"..."
In the room devoid of girls, anger was brewing. Miyazawa Yu's expression contorted to the extreme as he was the first to grab Kohei Imamura by the neck.
"Kohei! Have you thought about how you want to die? Next time we go diving, I can scatter your ashes into the sea!"
"Who cares what you do! Don't stop me from pursuing love!"
"Love my ass! This is harassment! I'm calling the police!"
Iori Kitahara mercilessly put up his middle finger, extremely displeased with Kohei's interference.
He was just about to make a move on a beautiful girl, and with one sentence, Kohei had reset everyone's goodwill to zero!
He was too despicable, wanting to burn the bridge behind him just because he didn't get a head start!
"Ha! You bastards have the nerve to say that! You were supposed to help me!!"
"Then why don't you go after the one you're interested in! Are you looking to die, Yamamoto!"
"Oh! Nojima, a lowly pest, dares to speak to the great Yamamoto! Who was the one who gave up first?!"
Seeing his teammates start to brawl, Iori Kitahara flexed his neck a couple of times, barely getting over the anger of his failed advance.
"Hold on! We're all on the same side. A few insults are fine, but fighting each other will only increase the casualties!"
"Ha! What are you talking about!"
"What I mean is..."
Spreading his hands, he seriously looked at the group and explained, "Jealousy is useless! Only unity is the key to victory, isn't it!"
"That may be true, but what about the face I just lost?! Kohei harassed my friend's sister!"
Still holding Kohei down with his butt, Miyazawa Yu raised his hand in protest.
He hadn't planned on bringing a girl home anyway, and now he had lost face for no reason. He was so completely ripped off! How was he going to get over this?!
"Hey! Yu, think about it. As long as one of us succeeds, the mixers will never stop. Isn't that exciting!"
"...It is, but..."
"No buts! Now is the time to witness our friendship!"
With Iori's hands on his shoulders, Miyazawa Yu closed his eyes and thought for a while before reluctantly saying, "Watch your behavior. If you embarrass me again, I'll kill all of you!"
"No problem!"
"Oh!"
Ten minutes later, the situation was much clearer—
With his incredibly thick skin, Iori Kitahara managed to secure the seat across from Kanako Iida. The remaining three scoundrels huddled together, their faces grim.
"Haha~ Your friends are so funny, Yu!"
"Sorry, I don't know them well..."
Listening to the mockery, Miyazawa Yu felt like an idiot for believing Iori's nonsense.
More than a full-on brawl, having embarrassing friends who were quick to run off filled him with shame, so much so that he couldn't even look Kaya Mizuki in the eye.
"Now, now~ Don't say that. I really do think these guys are funny. They're much better than a bunch of bad guys who have ulterior motives but don't show it!"
Seeing his embarrassment, Kaya Mizuki waved her hand, indicating that she didn't mean any harm. On the contrary, she was really interested in guys like Iori.
Where did they buy their thick-headedness? If it was ten pounds for ten bucks, she would buy some for everyone around her!
"Thank you for the compliment, but they're just idiots."
Smoothing out his furrowed brow, Miyazawa Yu asked worriedly, "Kaya-san, you don't mind that perverts are after your sister?"
"Hmm... Do they have the guts?"
"I can be one hundred percent sure they don't!"
"Then there you go~"
With her hands propped behind her, Kaya Mizuki smiled gently and said, "It's like watching a show. It's so interesting, and it relaxes my mind and body!"
"Is that so?"
He tilted his head in confusion. Miyazawa Yu didn't really understand why these celebrities liked to hang out with idiots. Was it because it was easier?
Then he thought about himself.
He had said he joined the Pab club because of Nanaka-san, but in less than a month, he had been completely transformed inside and out.
"Ah! Look, your friends seem to be fighting back!"
Just as Miyazawa Yu was thinking about the good points of the Pab club, Kaya Mizuki noticed something interesting. She immediately nudged his shoulder and pointed.
"Hmm? Is Kohei making his move? He knows Iori well. Iori is probably going to be in trouble."
As expected, Kohei Imamura sat next to Iori Kitahara, gave a sinister smile, and his first sentence was, "Yo, Iori! How's it going with your girlfriend these past two days?"
"Ah~ He's using the wrong method. He's shamelessly using a taboo subject at a mixer!"
Miyazawa Yu propped his head up with his hand and explained to Kaya Mizuki, bored, as Iori Kitahara's pupils instantly shrank to a single point.
"Kohei is trying to use the taboo subject of a girlfriend to completely cut off Iori's chances with girls, but it'll also ruin the atmosphere of the mixer..."
"Huh? Wouldn't that mean he'll get no benefits either?"
"You're absolutely right! But..."
Miyazawa Yu's eyes became sorrowful. He covered his face and said glumly, "For those bastards, their own failure is terrible, but their friends' success is even more heartbreaking!"
"Ohh—so it's 'harm others, with no benefit to oneself'!"
She didn't expect to have a fan who was this kind of person. Kaya Mizuki then pointed at Yamamoto and Nojima.
"Aren't you guys a team? Won't they help Kitahara?"
"You're completely wrong! They're all scumbags! You can't rely on them at all!!"
Their smiles became even more twisted and sinister. Just as Miyazawa Yu said, Hajime Nojima and Shinichiro Yamamoto felt nothing but satisfaction at this moment.
Seeing Iori frozen, Kohei Imamura didn't give him a chance to recover and continued, "Huh? Kitahara, don't you have a girlfriend? What's going on?"
Damn it! Stop talking! My dream of a happy college life with a girlfriend is flying away!
Iori Kitahara was sweating profusely, screaming in his mind, but in reality, there was nothing he could do.
Was he just going to give up here?! He couldn't accept this!
He clenched his fists and lowered his head, stammering as he tried to explain, "I, I..."
"Ah! Let's order dessert."
"Okay! What should we get?"
"Huh?"
Just as Iori Kitahara felt like the situation was hopeless, Aina Yoshiwara suddenly picked up the menu and changed the subject. This unexpected turn of events took him by surprise.
"Hmm? Aina's helping him?"
Miyazawa Yu's posture instantly straightened as he watched everything unfold in disbelief.
Based on his judgment, Aina seemed to be a little interested in Iori. In no way, shape, or form would she change the subject at this moment.
Unless...
"Kaya, did Aina's warning only go to you, or did she tell everyone?"
"Of course, she told everyone~ So we've all known that Iori has a girlfriend for a while now!"
"Oh! That makes sense. That makes sense."
He relaxed, picked up a piece of fried chicken, and put it in his mouth. In his heart, Miyazawa Yu clasped his hands and mourned for Iori.
From the very beginning, there was no way this guy could have fooled the girls. He had been working so hard and jumping around for so long. He had his respect!
On the other side, after a lot of miscommunication, Kanako finally revealed that they knew the truth.
Under Aina Yoshiwara's arrogant thumbs-down, the poor Iori Kitahara instantly turned to stone and then cracked into three pieces from his head to his chest.
"Thanks for the meal~☆"
Half an hour later, it was completely dark. Miyazawa Yu stood at the entrance, waving goodbye to the five "Cakeys."
To be honest, nothing had happened in the end. He had wasted time and money, but even with his own bad intentions, he felt like he had been punished enough!
"..."
"What's wrong, Kitahara?"
He turned and saw Iori Kitahara's body swaying, his mind elsewhere. Miyazawa Yu patted his shoulder lightly to comfort him. "It's okay. There will be a next time."
"No, didn't you hear them just now?"
"Hear, hear what?"
Yamamoto Shinichiro and Hajime Nojima weakly moved over, hoping to hear some good news.
However, the opposite happened. Iori Kitahara's next words completely broke them.
"They... at the moment they turned their backs on us... they said it was like visiting a zoo!"
"Hoh-hoh."
"I see."
"A zoo, huh."
They lowered their heads in silence. After a brief moment of contemplation, the four scumbags, with the exception of Miyazawa Yu, exploded!
"What the hell!!"
"Who are you calling a zoo!!"
"You guys should look in a mirror yourselves!!"
"What right do 'Cakey' clowns have to say that about us!!"
"..."
Miyazawa Yu silently shrank his head. Although it sounded harsh, he actually thought it was a pretty fair assessment. But as a brother...
"Let's go for a drink together!"
"Good idea, Yu! I can't swallow this anger without a drink!"
"Everyone, let's go have a reflection meeting!"
They turned and rushed into the store. If it was a verbal fight before, it was now a physical one! Nobody was going home until they were all drunk!!!