Title: The Battle for the Collar
I am definitely not clueless.
So I have a rough idea of why the atmosphere has turned chilly.
I turn my head.
There, I see Rin biting her lips.
Her timid expression doesn’t match the tense atmosphere.
With a flushed face, she nervously fiddles with her fingers, clutching her skirt.
She hesitantly asks, “What was that attitude just now? Did you form some sort of relationship with Mayuzumi-sensei without me knowing… right?”
At Rin’s words, Evangelin and Beatrice turn their gazes toward us.
Rustle, rustle.
Olivia, Eri, Haru, and Makoto, camouflaged like they’re in a jungle, appear in the bushes.
“Zziiiiiiiii…”
I see Makoto mouthing “ziiiiiii.”
Even the chatty extras are eerily quiet in this unprecedented situation.
Should I have just ignored whatever Mayuzumi-sensei said earlier?
It wasn’t like I was taking advice from the Black Prince.
‘Hey, what are we going to do about this akwardness now that I listened to you?’
[Aha haha, sorry partner…]
The Black Prince apologizes without hesitation.
‘Forget the apology; do you have any other solutions?’
[Just tell the truth! That nothing happened. Isn’t that right? Nothing happened.]
The Black Prince says in my head.
‘Would you believe that if you were in my shoes?’
[Partner, this isn’t about trusting me. Trust the heartfelt intentions of the ladies who admire you. They’ll trust your words.]
The Black Prince offers some unconvincing persuasion.
Is that really the best option?
I’m not sure if it’s the best, but it’s true that I don’t have a sharp solution.
Besides, this isn’t reality; it’s a friendly light novel world.
If they really prioritize human goodwill, as the Black Prince said, there’s a high chance they’ll believe me.
In the end, I decided to play the fool.
“No, nothing happened with Mayuzumi-sensei.”
It’s not even a lie.
In fact, trying to explain in this situation might make it look even more suspicious.
Upon hearing my words, Rin sighs in relief.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
A smile appears on Rin’s lips.
“Wow, Shinozaki-kun. Even I can see that Kim Deok-Sung wouldn’t casually tell a lie in a situation like this!”
Evangelin pipes up, chuckling as she pats Rin on the shoulder.
Nice one, Evangelin.
Honestly, when it comes to support, there’s no one quite as spot-on as our Korean BBQ-flavored, spicy chicken-loving Evangeline right now.
The support couldn’t have been more appropriate.
“Hmm, I guess so? I’m sorry, Deok-Sung. I had unnecessary doubts…”
Rin’s face turns bright red.
“I’m really sorry!”
She bows her head.
Being suspected isn’t pleasant, but it’s surprising she would apologize this much over something trivial.
It’s not like she committed a grave sin or anything.
“If you want, I’ll apologize with a dogeza like last time! If you want, I could even wear a dog collar… No! Let me do it!”
Rin acts as if she’s about to get on the ground immediately.
“Gyaaak! A dogeza, really?!”
“Black Beast! You’re making her do a dogeza?!”
“She’s volunteering for a dog collar!”
“Truly a beast… Making a beautiful girl bow without a second thought!”
“As expected, no blood or tears…”
I hear the voices of extras in my ears.
“Cow. Seizing this opportunity to get a dog collar as a token of connection and love between our Master and Eri? Ooooh… So cunning.”
Rustle.
I also hear Eri’s voice hidden in the bushes.
I can see the dog collar around her neck.
Why is Eri reacting like that over a dog collar?
I hope she just takes that damn thing off already.
‘What a mess this is.’
[Well then, Partner. Shouldn’t you ease up on the dogeza?]
The Black Prince speaks in my head.
His words suddenly remind me of some events from the first semester.
Making Rin and Ishihara do dogeza, and getting Eri to do a dog collar dogeza.
At the time, I was frustrated and prioritized soda, but looking back now, I think there was no real need for that.
I guess it’s because I’ve grown fond of them that I have these thoughts.
Sigh.
Either way, it’s my responsibility.
Thinking that, I grabbed Rin’s wrists firmly.
“It’s fine, so don’t do a dogeza. And don’t mention the dog collar anymore.”
It’s been a while since my face has flushed like this.
“Deok-Sung, but you don’t prefer dogeza…”
“No, that’s not it. Don’t misunderstand. There’s no need to apologize. I don’t care about that sort of thing.”
“Ah, I got it…”
Rin’s face is turning red as she’s being held by both wrists.
“Cow… You’re having a good time with Master all alone… It’s upsetting.”
“Uuuuu… For someone like you, Shinzakiyou… To have a more pink-like atmosphere than me, his exclusive maid… I can’t accept that…”
“Ziiiii…”
“Rin, you’re surprisingly tough. Haru needs to step up too. Nishishi.”
Olivia, Haru, Makoto, and Eri, who were hiding, mutter among themselves as they watch Rin’s appearance.
Don’t say a word.
I release Rin’s wrists.
As she touches the spots where my hands were, her face is flushed red to her earlobes as she says,
“T-Thank you, Deok-Sung.”
She fans herself shyly.
Just when Rin was awkwardly turning her gaze away,
Rustle.
A noise comes from the bushes.
Olivia, Haru, Eri, and Makoto hurriedly hide.
The direction where Rin turned her gaze just so happens to be where the four of them are hiding.
Rin happened to turn her gaze to the exact spot where the four of them were sitting.
“What’s this? I just felt a presence…”
Rin’s eyebrows twitched.
Swish.
As she turned around, leaves fluttered above the bushes.
A poorly camouflaged fedora peeking out from the branches caught her eye.
Rin narrowed her eyes at the sight.
“Is it just my imagination…?”
No way, it’s clear someone is hiding there. How can you not notice that?
Not noticing such a clumsy hiding spot is a classic cliché from Japanese animation, but seeing it in reality feels even more ridiculous than when I watched it before I got isekai’d.
This is exactly why this place is a light novel world.
“I feel like someone is following me…”
Rin muttered while stroking her chin.
A small smile crept onto her lips.
Swoosh.
She hooked her arm through mine.
“!!!”
Rustle.
The eyes of the four girls witnessing Rin linking arms with me widened.
“What? Suddenly?”
“Hmm. I felt like someone was watching me, so I wanted to let you know. I’m Deok-Sung, your future ideal wife.”
Rin said with a soft smile.
Thump.
Her chest pressed against my arm.
“W-wait… Is that… not okay?”
Rin’s eyes trembled.
She’s great, but her timid side is a bit of an issue.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Thank you, Deok-Sung.”
A smile spread across Rin’s face.
“The girl! The girl wants to go together too!”
From behind, we heard Evangelin’s voice, holding Beatrice’s hand and following.
So we arrived at a place with an impressive sky-blue hot spring.
“Whoa… It really looks interesting.”
Rin, still linked to my arm, commented.
Seeing this sparked a memory.
In the original “Weakest Hero,” the hell pilgrimage didn’t hold much weight, merely treated as a passing scene. The significant part in the original was, of course, the hot spring scene.
But perhaps because Beppu was a production sponsor for the anime, it introduced the protagonist and heroine thoroughly enjoying the tourist spots.
It felt familiar because it was the same as what I’d seen in the anime.
It’s a sort of product placement, so the actual Beppu has seen a rise in tourism packages tied to “Weakest Hero” shrine pilgrimages.
A course where you tour the attractions, stay at a ryokan, and enjoy a hot spring bath.
It’s a fairly common regional city tour in Japan, linked with otaku pilgrimage tourism products.
Since it’s not a crucial scene affecting the story and wasn’t in the original, I had forgotten about it until I saw that cobalt blue hot spring.
In the anime, Yuji, Olivia, and Evangelin had a scene where they took a commemorative photo here.
Ishihara played the role of the photographer.
So in the actual Jigokudani hell, life-sized cutouts of Olivia, Yuji, and Evangelin stood just like in the anime.
I remember it being a pretty famous photo spot during the “Weakest Hero” Beppu pilgrimage.
This is that very spot.
“Deok-Sung, if it’s okay, could we take a commemorative photo… together?”
Rin trailed off.
A commemorative photo, huh.
Since we’re here, there’s no reason not to take one.
“Sure, let’s do it.”
“What?”
“Thanks! Deok-Sung!”
Rustle.
Rin takes out a selfie stick.
“Here, it’s a selfie stick.”
“When did you prepare this?”
“Hehe. I am your future perfect wife. This level of preparation is basic.”
Rin says proudly.
Basic level of preparation, huh?
What exactly are the standards for a perfect wife?
After taking the selfie stick from Rin and attaching my smartphone to it, I take a picture with the hot spring as a background.
Click.
A smile spreads across Rin’s face as she looks at the taken selfie.
“Hehe. It turned out well.”
With the cobalt-blue hot spring bubbling in the background, it was a decent photo of me and Rin.
Just as she said, it was quite a good shot.
It was worth taking a commemorative photo.
At that moment,
“Next! I want to take a group photo with Shinozaki Ichiro, Kim Deok-Sung, and Trixie!”
Pop.
Evangeline raised her hand from the side.
“Contractor! The Scarlet Saint does not need to be captured in mundane photos······.”
“Trixie! You shouldn’t say that!”
Even Beatrice, who showed no interest, got roped into Evangeline’s excitement.
“Hehe. Stuart’s point makes sense. We should take a group photo too. Deok-Sung, I’ll take the picture this time.”
She takes my smartphone out of the selfie stick and attaches hers instead.
Rustle.
Sounds come from the nearby bushes.
It’s Olivia, Haru, Eri, and Makoto.
Did they follow me all this way?
Unbelievable.
What should I do about them?
I can’t just pretend not to see them when I can see them all.
If I leave them like this, they’ll probably stalk me till the end of my hell pilgrimage.
I hate being bothered.
There’s no helping it.
[Partner. Are you really going to leave your lovely sister and the ladies like this?]
I hear the Black Prince’s voice in my head.
‘No.’
I’m not going to leave them.
It’s better to take a group photo together now than to let them follow me around like that.
‘Let’s just take the group photo now.’
[Good thinking, Partner. I’m proud of you. You’re now completely without flaws as a gentleman! You can come down now.]
Come down?
Having watched a lot of Hong Kong movies, he’s using martial arts terms.
“Hey. Over there.”
I point at the bushes with my finger.
Rustle!
The bushes shake loudly.
“Deok-Sung, what’s going on? Is it those bushes? But there’s nobody there······.”
Rin asks with a slightly startled voice.
“There’s nobody, huh?”
“Olivia, Makoto, Haru, Eri. I know all four of you are hiding there, so come out quickly for the photo. 10, 9, 8······.”
As I start the countdown, the leaves of the bushes scatter, and the four girls appear.
Olivia, Haru, Eri, and Makoto pop out wearing a babushka coat, a top hat, sunglasses, masks, and holding branches.
“Bonaparte? Washboard? Haru? Kamiya? How did you all get here?!”
Seeing them, Rin genuinely shouts in surprise.
Seriously, why are you just realizing that now?
Unbelievable.
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