"ARE YOU TWO KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!"
Tears of frustration welled up at the corner of Shiro's eyes. This was just too much. Way too much. Why the hell were those two here of all places?!
And at such a critical moment, no less!
Even though Miss Akane had already said there was no chance, that still didn't mean these two should show up and mess everything up!
＼(`Δ')／
Fuming with rage, Shiro was ready to unleash a berserk transformation and just eliminate these two bastards on the spot!
But then—
"Ow ow ow ow! Not the face—don't hit the face!!"
He got punished.
The two insanely jealous jerks tackled him and started beating the crap out of him.
He didn't expect them to go berserk too! (?????)
"Alright, alright, take a break~ Don't forget why we even came here."
Azusa, smiling as always, stepped in and finally pulled the two off after they'd done enough damage. By now, Shiro's face looked like a total mess—a proper pig-head.
She did it on purpose!
No doubt about it. She totally let them wail on him before stepping in…
"Eradicate the scumbag!"
"Save the fallen maidens!"
The two jerks cracked their knuckles. Sure, they'd just finished beating him up, but their jealousy still burned hot in their hearts.
Oh heavens, why must such a scumbag exist?!
"…So are you two actually here to check out where Sempai works or not?"
Aina let out a sigh.
These three fools—if they weren't brawling, they were playing strip rock-paper-scissors while drunk. Couldn't they have at least one normal college guy hobby?
Of course, she didn't count Shiro's flirting—that totally didn't qualify. She'd already sent a full report of what happened earlier to her friend Kiyoko. There was no way she'd let this scumbag cheat!
"Hmm? You guys came to see me?"
Kotubuki blinked blankly. Judging by the earlier scene, he thought they were here for Shiro.
Only then did the other two calm down a bit. Looking around at the bar's classy décor and then at the buff, macho bartender…
This had to be a shady establishment!
They started glancing around warily, already planning an escape route. If it came down to it, they'd just sacrifice Shiro and leave him here as penance.
The others watched as these two weirdos scurried around like cockroaches, searching for something. Everyone quietly averted their gaze, they clearly weren't all there mentally sometimes.
"Eh? What's with the commotion… long time no see, Azusa."
A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a vase in hand entered the scene. He was the bar owner, having rushed over after hearing the noise.
"Yo! We're here to hang out, Boss!"
Azusa waved casually. She was a regular here, so of course she knew the owner.
"Haha, welcome, welcome! This… wait—what the hell, a pig-man?!"
{{(°△°; "}}!
The bar owner's eyes popped when he spotted the pig-faced guy beside Azusa.
(′?`)
"…It's me, Boss."
Shiro groaned in pain, covering his face. Those two jerks had gone full force on every punch—right to the face!
In recent days, thanks to his good looks and frequent visits, he'd left an impression on the owner.
"Ahaha… Shiro-kun, right? You scared me, I barely recognized you… thought you got plastic surgery or something…"
The owner scratched his head awkwardly.
If it weren't for the voice, he wouldn't have known who it was. The guy's iconic squinting eyes were completely swollen shut.
"..."
Shiro didn't feel like talking anymore. He silently retreated into a corner and started drawing curse circles.
"So these are all Ryuu-kun's juniors?"
With Shiro excluded as the pig-faced anomaly, the bar owner relaxed and greeted everyone with a smile.
"Yup, that's right. They wanted to see where Buuki works, so I brought them over. Hope we're not disturbing you, Boss."
The owner glanced at the messy aftermath of the scuffle and forced a smile. Yeah, it was definitely a disturbance, but how could he say that out loud?
"They're full of energy. So—what do you all think of Ryuu-kun's work?"
"So out of place it's painful."
"When are you planning to fire him?"
"I'd like to apply. I used to bartend!"
"..."
The bar owner fell silent.
Were these really Ryuu-kun's juniors? Why were they so quick to try and steal their senior's job?
And Shiro-kun… wasn't he only 20? When the hell did he work as a bartender?
"You bastard, why are you chiming in?!"
"Go back to your corner, scumbag!"
"I'm way more qualified than the two of you to bartend! Also, have you not noticed that someone is sneaking off?!"
Shiro shouted furiously. He wasn't going back to the corner! That place was terrifying!
The other two turned in the direction Shiro was pointing—and there was Kotubuki, happily chatting with a girl.
Wait—why the hell did she confess to him right after pouring out her worries?!
"Boss! Please stab him in the head with a knife!"
"Boss! Use scissors instead for me!"
"Do you have a chainsaw, Boss?!"
"..."
"Can you three not be so embarrassing?" Aina finally stepped in, fed up with their jealousy leaking all over the place. "Shiro, you were just flirting earlier too!"
"…Doesn't this seem odd?"
"He got confessed to after just a few words?!"
"Well, uh… isn't that kinda normal?"
This time Shiro didn't jump on the bandwagon. Honestly, there wasn't much to mock here.
"YOU TRAITOR, GO DIE TOO!" ×2
Iori and Kouhei wept tears of blood. Not only had they never been confessed to after a few lines—they'd never been confessed to at all!
That one time with the zombie monster didn't count—that was straight-up horror!
"Could it be bartenders are super popular with girls?"
"This must be some kind of job skill bonus."
"Bartenders really do get hit on a lot. Back when I was working part-time, it was the bartending gig that got the most attention!"
The three of them huddled together, plotting.
Originally, they hadn't wanted to bring Shiro along, but the guy was experienced. Might as well use him as an advisor!
Azusa and Aina watched silently. Did they really have to scheme this loudly? And they seriously removed personality as a factor?
"Hahahahaha! Such energetic juniors you've got. In that case, how about giving it a shot?"
The bar owner grinned and pulled out three bartender uniforms. With Kotubuki and Azusa around, surely nothing too outrageous would happen…
The trio went to change. I mean, they were already here—might as well give it a try!
Creak~
The bar door swung open, and in walked a girl with short, dark purple hair and a stack of papers in hand.
Hanabi wasn't in the best of moods.
She'd taken that woman's suggestion and come to this nice bar to drink and chill.
As for meeting someone "nice" here? Yeah, right. Right now she just wanted to find her damn ghosting author!
And then—
Right as she entered, three guys in bartender uniforms stepped out of the changing room across the bar.
One of them… looked exactly like her ghosting author?!
…