The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

"I like you, will you be my boyfriend?"

Eeya!!! ...

In his extreme fear, he didn't notice that if he had simply scrolled down the article, he would have found a warning message: "[This video uses AI technology; watch with caution]".

"Kitahara."

"did not expect."

"You actually did that."

"I like Kohei."

Iori looked up and saw that the four people who had been on his side were now standing far away from him. Clearly, they hadn't seen the words either.

"This is a trick! This is a threat!"

He argued loudly, his remaining rationality constantly reminding him that the other side was using a tactic to sow distrust between them, then separate them and defeat them one by one.

"However, the video footage is 1080p (high definition, uncensored)."

"It's fake! It's photoshopped!"

"Is that so?" Nojima breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, the current situation was making them too tense; even the slightest sound could make them nervous. "So, you weren't hiding behind the bushes with Imamura, were you?"

Iori's expression froze, causing the four people who had been relieved to stop approaching and slowly back away.

"Wait! I admit that such a scene did happen, but Hachiman and the Corpse-Making Monster were also there! And it was the Corpse-Making Monster who grabbed Kohei and confessed! I have photos on my phone!"

He exited the video and went into his photo album. He clearly remembered taking photos at the time, but he couldn't find them anywhere.

Oh right! After sending the photos to Hachiman that night, Kohei forced me to delete them.

Iori remained silent; the innocent have nothing to fear.

"It's no longer important to discuss whether Kitahara was a comrade or not." Nojima was a reasonable man, and he succinctly explained the true meaning of the video. "The photos of us watching Imamura's hanging corpse have been taken and sent to Hachiman's computer. He might send them out at some point, and then we'll be considered communists. It doesn't matter if Kitahara dies, we can't die."

What do you mean it doesn't matter if I die?

Are these people really his close friends?

[Dululu~Dululu~]

The phone rang in her hand, and Iori almost dropped it.

“It’s Hachiman,” he said in a low, hurried voice.

"Turn it on out loud," Nojima said quietly.

Iori nodded and answered the phone.

"Kitahara Iori." There was a pause on the other end. "Let's play a game. If you win, I'll delete the video, and I won't send out any of your lewd photos."

He hesitated to mention the punishment for losing, and Iori, on a whim, asked him.

"What if we lose?"

"Then you will see the real hell."

The voice of Hachiman on the other end of the phone was deep, and it seemed that what he wanted to say was not this sentence, but that familiar one.

Everyone will die.

Iori shuddered, and at Yamamoto's and the others' prompting, she spoke up: "Hachiman, everything can actually be discussed."

"There's no going back. Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Kohei will be waiting for you in that world."

"Hachiman, how about we discuss this again? Kohei deserved to die, we won't hold it against him!"

"You're talking too much; the audience can't wait any longer."

audience?

What game do you want us to play?

Nojima knew they couldn't escape this calamity.

"Hide and seek, a game you're very good at. I'll give you a few hints. If you can't find me before sunset, I'll send out a photo, and the whole school will be shocked the next day."

"You bastard!" Mitarai shouted. If Rie found out at this crucial moment that he was staring at a man's genitals, then the plan to get to first base would be ruined.

"The first hint."

They remained unmoved.

"A place that carries dreams."

The phone hangs up.

"What does he mean? What is a place that carries dreams?" Yamamoto asked, puzzled.

Iori closed her eyes and slowly said, "School."

They all came together because they shared a vision of a wonderful and happy university life.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the road leading to the school not far away.

The gloomy clouds were blown closer to the sun by the wind, blocking the bright light, and the scene on the highway instantly darkened, leaving a heavy feeling in their hearts.

Set out and avenge our fallen friend!

-

After hanging up the phone, Hachiman stood on the second floor of the store, looking down at the five of them as they moved forward. He had actually been hiding in the store all along, in a place that no one would bother to search: his own wardrobe.

They were too clever for their own good, thinking that a daring troublemaker wouldn't openly stay in the room awaiting their judgment, so when they came to search, they only glanced around and left, just as they expected.

Hachiman felt a surge of excitement; this was the first time he had ever played a prank on someone, and it had gone surprisingly well.

He had figured it out: giving in time and time again would only embolden these bastards. This time, he was going to teach them a lesson.

He's not made of dough!

The sound of footsteps came from behind him, but Hachiman did not turn around and spoke with a smile.

"I've already deleted the photos. What you want, I'll give you tonight."

Hachiman turned around and looked at the naked Kohei. His eyes were very clear, unlike the dead man he had just been.

"Pleasant to work with."

In the dim light, two hands clasped together amicably.

Chapter Six: The Seven Deadly Sins - Sloth (Contains disturbing content; viewer discretion advised)

"What do you mean? Who goes in first?"

Gazing at the school gate not far away, Kitahara Iori squatted down next to a telephone pole on the other side of the road, asking the four people who were also acting like hooligans.

This should have been their most cherished place besides home, but now they crouch here, constantly on guard against others, fearing that if they don't blink, they will be used as a sacrifice by this bunch of bastards.

"You're making it sound like you're asking who's willing to be a suicide squad."

Nojima chuckled. Knowing full well that there was a bomb in the school that could explode at any moment, who would still want to be the hero?

"How about we draw lots?" Yamamoto suggested.

"can."

Everyone said they had no objections, but during the draw, Iori chose to withdraw.

"I can't go in, it'll cause a riot, and then it'll be harder to catch that guy."

There will be too many people and things will get chaotic. If Hachiman gets away because of this, then all our efforts will be in vain.

"If you encounter him, you can shoo him towards the door, and then I can grab him in one go."

"But if you're out there alone, and Hachiman isn't inside, wouldn't it be easy for him to get caught?"

Nojima had no objection to Iori's arrangements. He was right. If the students at the school saw Kitahara launch a riot, it would be easy for Hikigaya to take advantage of the chaos.

But he was also worried about leaving Iori alone outside; it was too easy for her to get hurt if she was alone.

"Okay, Fujiwara, you stay with Iori. You can hide a little further away from him. That way, if Hikigaya sees Kitahara alone and makes a move, you can act as the predator and help Kitahara capture him."

Fujiwara smiled and raised her arm: "Leave it to me."

-

"Yamamoto, Mitarai, do you really think Hachiman would be at school?"

As Nojima entered the campus, he raised his middle finger and adjusted his glasses. He looked at the courtyard, which was filled with laughter during lunch break, and his gaze inadvertently swept over a girl wearing black stockings before he spoke.

Was Kitahara's reasoning wrong?

Yamamoto's gaze also swept over the girl, and he nodded. She had a youthful vibe. He wondered if he could get her LINE account by bowing down to her.

"It's reasonable and well-founded, so it can't be wrong."

Compared to the two who were just beginners, Mitarai seemed much more composed; there was only one word to describe him.

Very moisturizing~

"What I mean is, would Hachiman really just tell us where he is so easily?"

Nojima reasoned that he didn't believe the other party would forgive them so easily, and he also said that this was just the first hint, meaning that they might not find him here at all, but they would find something else that would be to their advantage.

But what is that? Is it the next hint?

"It looks like the sky won't clear up today."

Nojima looked up at the dark, dense clouds in the distance and sighed.

-

"Kitahara, what kind of person is Hikigaya? Is he very smart?" By the roadside, Fujiwara, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't stand the boredom and walked up to Iori to talk about the mastermind behind all this.

"I can't really say what kind of person he is, but in terms of intelligence, he's probably more than seven or eight Nojimas, and he's barely on par with me."

Iori boasted without batting an eye, saying that their number of times they'd tricked each other was about 50/50, so it was fair to say that he and Hachiman were about the same in intelligence.

"Come on, if you really think you can go toe-to-toe with him, then tell me where he is in school right now?"

"This one……"

Iori fell silent. How would he know where Hachiman was hiding? But he'd already made such a boast, and he couldn't afford to lose face like that.

"I don't think he's at school right now."

"Not at school?"

Iori nodded.

"You previously said that the place where dreams are realized is the school."

"It is a school, but that doesn't mean he'll be here. Maybe he's just left some new clues in the school."

He was just making things up, but unexpectedly, his casual words turned out to be correct. Perhaps, subconsciously, his familiarity with Hachiman affected his thinking ability.

“If I were to take revenge on you, I would not expose my whereabouts so easily. That would be like throwing away my shield, which would not do me any good at all.”

As Iori spoke, the more she talked, the more she felt that she was absolutely right.

Fujiwara listened to his words, stood up, and walked in a certain direction. Iori looked at his back and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I need to use the restroom. I drank a bottle of Pocari Sweat this morning, and I feel a bit of a urge to urinate."

Fujiwara walked into the school and headed towards the restrooms at the back of the courtyard. Iori quickly got up and ran to his side.

"Shouldn't you be more careful?"

"Didn't you say he wouldn't be at school? Then what do I have to worry about?"

Fujiwara didn't think much of it and walked to the bathroom.

Iori was somewhat speechless. He was only guessing, and he didn't know if it was true or not. However, it seemed that he was quite eloquent, as he was able to convince Fujiwara so easily.

However, it's also possible that it's because he's too stupid.

"Iori, do you need to use the restroom too?"

"I won't go, I'll wait until you're done."

Although he found the other party's boldness somewhat reckless, the other party's approval did make him suspicious. Could it be that Hachiman wasn't really here? If so, then there was no need for him to keep waiting.

"Well."