"Ha! Sure enough, nothing beats a cold beer during a drive!"
In a small car not far behind the Porsche—
Iori took a satisfied sip of his beer.
The refreshing beer made every cell in his body relax.
Ahhh—
This was way better than getting fries down at the pier!
"Hey, don't drink too much. Don't get drunk while we're still in the car."
From the driver's seat, Chisa gave him a quick sideways glance and said casually. Her previously tense mood also started to relax thanks to Iori's laid-back behavior.
Feels... just like usual?
"It's fine, it's just a little beer. I won't get drunk."
Iori said with a cocky grin. Say what you will—when it came to alcohol, after half a year in PAB, he had every right to be confident.
Beer? That's just barley juice!
Chisa rolled her eyes but didn't push further. She knew Iori's tolerance well enough.
As long as no one spiked it with "water of life," then beer really was just juice for him.
Still, there was something that had been bothering her...
"Why?"
Probably because her nerves had calmed, Chisa asked directly.
"Hmm? Why what?"
Iori looked confused.
Why drink? Does drinking even need a reason?
Chisa bit her lip—this idiot is really way too dense!
"Why did you come to Okinawa with me...?"
That's right.
One of the biggest reasons Chisa had been nervous was that she didn't understand why it ended up being just the two of them traveling together.
Back then, Iori's reason was "to thank you for helping me fall in love with diving and the ocean."
Chisa had thought that sounded fair enough, and seeing him so pitiful after being electrocuted, she'd half-mindedly agreed.
But...
If it was about gratitude, the senpai helped a lot too, right?
Didn't really make sense.
At one point, she even suspected Iori might have ulterior motives—but along the way, his behavior and attitude had been no different from usual.
Which led her to drop that line of thought.
So...
What was the real reason?
"Ah, that—well yeah, thanking you is part of it… don't give me that look. Okay, fine, it's only one of the reasons."
Under Chisa's completely unconvinced stare, Iori sighed and decided to tell the truth.
"Remember how we talked about taking the advanced diving certification?"
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with us—wait! Don't tell me—"
Chisa's eyes widened in disbelief. She realized a very doggy possibility.
"Kukuku~"
Seeing that she'd figured it out, Iori grinned smugly.
"That's right! I'm going to take the advanced diving exam before Kamishiro and the others. And then surprise them!"
He imagined the moment when everyone gathered to plan for the test, and he casually dropped, "Oh, I already passed."
That face they'll make!
Iori couldn't help but chuckle evilly. That would be his moment to shine!
Chisa's lips twitched. This guy's hopeless.
What is this supposed to be?
The joy of an underachiever?
It's like a slacker in school suddenly finishing homework that even the top students hadn't done yet—
The pride and satisfaction are something video games can't provide!
She could already picture the pissed-off expressions of Kamishiro and the others when they heard the news.
All she could say was… what a tight-knit club.
Iori, Kamishiro, and Imamura, all three in the same group, and not one has been "knocked out" yet.
Truly a miracle...
"Of course, that's just part of it. If possible, I want to visit some other dive spots too."
"Oh? You mean like Miyako Island?"
Chisa looked confused. They had agreed not to go there, hadn't they?
Iori shook his head.
"Let's go somewhere else. The senpai have already been there. There are plenty of beautiful dive spots in the Okinawa Islands, right?"
At that, Chisa stiffened slightly—
She had a vague feeling about what Iori was really aiming for.
"You mean to..."
Iori didn't answer. He just smiled and said to her,
"When the time comes, I'll be counting on you, Miss Pro Diver!"
Seeing his expression,
Chisa finally let her guard down.
So this is what Iori really came to Okinawa for...
Looking at his big, goofy smile, Chisa couldn't help but smile too.
As expected, sometimes Iori was weirdly dependable.
Just...
"Aren't you going to discuss it with Kamishiro and the others?"
Things like this should be decided by group consensus, no?
"Of course I will! But... after we finish the trip. That way, it'll be a surprise!
If they're not cool with it, we'll just pick a different spot!"
"..."
Of course.
Typical behavior of a rich kid whose family runs an inn—completely indifferent to money.
Instead of quietly stashing his winnings, he goes out and spends.
Anyone watching might think he won 3 million… or 30 million… or even 300 million yen!
Bro, it's just 300,000!
That's in yen, not dollars!
Right now, Chisa was bursting with the urge to roast him.
But... this was so like Iori.
Chisa looked out the window and suddenly started to look forward to the trip.
Plip, plop.
A few drops of water hit the car window. The honor student Chisa paused a second before realizing what it was.
"Sunshower, huh?"
That kind of weather was pretty common along the coast.
Iori noticed too. He picked up his phone to capture the moment.
It's said that a rainbow always follows a sunshower, and that's what he was hoping to catch.
However...
Before the rainbow, he captured something very bizarre.
Just earlier, they had passed a convertible—a convertible driving with the top down in the rain.
A convertible where both the driver and passenger were holding umbrellas.
Convinced he must've seen wrong, Iori silently put down his phone and rubbed his eyes hard.
He looked again.
Confirmed!
That black thing wasn't a convertible's retracted top.
It was... literally just umbrellas!!
Who drives a convertible in the rain without closing the roof but holds up umbrellas instead?!
You rich people really have a different way of living!
Can't that yearning for freedom be turned off just once?!
He suddenly really wanted to see what kind of eccentric millionaire this was.
Too bad the black umbrellas completely covered their faces.
But surely, behind those umbrellas were eyes full of... "wisdom."
"What's wrong?"
Chisa asked, noticing that Iori had been in a daze since just now.
What was outside?
Some rare Maybach in the rain?
"Nothing. I just saw a soul... longing for freedom."
Iori said with a sigh of admiration.
So damn free!
If they were going any faster, it would've been outright exhilarating.
Too bad—if they sped up, those umbrellas would probably explode open.
Tsk tsk.
What a vision!
________________
Pulling back the perspective—
Behind Iori's car, a light truck was following closely.
Clearly, the driver was skilled—not only keeping the truck steady in the rain but maintaining the exact same distance from Iori's car.
Inside—
A blond pretty boy lay in the passenger seat, utterly miserable.
"Why… why the hell am I even here?!"
Right now, he should be in an air-conditioned room playing with his brand-new game...
"Weren't we supposed to go diving?"
Sweat beaded on Aina's forehead. How slow is this guy's reaction time? They were already sitting in the car and now he was asking that question.
But thanks to that, she had managed to trick Kohei into coming along!
"I didn't think it'd be Okinawa…"
Kohei had thought they were just going somewhere in Izu for a bit of diving, so he didn't say no.
Who would've thought they'd get on a plane?!
The moment they landed, they were immediately herded onto this car… Truly the definition of full-package service.
He felt like he'd just gotten into a sketchy van.
"And it's just the two of us…"
Even more like a sketchy van!
"There was no helping it—none of the senpai were free."
Aina explained. She had actually tried asking some of the others, but they all had their own stuff going on.
Kotobuki was busy with his lab. Tokita was still job hunting. And as for Azusa-senpai… apparently she was working part-time while flirting with underclassmen.
"Then what about that guy Kamishiro?"
"Kamishiro…"
Aina's mouth twitched. Ever since Kamishiro was whisked away by his hot editor, she hadn't seen him again.
If he didn't still reply to messages, they'd honestly be worried he'd been trafficked to Myanmar to run a scam ring.
Plus… if she brought Kamishiro, then Kiyoko would definitely tag along too. That'd make it impossible to tail their targets!
So all things considered, Kohei was absolutely the best option!
"Sigh," Kohei sighed. "Honestly, if it weren't for the promise of seeing a voice actress live, I wouldn't have come."
(｡•́︿•̀｡)
"Oh, that was a lie."
It was just a little trick to lure Kohei here. Now that he was already in the car there was no point hiding it.
BANG!
"WHAT?!"
Kohei slammed his head on the car door. Even with the powers of the "Rarako" boost, he'd still been fooled again!
The enemy was far too cunning!
This whole trip was a disaster from the beginning.
"And another thing—why is it another damn truck?!"
He could tolerate being tricked. He could tolerate there being no Voice Actress.
But WHY?!
Why were two people renting a kei truck?!
Was there some symbolic meaning to it?
"I—I did consider other cars!" Aina got a bit worked up too. Of course, she wanted something cooler, like a convertible, but there was a reason!
"Driving this makes us look more like locals."
"..."
Kohei went silent. Fine she had convinced him again.
So basically… this wasn't even a trip.
This was a business assignment in disguise.
Side job – Private Investigator!
Client – Cakey!
"We should use this time to figure out how to stop those two from hooking up."
Seeing Kohei finally calm down, Aina brought up their true mission: prevent Iori and Chisa from getting together.
"Ah, don't worry about that. I already have a plan!"
"Huh?"
Aina stared dumbfounded at him. "When did you come up with that?"
"Right when we got in the car."
"..."
This guy—didn't he act all clueless just a minute ago?
How could he have a strategy ready to go without her even noticing?
Maybe this fated enemy dynamic was real. Bringing Kohei along had absolutely been the right choice.
Well done, Kohei!
"Mind if I ask—what exactly is this plan?"
"Heh. It's hard to describe, but it's guaranteed to catch Iori's attention!"
"Just wait till the rain stops and go check it out yourself!"
Hearing that,
Aina nodded, a little dazed. It should be fine, right? After all, if anyone knew Iori best, Kohei was one of them.
"What's Iori doing now?"
"Let me see…"
Kohei pulled out a pair of binoculars. They came fully equipped this time!
"Hmm… Chisa doesn't seem to be reacting much, but she looks way more relaxed."
!!!
"Why is she suddenly so relaxed?!"
Aina was panicking a little. Just earlier at the airport, Chisa looked super nervous!
What happened in the meantime?!
"Not sure… Kitahara's face looks like he just saw something unbelievable."
"Unbelievable?"
"Yeah, right over there."
The two turned their gaze to the side.
They saw—a Porsche convertible cruising leisurely in the rain.
"..."
?_?
Okay, now they understood why Kitahara looked so shocked.
Who wouldn't be stunned seeing that?
Too damn free.
________________
"..."
"That's, what, the third one now? Even the locals can't stand it anymore."
Even while holding her umbrella, Hanabi noticed the gaze of a nearby truck driver.
Her face turned red with embarrassment—she already had thin skin, and now she tried to hide even further under her umbrella.
"Hanabi, don't get fooled now. Just because someone's driving a truck doesn't mean they're a local. Might be some creepy stalker or a drunk racing to the bar."
Kamishiro shook his head. He didn't really care about the stares.
Driving a convertible in the rain might sound ridiculous, but it's cool, okay?!
Anyone mocking them was just jealous!
"Is that how a novelist's brain works?"
Hanabi could understand the stalker bit, but what was this about drunkards?
Was this supposed to be a character backstory or something?
"No, it really happened…"
Kamishiro's expression twitched. He had a vivid flashback to their first trip to Okinawa with the senpai.
There were pros and cons to both kei trucks and convertibles.
Ignoring Hanabi's incredulous look, Kamishiro suddenly smiled.
"Wanna hit the pier for some fries?"
"Huh?"
"Can't have a cruise without burgers and fries!"
Kamishiro suddenly changed direction. If they couldn't drink, then it was time for some happy soda!
"Where do you learn these habits…"
"Been watching some American movies lately."
"You damn pigeon. You really will do anything but write."
"Ahem… that's—uh, an act of God."
Kamishiro turned his head away, guilty. He had no idea why, but every time he tried to write, he ended up doing something else.
Hanabi gave this lazy pigeon a glare, but didn't say more.
The thought of hot, freshly fried potatoes made her lick her lips a little.
She was kinda craving them.
"Hmm, let's get lots of fries then."
Because what's life all about?
Fries and soda!
Hearing that, Kamishiro smiled.
"Let's go! Operation French Fry, GO!"
He immediately stepped on the gas, and the roar of the supercar echoed through the rain.
It made hearts race!
Who would've guessed the driver's sole mission was… to get fries faster?
CHARGE!!!