"Momoka-san has worked so hard! It's not her fault she dropped out before finishing high school!"
"Nina, you really don't have to shout that part so loudly..."
Seeing her little one completely stun Miyazawa Yuu, Kawaragi Momoka was about to offer a few words of comfort when the girl's subsequent "sword" stabbed right into her heart.
With a dark face, two lines of bloody tears silently flowed. While it wasn't entirely accurate to say it that way, including the children present, her academic credentials were indeed the lowest. Truly a sad fact.
"Hoshino Manager..."
"Don't look at me. Even like this, I actually went to university, and Nijika is already preparing for her second year of high school!"
Not wanting to be dragged down to the same level for validation, Ijichi Seika loved to hug something when drunk; her little sister was conveniently within reach.
Pressing down the Dorito ahoge that was blocking her view, as a drinking buddy, even if she didn't agree, she added a pitying note: "Incidentally, not even finishing high school is way too risky. On that point, I've stood with Yuu-kun from the very beginning!"
"Sigh..."
Failing to find a sense of validation and instead faced with the fact that even the little "loli" Nijika was about to surpass her in schooling years, Kawaragi Momoka squinted and condemned the blonde loli for two seconds before tilting her head with a smile of resignation.
Regardless, pursuing her dreams was her choice; she didn't regret it, so naturally, there was nothing to complain about now.
But Iseri Nina didn't agree. Seeing Momoka-san's slightly resigned expression, she keenly captured the change in the other's emotions, though her analytical skills were somewhat lacking.
"Ugh... even if you went to university! You haven't had the same experiences! How can you judge someone else's life so arbitrarily!"
Clenching her fists, she linked Momoka's resignation with helplessness. Anger instantly surged, and she bared her small fangs, standing on tiptoes to face the muscular giant.
"Is that so?"
His eyes spun. Though he lacked the corresponding DLC, Miyazawa Yuu's alcohol-driven young CPU continued to work hard to process the situation before him.
Staring into Iseri Nina's eyes—filled with indignation and a strong spirit of rebellion—he hummed for two seconds, abandoned the Kyoko in his arms, and then placed his large hand on her head as she tensely closed her eyes.
"I don't know exactly what happened to you, but my view won't change. You might not use the credentials, but having them there is always safer!"
"But..."
"But at the same time, I'm willing to apologize if Momoka-chan is angry~"
"Don't drag me into your camp without permission. But Nina..."
Receiving the look Yuu sent her, Kawaragi Momoka understood and offered a dry retort before standing up and shielding the little one—who was radiating dark red hedgehog-like spikes—in her arms, whispering: "I'm not angry. Besides, debates at the drinking table don't involve personal feelings; otherwise, you're just being a sore loser!"
"But Momoka-san has worked so hard! And she still had to argue with others for my sake..."
"I already told you it wasn't an argument~"
It was like seeing Aina when she first joined the PaB Club. Miyazawa Yuu rubbed the back of his head helplessly, feeling like the number of "problem girls" around him was increasing.
He had just corrected Aina's views on romance to get her and Kouhei on the right track, and now he had encountered an even more troublesome little hedgehog.
But since she was Momoka's kid, then by rounding up, she was no different from a member of the PaB Club. He didn't mind providing some psychological counseling along the way.
"Since you said those things just now, please tell us what happened. That way, you can slap my face hard~"
"Em-m-m..."
Inflating her cheeks like a pufferfish in anger at Miyazawa Yuu's child-coaxing tone, Iseri Nina hated these self-righteous bastards who thought they could handle everyone around them!
After all, her pain wasn't something a "normie" like this...
"I see, so it was physical bullying? Kyoko, we have a senior here. Want to say hello?"
"..."
After hearing Nina's description and Yuu's cold joke, Busujima Kyoko expressionlessly reached out to her sister, who cooperatively handed over the cushion at her feet.
In the next second, while maintaining a gentle scoff, Miyazawa Yuu was hit in the face from both sides by the two cushions. The conservation of momentum was perfect for a "spine maintenance" maneuver—downright thoughtful!
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood (metaphorical) sprayed out. His mouth squashed together, he opened his eyes and struggled to condemn them: "Wh-why use violence!"
"Ah... it felt like my hand suddenly lost control and moved on its own. So sorry!"
"..."
With eyes as resolute as someone joining a party, Iseri Nina's personality meant she didn't understand the concept of a "joke," though Miyazawa Yuu's joke was indeed a bit "hellish."
"You really can't understand it, can you! This kind of pain!"
"Actually, it's half and half. After all, I didn't have the second half. Honestly, are the educational institutions in Kumamoto just dead? To not even care about such problems..."
The PaB-style joke didn't work. Miyazawa Yuu could only sigh and spread his hands, not expecting to liven the atmosphere by any other means.
Nina's problem was simple. Moving from cold bullying to physical bullying actually makes things relatively simpler to solve, but the fact that Nina's father chose to yield without limits baffled him.
When his daughter was being bullied, his first instinct was to settle the matter peacefully? Is this the "self-reflection spirit" of the older generation?
"No second half... does that mean the first half was the same?"
Her little head's operational efficiency was severely reduced in her "hissing" state. Iseri Nina simply didn't believe that a "muscle-head" would be a victim of cold bullying; after all, he looked like a "normie" who would be insanely popular in the sports club!
Busujima Kyoko saw her disbelief. Although she was annoyed, she took the initiative to vouch for Yuu.
"It's true. You can even find malicious comments about Yuu-onii-chan online!"
"Hiss..."
Taking a sharp breath, Iseri Nina wasn't the type of woman to be so willful she ignored everything. Though she liked to "hiss" at others, she always had a line in her head.
Miyazawa Yuu's current "persona" was completely outside her attack range—it had even moved into the "sympathy" range!
This caused the little one's Hissing DLC to start reporting internal errors, falling into a superposition of "hissing" and "not hissing."
"Momoka? Is this kid still trying to get into university?"
"A few months ago, the slogan was shouted loud and clear..."
Struggling for two seconds, Kawaragi Momoka sighed and summarized: "But she doesn't mention it anymore. She's probably preparing to give up."
"Regardless, I feel that since there's still a chance, she should still go to university!"
Placing his large hand on Nina's head, her story had changed Miyazawa Yuu's view of the band's existence. After all, some people truly relied on the band as a spiritual pillar to move forward.
Though pursuing both might be very tiring, it was undoubtedly better than going down a one-way street with the band until it hit a dead end.
Or abandoning dreams to bury one's head in books, eventually becoming another useless, husband-style rigid teacher who didn't dare resist authority!
"Tch... I get it!"
Not wanting to turn and look at this bastard Miyazawa Yuu's expression at all, Kawaragi Momoka silently turned her back, grabbed the unfinished bottle on the table, and downed several gulps, completely taking herself out—"Don't get cocky! If anyone wins, it's Seika!"
"Eh? Two people admitting defeat at the same time! Then I won't be polite either!"
Having mysteriously won the final victory, the "all-ride" winner Ijichi Seika's eyes flickered as she scanned the other two little ones. Finally, she cast a gentle gaze on her own Nijika.
No doubt about it! She looked more pleasing the more she saw her! It would be even better if Nijika didn't look at her own sister with eyes of trash-despising contempt!
"Onee-chan, you aren't going to..."
"It's fine. I'm happy today!"
The ahoge on her head trembled twice and pointed at the bottle. She also very honestly followed her deepest inner desires. After two gulps of booze, the two combatants in the war were out of commission.
"I knew these drinkers were unreliable!"
Watching Subaru and the PA-san—who she'd gotten along with fairly well—run over to help people up, Busujima Sakurako walked past the two drunks and rescued Kyoko from the statue-like Miyazawa Yuu's hands.
"You aren't going to pass out with them? You're not being very social!"
"Instead of passing out, I'm currently thinking about how to solve Japan's frequent bullying problems once and for all..."
With a serious expression and arms crossed, Miyazawa Yuu had promised Kyoko he would teach her a way to never be picked on. It looked like the "rescue squad" was going to have to expand a bit further.
...
On the other side, at the Izakaya's front desk, the young waiter was about to fall asleep. A 24-hour Izakaya didn't mean there were guests 24 hours a day. Who would run out to drink at two or three in the morning!
However, to satisfy his curiosity, he still chose to prop his eyelids open and endure, for fear of missing a spectacular scene.
Fortunately, heaven does not betray those who are diligent. Five minutes later, just as his head was thumping against the table to test its quality, the bustling group of band girls finally walked out of the private room.
Gazing at the female drunks being carried and the only muscular giant standing tall and surrounded by the crowd like a star, his eyes lit up, and he unobtrusively raised his phone...