"Ugh ugh..."
Since the jobs they did during the day were mostly physically demanding, both Iori and Kohei were struggling to even lift their arms after two consecutive days of hard labor.
"Tsk tsk, you two are just pitiful."
Shiro shook his head with a smug expression that made the two look at him with envy.
(¬_¬)
"Damn it, you bastard, why don't you have to work?!"
"Well, it can't be helped. After all, my manuscript fees pretty much cover the cost of this training camp."
"Damn it, I still can't believe you're the creator of Aqua!!!"
Kohei was completely broken when he found out that this shameless guy, Shiro, was the author of Aqua.
Why… why could this normie write such an amazing light novel?! And he even dropped it!
Damn you author!
"Well, maybe this is just the world of geniuses."
Shiro wore a proud expression. After all, not everyone gets to isekai, especially into a slice-of-life show where they get to act all cool.
Meanwhile, Aina and Chisa had black lines across their faces. These three couldn't go a moment without bickering...
"So, did you manage to gather enough money for the training camp?"
"We'll earn the rest tomorrow."
Kohei answered. Tomorrow's job was something Azusa introduced them to—working as staff to maintain order during an event. It shouldn't be too tiring, right…?
"If you two are short on cash, you can come join us."
"They said late entries are fine too."
Chisa and Aina promptly turned down the invitation. After all, they hadn't been spending recklessly on alcohol like some people.
Creaaak~
The five of them pushed open the door to the Grand Blue (GB) shop. It seemed like this was the first time all five of them had arrived together.
"Yo, the five of you came together?"
"That's rare."
"Ha~ (ˉ︶ˉ;) We just bumped into each other on the way here. Nanaka-nee, I want coffee."
"…Shiro, this is a diving shop, stop asking for weird drinks."
Nanaka handed him a bottle of beer. That was the only thing their shop currently had in stock.
With no other options, Shiro had to take the beer and start drinking. To him, beer and coffee had similar effects anyway?
"Shiro, did you stay up late? Didn't you stay in all day yesterday?"
Azusa rubbed his dog-like head. For some reason, it felt incredibly satisfying to ruffle his hair~
"Ha~ I was up playing a game last night. Borrowed one from Kohei."
"A game?"
"Yup~"
Shiro rubbed his slightly red eyes. He had to admit, Kohei was truly a galgame pro. He had tons of games even Shiro had never seen before.
Last night, he borrowed Black Beast from him and ended up playing it all night, his blood boiling with excitement!
He really didn't expect that the supposed 'pure love advocate' Kohei had this kind of collection (ﾟ∀ﾟ)
"By the way, Azusa-nee, what were you guys talking about earlier? I think I heard something about radishes? Are we eating radishes for lunch today? Can we change it? That stuff makes you... uh…"
Before he could finish, a hand stuffed the mouth of his beer bottle into his face.
Nanaka said with a "kind" smile,
"Shiro, you need to be polite~"
That terrifying expression snapped Shiro out of it instantly, and he nodded like crazy.
Damn, he was just trying to share some science facts!
"Radishes? Do we need radishes for diving? I'll go buy some for you."
Oh no! Here comes another victim!
Shiro snickered to himself as he watched the clueless Iori fall into the trap. Another poor soul about to be roasted.
However, things didn't go as he imagined. After all, Iori was the kind of obedient child who would eagerly volunteer to buy radishes.
"Ah, Iori, that's okay. They're not exactly cheap, after all~"
Pffft~
(¬_¬)
Shiro laughed shamelessly. For someone to be told they couldn't even afford a radish—just how miserable was this guy, Kitahara?
Smack!
He patted Iori's arm.
"Kitahara, don't force yourself anymore. The Men's Club will always be your home. I heard they're changing their name to 'Big Bird Spinning Club,' so now you can totally join."
"...No way in hell I'm joining that club! And are you judging clubs just by their names?! Even if they change it, it's still not a normal club!"
"Tsk, Kitahara, you're so hard to please."
"You're the one being ridiculous!"
"Now now, don't fight, you two. Actually…"
After listening for a while, Nanaka and Azusa understood what the misunderstanding was about. Just as Nanaka was about to explain, Azusa covered her mouth.
Azusa grinned wickedly and called over to Chisa, who was reading nearby. "Hey, Chisa, what would you do if Iori bought you a diving computer watch?"
Caught off guard, Chisa flinched.
After understanding the question, her face turned a rare shade of red. She half-hid her face behind her book and replied,
"…Just fifteen minutes. For fifteen minutes, I'd be willing to treat him like a human being."
"Ahaha, you hear that, Iori~"
Azusa laughed. Fifteen minutes! That alone showed how valuable the watch was!
(°ロ°)
Iori had a completely blank expression. Now he was curious—what was he in Chisa's eyes before that?
"Kitahara! Fifteen minutes?! What a dirty, money-fueled transaction. I'm calling the cops~"
"You bastard, stop making it sound like we did something indecent! She said she'd treat me like a human, okay?!"
"Wmmmm, and? You pay the money, she pays the price. Isn't that exactly what a monetary transaction is?"
"…You just invalidated the majority of all human transactions with that line."
"But money deals aren't inherently bad, are they? What are you thinking of, huh?" (¬_¬)
(´д｀)
Sensing Chisa's murderous glare, Iori spat out a mouthful of imaginary blood. Dammit, it was Shiro who said all that—why glare at me?!
After teasing Iori, Shiro turned to ask Azusa,
"So what's a diving computer watch? Weren't we just talking about radishes?"
"Haha, we were always talking about diving computers~
Diving computer: a device that continuously monitors your diving depth and time, and calculates the reduction in nitrogen levels in your body to avoid decompression sickness.
By the way, they range in price from 30,000 yen to 100,000 yen~"
!!!
"Kitahara, I kind of figured it out already, but I didn't think those fifteen minutes were worth that much. In a way, you're kind of impressive!"
Shiro looked genuinely shocked. He really had underestimated just how low Iori ranked in Chisa's heart.
At that price range, he was probably on par with a cockroach.
"That's not something to be proud of at all. Shiro, if you'd just erase my debt, I'd treat you like a human being for the rest of my life!"
"Sorry, Kitahara, but your goodwill is worthless~"
"Damn you!!"
Iori roared in frustration. Maybe he shouldn't pay that debt back after all!
The upperclassmen, seeing that everyone had rested enough, stood up from their seats. After all, they called everyone together for a reason—
"Let's go! Today we're gonna check out the diving equipment!"
…