Kotegawa Chisa, the second daughter of the family. Her only interest is diving, and her dream is to become a diving guide as excellent as her older sister...
"Inhale... exhale..."
The reception team was busy at the front desk. Although Kotegawa Sayaka had kept her two daughters behind under the pretext of helping out, there wasn't actually anything for them to do. Furthermore, with the cameras set up in advance, the restricted zones for the "odd-jobs crew" had expanded, significantly squeezing their living space.
Now, the three women stood in the corner behind the cameras in awkward silence. But for Sayaka, having the two little ones within arm's reach was a happiness she hadn't experienced in a long time.
"Chisa..."
"Yes!"
Her body shuddered. Hearing her name called by that ice-cold voice, Kotegawa Chisa's orange pupils instantly contracted. Her body stiffened upright, making her chest more prominent.
Cold sweat slid down her cheek. Completely forgetting her mask covered her face, she turned her head with a forced, pained smile, trying to bluff her way through.
In fact, the girl had been expecting this moment. After all, she had injured herself and "done in" Iori the day before the grand opening—even she felt she was somewhat more of a hindrance than a help!
"What is it, Mom?"
"It's nothing, just your face..."
Seeing her daughter react so negatively to her voice, Kotegawa Sayaka forced down the bitterness in her heart and tried her absolute best to show a kind smile.
Miyazawa Yuu was right about one thing: as a mother, she should take better care of her daughters. If that was the case, she would start with her facial expressions!
However, in Chisa's eyes, this sudden change meant—
Her usually strict mother had discovered something abnormal and was questioning her. If she answered honestly, she would undoubtedly be met with ruthless criticism!
Tears instinctively began to fill her eyes. She lowered her head, wishing she could run away right then, but her innate sense of responsibility forced her to stop and confess the truth to the family matriarch—
"I'm sorry, it was me..."
"It was me! Ahaha~ I drank too hard last night and accidentally hurt Chisa. I'm really sorry~"
Before she could finish, Kotegawa Chisa, amidst her suffocation, joyfully welcomed her own personal ray of light.
Iori, who had clearly gone off to organize equipment, reappeared. With a face full of apologetic smiles, he stepped between her and her mother, taking all the blame upon himself.
"I really wasn't careful. Sorry, Auntie, I'll pay more attention in the future!"
"Iori..."
Turning around, Chisa was technically in the middle of a unilateral cold war with Iori—after all, he had effectively swiped a stick of her lip balm yesterday.
Yet, in her moment of greatest helplessness, this guy had stood in front of her again, shielding her from her mother's murderous, icy gaze all by himself!
Her heart seemed to beat much faster. She couldn't help but press closer to Iori like a little girl, seeking refuge in his shadow.
"Is that so? Then you'd better be careful..."
The murderous look was real. In other words, Kotegawa Sayaka truly felt like killing someone right now!
Everything had been ready. No matter what Chisa said, she was going to pretend not to care and simply say "take care of your health" to complete her mission. But now, this Cheng Yaojin had charged out halfway!
One after another, why were her prospective sons-in-law all these infuriating types? Had she committed some crime against the heavens?!
"By the way, Chisa, don't you like wearing short-shorts..."
"Ahaha, I actually prefer long pants!"
"The clothes..."
"I spilled alcohol on them, so they had to be changed~"
"I see, hahaha..."
The corner of Sayaka's mouth was twitching toward the sky. It was a flawless defense! Kotegawa Sayaka couldn't find an opening from any angle!
This "good nephew" of hers was like a nano-shield covering Chisa from all directions. No matter how ridiculous the reason, as long as it shifted the topic to himself, he would do it without hesitation!
Who cared whether this guy liked long or short pants? She just wanted to say a word to her daughter!
Auntie really is persistent, but if it's for Chisa's sake, it's all worth it. A girl who loves the sea shouldn't be discouraged into giving up her dreams!
Zzt-zzt!
Electricity sparked in the air as their gazes met!
Despite both harboring a desire to protect Chisa, Iori and Sayaka—who should have been on the same side—were now confronting each other in a bizarre fashion.
"Sorry, let me through. The oxygen tanks are here; where should I put them?"
"Yuu!" (X2)
"Well~ if you both call at once, I won't know who to answer first. However..."
Passing by and handing the trolley of oxygen tanks to the staff, Miyazawa Yuu rubbed the back of his head troubledly and walked to a camera blind spot. Seeing the current needle-to-wheat-awning situation, it was exactly as he expected.
"What's wrong? Do you two need help with something?"
"What do you mean 'what'? Didn't you just say you were looking for Chisa for something!"
Turning his head to frantically signal him, Kitahara Iori had been screaming "take Chisa away" in the "team voice chat" for ages, yet the three including Yuu hadn't budged.
Left with no choice, he could only try physical signaling. Trying to protect Chisa's self-esteem without hurting Auntie was proving to be a thankless job on both ends...
"Mm! Iori, wait a second. Mother-in-law?"
"...Chisa, take care of your health. If you ruin your body, you won't be able to do anything."
Sayaka had never felt that being able to speak freely was so refreshing. Seeing Miyazawa Yuu seal Iori's mouth, Kotegawa Sayaka disengaged from combat mode, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly for once.
Moreover, after this battle of wits with her nephew, she no longer viewed communicating with her daughter as a shameful burden, but as a reward.
Her softened tone reached Chisa's ears, and the latter looked up in dazed disbelief at her mother.
"Okay, I'll remember that?"
"Good. I'll go prepare the snacks for the film crew. Remember, the odd-jobs crew is absolutely forbidden from entering the camera's field of view!"
"Yes!"
There was no scolding. Her mother's rare smile left Kotegawa Chisa's head in a muddle, and she didn't even realize when the other had left.
Seeing this, Kotegawa Nanaka sighed with a look of pity—
One must understand that both changing and accepting are relatively long processes; they can't happen overnight. Her mother had taken the lead; now her younger sister needed time to process it.
"I'll take her to the breakroom to rest for a bit. As for work, I'll leave it to you, Yuu. No problems, right, Forelady?"
"...As long as Yuu can promise not to strip, we have no objections."
"That is the one thing I absolutely cannot guarantee!"
Having watched the whole thing, the dark-skinned Forelady had been observing ever since she noticed the store manager was acting strange. By now, she had finally figured out the trick.
If she wasn't mistaken, Miyazawa Yuu had calculated that even if the manager cared for her daughter, she would only do so perfunctorily. So, he specially arranged "mobs" to increase the game's difficulty while simultaneously boosting the sense of achievement!
The effect was obvious: Sayaka sincerely offered her regards, and Chisa was moved by that sincerity, falling into a state of confusion.
It was safe to say that once the two regained their composure, the next interaction—and all future ones—would be the friction of two icebergs melting into each other!
"I don't know why, but I feel like I've been played, yet I have no proof!"
"Sigh, Iori, honestly... sometimes you should be grateful that Yuu only likes using physical force on you..."
Deleting all the distress signals Iori had sent to his brain, Imamura Kohei patted Iori on the shoulder with great emotion.
Truly, judging by Iori's "outsider looking in" performance, if that guy Yuu went full throttle, he could probably trick the entire PaB club into working in a black coal mine for him!
"Well~ as long as the ending is good, that's enough. By the way, who is the person being interviewed today?"
Like Kohei, if Yuu hadn't explicitly asked for help and explained the situation, Yoshiwara Aina could hardly have imagined that the former could actually manipulate Iori and the "Iceberg Auntie" Sayaka so thoroughly.
However, as a typical results-oriented person, seeing Chisa get on better terms with her mother was a welcome sight, so she felt no psychological burden.
Since she was a girl and didn't have to worry about being pranked, she quickly turned her attention back to the interview itself while looking at the massive production crew.
"Is it some kind of diving idol? I don't think Palau has professional idols like that, right?"
"Oh right, speaking of which, I actually need to apologize to Kohei!"
Yuu clapped his hands. He had been so focused on pranking Iori that he forgot about this. Being reminded by Aina, he suddenly realized he had done something rather unscrupulous.
"Huh? Yuu, I've treated you pretty well, haven't I?!"
The hair on Kohei's body stood up instantly. Under Aina's disdainful gaze, Imamura Kohei nervously pulled the girl in front of him to use her as a shield against "scumbag attacks."
"Don't worry, it's not a big deal, it's just..."
"Ah! You're here! Please take care of me!"
"No problem, please take care of me, Miss!"
With a light step, a guy with jet-black hair—un-gelled and falling loosely—wearing limited-edition Lalako swim trunks walked into Dolphin, greeting everyone.
"???"
Looking at the guest in front of her, and then at the blonde guy beside her whom she had just grown closer to, Yoshiwara Aina's head spun frantically, her eyes turning into literal whirlpools— "Why are there two Koheis?!"