"Keh keh keh~"
"Your friend is down, Kamishiro, Kitahara! No need to hide anymore!"
Yamamoto and Fujiwara grinned wickedly as they stared at the bush where Kamishiro and Iori had been hiding earlier.
Kohei had just walked out from there!
Didn't see them?
Who would believe that!
To think he was that close with a girl... That bastard Kohei deserved to die!
Admittedly, Yamamoto was jealous of Kohei.
That girl should've had a crush on him in the first place!
(Or so he believed.)
Yamamoto and Fujiwara exchanged a glance, and instantly the mind link between beasts was activated!
With perfect coordination, they launched their plan.
Fujiwara began backing away, shouting loudly to create the illusion that they were heading in another direction.
Meanwhile—
Yamamoto!
Seizing the chance, he snuck around to the back of the same bush Kohei had come from, preparing to ambush the pair from behind!
With a twisted smile, Yamamoto leapt toward the bush.
"Found you—eh?"
As Yamamoto executed a flying kick, he was greeted by… a stick!
Keep in mind, once airborne, it's hard for someone—especially someone untrained like Yamamoto—to adjust.
In his horrified gaze, that stick seemed perfectly timed… and lodged itself straight into his rear.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! Ohhh~"
A scream—pain mixed with a strange hint of pleasure—echoed across the battlefield!
"Yamamoto!"
From a distance, Fujiwara shouted in shock and rushed toward him.
At that moment, two bright sets of teeth appeared in the bush next to them.
It was time!
Hunter Mode: Activated!
Woosh!
"Now's our chance, Kitahara!"
"Got it!"
The two leapt into the air—it was time to strike back!
In a way, Iori's plan had worked… except the bait had turned out to be Kohei instead of them.
Kohei really was a good guy!
He took on the most dangerous role all by himself!
The moment Kohei stepped out, they already anticipated the outcome and had begun relocating.
As for the stick—it was originally meant as a prank prop, with a white cloth hanging from it showing a head-patting emoji.
Who would've guessed—
The prank stick would have unexpected effects…
Just when the two thought their plan was working, Kamishiro suddenly noticed the mysterious smile on Yamamoto's lips!
Something's wrong!
It's a trap!!!
But it was too late to react.
Bang!
Yamamoto blocked Kamishiro's side kick with his arm, then grabbed his leg and threw him!
Meanwhile, Iori's attack was also blocked by Fujiwara, who casually shoved Iori next to Kamishiro.
Their sneak attack advantage was gone in an instant!
Kamishiro, Iori: {{(°△°; "}}!
Sitting on the ground, they stared at each other in shock.
How did those two bastards suddenly get so strong?!
Under the moonlight, two tall shadows loomed over them.
"Heh… Hide and seek is over."
"This little trick won't stop me!"
Pop!
To Kamishiro's horror, Yamamoto yanked the stick out from behind him.
"Uh… are you okay?"
Kamishiro asked cautiously.
Possibly from overexertion, Yamamoto's rear started gushing blood!!!
And not just a trickle—he was spraying blood!
Iori stared blankly at Yamamoto. Somehow… this scene felt oddly familiar.
Fujiwara: "Heh… No girlfriend, no club… I spent all that extra time training this body!"
Yamamoto: "Like hell we'd lose to normies who just mess around with girls all day!!!"
Tears welled in their eyes. Just thinking about their hardships gave them a surge of strength.
Kamishiro: "..."
Okay, he understood the logic, but—
No girlfriend, no club… so why is your butt superpowered?!
What kind of "training" have you been doing?!
Before Kamishiro could think more, Yamamoto's fist was already coming!
Hearing the wind whistle past his ear, Kamishiro crossed his arms to block—
But was still sent flying, his forearms stinging painfully.
Iori fared worse—Fujiwara kicked him clean off the ground!
The two exchanged glances and saw the same shock in each other's eyes.
What kind of training gave them this power boost?!
Fujiwara was understandable—he already had the role of the big dumb brute.
But Yamamoto? Something was definitely off!
That round, pudgy body… how was it producing so much power?!
No—
Something's wrong with their state!
The two instantly realized—
Their strength wasn't from any kind of training they mentioned!
These guys could spend an entire holiday reading 18+ material at home—no way they trained!
This state—they were simply so jealous, it had empowered them!
Gulp…
The two swallowed hard. Their opponents' hidden potential had been forcibly awakened.
Unless Kamishiro and Iori also broke past their limits—
Fighting back would be like throwing eggs at a rock.
But the two of them had absolutely no idea how to break through!
The will to survive?
"..."
To be honest, their will to survive didn't seem nearly as intense as these two's jealousy.
Besides, wouldn't it be more about willpower when it comes to surviving?
In that case…
Only one way to win remained!
"Kamishiro!"
Iori shouted toward Kamishiro, his gaze unwavering and determined.
Kamishiro's mouth twitched. As his childhood friend, he instantly understood what this bastard meant.
This bastard wanted him to find a way to wear down the other two bastards' resolve!
That's right!
That was the only remaining method.
Bodies strengthened by jealousy were indeed powerful—but they had a fatal weakness!
If their jealousy disappeared, or if another emotion overpowered it…
They would immediately lose that power!
There might even be a debuff attached!
It sounded simple enough.
But...
How could those two beasts possibly stop being jealous so easily?
Try provoking them with women, looks, grades, or money?
Wouldn't that just be giving them buffs?!
A straight-up epic-level power-up!
Damn it!
Staring at the two demons drawing closer, Kamishiro's brain spun wildly.
He needed to say something that would deliver a devastating blow to at least one of them!
And it couldn't be directly related to them, ideally not even to the three-dimensional world!
Wait...
Three-dimensional...
Kamishiro suddenly remembered something.
He recalled that earlier… Yamamoto had been obsessed with a character in a certain game.
That would count as 2.5D, right?
And more importantly—
Kamishiro knew exactly who was underneath that character!
With that thought, a confident expression emerged on his face. He gave Iori a reassuring look and dropped his defensive stance.
Just like an old man strolling through a park, he slowly approached Yamamoto.
"Hm?"
Was this surrender?
Seeing Kamishiro's attitude, Yamamoto's first reaction was confusion—he smelled a trick!
But remembering his own current state, he grinned savagely.
A trick?
He wasn't afraid of anything now!
In the face of raw power, these petty tactics were meaningless!
After all, they were the ones who had managed to steal away Mitarai right under the nose of the most powerful woman in this slice-of-life show!
Don't underestimate the determination of a virgin, damn it!
Yamamoto's gaze was resolute. He firmly believed that no matter what underhanded scheme Kamishiro tried, he could withstand it!
However—
One minute later.
Yamamoto knelt on the ground, eyes lifeless.
He was wrong. He was so wrong!
He couldn't withstand it at all!!!
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
At that moment, Yamamoto cried like a child whose most cherished toy had been stolen.
His sobs were gut-wrenching.
"Yamamoto! What happened, Yamamoto!!"
Not far away, Fujiwara stood frozen in shock, frantically shouting his teammate's name.
At the same time, he stared at Kamishiro with terror in his eyes.
Just now—
That bastard had merely walked past Yamamoto and moved his lips slightly, and his teammate ended up like this.
Damn it!
What kind of black magic was this?!
Kamishiro gave a lopsided grin, like a boss in total control, and casually walked past Yamamoto.
As he passed, he even patted his shoulder, "Calm down, kid. I told you—online dating comes with risks~"
(λ?_??)
"Holy crap, Kamishiro, you're amazing!"
Seeing that Kamishiro had taken care of Yamamoto, the beaten-up Iori quickly rushed over.
Kamishiro waved his hand like it was nothing but a small errand.
Meanwhile, Fujiwara strode to his partner's side. "Hey, Yamamoto, what the hell happened?!"
"No, I don't believe it!!!"
Yamamoto completely ignored his loyal friend. Now wasn't the time for judgment!
If what Kamishiro had just said was true, then his entire life was falling apart!
"Ah, people… sometimes they just need to face reality."
Kamishiro looked at Yamamoto's twisted face and sighed. Some people already knew the truth in their hearts, so why cling to false hope?
It wasn't like he didn't know that Kohei's voice was practically a cheat-level existence. Voicing a virtual idol? Piece of cake. He didn't even need a voice changer.
That's right!
Just before Yamamoto's attack hit him, Kamishiro revealed the truth Kohei had told him earlier—about being the voice behind the virtual idol.
The shock was so overwhelming, Yamamoto couldn't even feel jealous anymore. All he could think about were his memories with that virtual idol.
Even though he had to uninstall the app because it didn't help him lose his virginity—
Still!
During the time they spent together, he had truly, deeply fallen in love!
And now someone suddenly tells him that the one he had been whispering sweet nothings to, day and night—
Was actually a dude?!
And not just any dude—Kohei, that bastard?!
AAAAHHHHH!!!
Unacceptable!!!
Huff huff huff!
"I need proof!"
Yamamoto, eyes bloodshot, grabbed Kamishiro's shoulders like a raging bull.
"Is that… really necessary?"
Kamishiro patted his hands to calm him, then casually walked over to Kohei.
He pulled out Kohei's phone from his pants pocket, unlocked it, and opened the app interface.
The whole sequence was shockingly smooth.
If the phone hadn't come from Kohei's pocket, they would've thought it was Kamishiro's own phone.
Seeing how natural Kamishiro was, Iori's mouth twitched. He suddenly felt like his own phone wasn't safe anymore.
"Hey… how did you know Kohei's password?"
"Hm? Isn't it obvious? Just input the debut date of Maya."
"..."
Upon hearing that, Iori fell completely silent. He glanced pitifully at the still-unconscious Kohei.
This guy was utterly under Kamishiro's thumb!
At the same time, Iori let out a sigh of relief. Good thing he didn't idolize anyone, or his password would've been compromised too.
"Oh, by the way, your password is all 6s."
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Iori exploded. He had just been thinking his phone was secure, and now Kamishiro revealed his password too.
Damn it!
Why?! How?!
(???)
Kamishiro didn't answer, just looked at him with an expression that said, "Are you an idiot?"
Having grown up together, Kamishiro knew Iori far too well.
Back when they were kids, Iori always forgot his passwords.
So eventually, he just set them all to one number.
According to Kitahara, even if he forgot the password, guessing ten times would definitely yield the right one!
And—
Kamishiro had noticed during the school term that the first digit Iori entered when unlocking his phone was 6…
"This question isn't important."
"This question is very important!!!"
Iori felt his privacy had been completely violated.
Hmph!
As soon as he got home, he was going to change his password!
To all zeros!
Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Kouhei's phone.
There was no room for denial — Kouhei's phone had the virtual streamer management app.
There was nothing more convincing than that.
Boom!!!
After seeing everything, Yamamoto felt like the sky was collapsing on him.
Thud!
He collapsed heavily onto Kouhei, muttering,
"Just kill me. Erase my existence and my past altogether."
"Yamamoto! Yamamoto!!!"
The big oaf Fujiwara stayed true to his character. Not understanding what was happening, he persistently called out to his partner.
Yes, he kept calling out to his companion.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain. His partner had already died spiritually.
Even Iori, standing nearby, no longer cared about his own privacy, silently offering a stick of incense in his heart for the fallen enemy.
May there be no Kamishiro or Kouhei in heaven.