What was supposed to be just a meal quickly turned into a chaotic battle, as the group shouted incomprehensible words about friendship, justice, and youth, and charged at the delinquent girls they had already fought twice.
Protected by Arona, I circled the battlefield and finally, just before the fight ended, found the right angle to capture the scene of their battle along with the beach house in the background.
Thanks to the delinquents' unintentional cooperation, the task on the checklist was now more than halfway complete.
"Damn it! Are you in cahoots with this beach house's owner!?" The delinquent shouted from a moral high ground, "Acting as the protection for such a shady business! This is pathetic! Even we wouldn't do this!"
Izumi weakly explained, "I-I'm not the store owner…"
Mashiro, on the other hand, raised her voice even louder: "To show no respect for food that someone has made with their full effort is utterly ridiculous! Reflect on yourselves properly!"
Her words were forceful and commanding, briefly intimidating the opposing delinquents, whose voices quavered when they spoke again:
"Respect!? Food!? You guys are insane!?"
Recalling the names of the menu items, I quietly looked away, unsure which side could even be called "justice" this time.
Eh, maybe I have a good idea. Let's get an impartial judge for me.
Arona? How about it?
"Guh! We will never yield! Just wait and see! Next time, next time we'll—"
Leaving behind second-rate villain lines, the unusually stubborn and perpetually beaten delinquent mobs made a strategic retreat once again.
"Phew… thank goodness…"
Watching them leave, Izumi exhaled in relief, both grateful and frightened: "Thank you so much! You saved me! That was dangerous, I almost got into serious trouble…!"
Mashiro shook off the confusion caused by the delinquent's strange words: "No need. This is entirely natural for the Justice Task Force. As long as the store is safe."
"Mm! Even so, I really must thank you all! As a token of gratitude…"
Seeing Izumi's movements, alarm bells immediately went off in my mind.
The beige-haired girl ran into the kitchen, and shortly after, returned holding a tray with several drinks, first offering one to Mashiro:
"Anyway, here's one for everyone! Ah, this one's free! It comes with my thanks! Go on, drink it all in one go!"
"I'll gratefully accept it then." Still unaware of the severity, Mashiro looked at the drink and furrowed her brows, muttering, "By the way… is this juice? The color looks unusual."
It was thick, dark brown, and had a strange glowing sheen on the surface, giving off a vibe that holding it in your hand might increase your chances of being robbed after.
As for me, there was no way I dared drink it.
"No worries, no worries! Drink it and you'll know what it is! Okay, you too, and you over there as well!"
Izumi enthusiastically handed a cup to everyone present, including me, then raised her own high: "Now, to celebrate the store's safety! Cheers~!"
With that, she went straight to sipping the unknown, oil-like drink through a straw, clearly enjoying it.
The girls followed without hesitation: "Cheers~!"
SAUCE
The important students were about to suffer, and I could only watch.
Not that I couldn't intervene, I simply didn't want to.
Consider it a token of thanks. And an apology.
For the delinquent girls who had unwittingly saved me, only to be innocently punished.
Once the drink hit their taste buds, the four girls with normal senses of taste visibly twisted their expressions, and almost simultaneously spat it out.
"Eh? Why are you spitting out the [Chocolate Sea Cucumber Juice]?" Izumi panicked. "You can't waste such precious drink!"
Ah, so that's what it is. Considering the ingredients, it's not surprising the color came out like that.
Also, who's really wasting the food here?
The girls who had drunk it were now only focused on retching, and no one even stepped up to question Izumi.
I took some canned drinks from Mashiro's mini fridge to rinse their mouths. Having endured the same suffering together, the bond between them and the delinquent girls would likely deepen and become more genuine.
Misunderstanding and understanding, surely another essential part of a summer beach vacation.
After a brief rest and a mental reset to shake off the recent trauma, we moved on to the next task.
"Next is watermelon smashing." Hifumi said somewhat embarrassed, "Actually, I accidentally forgot the watermelon… but the beach house owner sold us plenty at a very cheap price!"
She carried out a chilled, round watermelon, droplets of water still on its surface, and set it on the sand.
Azusa frowned in confusion. "Just a normal watermelon? Not some operation?"
"Eh, it's just a normal watermelon smash…"
"Alright then, no problem." Azusa nodded. "Anyway, I know how to smash watermelons."
"It's a traditional beach game," Mashiro said with a smile, then asked, "By the way, where's the stick?"
Seeing Azusa's confused expression, Mashiro added, "I remember you need a stick or wooden sword for watermelon smashing, right?"
Hifumi stammered, "Ah, now that you mention it, I completely forgot that too…"
I couldn't believe it. Hifumi, who usually takes charge of preparations, had been so careless. We had trusted her enough to leave her alone while we went on a date. Truly disappointing!
But at that moment, the white-haired girl seemed to have an idea, smiling subtly.
Then, Azusa disengaged the safety, quickly raised her gun to aim, and decisively pulled the trigger...!
Bang! The watermelon exploded, red flesh and juice splattering across the sand.
"Ehhh!? The watermelon's destroyed!?"
"What's so surprising?" Azusa looked at Hifumi oddly. "The watermelon smashed perfectly, right in the center."
Hifumi hurriedly corrected her: "No! That's not how it's supposed to be done, Azusa! Stop shooting! And you're supposed to be blindfolded when smashing the watermelon! Can you smash blindfolded?"
"I see, so there's that rule here. Alright, then I'll do it your way."
Misunderstanding something yet again, Azusa closed her eyes and raised the gun.
Bang.
The watermelon exploded once more.
"I said it's not supposed to be played like this!"