Tanaka Masao shook his head and sighed helplessly, complaining to the people around him.
"Is this the resentment of an older single woman? Do you know what's scarier than the resentment of an older single woman?"
The few of them shook their heads in unison.
"That would be three older single women together. After all, three women make a show, hahaha…"
Tanaka Masao noticed he was the only one laughing and felt a bit confused.
"What's wrong? It's so quiet."
Had he said something wrong? Perhaps such jokes shouldn't be made with women. Just as he was still considering whether to apologize, he heard a voice from behind him.
"Child, that's not funny."
Tanaka Masao stiffly turned his neck, and three mature, beautiful faces came into his view.
He stiffly twitched the corners of his mouth and said awkwardly,
"Oh, three young, beautiful, gentle, kind, and universally admired older sisters, is there something you need from me?"
As he spoke, he blinked his eyes, trying his best to look harmless.
But Tanaka Masao wasn't some cute young boy who could melt older single women with a smile; he was just a chubby otaku.
His smile wouldn't make older single women overflow with maternal affection.
Hiratsuka Shizuka placed her hand on Tanaka Masao's shoulder.
"Come on, pretty big sister invites you for a drink. You wouldn't refuse, would you?"
"How could I? It would be my honor to drink with you all."
Tanaka Masao, with a mournful face, was led away by Hiratsuka Shizuka. He looked back at Yukinoshita Yukino and the other three every few steps, hoping they would come to his rescue.
To Tanaka Masao's disappointment, the four of them barely even looked at him.
"You guys are so awful, so disloyal, leaving me alone to face three wolves. I'll be eaten until there's not even a bone shard left."
Everyone: It's your own fault.
Tanaka Masao sat with the three of them, appearing particularly reserved.
He was surrounded in the middle, his hands on his lap, not daring to move, like a pure young girl surrounded by several older men.
Hiratsuka Shizuka patted his back.
"Yo, don't be so shy. Loosen up."
"That's right, come have a drink with us older sisters."
"I… I can't. I can't drink."
Tanaka Masao waved his hands in refusal.
"Stop talking nonsense, just drink when I tell you to."
"O-okay, boohoo…"
Tanaka Masao, with great difficulty and pain, emptied the glass of…
…juice in one gulp.
Seeing Tanaka Masao drink, Hiratsuka Shizuka and the other two looked quite happy.
"Hahaha, come on, drink again, drink again!"
…
Ten minutes later.
"Haha, Shizuka, you lost, drink."
"Kuh~, damn it, Masao is surprisingly good at rock-paper-scissors.
Ha~, I'm not convinced, again."
"You wait a moment, I'm going to go defeat Sister Hoshika."
"Good boy, you've got guts, talking as if I'm some trash character. Come, let me show you how amazing this older sister is."
"Can you even do it, Sister Hoshika? I haven't even used my full strength yet."
"This Hoshika is just weak."
…
Watching the joyful laughter coming from that direction, Goto Hitori asked, somewhat confused,
"Didn't Tanaka look unwilling and on the verge of death just now? How is he having so much fun now?"
"That's what they call it, I suppose."
Yamada Ryo began to explain to Goto Hitori.
"Saying no with your mouth, but your body is very honest.
Just like you, Bocchi-chan, you say you don't want to give me money, but you actually stuff money into my wallet."
"I would never do that."
Ijichi Nijika also felt a bit emotional.
"But Tanaka-kun integrated so quickly. He became familiar with my older sister and the other two in no time."
"Tanaka-kin is like that. When he faces pretty girls, he always shows a frivolous side."
"F-frivolous? Is that word suitable to describe Tanaka-kun?
Also, I remember they were only drinking regular juice, right? Why do I feel like they're already drunk?"
"Perhaps they usually have too much stress, and it's rare for them to find someone they can confide in and chat with. Once they open up, even drinking juice can make them feel drunk."
"Whoa! What are those young ladies over there saying? Come over and have a drink with us!"
…
After the performance, and with them gathering for a while, it was already nine o'clock at night.
Everyone needed to head home, especially Goto Hitori, whose house was quite far, taking almost two hours to reach.
To ensure everyone's safety, Hiratsuka Shizuka volunteered to drive Goto Hitori home and didn't give her the right to refuse.
As for Yukinoshita Yukino, she was taken home by Tanaka Masao, and Tanaka Masao stated that he was very experienced with this.
"Shizuka, you're not drunk, are you? Can you still drive?"
"I was drinking juice, how could I be drunk? And don't call me Shizuka, it's disrespectful."
"Shizuka is so mean! Just now, when we were playing, you let me call you Shizuka, but now that it's over, you won't let me anymore."
"Don't make it so disgusting."
"Come, Masao, if Shizuka can't, come to this older sister."
"Hey, hey, Hoshika, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to steal him from me?"
"Eh, am I, Shizuka? It must be your imagination. We're best friends for life, how could I try to steal him from you?"
"Really?"
"Of course, it's true."
"Alright, no more talking. I'm taking Bocchi-chan home. Masao, you better be careful when you go back to school, don't let anything slip."
Hiratsuka Shizuka recalled teaching Yukinoshita Haruno a few years ago; Yukinoshita Haruno kept calling her Shizuka at school, which led other students to follow suit, making her lose all her authority.
She had worked hard to build up her prestige over so many years, and she didn't want Tanaka Masao to ruin it.
"I understand, Shizuka. See you tomorrow."