"(??? 3 ??)? Gulp, gulp, gulp—Haah! Nothing beats an ice-cold beer on a hot day!"
"(??? 3 ??)? Gulp, gulp, gulp—Haah! Cold beer is truly the god of summer!"
Azusa and Shiro chugged their beers like warriors recovering from battle, their nearly heat-stroked bodies now fully rejuvenated.
Nearby, half-naked Kotobuki tossed them some towels. "Man, you guys really went through a lot. We were worried about sales, but you two ended up bringing in a whole crowd."
He glanced at the long line forming at their stall… though, oddly enough, the first customers were all girls.
"Well, well, you can only blame a certain someone's insane charm~"
Azusa waved a hand dismissively. To be honest, she hadn't expected this many people either… Shiro's appeal was terrifying. He was practically on par with some celebrities… Wait. What if this guy was secretly a celebrity too?!
Ever since learning he had worked as a host, Azusa felt like nothing about Shiro could surprise her anymore.
As expected of Japanese high school students, they can do anything.
She suddenly felt an urge to know more about what kind of crazy things this guy had done in high school.
"Heh heh! Of course! Today, I am in full charm mode!"
Shiro puffed out his chest, looking unbelievably smug.
Of course, the girls weren't all head over heels for him or anything. He was just a regular human, not some god. Nobody was falling in love at first sight.
It was more of an instinctive attraction—seeing a hot guy, feeling curious, exchanging contact info, and maybe hitting it off later.
Plus, coming here for some okonomiyaki wasn't a bad excuse either.
Of course, the number of girls drawn purely by Shiro's looks was still relatively small. The real reason the PaB food stall was packed was due to the power of the mob mentality.
Even if the number of girls was small, they were still a group. When a bunch of them suddenly gathered around, others would naturally take notice, get curious, and line up to try it out.
Soon, more and more people saw the line and instinctively thought the food must be delicious, so they joined the queue as well.
And just like that, the crowd kept growing!
Especially since most of the people in line were girls! The guys at Izu University, of course, wouldn't miss this golden opportunity to take action!
Before they knew it, this place had practically turned into some kind of massive social event~
But the real victims here were the three people making okonomiyaki. Iori and the others probably never imagined that one day, they'd be flipping so many pancakes that their spatulas would start creating afterimages!
"You bastard! Hurry up and help us!"
Iori felt like he had completely turned into a machine. Was this the power of a virgin?
"Aiya~ I'd love to help, but my dream of becoming a god of cooking is still in the trash can."
?(???)?
Shiro spread his hands helplessly. Suddenly, he didn't think leaving his cooking dream in the trash was such a bad idea. Maybe he'd go pick it up again after the Izu Spring Festival was over!
"At least help collect money, you bastard!"
Kohei shouted. Since there were only two spots for making okonomiyaki, he had already become nothing more than a ruthless money-collecting machine.
He studied mechanical engineering, so why did he feel more like an accountant?!
"Kohei-kun! Mind your words! Have you ever seen a brand ambassador acting as a cashier? My job is to wait for my cut!"
"There's no profit-sharing in this, dammit!!!" ×2
Iori and Kohei roared in unison. This guy just didn't want to work, right?!
"Then all the more reason for me to take a break! (??ω??)"
...
"Shiro, you're really asking for a beating. You're actually getting cocky from all the praise. Watch out, Iori and Kohei might just steal your championship this time~"
Seeing Shiro's increasingly smug and punchable expression, Azusa felt it was necessary to put some pressure on him!
Otherwise, forget Iori and Kohei—even she was starting to feel the urge to punch him. No wonder those two always bullied Shiro. This guy was just too cheeky!
As for Iori and Kohei participating in the contest…
During a drinking session, thanks to Azusa's persuasion, Chisa had agreed to join the beauty pageant!
But the condition was… Iori and Kohei still had to participate in the competition!
When the two heard the news, they were stuck in an emotional rollercoaster, bouncing between heaven and hell.
But in the end, they accepted their fate. This time, PaB would be sending out three participants! This was an unprecedented number of contestants from the PaB club in the boys category competition!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! If they win, I'll drink straight from a water tank!"
Shiro declared confidently! He was at the peak of his self-esteem right now!
After arriving at the festival and seeing that everyone's gazes were still normal, Shiro's ego inflated. Kitahara and Kohei? Just some small fries! The championship was his for sure!
"Ahh~ there's just no dealing with you."
Azusa propped her chin up with her hand. Looks like the Spring Festival really gave Shiro a huge confidence boost.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a bustling stall in the distance and smirked. That place had quite a crowd too~ And it just so happened to be an old rival!
Since keeping Shiro around wasn't doing any good, why not send him over to cause trouble for someone else~?
"Hey, Shiro, your opponent has appeared~"
Azusa pointed at the stall and said to Shiro, "TINKERBELL—the club known for gathering the most handsome men and beautiful women. And guess what? They're also selling okonomiyaki~"
The moment those words left her mouth, not only Shiro but also the busy Iori and Kohei turned to look.
That stall was indeed packed with attractive guys and girls, but the most infuriating part was that an androgynous-looking guy was currently laughing and flirting while holding a pretty girl's hand!
Was this an okonomiyaki stand? More like a host club! These guys had nothing but pretty faces, no masculinity at all! There was no way they could compare to their club!
"Fresh garbage?"
"Pig's blood, maybe."
Iori and Kohei calmly muttered things that made the customers around them shudder.
Swoosh!
Shiro, who had been lounging around, suddenly stood up.
With a serious expression, he grabbed a shirt and started walking toward TINKERBELL!
"My Brothers and Sisters! The business war has begun! I'll lead the charge!"
(｀ー′)!