Everything was ready!
The food review segment officially began!
An assortment of exquisite, though unappetizing (in Kamishiro's opinion), seafood dishes were brought out.
First up was a globally banned shellfish—giant clam!
"Look, it's giant clam!"
Aina Takahashi gave a very fitting surprised expression and explained the clam's status to the audience.
Though international trade is banned, in Palau, it's still a must-try local delicacy.
She picked up a piece and took a bite. Feeling its tenderness, her face showed genuine bliss.
"Such a big piece, and the flavor is surprisingly delicate, Ikegoshi san!"
"Mm."
Kohei nodded. According to the script, "Ikegoshi san" was supposed to give some commentary.
However, considering the personas of the cast, the crew hadn't scripted any specific lines—everything was to be improvised.
And then…
"The shellfish flavor is… yeah."
"..."
"..."
The scene fell into awkward silence. That was it?
Everyone stared at Kohei, hoping for a bit more description, but all they got was the sound of unhurried chewing.
"Should we cut here?" Kamishiro asked the cameraman.
Though he was now the director, he figured he should still ask his senior.
"Uh…"
The cameraman was also sweating. "Let's wait a bit. Maybe this is just his character. Let's see the next dish."
"..."
Kamishiro glanced at him suspiciously. Why did this guy seem so unreliable?
If they were trying to stick to character, then this persona wasn't exactly consistent.
Still, since he was the senior, Kamishiro nodded and signaled for the next dish to be brought out.
"Wow! That's mangrove crab—super rare~!"
Aina Takahashi continued to perform steadily. "That slight bitterness is totally addictive."
"Mm. Bitter."
"And this taro—what a flavor…"
"Mm. Taro."
"CUT!!!"
Finally, Kamishiro couldn't take it anymore and invoked his director's authority.
This wasn't going to work!
With Kohei's level of social anxiety, forget changing the character of "Ikegoshi san"—even filming normally was a challenge!
A decision had to be made!
Kamishiro looked Kohei up and down and declared seriously, "Take off your clothes, Kohei!"
"Eh?!"
Everyone stared at Kamishiro in confusion. The original director had strictly forbidden any shirtless scenes!
However, this suggestion did make the cameraman's eyes light up. He'd been dying to film something spicy!
Noticing their puzzled looks, Kamishiro explained:
"If we can't change Kohei's dialogue, then we need to double down on his character! We can't give up on both fronts!"
"Besides, this is the seaside—we're in swimsuits, that's totally normal!"
"Uh..."
Chisa and Aina were visibly shaken, but...
"Are you sure this kind of show can actually be aired?"
Aina pointed toward Kohei, her eyes full of despair.
Huh?
Kamishiro turned his head in confusion—and saw Kohei sitting completely naked on a chair.
Well, not completely naked. He still had a napkin tied around his neck...
"…Who told you to strip all the way down?!"
Kamishiro angrily threw a pair of pants into Kohei's face. Even he knew there was no way this could be aired on TV!
…
After Kohei put on pants, the atmosphere became a lot more harmonious. But... something still felt off.
Kamishiro turned his gaze to Aina Takahashi, who was sitting beside Kohei.
Since her partner had chosen to wear a swimsuit...
{{(°△°; "}}!
Sensing Kamishiro's gaze, Aina Takahashi had a very bad feeling...
A few minutes later
Kamishiro looked at the swimsuit duo with satisfaction. Now this felt more like local flavor~
Chisa and Aina, watching from the sidelines, twitched at the corners of their mouths. Suddenly, they realized the importance of having the right director.
See? Once the director changed, the amount of fabric on the performers noticeably decreased.
Also... maybe it was just their imagination, but the cameraman seemed kind of... excited?
At that moment, they found themselves missing the previous director deeply. What kind of expression would he have if he came back and saw this footage...?
As for Aina Takahashi, she had no complaints. After all, she was a professional model.
She had done bikini shoots before, and compared to those, this swimsuit was way more modest. Plus, they were only filming from the waist up. Totally fine.
What wasn't fine, though, was her partner.
She had never heard that Ikegoshi had such poor communication skills!
She was genuinely curious—what kind of door did he walk through that made him change so much?
If she wanted to wrap up this shoot and go have fun, she needed to do something about it!
At that moment, the next dish was served.
Wrasse!
This time, Aina Takahashi took a different approach. Instead of commenting, she turned to Kohei and asked,
"Ikegoshi san, since you love the ocean, I bet you know a lot about marine life, right?"
She remembered what her manager said before the shoot: Ikegoshi was trying to build a "diver persona."
Although... that persona seemed a little off now. But surely he still knew something, right?
Aina Takahashi refused to believe that some related knowledge could still lead to awkward silence.
But reality is never that kind.
Kohei had indeed learned a lot after joining PAB. He had seen many marine creatures with his own eyes.
As for his commentary...
"After seeing one in real life, I realized giant clams are just too big. Can't even look straight at them."
"Mangrove crabs? You can get those in Japan too."
"Wrasse... are so ugly, not even 'so-ugly-it's-cute' can save them."
"…"
A series of remarks left Aina Takahashi completely speechless. She had wanted to jump in with something, but Kohei gave her no opening at all!
(*?????)
Wasn't he just here to roast everything?
Even director Kamishiro's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He knew everything Kohei said was technically true.
The problem was!
Did he have to only talk about the negatives?!
"So uh... do you think the production team would be okay with giving him a 'blunt-tongued' persona? I think it actually makes for pretty good TV."
Kamishiro looked over at the cameraman. From a showbiz angle, it was arguably more entertaining than the original plan.
The cameraman fell silent. He glanced uncertainly at the script—conflict is definitely more watchable than nonstop praise.
But then—
"You sure? I thought our main purpose here was to promote the new shop…?"
(?⊿?)?
Holy crap!
The cameraman's words hit Kamishiro like a bolt of lightning. He suddenly remembered—the shop! The big one!
He was even working for that shop!
This was supposed to be a promo video for Palau!
Thinking back on the footage they'd filmed so far… was this really a promo video?
Are we sure this isn't a comedy sketch?!
"This can't go on any longer!"
Even Aina couldn't bear to watch. At this rate, the entire promo was going to be ruined!
As another dish was brought out, she quietly took her sketchbook and circled to a camera blind spot—but still within Kohei's view.
This time's dish: Lobster.
Aina Takahashi, having given up all hope, returned to her cheerful mode:
"Ooh, lobster this time! A whole one—it's so extravagant!"
"Ah. It's shrimp."
"Fresh off the grill—it smells amazing, makes me so hungry!"
"Grilled shrimp flavor."
"…"
Director Kamishiro was already tired. Just as he was about to yell "Cut!" and take a break—
Kohei suddenly began talking non-stop:
"Vibrant color, perfect balance... just like a magical girl... pure... war."
???
Kamishiro stared blankly at Kohei.
What… how is he suddenly talking so much?!
But also—why the magical girl metaphor?
Lobster magical girl?
Kamishiro glanced around. He didn't believe Kohei changed on his own.
Sure enough—
Not far off, Aina was holding up a whiteboard. Written on it was the secret to activating Kohei:
"Use anime metaphors!"
Wait, that works?!
Kamishiro was stunned and gave Aina a very approving look.
But—this alone wouldn't do. That kind of commentary had too narrow an audience. Most viewers of this show weren't otaku.
Aina had clearly considered this too. She flipped to the next page:
"Use voice actors as metaphors!"
"A whole lobster, cooked using traditional methods… just like Maya-sama… live concert performance..."
Perfect!
This is the vibe!
Even Aina Takahashi was dumbfounded by Kohei's sudden change. She didn't understand it, but she was thoroughly impressed.
To help Kohei remember this vibe, Aina quickly flipped to the next cue card:
"Switch to a normal comment!"
"Tastes like shrimp."
"..."
Perfect!
Classic Kohei!
So hopeless it's seamless—there wasn't even a moment's hesitation to ruin it.
"This won't work. Let's take a break."
Kamishiro rubbed his temples. Even though it failed, it wasn't totally fruitless.
Thanks to Aina's cues, he now knew how to guide Kohei!
But he needed to discuss it with the others first.
"Um... actually, we do have another method."
Just as Kamishiro was about to call "cut," the cameraman remembered something the original producer had prepared: their secret weapon.
Everyone knows Japanese shows love to prank their guests—and their producer was no different.
He'd specially prepared a surprise!
"Oh? Let's hear it!"
Kamishiro's eyes lit up. A chance to prank someone legitimately? No way he'd pass that up!
"Here's the thing…"
The cameraman leaned in and whispered their plan into Kamishiro's ear.
Slowly, Kamishiro's expression went from excited… to flat… to speechless.
"So… it's just bat soup and strong liquor?"
"Yup! The producer called it 'gourmet horror'—his special surprise!"
"..."
Gotta admit—Japanese TV is really into weird stuff. They even brought out bats. What about viruses?
Kamishiro was super resistant to the idea—and for good reason…
Also—
If it were a normal person, this prank might work. But if the target is Kohei…
That stuff is basically a gift.
That guy isn't the type to care about taste or appearance at all.
As for hard liquor?
Check out Pab~
"Forget it, forget it. Why don't you let Mr. In-Charge save this surprise for the next victim? Let's just use my method instead."
"You have a plan?"
Chisa and Aina looked over at her with curiosity gleaming in their eyes.
"Of course. No one knows Kohei better than I do!"
Kamishiro smirked crookedly, not mentioning at all that his idea was inspired by Aina.
As he spoke, he took out his phone and prepared to call Shiori.
However, just then, a long-lost voice suddenly reappeared.
"Why don't you let me handle this? When it comes to understanding him, I know Kohei a little better."
"Oh?"
That sentence successfully made Kamishiro pause, looking playfully at the suddenly appearing Iori.
"You think you understand Kohei better than I do?"
"Of course!"
A firm and immediate answer!
The two stared at each other, both with confident smiles, flames of rivalry blazing behind them.
Chisa and Aina looked at them speechlessly. When they really needed a plan earlier, neither of them had one. Now that the food is almost gone, suddenly both have ideas? These two must've planned this!
"How about you both just tell us your ideas? Whoever has the better plan is the one who understands Kohei best!"
"To be fair, you should both say it at the same time."
They both suggested, worried the food might really be gone if they delayed any longer.
"No problem."
"Don't you dare try to cheat, you jerk."
Kamishiro and Iori grinned menacingly in agreement. It was obvious they were both very confident in their plans.
3
2
1!!
"Use the earpiece and Maya's voice to guide Kohei!"
"Use the earpiece and Shiori's voice to guide Kohei!"
"..."
As the two spoke at the same time, silence fell over the room.
These two really do know Kohei best…
Their plans were practically identical.
There was no need to think — the idea would definitely work. It's just...
"Hah?! You bastard!"
"You stole my idea!"
Kamishiro and Iori faced off, neither willing to back down.
"What do you mean 'your idea'? And you wanted to use Maya's voice? Do you even have her contact info?"
Kamishiro mocked, full of disdain. If Iori had said Koyuki, maybe he wouldn't have had anything to say — but Maya?
Ha. Ridiculous!
"Kohei~"
Just as Kamishiro thought he had it in the bag, Maya's voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Huh?!"
His expression froze in disbelief as he looked at Iori's phone.
Displayed was a software app.
A voice pack from popular voice actress Mizuki Kaya!
"Heh, I knew this kind of situation would come up."
Iori's eyes sparkled with smugness. No one knew Kohei better than he did. Even if the voice lacked emotion, it would still be enough to fool Kohei a little!
"Damn it…"
Kamishiro gritted his teeth. This bastard really pulled it off.
However—
He suddenly thought of something. Based on what he knew of Kitahara, there was no way this guy came just to help out.
In that case…
Kamishiro's smirk returned. "If you know him that well, did you account for my presence?"
Huh?
The two girls looked confused. Wasn't the problem already solved? Why bring up Kamishiro's role?
They didn't understand — but Iori did.
Despite Kamishiro's words, Iori's expression didn't change. He looked just as condescending as ever.
But in his hand, as if performing a magic trick, appeared a slip of paper.
Kamishiro took it and read it.
"I voluntarily agree to give one-third of my earnings from this job to Kamishiro!"
Smack!
After reading the note, Kamishiro gripped Iori's hand with emotion.
A true brother!
He had to admit it — the man in front of him was the one who truly understood Kohei best!
It was settled!
They exchanged a glance, and evil grins crept across their faces.
Ehehehehe~
Chisa watched this and suddenly felt emotionally drained.
Director Kamishiro, starring Imamura, and Iori as the scheming tactician…
Just let this show burn. It's beyond saving!