"Autumn's in full swing, the mountains are painted with color."
"And that's it for this episode's beetle spotlight! If you've got any cute beetles at home, feel free to call the show and we'll explore them together~"
On TV, a beautiful anchor was waving at the viewers with a mighty-looking rhinoceros beetle in hand.
At the same time, Kamishiro, manga book in hand, was staring unblinkingly at the screen.
"That beetle is so white "
[Back at Dive Shop]
The moment Kamishiro stepped through the door, he felt something was off.
It was suspiciously quiet. Like a normal scuba diving shop!
Getting closer, he found the usually rowdy Iori sitting in front of the TV, sighing heavily.
What was even scarier was he actually saw longing on that idiot's usually carefree face?!
Missing his high school life?
"What's gotten into him?"
Kamishiro turned to Aina and Chisa nearby and asked. He was met with two equally confused looks.
"No idea "
"He was already like this when I got here, and then "
Aina glanced at another person in the shop. "That guy's in an unusually good mood for some reason."
Following Aina's gaze, Kamishiro saw Kohei shaking a plaque in his hands rhythmically.
The movement, the hairstyle, the smile!
If he claimed he was cosplaying the sunflower from Plants vs. Zombies, Kamishiro might actually believe it.
Before Kamishiro could even ask, Kohei grinned lewdly and leaned over to the group.
"You all wanna know what happened, don't you!"
" It feels like you're going to ramble, so no thanks."
If it made this idiot that happy, it was probably anime or Voice actress related.
Sure enough, Kohei immediately blurted it out:
"Dun dun dun dun! I got Yurika Muranaka's autograph!"
Kohei proudly showed off the plaque. Sure enough, it was the autographed signature from voice actress Yurika Muranaka that Ikegoshi had promised.
"Oh?"
Kamishiro was a little surprised. "Ikegoshi's a good guy. Even after how that film turned out, he still gave you the autograph."
That footage they shot "explosive" didn't even begin to describe it.
Seven years of effort from Ikegoshi had probably gone down the drain thanks to that shoot
Aina: (???)
"You're one to talk, That disaster of a shoot was half your fault as the director!"
Kamishiro: "No need to praise me. I'm just naturally gifted. For a director as talented as me, making a chaotic debut is only natural!"
"No one was praising you!!!"
Aina clutched her temples in agony. Ikegoshi had truly been sabotaged by these two
"So what's up with Iori, then?"
Now that Kohei's mystery was solved, everyone turned to the more pressing matter, what was bothering Iori?
Chisa: "Lost his wallet?"
Kamishiro: "Doubt it. He never has money in his wallet. Losing it wouldn't make him this depressed."
Iori: "Wow, thank you so much for that painfully honest remark!"
That stung!
"Sigh " Iori sighed again. "It's nothing, really. Just some random stuff "
"Like?"
"I want chestnut rice."
" "
"That's seriously it?"
"Shouldn't have asked "
Mystery solved. Nobody had any more gossip energy left.
Though Kamishiro seemed genuinely surprised. "You actually get homesick?"
"Homesick?"
Chisa and Aina looked confused. What did chestnut rice have to do with homesickness?
Seeing their puzzled expressions, Kamishiro explained:
"Well, you've both been to our hometown before, right? It's up in the mountains, and near Iori's house, there's this huge chestnut tree.
Every year, Iori's family would use those chestnuts to make chestnut rice. It tastes pretty good."
"Pretty good? That's an insult!"
Iori snapped, his tone passionate. "It's an unparalleled delicacy, okay?
All it takes is a little salt, sake, and kombu for seasoning because that simplicity really brings out the chestnut's natural sweetness!
You place the gathered chestnuts on top of the rice "
It was clear that Iori really loved chestnut rice. Rarely did he describe food so vividly.
When he finished, he looked to Kamishiro, hoping for some shared nostalgia.
"Kamishiro! Don't tell me you don't miss that taste at all?!
You used to love it too, didn't you?!"
Kamishiro replied lazily, "Yeah, I do like it. But I don't miss it."
"Why not?!"
"Because I just ate some chestnut rice that Shiori sent me. Didn't you get any?"
Kamishiro's single sentence left Iori completely stunned.
Chestnut rice from Shiori
"NO WAY! Why didn't I, her big brother, get any?!"
Iori pounded the table like a madman, looking ready to run home and demand answers from Shiori.
"Heave-ho!"
At that moment
Nanaka carried in a huge box from outside and said, "Iori, this is for you."
"Huh?"
Iori took the package with a puzzled look. There was a letter attached.
Upon opening it, he saw it was from Shiori!
He immediately ignored the bland greetings in the letter, his eyes were glued to just three words written inside.
"Chestnut rice!"
There was chestnut rice in the box!
Unable to contain himself, Iori violently tore open the packaging.
Inside
There was a normal-sized bowl, and inside that bowl was just a small spoonful of the chestnut rice he had been craving.
Pffft!
Kamishiro couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
Not only was the entire huge delivery box just for such a tiny bowl, but inside the bowl was barely even a spoonful of chestnut rice there wasn't even a visible chestnut in it!
Hahahahahaha!
Too tragic!
Looking at the meager portion of rice, Iori wanted to complain endlessly, but in the end, he couldn't resist. He scarfed down the tiny portion in one go.
The sweet and soft texture made Iori feel like he was lying under a chestnut tree, enjoying the pleasant autumn breeze.
"Now I want chestnut rice even more!"
Iori roared, grabbing Kamishiro by the collar and shouting, "How did you even manage to stop yourself from eating more back then?"
"Uh well Is it possible that mine was a full bowl?"
Not only had he eaten his fill, but he even shared some with Azusa nee next door.
" "
Iori froze on the spot. So in the end who's the real family here?
Aina and Chisa both twitched at the corners of their mouths. It wasn't hard to figure out why Shiori had done this.
All they could say was
"As expected of Shiori!"
"She really knows how to manipulate Iori "
At this point Iori, deprived of chestnut rice, completely lost it.
"AAAAHHH!! NOOO!!"
"I want chestnut rice! Chestnut rice!!"
"AAHHHHHH!!!"
Because of Iori's howling, the previously quiet dive shop became even more chaotic than usual.
The commotion soon drew the attention of the three senpai helping outside.
"What's up with Iori?"
Tokita scratched his head in confusion, those screams were just too annoying.
Looking at the rare moment of leisure among the senpai, Kamishiro suddenly recalled today's TV shoot.
So he jumped in quickly and said
"Kitahara said he wants to eat chestnut rice while watching beetle duels!"
Aina and Chisa: "Beetle duels" what the heck is that?!
On a mountain not far from the city
The PAB crew were all geared up with bug-catching nets and vegetable baskets, waiting for instructions from the two senpai.
"So to shut Iori up, today we're picking chestnuts and catching beetles!"
"If you're annoyed by Iori, work hard collecting chestnuts and beetles!"
"Got it!" ×5
Their responses were firm and united, you could tell they'd all had enough of Iori for a long time!
Off to the side, Iori's face twitched wildly. "I'm touched and all, but could you not say it in a nicer way?!
Also, when did I say I wanted to catch beetles?! It's already autumn, where are you gonna find beetles?!"
Smack!
Kamishiro solemnly patted Iori on the shoulder.
"As long as we believe, they will appear!"
" Can I ask why you suddenly want to catch beetles?"
"Eh? Isn't it you who wanted to catch them?"
?_?
Seeing Kamishiro's genuinely confused expression, Iori gave him a big thumbs-up.
Ruthless. This guy lies so well he even fools himself.
But whatever. Iori wasn't about to catch any beetles, he was just here for the chestnuts.
Meanwhile
The senpai were still briefing everyone on precautions.
"You can also gather some wild veggies or mushrooms."
"But I heard there might be other guests around, so just keep an eye out."
Since it was a private mountain with no real danger, everyone chose to explore freely.
Used to living by the sea, a change of pace gathering wild mountain produce was a nice experience.
The girls, always curious about unfamiliar things, were especially excited so Azusa took Chisa and Aina along to look for vegetables they hadn't seen before.
As for the boys
They unleashed their primal instincts and entered survival mode!
"This is wild garlic, this is maitake, and this is "
Thanks to Chisa's prior research, the three girls quickly gathered a large variety of wild ingredients.
Looking at the overflowing vegetable basket, Azusa was already imagining how amazing tonight's dinner would be.
At that moment
There was a rustling sound from the bushes.
Out came
A rhinoceros beetle the size of a human, walking upright out of the grass.
The three girls froze.
Then
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
The scream was so loud and shrill that the beetle immediately collapsed to the ground, switching to crawling mode.
But now
It looked even more terrifying.
"cake monster!"
"What's going on?!"
Iori's group rushed over, only to be equally stunned by the sight of the enormous beetle.
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
"Holy crap!!"
"It's a monster!"
Without hesitation, Iori, Kohei, and the two senpai began wildly stomping on the beetle. The thing looked way too creepy!
Watching their valiant efforts, the three girls even forgot to question why the four guys weren't wearing any clothes.
Yep
The scene now was four naked cavemen beating the hell out of a man-sized beetle.
Azusa's mouth twitched. Why does this look so bizarre?
Whether seen separately or together, this scene could give the show Unsolved Mysteries enough content for dozens of episodes.
At that moment
A muffled voice came from under their feet.
"W-wait a second!"
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!!!
This only made the guys stomp harder.
"Crap!"
"It talks!"
"It must be a mutant!"
"Hey, who do you even call to report mutated creatures?!"
"I'm about to die under your feet before you figure that out!!"
Eventually, Azusa started to feel something was off. The voice sounded familiar.
"Wait!"
She stopped the others from stomping further and cautiously flipped the "beetle" over with her foot.
In front of them was a swollen face
Still vaguely recognizable as Kamishiro.
"Kamishiro?!"
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
"You guys really didn't hold back at all!!!"
With the misunderstanding cleared, Kamishiro sat on the ground, utterly wronged.
He had almost met his ancestors.
(;?＿?)
Everyone awkwardly averted their eyes.
"Well, who told you to dress up like a beetle and scare people "
"No wonder you didn't come with us back then it turns out you were off causing trouble."
"You almost scared the cakey to death."
Kouhei looked at Aina as he spoke.
Aina still had a frightened expression. Even though she was from the countryside and used to catching beetles when she was little
But this? She absolutely couldn't handle a beetle this big!
It looked like it was here to eat people!
"So, Kamishiro, what exactly are you doing cosplaying?"
Azusa curiously poked at Kamishiro's horn. The costume was very well-made. If you didn't look too closely, you'd really think it was a giant beetle.
"(Ｔ▽Ｔ) I just wanted to dress like a beetle so I could attract beetles! Who knew that the moment I changed clothes, I'd get beaten up by a bunch of naked guys!"
Did they even realize how much psychological damage that angle caused to his innocent soul?!
" "
Everyone's lips twitched. As expected only Kamishiro would think of something like this.
Normal people wouldn't think to wear a beetle costume just to find a beetle.
Did he really think they identified each other by sight?
The group silently agreed not to talk about the fact that Shiro got beaten up. After all, he really deserved it.
Only now did Chisa and the others turn their eyes to Iori and his group.
"So why are you all naked?"
Wearing nothing but a basket on their backs while gathering chestnuts This level of absurdity wasn't much different from Kamishiro's!
Aina had already recovered and now blushed bright red at the sight of Iori's "basketball face" as she shouted,
"Senpai, you clearly said there were other tourists around! Can't you at least take some responsibility for your words?!"
Iori and the others looked at each other. While they personally didn't feel anything wrong with their current attire it was quite breathable and comfortable
They figured they should at least explain. Because this time, it really wasn't their intention!
"You misunderstood, Aina!"
"We didn't strip because we like being naked!"
"It was an accident!"
Iori and Kouhei took turns explaining what had happened earlier.
It all started when Iori discovered a small hot spring. When you're exploring in the wild, who could resist a natural hot spring?
Without thinking twice, the four of them jumped in for a soak.
It was incredibly relaxing.
But then
"Damn monkeys stole all our clothes!"
"Totally unexpected!"
The two senpai looked indignant, clearly still upset that they couldn't outrun the monkeys.
"Eh? You guys also had your clothes stolen by monkeys?"
Kamishiro was a little surprised. As he spoke he took off his beetle costume. Sure enough, underneath he was dressed the same as the senpai.
"Oh! Kamishiro, truly a fellow club member!"
"Even our experiences are identical."
The two senpai clapped Kamishiro on the shoulder. What was this?
This was fate!
Watching everyone laugh and shrug it off, Aina felt like she was losing it.
"If you know there are monkeys around, then don't take your clothes off! Those monkeys love pulling pranks!"
She sighed helplessly.
"Anyway, just put something on and go get your clothes back!"
(′｀;)?
Kamishiro and the others blinked in confusion and said seriously,
"Why? If monkeys steal them, we just forgive them with a smile, right?"
"It's just a monkey prank."
Clearly
These guys were way too forgiving about their clothes being stolen.
So forgiving that it made you wonder if they had wanted to strip in the first place!
In the end, Aina's objections couldn't be overcome, and everyone ended up placing large leaves to cover their nether regions.
As for Kamishiro
He continued living his best life as a giant beetle.
So, in the end, what appeared before the three ladies were:
Four wild men with leaves covering their critical areas and one giant beetle.
Seeing this absolutely absurd scene, the three women unanimously decided:
Let's split up and go our separate ways!
They couldn't take it anymore!!!
Meanwhile
Elsewhere on the mountain was another group of visitors.
Unlike Kamishiro's group, who were foraging for ingredients, this group had cameras.
Clearly, they were here to film.
And among them
Was a very familiar face.
"Ikegoshi, relax a little. You're too tense right now."
In front of the camera, a short-haired woman in a kimono gently handed Ikegoshi a handkerchief.
That's right!
That familiar person was none other than the star of the TV show Kamishiro watched earlier today newscaster Yukino!