"Iori, you bastard, you're tired of living, aren't you! Don't worry, I'm a kind soul who can't stand to see suffering. I'll send you straight to heaven to stand side-by-side with the little angels!"
His face as dark as the bottom of a pot, Yuu's massive hands gripped Iori's neck, veins bulging. His eyes, hidden under his bangs, were overflowing with rage.
This was betrayal! Pure betrayal!
To be honest, when this guy mentioned an "excellent travel companion" yesterday, he'd had his suspicions.
But even though he'd thought of every possibility and prepared himself—even being willing to accept Nojima—this guy had actually brought Busujima! If this wasn't an "Ultimate Move" right to the face, what was it!
"Wait! Wait, Yuu! I have a reason!"
"Ha? Who cares!"
The light had vanished from his eyes. He slowly tightened his grip, preparing to close off Iori's last bit of airway. As for the body, he'd just throw it into the sea!
Coincidentally, the "magical diving tool" he'd assembled for Kohei yesterday hadn't been used yet; it would finally serve a purpose!
"Chotto matte. Yuu-kun, what do you plan to do to my wingman?"
Just as Iori's struggle grew hopeless and he felt like he was seeing his great-grandmother, Sakurako Busujima tilted her head in annoyance and placed a hand on Yuu's shoulder.
While Iori was indeed a scumbag and a loser, he was at least a skilled informant!
You don't just throw away a tool like that after one use. Even the dumbest woman knows the value of recycling!
"Eek! Refusing physical contact!"
Shuddering, Yuu let go of Iori's neck, grabbed him by the back of the collar, and retreated a vast distance with lightning speed. He only settled into a defensive stance once a safe distance was re-established, his eyes wary.
It couldn't be helped. Although it was just a tiny bit of contact, with Nanaka-san and Azusa-senpai present, that light tap was effectively a "Weak Point Break" critical hit.
Busujima was a "bad woman" who was definitely more than he could handle. She was likely harboring some wicked scheme after his mockery yesterday. He couldn't let her succeed!
"Hey! Iori, I forgive you! Quick, tell me your reason!"
"Where was this energy before... you bastard!"
As the vision of his great-grandmother waved her hand and flew back toward heaven, Iori—knowing he was in the wrong—didn't take the chance for revenge. Instead, his eyes instantly grew watery.
Recalling these past seven or eight days of part-time work, they hadn't been "arduous," but "half-dead" at best!
Ignoring Yuu's "I-Want-Your-Life 3000" suffocation play, the workplace bullying from that bad woman Busujima alone had made him feel the coldness of society.
That bastard! Not only did she make him call her "Busujima-sama," but she also threatened to bully him to death if he didn't act as her wingman for conquering Yuu!
"It was... like this... in short, this woman is into you! And she's the type who wants to devour you completely!"
"Hiss. So you sold me out?"
"What could I do? This bastard woman made me hold a tray with two hundred glasses of water in my teeth while tying weights to my hands and doing horse stances!"
"Then just die! If I go back to Tokyo with this woman, Azusa-senpai will use me for coffin-testing!"
"..."
Veins popped on her forehead. Listening to the two bastards' "whispers," which were completely unmasked in volume, Sakurako Busujima managed to pull the corners of her mouth into a stiff arc and muttered: "Iori-kun?"
"YES! BUSUJIMA-SAMA! WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS!"
"Whoa... he went straight into a kneel!"
Looking at Iori, who had been conditioned into a total masochist, Yuu's anger dissipated considerably, replaced by disdain. There was no point in getting worked up over a guy who treated the prostrating as a fine art!
The current priority was that Busujima seemed to have locked onto him. But that didn't make sense; although he was handsome, a muscular guy shouldn't fit her aesthetic!
"Handshake! Spin once! Now go back!"
In a few moves, she dealt with Iori, who had already formed muscle memory. Sakurako Busujima watched the latter run back into Grand Blue as if he'd received a grand pardon, then turned to look at the bewildered Yuu.
"If you're thinking of how to ditch me, don't bother. With Iori acting as informant, the ticket I bought is for the same train as yours!"
"Tch. I am ashamed to be associated with such a coward!"
Though he'd expected as much, Yuu scowled and couldn't help but criticize Iori's betrayal once again.
Dumping a pure college boy onto Busujima—how was that any different from pushing Louis XVI toward the guillotine? It was a baffling operation!
"I say, Sakurako~ Actually, travel is much more comfortable when you're alone..."
"It's no use no matter what you say. Hurry up and get ready to leave, or we'll miss the train!"
Refusing to listen to whatever excuse Yuu came up with, Sakurako Busujima tossed her pink hair and stepped forward aggressively.
However, her target wasn't the immovable Yuu, but his belongings. In a few quick movements, she snatched away his suitcase.
At this, seeing Busujima dragging his suitcase away, Yuu could only sigh. He sent an explanatory Line message to Nanaka-san and resigned himself to following her.
Whatever. Once he got to Tokyo, he'd just stay at home after getting his passport. Busujima had to educate a kid, so their paths definitely wouldn't cross. He'd just video call Azusa-senpai to report that he was safe.
Meanwhile, inside Grand Blue, the suspended Iori had an expression of total peace and security.
After all, the biggest threats—Yuu and Busujima—were gone. Azusa-senpai and Nanaka-san, the "gentle duo," would at most hang him up for a while. At the very least, they wouldn't throw him into the sea to feed the fish!
"Is Azusa-senpai okay with this? Letting Yuu travel with Busujima and all..."
Poking the shameless Iori twice with the head of a broom, Chisa Kotegawa was the first to break the silence in Grand Blue. Under the "hero-worshiping" gazes of Kohei and Aina, she asked the question.
No matter how you looked at it, what Iori did was too much. To save his own skin, he'd sold Yuu out to Sakurako Busujima. How was that any different from NTR-ing Azusa-senpai and her own sister to their faces!
If her sister couldn't bring herself to do it, Chisa was actually willing to take over and throw Iori into the sea!
"It's fine~ it's fine!"
Sitting by the bed and waving toward the door, Azusa Hamaoka turned her head with a nonchalant smile while clutching a beer bottle. "Chisa, do you think Yuu would do something bad?"
"..."
Looking up and closing her eyes for a mental comparison, Chisa really didn't think Yuu would be tricked by Busujima, unlike the inexperienced Iori.
No matter what, even if Sakurako Busujima was indeed very feminine, there was still an insurmountable chasm between her and the "Big-Sister" aura of Azusa-senpai and Nanaka-san!
"Probably... not?"
"Exactly. Since we already know Yuu won't do anything, what's there to worry about!"
Patting Chisa's dazed little head, Nanaka Kotegawa gently embraced her little cutie and took a deep "Chisa-energy" inhale.
"If anything, it would be great if Yuu could make more friends. After all..."
Glancing at the PaB club members who were all drinking in "neutral gear," her tone suddenly turned helpless.
"Sometimes it's good to spend time with people who wear clothes while drinking. At least it might fix the habit of stripping anywhere..."
"Eh? Is that something that needs fixing?"
"Of course it is!"
Running in front of Tokita-senpai and nodding frantically, Aina Yoshiwara racked her brain to use the PaB club's unique "mental transmission" to share the image in her head with the seniors—
"If you go to an Izakaya with colleagues after work, get drunk, and end up naked outside..."
Her tone darkened with a hint of intimidation as she spoke the grim truth: "You'd probably be packing your things into a cardboard box the very next day!"
"Eh? That's so harsh!!!"
"It's not harsh at all! Alright! Now, seniors, hurry up and put some clothes on to get used to drinking while dressed!"
"No, no, no!"
A flash of "intelligence" flickered in his eyes. Just as Aina thought she'd been caught trying to trick the seniors into dressing, Tokita Shinji suddenly raised a bottle of Water of Life and pointed it at the other seniors who were still equipped.
"In that case, we should strip even more right now! Come on! Yakyu-ken!"
"OHHHHHHH!!!"
"..."
Watching the seniors spiral out of control, Chisa Kotegawa held her head as a headache began.
She suddenly realized that Yuu being taken away by a "bad woman" really did seem much safer than staying in the PaB club. The former would at most target his wallet or his body, but the latter were demons who would confiscate your entire worldview!
Inside the train station, Miyazawa Yuu—who Chisa thought had "luckily" escaped the PaB club—was sitting in the waiting hall with a look of despair, sweating profusely and unable to sit still.
The reason for his sweating was the wave of murderous stares directed at him from all directions—the kind that asked why this kid wasn't dead yet.
Seriously, he hadn't felt this much killing intent even when accompanying Nanaka-san and Azusa-senpai to the school festival!
"My, my~ Yuu, you're sweating a lot!"
A perfumed handkerchief patted his head. Yuu turned to look at the woman beside him. Sakurako Busujima had been acting strange since the start, entering some kind of "Primary Wife" mode. Instead of being touched, his terror only doubled!
Because the furious glares from the adults around them had grown even more vicious! Seriously, you middle-aged guys, stop leering at college girls, okay?!