"So, what's everyone's starting residual pressure?"
"200." ×4
On the beach, everyone was wearing wetsuits and checking their scuba gear. Nanaka was explaining about residual pressure — if it drops to 60, they had to notify her.
Once the remaining pressure hits 60, that's the safe point to ascend.
Lying about your remaining pressure while diving is one of the biggest taboos — it's extremely irresponsible and endangers your own safety!
Splash~
After the explanation, everyone dived into the water in an orderly manner. They were about to begin practical training for the diving license test.
"Alright, let's start with the BCD~"
Step 1: BCD
Divers have a Buoyancy Control Device (BCD). Pressing one button fills it with air to help you float. Holding your arm up and pressing another button releases air, letting you sink.
(The detailed explanation would take too long if I write it, so let's just skip to the action — otherwise I'll have to fill in a ton here~??·??·???? ??*)
The four looked at each other and pressed their BCD buttons simultaneously, each fired up and unwilling to lose.
It had become a silent competition!
However… the match was over in an instant!
Aina, unable to keep her balance due to the weight of the oxygen tank, sank straight down.
Iori, on the other hand, couldn't fully release the air and just floated on the surface.
Only Shiro and Kohei completed the task smoothly.
Round 1 Winners: Shiro Kamishiro and Kohei!
Step 2: Clearing the Regulator
Shiro, who calls himself the Sea God, easily completed the task. He's unbeatable underwater!
Looking back, his foolish companions were still struggling.
Kitahara, that idiot, couldn't even hold onto his regulator. Pathetic!
Kohei, on the other hand, looked thirsty — he was guzzling seawater.
As for the zombie girl? Why was her face full of bubbles just from clearing a regulator?
Shiro shook his head. These shrimp soldiers and crab generals weren't even worth his time.
No! If he were a Dragon King, these people wouldn't even qualify to be his minions!
Round 2 Winner: Shiro Kamishiro!
Step 3: Clearing the Dive Mask
Surprisingly, all four did pretty well on this one.
Shiro slowly opened his eyes. Under the sunlight, the ocean floor shimmered with a fantastical blue hue. They played and splashed, as if in another world.
It was vibrant and unbelievably beautiful.
Blub blub blub…
Nanaha made a small noise to get everyone's attention and pointed to her residual pressure gauge.
The four replied using diving hand signals.
Shiro: 100
Kohei: 80
Iori: 60
Aina: 60
The winner is clear! Shiro Kamishiro triumphs again — effortlessly.
What a shame they didn't bet on it. Next time, they must make a wager first!
Seeing the hand signals, Nanaka gave the ascent gesture. Since someone was at 60, it was time to head up.
Splash~
"Hmph, only 60 left, you weaklings."
"You bastard, I only had 180 before we went down!"
"Come on, Kitahara, I remember you had 200. But still, why are you two comparing 60 to 80? Losers, all of you."
Shiro scoffed. How could these guys possibly compare to the Sea God?
"Hah? You had 300 before diving."
"What the hell? No tank holds 300! Just admit your loss already!"
"No! It was definitely 300!!"
"..."
Watching the three argue again, the upperclassmen shook their heads. Those three could start a fight over anything. Youth really is full of energy.
"Hey, senpai, what's your residual pressure?"
Aina, staying out of the trio's nonsense, asked the upperclassmen.
"Huh? Us?"
They checked their gauges:
"110."
"Same here."
"120~"
"130."
(;'A`)
The four were shocked — they weren't even on the same level. Except for the two muscleheads who consumed more due to their size, everyone else still had at least 120! That's double Iori's!
"Completely different league…"
"So strong…"
"Damn it! You're at 110? I'm catching up — just 10 more to go!"
Shiro set his new goal. Iori and the rest no longer satisfied him. He had to surpass the upperclassmen!
"Wait, doesn't that mean we could've stayed in the water longer? You guys could've continued while we went up."
Aina asked in confusion. They still had plenty of air, so why not play a bit more?
"Haha, maybe. But…"
"Diving is a group activity."
"If one person ascends, everyone ascends."
"Unless there are multiple instructors present, that's just how it is."
The senpais cleared things up. Looks like they were just too weak.
"You hear that? Don't drag us down!"
"Underachievers!"
"...Why do you two always look down on others?!"
Iori glared at the two smug idiots. It wasn't just him with 60!
Just wait!
He would definitely beat them next time!
"Because you suck, of course."
"Underachievers need to know their place, Kitahara."
"You two can't even play tennis — how dare you talk down to me!!"
The War God of Land was not backing down! ψ(*｀ー′)ψ
Chisa looked away.
She didn't need to see what was coming next. Right after talking about teamwork, they were already at it again...
Suddenly, she noticed Aina spacing out.
"Aina?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Startled out of her thoughts, Aina looked up like she just woke from a dream.
"You seemed dazed. Tired already?"
"So soon? Want me to check your pulse? I just started learning medicine!"
Shiro's eyes lit up at this. He'd recently taken an interest in traditional medicine and was desperate for a test subject.
"No, I was just thinking about something. And you just started studying! No way I'm letting you examine me!"
Aina rejected him immediately. The cool guy image of Shiro had long since shattered in her eyes. He was a total clown now — and who would let a clown treat them?!
"Ugh… what a waste."
Shiro pouted. Maybe he'd try it on Kitahara later. He even learned acupuncture!
After a short break, they began the final exercise.
Step 4: Sharing the Octopus Regulator
They paired into groups. Shiro stared at the yellow-haired guy across from him, twitching. He had hoped to pair with Aina…
Now Kohei just reminded him of the golden retriever back home. So dumb.
The two learned quickly, though. Other than wanting to shove the regulator down each other's throats, they performed without mistakes.
Unlike Iori's team — the zombie girl seemed to have choked on water. Poor thing. (??ω??)
After all the tasks were completed, Shiro was just about to go have fun with Azusa when the signal to ascend came.
Back on shore, they learned that the zombie girl had hit 60.
What a pity — if it had been Kitahara, they could've mocked him!
"So you weren't lying to win the residual pressure game?"
Iori looked shocked. He had noticed Aina's gauge earlier, and she had tried to lie about it. He thought she wanted to win.
"Why would I lie for that reason? I was just… scared…"
Aina looked guilty. She knew everyone else still had air. If not for her, they could still be playing.
And she was afraid they wouldn't want to include her anymore — just like what happened in TB…
Smack!
"Ow~"
A hand chop landed on her head.
She looked up to see Shiro and Azusa behind her.
"You really have bad judgment, zombie girl. Do you really think our senpai are like that?"
Shiro stepped aside a bit. All the upperclassmen were looking at Aina with gentle eyes.
Azusa crouched and pinched her cheeks.
"Why does little Aina speak formally with us?"
"Well… because you're senpai."
"Mmm, showing respect to senpai is only natural, right?"
"In that case, isn't it natural for respected senpai to also be kind to their kouhai?"
Aina froze, staring at Azusa's warm smile.
No one had ever told her that before — only that she should respect her seniors, never that they would care for her too.
Pinch~
Azusa kept pinching her cheeks.
"Beginners using up oxygen quickly is completely normal."
"She's right. Totally normal."
"If you want tips, we'll share everything we know."
"Just do better next time. That's all."
"Yep yep~"
Seeing everyone's kindness, Aina couldn't help but recall the cruel faces from TB.
'You can't join us this time.'
'Ah, sorry, we're full.'
'Hey, freshman, go buy drinks!'
'Clown!'
'We've laughed enough — you can leave now.'
Each word stabbed her heart like a knife. Her sensitive, fragile heart was nearly broken.
But…
Somehow, everything had changed.
She no longer saw those faces clearly. She couldn't even remember them anymore.
Now, it was the faces of PaB members that were vivid — even if most memories were blurry mosaics.
Drinking, diving, gaming together… Newbies could mess with senpai, and senpai truly looked out for them (except during drinking games).
All of this felt like a dream she didn't want to wake from.
Her fragile heart was finally starting to accept everyone.
Suddenly, she sensed people behind her.
She turned and saw the other newbies — Shiro, Kohei, Iori — all smiling behind her.
"That's how it is!"
"Senpai here are different."
"Not like the others, but really good."
"Let's go diving again later."
Seeing their faces, Aina smiled brightly. "Yeah!"
The upperclassmen watching the five also smiled.
"Hey, maybe Aina's hesitation comes from…"
"She hasn't fully opened her heart and body to us yet?"
{{(°△°; "}}!
Aina, who had just been smiling, suddenly turned pale. The atmosphere behind her felt wrong!
"You're right!"
"Absolutely!"
The two muscleheads started showing off their shredded bodies — they could pass for bodybuilding instructors!
"No way! I can't do that!!"
"A swimsuit's fine!"
"Here, I'll show you — this is what senpai should do!"
"How is that senpai-like?! That only happens in adult manga!"
"Wait — you read those too?! Let's exchange titles!"
"Me too! I love Thunderfire Sword!"
"Dumbass! That's an anime!"
"Enough, you two! Why did the topic suddenly shift like this?! When did we start discussing this?!"
( ?? ﹏ ?? )
…
"Sure enough, this is still the best."
Iori nodded in satisfaction as he watched the noisy group. That scumbag Shiro was occasionally useful—at least with him around, there was no need to worry about any awkwardness.
With this, that weirdo Aina should be able to blend in quickly. It's just a shame she hasn't opened up her body to them yet—otherwise, she'd integrate even faster. Not even a swimsuit would work?
"Emmm, Iori-kun, it might not necessarily be all good like this, you know~"
"Eh? Is there a problem?"
Iori looked at Nanaka beside him in confusion. He thought this was a perfect happy ending—at least way better than the stuff Shiro wrote in his novels.
"They're not the problem. But you, Iori-kun, might have a bit of a big problem~"
"Me? What's wrong with me? The main thing is, I'm really not that interested in anime, so I just can't blend in."
"That's not it. It's just that, based on how things are going now...
There's a chance you might be the only one who fails, Iori-kun."
(′?`)
"...Seriously?"
"Yup, seriously!"