"Eh? No way, this is definitely not a problem that can be solved just by talking about it!"
"Is that so? But discussing it honestly with each other is better than keeping it all bottled up inside, isn't it~"
Miyazawa Yuu playfully propped up his chin, teasing the anxious girl who was hastily denying it and adamantly refusing to openly express her true feelings.
"Could it be that Shiori-chan is actually struggling with whether or not to get Iori back to inherit the family business? Something like, 'Poor older brother~'"
"N-no…"
Feeling like someone was frantically digging with a shovel inside her heart, Kitahara Shiori's small face instantly flushed red, and the confidence in her rebuttal was not very strong.
If she were to be completely honest, her goal from the beginning to the end was to get her older brother home, that's right!
But regarding whether or not he inherited the inn, she actually didn't consider it extremely important; as long as her older brother was home, even if the inn disappeared, it wouldn't be impossible…
But she absolutely couldn't say those things out loud, wouldn't that make her an irredeemable brother complex!
"In… in any case, Plan Two…"
"I'm sorry, Shiori-chan, do you know what one of the characteristics of the Pab Club is?"
Shaking his head regretfully, Miyazawa Yuu sighed, his expression suddenly becoming serious, making Kitahara Shiori completely bewildered— "What?"
"It's their unique and powerful ability to take action!"
"Bang!"
The moment Miyazawa Yuu's words fell, the warehouse door was immediately kicked open, and a blur of a black shadow instantly rushed in, a fist heading straight for his face.
"Oh my, Iori arrived quite quickly, didn't he~"
Easily catching the oncoming attack with his hand, and then slowly moving the stalemate battle aside, the half-naked Iori clearly came into view.
Judging by the amount of black aura wrapped around him, this guy must have been furious.
"Yuu, you're really pushing it!"
"Well, well~ That's not the main point, you passed the OWD license exam, right?"
"I passed, tentatively, so are you ready to die?"
Terrifying red light flickered in Kitahara Iori's eyes; this bastard actually took his sister away alone! Although he didn't think an older-sister-complex guy would do anything to a little loli, he should just kill him to be safe!
"Is that so, then it's fine~"
The corners of Miyazawa Yuu's mouth curled into a sinister arc, his foot moved, and he used the Hallelujah Big Whirlwind with his body weight, disorienting Iori while forcibly switching their positions.
With continuous backward jumps, he dashed out of the warehouse, and while the two inside watched in confusion, he slammed the warehouse door shut with a bang, giving Shiori-chan a "Good luck!" wink on his way out~☆
"…"
Stretching out her hand but completely too late to stop him, Kitahara Shiori's face darkened, and she had finally witnessed what the Pab Club's unique and powerful ability to take action meant.
And what was that rattling sound outside the door? It wasn't someone locking the door with a large iron chain, was it!
"Hey! Yuu, what are you doing? Open the door if you dare, I promise I won't kill you!"
"Who would believe that!"
Looking at the large iron chain wrapped around the door, Miyazawa Yuu guaranteed that if he dared to open the door, Iori would instantly turn hostile and launch a shameless sneak attack on him.
"Damn it, was I discovered…"
No, no, no, it would be strange not to figure it out in this situation!
Looking at her older brother grinding his teeth, wishing he could pull out Yuu's spine to chew on, Kitahara Shiori sighed and asked toward the door: "Yuu Onii-chan, how can you let us out?"
"That's a good question! Shiori-chan!"
His voice instantly became louder, Miyazawa Yuu excitedly sat down cross-legged in front of the door, propping his chin up as he laid out the most concise summary of his entire plan.
"Now, welcome to Miyazawa Yuu's Room You Can't Leave Without Opening Your Heart!"
"Huh?"
The expression on Kitahara Iori's face instantly became extremely complicated; he stuck his pinky finger in his ear, suspecting he must be hallucinating from too much diving.
The room you can't leave without OOing, isn't that purely an H-anime plot?
For him to combine such an abstract action with reality, should he say Yuu is crazy, or good at learning?
"Stop messing around, Shiori-chan and I are siblings with connected hearts, what room is there to open our hearts! Right, Shiori-chan?"
"Yes…"
Guiltily turning her head to the side, Kitahara Shiori was very glad that her older brother was an idiot and didn't seem to have noticed the purpose of her hurried visit.
"Well, since it's my room, I set the rules, please enjoy yourselves and entertain me!"
"You bastard…"
His eyelids were twitching, Kitahara Iori didn't even need to try to know that he couldn't handle the big iron door and the big iron chain, so he reluctantly had to try another approach, "What about going to the toilet?"
"Hiss… That actually is a problem!"
"Then quickly let us out…"
"Here you go~! Don't be shy!"
With a creak, the ventilation hole beneath the iron door was pushed open, and Kitahara Iori fell into contemplation, looking at the large-mouthed plastic thing that was pushed inside.
If his social experience was correct, this thing should be a urinal.
But the fact that this guy Yuu even prepared a urinal makes it hard to say this wasn't premeditated!!!
"Tch! I really can't fool this bastard…"
"Fool?"
She was about to say that Nanaka-nee and the others should quickly realize that she and her older brother were missing, and they only needed to wait for a while.
However, when Kitahara Shiori heard the word "fool" come out of her older brother's mouth, the awkward smile immediately froze on her face, and cold sweat quickly streamed down her cheeks.
"Um, Onii-chan, what do you mean by fool?"
"Hmm? You didn't mention at all that you didn't want to inherit the inn this time, did you?"
Sitting down against the pile of miscellaneous items, Kitahara Iori looked rightfully exasperated: "Shiori-chan must have told this guy Yuu about it, he's probably trying to get us to talk it out this way, I really have to hand it to him…"
"…Eh?"
Completely unable to follow her older brother and Yuu Onii-chan's line of thought, mosquito coils instantly spun in Kitahara Shiori's beautiful large eyes—
She had always believed that she was in control of the situation from start to finish, but looking back now, it seemed the situation had deviated from her imagination from the very beginning!
Putting aside the fact that Yuu could see through her disguise, predict her older brother's actions in advance, and single-handedly orchestrate the room you can't leave without opening your heart!
Why could her older brother guess Yuu's psychological activities so clearly without any verbal communication!
Have these two developed a bond through mutual teasing and antagonism?!
"What's wrong?"
"No, did Yuu Onii-chan secretly tell older brother?"
"If that guy were really that good, I wouldn't be locked in here…"
Rubbing her little sister's head, which suddenly seemed to have become stupid, Kitahara Iori looked ahead with vacant eyes and softly explained: "Although I don't know how much of an irredeemable idiot you think I am, I can still somewhat figure out my own sister's thoughts!"
Turning around and meeting her eyes, he smiled helplessly: "After all, no matter what, I'm still your older brother~"
"…"
Leaning against the iron door, Miyazawa Yuu nodded happily, listening to the voices inside the room gradually lowering until they couldn't be heard at all—
That's right! Siblings should open their hearts and tolerate each other, just like the Pab Club!
Shiori-chan taught him this truth, and he shared the same sense of relief back, that's very fair!
"Onii-chan, you're here, Nanaka-nee said Kouhei and Aina also passed the exam, ready for the next round~"
Half-dragging her diving suit, Miyazawa Rin quickly jogged over, kicking the iron chain that was in her older brother's way, braking abruptly, her small face full of excitement for diving together!
"Mhm, I'm coming, Rin-chan, tell your older brother everything from now on, okay~"
"I know~ But why are you suddenly saying that?"
"Just felt like it…"
"Yosh! Then a formal welcome party for Rin-chan and Shiori-chan, and a celebration for all the Pab Club freshmen successfully obtaining their diving licenses!"
"Cheers—!!!"
That night, Grand Blue was filled with the usual howls and screams; it was lucky that it was a seaside area with few nearby residences, otherwise, they probably wouldn't be able to escape a noise pollution charge.
The only thing worth being grateful for was that this time, in addition to the noise pollution, the visual pollution of the demons dancing wildly was canceled due to the guests' visit.
To avoid corrupting the children, all the seniors were properly dressed this time, and Aina was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Chug chug chug! Ah~ Although it's not my own welcome party, normal alcohol…"
"Shhh!"
Putting a finger to his lips, Imamura Kouhei gestured with his thumb towards the main characters surrounded in the center, and the former immediately realized and covered his mouth, nodding frantically—
He almost forgot about the children; it should be a celebration party, not a drinking party, this difference of one word was crucial for the reputation of the Pab Club!
"Yuu, you bastard, you didn't even let us out in the end, have you thought about how you want to die?"
"Eh~ What are you talking about, Iori, the door wasn't locked, was it?"
On the other side, amidst the cheers of Nanaka and Azusa-senpai, Miyazawa Yuu was interlocking arms with Iori for a cup of "water" to the death.
The reason was that Iori waited until grass grew on the floor without being rescued, only to pull the door lightly and find it wasn't locked at all, so he was so enraged that he absolutely had to challenge Yuu, the culprit, to a fight to the death.
Under the arbitration of the Pab seniors, the fight to the death was ultimately changed to a cup of "water" to the death.
"Chug chug chug! Quack~ Besides, didn't the final outcome turn out pretty well!"
Draining the oolong tea in his cup again, Miyazawa Yuu wiped his mouth and teased: "That's some vigorous water, Iori, you must be close to your limit, right!"
"Tch! Your appearance is not convincing at all, I will definitely not lose when it comes to drinking water!"
He wasn't actually that angry, Kitahara Iori was mainly annoyed by Yuu's self-congratulatory, smug face, as if he couldn't speak his mind without him!
"Again! I'm going to make you go to the toilet half the night tonight!"
"Don't underestimate my kidneys, you bastard!!!"
"These two guys have completely let the cat out of the bag, haven't they?"
Munching on the freshly fried snacks perfect for drinking, Tokita Shinji chuckled, looking at the two guys who were already unsteady on their feet, and moved his body to stand between them and the main characters of the party.
They had agreed not to drink high-proof alcohol, but as older brothers, they were truly careless in front of their sisters!
"Ah, they collapsed, I'll take them back to the room now…"
Taking one guy under each armpit, the two guys who hadn't settled the score, Kotobuki Ryujirou helplessly tossed them onto the futons in the club room, and with a few quick moves, their clothes instantly disappeared.
Turning off the lights and leaving, if it was just beer, they would have to start the second round after Shiori-chan and Rin-chan fell asleep~
"…"
In the darkness, the silence only lasted a few seconds, then drunken, alcohol-laced voices drifted out.
"Grand Blue is mine now, Iori, prepare to be squeezed out and sent home! This is my gift as Shiori-chan's Onii-chan!"
"Shut up, scum! You're the one who should go home and inherit the family fortune, or Rin-chan will be worked to death!"
"Urusai!"
"Stop barking, Yuu!"