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Once everyone was gathered, they boarded the ship that would take them to their destination. It was a brand new cruise ship built for that very purpose, and the group sat around a table in the lounge of the lower deck as they waited out the trip.

“Oh yeah, Kou, the event in Destiny Unchain Online is starting tomorrow, what should we do?” Subaru brought that up, talking to Kou who was sitting across from him.

“Hmm… I mean, I don’t know, I didn’t even get to prepare any swimming gear.” Kou replied while suspiciously avoiding eye contact.

According to the event guide, they would have to explore a sunken city that had resurfaced from the bottom of the ocean, which included areas below the water. That meant that swimsuits and similar equipment that allowed movement underwater was almost obligatory, but Kou had been so busy preparing for the summer trip that she had forgotten about the event.

…Or at least that was her alibi.

The description of the event alone made her certain that there would be horror elements to it, which she wanted to avoid no matter what.

“I see, I see. So it’s not like you didn’t prepare on purpose because you can’t handle horror, is it?”
“Ack… Ahah…hahah, me? Nah, never.”

Subaru had known Kou for essentially her entire life, so he quickly began interrogating her, and she tried to desperately keep appearances up even though he had figured everything out.

But then…

“Heheheh… Don’t worry, I gotchu!”
“I followed Ryunosuke’s orders and prepared plenty of gear for all of you!”

Ryunosuke butted in, full of enthusiasm, and then Hisui followed up too. Hearing that, Kou went stiff.

“I might’ve overdone it a little bit to be honest, there’s so much I could open a store! But at least you’ll have plenty of variety to pick from!”

“That’s too bad for you, Kou! But as the producer of all the girls in Lua Cheia, I can’t possibly let you miss an event where you’ll all be in swimsuits! Just think of all the Points we’ll be swimming in after we stream!!”

“Dear…what did you just say?”

“Erhm…as I was saying, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the scenery of the resort instead of playing games, it’s your summer break after all.”

Sara was smiling, but her eyes were dead serious, and Ryunosuke instantly switched positions. By then, the power dynamics of their relationship were becoming clear, revealing Ryunosuke’s rather hen-pecked attitude.

“…Well, knowing how much effort you already put into preparing the gear, I’d feel bad if we didn’t use it. We might not be able to participate during the whole event, but we should at least give it a try, right?”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“Okay, let’s do that, Master.”

Kou still detested the idea of an event themed around horror, but she felt like she had no other choice, and the two youngest girls agreed with her. Hijiri, Subaru, and the adults of the group did not have any issues with participating either.

Their discussion about the in-game event wrapped up soon after. They still had some free time before they arrived at the island, so as a way to bond and pass the time, Kou started playing a card game with Hinagiku and her mother.

As they played, they suddenly heard squealing cheers on the upper deck.

“Auntie Amari, is it me or are they getting pretty loud up there?”
“It would seem so. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say the foreign actor they brought as a special guest had his cover blown.”
“What actor?”

Hijiri got curious about the noise, and Amari gave her the best answer she had.

Kou felt like that only hammered down how big of a project that island had been. Then, she used the card she had taken from Kikyo’s hand to form a pair with matching numbers, which she placed on the table before paying more attention to the conversation.

“If memory serves, his name was…” Amari then named an exceedingly popular western movie star, that even someone with little interest in actors like Kou could recognize.

“Ah, I’ll go get an autograph!”
“Oh, I’ll…I’ll go too!”

Kasumi sprung on her feet and rushed out of the lounge to go to the upper deck, and Miyuki followed close behind.

Kou always had a hunch that the class president would react like that, but she had not anticipated that Miyuki would also join her. Ryunosuke and Sara looked a bit troubled seeing their daughter leave like that.

“Hinagiku, you don’t want to go too?”
“Oh, me? I don’t really watch many movies or TV, so honestly I’m not really sure who that even is.”

Hinagiku looked rather indifferent, taking a card from Kou while looking unbothered. The card she took did not help her form any pairs so she looked a bit peeved about that, but other than that, it seemed like she really was not interested in the actor.

“You know, sometimes I feel like I should’ve let her watch that type of media more often growing up… Ah, this works.” It was Kikyo’s turn to take a card from Hinagiku next, which she did while mumbling about that.

“Ohh, now it all makes sense. That must have been him back there too.”
“Hm? Kou, you’ve met the actor?”
“Yeah, back when I was waiting for everyone. There was this foreigner who tapped me on the shoulder and called me cute or something in English.”

It was Kou’s turn again, so she took a card from Kikyo while casually replying to Hijiri, telling her what had happened earlier.

Kou had not felt like she had been pressured into anything, or that he had tried to flirt with her. The man had simply passed by, and left without waiting for any sort of response from her. That had puzzled her a little, but now that she knew he was a famous actor, she felt like it had been more of an act of fan service, something he did to remain in the mind of the public.

So instead of thinking more deeply about it, she noticed that she had just gathered the 4s of spades and clovers, so she placed them on the table.

“Amari…did you hear what she just said?”
“Yes… It seems that actor or whatever he is has a death wish. Let’s throw him overboard and feed him to the fishes, shall we?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
“Dad, mom?! What the hell are you planning to do?!”

A menacing aura surrounded Amari as she stood up, and Sora’s glasses glimmered ominously as he followed her.

Amari was the one taking it the most seriously, her presence so overwhelming Kou could almost see a menacing sound effect behind her like in a manga panel. Realizing something bad was about to happen, Kou desperately tried to get them both to calm down.

“…We’re about to arrive at Kanai Island. Please make sure to pick up all your belongings before leaving the ship. We’re about to arrive at…”

But then they were interrupted by an announcement of their arrival at their destination.

“…Tsk.”
“I guess he’ll get to live for now.”

Kou’s parents continued talking in a very dangerous way.

At least the announcement had arrived at the perfect time to stop Kou’s parents from becoming criminals. Kou sighed with relief, but she also realized that she had no right to ever condemn or ridicule Ryunosuke’s behavior, considering her own family was not too dissimilar.

◇◇◇

“Woahhh, is that where we’ll stay?!”
“It’s so biiigggg!!”

As the ship neared the wharf where it would set anchor, the passengers were greeted by a magnificent sight of the massive structures that had been recently built on the island, which made the two youngest especially excited about being there.

That was Kanai Island, to the south of Tokyo. In the past, that island had been known as Kannai, and was occupied by a small community.

But when Tokyo’s overpopulation reached its tipping point and everyone began leaving to find a better place to live, the inhabitants of the island also abandoned it, just like what had happened in many other nearby islands.

That was how the large company operating all sorts of resorts was able to buy up the land five years prior and build all of those structures.

Eventually, they wanted to use that island to test out an experimental concept for developing new cities, primarily as an Enclosed Layered City. The plan was to start like any other city on the ground, expanding into an area one kilometer wide. Then, they would keep stacking new layers on top, building it into a gigantic tower.

According to the pamphlet, the city would arch over the beach in the southern area, creating a partial roof-like structure. The northern area would be filled with an incredible number of housing sites and attractions, transforming it into a massive recreational resort. The city was to be named Island City Kanai.

“…Hrngh… This place stirs some rather unpleasant memories.”
“…What a coincidence, bat granny, it seems we finally agree on something.”

Somehow the mothers, Amari and Kikyo, looked a bit gloomy seeing the island, and Sora grimaced a little seeing that, but Kou had no idea what they were talking about, so she could only tilt her head in confusion.