk, Shiro split off with Iori from the girls' group.
They were off to the hot springs, and there'd be plenty of time to hang after.
Of course
Shiro tried to join them.
Sadly, he was shot down by four disgusted glares…
*Damn it!* Back in Kabukicho, countless women would've killed to soak with him!
This hit Shiro's confidence a bit…
On the way to find Kohei, the two kept muttering repeatedly.
"Why won't she give it to me… even though…"
"Why won't she join me… even though…"
They were completely obsessed~
…
Thankfully, they didn't forget the main task.
Eventually, they found their pervert pal by a vending machine.
"Where're the other two?"
Shiro looked around, not spotting the two foreign creeps.
"Who?"
"Your pervert buddies."
"I told you, I'm not a pervert!"
"Then why'd you run?"
Kohei had no comeback, avoiding their eyes.
"Just… a reflex…"
You see, some of the sister-themed games he played ended with the protagonist getting arrested and eating katsu curry in jail.
So, he'd developed a fear of cops in these situations.
"Yeah, yeah, reflex."
"Every pervert's reflex."
Shiro ignored Kohei after that. The team already had one idiot—adding a pervert wasn't a big deal.
He tossed a few coins into the vending machine. After all this, he was parched.
*Clunk clunk~*
Three bottles of oolong tea rolled out.
Shiro grabbed two, tossing them to Iori and Kohei, then chugged his own.
"Ha~ Cold oolong tea hits different!"
Halfway through, Shiro felt alive again.
But when he turned back, his good mood from the refreshing drink vanished.
(???)
"What're you two doing?"
The two idiots were trying to *light* their oolong tea with a lighter.
"Weird, why won't this oolong tea catch fire?"
"Kinda unscientific…"
Seeing their puzzled looks, ready to investigate, Shiro clutched his head in pain.
PAB had ruined these kids so much they forgot vending machine oolong tea was *normal* oolong tea.
Or worse—they might've forgotten normal oolong tea existed.
Luckily, they snapped out of it after a sip, tearfully raising their bottles.
"It's actually normal oolong tea!"
"A miracle!"
Shiro didn't mock them. Instead, he felt a bit sad…
Since starting college, drinking normal oolong tea felt like a luxury (*?????).
…
With excitement and nostalgia, the trio downed their oolong teas.
Then came silence…
How to put it?
It didn't taste as good as PAB's version.
Realizing this, the three despaired. Unknowingly, they'd been fully assimilated by the beasts.
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
"No way! I'm getting another. It's gotta be a fluke!"
Refusing to accept reality, Iori returned to the vending machine for another try.
"Give it up. It's an undeniable fact."
Shiro sighed, a hint of acceptance in his eyes.
Since it happened, might as well embrace it!
Like now—Shiro craved an ice-cold beer!
He'd turned into an old man without realizing~
But beer could wait until after the hot springs. Drinking something cold then soaking…
He didn't want to end up like Kenjirou~
With that, Shiro's urge to hit the hot springs surged. He called to Iori and Kohei, "Let's go soak… What're you holding?!"
Shiro gaped in shock. In the brief moment he'd zoned out, they'd grabbed beers?
What happened to oolong tea?!
Iori and Kohei exchanged a glance, then said firmly, "This *is* oolong tea!"
"…"
Shiro stared, speechless. Were they treating him like an idiot?
Fine then…
"Gimme one!"
Shiro joined them!
What?
Cold drinks before hot springs could mess you up?
No worries—oolong tea was cold too!
Negative plus negative equals positive!
Beer's like cola—its first sip is worth two-thirds of the price.
After chugging half a bottle, the trio bloomed like flowers, suddenly feeling hot springs were overrated compared to beer~
"Ha! Beer's where it's at!"
Shiro felt amazing. Non Pub Oolong tea couldn't compare.
What even *was* oolong tea? Unless it was PAB's special brew, it didn't hold a candle to beer!
As the trio prepared to stroll leisurely to the hot springs, a figure appeared!
"Carina?!"
Yup, it was Carina, Shiro's earlier flirt target and the two foreign creeps' companion.
Carina seemed to have been searching for them, leaning forward to grab Shiro's hand.
"Found you!"
So close, Shiro could feel the heat of her breath on his neck.
And due to their height difference, his angle was a god-tier view!
The scenery was *stellar*!
Like… lace~
For a moment, he forgot to pull away.
Or maybe he didn't *want* to~
Until…
*Click~*
A shutter sound snapped him back to reality.
Turning
Iori and Kohei were grinning, showing off their photography.
*'You bastards!'*
Shiro roared internally. Who the hell taught them to take photos *now*?!
Ever heard of portrait rights?!
"Ahem, what's up?"
Realizing photos were taken, Shiro got serious, gently pushing Carina away to keep some distance.
If these two sent the pics to Inui, his perfect night was toast.
Good thing they didn't have Inui's contact yet. Stall them, then swipe their phones when they let their guard down!
But Carina, missing his silent rejection, leaned in again, grabbing his hand.
"So sorry! Those two from my club caused you trouble earlier!"
This time, even closer!
Shiro felt like he could kiss her lips if he leaned down.
That vibrant red seemed to beckon him.
*Gulp~*
Shiro swallowed hard. This test was too much for a cadre to handle!
It was practically served on a platter!
*Click click click click!!!!*
Thankfully, the frantic shutter sounds brought his sanity back.
Iori and Kohei's rapid-fire shots rivaled Yamamoto's lonely-night speed, from multiple angles!
Were they entering these in a contest?!
And Kohei!
Where was his social anxiety persona?!
This was straight-up social terrorism!
With these two around, Shiro reluctantly pushed Carina away again.
"Ahem, I don't mind, but it was a hassle for Shiori. Sure you don't need to take your friends to the station? Our local katsu curry's pretty good."
"Sorry, so sorry >_<"
This time, Carina got Shiro's hint, frantically apologizing for her companions.
She explained, "Those two have always been obsessed with Japan girls…"
Shiro had a very different opinion.
"Are you sure what they're infatuated with are Japanese women? I feel like their idols are actually perverts."
"Exactly, exactly!"
"They even went so far as to stalk us directly."
"We're really sorry! ＞人＜"
Carina explained again, "Maybe it's because a few of the girls earlier looked too much like Kirara, the character those two love the most. Their favorite is Kirara."
"What's that?"
Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Shiro and Iori turned their eyes simultaneously toward the two foreigners' fellow fan.
They could deny everything else, but the title "Encyclopedia of Little Sister Games" absolutely belonged to Kohei.
As expected, Kohei lived up to his name and explained, "She's a little sister-type character from Blue Spring. I thought she kind of looked like little Shiori."
"..."
As expected of a pervert's aesthetic—it's always the same!
"I'm really, really sorry. I'll be sure to give them a proper scolding!"
Carina bowed again in apology. From her words, it wasn't hard to tell that those two had somehow escaped the pursuit of the Japanese police.
Tch.
Lucky bastards.
But since their companion had come to apologize, Shiro and the others didn't intend to pursue it further.
After all...
Are you expecting those two perverts to obediently take responsibility and pay compensation?
Yeah right. Absolutely not happening!
Shiro even suspected those two creeps weren't even aware of what had happened and were probably preparing for another ambush as they spoke.
As for Carina...
Shiro watched her departing figure and felt something was off.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you've fallen for the Western beauty already?"
Iori teased from the side, having just come up with a great way to use the photos they had taken.
"No... I just sensed the presence of a fellow kind."
"Those two foreign pervs are still around?"
"No, you idiot! I mean a hunter! A hunter!"
Shiro had indeed sensed the presence of a "hunter." In these situations, he would usually disguise himself as prey and wait.
This tactic had never failed him when targeting someone.
After all, as prey, Shiro was also a professional.
But this time—
He failed!
He could tell Carina had absolutely no interest in him. Of course, she wasn't interested in Iori or Kohei either.
Which meant...
Things just got interesting.