"I only said that because I saw that Mistress and the others weren't around, so I—"
Furuya Rei's defensive explanation was cut short by a chillingly calm voice rising from behind the group.
"Oh? You saw that we weren't around? And just what have you all been up to behind our backs?"
Mouri Kogoro jolted as if he'd been struck by lightning.
He turned around with the mechanical stiffness of a rusted robot. Seeing Ruri standing right beside Kisaki Eri, he immediately began shaking his head so hard it looked like it might fly off his shoulders. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing happened!"
Ruri narrowed her eyes suspiciously, her gaze lingering on the angry red swelling on Kogoro's cheek. "Really?"
"Shuichi?" Eri raised an eyebrow, shifting her focus to her childhood friend.
Hayashi Shuichi gave a strained, wry smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "It was nothing, really. Kogoro just stepped on some seaweed and slipped. He grabbed my arm to steady himself... we nearly collided with a pair of twin girls. Kogoro was mistaken for a pervert and caught a slap for it."
"Hahaha!" Yukiko doubled over, clutching her stomach. "No wonder half his face is glowing red!"
Ruri felt a mix of irritation and amusement. She reached out, her fingers gently brushing against Kogoro's bruised cheek. The detective immediately melted, offering a fawning smile and eagerly snatching the beach bag off her shoulder to carry it for her.
"And you?" Eri asked, her eyes fixed on Shuichi with a look that suggested she could see right through him. "You didn't get hit?"
"It was just an accident," Shuichi said with a casual shrug. "The girl I bumped into was a bit more reasonable."
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, Kogoro couldn't wait to throw him under the bus. "That's a lie! Shuichi is as slippery as they come! He was staring at their chests just as much as I was, but he had the nerve to claim he was 'worshiping the Buddha'!"
Shuichi closed his eyes and buried his face in his hand.
This idiot! Truly the worst teammate in history!
"Oh? Is that so, Kogoro...?"
Ruri's smile turned predatory. Her fingers, which had been gently stroking Kogoro's cheek a second ago, suddenly clamped down on the flesh and twisted.
"So, this slap mark is actually because you were busy ogling someone else's chest! You deserved it!"
She gave his cheek a vicious wrench.
"Aaaaagh! Mercy! It hurts, it hurts!"
Kogoro's pathetic wail sent a nearby flock of seagulls fluttering into the air in a panicked frenzy.
Shuichi, however, had no time to pity his friend. He suddenly realized he was being encircled by the other girls, every pair of eyes burning with a different shade of indignation.
"Onii-chan..." Reiko puffed out her cheeks, planting her hands on her hips. "You didn't come to the beach just to see that, did you?"
"Sensei..." Orikasa Midori sighed, her voice heavy with theatrical disappointment. "I didn't think you were that kind of person."
"Hmph! I told you all along, he's a massive pervert!" Koizumi Akane announced triumphantly, tilting her chin up.
"It's just male nature, I suppose..." Tomizawa Chikage shook her head, looking utterly exhausted.
"Stupid!" Yukiko huffed, stamping her foot with enough force to make her generous curves bounce. "I know the 'Glasses Girl' over there is as flat as a board, but you still have me, don't you? If you wanted to look, you could have just looked at me! Why go around harassing strangers?"
"You absolute vixen!" Eri's teeth ground together, her knuckles cracking as she balled her hands into fists. "Do you think having two lumps of extra fat on your chest makes you special?"
"It certainly does..." Yukiko intentionally thrust her chest forward, giving Eri a provocative, sidelong glance. "It's not my fault some people are lacking in that department."
At those words, Reiko, Akane, and Midori all instinctively looked down at their own chests.
"I'm just not finished developing yet!" Reiko protested immediately.
Akane and Midori nodded in frantic agreement, though all three couldn't help but steal envious glances at Yukiko's striking silhouette.
Eri's face turned as black as a thundercloud.
Tomizawa Chikage massaged her temples. "How did we get onto this topic? Aren't we supposed to be punishing this lecherous wanderer for staring at other women?"
The girls snapped back to attention, their collective glare shifting back onto Hayashi Shuichi.
Feeling the weight of their judgment, Shuichi felt a cold sweat break out across his back. He let out a dry, nervous laugh and tried to pivot. "So... uh... you all must be hungry, right? How about we go grab some food? I saw a yakisoba stall earlier that looked—"
Just then, a sleazy male voice cut through the tension. "Hi there, beautiful ladies! Meeting again so soon... it must be fate!"
Shuichi frowned and turned. A young man with bleached yellow hair was striking what he clearly thought was a suave pose, his greasy hair shimmering unpleasantly under the beach lights.
"So, what do you say? Why don't we all go—"
"Who has 'fate' with you?" Eri, already in a foul mood, cut him off mid-sentence. "Stop following us!"
"Hey, that's a pretty old-fashioned way to pick up girls," Chikage added, waving him off dismissively. "We're with our partners. Go bother someone else."
"Let's go, Masasuke," the man's friend whispered, tugging at his sleeve in embarrassment.
But the yellow-haired man wouldn't take the hint. His eyes lingered greedily on Yukiko. "But this lovely lady here..."
"I told you already!" Yukiko snapped, wrapping her arms firmly around Shuichi's arm. "I have a boyfriend!"
"Then how about this one..."
The persistent man shifted his gaze to Orikasa Midori.
The former delinquent girl didn't say a word. She simply reached beneath her skirt, drew a wooden bokken, and began tapping the tip of it rhythmically against her palm. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
"S-Sorry!"
The man stumbled back two steps, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
His gaze swept over Ruri, who was currently busy twisting Kogoro's ear, and then landed on Reiko and Akane. He clicked his tongue in regret. "The last two are pretty, but they're just kids... I'd get arrested for that."
Reiko beamed, touching her cheek happily at the compliment of being called pretty.
Akane, however, looked like she was about to explode. "Hey! Who are you calling a kid?!"
"What? Are you saying you're an adult?" The man's eyes widened. "A legal loli?"
Akane opened her mouth to argue, but under the scrutiny of the group, she had to admit defeat. "...No."
"Then there you go," the man said, waving his hand dismissively. "I only want to meet beautiful women; I'm not looking to go to jail."
"Actually, most of the girls here are minors," Shuichi spoke up, his voice dropping into a stern, authoritative tone. "They are high school students. Stop harassing them."
"High schoolers? Even better!" The man's eyes lit up. "Ladies, I'm actually a student at Tokyo University. If you have any trouble with your studies, feel free to ask me. We can... exchange notes."
"Did you not hear me?" Shuichi reached into his pocket and pulled out his Police Metropolitan Department Consultant ID. "One more word, and I'm taking you to the local precinct to file charges for the harassment of minors."
"...Our apologies!" the man's companion blurted out, grabbing the stunned blonde and dragging him away as fast as his legs could carry them.
"Calling me a kid..." Akane glared at the man's retreating back, a dangerous glint flickering in her eyes. "Maybe I should draw a circle and curse him..."
The others took it as a joke, but Shuichi knew exactly what the apprentice witch was capable of. He quickly stepped in front of her to block her view.
"Alright, we've wasted enough time. I'm starving. Let's go find a place to eat."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"