"Kaguya-san, your face is so red, are you scared?"
After getting off the roller coaster, Fujiwara Chika looked at Shinomiya Kaguya with a worried expression.
Shinomiya Kaguya's condition was indeed abnormal.
Her gaze was evasive, her movements stiff, and her cheeks were burning red in an unnatural way.
Fujiwara Chika had been blocked earlier by the disguised Hayasaka Ai, so she had completely missed what happened afterward.
Naturally, she assumed Shinomiya Kaguya had simply been frightened by the roller coaster.
So even though she originally wanted to ride the coaster at least two more times, Fujiwara Chika immediately gave up her desire because of Kaguya's strange state.
Instead, she grabbed her dearest bestie and ran straight toward the carousel, saying that it was "a good way to calm down."
"…Why doesn't anyone care about me?"
Ishigami Yu thought miserably inside his heart, though he didn't dare voice it out loud.
After all, he was a man.
A real man who had practically crawled his way back from the gates of hell.
The moment the roller coaster started its constant drops and twists, Ishigami Yu's mind had gone completely offline.
He passed out from the falling sensation, and didn't regain full consciousness until the coaster returned to the station.
Then he immediately rushed out and vomited.
When he remembered all this, and imagined Fujiwara Chika catching sight of him in such a pathetic state later…
Ishigami Yu felt like life was nothing but a void of pain and shame.
Haruto walked over and patted Ishigami Yu's shoulder.
He casually pulled out a small pill bottle from his pocket and handed it to him.
Ishigami Yu stared at the medicine bottle, eyes trembling with emotion—he was nearly moved to tears.
His willingness to "sacrifice spirit" didn't need repayment, but being understood…
That was almost enough to make him weep on the spot.
"Senpai, what is this…?"
Ishigami Yu asked as he held the bottle.
"It's a motion sickness medicine made by Momobami Private Hospital. It reduces sensitivity in the vestibular nerve and inner ear, and suppresses the central nervous system.
It has sedative, analgesic, and anti-vertigo effects. It will relieve dizziness and nausea caused by roller coasters, and help you recover faster.
I should have given it to you before we got on, but I didn't expect your reaction to be that extreme."
Haruto explained calmly.
Before getting on the roller coaster, Haruto had already noticed Ishigami Yu desperately trying to act brave.
But he never expected Ishigami Yu's tolerance to be so bad that it nearly cost him half his life.
If Haruto didn't help him, Ishigami Yu's amusement park trip would have ended right here.
Ishigami Yu held the pill bottle tightly.
His voice trembled with gratitude.
There really were good people in this world.
He bought a bottle of mineral water from a nearby stall.
One bottle cost three hundred yen.
A price so absurd it made a man question reality.
Truly, amusement parks were no different from scenic spots—they charged however they wanted.
"Damn… it's ridiculously expensive. These evil merchants should be cracked down on."
Ishigami Yu grumbled.
Haruto just smiled.
"It's fine. It's normal for tourist areas to extract profit like this. Though doing it this blatantly only pushes people to buy from outside vendors."
As Ishigami Yu gulped down water and swallowed the medicine, he listened with curiosity.
"So what does Haruto-senpai think is the smart way to do it?"
Discussing how to exploit customers felt morally questionable, but since this was purely theoretical conversation, it became a matter of analyzing wisdom, not ethics.
Haruto snapped his fingers.
"Oh, I have plenty of ideas. For example—if it were up to me, I'd make all drinks and water in the amusement park free."
Ishigami Yu blinked.
That sounded great for visitors, but from a profit standpoint, it made no sense.
"Senpai wants to use that as a selling point? Then raise the ticket price?"
That was the only explanation he could come up with.
But it wasn't very clever.
People who already intended to go would simply think "nice benefit." People who didn't want to go wouldn't suddenly be convinced.
And the neutral ones wouldn't be swayed much either.
Haruto nodded… then shook his head.
"Yes and no. The free drinks can be a selling point, justifying an increase in ticket prices."
Ishigami Yu was even more confused.
That sounded even worse.
But Haruto continued:
"People who want to visit the amusement park won't give up because of a small increase in ticket price. As long as you give them a reasonable explanation, they'll accept the price and feel it's justified.
But more importantly—once people pay more for a ticket, they'll feel obliged to drink more to get their money's worth. They'll drink several cups easily. And once that happens…"
Ishigami Yu listened closely, fascinated.
Haruto's analysis truly reflected the psychology of most tourists.
So the goal of all this was…
"…then you make the bathrooms paid."
Haruto finished calmly.
Ishigami Yu, who was following the logic so seriously, almost collapsed on the spot.
Are you a devil!?
He had just thought Haruto was a saint dripping with holy light.
But in an instant, that light turned into dark, predatory vampire aura.
Who could even think of something so sinister!?
And the worst part—the more he thought about it, the more perfect it sounded.
It made money.
It didn't disgust people.
And it created a new selling point.
Ishigami Yu shivered.
Haruto patted his shoulder again.
"Relax, I'm just joking. Do you feel better now?"
Ishigami Yu blinked and finally realized…
The dizziness that nearly killed him only moments ago had completely faded away.
A miracle.
The medicine was already taking effect—and it wasn't even intravenous.
The Momobami conglomerate was truly far ahead in biopharmaceuticals.
"Thank you, Senpai. I feel much better now."
Ishigami Yu bowed and tried to discreetly return the pill bottle.
There were no labels.
It was clearly internal-use Momobami medicine—likely tied to corporate confidentiality.
But Haruto pushed the bottle back to him.
"No need to return it. Just keep it. You'll find it useful someday."
Ishigami Yu once again marveled at Haruto's generosity and insight.
Surely, Haruto-senpai was a saint.
That momentary impression of him being a devil must have been a hallucination.
"How could I blame Senpai? 'Medicine contains three part poison'. I understand it completely."
Haruto smiled.
Sure enough—this kid had talent.
Not just academically.
His loyalty, communication skills, and ability to reflect were all exceptional.
But then—
"I also know a quote that describes friendship. It definitely fits the relationship between me and Senpai Haruto!"
Haruto slowly turned his head.
He had a bad feeling about this.
"How does the saying go? Oh, right—'We carried guns together, passed through win—'"
("We've carried guns together, passed through windows together, and visited brothels together.")
Before he could finish, Haruto immediately slapped a hand over Ishigami's mouth.
Shoving the rest of the words back in.
As expected of Ishigami Yu.
If you leave him alone for even one second, he'll dig a hole deep enough to bury himself alive.
Haruto glanced to the side.
Sure enough—Shinomiya Kaguya had just returned from the carousel. Kato Megumi, Yukinoshita, Yuigahama—they were all there.
And all listening.
Eyes wide.
Ears wide open.
Ishigami Yu froze.
He didn't know yet what he said wrong, but from the heavy silence, he realized he must have messed up.
Again.
The issue was simple:
Both phrases he used were things he learned from chatting online.
He used two quotes—except both were slang in Ryugu internet dialect.
The first was harmless.
But the second one…
He only knew the explanation for the first half.
"It means we served in the army together," he had thought.
He assumed the second half was similar.
A metaphor for strong, unbreakable friendship.
But now…
Now he realized—
He was wrong.
Very, very wrong.