Strategy for Dealing with Problematic Girls

Jhin honestly hadn't expected this world to have a hotel keycard system comparable to modern technology. Clearly his horizons had been too narrow.

He slotted the keycard in without thinking, and the wide, platinum-white room lit up with a soft, warm glow — gentle enough that no one's eyes would tire of it. A large, spotless bed made from blue seashell sat in the center of the room, and the rest of the furniture had been arranged around it with convenience in mind.

The enormous floor-to-ceiling window faced the sea, which reminded Jhin of the dormitory Kyaru had once described to him from the mermaid dream world. That one had faced the ocean too, if he remembered right.

Kyaru was clearly thinking of the same thing. She shot him a glance with liquid eyes, and it nearly made him howl on the spot and turn into a starving wolf.

He forced himself calm and looked elsewhere. Megumin had spent the whole day outside in a swimsuit and had been itching to rest for hours, so she kicked off her sandals and got ready to dive into the soft bed.

Before she could jump, Kyaru saw it coming and stopped her. "Megumin, let's shower first. We're covered in sweat — don't get the bed dirty."

"I'd totally forgotten about that until you said it. Jhin, want to shower together?"

Jhin froze, and so did everyone else — no one expected Megumin to throw out an invitation that bold. But he understood perfectly well that the thinking behind it was anything but innocent.

"Heh heh." Seeing them all rattled, Megumin smirked, pleased with herself. Of course she had no intention of actually bathing with him. Setting aside how easily that could go off the rails, she wasn't shameless enough for that.

Right now she'd simply noticed her boyfriend was in that state where he wanted to say something filthy but couldn't quite bring himself to, and she wanted to tease him for it.

The longer Jhin stayed silent, the smugger she got. She stepped closer, poking a finger into his firm abs, her grin wicked and her tone begging for a smack. "Well? You sure you don't want to think it over?"

"Come on... say something, would you?"

"Staying quiet the whole time is terribly rude to a lady, you know."

"Don't tell me you're so worked up about bathing with me that you've lost your voice?"

Kokkoro wanted to talk Megumin down from poking the bear, but Kyaru quietly held her back. She pointed at Jhin's slowly tightening fist and whispered, "She's about to get what's coming to her. Better not go over there."

The bouncy Crimson Demon Clan girl hadn't noticed that her three companions had gone completely silent. They retreated behind the sofa, picked up the coconuts already opened on the table, and settled in to watch the show.

Pecorine even thoughtfully slowed down her sipping so the sound of drinking wouldn't spoil the spectacle. She rather enjoyed watching Jhin and the other girls go at it like this — it made great entertainment.

Smack!

Jhin caught the wrist of the hand tugging at the corner of his mouth. Watching her expression turn as startled as a fawn's, he squeezed out a "smile." "I've given you too much freedom. Fine — we'll shower together, just like you asked."

"Huh? You... you're not turning me down?" Her eyes darted toward Pecorine again and again, hinting that he shouldn't forget there was a rather important person standing right there.

"You invited me so insistently. Refusing would be rude."

Now Jhin understood why she'd dared to provoke him so brazenly — she'd been leaning on the Pecorine situation, a fox borrowing the tiger's ferocity. But that particular matter had nothing directly to do with her, so how was it supposed to back him into a corner?

Sure enough, playing silent was still the best way to shake the truth out of this chuunibyou brat.

"Y-you don't have to be that polite..." Megumin sensed catastrophe closing in. There was nowhere to run, and her momentum collapsed, her voice shrinking to a mosquito's whine. "M-maybe I'll just shower by myself."

"Now how could I allow that?"

"Wagh — you — what are you doing!?"

"Shower! Time!"

"No no no! Put me down! Kokkoro, Kyaru, Pecorine, save me! Are you really going to stand there and watch this pure maiden be defiled by him?"

"Hilarious. Why don't you use that brain of yours — as barren as your chest — and remember who issued the invitation first?"

"You bastard, that's another forbidden phrase! Heaven's judgment upon you!"

"Ow — you're actually biting me?"

"Bite me back if you've got the guts!"

The two of them scuffled their way into the bathroom, and a wind element barrier sealed off both sight and sound. It was a habit Jhin had kept up ever since the Charm Potion incident.

The show was over. Pecorine tossed her coconut shell into the trash and called the other two out to the private stretch of beach outside the room to set up the grill they'd be using. They could have eaten at one of the barbecue stalls outside, but all of them preferred doing it themselves.

"Ah... I forgot to have Jhin take out the Gold-Rimmed Overlord Squid first. It needs to be prepped in advance."

"Master and Megumin shouldn't be in there too long, should they?"

Kyaru caught both of them turning to look at her and grumbled, a little put out. "Why is it that the moment something like this comes up, you two just assume I'd know?"

"Ahaha..." Pecorine scratched her cheek with an index finger, embarrassed. "B-because you're the only one who's showered with him."

"Ngh... so you did know about that." She let out an adorable little wail, then fixed Megumin and Pecorine with a terrifying glare, her eyes glistening with shame and fury. "You are never to bring that up again. Understood?"

"O-Okay." "R-Right."

"Understood."

Only once they'd promised did Kyaru answer, dead-eyed and drained of all will to live. "Normally, thirty minutes. If they're going to do something, probably an hour at minimum."

Do something... meaning what, exactly?

Pecorine badly wanted to ask, but considering Kyaru would fight her to the death over it — and that she was pretty embarrassed herself — she buried the question deep.

And things played out exactly as Kyaru had predicted. About thirty minutes later, Jhin and Megumin emerged from the bathroom, having changed out of their swimsuits and back into their everyday clothes.

Since the hotel had no such thing as a hair dryer, Jhin mixed wind and fire elements to dry Megumin's hair. Toying with the smooth black strands at her temple, he asked, holding back a laugh, "There. Satisfied now?"

"You— cough cough —you've got the nerve to ask me that?"

"It's just the two of us in the room. What's there to be shy about?"

"Satisfied my foot." Megumin turned her head and sank her neat white teeth into his hand, leaving a shallow imprint. "You're taking me for a walk tonight!"

Jhin raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"On... on second thought, never mind. I get the feeling you'd ambush me somewhere along the way."

"That's a little hurtful, you know."

"Quit yapping. I'm hungry. Go make the barbecue already."

"All right."

The moment they stepped out onto the beach, Kokkoro and Kyaru dragged Megumin off for an intelligence exchange. Jhin had no idea when this habit of theirs had started, but he had nothing on his conscience, so he calmly pulled a mountain of food out of his storage space and started grilling meat with Pecorine.

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