"It looks like we're a little late."
Tokita observed the sea of people gathered at the beauty contest venue. With this crowd, getting front-row seats was out of the question, but thankfully, Azusa and Nanaka were already up front, so it didn't really matter.
"It's all because the seniors wanted to drink."
"Well, don't sweat the details. How could we not drink at such a grand event?"
That has nothing to do with it!
Shiro's face darkened as he looked at them. Clearly, they just wanted to drink.
"There sure are a lot of people here."
He sighed, noticing that most of them were obvious perverts.
"Well, of course. A beauty contest is basically like an idol event during the school festival."
Tokita laughed as he explained. After all, some departments in their school had a terrifyingly skewed gender ratio… like the mechanical engineering department!
"Going out in front of so many people…"
Seeing the massive crowd, Kohei felt like curling up in a ball. This was way too much for a shut-in like him!
Shiro patted Kohei on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Kohei. Just imagine them as pumpkins. Besides, there shouldn't be as many people for the 'Male Beauty Contest.' Look at Kitahara."
Kohei, somewhat reassured by Shiro's words, glanced at Iori—who was slumped over the railing with a dead look in his eyes…
"Crossdressing… Crossdressing… I don't want to crossdress!!!"
"..."
That's just tragic!
"What are you saying, Iori? Look!"
Tokita, noticing Iori's lack of motivation, smacked his back and pointed toward the stage. "Other clubs also have their joke characters!"
The three of them turned their gaze to the stage.
There stood… a monstrosity.
A person in colorful tights, a miniskirt, with decorative wings and a tennis racket…
A zombie fairy?!
Their faces froze in horror. At that moment, they felt an overwhelming sense of relief about their earlier choices.
That guy… that guy might actually be even more ridiculous than Kitahara!
The TB club members in the audience were going wild with cheers, making it seem like some kind of massive fan event.
"My eyes… they burn…"
"A zombie fairy?!"
"I can already imagine how bad Kitahara's turn is going to be…"
"..."
For once, Iori had no words to argue back. He knew they were right…
"And now, our next contestant…"
The moment she stepped onto the stage, all eyes locked onto her.
Nanaka, standing in the front row, was wildly snapping photos with her expensive camera!
"Heh… Something feels a bit off."
Watching Chisa walk with a confident stride, radiating a fierce aura, Azusa sighed. As expected, this was too much for her.
"Well, she is cute, though."
"But her expression is so stiff."
Even the seniors noticed Chisa's unnatural demeanor. With that kind of expression, winning would be tough.
"Is she mad?"
"Obviously, she's nervous."
"She looks like she's about to start a brawl…"
While Chisa was introducing herself, the three newcomers kept analyzing the meaning behind her expressions.
"This isn't looking good. If this keeps up, she's going to lose."
"If only we could support her somehow. You three got any ideas?"
The two seniors looked at the three of them anxiously. That prize money wasn't something to scoff at!
Their gazes shifted to the newcomers—since they were fresh blood, they had to have some ideas!
"Huh? Why are you asking us?"
Kohei was confused. He had no real interest in real-life girls.
"I don't really know either. I mean, whenever girls look at me, they seem pretty happy, but Chisa doesn't seem affected by my charm at all."
Shiro shook his head. He had no clue why, but his natural charm seemed to have zero effect on PaB's girls.
As for Kitahara? Ha! A virgin!
"Kohei! Don't forget all those games you played!"
Tokita looked at Kohei expectantly. The moment he said that, everyone's eyes lit up and turned to Kohei in unison!
Kohei had played hundreds—no, thousands of gal games.
Shiro liked games too, but he mostly played AAA titles and online games.
"That's right, I do know quite a bit about this… Hmm…"
Kohei began thinking, sifting through his vast library of visual novel knowledge.
"For a kuudere character like this to shine, the key is... a smile!"
"A smile?!"
Everyone exchanged glances. Now that they thought about it, they had rarely ever seen Chisa smile.
Their eyes landed on Kitahara. Since he had spent the most time with Chisa, he should know something, right?
"Getting Chisa to smile? That's harder than climbing Mount Everest."
Even Kitahara looked helpless. Forget smiling, Chisa looked at him like he was trash!
"I've got it!"
Tokita's eyes gleamed. He suddenly remembered something, whenever he saw other people smiling, he felt like smiling too.
"If we smile at her, maybe she'll smile back!"
"That… actually makes sense!"
Shiro clapped his hands. Whenever he smiled at girls, they seemed happy too!
"Then let's do it!"
Kitahara stood up. They all agreed that the critical mission of grabbing Chisa's attention would be Kitahara's responsibility!
"Chisa!!!"
Chisa, who was lost in her thoughts on stage, suddenly heard Kitahara yelling her name. She looked up.
What she saw was…
A group of people, grinning like madmen.
Predatory smiles.
Beastly grins.
"..."
Chisa's expression instantly twisted in fury, a vein bulging on her forehead.
"This is bad! It had the opposite effect!"
"That's definitely not the face she should be showing the audience!"
"It's not even about the audience anymore, this expression just shouldn't exist!"
Seeing Chisa's terrifying face, everyone instinctively took a step back. This was a disaster, she was definitely getting eliminated!
"Maybe we should try making her embarrassed instead!"
Shiro suggested. After all, a girl's shy expression is always her most beautiful moment! That fleeting blush, that hint of embarrassment—it surpasses all the beauty in the world!
"Embarrassed, huh… I got it!"
Hearing Shiro's words, veteran player Kohei nodded in agreement. This time, they were definitely going to succeed!
--------------
On Stage
Although those idiots had completely ruined her mood, Chisa was still managing to hold herself together, at least she was still standing on stage.
At this moment, she was preparing to answer the host's question: "Introduce your club."
She was ready to passionately describe the beauty of the ocean!
"Chisa!!!"
That familiar voice called out once again. Reflexively, Chisa looked up.
In that instant… she let go.
The club?
Diving?
Maybe she'd introduce it some other time…
Because what she saw was—
The entire PaB crew, striking dramatic poses like ancient Roman statues, completely naked except for their underwear!
The three newcomers held up a giant banner that read: "We ❤️ Chisa."
Tokita was kneeling on the ground like a grieving widow, clutching Iori's arm.
Kotobuki was dramatically pouring liquor from two bottles, his head turned toward Shiro and the others.
The rest of the seniors were also stark naked, striking various ridiculous poses. One of them had even started drinking mid-act!
At that moment, Chisa felt like her club had died…