The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

"The Hachiman we know is not such a humble and polite person!"

I fucking swear! Chiba swears!

"Hold on, hold on." Chisa calmly pressed down Hachiman's hand, which was about to throw the shaker. Although she had almost had a hallucination just now that the person in front of her seemed a little unfamiliar, she saw that he was indeed the same.

"You two, don't go too far. This isn't 'Grand Blue'."

She turned her head away in an annoyed manner and scolded the two of them.

"It's all because this outfit is so confusing."

Iori argued that the suit seemed to have a magical power, making them forget what their old friends looked like after wearing it; it was practically a magic suit.

"Yeah! Wearing it makes you look like a morph!" Kohei nodded in agreement. Having gotten used to seeing him naked, it was just so strange to see him in clothes, especially formal attire.

"It's not as outrageous as you're saying."

Hachiman complained, looking down at his suit. He rarely wore such clothes. According to Komachi, when the useless older brother put on a suit, he looked like a poor office worker who couldn't earn money but had to endure the harassment of a mean boss. After finishing work, he wanted to buy a bento box, but it was full of vegetables. So he could only eat it while watching a brainless Japanese drama about the conflict between his mother and daughter-in-law.

Tears of bitterness streamed down my face. Even watching anime is better than watching family dramas.

"If it's really as amazing as you say, would you like to try it out?" The store manager asked, holding up two suits and concealing his shrewd gaze.

"...Thank you, but I think I'll pass." Iori refused, not wanting to work for someone else for free.

"It's more fun to be God." Compared to his gentle words, Kohei was more blunt, saying that he wanted to be the father, not the son.

"Wearing this outfit, several lonely and pretty high school girls came to chat with me tonight." Hachiman's words were like a steel pipe that snapped their strong spines.

Iori's eyes narrowed: Several, pretty, chatting.

Kohei covered his mouth in amazement: JK, harem

"Then what are you waiting for? Bring it on quickly!"

"I can't wait any longer, full speed ahead, takeoff!"

A rich golden aura emanated from the two, and their faces underwent a dramatic transformation. Their angular features resembled granite, and their eyes revealed unwavering determination. At this moment, they resembled fearless warriors about to embark on their journey to Egypt.

Seeing how easily the two of them could change their attitude, Hachiman chuckled. What a shameless bunch! He sighed and shook his head. They were so close to getting girlfriends, yet they always had to go out and steal wildflowers. Who could he blame for that?

Unlike him, so innocent.

As Hachiman was reminiscing, an empty cocktail glass was pushed in front of him. He looked up, ready to ask Chisa if she was satisfied.

"Well--"

"...What kind of expression is that?"

Hachiman looked at Chisa with a puzzled expression. Her cheeks were slightly puffed up, like a freshly steamed bun.

"Continued Cup."

Chisa pushed the cup forward again, her tone clearly carrying a hint of dissatisfaction, leaving Hachiman unsure whether she was satisfied or not.

"Oh."

Although I tried to dissuade her from drinking more, given the situation, it was best not to provoke her.

While he was mixing drinks, Iori and Kohei had already changed their clothes. The two stood silently in front of the dressing room, and at first glance, they did have a rather carefree air about them.

It's a pity that this person is perfectly fine, but has a mouth.

"Tsk, why do I feel so uncomfortable?"

"Wearing clothes while drinking is like taking off your pants before you can even fart."

Their vulgar language left Yoshihara Aina, who had initially begun to change her opinion of them, looking dejected and muttering under her breath.

"Can't you two be a little more elegant in this kind of situation?"

"Huh? What are you saying, Corpse-Mask Monster?"

The shop manager's laughter interrupted their conversation. He looked the two of them up and down and said with satisfaction, "As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. You both do look much more handsome in these clothes."

"Of course."

"You can praise me even more."

The two men's shamelessness left the shop manager, who was only being polite, completely embarrassed.

"In that case, I'll leave it to you guys to take care of Azusa's table. Good luck!"

"Oh."

The two walked behind the counter, watched Hachiman shake the mixing cup up and down, and exclaimed in amazement, "Oh, how should I put it, he looks so professional."

"Hachiman, have you ever studied bartending before?"

“No.” Hachiman poured the liquor from the mixing glass into a cocktail glass and gently pushed it in front of Chisa. “However, I know someone who used to work in this industry. I saw her mix a few drinks when I went to see her once, and after practicing for a while this afternoon, it’s pretty much done.”

"Hachiman is very talented," the store manager praised from the side.

"Someone I know?" Iori narrowed her eyes and exclaimed in surprise. "Another beautiful girl?"

Hachiman recalled the silver-haired girl's appearance. Although he couldn't remember her name, her face was still clear in his mind. Perhaps it was because she had a very lovable younger sister. When it came to young girls, he only remembered her name.

Kawasaki-san, well, she's a pretty girl, and a rather outgoing one at that.

He nodded, and a pair of hands clamped around his neck like giant pincers. Iori revealed envy, jealousy, and hatred: "Which one in the photo? Or is he not in the photo?"

"Calm down, you're not friends, just acquaintances."

"Then... could you give me her chat details?"

"I do not have either."

Iori let go of her hand, letting out a strange laugh as if she had collapsed. What a coincidence! She didn't have any contact information. This guy knows so many beautiful girls, yet he didn't save a single number. Only a ghost would believe such a thing.

Just as he was about to punish the other party, a pair of hands stopped him.

Chisa looked at them in confusion: "What photos?"

Chapter Thirty-Five: A Heart as Still as Water

"What picture?"

The moment she uttered her question, time seemed to stand still. Hachiman and Iori exchanged a glance, one seeing surprise and doubt, the other seeing a mischievous glint in her eyes.

The latter realized that this might be the perfect moment to get the other person to reveal what he had been hiding, while the former realized that Chisa was unaware of this matter.

Just as Iori was about to use this as leverage to force Hachiman to say something, Hamaoka Azusa's voice rang out.

"I'd like a glass of golden lime."

"Someone has placed an order."

The voice was like heavenly music that saved Hachiman's life. He urged Iori, who was standing to the side, to hurry up. Iori spat and walked in front of Hamaoka Azusa, mixing sake according to the name of the sake and imitating Hachiman's actions.

Fortunately, the name of the drink was easy to understand, and he actually managed to mix it. It's just a pity that he forgot to add lemon leaves, which made the taste a bit worse.

Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Chisa: "These are just some photos I took in my hometown before, some of which are group photos with a few girls I'm quite close to."

He didn't choose to keep anything to himself, after all, he was too annoyed by the idea of ​​always keeping quiet and causing unnecessary misunderstandings. He wasn't mute, and besides, it wasn't a big deal.

The reason I wasn't allowed to talk about this was mainly because I was afraid that he might distort something or say something baseless.

"That's it?" Chisa was puzzled. It wasn't anything to be ashamed of. Everyone has a few friends of the opposite sex, so why did they act like it was some huge secret?

“That’s it,” Hachiman replied.

"Oh."

Chisa, who thought she was about to hear some earth-shattering secret, gave an uninteresting "oh," picked up her cocktail glass, and took a sip. The rich aroma made her eyes widen slightly. This drink was different from the one before; it was noticeably lighter on the palate.

"This is?"

"My unique formula."

Hachiman chuckled. He had never mixed drinks before, but based on videos on Twitter, he had bought beverages and ingredients for a while and created several unique flavor combinations himself.

The drink in Chisa's hand is made with the Golden Lemon drink that Hamaoka Azusa-senpai ordered, along with some refreshing ingredients. The first sip is a very gentle, slightly sour taste, which is perfect for a girl's palate.

"You really know how to create surprises."

An unusually bright light flashed in Chisa's eyes.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Hachiman gladly accepted her praise; it seems that sometimes tinkering with some strange things does have its uses.

In contrast to the harmonious relationship on his side, Kohei Iori encountered new problems after a brief period of peace.

Should I use a Phillips head or a flathead screwdriver?

[How about we use both?]

They looked at each other and confirmed their answer.

"Here's your screwdriver, please take it."

Iori confidently pushed a glass of sake containing two upside-down screwdrivers in front of Yoshihara Mana. Yoshihara Mana's face froze as she stared at the two screwdrivers.

"and many more!"

"What's wrong?"

Iori responded with a calm smile.

"Do you even need to ask?" Yoshihara Aina suddenly pulled out two screwdrivers, pointing them at the two of them. "Who would actually put screwdrivers in based on the name of the liquor?! Especially two different models!"

"I see, do you need the same model?"

"certainly not!"

Hamaoka Azusa chuckled beside her, showing no intention of correcting her; in her opinion, the scene was quite harmonious.

"That's strange."

Iori looked at Kohei, who gave him a helpless look; he was at a loss.

Hachiman came over after hearing the commotion. Seeing the two looking troubled, he kindly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh dear, it seems there's a problem with the bartending."

As Iori said this, when Hachiman saw the screwdriver in Yoshihara Aina's hand, he obviously understood what was going on. It has to be said that the two of them had some brains, but not many.

“How can you treat this like reading the familiar part of a word you don’t know?” Hachiman said speechlessly, squatting down and pulling a notebook from a drawer, handing it to the two of them. “This has all the instructions on how to mix different kinds of drinks. Take a look.”

"Oh, I see."

The two people who took the notebook looked at the dazzling array of configuration processes on it, feeling a bit like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.

"However, some of the wine names above are really hard to understand; they have absolutely nothing to do with the ingredients."

Iori looked at the bottles of liquor with their strange names and said, "Putting everything else aside, just take this Moscow Mule for example. Luckily no one ordered it, or I would have had to go all the way to Moscow to find a mule."

"Ha, that's because you lack imagination." Kohei expressed his smugness with ease. "I can understand it just by imagining it."

"Really?" Iori scoffed, convinced he was exaggerating. "Then what do you think of this 'calm mind'?"

Kohei looked at the pale blue liquid on the top of the notebook, closed his eyes, and at that moment, he felt as if his favorite anime had a second season. So he watched it with great joy, only to find that the first episode was very different from the previous one. And the more he watched, the more he felt like he had eaten dog shit. The choking sensation made him very angry. He was about to criticize the production team when he saw it in the comments section.

[She (a certain character) has already suffered so much, why are you still criticizing her? Is it all her fault? Putting aside the facts, aren't you viewers of this anime also at fault?]

His heart was as still as water; it turned out that he was the one who truly transcended the heavens.

"Waaaaah." Kohei covered his face and cried bitterly, which made Iori, who was about to ask any more questions, pause in surprise.

Although he didn't understand what had happened, he still said something with concern.

"Be strong."

"It's not my fault, it's the world's fault."

The shop manager, who was watching the scene of brothers dying together, remarked with emotion, "These two have such a good relationship; they must be very good friends."

Ryujiro agreed, saying, "Yes, their relationship had reached a point where neither of them could let go of the other."

"So, you mean our relationship is even closer than that of brothers?"

Hamaoka Azusa thought for a moment and said, "Pretty much."

The ability to expose one's naked body in front of another without any emotional reaction is something that can only be done in a relationship closer than brothers.

"It's really good."