On a coastal highway
A small truck cruised steadily, though its "cargo" was a tad problematic.
To be precise, it wasn't cargo—it was five people…
Kotobuki senpai and Glasses-senpai flanked Shirou, Iori, and Kohei, using their bodies and a few boxes to box them in, as if preventing escape.
In the cramped space, Shirou's eye twitched. The cool pose he'd struck in a second was ruined.
"Senpai… do we *have* to be in the middle?"
"It's so cramped…"
"We could sit on the boxes."
Iori and Kohei protested. The center offered no room to move.
"Haha, don't sweat the details."
"It'd be dangerous if you fell off."
"Oh, so thoughtful, haha!"
The trio forced smiles at the seniors' words, but their grins grew stiffer.
They'd figured it out—this was a *trap*.
*Beep~*
A red light hit. Pretending to stretch, the three edged toward the truck's edge.
*Grab!*
Three strong arms locked around their necks, the force belying their senpai's earlier frailty!
"…"
Feeling the irresistible strength, Shirou, Iori, and Kohei gave up.
It was too late. They were already here…
The drive was short. Before they could devise a new escape plan, they arrived.
Gazing at the factory-like building, the trio studied it with curiosity.
Their first time seeing a research building—it looked just like on TV!
"Haha, come on, we'll show you our research area."
Kotobuki was in high spirits. They'd scored four free laborers.
Inside, Shirou asked, "What's this institute called? Which professor runs it?"
He figured anyone who could wear the seniors down like this must be a strict, devilish professor.
"Oh, that? Everyone calls it the White Lab."
The seniors didn't hide it. They were already inside—no escape now.
"White Lab?"
"Professor Shirakawa?"
The quartet pictured a kind old man with white hair and a white beard.
He was the most normal professor they'd met—approachable, with clear, understandable lectures.
But…
If it was Professor Shirakawa, why were the seniors so worn out?
Puzzled, they waited for more.
"Don't underestimate this place. It's super popular among students."
"Everyone loves it because graduates from this lab have high employment rates."
"Oh, got it!" ×4
The explanation put them at ease. It all made sense.
The seniors were working so hard for high-paying jobs after graduation!
Shirou, from a land-owning family, felt a twinge of admiration. He might never know that drive.
Actually, none of the four seemed to need jobs—Iori and Chisa's families were set, and Kohei…
Shirou doubted he'd make it to third year!
Relieved and curious, they arrived at the seniors' workspace.
A very ordinary office.
Looked like the seniors were getting a head start on corporate drudgery.
"So, how can we help?"
While Shirou, Iori, and Kohei scoped the place out, Chisa offered to pitch in, eager to learn for her own third-year prep.
"Sorting or collecting experiment data."
"And setting up lab equipment."
Glasses-senpai and Anzai-senpai explained. It sounded simple and easy.
"For credits, I'm game."
Kohei and Iori shrugged. As long as credits were involved, they were in—they needed to reach second year!
Shirou, meanwhile, scanned the room. "Anzai-senpai, where's that short-haired senior girl you mentioned?"
"Oh, her? She was just here… probably stepped out to have fun. She'll be back."
Anzai-senpai awkwardly rubbed his bald head, clearly not used to lying. He had *some* conscience—just not much.
(′｀;)?
Shirou eyed Anzai-senpai suspiciously. Something felt off. He hadn't seen a single senior girl since arriving.
"Don't overthink it. You won't wait long. Have some water!"
As Shirou started to dig deeper, Kotobuki shoved an ice-cold bottle into his hands.
He caught it reflexively, muttering a thanks.
Then it hit him—there was a mini fridge here?
"Is it okay to have a fridge in here?"
"Haha, no problem. It's a necessity."
It felt odd, but not *that* odd. Plenty of offices had fridges.
"Senpai!"
Iori's voice piped up. He'd found something else that didn't belong.
Holding a poop-green sleeping bag, he asked, "Why's there a sleeping bag here?"
"…That's a necessity too."
Kotobuki turned away awkwardly, sensing exposure was near.
"Really?"
"So you sometimes sleep here?"
"Starting to regret coming to help."
Kohei looked bitter — this meant he would miss out on his dear Rarako again.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to endure it for the credits."
"Besides, staying overnight in the lab is kind of a unique experience in itself."
Shiro Kamishiro and Iori tried to comfort him. Since they didn't have much going on lately, why not experience what it's like to live like a researcher?
It was like a roleplay game where you could earn credits while playing.
Thinking about course credits and the legendary short-haired senpai, the two of them couldn't help but start getting excited again.
Until they saw… a washing machine?!
"Senpai…"
"Ah, you guys can use the table over there."
"Kotobuki-senpai!"
"If you're hungry, we'll get you—"
Kotobuki tried to play deaf and brush it off, but sadly, he was destined to fail.
Shiro Kamishiro grabbed the hem of his senpai's shirt to stop him from walking away.
"Don't pretend you didn't hear us!"
"Why is there a washing machine here?!"
"If we're only staying one night, there's no need for that kind of thing, right?!"
Kotobuki had reached his limit — he couldn't bluff anymore. He could only repeat again, "How many times do I have to say it?! It's essential!!"
"..."
At that moment, the three of them finally understood — this was a trap.
Looking at all the daily necessities around, it was obvious this place was going to be hellishly difficult!
"Sigh~"
"Well, can't blame you guys."
"Didn't think our major would be this grueling, huh~"
Their expressions gradually softened from the previous twisted anger.
Their eyes even carried a trace of pity now.
As they said this, they began naturally walking toward the exit.
BAM!
Just as they stepped out the door, a pair of strong arms dragged them back, and the door to freedom was slammed shut again!
"Why are you guys trying to walk out so casually~?"
"Didn't you say you were here to help~?"
At that moment, those supposedly weak and worn-out senpais suddenly looked like Super Saiyans — their bulging muscles made it hard for Kamishiro to breathe.
(;´Д｀) So scary…
"If we had known it'd be like this, we wouldn't have come to help!"
"How can you shamelessly trick naïve juniors like this?!"
"Don't tell me even that cool short-haired senpai was made up too?!"
Kamishiro, Iori, and Kohei protested loudly. It felt like they had just bought a product that looked nothing like its packaging — infuriating.
Judging by how things were going, Kamishiro had already given up hope of meeting any short-haired, cool senpai.
"Well, now that you've caught on, of course there's no such senpai."
"There aren't even many female senpai in the entire Mechanical Engineering department."
"And honestly, we're just really glad we managed to trick you into coming."
The trio of senpais said this as if it were only natural. In fact, this was all part of their plan to train their juniors' fraud-detection skills!
Clearly, the juniors still had a long way to go~
"You scum!" ×3
Facing the juniors' condemnation, the senpais just shrugged indifferently — as long as the juniors were here, all was well.
"..."
Chisa wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was starting to feel like maybe these senpais weren't as reliable as she thought, and the members from her own year were even dumber than she expected.
Still, senpais were senpais — they knew how to handle this kind of situation.
Kotobuki clapped his hands and smiled at the trio. "Calm down, no need to jump to conclusions before we even get started."
"Who knows — you might end up enjoying the research work!"
He continued, "To be honest, we're quite happy here. It's just that there are some simple but time-consuming tasks that we need your help with."
(¬_¬)
"..."
Faced with this "encouragement," the three juniors responded with blank, dead-fish eyes.
That was obviously a lie!
Did they look stupid enough to fall for this a second time?!
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Eventually, Kamishiro and the others gave in.
After all… the unscrupulous senpais had locked the exit with an actual iron chain. Without a key, there was no way out!
Between resisting and getting nothing or cooperating and at least earning some credits, they chose the latter.
Don't be fooled by how weak these senpais acted — their Super Saiyan aura just moments ago was still fresh in memory.
"Then allow me to ask one question!"
Even if he had to be a laborer, Kamishiro was determined to be an informed laborer!
"Go ahead, ask away."
Kotobuki nodded — as long as they were willing to help, everything else was negotiable. Heck, he'd even tell them about Tokita's pink underwear if they wanted.
"How long do we have to stay here?!"
This was the most important question for Kamishiro. Even if they didn't have much to do elsewhere, being trapped here indefinitely was a no-go.
"Oh, that's all? I thought you were going to ask something fun."
Kotobuki looked disappointed — he'd been ready to spill Tokita's secret.
"Let me think… about once a week, maybe?"
"Oh, that's not bad."
"If it's just once a week, I can handle that."
Iori and Kohei nodded. Once a week probably meant just staying overnight once a week… probably?
Though, when they looked at the washing machine, they couldn't help but feel a chill.
"Yeah, once a week — you can go home."
THUD!
All three of them dropped to their knees. "IT'S A TRAP!"
"This is hell!!"
"Let us out!!"
"..."
Even Chisa was starting to regret it. Though with her job at the shop, she probably wouldn't be stuck here long, still… it sounded exhausting.
The senpais nodded in satisfaction at the trio's despair. That was exactly how they had felt too.
"Alright, now that the lab tour is done, let's go meet the professor."
At this point, what could Kamishiro and the others do? They could only follow behind with expressions of utter hopelessness.
"How is this place called the White Lab? It's dark as hell!"
"And here I was, praising that old man Shirakawa… didn't think the lab would be this black-hearted!"
"Ptui!"
"..."
Hearing their pointless grumbling, Chisa was a little puzzled. The Shirakawa professor she knew didn't seem like that kind of person at all.
"Is Professor Shirakawa that strict?"
"Not really. He's actually pretty gentle, but…"
Kotobuki's face showed hesitation, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply knocked on the office door.
"Professor, we're coming in now."
Creak~
As the wooden door opened, a strangely dressed human-like figure appeared before them.
"Welcome! To my laboratory!"
PFFT!!!
Seeing the real face of "Professor Shirakawa," Kamishiro and the others couldn't help bursting out laughing.
This wasn't some white-haired, gentle Professor Shirakawa — it was that scumbag Professor Ushiromiya!
"WHY?!?!"
The three couldn't accept this — had the academic world fallen so far?
"You guys?!"
Professor Ushiromiya's expression mirrored theirs. Even though they hadn't spent much time together, he already sensed that these three were his natural enemies as a teacher!
You could tell just from how his pet bird had been traumatized.
"Didn't you say it was Professor Shirakawa?"
"Why is it someone completely the opposite?!"
"Can this guy even do real research?"
Hearing their complaints, Kotobuki scratched his head. "Who said anything about Professor Shirakawa?"
"..."
The trio thought back… it had always been them who assumed that. The senpais never actually confirmed it.
"Then this so-called 'White Lab'…"
Kamishiro still didn't understand. Why name it something completely unrelated?
Until he saw Professor Ushironomiya's name — hidden in it was the character 「shiro」 ("white").
The three of them immediately looked grim.
"Well, it does have a 'white' character, technically."
"What a malicious naming scheme…"
"I bet if he used his own name, no one would show up!"
As Shirou Kamishiro guessed, Professor Ushironomiya had initially wanted to name his lab "Ushironomiya Lab."
But no one came… so, in a fit of frustration, he chose an almost unrelated name.
That name attracted the first victim.
From then on, the lab's reputation spread! Now, plenty of people wanted to join.
This success inflated Associate Professor Ushironomiya's ego, convincing him his full professorship was just around the corner.
"So, what's with these three idiots?"
Ushironomiya sipped tea leisurely, asking as the lab's overseer with absolute authority.
"They're here to help."
"And they want to discuss credits with you."
Hearing Kotobuki's explanation, Ushironomiya nodded. Credits, huh~
"Oh, right~ I gave a few of them 'Fail,' didn't I?"
!!!
Shirou, Iori, and Kohei glared at the scumbag professor with righteous fury. He was the one tanking their grades.
Those marks would haunt them later.
So…
"That jerk! Scum!"
"Abusing his associate professor powers!"
"You two are just as pissed, right? (?ò?ó)"
On the way to the lab, Shirou shot Iori and Kohei a "benevolent" glare.
Moments ago, he'd planned to provoke Ushironomiya into kicking him out of the lab.
After all, compared to manual labor, he'd rather use his charm on the principal's secretary.
But damn it!
Iori and Kohei, as if reading his mind, had clamped his mouth shut and agreed on his behalf!
"You bastards!"
Recalling it, Shirou's "benevolent" glare at his brothers intensified.
As close friends who'd known Shirou for months, Iori and Kohei knew exactly what he was scheming.
They did it because they were certain this jerk would scam them big time if he found a way out!
Rather than get screwed, they chose to sink together!
"Hey, Shirou, we're helping you solve your credit problem~"
"You almost missed out. Be quicker next time~"
Grinning with their own "benevolent" smiles, they embodied the spirit of brothers sharing the pain~
"…"
Chisa stayed out of the idiot debate, already helping the seniors organize.
She was here to scope out the lab, uncaring about which professor ran it.
As for Ushironomiya, she was immune. Just another idiot to deal with.
When it came to handling and ignoring idiots, she was a master!
Still, she had one question…
"Senpai, you said this lab is popular among students?"
"Absolutely."
Kotobuki nodded, speaking the full truth.
The lab was wildly popular among both companies and students.
The reason?
"After surviving *that* guy's training for so long."
"Companies are thrilled with the graduates."
"…"
Got it.
The four finally understood. Ushironomiya's infamy had forged a brutal proving ground for students…
In a way, his reputation was impressive.
"Alright, enough overthinking. Fun time's over~"
Anzai-senpai clapped, redirecting Shirou and the others from pointless distractions.
"Fun?"
"Time?"
The trio grew uneasy under the seniors' gazes. Nothing they'd seen so far screamed fun or normal.
*Gulp…*
"I've got a bad feeling."
From their perspective, the seniors' expressions turned downright theatrical.
Next up… is hell, kids!
…