The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

At this point, if he were to refute anything, he would become a target.

"Ha, foolish mortals, it is precisely because reality is full of instability that we have hope!"

A light inexplicably flashed from Kohei's body, so dazzling that the two had to cover their faces with their hands to temporarily avoid its brilliance.

Such blinding light! Is this the power of the anime world? Something seems to be appearing behind him—what is it? It's the silhouette of a person! His mouth is moving; he seems to be saying something.

What was it? Hachiman took a step forward under the bright light and finally heard the whisper that sounded like an ancient god.

What you love is your life!

"Ouch!" Iori kicked out, his thumb brushing across the tip of her nose, his face showing the disdain only a kung fu superstar would have.

Seeing Kohei kicked to the ground, Hachiman silently tore a piece of paper from his textbook and covered his face with it.

No, this method won't work. Is there any other way?

His eyes darted around, trying to find a way to redeem himself.

Ok?

Upon spotting a strange place, Hachiman trotted over to it. He looked at the girl sitting in the seat, pondered for a moment, and then extended his hand: "Good morning, Kotegawa."

Chisa raised her eyes and glanced at him indifferently, then closed her book and got up to walk to the other side of the seat.

Hachiman remained frozen in place with his hand raised, as if petrified. He noticed that when he greeted the other party, Kotegawa's face immediately darkened, and his bright brown eyes were filled with utter disdain, as if he were looking at unrecyclable garbage.

"I was rejected."

"After all, it's a pervert; no normal person would choose it."

Listening to the whispers of the two not far away, Hachiman's heart was filled with grief and indignation. His reputation was completely ruined. Komachi, it seems that your dearest brother can never go back to the way he was before.

"Don't be sad, after all, misunderstandings always happen between people." Iori walked to his side, patted his shoulder, and comforted him.

“Yes, the three-dimensional world is always full of conflict, which is why I turned to the embrace of the two-dimensional world.” Kohei stretched out his right hand, smiling, as if a priest was persuading a respectable young man to join their family. “Would you like to join me in this path? In exchange, I can give you the best solution for the present moment.”

"What solution?" Hachiman didn't believe a word he said, but since there was no better solution at the moment, he decided to listen.

"You should enter the path first."

"Lala is the cutest in the world."

"Nice! You're pretty good at this!" Kohei grinned and patted Hachiman's shoulder hard.

"Seriously, you actually know this thing?" Iori retorted, wondering if this guy was a hidden otaku.

"Hehe." Komachi had quite liked this thing for a while, and would sometimes take a look when she passed by.

“Well…” Kohei said slowly, placing his hand on his underwear and making a gesture as if to pull it down.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Iori grabbed his hand, her expression distraught.

"Hachiman was disliked because he wasn't wearing any clothes, I was thinking lending him my underwear might help," Kohei explained, not understanding why he was reacting so strongly.

"Putting aside the question of why it would be better if you lent me your underwear, where do you expect me to wear it?"

"Of course I'll wear it on my head. Just imagine, if someone who's usually so down suddenly starts wearing something cute, everyone will be happy for them, right? These are Lala's autographed fan-exclusive boxer shorts, they'll definitely catch her eye." Kohei said confidently, pulling the shorts down even further.

Just how confident is this guy in this thing?!

As Hachiman watched his underwear being pulled down, revealing part of his buttocks, he felt like he was going to go blind.

"No need, you should keep it for yourself. I'd rather dogeza (a form of prostration) than wear this thing."

"What! You have the determination to be a part of the anime/manga world?!"

"If being a 2D person means having to wear underwear on your head, then I'm definitely more suited to the 3D world."

"Disgusting! A bunch of people who don't know how to appreciate!"

Hachiman was stunned as he watched his opponent kneel down and headbutt him.

Chapter Fourteen University Exchange Meeting

The three walked back to 'Grand Blue'. Hachiman's eyes were dim as he tugged at his clothes, which featured a purple-haired anime loli, and sighed.

"I should have taken off your clothes."

"What's wrong? Didn't Kohei lend you the clothes?" Iori said cheerfully. Putting everything else aside, the penguin man really did have a unique charm in this outfit.

"What's the difference between wearing this outfit and being naked?"

Hachiman pointed at the little man, his expression filled with grief and indignation.

In the past few days, he has come to realize that in Izu, if you don't want to be treated like a human being, then no one will treat you like one. Compared to the people in Chiba, this place is simply a shameless underground parking lot.

"At least you won't get arrested and questioned by the police, right?" Chisa, who was walking at the front, replied, staring straight ahead, completely unwilling to see the faces of certain two people in front of her.

"Yes, Kohei sacrificed a lot for you."

"hateful……"

With tears in his eyes, Hachiman went back to the cherry blossom tree to find his clothes. He suddenly remembered that because he had drunk too much the day before, his clothes had been stomped on by two rascals when he took them off, and somehow they were torn to shreds. Helpless, he could only shout "Lala is the cutest!" several times before he finally got his clothes from someone.

Kohei, who was walking home naked, was taken away by a police officer with a kind smile the moment he stepped out of the school.

"It's okay now, we're home anyway."

Chisa pointed to the diving shop not far ahead and said that Hachiman immediately quickened his pace, pushed open the door and went in. He needed to change his clothes as soon as possible.

"Hey, you guys are back."

Eye!

What happened? The instant he pushed open the door, a blinding glare shot into his eyes, making them feel as if they were being corroded.

When did this "door-opening kill" incident happen here?!

Hachiman fell backward, only to be caught by Iori, who happened to be entering the shop.

"what are you doing?"

Hachiman remained silent, only pointing his finger inward, his finger trembling as if he had suffered some great injustice.

"what?"

Iori looked inside.

“Σ_(???」∠) Ugh!”

He covered his mouth and nose; thank goodness, he almost threw up.

"What's wrong with you guys? Did you drink too much last night?"

Shinji Tokita asked with a smile.

"It's all because of what you're wearing!!!"

Naked body, apron, muscular man—I never imagined these three words could be combined together. Is this divine punishment for him? Is it punishment for making a girl cry, or punishment for going against the good intentions of a teacher who cares about him so much?

Hachiman foamed at the mouth, his thoughts drifting far away.

When he came to his senses, he heard the two senior students saying that they were wearing underwear, so it was okay.

Oh, I see. In a certain sense, wearing underwear is equivalent to wearing clothes, so when someone is only wearing underwear, they are called half-naked. So that's what it means.

Huh? Does "half-naked" refer to the upper body or the lower body? If someone is wearing clothes and underwear, can it still be called half-naked?

Wait, what is he saying?

Hachiman knelt on the ground, his face filled with fear. For a moment, he suddenly felt that it was quite normal for his two seniors to be dressed like that.

"Hachiman, what's wrong? Are you going to throw up?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

The sound of the door being pushed open rang out, and Nanaka-senpai returned. At the same time, a gust of wind blew in, lifting the aprons of the three of them. Hachiman stared blankly at the mosaic less than two meters away from him, his whole body appearing ashen.

Wow, it really is a nude apron...

“Um, the customer called and said there’s an urgent matter and they need to postpone it,” Nanaka said, holding her phone. Then she noticed Hachiman kneeling on the ground. “Did something happen?”

"I don't know, Hachiman just suddenly became like this." Juryujiro picked up his clothes, his tone sorrowful. "Sigh, well, since it's postponed, I guess I'll just have to wear these clothes."

Upon hearing this, Hachiman could no longer contain his grief and indignation, and stood up, shouting, "No normal person would wear clothes, right!"

Of everyone present, only Iori and Chisa agreed with him. As for Nanaka, she just glanced at Chisa and said nothing.

……

After changing into a plain black shirt without any logo, Hachiman went downstairs and sat down at the dining table amidst the greetings of the crowd.

Nanaka handed him the prepared fried noodles, and Hachiman stared at the noodles without moving.

"What's wrong? Don't you like fried noodles?" Nana asked, noticing the situation, and kindly offered to make something else.

Hachiman shook his head, his tone somewhat heavy: "No, it's just that I suddenly remembered something. It seems like I haven't eaten any normal food these past two days."

“Indeed, alcohol cannot be considered food; it can only be considered a beverage.” Shinji Tokita nodded.

"Speaking of which, didn't the older generation need any snacks to accompany their drinks?"

"That stuff only ruins the taste of the wine."

Shinji Tokita slurped his noodles and held up one finger.

"Each type of wine has its own unique flavor depending on the degree of fermentation, the addition of different ingredients, and the brewing time. If the food you choose to accompany the wine doesn't match the taste of the wine itself, the taste of the wine will also be greatly reduced. To avoid this situation, I don't recommend eating while drinking wine."

His taste in wine is truly discerning; he's no wonder he's a senior figure in the industry.

“The request has been cancelled, so the afternoon is free. Iori, Hachiman, what are your plans?” Tokita Shinji and Jujiro looked at the two with smiles.

What are your plans? Hmm, I'll take this opportunity to look around and see if there are any apartments available nearby.

“I absolutely will not go drinking,” Iori said, crossing her arms in refusal.

Hachiman was taken aback, not understanding what he meant.

"If you don't go drinking, what kind of club do you think you're in?!" After he finished speaking, Shinji Tokita grabbed his collar with almost teleportation speed, his face contorted in rage.

"Huh? Isn't it the diving club?" Iori Sesser said.

No, it's the Alcohol Lovers Association.

Hachiman calmly chewed his noodles. Although he was initially frightened, he relaxed when he saw that the attack wasn't directed at him.

"Wait!" Nanaka said, looking at Iori with a serious expression. "Iori, you've been here for three days now. I'm asking you, do you even know where your room is?"

Iori, whose tie was being pulled, looked puzzled.

"...?"

"...!"

"So I haven't been sleeping in my room all these days?" Iori was shocked; he hadn't even noticed.

"So, you can't go out drinking tonight. You need to stay home and relax for a while now and then. You can't stay out all night for more than three days," Nana said seriously.

“Yeah, I need a good rest too.” Iori said with a smug smile. “So I’m sorry, I won’t be going out for drinks tonight.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do.” Tokita Shinji sighed, looking at Hachiman. “Hachiman, what about you?”

"I plan to use this time to look for rental apartments nearby," Hachiman replied truthfully.

This reason is perfectly valid and there is no chance it will be rejected.

He didn't want to experience a hangover again.

"Is that right?"

Upon learning that neither of the newlyweds could attend, the two men got up with low spirits and headed towards the shop entrance.

"Don't you live here?"

Just then, Chisa spoke.

Shinji Tokita and Ryujiro Kotobuki stopped in their tracks.

Hachiman turned to look at her, his pupils shrinking slightly.

“Your luggage is here. We’ve also checked your health insurance card to confirm your identity. My home also doubles as a hotel.”

Hey! Stop talking!