"Hey, I'm just being honest, like you!"
"Guh... Since you're technically using my own logic, it's hard to argue..."
The four girls looked down at their own clothes, then at each other's.
"I think Eiko and I are safe, but... Mii! Shiina! That's way too much!" Shino cried.
"I could've sworn I put my pajamas on..." Mii mused. "Oh well. It's only Hachiman-san."
"Yeah, I'm fine with it," Shiina added playfully.
"Ugh... my modesty backfired," Eiko groaned, genuinely depressed. "I should have left my shirt unbuttoned too..."
Eiko slumped in defeat while Mii and Shiina looked triumphant.
"Hehe. Now the Prince won't be able to look at us today without remembering what he saw," Mii giggled.
"Exactly! I smell victory!"
"What is wrong with you people?!" Hachiman despaired. "Just put some clothes on!"
"Seriously, what are you two saying?!" Shino yelled, moving to confront them.
But Hachiman-kun delivered a cold, merciless blow to Shino's defense.
"By the way, the one who stripped those two in her sleep was Shino."
"...Eh?"
"Shino...?"
"Is that what happened...?"
"Damn... I should have slept closer to Shino-chi..."
"Y-You have no proof!" Shino stammered in a last-ditch effort.
Hachiman-kun didn't even blink. "In a case like this, we'd need a third-party judgment. Since there's only one other person here... you're okay with me showing the evidence to the Original Me, right?"
He dangled his left hand suggestively. Shino suddenly remembered the night before and realized exactly what kind of "evidence" might exist.
"Ugh..."
"You sure?"
"...I am very sorry."
Shino surrendered completely to the plushie's military might. Hachiman, however, dropped a heavy knuckle onto the doll's head.
"Ow! Hey, that didn't hurt, but watch it! What if I break?!"
"Stop teasing her so much," Hachiman muttered.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Hachiman..." Shino looked at him with watery, grateful eyes, touched by his kindness.
But right in front of her, Hachiman pulled out his phone and made a call. Suddenly, Shino's phone began to play a very distinctive music-box melody.
"Wait, Hachiman, what are you...?"
"The music box version actually sounds really nice," Hachiman said calmly. "Good choice of song, Shino."
"You called me just to check that?!"
"Yeah. Just that."
"O-Oh. I see."
Shino felt a wave of relief that the lyrics hadn't come up. Unfortunately for her, the "ABC" trio was not about to let such a golden opportunity slide.
"Don't be so restless, Shino~"
"Yeah, yeah, don't go looking all around~"
"The person I love mos—"
"Waaaaah! Stop! Stop it!" Shino screamed, lunging at Shiina and covering her mouth before she could finish the lyrics.
"Lunging at a half-naked Shiina?" Hachiman-kun interjected, completely ruining the mood. "So Shino swings that way too?"
Hachiman dropped his fist on the plushie's head again.
"I told you, what if I break?!" the doll squawked.
"I told you to stop stirring the pot! And the rest of you, hurry up and get ready. I'll be waiting in KITT."
""""Yes, sir!""""
Hachiman retreated to the car, and the girls scrambled to get dressed.
"Ugh, stop teasing us! That was so embarrassing!"
"I do it because I want to see you embarrassed!"
"I wonder if the Prince was actually flustered? I worked so hard to show him my best side."
"Grr... Just because you have a chest...!"
"Drink some milk, Eiko."
"Alright, alright, that's enough, everyone."
Outside, Hachiman sat in the driver's seat of KITT and let out a heavy sigh.
"Good grief... those girls are a handful."
"Your face seems a bit flushed, Hachiman. Are you alright?" KITT's voice resonated through the cabin.
"Yeah. They were sleeping in some... ridiculous outfits. And then the conversation afterward was just as ridiculous. I had a hard time keeping a straight face."
"That does sound like quite the ordeal. Well done, Hachiman."
"Once you cross twenty, it's hard to keep up with that kind of energy. It's exhausting."
"I see. Is that how it works?"
"I still feel young in my head, but then..." Hachiman trailed off as he watched the four girls emerge from the apartment. "Look at them, KITT. Those short skirts in this weather... the moment I find myself thinking 'Don't they feel cold?', I realize I've lost my youth."
"Perhaps you have always been more mature than your years suggest, Hachiman."
"Whatever. I'll just try my best not to be treated like an old man today."
"Good luck."
"Yeah."
Hachiman waited for the four to pile into the car before asking for their destination.
"Ah..."
"Don't tell me you didn't decide?"
"We kind of crashed last night..."
"We messed up."
"Sorry, Hachiman-san."
Hachiman gave them a small, reassuring smile. "It's fine. We can just decide now."
"Right..."
Hachiman noted with some relief that they didn't call him "Prince" when they were talking directly to him. He decided to keep that observation to himself—bringing it up would only invite trouble.
"Oh, that's right!" Shino said. "I was talking to Argo at work the other day. He told me about a Soleil experimental facility in Akihabara. Apparently, they have a setup where friends can watch someone play a VR game in real-time or something."
"A place like that exists?"
"Yeah. It's still in the testing phase, so they haven't officially reported it to you yet."
"Oh? Interesting."
"Argo said if I was interested, I should go check it out with my friends."
"Well then, shall we give it a try?"
The other three immediately jumped on the suggestion.
"We can actually watch Hachiman-san and Shino play? I'm so in!"
"Me too! I've always wanted to see it!"
"Hachiman-san, please!"
"Sure. If you three are okay with it... Shino?"
"Yeah, I don't mind."
"Alright. So, where is this place?"
"Um, let's see... it's a shop that a hacker friend of Argo's hangs out at. A maid cafe called... May Queen Nyan-nyan?"
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