"Click!"
The sound of high heels on the acrylic board was clear and crisp. From the moment the skirt started to flutter, Iori Kitahara finally understood the purpose of a comedy role.
Compared to the previous Makeup Corpse Beast, Chisa, in her long dress, looked like a goddess!
But...
"Yu, why do I feel like Chisa is in a bad mood?"
"Well~ there are a lot of reasons..."
Miyazawa Yu pinched his chin and turned his head away guiltily. To please Nanaka-san, he had carried Chisa back after she ran away three times. It looked an awful lot like he had sold out his teammate for his own benefit.
"Stare—"
On stage, Chisa Kotegawa's gaze moved a few times before it fixed on the group of naked men in the audience.
No! More accurately, it was fixed on Miyazawa Yu, who was being held by a strange woman (Iori).
Not only did Yu sell her out, but he was now trying to pick up a female middle schooler (Iori) behind her sister's back. This was unforgivable!
She glared at him!
The contemptuous stare continued. A dark aura also began to emanate from Chisa, making the host approach her very cautiously.
"Um... contestant?"
"Hmph!"
Chisa Kotegawa stood ramrod straight and kept a stern expression as she faced the camera, as if someone had stolen her free three-day Hawaii diving trip voucher.
"Hmm... she's cute, for sure."
"But her expression is so stiff. Yu, did you do something bad?"
"If you had helped us catch her, then no, but now I did!"
It was useless to complain that the seniors didn't help him. At least half of Chisa's current anger was directed at him. For the sake of the prize money, which was more than the "phallus" and "hard root" contests combined, Miyazawa Yu began to wonder if it would be better for him to just die now.
"But maybe she's just nervous, isn't she? She isn't glaring at you anymore."
Kōhei Imamura observed her closely and then gave a completely different answer.
When Chisa was first glaring at Yu, anger was indeed more likely.
But now, with so many people watching, shyness might have taken over! The reason she was speaking with so many pauses was probably that she wasn't used to performing in front of so many people, given how quiet she usually was.
"Oh! That makes sense. So, Kohei, did you come up with a plan? She's going to lose at this rate."
"Huh? Why are you asking me? Wouldn't it be more effective to ask Nanaka-san?"
"Can't. Nanaka is in a state of obsession right now. Besides, you're so good at charming girls, like in your games!"
Miyazawa Yu turned to look at Nanaka-san, who was drooling and furiously pressing her camera's shutter button. He shrugged and placed his last hope on Kohei.
"While I do understand it, if you want a serious person to shine..."
He tilted his head in frustration, recalling scenes from his games. If he wanted a gloomy or silent character to shine...
Ah! There was only one thing for it!
Kōhei Imamura slammed his right fist into his left hand. An idea flashed in his mind, and he held up a finger, saying seriously, "If you want Chisa to shine, you have to use a smile that people don't normally see from her!"
"A smile?"
"Getting Chisa to smile is harder than climbing a mountain—"
Even so, they had to do it!
Shinji Tokita, based on his life experience that people would instinctively start a game of strip rock-paper-scissors if he started drinking alone, proposed the first solution.
"How about we just smile first! Maybe Chisa will get infected and smile along with us?"
"Oh— that's a good idea!"
"Let's do it!"
"Chisa!!! Look here!!!"
Using his temporary status as the main target of her hatred, Miyazawa Yu stood up and waved his hands, immediately attracting Chisa Kotegawa's attention.
The other Pab Club members then swarmed forward, completely filling Chisa's vision, and all showed what they thought were their most beautiful smiles.
But to Chisa, it looked like a group of alcohol-reeking, naked men giving her lecherous grins.
"..."
Chisa Kotegawa's brows furrowed deeply. The horrifying veins on her face extended from her cheeks all the way to her eyelids, highlighting the word "murderous intent!"
"No good! It seems to have had the opposite effect..."
"It's not right to show the audience an expression like that, is it? Chisa is so stubborn."
"No, no! I think it's just that your smiles are too ugly."
Miyazawa Yu didn't know whether to call his seniors oblivious or just plain stupid.
Even he found their smiles disgusting. How could that make Chisa smile? It was a miracle she hadn't vomited.
"Isn't there any other way, Kohei?"
"The other way is to make her embarrassed. A cold-faced girl's blushing face has a certain flavor to it!"
"Are you playing a real dating sim? Why do you have so much experience with this stuff..."
Miyazawa Yu leaned back in his chair, troubled. The "smile attack" must have put Chisa on guard. If they couldn't do something more impactful, she wouldn't react.
But when it came to "impact"...
"Kohei, let's take our clothes off?"
"Mhm! According to my experience, this time it will definitely work!"
"Yosh! Chisa-chan—"
The unspoken understanding between brothers was absolute. Miyazawa Yu tore off his clothes and urged the seniors to get into position. He then shouted again for Chisa to look at them.
"?"
Although she didn't trust that pervert, Chisa Kotegawa still threw a glance at them when she heard him call her, wanting to see what trick they were up to.
She saw the red flag that said We!!! Chisa raised high by a group of naked men in philosophical poses.
Miyazawa Yu, to add to the scene, shook a bottle of champagne and placed it inside his trunks, seemingly to mimic a peeing fountain in a European park...
"..."
Feeling like her eyes were going to bleed, Chisa Kotegawa froze. She started to question her life choices. Why did she agree to participate in this contest?
Was she an idiot back then? This was so embarrassing!
"Huh? She's not even embarrassed? According to the rules, her next reaction should be, 'Ah! You, what are you wearing! You idiot!', followed by a blushing face, right?"
"I think it's pretty normal, considering we usually wear even less than this..."
What a miscalculation. They had completely forgotten that Chisa was a unique girl who had seen her share of the Pab Club's big storms of strip rock-paper-scissors!
Miyazawa Yu shook his head slightly, sighing in frustration, "No good! The way she's looking at us now is like she's looking at trash."
"Damn it! Can we only hope that everyone in the audience is a masochist?!"
"No! Iori, we still have that one move!"
It was too early to give up. Kōhei Imamura would not allow his dating sim experience to be trampled on!
Since Chisa was being so uncooperative and mental attacks weren't working, he hoped she wouldn't blame him for his next cruel move!
"Hey, Kohei, what move are you talking about?"
"The one with Chisa's outfit today!"
"Got it! Let's lift her skirt!"
No more reminding was needed. Iori Kitahara's expression immediately turned serious. But what he said was more than a little perverted.
"Why do you two understand each other so well?"
"What a strange way of thinking~"
The underclassmen's coordination was a bit too in sync. Both Yu and Iori seemed to have an internal voice chat on. Ryūjirō Kotobuki and Shinji Tokita looked on, completely bewildered. As seniors who were supposed to guide their underclassmen, standing on the side like this made them look so silly!
"It can't be helped. The minds of perverts always align exceptionally well. Seniors, don't mind us."
Having run to stand behind Ryūjirō Kotobuki at some point, Miyazawa Yu patted his shoulder and spoke with a helpless expression, as if their recent telepathy had nothing to do with him.
"Ah! Some people are trying to distance themselves from this, Yu."
"Don't worry about the details. It's just that I feel like if I participate in the next plan, I'll die a very horrible death..."
Miyazawa Yu made a slicing motion at his neck. He admitted that the Pab Club had corrupted him into a half-pervert, but at least more than half of him was still clean!
He absolutely did not want to be a part of lifting Chisa's skirt!
Besides, he had a feeling that when Iori got serious, the things he did were absolutely lethal. For the sake of Nanaka-san's future happiness, he had to be careful with his life and absolutely not get involved in this life-threatening scheme!
"By the way, from this distance, how are we going to lift it?"
Completely unaware of the danger, Iori Kitahara's actions increased after he decided to lift her skirt. He was now looking around for a useful tool.
"Hehe."
With his hands in his pockets, Kōhei Imamura smirked. He took out dozens of his anime bouncy balls and held them between his fingers.
"Super bouncy balls. Good stuff from the chemistry department. They're very powerful~"
"Oh! You're going to throw the bouncy balls at Chisa's feet? How creative! But that's going to make her angry, right?"
"I'm impressed you could even think of that..."
Miyazawa Yu's eyes bent into crescents. Seeing Iori hesitate, a plan for self-preservation immediately formed in his mind.
He pulled the bouncy balls Kohei gave him from his pocket and distributed them to the other Pab Club members. He then suggested with a righteous air, "Since Chisa is definitely going to get angry, why don't we just make it so she can't find a target for her anger!"
"Great idea! If we all throw them together, Chisa won't be able to catch the culprit!"
"Yosh! Let's do it!"
Suddenly enlightened, Iori Kitahara saw the seniors tossing their bouncy balls, ready to go. He then turned with a wicked grin and aimed at Chisa on the stage.
"Ready to throw! One, two—"
Ryūjirō Kotobuki began the countdown. Iori immediately adopted the posture of a baseball pitcher. He pulled his right arm back, tensing his muscles, and stored up power.
"Three!!!"
"Whoaahhhhhh!!"
With an incredible battle cry, the bouncy ball was given an extremely high initial velocity. It cut through the air, making a "whoosh" sound, and shot out, drawing a perfect arc in the sky.