"So that's how it is. I wasn't talking to you bastards. It's quite a feat that you managed to find us..."
Ten minutes later, after adding two kicks to Iori's body, Miyazawa Yuu looked with surprise at the "Scumbag Trio," who wouldn't stop until their goal was met and Iori was kicked to death.
This was Palau! Though not far from Japan, it was definitely a foreign country! For these three to chase him here, the airfare alone would be enough to make a poor student bleed. They were incredibly persistent.
"It was nothing. This guy always leaves his GPS on, so it was easy to find him~"
"And then, right after getting off the bus, we saw something we shouldn't have seen. Isn't that right, Iori?"
"Calling us over here just to watch a beautiful girl confess to you... Iori, I never thought you were that kind of person!"
Falsely wiping non-existent tears, Nojima Moto raised his hand to pause the "circle-kick" progress bar, then with a swish, he hoisted a randomly picked-up shovel onto his shoulder.
Crouching down, he savored Iori's terrified gaze, his mouth slowly stretching to his ears as he showed his healthy teeth—
"But I presume you've prepared yourself! If you call dogs over to be slaughtered, you should be ready to have your throat bitten out!"
"Enough talk! To the beach!"
The cement was already prepared. Yamamoto Shinichirou gave a wicked smile as he hoisted Iori onto his shoulder, while Fujiwara Kenta silently taped the latter's mouth shut to keep him from screaming. The three coordinated perfectly; in less than three seconds, they had Iori packaged up and ready to be shipped to the beach to be tossed to the sharks.
"Safe travels..."
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Like he'd just listen quietly! Struggling frantically on Yamamoto's overly broad shoulders, Kitahara Iori couldn't make a full sound, but he could at least whimper for help!
However, how could the onlookers dare to solo the scumbags who appeared out of nowhere and "communicated intimately" with someone on the ground? His only savior, Miyazawa Yuu, seemed angry about his earlier attitude. The way he calmly waved goodbye made it look like he didn't just want to "increase the intensity"!
"MMPH!!!!"
Two lines of tears slid from the corners of his eyes. Staring fixedly at Yuu's back, Kitahara Iori finally experienced the truth that in all things, one can only rely on oneself. After resting for two seconds, an unquenchable fire of battle rose in his eyes—
He didn't know why, but Chisa had just agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend. How could he fall at a time like this!
"MMPH! (BREAK!)"
"Oh? You've got some strength, Iori! But..."
His frame only swayed slightly. Facing Iori's "flopping fish" struggles, Yamamoto Shinichirou turned his head, his eyes filled with the sorrow of a jealous heart!
"Have you had enough! You're not the only one here with willpower!"
Okay! I'm probably finished~
His final struggle having failed, facing the completely "blackened" scumbags, Iori knew he was outmatched. The highlights in his eyes vanished instantly. His limbs went limp; tears on his cheeks were his final act of defiance...
There could be no more turning points. It seemed his path ended here. Honestly, dying at the hands of the scumbags was a very fitting end for him.
"Wait! You can't take Iori away!"
"B-But Miss Chisa! We cannot grant that request!"
"Exactly! A pest like Iori must be eliminated immediately, otherwise it wouldn't be good if he defiled a 'Flower on a High Peak' like you!"
"Then... he's still useful right now!"
Without a word, Chisa pulled Iori down and shielded him behind her. Frowning with her cold expression, she faced the three scumbags alone, forced to use a stalling tactic.
"At least, right now, I need his help to buy a couple's ticket."
"Eh? If that's the case, I can assist you, Miss Chisa!"
"Me too!!!"
"Please, stop it..."
The firepower was instantly diverted to her. Struggling to deal with the volunteering scumbags while maintaining the remnants of her "cold beauty" persona, Chisa reached behind her back and peeled off the tape from Iori's mouth.
Looking at Chisa's grand back with emotion, Kitahara Iori regained his speech and immediately shifted the trouble elsewhere: "Wait! Have you guys forgotten something?!"
"Forgotten something?"
Having almost started fighting over who would be Chisa's fake boyfriend, the Scumbag Trio's CPUs spun empty for two seconds before their eyes widened—
Right! They were so busy dealing with Iori that they almost forgot they had traveled thousands of miles for Kohei, who had supposedly gotten a girlfriend. How close; they almost threw away the main course for the appetizer!
"Iori, stay right here. We'll be right back!"
In an instant, they turned into afterimages and vanished into the crowd. Waiting until they were completely gone, Miyazawa Yuu walked over to Iori, added two more kicks, and asked: "So? From what they said, you called them here?"
"Regarding that... it's a long story..."
"Basically, you saw Kohei was about to succeed and got anxious, right?"
Crouching down and pulling out a utility knife from his bag, Yuu waved it around. His gaze was full of disdain. "You... you really are despicable to a certain degree~"
"I am guilty!"
In a few strokes, the tape around Iori's hands was cut. He hurried to loosen the ropes on his legs, finally regaining the basic combat power to counter the scumbags.
However, by himself, losing to three blackened scumbags was a given. His heart was full of regret; he never expected that his plan to call people to "hunt" Kohei would end up taking him down as well. He needed a powerful ally to counter the scumbag army!
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, having witnessed the entirety of Iori's suffering with a dropped jaw, Imamura Kohei wanted to celebrate with drums and gongs at the death of the bastard who had summoned these demons!
But there was no time to laugh at Iori's self-inflicted wounds. The scumbags were tracking him; it was only a matter of time before he was found!
"Kohei, what do we do? Should we just run?"
Clutching Kohei's arm nervously, Yoshiwara Aina's first instinct was to bolt. If they were caught, Kohei would definitely pay for it.
"No!"
Crouching low and staying alert, as a fellow scumbag, Kohei knew how strong their "scumbag radar" was. If they exposed themselves, they'd be intercepted before they even started.
Biting his nails in distress, he looked down and saw the small bag Aina was carrying—it was the same one she used for makeup!
"Aina! Did you bring your makeup?!"
"Um, yeah. I mean, we're going in the water, so I thought I'd need to touch it up afterward..."
"Great! Listen to me..."
His eyes lit up. Kohei pressed Aina's shoulders and leaned in to whisper. Feeling the hot breath against her ear, Aina blushed and instinctively closed her eyes, nodding in agreement to whatever he said.
...
"Found them?"
"No!"
"Where is that kid hiding?"
Three minutes later, the hunting trio met up. They had narrowed the search to a visible range; Kohei was definitely among the remaining people!
"Found him!"
Just as expected, with a single scan, a stroke of intuition hit! Following his gut, Fujiwara Kenta whipped his head around. Two strands of proud blonde hair were being brandished in the crowd. Who else could it be but Kohei, wearing a shirt with a Lalako pattern on the back!
"Got him!"
"Kohei, pay with your life!"
"DIE!"
Vanishing from their spots, they reappeared behind and to the side of Kohei—three directions in total. The Scumbag Group used their life's ultimate arts without mercy! Not only did he go abroad to have fun, but he actually found a blonde foreign girlfriend? Hagi-Ko, you traitor to the organization, your death is well-deserved!
"Hmm? Yamamoto? Why are you guys here?"
Turning around with a very innocent look, Imamura Kohei put his arm around Aina's shoulder and introduced her to the attacking scumbags in a very friendly manner: "This is my girlfriend. You guys should get to know each other!"
"Ha? You know begging is useless so you've switched to bragging? That's an extra crime!"
"Um..."
Red lips parted slightly, tears still in the corners of her eyes. Under the gaze of the Scumbag Group—which shifted from resentment to pure terror—a face that could give someone nightmares for an entire night appeared before them!
"Please take care of me?"
SCREEECH!!!
An emergency brake. They stood in silence for a few more seconds, confirming that Kohei's hand really was on this woman's shoulder. Nojima Moto took a deep breath, dropped his ugly expression, and stepped forward with tears in his eyes, gently patting Kohei's shoulder.
"I'm sorry. We were wrong! You're truly starving, Kohei..."
"Sob... we shouldn't have turned our blades on you. It's all Iori's fault. That bastard dared to frame you; it's too much!"
"Let's kill him and apologize to Kohei!"
With tears in their eyes, they knew exactly who to blame. The bastard Iori had actually reported false intelligence; it was an unforgivable sin!
...
Clap, clap!
"So you solved it that way?"
Queuing up while watching Iori get slapped repeatedly with a face full of question marks, Miyazawa Yuu felt for the first time that Aina's "Makeup Monster" form was actually quite useful!
"You guys are something else~"
"This is called wisdom!"