Especially with Shiori and Chisa by her side, it felt like Kirara was right there with her in real life!
Heh~ heh~ heh~
'The next scene must absolutely be recreated with them!'
Unable to control herself, Carina revealed a creepy, perverted smile.
At that moment, the now-focused-upon Shiori could no longer ignore it!
There was definitely something wrong here!
"Carina… Miss Carina?"
"Oh, my apologies! It's nothing at all~"
Hearing Shiori call out to her, Carina quickly returned to her harmless, innocent persona, looking just like a quiet foreign girl who simply loved Japanese culture.
"..."
Seeing this, Shiori felt it would be rude to press further, but she was absolutely certain—
That scene just now was not her imagination!
There was something seriously wrong with this Carina lady!
She turned her gaze toward Chisa. If she hadn't misjudged earlier, Chisa should've felt that strange gaze too.
"Chisa-san, just now that look in her eyes—"
Shiori didn't get to finish her sentence before discovering something unbelievable.
Chisa was ignoring it!
She was calmly lying on the edge of the hot spring, resting!
Had she not noticed Carina's look just now?!
Shiori couldn't believe it. No matter how slow someone was, they should've noticed that, right?
Still not convinced, she turned her gaze to Aina and Inui. Surely they must've noticed!
However…
Those two didn't even glance in their direction and just kept chatting on their own.
She eavesdropped a bit.
"Cosplaying a magical girl, massage... spreading the legs, then using a pink one… it actually felt kinda nice…"
BZZZZT!!!
Shiori didn't hear much, but what she did hear was already too much for someone who hadn't learned about this kind of stuff!
She instantly distanced herself from the two in shock.
Staring at them in disbelief, she watched as both of them blushed deeply with embarrassment—yet still continued talking?!
"Chisa-san, after the bath…"
Shiori snapped back to reality when she heard Carina's voice again—now she was starting a conversation with Chisa.
That terrifying smile had returned!
Even though the smile wasn't directed at her this time, Shiori still felt deeply uncomfortable!
She looked at Chisa with desperate hope.
'Chisa-san, please look at that expression! That's the face I'm talking about!'
Uneasy, Shiori longed for someone who understood her.
Unfortunately…
"Sure~"
Faced with Carina's invitation, Chisa smiled and agreed, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
It was like Shiori was the only one seeing things!
'Why would you agree to that!!!'
Shiori was on the verge of breaking down. At this point, she seriously wondered if the problem was with her.
Fortunately, Inui had casually caught a glimpse of Carina's earlier look and, clearly shocked, walked over to Shiori.
"Wasn't Carina's expression a little… off? It was like…"
Like those pervy old men in long coats hanging around elementary schools!
"Inui-san!"
In that moment, Shiori was nearly moved to tears. Just earlier, she had almost believed that she was the weird one.
Perfect!
Shiori had now unilaterally accepted Inui as the best.
Still, Shiori couldn't quite figure something out.
"Yeah, but why? With such an obviously creepy expression, how could Chisa-san stay so calm?"
"Maybe… she's just gotten used to that kind of look over time."
Aina murmured behind them, thinking back to that legendary siscon at the dive shop.
{{(°△°; ")}}
Not understanding the backstory, Inui and Shiori stared at Chisa in terror.
Gotten used to it…
Just what kind of life does this woman usually live?!
Clearly—
Shiori didn't understand Nanaka's love at all~
Splash~
The pleasant hot spring time was over.
Unlike when they came in, three people now had notably different expressions.
Just thinking of Carina's terrifying smile made Shiori, Inui, and Aina all subconsciously change in the way they dressed afterward—choosing the most concealed angles possible.
Being stared at by Carina always gave them a really bad feeling.
Suddenly, they remembered that in Japanese otaku culture, yuri (girl love) is half the pie!
Of course, most yuri content in Japan is just the product of otaku imagination.
But!
It's different abroad. Foreign countries are full of real-life yuri!
In America, they've even gone beyond yuri—genders now include things like "Walmart plastic bag" as an option!
Truly the land of freedom, the United States…
Plop!
While Shiori was deep in thought about Carina's true preferences, a passport fell out from her change of clothes.
It just happened to land right by Carina's feet~
This sudden development gave the daydreaming Shiori a real scare.
Thankfully, Carina—aside from still being undressed—had returned to her usual calm demeanor.
She casually picked up the passport and handed it to Shiori.
"This is yours, right?"
"Thanks…"
Shiori took the passport with a guilty conscience, feeling like she had just been caught red-handed by the person she was gossiping about.
"Why would you bring your passport into the hot spring?"
Carina asked, puzzled. Was this some new hot spring custom? But she hadn't seen it in anime or games!
"Ah, that's not mine. It's my brother's passport."
"Your brother's passport?"
Carina looked even more confused. "What's going on?"
"It's a sad story…"
"To put it simply, there were all sorts of complicated reasons."
"Mmm…"
The girls around them—Chisa and the others—understood what she meant. After all, they'd heard the whole story before.
Seeing Carina's puzzled face, Chisa—after getting Shiori's approval—summarized the entire story for her.
After listening, Carina tilted her head and fell into a dreamy trance.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, her face flushed, her body trembled—
"So moe…"
"Eh?!"
"Moe?!" ×4
Everyone cried out. What part of that story was even remotely moe?!
What the heck did Carina even hear?
They got their answer quickly.
"She must've been jealous! Upset that her most beloved onii-chan wasn't paying attention to her! Right?!"
Huff huff…
Carina's breathing grew more excited—this had to be the legendary brocon trait!
"Uh…"
"Not even close."
"Did that story even sound like that?"
"No, I just wanted that idiot brother of mine to understand the pressure of finding a job and give up."
The three girls felt like Carina's attention was just never tuned to the same channel as theirs.
Was this… a cultural difference between nations?
No, it might just be plain ol' perversion…
At this point, Inui was convinced—the blonde Amazon woman in front of them was a hardcore otaku.
The exact same type as those two friends she had earlier!
No wonder…
Now Inui completely understood why the three of them came to Japan for vacation—they were all perverts!
Having figured it out, Inui quietly pulled out her phone and sent a message to Shiro.
Only her beloved could bring her peace of mind at a time like this.
Ding ding~
[Inui-sama]: Shiro! Help! Carina's a total pervert!
"Shiro: Oh, just as I guessed."
"Inui: ???"
"Inui: !!!"
"Inui: Just as you guessed and you didn't warn me!!! Angry cat.jpg"
"Shiro: Calm down, calm down. You talk like there aren't any perverts on your side too."
"Shiro: Selfie while sitting cross-legged on Kohei's waist.jpg"
"Shiro: Iori vs. the muscle pervert battle.jpg"
"Inui: ..."
"Inui: What are you guys even doing?"
"Shiro: Helping you get rid of perverts!"
"Inui: Then why are you two just spectating?"
"Shiro: Because Kitahara requested a one-on-one manly duel! Oh, and by the way, the one I'm sitting on is my opponent — also a pervert."
"Shiro: Alright, that's enough chatting. Things are getting good over here. I'll send you the video before bed!"
"..."
Looking at the chat on her screen, Inui blinked blankly.
So… what the hell is going on right now?
Why does it feel like ever since Shiro came back, everything has been off the rails?!
Behind her, Carina was still spouting her usual perverted nonsense.
"It's so wonderful! This is real-life 3D HENTAI culture!
This is amazing. Coming to Japan was the best decision ever!!!"
|???????)
"…Told you it's not like that,"
Shiori puffed her cheeks, still trying to change Carina's mindset.
But judging by Carina's current state…
She was clearly already completely lost in her own little world.
"Huff… huff…"
Carina panted heavily, feeling her freshly dried body getting sweaty all over again.
No good!
I can't hold back anymore!
She grabbed Chisa and Shiori with one hand, and didn't forget Aina and Inui with the other.
"Let's just move on to the next activity already!"
(?⊿?)?
(′｀;)?
∑(°口°?)!
(°ー°〃)
The four girls, each wearing a very different expression, were dragged off by Carina.
Inui had originally wanted to resist — but then she remembered that Shiro might be there too… so she let herself be dragged along.
Though… being pulled along like this…
Why does it feel kinda weird?