"Ah! Speaking of love. Hey, Iori! What kind of man are you into?"
"Pfft!"
On the other side, after Iori Kitahara finished buying clothes with Azusa Hamaoka, the two of them started chatting on their way back to the booth.
However, Azusa Hamaoka's private, secret topic was clearly more than Iori could handle. Just one sentence was enough to make him spit out the cotton candy he had just bought, turning it into a fluffy mess on his face.
"Wh-Why are you suddenly asking that!"
Without any time to clean his wet face, Iori Kitahara's eyes grew panicked. The rumor of him liking men was the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to him, a wound that would never heal. And he was terrified that Azusa-senpai's next sentence would be to set him up with a boyfriend.
If he didn't accept, he would be rejecting her kindness. If he accepted, it could lead to him being "locked up by a muscular man, with a man on top!"
He could not, under any circumstances, accept that!
"Oh my~ You see, it's so rare for us to have the same interest, right?"
Laughing awkwardly, Azusa Hamaoka put her hands behind her back and lowered her voice. Her face was flushed with embarrassment.
Seeing this, Iori Kitahara wanted to clarify that she was the only one who liked both men and women, but...
He covered his face with his hands. Azusa-senpai's sincere trust made it impossible for him to open his mouth! He felt that even a slight rebuttal would be a deep sin!
"Hmm, are you still shy? Well, since that's the case, I'll tell you mine. For guys, I'm into someone like Tokita, and for girls, I like someone like Nanaka~"
Misinterpreting Iori's hesitation as shyness, Azusa Hamaoka thought for a moment and then, as an example, told him all her interests. In the end, she didn't forget to add, "Don't tell anyone, okay~"
"Yes, I understand..."
His sense of guilt deepened. And the fact that Azusa-senpai's interests were people he knew personally... it was truly terrifying!
His mind froze. Even without the warning, Iori Kitahara would never have dared to say anything about this. After all, it would be inhumane to say something, and on the other hand, he felt he wouldn't survive the night!
He could understand Tokita-senpai, since he was a good, reliable man when he wasn't drinking. But Nanaka-senpai... wasn't she Yu's goal?
Thinking this, he hesitated for a moment and raised his hand. "Um... why do you like Tokita-senpai, Azusa-senpai? Is it his body type? In that case, what about Yu?"
"Oh, my! I like Tokita for his reliable personality. Although his looks are a small factor, I would never consider a little slickster like Yu!"
"Ah~ I see..."
Making a feint to the east while attacking in the west, Iori Kitahara knew that asking about Yu directly would make her suspicious, so he went around in a circle to bring the topic up.
"But I heard that Yu is also pursuing Nanaka-senpai. If senpai also likes Nanaka-senpai..."
"A love rival!"
"Eh?"
Blinking in confusion, Iori Kitahara looked at Azusa Hamaoka, but her face was filled with nothing but sincerity.
"I've already declared war on Yu! Iori, you'll bless me in the battle for Nanaka, won't you?"
"Y-Yes... I will..."
His worldview was completely shattered. Iori Kitahara's brain crashed.
But Azusa Hamaoka relentlessly turned to him and asked cheerfully, "Okay! I've told you all my interests! What about yours, Iori?"
"Ah!? Do I have to?"
"Yes, you have to! Tell me, tell me~ What kind of man are you into, Iori? I really want to know!"
"I, I like..."
He never expected to be in such a difficult position. With Azusa-senpai's tight grip on his shoulders, Iori Kitahara's mind was left with only two choices—Yu and Kohei!
...
"Hey! We're back! Do you need a shift change?"
Five minutes later, at the Pab Club's okonomiyaki booth, Miyazawa Yu heard Azusa Hamaoka's voice and cautiously glanced at her with his peripheral vision. Seeing that she was fully dressed, he turned his head completely.
"You're too slow, senpai! I feel like I'm about to melt!"
"Sorry, sorry! But Yu, you might have to work a little longer. This time, I'll take Kohei's place!"
Azusa Hamaoka looked at Miyazawa Yu with a look of pity. Although she had thought Yu and Iori were a perfect match when they first met, and their bond was unusually close, now that Iori had decided to two-time, as a senior and a veteran in love, she couldn't criticize him.
She just hoped that this fickle guy would treat Kohei well in the future!
"Hiss... For some reason, I feel like Azusa Hamaoka-senpai is looking at me strangely!"
Miyazawa Yu didn't mind not being able to rest immediately. His physical endurance was better, and he could certainly hold on for a while.
But Kohei was already a hot mess and might collapse if he didn't get to walk around and have some cold drinks!
However, the look Azusa-senpai gave him when she pushed Kohei away felt wrong. What was it about Kohei that would make him feel pity?
"Huh? Is that so? I think she looked normal. Are you starting to feel nauseous again? You should go rest..."
"It's not that, it's not a matter of rest. That look on her face... is she pitying me?"
"Huh? Pity?"
Chisa Kotegawa looked up at the sky in confusion, unable to figure out what was pitiful about Yu. She went back to making okonomiyaki for her customers.
However, when she reached for the ingredients again, she realized that they had run out of eggs!
"Hey, Yu! We're out of eggs. Can you go to the warehouse and get some?"
"Okay, no problem!"
He slapped his face to get rid of his random thoughts. Hearing Chisa's request, Miyazawa Yu nodded in agreement, took off his apron, and walked into the crowd.
It was worth mentioning that for the health of the customers, all clubs' ingredients were checked and managed by the student council. The use of low-quality ingredients was strictly forbidden.
Except for the first time when most of the ingredients were moved to the booth, they had to go to the student council warehouse to get more.
Therefore, it took Miyazawa Yu a full ten minutes to get the eggs from the warehouse.
"Hey! Yu! Are you short on ingredients?"
Just as he was absentmindedly pondering Azusa-senpai's attitude, Shinji Tokita's loud voice called out to him from behind.
And it wasn't just Tokita-senpai; Iori and Kohei were also there, though they didn't look very happy.
"Yeah, we ran out of eggs, so I came to get some..."
"I see! You're working hard! But we'll take care of the rest for you! Someone from another club we're having a party with wants to meet you!"
Ryūjirō Kotobuki walked over and took the eggs from Miyazawa Yu's hands and put them on his shoulders. He then showed him a reliable, toothy grin.
"You should take a break for a while!"
"Huh! So we're having a mixer with another club tonight, which means... there might be cute girls?"
"Damn it, that was my line!"
"Shut up, Kohei! Yare yare, looks like I need to make myself look presentable!"
His expression instantly turned serious. Miyazawa Yu fixed his hair, which had been messed up by the headband, and struck a very flashy, cool pose.
Kōhei Imamura and Iori Kitahara both gave him a look of contempt, although they also wanted to know the answer.
"Hahaha! Do you think there will be?"
Patting Yu's shoulder heavily, Shinji Tokita laughed and pointed out the club they were going to have a mixer with—
MUSCLE—MUSCLE—
Three muscular men, as broad as Miyazawa Yu after his transformation, stood behind the booth. The sunlight made their three bald heads shine brightly.
Seeing that Shinji Tokita had brought the person they wanted to see, the leader of the muscular men looked up slightly, his chiseled face breaking into a cheerful smile.
Looking up at the booth sign, the rugby club's "Delicious" grilled chicken skewers radiated a strange, perverted aura.
"Damn it! I was a fool to trust my seniors..."
Seeing the complete opposite of beautiful girls, Miyazawa Yu covered his face with one hand as two streams of blood tears flowed from his eyes.
How could a club with so many muscular men, where even the air was filled with the sound of muscles, possibly have any girls?! Tokita-senpai was a fraud!
"Oh! You're so happy, Yu! By the way, we're also having exchanges with other clubs!"
"A three-character club that starts with 'karate' and ends with 'do'! Are you excited?"
Completely without shame for deceiving his underclassman, Ryūjirō Kotobuki not only lied and misinterpreted Miyazawa Yu's tears but also extinguished his last bit of hope.
"You jerks! Do you think anyone would fall for that kind of explanation! What's the difference between this and just saying it directly!"
"Now, now~ Don't be mad. Let's go, let's go!"
"As a greeting, you should at least go have a drink with them."
"I refuse! I'd rather go back and accompany Azusa-senpai than drink with a bunch of naked men tonight!"
Miyazawa Yu crossed his arms over his chest and tried to firmly refuse his seniors' demonic grasp, but the next second, he was caught in an arm lock.
"Wait! Noooooo!!"