The atmosphere in the car immediately became lighter.
"Tell me, Yukima-san, are we going straight to the villa or will we stop by Otaru first?"
After driving a little way from the airport, Kitagawa Marin remembered her job.
"We'll be strolling around Otaru. Eriri mentioned on the plane that she wanted to visit Tanuki-koji shopping street," Yukima Azuma answered with a gentle smile.
Kitagawa Marin nodded.
"Eh? Aren't we going back to drop off our luggage first? I'm... not in a hurry!" Eriri, hearing Yukima Azuma's words, felt a bit embarrassed.
"This is experience," Yukima Azuma said firmly. "Even if it feels like there's plenty of time, if we get to the villa and lie down on the bed, then want to get up and continue the trip, it'll be very hard. I'm sure Eriri won't be able to get up before 10 AM tomorrow."
Eriri, who had been a bit embarrassed, immediately became angry at this.
"Definitely not!" Eriri huffed, showing her small fang. "It's you, Azuma, who's lazy!"
"You're the kind of fool who always procrastinates until the last minute to finish drafts, so not being able to get out of bed is no surprise."
Kasumigaoka Utaha added a teasing remark from the side.
Eriri:!
She was furious and wanted to argue back, but the words were, unfortunately, true.
"If it's about enthusiasm, Sawamura-san wouldn't be chased by deadlines either," Kato Megumi said gently, trying to mediate.
Eriri hugged Kato Megumi tightly.
This world is so cold!
Only Megumi is this gentle!
Up ahead, Kitagawa Marin was driving, glancing in the rearview mirror at everything in the car.
Her lips involuntarily curled into a smile.
As an otaku, she usually wouldn't be interested in these kinds of casual conversations among "realistic" people.
But Kitagawa Marin felt that these four had a special kind of youthful atmosphere, like something straight out of a light novel.
There was a feeling that even standing on the sidelines, she would be drawn in.
Speaking of the black-haired young lady over there, she kind of resembled Kasumi Utako-sensei, right?
And then the gentle girl.
Before getting in the car, Kitagawa Marin hadn't even noticed her existence.
Her presence was subtle, but once noticed, she was incredibly cute... almost like Kujou Megumi!
Kitagawa Marin shook her head and smiled bitterly as she thought.
What was she even thinking about?
This tour guide job was just a random job she picked up, and it was already strange enough that she had met Kasumi Utako-sensei.
Let alone meeting a girl who only existed in a light novel, the cute Kujou Megumi.
If this gentle girl was Megumi...
Could the young man beside her be Yukimi, The Lonely Boy, the protagonist from the light novel?
There had to be limits to daydreaming.
Although she knew these were just random thoughts, Kitagawa Marin honestly wanted to become friends with these four people.
When she was first introduced to the job of being a tour guide online by MEM, Kitagawa Marin had felt some hesitation and worry.
But now, she just felt incredibly happy to have taken this job.
.....
The car stopped in Otaru.
Hokkaido, known as the best tourist city in Asia.
There are plenty of travel guides online.
The most popular suggestion is, when you come to Hokkaido, ride the snow train and visit the romantic Otaru.
In winter, you can see the stunning scenery from afar, where snow and the sea meet.
You can also admire Mount Tengu, which looks like Mount Fuji, with its snow-covered landscape that's truly mesmerizing.
However, it's summer right now.
Not the best tourist season as most people would think.
On top of that, the recent storm had passed.
Now, in Hokkaido, there aren't many tourists around.
But that doesn't mean the summer scenery in Hokkaido isn't beautiful.
As soon as Eriri got out of the car, she immediately ran toward the Otaru directional sign.
Kato Megumi handed the camera to Kitagawa Marin.
Then she pulled Yukima Azuma and Kasumigaoka Utaha to go with her.
The background was a bustling shopping street, with bright neon lights, and in front of them, there were extremely good-looking young men and women.
Kitagawa Marin looked through the camera lens, taking a deep breath.
It felt like she was shooting for a live-action movie.
Just a quick snap, and it could be a perfect wallpaper.
Yukima Azuma stood behind the three girls, raising both hands to make a V-shape above Eriri and Utaha's heads.
It looked like rabbit ears.
After making the pose, he realized his hands weren't enough.
So he pulled Kato Megumi into the picture.
Kato Megumi silently extended her hand, helping Utaha and Eriri form the rabbit ears.
Yukima Azuma smiled happily.
As Kato Megumi posed, her gaze shifted to the young man beside her.
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked helpless, but there was a smile in her eyes.
Eriri, on the other hand, didn't seem to know where to look.
When the photo was finally taken, Yukima Azuma noticed where Eriri was staring and saw that it was a souvenir shop in the shopping street.
The shop had a huge penguin plush toy at the entrance.
Clearly, Eriri was captivated by the object.
So, Eriri got hit on the head.
Kitagawa Marin found the scene amusing, so she snapped a few more shots.
As a result, the photo of Eriri being "bullied" became Yukima Azuma's phone wallpaper throughout the trip.
"Azuma!"
"We are taking pictures, Eriri, what are you looking at?"
"But... that thing is really cute, don't you think?"
"What's so cute about a penguin? In my memory, penguins always open their mouths and ask, 'Do you want to recharge money?'"
"Huh? What kind of penguin is that?!"
Eriri immediately imagined a penguin asking if she wanted to recharge money, giving Yukima Azuma a pitiful look.
To make up for the mental scar,
Eriri headed toward the souvenir shop.
"I'll buy a cute penguin plushie or a keychain to erase this mental scar!"
Kitagawa Marin returned the camera to Kato Megumi.
Hearing the conversation, she asked:
"Eh? You like penguins? You could go to the Hokkaido zoo, they have live penguins there."
"Also, the small animal area doesn't have barriers, so you can observe and interact closely."
"If the staff agrees, you can even raise your hand and touch them."
Hearing this, even Kato Megumi and Kasumigaoka Utaha were clearly intrigued.
"Let's go tomorrow morning!"
Eriri raised her hand and called out excitedly.
Chapter 128: The Effect of Pineapple Cake!
Chapter 128: The Effect of Pineapple Cake!
"Let's head out tomorrow morning, okay?"
People who make declarations like this often don't follow through well.
The truth proved Yukima Azuma's thoughts to be extremely accurate.
Yesterday, they had just arrived in Hokkaido, wandered around the Otaru shopping district, bought some souvenirs, and took plenty of pictures.
That evening, after returning to the villa, Eriri had her face pressed against the window, gazing at the sea outside.
She swayed back and forth until late at night before finally falling asleep.
As a result, the next morning, no matter how much he called, she refused to get up, only responding with whines like a little puppy.
Thus, their plan to visit the Hokkaido Zoo in the morning was a failure.
Aho-Baka-Tsundere-Stubborn-Overslept-Eriri!
"This idiot." Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed, massaging her forehead.
Kato Megumi, standing nearby, offered some specialty Hokkaido cookies to ease the tension. "Senpai, don't be mad. We're on vacation; having fun is the most important thing."
"I think we should just leave this idiot at the villa. When she wakes up, we can show her pictures from the zoo."
Kasumigaoka said this while biting into a cookie with noticeable annoyance.
"If we do that, Eriri will definitely cry. At that point, Utaha-senpai, you'll have to take responsibility for consoling her," Yukima Azuma added, chuckling as he fanned the flames.
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha grew even more frustrated.
Console that idiot? Whoever wants to do it can go ahead!
However, leaving a friend behind while going out felt wrong.
It seemed too much like intentionally ostracizing someone.
Kasumigaoka wasn't someone who could do such a thing.
That left her with no choice but to compromise.
"Kitagawa-san, could you show me the cosplay outfits you brought?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha turned toward Kitagawa Marin.
Kitagawa Marin nodded after hearing the request.
After they returned yesterday, Kitagawa had indeed brought her cosplay costumes over from her university dormitory this morning.
Opening a large suitcase, she revealed neatly organized, adorable outfits inside.
There were even wigs, each stored carefully in its own bag.
Not a single accessory was missing.
Kasumigaoka Utaha picked up each item to inspect, then carefully put it back in place after examining it.
Kato Megumi also moved closer, intrigued.
She didn't know much about cosplay, but it seemed quite fascinating.
"Um... is this also a cosplay outfit?"
After browsing for a while, Kato Megumi noticed something odd.
She picked up an extremely revealing outfit from the pile.
The top consisted of a piece of fabric barely enough to cover the chest. Calling it a top was generousit was more like a chest cover.
The bottom was just a small inverted triangle-shaped piece of cloth.
Meanwhile, the puffy sleeves and white collar were crafted with meticulous detail.
Places that should have been covered weren't, while areas that didn't need coverage were completely concealed!?
It even included small devil wings and a heart-shaped tail as accessories.
Looking at the outfit in her hands, Kitagawa Marin first widened her eyes, then avoided eye contact in embarrassment.
"That... uh, that's actually... the costume of a little succubus from a game. I accidentally brought it along."
Kato Megumi slightly parted her lips, looking very surprised.
It seemed quite different from what she knew about succubi.
Coming from Kato Megumi, who had never encountered R18 galgames, her adorable expression of surprise made Kitagawa Marin even more flustered, her cheeks turning bright red.
After all, everyone here was younger than her.
Elsewhere, Kasumigaoka Utaha had already found an outfit she was satisfied with.
It was a black-and-white maid uniform.
The neckline featured a large bow, and the skirt wasn't the traditional long style but a short one resembling JK uniforms.
At a glance, it was clearly a cute-style maid uniform.
"Kitagawa-san, may I borrow this outfit for a bit?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha held up the maid costume and asked.
Kitagawa nodded.
Then, they saw Kasumigaoka Utaha take the maid outfit and head toward Eriri's room.
After a series of rustling noises filled the air
Kasumigaoka Utaha poked her head out of the room.
"Is there any pineapple cake or something? Bring me two."
The three people in the living room exchanged puzzled glances but eventually fetched two cold pineapple cakes from the refrigerator.
Kasumigaoka took the cold pineapple cakes and went back into the room.
This time, a sharp scream erupted from inside.
Then came a cacophony of chaotic noises.
"Ahh! Kasumigaoka Utaha! What are you doing?!"
"What is this? It's so cold! Don't shove it in there!"
"Pervert! Help me! Azuma, help me!"
After a series of pitiful cries, Kasumigaoka Utaha emerged from the room, dusting her hands with a satisfied look.
A while later, Eriri peeked her head out, now wearing a maid's headband.
"You hateful fat woman! What exactly do you want?!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha folded her arms across her chest and snorted coldly.
"Take a look at what time it is now. Weren't you the one confidently declaring yesterday that you'd never oversleep?"
"As punishment, you'll be the maid this afternoonresponsible for pouring tea, massaging shoulders, and giving back rubs."
Hearing this, Eriri bared her small fang and glared fiercely, but in the end, she couldn't argue back.
In this world, there is such a thing as being "indefensibly in the wrong."
Oversleeping was indeed her fault; even Eriri could admit that.
So, after lingering for a long while, she finally stepped out from behind the door.
As soon as she did, her adorable outfit lit up the room.
Eriri truly suited this kind of cute attire.
The black-and-white maid uniform highlighted her petite figure while adding a uniquely charming touch.
The "Zettai Ryouiki" between the maid skirt and her legs wrapped in white stockings made it hard for anyone to look away.
But was Eriri's figure always this good?
Without realizing it, everyone's gaze landed on Eriri's chest.
It was as if a flat plain had suddenly sprouted a skyscraper.
The large bow beneath her neckline was now round and full, stretched taut.
Realizing where everyone was looking, Eriri immediately covered her chest with her hands, blushing furiously.
"Umu, it suits you quite well."
The instigator of it all chuckled softly from the side.
"AHHHHH! You're such a hateful fat woman!"
Eriri's face burned bright red with embarrassment.
At this point, Kato Megumi and Yukima Azuma finally understood the truth behind the "skyscraper."
It turned out those pineapple cakes had been used for this purpose.
"There was no other choice," Kasumigaoka shrugged. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have fit at all, right?"
Hearing this, Eriri's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Kitagawa Marin, who was standing off to the side.
Compared to Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kitagawa Marin wasn't particularly tall.
She had the average build of a young girl.
But in certain areas, her development was particularly astonishing.
Umu, based on estimates from "battlefield reporters," the difference between Kitagawa's bust and underbust measurements was 18.6 cm.
That was the legendary E-cup.
A terrifying size that Eriri could only match thanks to the "power of pineapple cakes."
"I'm heading to the kitchen. Maid, come help me."
Yukima Azuma stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
Eriri hung her head and trudged after him.
She had clearly been excited about spending time alone with him in the kitchen earlier,
but now, given the circumstances, she couldn't muster any enthusiasm.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. Let me know if you need anything," Kitagawa Marin said, sensing it might be awkward to stay any longer.
