"Uh… what's with those faces?"
Kohei asked in confusion as he walked in after stabilizing his emotions outside, only to be greeted by seven people sitting there in silence.
He actually saw a grave expression on the faces of these idiots. The last time they'd looked like this was when the shop had run out of alcohol.
Did they drink that fast?!
He clearly remembered that they had just finished restocking not long ago. Had he lost his memory or something?!
When they saw Kohei walk in, their expressions grew even heavier.
From asking around just now, they already knew why Kohei had been standing outside without coming in.
And because of that… they became even more afraid to tell him the news.
Judging from Ikegoshi's invitation, the "big surprise" Yurika had mentioned was probably not what Kohei was expecting.
They exchanged glances with one another, but no one could think of a tactful way to break the news to him.
"Imamura-kun…"
The naturally airheaded Chisa opened her mouth, intending to tell Kohei directly.
But when the words reached her lips and she saw Kohei's clear, innocent gaze, she just couldn't say it.
Even she felt that this news was far too cruel for Imamura-kun.
"Hm?"
Kohei looked at Chisa with his clear yet foolish eyes, his small eyes filled with big confusion, not understanding why Kotegawa stopped halfway through her sentence.
Was she feeling unwell?
Under Kohei's gaze, Chisa found it even harder to speak. In the end, she simply gave up and pushed Iori forward.
Sure enough, this kind of villain role should be left to Iori!
After all, the two of them were close—maybe it would be better for Kohei to hear this from his good buddy.
Iori: (;´＿｀)
This woman really had no good intentions!
"What's going on? Why do you all seem so weird?"
Seeing how unusual everyone was acting, even Kohei realized something was off.
His eyes instantly became alert, his gaze darting back and forth between Iori and Kamishiro.
If someone was going to harm him, it would definitely be these two!
Kamishiro, Iori: (???)
So coldhearted!
This was way too heartbreaking!
The two of them were trying their absolute best to think of a subtle way to tell their good friend the news.
And yet, their good friend was actually suspecting them of plotting against him!
Unforgivable!
After their fragile, tender hearts were wounded, the two exchanged a glance and both saw the same word in each other's eyes: "disappointment."
In that case, they'd just tell him straight up and hope he could handle it.
Just to be clear—this was absolutely because Kohei disappointed them first. It wasn't because they'd given up on finding a gentler way and decided to let Kohei fend for himself~.
"Here. See for yourself."
"Keep it down a bit—Nanaka nee just mopped the floor."
Kamishiro directly handed the phone to Kohei.
If he were the one to tell Kohei, and Kohei went berserk, Kamishiro might get dragged into it too.
But handing over the phone was different. If Kohei really lost it, the only thing that would get hurt would be the phone.
Yep—idiot Kitahara's phone~
At this moment, Kitahara was completely unaware of Kamishiro's little scheme. He was holding Chisa's camera, ready to capture Kohei's moment of despair.
Kohei accepted the phone with a wary expression. Only after confirming it was safe did he start looking at its contents.
He wanted to see what exactly had made everyone so secretive.
And then—
Smack!
"My phone!"
Just as Kamishiro expected, Kitahara's idiot phone still met its doom.
The stunned Kohei no longer had the strength to hold onto it, letting it slip from his grasp.
Kitahara perfectly captured his "crash landing"!
Luckily, because it didn't fall from too high up, the phone survived—only one corner cracked a bit.
Compared to Kohei's heart, which had already shattered into pieces, this was nothing!
"PFFFT—!!!"
Having fully processed the news, Kohei performed an aerial spinning maneuver powered by the blood he spat out of his mouth!
Everyone who saw this immediately lost their composure and rushed over to Kohei.
Looking at the vivid red stain on the floor, Kamishiro sighed.
"As expected, the senpai really were worried about the floor getting dirty."
Iori: "Looks like Nanaka san might have to work a bit harder later."
Kamishiro: "Why not let Kohei clean it up after he wakes up?"
Iori: "Great idea. As expected of you, scumbag."
Senpai: "..."
Please, just be human beings already! They were genuinely worried about Kohei just now—they really weren't thinking about the floor!
But now… maybe because those two mentioned it too many times, the floor suddenly seemed to have a strange kind of beauty to it.
A masterpiece!
'The Despair of an Otaku' is born!
"Um… shouldn't we be giving him first aid or something…?"
Seeing Kohei twitching occasionally and still coughing up blood, Aina said weakly.
Were they here to witness the death of an otaku?!
If they didn't act soon, he was really going to die!
!!!
At Aina's reminder, the two senpai finally snapped out of it. They tore their eyes away from the floor and sprang into action.
Tokita: "Kotobuki! Get the first-aid kit, quick!"
Kotobuki: "Got it!"
There was no time to waste. Kotobuki rushed outside and soon returned carrying a first-aid kit.
What followed was a series of rescue procedures that Kamishiro and the others couldn't understand at all.
Ten minutes later.
Seeing the heart rate on the monitor gradually stabilize, the two senpai let out a sigh of relief.
"He's finally been saved."
"Didn't expect those first-aid skills we learned to come in handy here!"
Looking at the now-stabilized Kohei, Kamishiro gave the senpai a thumbs-up.
In a way, the two of them really were all-rounders.
At the very least, Kamishiro himself couldn't modify a lie detector or perform technical rescue procedures.
With Kohei's earlier condition, the most Kamishiro could've done was stuff a towel in his mouth and wait for the ambulance.
(Don't try this! Risk of suffocation!)
On the sofa, looking at Kohei's miserable state, Azusa sighed.
"Even though I really want to go see it… we still have to consider Kohei's feelings.
This time, maybe we should—"
"No. We're going!"
Before Azusa could finish, she was interrupted by a booming voice.
Kamishiro focused his eyes and saw Kohei, now standing up with burning passion.
"..."
Watching Kohei suddenly revive at full HP, Kamishiro fell silent. Sometimes he really felt like calling a biological research institute.
Kohei's condition probably no longer fell within the category of 'human.'
"It should be fine to go, right? I mean, Kohei, you're not that obsessed with Yurika, are you?"
Before meeting Ikegoshi, Kamishiro had never really heard Kohei talk about Yurika—he was always going on about Rarako, Maya sama, and the like.
Did this guy's eyes even have room for other voice actresses?
"No! I've always been a fan of Yurika!"
Kohei excitedly cut Kamishiro off, then like magic pulled out a Yurika autograph from behind his butt!
"I even have her autograph!!!"
From the moment Yurika voiced a magical girl, he had already become her loyal fan.
"..."
Even though he didn't really want to crush Kohei's spirit, for the sake of helping him face reality, Kamishiro still said,
"That autograph was given to you by Ikegoshi…"
Crack crack!
The moment Kamishiro finished speaking, he heard joints popping.
With that reminder, the memory Kohei's subconscious had been deliberately ignoring was awakened.
His eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead and the backs of his hands.
And yet, miraculously, Yurika's autograph remained completely intact.
You had to know—this guy could crush beer bottles barehanded when enraged!
And now he could control his strength so precisely?!
Terrifying!
As expected, this guy really wasn't human anymore, was he?!
What Kamishiro didn't know was that Kohei was far more conflicted than he appeared.
On one hand, he felt the autograph was innocent.
On the other hand, it felt like a mocking symbol of that bastard Ikegoshi's victory!!!
Damn it!!!
In the end, Kohei still couldn't bring himself to damage Yurika's autograph—maybe because it was addressed "To Imamura Kohei."
He felt that this autograph was special!
"That's exactly why I have to go! This time, I'll personally ask Yurika sama for another autograph!
No!
This time, I want a signed photo!!!"
Kohei roared with bloodshot eyes. This time, he was going one step further!
"Good luck…"
Faced with this completely unhinged Kohei, Kamishiro didn't know what else to say.
He could only encourage him with a look of pity.
Someone else had already walked hand in hand with Yurika into the hall of marriage—
And you, Imamura Kohei, are still dreaming about getting a signed photo…
How pathetic.
Even if she's wearing a wedding dress and taking photos with you, the groom still wouldn't be you.
Thinking this, Kamishiro looked at Kohei with even greater pity.
Of course, Kamishiro didn't say any of that out loud.
After all, Kohei hadn't truly left the realm of humanity yet.
He'd already lost so much blood earlier—if Kamishiro stabbed him in the heart with words like that now, Kohei probably wouldn't even make it to the wedding venue.
And that was just Yukari… Kamishiro didn't even dare imagine what would happen once Kohei found out about Maya.
When Kohei shook hands with Maya, it was like a pilgrimage—while he himself… was hugging her and "outputting"?
{{(°△°;")}}!
Just thinking about it, Kamishiro felt a huge "DANGER" sign flashing above his head.
He couldn't keep thinking about this. If he did, he might seriously start considering ways to assassinate Kohei.
Strike first!
Kamishiro hurriedly turned his head away. He needed to think about something else to distract himself.
Then he saw Iori cradling his phone like it was precious.
Kamishiro froze for a moment, quickly pulled out his own phone, and carefully checked all of his social media apps.
He was confirming something!
One minute later…
After finishing his check, Kamishiro looked at Iori with a resentful expression—so resentful he looked like an abandoned young wife.
Being stared at like that made Iori uneasy. He hid his phone behind his back and said,
"Why are you looking at me like that…?"
Kamishiro didn't answer. He just kept staring at Iori and muttering,
"I was first. I was closer. So why… why didn't you send it to me?"
Iori: ??!
Sensing something was seriously wrong, Iori backed away frantically. Why did this guy look like he was about to go dark?!
"I'm guessing… it's probably because of Ikegoshi,"
Azusa said from the side, sipping her beer.
She felt a bit embarrassed inside—Kamishiro's possessiveness was really strong. He even got jealous over this.
"Ikegoshi?!"
Iori was confused. What did this have to do with Ikegoshi?
Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, Azusa didn't keep them in suspense and explained directly.
"When you guys went abroad before, wasn't Kamishiro closer to Ikegoshi?
And then when you went bug-hunting after coming back, it also seemed like Kamishiro and Ikegoshi were closer, right?
So… Kamishiro's probably jealous that such a big thing like Ikegoshi's wedding was told to you instead of him."
Hearing this, everyone suddenly remembered—it was true. Kamishiro had been closer to Ikegoshi before, so why was Iori the one notified?
"..."
At that moment, Iori seemed to recall something and started fiddling with his phone.
He then pulled up his LINE chat history with Ikegoshi.
Ikegoshi: Kitahara-kun, about my wedding with Yukari—could you tell Kamishiro-kun last, or maybe don't tell him at all and just bring him along directly?
Kitahara: Ikegoshi, are you planning some kind of surprise?
Back when he first saw this message, Iori had thought it was strange. Even if there was a surprise, it shouldn't have been for Kohei, right?
After all, a big part of Ikegoshi's successful career change was thanks to Kohei.
Iori had even thought Kohei could debut as an idol himself.
Ikegoshi: No, it's just that… please! If Kamishiro-kun finds out beforehand, my wedding with Yukari might not happen!
Kitahara: ???
"Well, that's what he said at the time."
If it weren't for Azusa's reminder just now, Iori would've almost forgotten about this.
He'd been too busy worrying about whether the floor would get dirty after Kohei found out.
"..."
Everyone fell silent, looking at Kamishiro, who was trapped in his own mental world, with strange expressions.
So… just what exactly had this guy done to make Ikegoshi so terrified?!
Ikegoshi was a good man—after all that, he still dared to bring Kamishiro to his wedding.
For a moment, everyone was quiet.
Then—
"Well, in that case, we…"
"Go to the wedding?"
Smiles appeared on everyone's faces. Since Ikegoshi had said so, and Kohei didn't seem to have an issue anymore—
Then—
Target: Tokyo!!!