Iori stared at Kamishiro in horror—just now, his mouth had suddenly been stuffed with a bottle of Water of Life!
At this moment, Kamishiro's face was no longer calm at all. He looked at Iori in disdain.
"Pfft. You should've said earlier that you had no strength to resist. You were mouthing off so much—what's with all the attitude when you can't even fight back?"
Didn't you know I'm a wanted criminal?!
The dangerous kind!
Looking at the brutal scene, even Azusa couldn't bear to watch anymore. She quickly tugged on Kamishiro's sleeve and tried to persuade him, "Kamishiro, why don't you at least play a round of volleyball? Otherwise, I can't explain myself to the gamblers…"
Kamishiro was satisfied, sure—but what if the gamblers didn't buy it?
"Hmm? Explain what?"
Kamishiro looked puzzled at Azusa. "Why does the dealer need to explain anything? Don't they just take the money and run?"
"..."
Azusa's mouth twitched, and her gaze dropped to Kamishiro's fingers.
Still ten of them. Honestly, that's a miracle.
Ignoring Azusa's complicated expression, Kamishiro figured—since his revenge was complete—there was only one thing left to do today!
He bounced over cheerfully to the streamer Yukino's side.
Now it's—flirting time!!!
…
Ikegoshi watched the backs of this human and "insect" duo and had a bad feeling.
He whispered to Azusa, "Um, should I tell Kamashiro-san that Miss Yukino is already married? And that she has super intense admirers too…"
Before he could finish, Azusa quickly made a "shush" gesture. "Keep it down! That'll just make Kamishiro more excited!"
???!!
So...
He is a damn scoundrel!
…
What the group didn't know was that their entire interaction had already been fully recorded by a hidden camera!
Watching the footage, the buzzcut director let out a classic villainous laugh.
"Keh keh keh!"
He's going to be famous!!!!
He was going to be the next king of variety TV!!!
Truly—whoever gets Ikegoshi wins the world!
Unlike the maniacal director, a conscience-stricken staff member timidly spoke up:
"Uh… can we really use this footage?"
He felt that Ikegoshi's seven years of devoted fans would vanish into thin air the moment this aired.
Poor Ikegoshi~
________________
"Hiss! Go easy, will you!"
"C'mon, I am being gentle! Hang in there, this one's big—it's hard to get it in!"
"Ow, ow, ow!!"
"Almost there!"
"Ahhh!!! I can't take it anymore!!"
In the GB hall, Iori was bent over, howling in pain. Behind him was Senior Tokita, cautiously but firmly applying pressure.
Yep, neither of them were wearing clothes.
Watching this eye-burning scene, plus the unholy moans echoing in the air…
Kamishiro and Azusa, like true comrades, pulled out their cameras and started taking pictures like paparazzi!
Iori: "You two, knock it off! It's just medicine, okay?! Kamishiro, you bastard, how do you even have the face to take pics?!"
This is all your fault!!
Without even looking up, Kamashiro replied, "Wasn't my idea. When Ikegoshi left, he told me to update him on your condition.
Said you're his sworn brother through life and death. It's so inspiring, right?"
That's right.
They had just returned from the mountains.
Due to that buzzcut director's comeback, Ikegoshi and Yukino had to continue shooting.
The group had to part ways reluctantly.
Kamashiro had originally planned to spend the night in the mountains with Yukino, but she talked him out of it.
She promised to visit him in Izu after filming and even said she'd introduce him to someone very interesting.
And she's got white hair!
Hearing that, Kamashiro eagerly agreed. He was already fantasizing about a future of beautiful girls on each arm.
After all, this was the gentle Yukino—surely the friend she'd introduce would be the total opposite, a classic character.
So exciting~
On the other hand, black lines formed on Iori's forehead after hearing Kamishiro's explanation.
"You didn't have to send videos! People might get the wrong idea seeing me butt-naked like this! Even I get embarrassed, okay?!"
And anyway… what "life and death" friendship? Does it mean the same team, but only I die?!
I'm the only one who got hurt!!
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
This is bullying!!
…
"Dinner's ready~"
Just as the commotion peaked, Nanaka emerged holding a steaming rice cooker.
Inside was the chestnut rice Iori had been craving!
Made exactly to his specifications~
But Iori didn't look thrilled at all.
His butt hurt so bad he had to eat lying down—there was no way he could eat much like this!
Iori glared at Kamishiro. "It's all your fault, you bastard!"
"…You've said that like fifty times on the way here. Aren't you tired?"
Kamashiro turned his head away guiltily. Yeah, Iori's butt might need two days to heal properly.
"Huh? What happened?"
Nanaka finally noticed Iori's strange condition. She'd been so focused on cooking that she hadn't paid attention earlier.
She thought the moaning was just part of some weird game.
"Nanaka san, you have to stand up for me!"
The moment he saw her, Iori practically burst into tears like he'd seen family.
After hearing the whole story, Nanaka's face twisted awkwardly as she glanced at Iori's rear.
She forced a smile. "Uhh…"
She had no idea what to say.
Under Iori's hopeful gaze, Nanaka gently patted his head like a certain anime girl who could dumb down magical beasts.
"Just take this as Kamishiro's apology. Come on, let's eat!"
Saying that, she slipped something into Iori's arms before calling everyone to dinner.
Iori blinked and looked down at the item.
A "Dream Lottery Ticket"!
Scratch the three boxes on the left. If the numbers match, you win!
* 1st Prize: 100 million yen
* 2nd Prize: 3 million yen
* 3rd Prize: 300,000 yen
Iori stared at the ticket, his expression even more miserable.
So this was just more hush money, huh…
As if this kind of thing could ever win!
…
clang clang clang~
"Delicious!"
"So good!"
Whether it was because of the sadness or the sheer quality of the chestnut rice…
Iori broke through his pain threshold and stood up to eat three huge bowls, completely ignoring his injured butt!
Kamishiro stared in disbelief.
"Hey hey hey, are you sure you'll be okay? Your wound might burst open on the toilet tonight, y'know."
Ending up in the hospital over chestnut rice… and in the proctology ward at that…
"Shut up! It's all your fault anyway!"
Iori snapped after shoveling in another mouthful. His expression was just like a grudge-holding husky.
"Alright, alright, my bad. How about this—I'll give you a discount on your debt. Waive one Fukuzawa bill for ya."
"For real?"
"Of course. I've got that much integrity at least!"
Iori still looked slightly skeptical, but the grudge-holding husky look was gone.
"Aww, you're actually kind of nice~"
Yeah.
Even more like a husky now!
Kamashiro calmly sipped his tea, eyes flashing with contempt.
What a naïve college student. Actually believes what a capitalist says!
No way Iori could pay off that debt in college. This was going to be a long game~
At that moment,
A cheerful Iori dug into another bite of chestnut rice, a blissful smile on his face.
"Chestnut rice really is the best thing ever!"
Kamishiro's eyes lit up at that—this was his chance to cash in!
"Then you should thank me. I'm the one who suggested it. A small gratitude fee of 10,000 yen will do~"
________________
Everyone stared at Kamishiro in disbelief—how could someone be so shameless?!
He had just waived 10,000 yen for someone, and now he was turning around to earn it back?!
What a true capitalist!
No, even capitalists wouldn't be this stingy!
Thankfully, Iori wasn't a complete fool. He scoffed in disdain and said, "You're just doing this for yourself, right? So you could catch beetles and chat with Yukino."
A flash of jealousy passed through Iori's eyes. What pissed him off the most was that this bastard really did run into Yukino!
What the hell are you, the protagonist of some overpowered fantasy anime?!
"Tch."
Kamashiro clicked his tongue, if he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have mentioned beetle-catching at all.
Losing out on 10,000 yen—it stung!
Seeing Kamashiro getting put in his place, Azusa chuckled and ruffled his hair, then turned to Iori and said, "It's fine if you don't want to thank Kamishiro, but you should thank Chisa, you know~"
"Huh?"
"When we were gathering chestnuts, Chisa was working harder than anyone else."
Aina added, "And she did a lot of prep work too."
Hearing this from both Azusa and the moster, Iori turned toward the kitchen, looking surprised.
He stared thoughtfully at Chisa's back.
Just then, Kohei came over and slapped him on the butt.
"AHHH!!!"
A sharp scream echoed through the entire dive shop.
Iori grabbed Kohei by the collar, his face contorted in rage. "You bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Doesn't he know you can't just slap someone's ass?!
Especially when it's someone of the same sex!
As a socially anxious introvert, Kohei certainly didn't have the habit of randomly slapping people's butts.
Wearing a punchable expression, Kohei said, "Don't forget we all went out of our way to help you, man. You should show some gratitude."
"…And what did you do besides cause trouble?"
That whole sequence of messes could probably be traced back to this dumb blonde idiot.
If it weren't for him, maybe they wouldn't have run into Ikegoshi and the others, and they could've returned safely without a scratch!
But still, they did go out of their way for him. Whatever the reason, he should show some appreciation.
So—
"Really, thank you all so much. I don't even know how I could ever repay you."
A verbal thank-you would be plenty!
Kamashiro: "No worries, just give us money!"
Tokita: "Yeah, money's fine."
Kotobuki: "Cash is best."
Azusa: "Nothing beats cold, hard cash~"
Kohei: "If you really mean it, show it with money."
Aina: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
Wait, what?! They're seriously asking for money?!
Aina had thought this was just a heartwarming scene of friends helping each other out—but now it felt like a transactional job!
And what was with how in sync they all were?! No one even warned her ahead of time!
She was doomed!
She should've gone to cook with Chisa instead!
Looking at Kamashiro's evil smirk, Iori finally realized why this bastard had been so decisive earlier—it was because he had been waiting for this moment!
"I really don't know how to repay you… I'm so ashamed!"
Iori was practically weeping. He really was broke.
And because of his leave of absence, he hadn't received any pay from the restaurant job either. (っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
"Huh? Didn't you guys just get back from a part-time job?" Azusa asked in confusion. That place should've paid decently, right?
"So where's your money?"
Iori turned to Kamashiro. Good question—where was his money?
"I used part of it to pay Kamashiro…"
"And the rest?"
"That's my living expenses!"
Iori's voice was full of despair. Because of the passport issue, he was no longer eligible to receive living expenses from his family.
He still didn't know what Shiori had told his parents to convince them he didn't need any support.
He could only hope his parents would soon see through Shiori's deception!
"Well, that's a pity," Kamashiro sighed in mock regret. "In that case, we'll forget about the 10,000 yen. Just hand over the rest."
"You're a demon! You never planned on giving me a discount to begin with!"
Iori finally saw it—the bastard had been messing with him from the start!
Kohei: "You know, humans only need one kidney to live."
Iori: "You bastard! I'm not selling a kidney!"
Kamashiro: "It's not like you're using it anyway. One less won't hurt."
Iori: "The hell?! Did you flunk biology?! Kidneys aren't just for that purpose!"
Kamashiro: "So… are you admitting you'll be a virgin forever?"
Iori: "…"
I… You mother—!!!
…
After dinner, people just naturally start craving a drink.
One drink, and that cool sensation makes you crave a second.
After the second, the perfect buzz pulls you toward a third.
After the third…
Whatever the excuse, the group fell back into their long-missed pub-style drinking party mode!
To make the most of it, the two senpai even brought out the same keg they used on the Okinawa trip!
Traumatic memories resurfaced for some of the newer members!
Luckily, with fewer people this time, they didn't go full psycho-mode. The strongest drinks were only about 60 proof.
Kamashiro could handle that much, at least~
After three large glasses, just as Kamashiro started feeling tipsy and was about to play strip rock-paper-scissors with Azusa, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen—"Hot Editor" was calling.
Kamashiro sobered up almost instantly.
His mouth twitched, and a terrible realization dawned on him.
His novel!
He hadn't written in ages!
Maybe it was the intensity of the phone vibration, but the hand holding his phone was shaking uncontrollably.
"What's wrong, Kamishiro? Hey, isn't that Hanabi san? Why aren't you answering?" Azusa leaned in, noticing his odd behavior.
A flicker of fear passed through Kamashiro's eyes. He turned his head stiffly toward Azusa and asked,
"Um… Azusa, if someone promised you something and then ghosted you—like, several times—what would you do?"
"…"
Got it. Azusa now fully understood the situation.
"Kamishiro… don't tell me you still haven't submitted your manuscript…"
"I forgot!!"
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
Tears welled up in Kamashiro's eyes. So this was what he'd forgotten after returning from Palau!
Actually, Hanabi had made progress this time—she only called now.
Usually, she'd have bombarded him with calls earlier, or just shown up at his house…
"Oh right, Kamishiro. I remember now—Hanabi came looking for you when you were in Palau. It was probably about the manuscript."
???
!!!
Kamashiro was stunned. So she had already camped at his house before?! This wasn't even her first attempt!
"Azusa nee! Why didn't you tell me something so important sooner?!"
Azusa scratched her head awkwardly, then tapped her temple playfully and said, "I forgot~"
"Don't play cute at a time like this!"
This was a matter of life and death for him!
At that moment, his buzzing phone finally stopped—replaced by a message on LINE.
Hot Editor: "Missed your deadline again? Planning to pay tribute in hell or something?"
Hot Editor: "Let me help you."
Hot Editor: smile.jpg
Thud!
Kamashiro trembled after reading the messages.
He was… done for—
Completely done for!
"Hehehehehehehehe Hehehehehehehehe…"
He looked like a broken man as he staggered into the middle of the drinking party.
"LET'S SETTLE THIS IN BLOOD!!!"
"WHOOOOOAAAHHH!!!"
"Where's Kitahara?! Get out here for a duel!!!"
Yep. Someone had officially chosen to use alcohol to escape reality.