The next morning arrived bright and calm.
The morning light seemed to turn into a graceful young woman, quietly approaching and gazing tenderly at the drunks sprawled across the tatami mats~
Perhaps her gaze was a little too intense, because the drunks slowly opened their eyes~
In an instant—
A blinding glare struck them head-on~
Σ_(???」∠)
Damn it! Still not sober!!!
...
"Σ_(???」∠) Ugh, this is disgusting…"
"Same here… what even happened last ni—OW! That hurts!!!"
Under the watchful eyes of the goddess of dawn, the two drunks wobbled as they stood up from the tatami.
Iori rubbed his head and realized that, aside from the two of them, the room was completely empty.
Not only was Kamishiro gone even the senpai had vanished without a trace!
An overwhelming sense of abandonment washed over him!
!!!
Just how long had they slept?!
Iori shook his head…
And immediately felt even dizzier!
Enduring the discomfort, he found his phone.
10:00 a.m.
Okay—judging by the sky, it was ten in the morning!
The date was correct too!
It was the next day!
After confirming this, Iori finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, they hadn't missed the wedding.
More precisely—
They hadn't missed the evening party.
What they were attending was actually the wedding party; the ceremony itself seemed to have started around noon.
After all, it was a well-known voice actor and a semi-famous idol some complexity was understandable.
They were probably praying at some shrine or church right now.
Celebrities can't avoid social obligations. If they invited all their friends, it would be way too many people.
So the actual ceremony was limited to close relatives—formal and complicated.
What Kamishiro and the others were attending was the after-party!
Rounding it up, that still counted as a wedding, right~
Otherwise, given a certain Mr. Kamishiro's instability, Ikegoshi san probably wouldn't have dared to invite them to the real ceremony anyway.
As for the current situation…
The senpai were probably just hanging out in Azusa san's room.
Iori really didn't believe those senpai would abandon the two of them and leave on their own.
After all, aside from drinking, the senpai were usually reliable and dependable!
Sure enough, Iori spotted a note on the table telling them to come to Azusa's room after waking up.
Looks like they were discussing plans for the evening but strangely enough…
Based on past habits, shouldn't they be discussing that in their room?
Iori scratched his head in confusion.
Have the senpai finally grown a conscience?
Were they trying not to disturb their sleep?
If that was really the case, then the heavens had truly opened their eyes.
If only the senpai could be this considerate every time…
Please, for the love of god, stop holding meetings in his room while he's sleeping!
"Haa…"
Iori let out a deep breath and resisted the urge to lie back down on the tatami. He turned to Kohei and said,
"Let's go, Kohei. We should go find the sen—HOLY SH*T?! WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS THAT?!"
(`Д`)?!
Seeing Kohei's face which looked like it had been painted with theatrical makeup Iori was completely caught off guard and nearly jumped out of his skin.
What the hell was that?
Performance art?
A prank?
Wait…
This looked like it had been beaten into him?!
With his extensive experience of getting hit, Iori instantly recognized that the colors on Kohei's face were abnormal.
This… was the result of multiple impacts!
Fragments of last night's memories slowly surfaced in Iori's mind—
Kohei: (▼皿▼＃)
"I don't know! I seriously don't know, I woke up and my face hurts like hell! It feels swollen all over!"
"What the hell happened last night?!"
Kohei's eyes brimmed with killing intent, his expression as calm as a professional assassin.
Well he wanted to look furious.
The problem was…
It hurt.
Any movement of his facial muscles caused pain. He couldn't even twitch the corner of his mouth.
"Where's Kamishiro?! Where's that bastard Kamishiro?!"
Kohei searched the room frantically. His memories stopped at the moment he decided to continue challenging Kamishiro.
He didn't even remember being knocked out by that so-called "land battle god."
Iori: (;?_?)
"He… he's probably already up and with Azusa san and the others."
The so-called land battle god looked away, not daring to meet Kohei's eyes.
Just now, he'd remembered something…
Yesterday it seemed like he was the one who knocked Kohei out.
That part was not a big deal.
Knocking out Kohei was basically routine at this point.
The problem was—
Why did he also remember himself wildly slapping Kohei's face with a slipper?!
He clearly remembered hitting a ball at the time!
Why did it suddenly become Kohei's face?!
This was not scientific!
Iori tried desperately to recall the scene, hoping there was some misunderstanding.
That hand should've belonged to Kamishiro, damn it!
Unfortunately—
No matter how carefully he tried to remember, the scene was always from his first-person perspective.
Which meant…
Kohei's facial injuries were largely his responsibility!
After realizing this, Iori completely lost the courage to look at Kohei's face. He turned away and staggered toward the door.
"Uh… let's just hurry up and find the senpai…"
However—
The moment he turned around, a powerful grip seized his shoulder.
That strength…
Kohei!
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Iori's forehead.
He reassured himself desperately: that idiot was already unconscious back then—there's no way he remembers!
I can talk my way out of this!
Maybe because of the pain, Kohei felt unusually clear-headed.
His mind had never been sharper!
Seeing Iori's unnatural reaction, Kohei narrowed his eyes.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"What happened after I passed out?"
Despite his clarity, Kohei didn't suspect that Iori had knocked him out.
Back then, he'd already lost his sense of pain everything just went black.
Just like every other time he had drunk himself unconscious.
So he assumed he had simply blacked out from alcohol.
What he did suspect was this—
That Kitahara and Kamishiro had done something to him while he was unconscious!!!
"Ahem… nothing really happened. I just went on to replace you in the match…"
Iori still didn't dare meet Kohei's gaze.
He wasn't lying—he'd just skipped a few details.
The full version was way too much trouble to explain~
"What? Really? Then why does my face hurt so much?"
Kohei looked skeptical. He remembered that last night his face at least…
Didn't have this many colors!
Damn it! There had to be something he didn't know!
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious Kohei's gaze toward Iori became.
Kitahara's story had way too many holes!
"You said you replaced me?"
"Yeah."
"And then you lost?"
"Uh… the reasons are complicated!"
"You went in at full strength and still lost to Kamishiro, who'd already drunk 18 cups of life water?"
"I told you, there were reasons!!!"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Iori finally snapped and dared to look Kohei in the eyes.
If he didn't explain now, his image in Kohei's mind would sink to the level of a paramecium!!!
Actually… what was his image in Kohei's mind to begin with?
"Don't bother explaining. Heh, what a useless piece of trash. Don't go around calling yourself a PaB member anymore. That alcohol tolerance of yours… tsk tsk tsk~"
Kohei looked at Iori with utter disdain.
He clearly remembered Kamishiro being on the brink before he passed out.
And he still lost?
No explanation could change the fact that Iori was weak!
(▼皿▼＃)
Damn it!
Just Kohei!
Just Kohei!
Iori finally lost it.
Who did this guy think he was, mocking him like that?!
So he recounted everything that happened after Kohei passed out, from beginning to end.
Of course…
He carefully omitted the part where he repeatedly slapped Kohei's face with a slipper.
Not because he feared revenge he just felt such trivial details didn't need mentioning~
What Iori really regretted was—
Why didn't he slap him a few more times?!
Especially when he saw Kohei's expression after hearing the story!
He wanted nothing more than to get a time machine and do it again!
"Damn it! I told you, it's because I got force-fed 17 cups of water before I even started!"
"So?"
"So?! That's the reason!"
"Oh. So… a loser who can't even drink more than Kamishiro?"
(??? ?-? )~
At that moment, Iori's expression completely froze.
He had never found Kohei this punchable before.
Damn it!
He's just a shut-in—why is his mouth so vicious?!
"Well, in that case, there's nothing you could've done~"
After understanding the situation, Kohei's expression became smug.
"After all, you're not me. You don't have godlike technique, nor the alcohol tolerance to match it. Totally understandable~"
Saying that, Kohei patted Iori's shoulder with an infuriatingly smug look, offering "comfort" straight from hell.
Iori's face darkened completely.
He couldn't understand how someone's attitude could change so drastically.
Who was it yesterday that kept calling him best friend?!
And "godlike technique"?
Don't make me laugh!
Have some self-awareness, you sports idiot!
Iori turned away.
He absolutely refused to engage with this moron any further.
Let him drown in his fantasies.
Right now, Iori needed to wash up, drink some water, and eat something.
For some reason, he suddenly felt really hungry…
That wasn't normal.
Usually after getting drunk, he'd just be thirsty.
In fact, he usually didn't want to eat at all.
And this time, his mouth felt… strange.
An indescribable feeling.
Whatever. He'd ask the senpai later about what happened after he passed out.
Just as Iori turned around, his gaze was caught by an unnameable mass in the corner of the room.
When he saw it clearly, he froze in place.
After a full minute of silence, Iori finally spoke.
"Hey… Kohei…"
"What now?"
Kohei turned back irritably, extremely unhappy with the man who had interrupted his vision of the future.
He had just foreseen himself defeating Kamishiro, with Maya sama gazing at him in admiration!
They were this close to holding hands, damn it!
Couldn't Kitahara just quietly die for once?!
"..."
Iori ignored Kohei's irritation.
Right now, his mind couldn't process anything else—and his stomach was starting to churn violently.
Suppressing the nausea, he asked a question from the depths of his soul.
"Just how much did we drink last night…?"
"Huh? How would I know? I went to sleep halfway through, okay?!"
Even now, Kohei stubbornly refused to admit that his alcohol tolerance was inferior to Kamishiro's.
Don't ask how he passed out!
He was just tired. Fell asleep!
"It was probably just 17 cups."
Kohei rubbed his head.
It was fine—just a bit dizzy.
Not enough to cause a headache, which meant they hadn't drunk that much.
After washing up and eating breakfast, he would probably be sober!
"Is that so…"
Iori murmured, then stepped aside.
"Then what's that pile of stuff?"
"What pile—HOLY SH*T?!"
{{(°△°; "}}!
"Ugh!"
Seeing the unnameable object on the floor, Kohei gagged instinctively.
As everyone knows—
Seeing someone gag makes you want to gag too~
So…
Σ_(???」∠) Ugh!
Σ_(???」∠) Ugh!!!
The moment Kohei gagged, it triggered Iori as well, and the two of them began dry heaving at each other nonstop.
Holding it back was impossible~
Whenever one tried to stop, the sounds and the peripheral view would trigger it all over again.
A perpetual-motion machine!
Thankfully, their stomachs were already empty—it was just dry heaving.
Ten minutes later, the two finally stopped, faces pale as they stared at each other.
"We didn't… drink that whole barrel, did we…?"
Kohei's lips trembled.
Before he passed out, he had seen that punishment.
"Did we… black out?"
Iori hammered his head, trying to recall what had happened.
The most likely scenario was—
They hadn't fully passed out and somehow drank the entire barrel.
There was no way the senpai force-fed them, right?!
How do you force-feed people who are unconscious?!
After thinking for ages, neither of them could remember anything after they went down.
But they did gain one insight.
Now they finally understood why everyone had gathered in Azusa's room…
Because—
Their room was way too filthy!
So filthy that neither of them dared to look at the unnameable thing again!
So… what now?
How do you even deal with this?!
Just as the two stood there helplessly, there was a knock on the door.
A staff member's voice came from outside—
"Hello, we heard you requested cleaning service?"
At that moment…
Iori and Kohei once again experienced what true social death felt like.
Couldn't you have waited until we left to clean this up?!?!
Inside Azusa's room
Golden sunlight spilled over a lazy prince. A trace of contentment flickered across that exquisitely handsome face, as if he were savoring some lingering memory~
In fact, this lazy prince really was reminiscing… reminiscing about the softness he had experienced last night!
Uh—because of the room arrangements, the girls were split into two rooms.
Chisa and Aina shared one, while Azusa nee and Nanaka nee shared the other.
As for the boys…
They were originally all in one big room, which they had even planned to use as a gathering place.
But because of two disappointing juniors last night, the location was temporarily changed~
They moved it to Azusa's room instead.
As for the reason… it was very plain and simple!
More people here!
That's right—three people slept in this room last night!
After the competition ended, Azusa really did pick her "little Kamishiro" up and bring him back!
The three of them once again experienced the feeling of sleeping together back in Okinawa~
A proper night's sleep!
Ahem—at least Kamishiro and Nanaka slept properly. As for Azusa… that was anyone's guess.
After all, Kamishiro had already passed out at the time and couldn't exactly supervise her.
But judging from Azusa's disgraceful sleeping posture and the perverted smile on her face now that he had woken up…
Last night must have been absolutely ecstatic for her!
So ecstatic that this big sister still hadn't woken up yet!
Looking at Azusa curled up in the corner, hugging her stomach and drooling, Kamishiro could only curse his terrible alcohol tolerance!
Why was it that after entering the room last night, he couldn't remember anything?!
Why did those people have to come to their room so early?!
Damn it!
All it left him with was the vague sensation of being sandwiched between two big sisters this morning!
Tsk—what a loss!
Kamishiro smacked his lips irritably. It was all those two bastards' fault!
"Ha~ Are those two idiots still not awake yet?"
Kamishiro yawned as he asked the two senpai. At this hour, they should have woken up already.
The three of them had gone to bed pretty early last night!
Being drunk wasn't an excuse for sleeping in!
Clearly, Kamishiro had completely forgotten that back in Izu, he usually didn't wake up until noon.
Right now, he was standing proudly on the moral high ground, mercilessly criticizing his two "friends"!
"Well, probably soon."
"We already called for cleaning service. Even if they are not awake, the staff should wake them up."
The two senpai glanced at the time as they spoke.
Originally, after waking up, they had planned to clean up that indescribable mess themselves.
But unfortunately, this was a inn, and they weren't allowed to handle cleaning on their own.
So, helplessly, they came to the gathering room first and arranged both cleaning and wake-up service for Iori and the others.
Judging by the time, the cleanup should already be underway over there.
"..."
Hearing this, Chisa's and Aina's expressions instantly darkened.
At first, the two of them had planned to gather in Iori's room.
But the moment they opened the door, the intense smell of alcohol mixed with sour stench made them…
It was like seeing hell!!!
At that moment, Aina even felt like she didn't like Iori that much anymore…
With no other choice, after exchanging a few hurried words with the senpai, the two of them bolted straight for Azusa's room!
They had to prevent Nanaka from being contaminated by that indescribable horror!
"Honestly… how could those two even sleep in there…"
"The senpai really had it rough…"
The girls looked at the two senpai with pity. This was the first time they had ever felt that being a senior was this hard!
"Hahahaha."
"It wasn't that bad, actually!"
The two senpai laughed heartily. In truth, things weren't as terrible as the girls imagined.
Because they often held drinking parties, they were already used to scenes like that.
Especially back when they were first-years!
You had to know—
The older senpai back then couldn't drink nearly as well as they could now. This kind of tolerance was built up bit by bit!
So… this was just normal~
"Still gotta train more~"
Under Kamishiro's horrified gaze, Tokita senpai sighed sentimentally.
At that moment, Kamishiro felt like he had seen the devil himself!
Isn't your standard for drinking capacity a bit too outrageous?!
Knock knock knock!
Just as Tokita senpai finished his sigh, loud knocking echoed through the room.
Judging by the force, it was definitely those two rude guys.
"They're here!"
Tokita senpai laughed as he stood up and went to open the door.
However—
"Wait!"
Kamishiro shouted. Just now!
His sixth sense had gone completely berserk, screaming warnings at him!
It felt like some great terror was lurking outside the door!
Unfortunately…
He was still a step too late~
Tokita senpai had already opened the door and was now looking at Kamishiro with an innocent expression.
"What's wrong, Kamishiro?"
Kamishiro didn't answer. He stared in horror at what was behind Tokita senpai!
{{(°△°; "}}!
There—
In the crack of the doorway, two faces like ferocious demons were staring straight at him!
The smiles on their faces sent a chill straight down his spine!
Run!
I have to run!
A tiny man in Kamishiro's head was screaming nonstop. This feeling… he had only ever experienced it when he had been surrounded by those high school beasts before!
Not caring about anything else, Kamishiro frantically scanned his surroundings, trying to plan the perfect escape route!
But…
"How the hell am I supposed to run?!"
He looked around in despair. He was inside a room! Other than a single window, there was nowhere to escape!
And that window… wasn't it a bit too high up?!
"Kamishiro~"
"We've come for you!"
Before he could even act, Kamishiro suddenly felt two heavy shackles lock onto his body.
Lowering his head, he met the bloodshot eyes of Kitahara and Kohei!
Σ(????)?
"What the hell?! Did you two just Flash?!"
Engaging the moment you meet?!
We don't have that deep a grudge, do we?!
Feeling the irresistible force restraining him, Kamishiro realized he really couldn't escape now…
In that case!
He would have to reason with them!
His eyes sharpened. He decided to use his personal charm to move these two bastards!
First step!
"Hahahaha, morning, you two lazybones! We've been waiting forever. Want to grab something to eat first?"
He put on what he believed was a very friendly smile.
So friendly it almost made him sick!
Ugh! He really was a dead-ass "cutesy faker"!
But for the sake of his life, Kamishiro forced himself to keep it up.
"There's some dorayaki here, and some light tea… want some?"
He had originally wanted to say that light tea was good for you after drinking.
But thinking about the tragic state they had been in last night he swallowed those words.
Second step of persuasion!
Don't provoke them!
Unfortunately, what Kamishiro didn't realize was that the moment he said "eat something," he had already successfully provoked them!
Looking at the dorayaki on the table, the two of them were reminded once again of the indescribable sight they'd just witnessed, and of the service staff's polite yet disgusted expressions!
(▼皿▼＃)
They were even angrier now!
"Bastard!"
"It's all because of you!"
"We've already socially died!"
"I'll kill you!!!"
Madness filled their eyes.
To be fair, before they even left their room, though they were angry, they still had some rationality left.
After all, last night… they really had lost fair and square. Kamishiro hadn't cheated and had won completely by the rules.
The reason they were this unhinged now was entirely because of what happened after they went outside…
First came those polite but subtly disgusted looks—instant social death.
Just when they thought it was over, they never expected…
This was only the beginning, Because it was already ten in the morning, most guests were awake.
And they just so happened to be yesterday's NPCs~
Which meant that all along the way, people around them looked at them with expressions like…
Amused?
Watching a show?
Looking at idiots?
Some even called them "Hero Bro" and "Main Character Bro"!!!
AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
Even just recalling that memory now—
The embarrassment was enough to dig a villa out of the ground with their toes!!
They wanted nothing more than to smash their heads into the floor and escape reality!
Especially Iori!
He felt that his brain must have been cooked by the hot springs for him to volunteer to play the hero!
AAAAAAAHHHH!!!
He wanted to die!
Desperately wanted to die!
After hearing their new nicknames, neither of them dared linger outside any longer. They bolted straight for the gathering room.
Right now, they desperately needed an outlet!
And that outlet was Kamishiro!
Of course, they still had some rationality left.
Until—
They ran into the inn owner…
Seeing them both lively and unharmed, the owner burst into tears on the spot!
He hugged them tightly and refused to let go, crying uncontrollably!
While crying, he told them everything that had happened after they passed out last night—
With special emphasis on the forced drinking!
After witnessing that torture, the inn owner hadn't dared sleep all night!
He was terrified the two of them might suddenly die in his inn!
Now!
This was tears of overwhelming relief!
His powerful emotions were so infectious that Iori and Kohei couldn't help but cry too~
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
Please, boss, let us go… there are more and more people watching!
They really, really did not want to hear "Hero Bro" or "Main Character Bro" ever again!!!
From that moment on!
Iori's and Kohei's mental defenses completely collapsed!
Now, the only things left in their minds were the words "Hero Bro," "Main Character Bro," and one single thought—
Strangle Kamishiro!
What?
The senpai were also involved in the drinking?
"..."
It must have been that scumbag Kamishiro's instigation!
With their last shred of sanity, the hero and the protagonist locked onto the sole mastermind!
And then…
We arrived at the current situation~
…
"Die! Just die!"
Kamishiro: (??`)
"Hey! You two, calm down a bit!"
He struggled desperately against the hands trying to choke him.
"This is clearly your own fault! I didn't even get serious last night!"
Kamishiro, having no idea what they'd just been through, felt utterly wronged.
Everyone had agreed to decide the outcome by the senpai' game!
Kitahara was the one who tried to cheat!
All Kamishiro did was punish them according to the rules!
"You're going too far!"
The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. How did these two even have the nerve to come after him?!
Kamishiro's veins bulged as he struggled. Today staking his reputation as a sea king he would reclaim his justice!
And then he realized…
Even going all out, he still could not break through his limits!
In terms of strength, he was no match for them!
((???|||))
"Hey! At least give me a reason!"
"A reason?"
"What's that?"
Iori and Kohei sneered.
They both knew full well that Kamishiro was not wrong at all last night!
If their positions had been reversed, they might have done something even more brutal!
But… did that matter?
Did you really need a reason to sink a scumbag like Kamishiro into Tokyo Bay?
Absolutely not!!!
{{(°△°; "}}!
Seeing the murderous intent in their blood-red eyes, Kamishiro realized—
He needed to do something to save himself!
"senpai! These two are trying to break the game rules!"
Unable to break free, he used his final strategy—
Call for reinforcements!
Unfortunately, the reinforcements seemed a bit unreliable…
The two senpai were staring at the three of them with serious expressions, deep in thought.
"As expected, trying to change them through a single game was unrealistic."
"Yeah, things like this need to be done step by step, over time."
The senpai had always wanted to change the way these three interacted.
But now it seemed… the road was long indeed!
Fearing they might interrupt this "emotional exchange," the two senpai decided to observe quietly for now!
Kamishiro: ???
What emotional exchange?!
This is bullying!
Blatant bullying, okay?!
Feeling the pressure on him increasing, Kamishiro panicked and looked toward Chisa and Aina!
What he got in return was Aina's extremely punchable, mocking expression!
{{(°△°; "}}!
Seeing that face, Kamishiro suddenly remembered something from last night—
Hadn't he said something to Aina yesterday?!
Wait!
Maybe he could use that as leverage!
His eyes began to light up!
But before he could say anything, something black and unidentified was stuffed into his mouth!
"Mmmph!!!"
Under Kamishiro's horrified gaze, Aina clapped her hands cheerfully. "All done!"
Then she gave Iori and Kohei a look before turning back to Chisa and Nanaka.
She even stopped Nanaka, who looked like she wanted to help.
"Don't worry, Nanaka san. They're just exchanging feelings!"
"Eh… i-is that so…?"
Nanaka stared at the scene, which looked exactly like bullying, in confusion.
Thinking about it, they did "exchange feelings" like this all the time at the shop too!
And most of the time, Kamishiro was the one on the bottom?
Sister Nanaka slowly accepted this explanation, but…
Why did Aina stuff her stockings into Kamishiro's mouth?!
((???|||))
She only brought that one pair!
"Hm? What's going on?"
The commotion finally woke Azusa.
Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes and looked toward the source of the noise.
Huh?
Did I wake up too suddenly?