"Have a safe trip～"
"Don't forget to bring back the booze!"
"I want Polish rectified vodka, nothing else hits right!"
"Hurry up! We're running dry here!"
"..."
Outside the inn, Shiro and the others enthusiastically saw off Iori and Aina.
Thanks to Iori and Kohei's reckless drinking, all the alcohol had quickly been drained. They had no choice but to send someone to get more.
And among everyone present, only Aina hadn't gotten the chance to drink yet, so... she very naturally took on the task!
Still, they weren't total devils—being humane and all, they threw Iori into her car too!
After all, it's normal for a girl going out at night to have a bodyguard.
Just… no one could say if this "bodyguard" was really a sunshiney young man or just pretending to be one～
As for why Shiro and Kohei were so pumped?
Well, with alcohol, you may resist it when you're sober, but once you start drinking, anything goes (??ω??)
Either you get knocked out or you knock out someone else!
As new blood of PaB, there's no room for quitting halfway!
"Are you sure this is okay?"
Nanaka looked worried—had it not been for the drinks, she would've gone herself.
"Don't worry, that guy Kitahara might be an idiot, but he never forgets to buy alcohol!"
"Exactly, trust that idiot!"
"..."
(???)
Chisa silently watched Shiro and the others, all wearing nothing but underwear, feeling speechless. She had a feeling her sister wasn't talking about the alcohol…
Did these two not consider Aina and Iori's safety at all?
If she remembered right, there were often police around here… and Iori… didn't seem to be wearing clothes…
Shaking her head, Chisa figured she was just overthinking things. It's so late, those civil servants probably clocked out. What are the odds they'd bump into a random, bored cop wandering around at night?
At that moment—
Aina sat in her car, smiling at the starlit sky.
Her heart was full of emotion.
'On a first-time visit to this southern island—
Just by casually looking up, one could see a sky full of stars.
The vast sky and endless sea offered the ultimate sense of freedom.
Maybe…
That's why this idiot went out half-naked!!!'
Aina had tears in her eyes. She hadn't stopped the car to admire the stars—no! It was because they got pulled over by the police!
Why the hell would Iori walk out in just his underwear?!
And seriously, do civil servants in Miyakojima ever get off work?!
Her romantic moment was shattered again—this was supposed to be a special, intimate time for just the two of them to get closer…
Now it's all ruined!!!
…
"This is unbelievable!"
As soon as they stepped into the inn, Aina shouted angrily.
She couldn't believe someone would go out in just underwear. Would it have killed him to just sit properly in the car?!
If he had just sat there, they wouldn't have gotten busted by the cops!
"I just forgot, okay? Don't be mad."
Iori looked genuinely apologetic. He thought what he was wearing was totally normal. Tons of people dress like this at the beach, right?
"What's going on?"
"You ran into trouble?"
Tokita and the others were confused. What kind of trouble could you get into just buying booze? And Iori didn't look that odd either.
"This guy actually went out… dressed like that… and you guys put some damn clothes on already!"
Aina lost it.
Now she understood why nobody else seemed shocked. Compared to Iori, these lunatics were worse!
Aside from Shiro and Kohei, no one else was even wearing underwear!!!
"Zombie Beast!"
The accused, Iori, stepped up to defend himself.
"Think about it carefully: On a beautiful southern island, under a sky full of stars, going out with a guy—doesn't that sound super romantic? Isn't that the drama scene you've always dreamed of?"
Seeing Iori striking a shy pose on the table, Aina's forehead bulged with veins.
"Oh sure! If the guy wasn't a half-naked pervert!"
Shiro and Kohei watched with beady eyes from the side. They didn't really get the drama, but this scene was strangely entertaining.
So, it's Zombie Beast vs. Half-Naked Pervert now～
"I see… sorry, Zombie Beast…"
Hearing Aina's words, Iori looked as if he'd realized something important. He stood sincerely in front of her.
Shiro and Kohei were a bit surprised.
They didn't expect Iori to catch on so quickly—did that cold breeze outside raise his emotional intelligence?
"But even I wouldn't walk completely naked into a convenience store!"
"..."
(???)
Shiro and Kohei turned away in perfect sync.
Yup. Iori was still Iori. No amount of breeze could fix that idiot.
And no need to even watch what came next—it was clearly going to be brutal.
BANG!
"Who the hell asked you to go in completely naked, you moron?! Do you even know what clothes are?! And who the hell said you need to strip to drink?!"
(′｀;)?×5
Aina's rant earned five dumbfounded faces. What the hell?
Of course you strip when you drink!
"Don't look at me like that as if it's totally normal!"
Aina was so angry her chest practically jumped up a cup size. Damn it! If she ever had any authority, she'd make a law: no stripping while drinking!
"Haha, alright, alright, calm down and have a drink～"
Just in time, Azusa came over with two suspicious-looking drinks—rewards for their hard work fetching the booze.
Huff!
Aina exhaled and kept telling herself it wasn't worth getting worked up over. There was no way she could win against these lunatics in a debate about clothes and drinking.
She thanked Azusa without looking and casually picked up a cup.
"Wa—"
Before Azusa could stop her, Aina had already downed the suspicious liquid...
(ˉ?ˉ;)
In an instant, Aina's face turned bright red—totally drunk!
Seeing this, Shiro leaned in curiously to Azusa. That drink must've been potent if it took down the Zombie Beast like this—was it a sedative or something?
(?＿?)
"What was in that?"
"It's the same drink you all had before. Except I diluted it to half strength. Originally, it was meant for Iori."
Azusa's forehead twitched. She hadn't expected Aina to just grab and chug it...
She went to help Aina up. This was clearly too much for the little lightweight.
"Even diluted, it must've been over 30% ABV…"
Shiro was thankful they hadn't let Zombie Beast join the last drinking session. With how weak she was, she wouldn't have made it past one cup.
Poor girl. The party's only halfway through and she's already out of commission… but still—
"Haha, this is kind of nice too."
"It suddenly got quieter～"
"Yeah, drinking should be done in peace."
The three of them chuckled. With the Zombie Beast out of the way, they could finally enjoy the drinking vibes again!
Alright!
Let's play strip rock-paper-scissors!
SWOOSH!
Just as they finished, Aina, who had been lying on the couch, suddenly stood up, swaying a little.
"Eh? Still awake?"
"Her tolerance is improving."
"Wanna join the game?"
Shiro asked, hopeful. Aina still seemed a little tipsy, and this could be a perfect chance to bond! If she joined, maybe she'd stop nagging about the whole stripping thing!
But Aina ignored him completely, staggering past and stopping right in front of Iori.
(′｀;)?
"Did something happen between those two?"
Shiro didn't get it. Why would Zombie Beast go straight to Iori?
Definitely not due to charm—Aina's a total looks-obsessed fangirl, she even confessed to Kohei just for his face. No way it's about Iori's looks.
Only explanation: there's something between them that Shiro and Kohei didn't know!
Could it be… they have bad blood?!
"No idea. Maybe she's just suddenly fed up with that idiot Kitahara."
Kohei pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds from who-knows-where and took his place as a front-row spectator.
(ーー;)
Shiro, not wanting to be left out, grabbed a bowl of peanuts and joined him.
"Hey, Kohei, don't you think Kitahara kinda feels like a protagonist?"
"A protagonist? You mean of a gag manga?"
"He does have comedian potential."
Shiro alternated between peanuts and booze. He thought Iori had all the traits of a novel's protagonist:
A non-blood-related stepsister, an amazing childhood friend, a cute little sister, an enthusiastic upperclassman, 'like-minded' buddies, alcohol…
Okay, yeah…
This guy could never be the MC—what kind of protagonist is a clown?! This isn't Gintama!
Wait, Gintama?
Shiro suddenly pictured a silver-haired guy picking his nose with a sleazy grin.
Now he knew what novel to write next!
Once this trip was over—he had to write it! No way he was letting his beautiful editor down!
Heh heh heh…
Kohei looked on, bewildered at Shiro's sudden creepy laughter. What's this "like-minded" partner of his going nuts over now?
He subtly scooted away and turned back to the drama unfolding between Iori and Aina—this was the climax, he couldn't afford distractions!
"Iori (ˉ?ˉ;) Iori, you really are just so dense～"
Aina was practically glued to Iori, her bashful demeanor making her even more attractive.
But Iori was panicking. Something was clearly off with Zombie Beast right now!
Wait… no… he wasn't being dense! What was she trying to say?!
He had a bad feeling about this!
╭(°A°`)╮
Shiro and Kohei paused their snacks.
This tone… this scene!
They'd seen (or experienced) this in anime (and real life) many times!
It was the classic prelude to a confession!
"No matter how I try, you never notice!"
{{(°△°; ")}}
Confirmed!
She was definitely going to confess! Iori was cornered with no way out. At this rate, Zombie Beast might even go for a dramatic wall slam!
Their rookie team dynamics might never be the same after tonight!
"Iori, you really are dense. No matter what I say, I can't get my feelings across! So now—I'll show you through actions!"
With that, Aina cupped Iori's face with both hands!
"Whoa!"
"This is wild?!"
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!
Shiro and Kohei were shocked by Zombie Beast's bold move. Was this even legal to watch for free?!
Damn it! How come Kitahara the punk gets this lucky?!
Why couldn't she wait until she'd at least put her makeup back on first…
However—
According to Murphy's Law, things never go the way you expect them to.
"I'm gonna get a full view of this! Strip!"
Veins popped on Aina's hand as she suddenly shouted, completely shattering the so-called romantic atmosphere!
??
!!
"N-No! Even if you say that, I still—"
"Hah? Aren't you usually quick to strip?!"
"That's because—!"
"What? Cat got your tongue? Talking so softly now?! If you're not going to strip, then I'll do it for you!"
"No! Don't! Calm down, beast! Kamishiro! Kohei! Help me!!"
"..."
(???)
Kamishiro and Kohei didn't even know what expression to make anymore.
That's it?
All that buildup, all that tension—just for this?!
If you're gonna show it, just show it openly already!
This girl really is something. She always seems reserved, but her true colors are shockingly wild!
Shiro couldn't help but take out his beloved camera. Of course, a moment like this needed to be captured~
He was sure their adorable corpse-beast classmate would pay a very high price for this photo later~
Shiro, you're a genius businessman!
"Well, good luck, Kitahara."
"Hope you two have a wonderful night."
The two of them waved and turned to leave. There was no need to get involved in this kind of situation. Wasn't it better to just go drink more?
But Murphy's Law again—just because they wanted to leave didn't mean someone else would let them.
Having just torn off Iori's underwear, the corpse-beast turned her gaze toward Kohei and Shiro.
Her eyes were filled with the hunger of a predator!
"You two are next—Kohei, Shiro!"
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!
Seeing her charge at them, the two bolted.
"Holy shit, stay away! We were just watching!"
"Yeah! We already sacrificed Kitahara! He should be more than enough!"
This was unfair—they were just spectators! Why were they being hunted now?! If she wanted a specimen to study, Kitahara was enough!
After all, aside from size, it's not like things were that different down there.
"Don't you dare run! I'm going to strip you both down and compare sizes!"
?━=????(??? ????)
Hearing that, they ran even faster!
What kind of game was this?!
Lady, which site did you learn that from?!
Tomorrow, if you still have your memory, won't you feel like jumping off a building?!
Sorry! But for the sake of your future mental health, we have to run for our lives!
"Don't run!!!"