C³ Vol 13 Chapter 2

Not long after the third school term started, there was one ordinary winter day.

At the Yachi home's entrance, Konoha welcomed the familiar liquor shopkeeper. Ever since a long time ago, the shopkeeper would go door to door to solicit orders, basically soy sauce and sweet rice wine for cooking use, and would ask liquor shops in the neighborhood, which he was on friendly terms with, to deliver straight to customers' homes.

"Here, the usual rice wine your family ordered."

"Yes, thank you very much. The richness in flavor is definitely different when the condiments are prepared by experts~ I can understand why the Yachi family... no, why Haruaki-kun always buys from you since a long time ago."

"What a nice thing to say! But I'm sorry, Konoha-chan, I can't give you a discount even if you flatter me~ Business hasn't been good lately and I'll get scolded by my old mom back home."

"Ahaha, you picked up on it? Here you go, this is the payment."

"Hehe, thank you for your business! By the way, I almost forgot. This is the first delivery of the year, right? I should be saying happy new year!"

"Now that you mention it, that's true. Please continue to take care of us for this year as well."

Carrying the received bottle of rice wine in her arms, Konoha smiled and bowed her head in thanks. At this moment, the liquor shopkeeper seemed to recall something and scratched his head with an "oh c.r.a.p~" look on his face.

"I see? Since it's the first delivery of the new year... It'd be kind of stingy if I don't give something back to a customer. Now that's something my old mom will really scold me for. But giving a discount now would be a bit odd—Why don't I simply give you something as a little extra? Konoha-chan, please wait for me, I'll go check inside the truck!"

"Eh? Sure..."

Konoha c.o.c.ked her head while the shopkeeper swiftly ran out of the front door. Konoha remained there obediently. Several minutes later, the shopkeeper ran back, holding what appeared to be a slender package in his hand.

With an inexplicably hesitant look in his eyes, the shopkeeper glanced at what he was carrying and said:

"Ah~ ...Speaking of which, Konoha-chan, Honatsu-san still hasn't returned?"

Why did he suddenly mention Honatsu? Konoha felt puzzled but still answered truthfully.

"There are no signs of him returning for the moment. He didn't contact us at all during New Year's either."

"Really? Hmm~ Although a gift of extra soy sauce would be better, I don't have any left in the truck, so this will do."

"No problem, no problem at all. It's just a freebie so please don't worry about it."

"Hmm~" The liquor shopkeeper tilted his head, troubling over something, but soon he said:

"Yeah, whatever! In principle, consider this a gift for Honatsu-san to drink after he returns! Thinking back, I was already an experienced drinker back in high school... But that's probably because I'm the son of a liquor store owner. Although it's really not too proper, young people should make little mistakes like young people and there's no need to be too harsh on them. Yeah, I guess I'll make this a gift after all. Thanks for your continued patronage this year too!"

The shopkeeper laughed heartily as though saying "Don't sweat the small stuff!" and set down the upright package in front of Konoha.

"But I'll repeat myself, this is a gift for Honatsu-san! In principle! See you next time!"

"...Eh? Oh okay, really... Thank you very much..."

The sudden developments completely baffled Konoha. With a lost expression, she saw the shopkeeper off at the entrance.

Only the mysterious gift remained on scene.

For some reason, the mysterious gift greatly resembled the bottle of cooking wine in Konoha's hands.

Several minutes later, Konoha was staring solemnly at that particular object.

"Hmm~ ...What should I do...?"

Haruaki and Fear had gone out for shopping while Kuroe was still working at the beauty parlor and had not returned. Naturally, there was no one else to discuss.

Hence, Konoha could only keep staring at the object on the living room table, a dilemma in her eyes.

That object was giving off an extremely astounding sense of presence. Konoha was almost awed by it, almost about to be overwhelmed. Had she known in advance, she would not have unwrapped the package—Konoha regretted from the bottom of her heart.

What should she do? How should she handle this type of object?

"This is a huge problem. Indeed, an extremely severe problem..."

Konoha murmured in a fully serious tone, still unable to tear her gaze away. This matter must be handled with caution. Action must be taken after careful thought. Okay, hurry up and think, what should be done first?

"First... First of all..."

At this moment, Konoha suddenly noticed a bottle in the corner of her eye. While she was sitting on the floor with her calves folded against the outside of her thighs, a bottle of cooking wine was lying by her feet. In other words, what the liquor shopkeeper had delivered just now. Indeed, when lost on how to proceed, one should always start with handling the things that were known.

Hence, Konoha used her entire willpower to s.h.i.+ft her gaze away from the object on the table. Then holding the bottle of cooking wine, she stood up. She could feel a force pulling at her braids from behind like some kind of magnetic attraction while she walked to the kitchen and placed the cooking wine into the usual cupboard where condiments were kept. During this time, her mind was still preoccupied with how to handle the object in the living room.

"Of course... No way. Absolutely no way. It goes without saying."

Closing the cupboard, Konoha then moved to the cupboard where utensils were kept, opening the door with a clack and taking out a gla.s.s. Indeed, of course. Of course not. She continued to murmur to herself.

"Yes, there's no need to worry at all. Because it's already decided. Yes, there's no need to hesitate at all."

Then taking the gla.s.s, she opened the fridge and threw a few ice cubes into the gla.s.s with a clatter. The cool sensation transmitted through the gla.s.s to her palm, what a comfortable feeling.

"♪~~~~"

This comfortable feeling was compelling her to hum a tune. Rocking her shoulders rhythmically, Konoha returned to the living room with light and lively steps.

Very~ well, the problem was decided. The struggle was over. The difficulty was gone. How nice it felt. But... What exactly was the original problem...?

Konoha tilted her head, placing the ice-filled gla.s.s on the table. After sitting down on the tatami, she reached towards the object next to the gla.s.s. Swiveling the lid on top, in other words, opening the bottle lid, she then inclined the bottle, pouring the liquid inside into the gla.s.s. The ice cubes swirled with a clang. She gulped hard. The drink looked really tasty—

"Ah! Why did I make such thorough preparations—!?"

Konoha suddenly regained her senses. What was she doing? Somehow, it felt as though her body and mind were on different channels... As one would expect, this object possessed a certain kind of magic to it that explained its intimidating sense of presence, right?

Trembling in trepidation, Konoha used her entire body's strength to put down the gla.s.s. But at the same time, the ice cubes shook left and right audibly, attacking her willpower, but she desperately resisted.

"Mmmmmm! W-What a terrifying power...!"

Mustering strength from the core of her being, she reprimanded her willpower. It would be too dangerous if she did not do so. Then Konoha looked at the object once again.

The liquor shopkeeper's gift was a bottle the same size and shape as what was used for cooking wine. However, a single glance was enough to tell that the contents were different. Several small fruits had settled on the bottom of the translucent bottle. Green, seductive fruits.

Plums.

In other words, the true ident.i.ty of the liquid immersing the plums was undoubtedly—

"I-Is it plum brandy...?"

Konoha gulped again. It had been so long. It really had been so long.

No no no, wait a sec—Konoha frantically shook her head. She was now a high school student, an ident.i.ty that prohibited the intake of alcoholic beverages. The internal conference in her mind just now should have reached the same conclusion. Absolutely not allowed.

...Stare~

Despite reaching that kind of conclusion, for some reason, she could not tear her gaze away from the plum brandy poured into the gla.s.s, away from the plum brandy that she loved the most out of myriad types of alcohol, away from the plum brandy that had finally appeared before her eyes after many years, away from the plum brandy that had brought infinite gratification to her heart when she drank it for the first time, centuries prior.

Konoha quietly licked her lips and said to the air:

"But... But, it's a rare gift from the liquor shopkeeper, plus it's already poured into the gla.s.s, throwing it away... would be too much of a waste... Right?"

The bottle was unlabeled, possibly because it was brewed by the shopkeeper himself. Even if he was not the one who brewed it personally, the alcohol used as the base must have taken someone time and energy to brew and prepare. These plums actually bore fruit for the sake of spreading seeds, not for human consumption. Then now that they have been picked, they must not be wasted, probably. This counted as expressing respect towards nature.

Hmm, that would be too much of a waste—Konoha nodded alone to herself, raising her hand in elation, just as she was about to touch the gla.s.s—

"No! No no, I have to calm down a bit! Hurry and recall what happened during New Year's! It's not so long ago when the sake of the G.o.ds made me act in error and cause trouble for Haruaki-kun..."

The fresh memories turned into an angel's whispers, halting the movement of her hand. Indeed, the situation back then was too scary. Although two other people also got drunk and eventually collapsed, there was no denying that Konoha had caused Haruaki trouble. The same mistake must not be repeated.

However—The alcoholic fragrance was drifting over faintly. The aroma of plums and the beads of condensation on the gla.s.s. These were summoning the devil's whispers.

But on the other hand, after repeated considerations, perhaps...

To prevent embarra.s.sments of that sort from happening again, perhaps she ought to help herself gradually grow accustomed to alcohol...?

"..."

Whenever people made decisive errors, they always tended to follow the same model in that very instant.

People trying to lose weight would think "I'll just eat one" and start eating cake. People trying to quit smoking would think "I'll just smoke one cig" and start smoking. People trying to study would think "I'll just read one volume" and start reading manga.

Present before Konoha was the temptation identical to the above objects.

"I-It's already poured out, right? If I simply take care of this gla.s.s..."

Indeed, it was just one gla.s.s. Afterwards, she was definitely going to place the bottle on the side obediently to wait for his return, then ask for his decision. "The liquor shopkeeper gave us this as a gift. What should we do with it?" Indeed, no helping it. She must offer her respect towards farmers, breweries, nature and the Earth. For their sake, she absolutely must not dispose of this gla.s.s of plum brandy, hence—

Konoha grabbed the gla.s.s, brought it to her lips and slowly tilted the gla.s.s.

"Mmm..."

Gulp. Ever since arriving at this home, she could only recall drinking once. After that one time, for some reason, Haruaki and Honatsu never allowed her to drink the slightest sip of plum brandy again—

The scorching yet ice-cold yet comfortable feeling slid across her throat.

Although she had no idea why those two forbade her from drinking the plum brandy she loved, Konoha decided that right now, she was just going to drink this one gla.s.s then put the rest away decisively. Hence, at least taking genuine enjoyment in this one gla.s.s should be fine. Hence, Konoha tilted the gla.s.s even further—

"Hwah... Lovely..."

This was the decisive instant of Konoha's mistake and also proof of the "I'll just drink one gla.s.s" fallacy.

"I'm home~"

"Ohoh, so cold so cold... I must hurry and dive into the kotatsu. It's time for some warmth and rice crackers!"

Haruaki and Fear had returned from shopping. As soon as they opened the door, Fear hastily removed her shoes and entered the house. Then just as she was about to make a mad dash for the kotatsu—

"...Hmm?"

"What's wrong, Fear?"

"No... Somehow it feels different from usual. There's a smell. What's this smell...?"

Haruaki sniffed but could not smell anything strange. Perhaps only Fear with her sharp senses could smell it.

"It's not a burnt kind of stench, right? I really hope there's no fire."

"No, not that kind of smell... Anyway, it should be clear once we have a look. It seems to be drifting out from the living room."

Following Fear's suggestion, Haruaki carried the shopping bags towards the living room. Walking through the corridor, arriving at the sliding door leading to the living room, Haruaki felt a chill down his spine for some reason. His instincts were apparently trying to convey some message to him.

What happened? As much as he had no idea why he was reacting this way, Haruaki instinctively believed that something shocking must be lying behind this sliding door. He even felt a kind of illusion that something resembling pitch-black miasma was overflowing out of the sliding door's gap in front of him. He experienced an unusual sense of heavy pressure. Was it really okay? Are you really planning to go in there? You won't regret it...? Starting from just now, his survival instincts had been warning him repeatedly.

"...? Why are you standing there s.p.a.cing out? Hurry and go in."

"No, wait..."

But unlike Haruaki, Fear's defensive instincts had not kicked in. Reaching out from beside him, she simply pulled the living room's sliding door open. Next, they saw—

The image of her back while she was sitting on the veranda, facing the garden.

The instant he saw that back, Haruaki inexplicably felt gooseb.u.mps all over his body.

"Eeeeek...!"

A despairing presence rushed into his brain, pleading that this was a dangerous place. Still ignorant of what had happened, Fear c.o.c.ked her head in puzzlement and looked at her back.

"Cow t.i.ts? What's she doing?"

Probably hearing Fear's murmuring, she finally looked back.

Face flushed red, the gla.s.ses almost having slid off her face, she looked back.

Then drinking directly from the bottle of plum brandy held in her hand, she spoke with a smile of rapture:

"Oh~ ...Haryuaki-kuun~ Welcome home... Where hast thou run off to...? I have been waiting for thee so long... Burp."

It's over. A crisis now. Everything has gone south.

Smiling stiffly in an appeasing manner to handle Konoha's dazed and smiling face, Haruaki first checked the state of the living room. A faint smell of alcohol lingered in the air. That must have been what Fear smelled. Next to the table, a gla.s.s containing ice cubes was knocked over, forming a puddle on the tatami, but this was the only detail that was different from usual. The disaster zone seemed to be less tragic than imagined.

However—

Haruaki pulled his gaze back to the veranda where the being, who could potentially cause all sorts of disasters, was currently sitting.

That person was both Konoha and definitely not the usual Konoha at the same time.

Flushed red cheeks, gla.s.ses half fallen off. Her back was swaying, her head was swaying a little as well. One of her braids was untied but the greatest problem was her clothing.

For some reason, Konoha was only wearing a red kimono, sloppily tied at the waist with a sash. Consequently, it seemed as though dangerous objects were going to fly out immediately even if her body swayed lightly. Even disregarding that, her posture of sitting cross-legged with one knee drawn up was also quite dangerous.

"K-Konoha, why are you dressed like that...?"

"Hmm~? Because it is very hot... Western clothing is nice but I still feel that a kimono facilitateth movement—Muho. Haryuaki-kun, which dost thou prefer~?"

"Uh... No, this currently has nothing to do with my preferences, right?"

Konoha stared at him with fully flirtatious eyes. While Haruaki was at a loss for words, Fear seemed to finally understand the current situation and said:

"That's right, it has absolutely nothing to do with the shameless brat's preferences! d.a.m.n you, Cow t.i.ts... Stop this nonsense! You must have gotten drunk again, right!?"

Then she strode her way towards Konoha who was sitting on the veranda.

"Hold on, Fear, don't do anything rash...!"

But Haruaki's warning did not make it in time. Probably intending to take the bottle, Fear reached towards Konoha without thinking. As soon as Konoha noticed, sitting where she was, she looked up with her reddened face and instantly—

"What...!?"

Fear's body shook slightly while she growled in surprise at the same time. Haruaki also found it unbelievable. Because Konoha was no longer in front where Fear was reaching towards but had climbed onto Fear's shoulders.

What amazing speed and agility. What exactly did she do to reach that position? Haruaki missed the entire process in between and could not comprehend at all.

Konoha's feet were planted on Fear's left and right shoulders respectively. Half crouching, her knees were bent while her thighs were spread wide. Hunching her back, she examined Fear's face from above. Naturally, one hand was still holding the bottle while her other hand was raised in front of Fear's face. Two of her fingers were bent in a hook-shape, stopping just as they were about to stab into Fear's eyes.

Maintaining her monster-like posture, akin to that of a baboon a.s.saulting a human, she narrowed her hazy eyes, faintly giving off a terrifyingly cold aura, she said:

"Due to... It seems that I have seen thee somewhere before... I shall confirm first. Answer me, little la.s.s... Art thou, little la.s.s... mine enemy...?"

Fear was rendered speechless, but immediately recovering from the shock, she bared her fangs and snarled:

"Y-You b.i.t.c.h...!"

Then she reached with both hands to grab Konoha's fingers in front of her. Using this as the point of contact, Fear launched Konoha in an over-the-shoulder throw. Nevertheless, Konoha simply twisted her body while her kimono fluttered elegantly in the air, finally landing silently on the veranda. Then she took another sip of plum brandy.

"Fuha... Ohoh~ In other words, little la.s.s, as one would expect, thou art mine—"

"N-No, hold on, time out! I'll provide the correct answer. She's not an enemy but a friend! She's really a friend!"

The two girls glared at each other, ready to break out in a fight any moment. In order to convey the fact that he was the messenger of peace, Haruaki raised both arms and rushed between the two girls. Although it felt like stepping into a landmine zone with missiles flying back and forth overhead, Haruaki knew that things would go out of control if he did not intervene.

"Muu." Fear frowned while Konoha relaxed her tense shoulders and smiled, saying:

"Oh my... Haryuaki-kun. This little la.s.s... is no enemy...?"

"Th-That's right, she's no enemy. She's a friend, a friend!"

"...Verily?"

"Honestly, it's the truth!"

Haruaki nodded vigorously and repeatedly while Konoha swayed her head left and right and puffed out her chest. The edge of the kimono's collar happened to get caught on a protruding tip. Only then did Haruaki came to a shocking realization that Konoha was not wearing anything on her upper torso apart from this kimono, sending him into s.h.i.+vers of terror. But putting that aside, Konoha was currently nodding in satisfaction, laughing joyfully:

"Yes, very well! Hahaha!"

Then she took another sip of plum brandy. Haruaki exhaled in relief.

Then Konoha sat down on the spot again, casually taking small sips of plum brandy. Fear stared at her with a frown while quietly approaching Haruaki and whispered:

"Hey, shameless brat... What's going on? Cow t.i.ts is definitely a weird woman usually with her intelligence sucked away by the creature on her chest, but she's several times weirder today. Even if it's because she drank alcohol, she didn't act like this last time when she was drunk."

"Oh~ ...This must be your first time seeing it. What should I say? Konoha apparently loves plum brandy—Except there's a problem. For some reason, her drunken madness is especially serious when caused by drinking plum brandy. Like now."

"Drunken madness...?"

"Like speaking in a manner similar to her past self... But that doesn't cause any actual harm. What's problematic are situations like just now when you faced off against her. She apparently becomes more true to her natural instincts, or perhaps I should say that her emotions become more direct and upfront."

"Hmph, why don't you just say directly that she becomes a simple-minded fool? Do you really think you can satisfy me with just an explanation like this...? Then how am I gonna vent my anger from getting suddenly attacked? Jeez."

"Hey Fear, I already told you to be careful. If she hears what you just said, she could very well start yelling: 'Thou darest to ridicule me—!' Then it'll turn into a troublesome situation...! You must watch your language and behavior from this point onwards—"

"Ha~ryua~ki-kuun~"

Haruaki's back shuddered as he looked back. No way, did she overhear what they said just now?

"Y-Yes...? Konoha, what's up...?"

"Hmm~? Hmm~ fufufu. I am simply calling, nothing more~"

"R-Really?"

Haruaki breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, his greatest worry was direct violence. So long as that could be prevented, he was willing to endure incomprehensible situations or slight inconveniences. Indeed, apart from violent behavior, just bring it on—Although perhaps this mindset of his was proving to be counterproductive.

"By the way... Hooh~~ Verily... So hot..."

"Guh!?"

Without warning, Konoha started pulling at the collar of her kimono, flapping it to send wind towards her chest. In concert with the collar's in and out movement, her bulging bosom wobbled and shook, causing the visible area of exposed skin to become sometimes large, sometimes medium, but never small, exposing the root of the current problematic situation. Due to the angle, Haruaki was barely spared a view of the protruding tips, but that was not enough for salvation. The attacks persisted.

"Oh...? ...Ufufu, perhaps it feeleth particularly hot because my sitting posture is wrong...? There."

"Woah!?"

As soon as Haruaki noticed that Konoha was glancing sideways at him in a profound manner, in the next instant, she boldly brought one knee up and started fanning the lower hem of her clothing. The corners of her lips curled slightly as she watched Haruaki in amus.e.m.e.nt.

The kimono's hem was dancing and turning over her long legs. Feeling a kind of premonition that he was about to see into the depths between her thighs, Haruaki hastily turned his back to Konoha. Next—

"Mufufufu! Haryuaki-kun is so pure and innocent~"

Haruaki heard light giggling behind him. He was completely being toyed with.

He could feel his cheeks turning red. Staying here further was only going to subject himself to more teasing. Hence, Haruaki decided to regroup.

"R-Right, I still haven't put away the groceries yet, they need to go into the fridge. Uh... Fear, come over and help me."

"Muu~ ...Hmph! Let alone helping you, I can actually do it by myself without any problems! But d.a.m.n you, shameless brat, you're definitely thinking of performing a fan's job, to create wind for Cow t.i.ts who's feeling hot! Because you'll get to see shameless things!"

"I-I'm definitely not thinking that! O-Okay, let's go! Konoha, why don't you wait here for now!?"

Hence, the two of them finally escaped the living room. Closing the sliding door behind him, Haruaki sighed deeply. A little displeased, Fear said:

"So... What's next?"

"That's exactly the problem I'm trying to solve right now. Let's hold a strategy meeting in the kitchen first. Oh, before that, let me go to the washroom first. I've been wanting to go on our way back."

"Just go if you need to. I'll start putting things away first."

Parting ways with Fear who entered the kitchen, Haruaki made his way to the washroom.

"Sigh~ What on earth should we do now...? Say, who exactly gave the plum brandy to Konoha? She couldn't possibly have bought it herself, right?"

At this moment, Haruaki suddenly found something on the floor in the corridor. He picked it up for a look.

"...Konoha's cardigan?"

Looking up in puzzlement, he discovered a trail of discarded clothing that formed a straight line on the corridor ahead. An attempt to imagine Konoha's actions yielded the following approximate process: drinking a gla.s.s of plum brandy in the living room → feeling hot after getting drunk → returning to her own room while undressing → taking out the kimono.

"Seriously, she really is completely different from her usual self."

The usual Konoha liked things to be neat and tidy. If anything, she was usually the one who scolded Haruaki and Fear for lazy behavior. Now that their roles were reversed, Haruaki found the situation a little refres.h.i.+ng.

Unable to leave them alone, Haruaki sequentially picked up the clothing dropped in the corridor. Socks, blouse, vest, skirt, and... And? A warning signal lighted up a beat too slow in his mind. He had already just picked up the skirt but there remained other articles in the corridor. After the skirt, what else would she take off? Due to going with the flow of the repeated picking up motion, he had reached out without thinking—But what exactly was the article of clothing he was currently picking up?

Haruaki almost looked down reflexively but dispelled that impulse with great difficulty. Right now, the ideal course of action was neither to look at the object in panic nor to confirm its soft texture with his fingers, nor to check the size of the piece of fabric resembling two bowls in shape, nor to confirm the color of the other piece of fabric, triangular in shape, which he had picked up simultaneously because they were piled together.

Indeed, under such circ.u.mstances, his best course of action was to quietly stuff these things into the cardigan and other clothing without taking a single look... Just as Haruaki took a deep breath to lift the fabric he was unable to view directly—

"Hohou~ So thou art interested in mine undergarments... Haryuaki-kun?"

"Uwahhhhh!"

Konoha suddenly pounced on his back. When did she approach without making a sound?

"Drinking alone... too boring... I came to find thee but discovered... Ufufu!"

"No, you've got the wrong idea, you're really mistaken! I was just picking up the clothing you scattered all over the floor."

Since he had just picked up two pieces of underwear, top and bottom, this meant that Konoha was undoubtedly wearing neither at the moment. In other words, this proved that she really was wearing nothing but a kimono.

But currently, Konoha's heavy objects, clad in nothing more than a sheer kimino, kept exerting pressure on Haruaki's back, concentrating virtually all of his consciousness there. All it took was subtle movement from Konoha and those two soft bulges would wobble and shake slightly, s.h.i.+fting in angle, shape and weight from the pressure. When Haruaki moved, presumably rubbing a certain sensitive spot, Konoha moaned seductively behind his ear: "Ah mmm...!"

"Stop, don't lean your entire weight on me, I can't move...!"

"I cannot move either, unable to walk a further step~ Mushushu. Thou shouldst carry me on thy back and walk~"

"You're definitely lying! Ah, hey, it's touching, touching me! Please stay still!"

Two snow-white arms reached out for the sides of his face and slowly turned Haruaki's head, causing him to face the side. He met gazes with Konoha whose head was positioned on his shoulder.

"Hey, compared to undergarments, dost thou... have something... thou desirest even more...?"

"No... L-Like I said, I'm not doing this because I'm interested in underwear! It's because they're dropped on the floor! Uh, right, I have to take these clothes to the changing area and go to the toilet, so I'd really appreciate it if you could let go of me straight away. Konoha, please—Eh!?"

"Toilet... The lavatory? Mmfu. Well then, shall we go...?"

"W-Why are you pus.h.i.+ng me? I can go by myself, this is my home, you know!? Say, you've already abandoned the pretext of being unable to walk!?"

Konoha was originally hanging on his back like a slime, but now she suddenly exerted force through her legs and stepped forward. At the same time, she kept Haruaki's head firmly clamped in her arms.

Naturally, Haruaki could not possibly resist Konoha in strength. Hence escape was impossible. Konoha dragged him to the washroom and even opened the door.

"Come... Shall we enter together, ufufufu? I shall a.s.sist thee... Pulling down the zipper..."

"A-Anything but that, please!"

Although he had no idea what, Haruaki was certain that something earth-shaking was definitely going to happen once they entered the washroom. Absolutely. Just as he resisted with all the strength he could muster from his entire body—

"Wha... W-W-What... What is going on here!?"

The savior—or new embers of chaos—appeared at the end of the corridor. Probably hearing the commotion, Fear had run out of the kitchen. Instantly, she figured out the situation.

"You've finally shown your true colors... Then I'll treat you to a taste of your own medicine! Immorality et cetera—!"

Taking out a Rubik's cube form her pocket, Fear transformed it into the torture wheel, raising it high above her head as she rushed at Haruaki and Konoha. Presumably forced to react, Konoha swiftly released Haruaki, turned and charged. A number of creaks sounded from the corridor's floorboards in succession. Fear threw the wheel while stepping forward. Konoha swayed left and right, evading. Fear continued to follow up with offense. Lazily lifting her free hand that was not holding the bottle of brandy, Konoha blocked Fear's attack using a karate chop—

Engaged in a contest of strength, the two girls were locked in a close-range battle, glaring viciously at each other.

"I forgot to add just now... The three words: (Death by Wheel)...!"

"Hmm~? How odd~ Haryuaki-kun mentioned that thou, little la.s.s, art not mine enemy..."

"Hmph, but you could very well be mine...!"

"I see~ ...Then in self-defense, I must counterattack... Is that so...? Burp."

Another battle was on the verge of erupting again. Haruaki gulped hard. He must once again step up to stop them. But could he stop them? Unlike just now, this had already developed into a physical altercation.

Knowing it was futile, Haruaki still could not help but hope that he could rely on something, wis.h.i.+ng someone could help. He was not going to be greedy. As long as this situation could be kept under control, it would be fine. Was there anyone who could stop these two girls from fighting, anyone who could reduce these two girls' intent to fight—?

Suddenly, she appeared.

"I'm~ home~ I've been working hard today too... Oh my?"

Hearing the front door opening, Haruaki turned too look.

Standing there—was of course, the pet.i.te black-haired young girl, namely, Kuroe.

She had returned home inexplicably earlier than usual, but probably due to her feelings of exhaustion or boredom, the opening hours of the beauty parlor, Dan-no-ura, changed freely on whim according to her mood.

Kuroe had apparently yet to understand the current situation, simply using her usual blank eyes to stare at the two girls who were locked in a contest of strength between a torture wheel and a karate chop. Then she tilted her head adorably in puzzlement. But just at that moment—

"Nwah... Huh? Hey, stand still, d.a.m.n Cow t.i.ts! Where are you going?"

Konoha had suddenly abandoned the stalemate, causing Fear to fall forward. Completely ignoring Fear, Konoha swayed as she walked over to Kuroe at the entrance.

"E-Eh? Umm, Kono-san, today you're looking different from usual—"

"Ufu, of course I know thy ident.i.ty~ Kuroe-shan! Mufufu... Seeing thee anew... Sure enough... Extremely! Adorable! Yes!"

Smiling in a terrifying manner, Konoha moved her ten fingers, exhaling breath that reeked strongly of alcohol.

Seeing Konoha slowly approaching her, even Kuroe finally seemed to sense the nightmare's presence. Making an unmoving smile that looked like a mask, she said in a stiff voice:

"Ahahaha. Thank you—Well then, I just remembered that I still have something to do, so please excuse me."

"Huhee, thou thinkst thou canst escape from me—? Uriuri!"

"Wah—!"

Konoha hugged Kuroe tightly and began to rub their faces together forcefully, apparently forgetting Fear who was watching this scene with a stunned expression. Sure enough, when in drunken madness, Konoha was rather capricious in her emotions, making it impossible to predict her behavior.

In any case, Haruaki thanked his lucky stars that an imminent conflict was successfully evaded.

Good job, Kuroe! Haruaki mentally made a thumbs-up gesture, praising the arrival of the savior.

However, the savior was soon reaching a state of nihility akin to a kitten that had been under constant caress, collapsing limply in Konoha's arms.

"Using money to punish a person...? Hmm~ That local official's facial expression is truly evil to the extreme. Burp, must be Tokugawa's descendant, how truly displeasing..."

Konoha was in the living room watching television, muttering to herself. At the same time, she was alternating between drinking plum brandy and eating mouthfuls of food to accompany the alcohol. The snacks were prepared by Haruaki using existing ingredients that were ready on hand.

The trio of Haruaki, Fear and Kuroe were sitting at the side of the table opposite to her, suppressing their breaths. Despite making a continuous stream of grumbling comments, Konoha was completely engrossed in the television. Now was the only time to hold a strategy meeting.

"...I get it now. Kono-san always enters a drunken madness after drinking plum brandy. This is like the effect of catnip on cats and limited editions on collectors, a substance that makes her lose rationality especially easily, isn't it?"

"Exactly. By the way, Kuroe, your hair is all messed up."

"Ugh, my head still feels hot from all the rubbing Kono-san did for so long... I was beginning to think the friction was going to make fire."

Kuroe's hair moved sluggishly, fixing her hairstyle on its own. Through the slow movements of her hair, one could tell how utterly exhausted she was.

Glancing at Konoha while she was watching television, Haruaki said quietly:

"So... The problem we need to think about is simply what are we going to do next."

"Isn't that simple!? Right now, she's just a shameless b.i.t.c.h who's full of herself, doing whatever she wants, reeking of alcohol, a total eyesore! She must be dealt with right away! I propose a simple solution that can be captured in merely three words. Namely, force! Unconscious! Rope! ...Hoho, that's all!"

Fear was looking at Konoha with s.h.i.+ning eyes akin to that of savage hound. Seeing that, Haruaki sighed.

"You're going to resort to force? In my view, I'm hoping that you won't execute the kind of plan that's like capturing Konoha, something a bit gentler would be better..."

"But Ficchi's plan isn't totally unworkable as a general direction. I don't really think Kono-san can be easily subdued in her current state, but I don't think she'll listen obediently even if we asked her to stop drinking. Also, look how she's taking small sips at a time so the consumption rate is kind of slow... Waiting for her to finish might be slightly challenging."

"Yeah... You have a point."

Hence, Kuroe turned her face slightly and said:

"I think your answer is very vague... Haru, are there extenuating circ.u.mstances forcing you to favor gentle solutions?"

"d.a.m.n you, shameless brat, you haven't been bribed by Cow t.i.ts already, have you!? Oh, that reminds me, what happened to that underwear and clothing you were holding in the corridor just now...? Did she bribe you with that!?"

"Of course not, I already put the clothes in the changing area for sure!"

"Then why not!? I won't have mercy on you if you dare hide things from me!"

"Sheesh... But it's nothing so compelling as extenuating circ.u.mstances..."

Haruaki looked towards Konoha again. The story on television must be entering a climax. She was leaning forward slightly, staring at the screen intently.

"Yes, right there! Go—... Wow, the hairpin stabbed in with a goos.h.!.+ A truly fitting death for a corrupt official! Kufufu, a toast to celebrate..."

Konoha slapped her thigh repeatedly then took a sip of brandy, grinning from side to side, then burped, exhaling deeply. Seeing the official go limp on screen, she laughed heartily again.

Yeah, disregarding the video content she was laughing about...

She really looked quite happy... Haruaki thought.

"How should I put this...? Recently, it's been quite rare to see Konoha laughing to her heart's content like this. If I think back carefully, it's very seldom for her to put down everything to have fun without reserve to begin with. She's always helping with house ch.o.r.es and going out to work part-time on occasion. She's definitely keeping her guard up all the time to watch out for suspicious characters nearby... It does seem quite tough for her in various ways, so I was wondering if she might be acc.u.mulating a lot of stress."

"Hmm, now that you mention it, that seems to be true. Kono-san isn't someone who complains or says discouraging things."

"...So what you mean is let her continue drinking in drunken stupor?"

Fear frowned and pouted, whispering in discontent.

"As much as I'd like to do that, allowing her to stay in this mode endlessly will cause too much damage to us... So I'm hoping for a compromise and resolve the situation gently. Rather than waging total war to render her unconscious and tie her up, I'd like something more natural. Since she's already like this, it can't be helped so I'm hoping to bring Konoha back to normal happily after she dissipates her stress completely, something like that at least..."

My suggestion probably has too much wishful thinking... Haruaki scratched his head. But after looking up slightly, he noticed Kuroe was making a faint wry smile with a gentle expression. On the other hand, Fear was pouting, facing another direction while muttering: "Jeez... This guy is always making such a shameless face, every single time..."

"That's so like Haru's style. In that case, I'll do as you say."

"Hmph, I can't stand this. But precisely because of that, the shameless brat is the shameless brat... N-No wait, I haven't accepted it yet! If you must have your way no matter what, it's not like I can't negotiate with you. Just give me ten... No, twenty rice crackers and it's a deal!"

"Sigh, no helping it. Although it feels like highway robbery, I'll pay you afterwards."

"Great, deal sealed. Can't be helped, we'll have to go for gentler means."

"A gentle solution huh... But that depends on what extent counts as gentle. Oh right, Haru, you knew all along that Kono-san turns into this state whenever she drinks plum brandy, right?"

"Yeah. In the past, before either of you came to this home, something similar happened once. I don't quite remember the details but Pops and I definitely suffered tragically. That's why, afterwards, we vowed from the bottom of our hearts that plum brandy is the one thing that Konoha must not touch. Not even a drop."

"Since something similar happened before, you must have learnt at least one or two useful things. Do you recall anything? Like being susceptible to pain caused by reciting prayers to her or being unable to stand the smell of garlic."

"Are you treating her as some kind of demon!?"

"By the way, how did you clean up the mess back then? Did you simply endure the whole thing or did you use some kind of special method to turn Kono-san back to normal...? This is very important."

Hearing Kuroe's question, Haruaki tilted his head, a deep furrow appearing on his brow as he concentrated. However—

"Hmm~ Actually, that's exactly what I've been thinking for a while now, but I can't recall what happened at all. How strange, it's like my memories were sealed by someone. It's really totally blank for just that one patch..."

"M-Most likely, it was a traumatic experience for Haru in his childhood. Probably a defense mechanism activated to protect his heart and soul... In that case, don't force yourself to remember it!"

While Kuroe said that, what appeared to be cold sweat dripped from her. Whatever, Haruaki decided that there was no point in focusing his attention on that matter since he might remember all of a sudden.

"So, back to the issue at hand, what exactly are we doing next? I don't want to just keep tolerating her tyranny. We must find a way to return her to normal, gently."

"Hmm. Ultimately, what should we do to make Konoha sober?"

Haruaki pondered. Sobering Konoha. The simplest and most basic method was time. No matter how utterly drunk, everyone would definitely go sober after some amount of time—But it was a totally different issue if they kept drinking continually.

In other words—

Conversely, she would definitely grow sober gradually provided she stopped drinking.

"Her drunken stupor persists because she keeps drinking nonstop... The first goal is to stop her from drinking more plum brandy. But there's still a lot of brandy left in that bottle. Since that's the case—"

"The bottle must be taken away."

Kuroe declared. The trio looked at one another and nodded.

The battle plan's direction was decided. In other words, to stop Konoha from drinking more plum brandy, they were going to take the bottle away.

"But if all we do is grab it, I think she'll immediately s.n.a.t.c.h it back. Maybe it's better if we secretly replace the plum brandy inside with water or fruit juice. In her current state, I don't think Kono-san will notice."

"Hmm, if the brandy can be replaced secretly, that'll be the best. But that requires finding an opportunity to make the switch first."

"If Cow t.i.ts spots us during the stealing process, we might have to resort to a crash and burn approach, pouring the bottle's contents out... But we'll just have to adapt to the situation when the time comes."

"'Operation Secret Bottle Swap' sounds too direct as a name, too risky. Just in case, we should use a codename so that it doesn't matter if she overhears. In other words, this is 'Operation Beauties Preparing to Subst.i.tute Bottles Secretly', shortened as—Yes! Let's call it Operation Subst.i.tution Beauties!"

"I'm a guy, okay? Say, I don't see why you have to put in the word 'beauties' deliberately."

"Haru, don't sweat the small details~ I think this plan should be divided into four major phases. The first phase is 'preparing the subst.i.tute bottle,' the second phase is 'taking the bottle from Kono-san's hands,' the third phase is 'cautiously but boldly swapping bottles' and the final and fourth phase is 'after the supply is cut, Kono-san sobers up.'"

"Yeah. In other words, once these phases are completed in sequence, victory will naturally come into view. Then let's go. So, the specific details..."

Konoha had been keeping them in the corner of her view all this time. While they were discussing the details for Operation Subst.i.tution Beauties, Konoha suddenly turned her head to look at them. The trio instantly held their breaths.

"...Staring~"

A slanted, glaring stare. Despite laughing heartily at the corrupt official's death just now, she suddenly seemed quite displeased. Taking a sip of plum brandy, Konoha said:

"Hmm~ ...Burp. Right now, ye... were... whispering...?"

"N-No we weren't. What whispering? We were just chatting casually. That's right, just chatting casually."

"Ostracizing... me... Just the three of ye...?"

Saying that, Konoha pouted childishly. The usual Konoha would never make such a face, so it was quite a refres.h.i.+ng sight. But now was not the time to be enjoying this refres.h.i.+ng sense. Rather, it was an unprecedented crisis.

"W-We're not ostracizing you."

"..."

Konoha pouted even more forcefully, her hazy gaze penetrating the three of them in sequence, like an underworld judge trying to expose lies based on their facial expressions. Then—

"Seiza."

"...Wha?"

"Sei~za~! Make haste! Here!"

Konoha patted the tatami next to her. Her eyes were already staring straight at him.

"Hey, why? What did we do?"

"Shush, Fear! Anyway, let's avoid angering Konoha for now. Now that we've finally decided what we're going to do, things will get very troublesome if we anger her. Hey, Kuroe too... Woah, that's fast!"

Unbelievable, instantaneous movement. Clearly next to Haruaki just a moment ago, Kuroe was now sitting formally in seiza posture at the location indicated.

"I've already decided to submit totally to the current Kono-san in non-resistance."

Konoha's displeased gaze and intimidating aura did not go away. Haruaki and Fear obediently sat down in seiza to follow Kuroe's suit. Sitting down forcefully in a cross-legged posture in front of the trio, Konoha took a sip of plum brandy and swept her sharp gaze over the group.

"Very well... So, do something... interesting... Amuse me!"

"Wait, Konoha, why are you giving this kind of order suddenly?"

"Muhmm~? I care not! Dost thou have a problem with that!? This ought to be possible if ye are not ostracizing me! Hence, ye ought to do it!"

"What unreasonable logic..."

"Ye cannot... Huh? Then sure enough, ye are ostracizing me...?"

Konoha's eyes were s.h.i.+mmering with the dim light of loneliness. Inexplicably, Haruaki felt a strong sense of guilt.

"Th-That's wrong, we're definitely not ostracizing you. It's just that we're wondering how to amuse you!"

"Puha~ Then allow me to decide! Hmm~"

"Letting this drunkard decide what we're going to do? That's definitely an extremely scary game...!"

Probably hearing this murmur, Konoha locked her gaze on Fear, thus deciding the first victim.

"In that case~ First, little la.s.s, thou~"

Everyone gulped at once. Thinking up something that no one could guess, Konoha finally laughed in a commanding manner and said:

"Yes—strip!"

"I-I strongly refuse! What kind of demand is that? It's too shameless!"

Flushed red in the face, Fear leaned forward. However, Konoha laughed greatly while shaking her upper body.

"Hyaha, surely I jest... Well then, pour the drink. Little la.s.s, thou shalt be responsible for pouring!"

This could very well be a great opportunity. Haruaki and Kuroe made eyes towards Fear. Since she was to pour the drink, it implied that the bottle will be handed over to Fear. Although they might not be able to execute the plan immediately, for the remainder of the operation, this was very crucial.

Fear nodded lightly. Then clenching her fists, she slowly stood up.

"We'll have no future if we don't defeat her as soon as possible. I've no choice but to step up. Haruaki, Kuroe, I'm counting on you guys for the rest...!"

Fear was making a face that matched these exaggerated words, like a stoic warrior heading off towards sacrifice for the sake of the greater good, filled with tragic determination.

"Hey, the gla.s.s is empty..."

"Muu... I know."

"Verily, thou ought to pour more gently. As one would expect, the little la.s.s is clumsy... Haha!"

"Gr... Grrrrrr...!"

Endure, Fear, this is for the sake of our plan...! Haruaki transmitted his thoughts to Fear while she poured the brandy. Currently, Fear was still obeying Konoha quietly, but her internal stress was definitely building up from being forced to pour drinks like a servant for Konoha whom she was always antagonizing every day.

On the other hand, Kuroe was not present. Konoha was currently using the ordinary gla.s.s that was originally knocked over in the living room (probably the gla.s.s used for her first drink), asking Fear to pour her a drink. Hence, just earlier, Kuroe had rubbed her hands together and said: "I must say that this kind of cheap gla.s.s is not fit for Kono-san to use! I will go search for a cla.s.sier wine gla.s.s, please wait, hehehe!" Then she fled the living room. Of course, that was merely a pretext. Right now, Kuroe should be in the process of putting phase one of the aforementioned Operation Subst.i.tution Beauties into action with utmost urgency, in other words, preparing the subst.i.tute bottle.

Kuroe had said that she was going to a nearby convenience store to buy crunchy plums and plum juice, which would take her some time to return. Hence, it was necessary to have Fear stall for time first.

As a side note, Haruaki had made several attempts to leave the living room so as to a.s.sist in the first phase of the operation, but for some reason, Konoha would exude an intense aura of displeasure every single time, leaving him no choice but to give up. As a result, all he could do was watch over Fear while pondering what "amusing" thing he could do when his turn arrived. However, Konoha kept glancing at him, smiling very happily, which meant that he was already serving as some kind of existence to accompany her consumption of alcohol.

But perhaps wanting to try other dishes to accompany her drinking from time to time, Konoha suddenly looked at Fear, staring intently.

"W-What?"

"Little la.s.s... Thy hair... Very pretty, isn't it? Since thou art free right now... Come come come, come a little closer... Burp. Worry not, I shan't do anything bad to thee."

"Ugh... Ughhhhh... Ughhhhhhhhhh. This is terrifying, too terrifying..."

Probably killing time, Konoha picked up Fear's silver hair and started to braid it nimbly. From an observer's standpoint, this was a heart-warming scene that would bring a smile to anyone's face, but considering the two girls' usual relations.h.i.+p, all one could say was this was truly a rare scene. Fear also looked like she had no idea how to react, her back simply trembled nonstop.

Soon after, Fear's hair was rendered in the same style as Konoha's, a braid on just one side. The elastic string used to tie her braid came from the tatami floor where it had been dropped earlier, in other words, the string that was originally used to tie Konoha's hair.

"Behold, the same as I now... Mmmph. Haryuaki-kun... What dost thou think?"

"I-I think it looks great. Umm... Just like sisters! Hahaha."

"d.a.m.n you, shameless brat, stop saying things that give me gooseb.u.mps! I can't believe you're such a sycophant...!"

After hearing Haruaki's response, delivered with a smile aiming to please, Fear went slightly red in the face and glared vicious at him. However, Haruaki did not consider it flattery. Rather, he was simply saying honestly what he felt.

Looking contentedly at Fear who was now sporting the same hairstyle as her, Konoha then licked her own lips for some reason.

"Hmm~ Now that I look at thee, little la.s.s, thou art... quite adorable too..."

"Wha!? No, wait, what are you trying to do!? Cow t.i.ts, cut it out now! Get away from me1 Don't hug me with your arms around my neck! Don't put your face against me! A-Are you trying to do to me what you did to Kuroe!? That's totally demonic, completely demoralizing—!"

"Hmm~? Thou sayst... What I did to Kuroe-shan... Thou meanst like this...?"

"Hoahhhhhhhh!"

Konoha pressed their faces tightly togther and started grinding. Since Konoha had Fear's head firmly in her grasp, all Fear could do was keep leaning back.

Then Konoha's face slowly moved down along Fear's cheek—

"Ohoh~ How truly smooth, both smooth and tender, also full of elasticity... Almost like a steamed bun. Mmmph, looketh so delicious..."

Then she opened her mouth and bit Fear lightly on the neck.

"Eeeeeeeek!? I'm getting eaten—!"

Fear's toleration probably reached a limit finally. With a great shake of her back, she suddenly pushed Konoha's arms away with all her strength and fled in desperation.

Nonchalantly using one hand to catch the bottle of plum brandy that Fear had tossed into the air, Konoha looked in the veranda's direction where Fear had escaped, grumbling softly in discontent.

"What~ How boring..."

However, just as Konoha was about to take another sip from the bottle, someone forcefully opened the living room's sliding door.

"No~ I have already witnessed Ficchi's way of survival...! Now it's my turn to enter stage and do my best!"

Kuroe had returned. Haruaki quietly sat up and looked behind her—There it was. At a dead angle outside of Konoha's view, Kuroe's hair was currently holding a shape resembling a bottle.

(Ohoh, that's the light of our hope... As reliable as a legendary holy sword!)

Most likely noticing his gaze, Kuroe made a thumbs up sign behind her back. The first phase of the operation had been accomplished flawlessly.

Next, all would be fine once they accomplish the second phase of Operation Subst.i.tution Beauties, taking the bottle from Konoha's hand, and the third phase, cautiously but boldly swapping bottles.

Once that was done, it would leave only the fourth and final phase, sobering up now that the supply was cut. Then all would be well as they quietly waited for the happy future to arrive—

"So! Since Ficchi ran away, it's my turn to pour for you, Kono-san. See, I've found a gla.s.sy wine gla.s.s just for you. So please hand me that bottle you have there—"

"Oh... How wonderful. Be that as it may, simply having two people in a row pour brandy for me, I have tired of it. I shall accept thy wine gla.s.s with grat.i.tude but thou shalt do something else, Kuroe-shan~..."

"Guh!"

The operation was instantly stalled. Nevertheless, Kuroe quickly drummed up her spirits again.

"S-So, Kono-san, how about a ma.s.sage? My hair ma.s.sage is considered number one in the world, you'll be brought to ecstasy!"

"Oh... A ma.s.sage? Experiencing a ma.s.sage while having a drink, truly extravagant enjoyment... I shall be counting on thee."

"Understood—!"

Kuroe made her way around to Konoha's back. Her hair fluttered lightly and separated into many bundles, which then wrapped themselves around Konoha's body as she stretched her legs and sat down on the tatami floor. Neck. Arms. Cleavage. Thighs. Then the bundles of hair contracted in an unhurried manner, beginning to ma.s.sage Konoha's muscles.

"Oho, hoho... 'Tis truly... excellent."

"Thank you for your appreciation~"

Although it seemed like a good opportunity on first glance, Kuroe did not something as reckless as trying to tie up Konoha using the hair. This was because Konoha, being a j.a.panese sword, countered Kuroe's hair completely. As long as Konoha had the intent, she could easily sever Kuroe's hair.

In order to look out for opportunities to act, Kuroe continued to use her hair to ma.s.sage Konoha. Relaxing her entire body, Konoha entrusted herself to Kuroe's hair. The hair going past her neck was rubbing her shoulders, causing Konoha to exhale. Hair was lifting up her thigh lightly; movement in the hair pa.s.sing between her cleavage caused her bosom to wobble—Haruaki frantically focused his attention on Kuroe instead of Konoha. Someone not in the know would probably mistake the sight for that of a voluptuous kimono-clad beauty in tight bondage. That was how dangerous this scene looked.

"Mmm! ...Ah ...There... Lower slightly..."

"Okay~ Leave it to me. Just relax your body."

At this moment, a new bundle of hair rose up silently from Kuroe's head. Her gaze also turned slightly sharp. The bundle of hair was slowly approaching its target—The bottle of plum brandy held in Konoha's right hand.

She's doing it? Haruaki quietly clenched his fist below the table.

The second phase, taking the bottle from Konoha's hand, was reaching an impa.s.se, hence Kuroe had decided to skip the second phase, going for the operation's phase three directly.

Indeed, Konoha was currently a captive of pleasure at the moment. Provided Kuroe was able to to take the bottle swiftly and swap it with the subst.i.tute bottle behind her, the operation would succeed. Although evading Konoha's discovery was very difficult, it was fine so long as the bottle could be taken out of Konoha's view for an instant. Once that was done, there were many possible excuses, such as finding the bottle getting in the way of the ma.s.saging or wanting to use her hair to pour brandy.

All Haruaki could do was pray. I'm counting on you, Kuroe...!

The bundle of hair crept slowly towards the bottle. Twenty centimeters remained, ten centimeters, five centimeters—

But just at this moment, Konoha suddenly lifted the bottle to pour brandy into her gla.s.s. The hair missed.

"...Hmm?"

"W-What's up?"

Kuroe stopped the bundle of hair from moving as though saying "nothing weird's going on, this hair is for ma.s.saging!", smiling in a pleasing manner. Looking back, Konoha shook her head lightly.

"No... Thou continuest."

"U-Understood~"

The mission resumed. The hair slowly approached but again, just before making contact, the bottle was moved. The hair froze.

"...Hmm?"

"Hmm? W-What's wrong?"

Then again, the hair slowly approached, the bottle was moved, the hair froze. Konoha looked back; breaking out in cold sweat, Kuroe smiled in an effort to please... It was almost the same as a game of Red Light, Green Light.

(W-What should I do?)

Hence, Haruaki came up with a new plan, namely phase two point five, diverting Konoha's attention.

At this rate, Konoha was going to find out any time. Her attention must be diverted, even for a few seconds, so as to create an opening. To this end, what could Haruaki help—?

"..."

Haruaki instantly had an idea but it was accompanied by a number of problems. However, making sacrifices for the greater good was the most important. Right now, he had been simply sitting in one spot, serving as Konoha's accompanying snack for her alcohol drinking. Haruaki could not let Fear and Kuroe be the only ones working hard. Knowing how risky this was, he still went ahead, hoping it could provide some slight effect as cover—

Just as Haruaki resolved himself, Konoha ended up being the one to speak up.

"Hmm... Ahff... Oh, yes yes. A hair ma.s.sage might be nice, but I still desire human hands... So Haryuaki-kun, come~ Give me a ma.s.sage... Burp. Kuroe-shan shall continue to focus on the hair~"

"—Got it."

Haruaki decided to help in ma.s.saging to divert Konoha's attention. As much as possible, he tried to chat with her and engage her attention. Konoha's invitation turned out to match his intentions, but the risk hidden in