"It's a small island right next to Japan, and yet we have to transfer twice. International flights are such a hassle..."
"I think you're just upset that your 'special books' got confiscated. If you waste your money, you might not be able to afford souvenirs!"
Although Palau isn't far from Japan, Miyazawa Yuu and his group had to transfer at Narita and Guam International before finally setting foot on Southern soil.
It's worth mentioning that since international flight regulations were involved, "adult magazines" were considered prohibited items. Consequently, Iori and Kohei, having had their precious collection seized, looked utterly gaunt.
Leaning their heads against the airplane seats, their hollow eyes looked as if they had lost their soulmates, casting a tragically somber mood over the trip.
"Snap out of it, Iori. Don't forget we still have an unfinished mission!"
"Mission? Sniff... The Southern island gals have been snatched away..."
"Stop thinking about your Southern adult books!"
Pinching Iori's teary cheeks, Yu glanced at Kohei and Aina. Seeing them chatting and laughing normally, he used his body to shield Iori and whispered a threat: "The most important issue right now is Aina! Aina! You don't want the 'Cakey' to stay this smug forever, do you?"
"Sniff... Yu~ everyone has their own thoughts, don't they?"
With a despondent gaze directed toward the side, Kitahara Iori seemed to have attained some profound enlightenment about the meaning of life since his books were taken. His soul was currently incredibly pure.
As the saying goes: Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. Aina must have her reasons for doing this. He absolutely couldn't be like the customs officers and extinguish an interesting soul...
"Eh? Is that so? That's hilarious! Ahahaha—!"
"Pfft!"
His calm was instantly shattered by Aina's sickeningly sweet laughter. A mouthful of blood nearly sprayed from his throat. Iori clutched his chest and looked toward Aina with eyes that viewed her as non-recyclable garbage!
Just a "Cakey," yet she was getting this arrogant just by changing her look. It was infuriating. But...
Noticing the faint shadow of a mocking smirk forming on Yuu lips, Iori forced down his rising anger. He feigned a carefree attitude, leaning his hand against the cabin window. "It's Aina's choice. We have no right to interfere!"
"Eh? Is that how it is?"
This guy is clearly fuming, yet he's holding it in. Since that was the case, Yu turned to Aina with a "dot-eyed" expression and added more fuel to the fire.
"Aina, I remember your passport was processed during your school trip, right? Where did you go last time?"
Clearly not a frequent traveler and certainly never having been anywhere far, Aina was so swept up in the joy of going abroad that she couldn't sit still, her bottom wiggling left and right in her seat.
Hearing Yu's question, the girl—acting like a peahen trying to show off—brightened up. She undoubtedly wanted to flaunt her "rich" life experience!
In Japan, besides education, one's breadth of experience was a crucial factor in matching worldviews during the partner-selection process!
"You've asked the right person! Speaking of beaches that make one never want to leave, that would have to be the Phil... Hawaii!"
"See?"
"I get it!"
His shoulder was gripped tightly. Yu's flat tone sounded like he was stating an insignificant fact, but in contrast, Iori truly couldn't stand Aina flapping her wings and hopping around anymore!
She clearly meant to say the Philippines! But for the sake of status, she forced it into "Hawaii." The pronunciation was completely different, yet she forced the change anyway!
In any case, this kind of Aina was unacceptable. He had to turn her back into a plain girl to feel at ease.
"What do we do? We can't exactly praise her current outfit; that would just make her more determined to keep the makeup on!"
"...Then find something different and praise her in the direction of her original self?"
Pondering for a few seconds, Yu bit his nail. Helping Aina regain her confidence was indeed a tricky task. He could only suggest a barely feasible direction.
However, as everyone knows, when you stay together long enough, a companion's merits shrink to nothing, while their flaws are magnified! So, what merits did Aina-chan actually have?
Her breasts couldn't compare to Nanaka-san, her hips couldn't match Chisa's, her grades weren't even half of Yu's, and her personality was indecisive—nowhere near as bold as Azusa-senpai!
Summarizing it like that...
"I say, you two, give it a rest on the plane, okay!"
Rubbing her forehead, Kotegawa Chisa was beyond words with the two idiots beside her. In the time it took her to look at a travel guide for two minutes, Iori and Yu had both become extremely despondent.
They looked like anxious college students searching for the source of life, only to find out their online date turned out to be bigger than them.
They were in public, with strangers and foreigners around. She really didn't want any more incidents to embarrass the Pab club or her family shop.
"Chisa! Tell me... does Aina have any merits?"
"Sigh... she has a great personality, and her values are relatively normal?"
"Aren't those clearly flaws?"
Not believing there was anything wrong with his own values, Yu crossed his arms and shook his head in distress. He refused to say the words "Aina doesn't like drinking" even if he died!
Seeing that Chisa was no help, Iori covered Yu's mouth and held up a finger, making small talk in an incredibly forced manner. "Ah~ Speaking of which, Chisa, your favorite color is blue, right? The color of the sea is truly enchanting!"
"...That's true, so?"
"In that case, if even someone as cold as Chisa likes blue, it must mean she'd prefer to date a blue-haired guy, right!"
Opening his arms wide, Kitahara Iori closed his eyes and deliberately raised his voice so Aina could hear his absurd theory!
Exactly. While he couldn't find a merit for Aina, he could use external factors to help her regain confidence in her appearance. Convincing her to take off that annoying blonde wig was a good start!
However, he seemed to have overlooked one problem!
"Hiss, you guy..."
Poked in the cheek by Iori's spread arms, Yuu first thought was that this kid had forgotten who was in charge. Even if they were on the same side, he couldn't tolerate this attitude!
But before he could "Strongman-Lock" the guy to teach him a lesson, a mysterious chill suddenly hit him in the chest from behind!
"Gulp!"
Swallowing hard, his movements stiffening under a murderous gaze, Yu felt every hair on his body stand on end.
Turning his neck slowly like a rusty gear, he looked back. He saw Chisa, the highlights gone from her eyes, sitting there quietly. Her hands were folded over the travel guide on her lap, looking utterly cold.
"Iori, can you repeat what you just said?"
"Iori! Iori! Shh!"
"Yu~"
Yu's finger reached for his mouth, trembling, only to be pressed down by a fair hand. He rolled his eyes, refusing the attempt to escape eye contact with Chisa.
Iori, that idiot, had overlooked a major point. Besides Aina, he himself had blue hair!
To Chisa's ears, those two sentences translated as: Iori is acting crazy $\rightarrow$ Liking the sea means liking blue hair $\rightarrow$ Iori himself has blue hair $\rightarrow$ This bastard dares to hit on me!!!
"No problem! I'll say it a hundred times if I have to. Chisa would rather date someone with blue hair, so Aina..."
Completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation, Iori looked at Aina with a "plan successful" smile, hoping to awaken her confidence in her original hair color!
However, Aina didn't budge. Instead, Kotegawa Nanaka tilted her head slightly and blocked his view with a troubled expression.
"Iori, even though I know you like Chisa, this kind of hint is a bit too blatant for a girl!"
"Eh? Wait! I can expl—"
His expression shifted from smugness to horror. Before Iori could explain, a fist the size of a sandbag rapidly enlarged before his eyes. Perspective really is amazing!
"Thwack!"
White smoke rose from Iori's face. Dusting off her fist, Chisa unbuckled her seatbelt with a sharp gaze. "Yuu! Swap seats. I want to sit next to this guy to stop him from talking nonsense!"
"Yes, yes, yes! After you, after you!"
Chisa was in a foul mood; Yu didn't dare cross her and moved aside immediately. As for Iori's survival? Who cares—he was just a disposable consumable!
"In that case, I'll swap too. Yu, please sit next to Aina!"
Nanaka didn't want to be separated from Chisa, but also wanted to be next to Yu. Seeing them swap, she stood up and shifted one seat toward the window.
Now, with her sister on her right and her boyfriend on her left, she felt much more comfortable than when they first boarded!
"Hmm? No problem. By the way, Nanaka-san, if that crossbody bag is bothering you with important stuff, I can carry it for you..."
Both Nanaka and Azusa-senpai had a certain trouble: because their breasts were too "evil," the strap of a crossbody bag had to pass between them to stay secure.
The downside was that it looked too erotic—the kind of thing even Yu couldn't help but stare at sometimes.
It was exactly because of this that as he reached out, the answer to the question that had bothered him for a long time—that something was very wrong with Aina—finally appeared!
He turned his head sharply and looked down at Aina beside him. The strap of her crossbody bag was buried deep between her breasts, and the extra "flesh" that absolutely shouldn't be there was screaming for attention!
"B-b-b... Breasts?!"