"Iori! Where are you?"
"Here! I'm coming right now!"
An hour later, flustered by the sight of his cousin in a swimsuit, Iori Kitahara, a new student at Izu University, stood in front of Grand Blue with the foolish thought, 'I wonder what kind of encounters I'll have here?'
He opened the door, and the same black-and-red hellish aura poured out. However, within the fiends' revelry, a few screams seemed to be mixed in.
"Come on! Come on! You can really hold your liquor, can't you? If you have one more drink, I'll give you the contact information of a third-year senpai!"
"Waaah! No! Help! Hurry and help me! I'm being devoured by demons!"
The cup was already being pressed to his lips. Facing the wicked seniors' insistent toasts, Miyazawa Yu was fighting with all his might.
But he had six or seven menacing, V-shaped, burly men clinging to him, all with terrifying Araki-style faces. In this situation, all of his resistance was completely futile.
And it wasn't just his hands and feet; his head was deliberately held still, and they were just short of sticking their fingers in his mouth!
Therefore, with Toshio Kotegawa completely ignoring the situation, Miyazawa Yu's last hope for survival was placed on the door that had suddenly opened.
However, this scoundrel, who was the same age as him, seemed to be too clever. After freezing for two seconds, he immediately closed the door, looking like he was running away at the speed of light.
Well, that made sense. Who would be foolish enough to walk in after seeing something like this?
Father! Mother! Your child is no longer pure!
Tears streamed down his cheeks. Just as Miyazawa Yu was about to give up and let the seniors have their way with him, the door miraculously opened again.
The seemingly clever young man had returned! And he even knelt directly on the floor with a look of resignation, as if he were at his own funeral!
"Damn it! You scoundrel who won't help a dying man! Ryūjirō-senpai, look! There's a new guy there!"
"Nani! Who's that, Boss?"
Miyazawa Yu's plan to divert the disaster was surprisingly effective. He had just been desperate and wanted to drag someone down with him.
To his surprise, this group of seniors seemed addicted to capturing new recruits. They immediately sent a large number of their forces to surround Toshio Kotegawa and demand an explanation.
"Ah~ This is my nephew, Iori Kitahara. He's going to Izu University. Please take good care of him."
Showing no sign of family affection, Toshio Kotegawa casually wiped a glass, and without any hesitation or even looking up, he sold out Iori Kitahara.
Hearing this, Ryūjirō Kotobuki and Shinji Tokita exchanged glances, then huddled together with a benevolent smile that said, "It's all part of the plan."
On the other side, Iori was just shedding tears as he mourned a future that seemed to have died before it even began.
He suddenly heard a commotion in front of him, so he instinctively looked up, hoping that everything he had just seen was a hallucination.
'Just look up again, and the people in the shop will be wearing clothes...'
Two obscene, naked men were walking toward him, their faces twisted into horrifying, malevolent smiles. What would a normal person do in this situation?
"I'm sorry! I'm going back home! Farewell!"
His pupils trembled. Without the slightest hesitation, and completely ignoring the other clothed boy in the shop who was pleading for his help, Iori turned and ran.
As the saying goes, it's better to let your friends die than yourself!
Iori Kitahara ran without looking back, terrified that if he ran a second slower, his life would be over right here!
"That guy! He actually ran away! No, I have to save myself!"
A vein popped on his forehead. Miyazawa Yu finally understood. A mountain will fall when you lean on it, and people will run when you rely on them. The future of building his crystal palace must be fought for with his own strength!
"A moment of weakness! Flee!"
With that in mind, he took advantage of the fact that all the seniors' attention was on the fleeing Iori Kitahara. He broke free with a burst of strength and sprinted toward the door and freedom!
'My future harem! Wait for me! I will survive, I swear!'
"Woah, is he homesick? Young people these days are so fragile—"
Looking at the two figures disappearing into the distance, Toshio Kotegawa frowned and rubbed his head, then scanned his shop in confusion.
Nothing was wrong. The display was so cozy, and the guests were all so honest and open. What was it that they didn't like?
It was truly perplexing!
"Huff... huff... Why were there perverts in that shop?"
On the street outside the shop, Iori Kitahara had run at top speed until he was completely out of breath. He finally stopped to rest and catch his breath.
But since he had run all the way here, the naked perverts from the shop shouldn't be able to catch up, unless they dared to... run naked outside in broad daylight...
"WHOOSH—"
A buzzing sound rang in his ears. A flash of a human figure ran past Iori Kitahara. It was none other than Miyazawa Yu, who had just escaped from the tiger's mouth.
And behind him—
"WAHHH! Stop! New guy!"
"Only an idiot would stop! It's not human to not run at a time like this!"
Without looking back, Miyazawa Yu was using every ounce of strength he had, but he could still feel the vibrations behind him getting closer and closer.
If he remembered correctly, the last time he saw people running naked and chasing each other in broad daylight was in Attack on Titan.
But now, these two beasts behind him were no different from Titans! If he got caught, he would be eaten!
"Aaaaghh! Help! What is going on?!"
"Ha! How did you catch up! Damn it! Run, you pathetic legs, run!"
Seeing the situation was grim, Iori Kitahara had to start sprinting again to avoid being caught by the naked men.
What Miyazawa Yu couldn't believe was that this guy had caught up to him so quickly. How was that possible?!
Even without unlocking his sealed power, his stamina was definitely top-notch among college students. Why could some random guy keep pace with him?!
"Hey! We're in the same boat here! What do you mean by that?!"
"What do you think I mean! Isn't it obvious! Whoever falls behind will be caught and taken back for their... 'fun'!"
Are you kidding me! There was no "same boat" here. Although he didn't know Iori Kitahara, Miyazawa Yu knew they were now in a competition!
He didn't need to run faster than Ryūjirō behind him. He just needed to run faster than this guy named Iori Kitahara!
As soon as the other guy was caught, the pursuers would naturally give up on him to restrain Iori, and he would be free as a bird!
As for morals? There are no morals when you're fighting for survival!
"Damn you! You bastard!"
Iori Kitahara could see what Miyazawa Yu was thinking. After all, the look of pity for a sacrificial lamb in his eyes was too easy to read.
Although he didn't know what would happen if he was caught by the burly men behind them, it definitely wouldn't be a good outcome!
What to do! His legs were so sore they were turning to jelly. At this rate, he definitely wouldn't be able to outrun this bastard!
"Wait! New guy! Why are you running! Hurry and accept the seniors' passionate welcome ceremony!"
"Ha! Of course, I'm running! And you two! Hurry up and put on some clothes!"
"Clothes are irrelevant! Are you a shy boy who's afraid of strangers?"
"Do you even know what you two look like?!"
Iori turned his head to look back, and to his horror, he saw that the two naked men were just one step away from him. Their outstretched arms were reaching for his shoulders like zombies.
"That doesn't matter! Just listen to us! We are very gentle with our underclassmen!"
"I don't want to listen!"
Iori screamed at the terrible lines. Looking at Miyazawa Yu, who had already left him dozens of meters behind, his face gradually twisted. A malicious idea began to form in his mind.
If I can't live, then no one gets to live! We can all die together!
"Hey! If I do what you say, can you catch that bastard in front?"
"Of course! I can do it alone!"
"Alright! I won't run anymore!"
His smile became incredibly distorted. Looking at Miyazawa Yu's back, Iori Kitahara raised his hands and slammed on the brakes, stopping in his tracks. The next second, Ryūjirō held him tightly in his arms.
"Got you! New guy!"
"Heh... hehehehe! Hey! You anonymous bastard! Good luck! Don't get caught!"
With a firm chest pressed against his back, Iori Kitahara was not despairing. He wasn't struggling in a desperate manner. Instead, he let out a cold, knowing laugh, and his expression gradually became manic.
That's right! This was the optimal solution! He was definitely going to die, but Miyazawa Yu wouldn't get to live either!
"You bastard! Don't you have any sense of self-sacrifice?!"
"Only a ghost would sacrifice himself for you, you scoundrel! Also! It was you who told them I was at the door, wasn't it?!"
"This... these are just the necessary sacrifices on the path to becoming the King of the Crystal Palace!"
He gritted his teeth but couldn't speed up even a little. The next second, a large hand grabbed Miyazawa Yu's shoulder and lifted him into the air. At this moment, running speed had lost its meaning.
It's over!
His face was filled with terror! Miyazawa Yu began flailing his arms and legs, struggling violently. However, as Shinji Tokita grinned and extended his other wicked hand, his resistance was futile!
In the very end, a pair of unfortunate souls who should have been in the same boat were both held under the arms of the two men, and they happily gave up, blaming each other under the setting sun.