The final grouping results were out! The three veteran staff members plus Kotegawa Nanaka formed the "Gentle and Lovely Reception Group."
And the "Bizarre Chores Group" consisted of the makeup-beast, the muscular hunk, and the "painted-face" Iori, each with their own hidden agendas.
"Eh? Auntie is in the same group as us?"
Looking at Kotegawa Sayaka standing beside him, Kitahara Iori squinted at her for a long time, finally asking the question that bothered the entire chores group.
"Manager, is it really okay not to show your face for the opening?"
"Yes. No problem."
Without even turning her head, Kotegawa Sayaka gave a terse, muffled reply, treating it as a response to her "useless" nephew.
Honestly, those injuries on his face must have been scratched by Chisa. Truly, with a temper like that and wanting to be a diver... even working in the service industry would be a struggle!
...Wait!
Slap!
Kotegawa Sayaka gave herself a sharp backhanded slap, forcibly suppressing her habit of finding fault. Her sharp gaze turned toward Chisa and Nanaka standing in front of her.
Be a likable parent. Don't suppress the kids. As for Iori's injuries, I'll ask him tonight. I can't groundlessly suspect my own daughter!!!
"???"
Iori's eyes shrank to the size of sesame seeds. Watching his aunt hit herself without warning, a cold sweat instantly drenched his body.
This... this isn't right, is it? Could it be a lingering side effect of Yuu's "special move" yesterday? Otherwise, there's no way to explain why she's firing shots at herself.
Following his aunt's gaze...
Seeing it land on Chisa, his expression instantly turned to horror. She can't move against Yuu, so the resentment has shifted unintentionally? That's terrifying!
In any case, based on his aunt's distant tone toward Chisa and Nanaka yesterday, his guess was not impossible!
"Alright, you three boys go to the equipment store to organize the water gear. Chisa, Nanaka, and I will stay at the front desk and watch..."
Just as Kitahara Iori was convincing himself that Chisa was about to be Yuu's "sacrificial victim," the woman indeed spoke up to clear out the "unnecessary" people.
Pointing at herself blankly, Yoshiwara Aina—not being a boy and not being left behind—wanted to ask what she should do.
In the next second, her wrist was grabbed. She turned to find the "scum trio" looking grave and turning to leave immediately, as if they didn't want to be involved in a horrific incident!
...
"Honestly, Kouhei, why are you in such a hurry? Maybe the Manager has other plans!"
Five minutes later in the equipment warehouse, Yoshiwara Aina was using spray paint to repair a dinghy, turning her head to pout and complain about Kouhei's decisiveness.
To this, Imamura Kouhei refused to take the blame!
He lightly tapped Aina on the head, wearing a frustrated expression as he gave the "clueless" girl a warm tip.
"Impossible. First, since the Manager explicitly said Chisa and Nanaka-姉 were to stay, she must have her own considerations. As employees, we follow unconditionally!"
"Eh?"
"And..."
Seeing Aina's disbelief, he turned solemnly and pointed his thumbs at Iori and Yuu, who had also come to the warehouse for "tactical refuge." "These two have much more accurate danger radars. Since they chose to run, it means things are ten to one likely to be wrong!"
"That point... is indeed hard to refute."
"Don't naturally treat us as weather vanes, Aina. And Yuu, did Auntie say anything last night?"
Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Kitahara Iori stared out the window—or rather, at the silent mother and daughters in the busy shop.
Yesterday, Chisa had been very bothered by her mother's criticism. She thought she hid it well, but anyone could see her low mood...
While he wasn't sure if his aunt had been driven crazy, Yuu, who lived with her, definitely had the answer!
"How did Chisa's lips taste?"
"A bit like oranges. Seemed like she was wearing lip balm. Tasted pretty good!"
Miyazawa Yuu rested his chin on his hand, his body covered in "villainous" shadow lines.
As a companion, even though he had chosen a strategic retreat, if there was a chance Chisa's "dao heart" was about to be shattered by a lecture, he had an obligation to offer friendly rescue...
Wait!
"Hiss..."
Realizing it a second late, Iori found that he had just said something incredible!
The equipment warehouse, which had been somewhat lively, instantly fell into silence. Kitahara Iori turned his body stiffly, seeing both Kouhei and Aina frozen as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Aina's mouth was hanging open, and her CPU was processing the explosive information. Drool began to string down onto the wet spray paint.
"Na... Nani?"
"Chotto matte! It's not what you think!"
"Ahhh~ I knew it. It's pretty much what I expected..."
Narrowing his eyes with a purely wicked grin, Miyazawa Yuu playfully continued bending over to organize oxygen tanks, looking as if everything was under his control. He seemed entirely unaware that he had caused the awkward silence.
But Iori really was easy to trick. A casual question led to such big "melon" news. If there were more idiots like this, the world would be a beautiful place~
"Wait! Yuu! What do you mean? How could Iori and Chisa..."
Aina pushed Kouhei aside. Although she no longer had feelings for Iori, the idea of her best friend's first kiss (probably) being stolen made her face steam with embarrassment.
And this isn't right! My progress with Kouhei has finally shown some signs of life! Why is Chisa the one to kiss first!
"Ki... Ki..."
"It's a kiss. Actually, a few minutes ago it was just a guess, but Iori's reaction was too magnificent. Careful of friendly fire~"
Yuu tapped Aina's head, sending her back to Kouhei, whose eyes were already flashing error messages as his CPU redlined.
In the next second, Yuu was grabbed violently by the collar. Iori, looking like a demon from hell, stared into his eyes with a face full of dark lines. His right hand was raised high, holding a foam diving float with immense tension.
"Close your eyes, Yuu..."
His eyes hidden in shadow, Kitahara Iori exhaled two puffs of turbid air in the summer heat. The details of his bared, white teeth were terrifying. "Just once. It won't hurt!"
"No, wait. Just because I know your secret, I have to be forced into amnesia? There are two other witnesses here!"
"It doesn't matter!"
His neck twisted 270 degrees. Monster-Iori gave Aina a "kind and friendly" smile. "I'll gently put these two to sleep, too!"
"Like hell! You're clearly trying to silence the witnesses! Yuu, fight back!"
Terrified to the point of tears, Yoshiwara Aina shook her head wildly, screaming for Miyazawa Yuu to activate his "second form" and at least subdue this out-of-control beast!
However, crossing his arms in front of his chest, Miyazawa Yuu yawned and gave Aina a wink~☆!
"Sigh~ what a hassle~"
"Are you ready to die? Arigato. Tonight I'll treat everyone to BBQ and drinks to replenish the lost nutrients!"
"Yeah, yeah. So it doesn't matter even if Chisa is being targeted by Auntie, right? You don't look like a very responsible Mr. Iori."
"..."
Iori's posture straightened. He flickered between "demon" and "human" states several times before his kind side, which cared for Chisa, finally defeated his evil, silencing side. "Keep talking!"
"Auntie's target is Chisa. I can only tell you that much~"
"...Please don't tell anyone about this for now!!! Chisa, hold on! I'm coming!"
"Saved?"
Watching Iori burst out the door and rush back in his normal form to protect Chisa, Yoshiwara Aina's legs went weak. She patted her modest chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank god~ But Yuu, how did you know Chisa and Iori kissed?"
"Deduction!"
Yuu adjusted his non-existent glasses and lightly patted his collar. While a wicked curve played on his lips, his right hand made a "pinching" gesture.
With those two, the favorability had long been maxed out; all they lacked were various "CG events" on the path to marriage.
Poor Iori and Chisa, both being played like fiddles by scum-Yuu!
"But I still have to criticize you, Aina. After you use breast pads, at least clean them up. Don't leave them lying around!"
"What? How do you know?"
"Use your brain! How do you think Iori and Chisa ended up kissing!"
"Ehh?!"