"You guys really have high tolerances! Let's do this again back in Japan!"
"No problem at all~ Have a safe trip, and we hope to see you again soon."
As was custom after every successful dive, the celebration ended at the door. As the staff of Dolphin saw off the last of the guests, they smiled and declared the day's work officially over!
"Ah~ I'm so beat, but I've finally started getting used to the pace these last few days!"
Stretching her aching lower back, Yoshiwara Aina squinted her eyes and slumped happily onto an uncleared table, looking as lazy as a housecat.
Smiling as she cleared plates nearby, Kujo Maki did a quick mental calculation. Including the time they got off the plane, Aina and the other temporary staff had only been at Dolphin for about ten days.
To transition from divers to professional servers in such a short time—even with their prior experience—showed they were naturals at this!
"Exactly! Everyone's getting the hang of it, and the customers seem to really like you, Aina!"
"Was it okay drinking that much with them, though?"
"Mm-hmm! Totally fine. That amount is nothing~"
With her cheek pressed against the table, Aina's sluggish eyes held only a craving for rest; being drunk was out of the question.
The tables back at the PaB club were ten times more intense than today's party. Mere beer hadn't been able to breach the defenses of her stomach for a long time; it would take at least a round of "Spirytus" to make her flinch.
"Eh? That's impressive. Providing top-tier service and being able to keep up with the drinking... I feel like my position is being threatened!"
"Not at all! We still have so much to learn from you, Miss Floor Manager!"
"Just kidding, just kidding~"
The manager, who enjoyed teasing Aina, cupped her hands and shouted toward the guys who were still in a drinking contest: "Sorry, can we pause for a second? Please handle the stove and the oxygen tanks!"
"On it!"
The first round wasn't even over yet. Having just switched from beer to "water of life," Miyazawa Yuu looked up to respond, then smirked and clicked his tongue at the two indignant idiots across from him.
"Tch, I'll give you two a way out. Want to race to see who finishes their chores first?"
"Ha! Now that's what I like to hear. Whoever's slowest has to work with their trunks on backward for the next few days!"
Wiping residual alcohol from his lip, Kitahara Iori accepted the challenge without hesitation. He laid the dead-drunk Mr. John down first, then bolted out the door toward the BBQ grills!
However, when it came to speed...
Whosh!
A gust of wind pressure swept past. Yoshiwara Aina clutched her oversized jacket to keep it from blowing up, her expression becoming utterly speechless and helpless. "Those guys... do they really have to turn every little thing into a competition?"
"They sure are energetic! Normally, part-timers working seven days without a break would look like corpses by now."
"Well~ they are college students, after all. And they're paired up! They get extra energetic in front of girls, right?"
Looking at the manager with great interest, Kujo Maki gave a wicked grin, making an "OK" sign with one hand while extending the index finger of the other through the loop.
Though she didn't take it further, the manager sighed and looked away, refusing to deal with a college student whose head was full of "yellow" trash.
"Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about~"
"Eh? But compared to Yuu and Nanaka, I'm way more curious about how those other two are progressing. It's gotta be super spicy!"
This time, Maki used both index fingers, tapping them together repeatedly. Her expression was one of pure indulgence, like she was shipping something incredibly juicy.
Watching innocently, Yoshiwara Aina had no idea what the manager and Maki-san were talking about.
But since she was right here, and Yuu and Nanaka were already excluded, the only "couple" left that could get Maki this excited was...
The image of Iori and Kohei flashed through Aina's mind. She quickly waved away the absurd thought. That's impossible! Kohei is mine...
"And also, if guys don't 'do that' for more than two weeks, they'll die, you know—"
Her fingers continued to poke each other. Kujo Maki leaned into the manager's chest, hinting wildly: "They sleep in the same room, right? If they can't even take care of business at night..."
"Yes, yes, their crotches will split open and they'll die. I get it~"
Having no choice, the manager played along with Maki's delusions just to earn the right to hop on her electric scooter and go home.
"See you tomorrow, Maki!"
"Yeah, bye-bye!"
Waving the manager off, Kujo Maki, satisfied with her gossip, turned to go back inside to grab her bag.
But her pleasant smile froze instantly. Less than five centimeters away, Aina's face—wearing an expression of serious horror—was practically glued to her back. Maki almost had a heart attack!
"Um... Aina? What's wrong?"
"The 'crotch splitting' thing... and the business with Kohei and Iori... please tell me everything!"
"Well, it's nothing much. It's just, a few days ago when I went to wake you guys up for work..."
Pulling up a photo she'd taken a few days ago, Kujo Maki sent it to Aina with an apologetic, embarrassed scratch of her head. "I saw a very... explosive scene."
"..."
Staring wide-eyed at the tied-up Kohei and the blissfully sleeping Iori, Aina's pupils shrank. Her lips began to tremble uncontrollably.
Sure enough, back at PaB, Kohei, Iori, and even Yuu often slept together, sometimes under one blanket, but this situation was clearly different!
And why are they doing 'play' now? Suddenly I feel like there's a green forest growing on my head!
"Um, and the... the 'exploding' part..."
"Ah~ yeah. If a guy goes too long without 'doing that,' his 'G-G' will get no satisfaction and then... BOOM!!!"
Suddenly raising her volume, Maki saw Aina's face turn red and her expression become the pinnacle of purity. She immediately felt the urge to "corrupt" her now before the chance vanished!
And she did exactly that. Her suddenly splayed palms startled Aina, vividly illustrating the impact of the explosion!
"Ugh..."
Her head spinning, Aina's eyes turned into swirls. Instinctively, she wanted to argue against such an absurd theory.
But even after searching her brain for ages, she couldn't find a single piece of information regarding whether a male's "important part" could actually explode.
And since girls have periods, isn't it only fair that boys explode?
"So that's how it is. If there's nothing else, I'm heading out. Bye-bye, Aina~"
"Wait..."
"Jana!"
She teased her and ran—the classic move of a heartbreaker.
Kujo Maki didn't care about Aina's desperate pleas. If she stayed any longer, she'd blow her cover! The little dummy Aina who knew nothing was the cutest Aina!
"Uuuu..."
Left without a teacher, Aina let out a whimper and steeled herself to figure it out on her own. So, who is the person most similar to Kohei and Iori...
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
Lugging an oxygen tank and a handcart, Miyazawa Yuu slowly passed by the doorway, walking right into Aina's line of sight!
"Yuu!!!!!"
"Hmm? What is it, Aina? Need help?"
"Yes yes yes yes!"
Nodding frantically, Aina used her small head like a diesel engine!
Seeing this, despite his wager, Yuu sighed and set the tank down. Bracing for the pressure of wearing his underwear backward, he grandly declared he would be an open book!
"Um... Yuu. Listen to me. Don't you guys really like 'those' kinds of books? Why is that?"
"Eh? Is Aina getting a gift for Kohei? What a good girl..."
Tilting his head in thought for two seconds, Yuu looked at Aina's beet-red face and had a lightbulb moment. In seconds, he had come up with a perfect excuse for her!
"Yes! Exactly... it's a gift!"
She had been prepared to be asked why she was interested in 'erotica,' and with a graceful exit offered, Aina took it without hesitation.
Secretly gloating, she felt lucky that Yuu was such a "good person," completely unaware of the massive hole she was digging for herself!
"..."
Squinting as he schemed, Yuu figured Aina wanted to give Kohei an appropriate gift but felt the "H" stuff was too embarrassing to present.
Kohei is a wicked man, making this poor girl struggle so much...
But being horny isn't a crime! He would be the one to give Aina courage!
"Mm-hmm, I understand. Aina, let me tell you, if a guy doesn't have that kind of stuff..."
Solemnly lowering his voice and closing his eyes as if he'd suddenly aged a hundred years, Yuu delivered a deeply exaggerated lie: "He'll explode down there and die!"
"I knew it!!!"