Chapter 524: 522: A Mind Slowly Becoming That of a Pervert
On the first evening of their relaxing vacation, the group chatted and dined together until after seven before returning to their rooms.
As expected, the idea to play games together came from the most enthusiastic pair—Ikuyo and Seika—which everyone happily agreed to.
Since Seika's room was the biggest, it was only natural they all gathered there.
The first game was a timeless party classic: the King's Game.
No explanation was needed—whoever drew the King card could give any command, and participants had to obey unconditionally.
That absolute authority was what made the King's Game so captivating.
However, since there was one guy in the group—Chisato—and he was dating Hitori, they agreed beforehand that certain suggestive rules and actions were off-limits.
That said, given the personalities of the five girls present, it was unlikely things would get that wild anyway.
Seika originally didn't want to participate.
She just wanted to sit by the window with her half-finished bottle of red wine, enjoying the night view and finishing her drink.
She'd even bought peanuts and squid strips from the vending machine as snacks to go with it.
Red wine with those snacks was a weird combo, though.
But in the end, she couldn't withstand the others' repeated persuasion (and dragging).
Eventually, she had no choice but to take off her shoes and sit cross-legged on the bed with them.
At times like this, having a big bed came in handy.
Even with six people sitting in a circle, it wasn't crowded at all.
Once the basic rules and guidelines were covered, the game began.
At first, everyone was still holding back, behaving properly.
Nijika and Ikuyo drew the King card in the first two rounds, and their commands were tame—making certain numbered people pour tea or do five push-ups in front of everyone.
For the record, those selected were Hitori and Chisato.
Technically, they were playing, but it felt dull and lacked the usual party-game excitement.
That all changed in the third round.
When the cards were drawn but before the King was revealed, Chisato glanced at Ryo and noticed her eyes sparkling—he instantly knew she must be the King.
Sure enough, Ryo revealed her King card a moment later. Under everyone's gaze, she grinned mischievously and gleefully issued her long-planned order:
"Number 3 and Number 4, start eating this from opposite ends. Whoever lets go first has to answer a truth question as punishment!"
She leaned over and grabbed a chocolate stick, about two inches long, from the nightstand—something she had brought along.
Technically, her order could be split into two separate commands.
But she had suddenly escalated what had been an innocent children's game into something borderline suggestive.
The abrupt shift caught the others off guard, and no one raised any objections.
They'd agreed beforehand that the King couldn't go overboard and that anyone uncomfortable with a command could call for a vote.
But it was just two people eating from opposite ends of a chocolate stick—nothing too extreme.
After all, the only potentially awkward factor for the girls was the lone guy among them. And the chance of him getting picked was only 2 out of 5—not that high.
Now, the most pressing question was: who had drawn the numbers?
Ryo was clearly enjoying herself as she looked around excitedly after giving her command.
The next moment, Ikuyo slowly turned over the number tag in her hand and pushed it forward for everyone to see.
It was number four.
"Um, who has number three?"
Ikuyo's cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at the other four.
She deliberately avoided glancing at the only male present, but still, a strange, intense sense of anticipation bubbled within her.
Under the silent gazes of the others, Chisato revealed his card as well.
"Ooh~——"
Ryo made a deliberately loud reaction, clearly enjoying the show.
Hitori looked dejectedly at her number one tag.
Ikuyo's heart trembled the moment she saw the number three card pushed forward by Chisato.
Her hands and the toes curled beneath her folded legs tensed involuntarily.
Nijika was secretly watching Ikuyo's reaction.
"No."
Right after Chisato displayed his card, Seika casually voiced her objection.
The others, especially the very sensitive Ikuyo, looked up at her immediately. Seika followed up,
"No eating in bed. Crumbs everywhere—how am I supposed to sleep tonight?"
That's what she's worried about?!
"It's fine, then we'll just eat off the bed," Ryo responded naturally. She only cared about the fun, not where it happened.
"Oh, then that's fine."
Seika swirled her wine glass, then tilted her head back and downed what little wine was left.
"..."
Nijika watched her flushed, dazed, slightly tipsy sister in silence.
If her sister were in her usual agent mode, she would have slapped the back of Ryo's head and used her adult authority to make her change the command.
But now, there was nothing she could do.
Nijika snuck another glance at Ikuyo, pretending to be indifferent. She sighed, lips parting slightly, and her eyes trembled as they lowered.
Only the person sitting right next to her could see how shaken Ikuyo had been by Seika's one casual exhale and statement.
Ikuyo-chan… do you really want to go through with this game with Chisato-kun that badly…?
Nijika, silently observing everything, felt like two little figures—a rational white one and an emotional black one—were arguing inside her head.
The rational one, named "Reason," told her that as a member of Kesshoku Band, she should step in and stop this slightly out-of-hand "King's Game" for the sake of group unity.
If she let this continue and Bocchi noticed Ikuyo's hidden feelings during the actual game, things could spiral out of control.
But the emotional one, the black figure named "Impulse," thought it didn't matter—it was just a fun game among friends.
It wouldn't affect reality. Besides, only her sister was drunk.
Ikuyo and Chisato were both sober and rational.
Just like her, they cared about Kesshoku Band and each of its members. There was no way they would cross a line in front of Bocchi.
Conflicting thoughts clashed in her mind, but in the end, Nijika closed her eyes and chose to trust them.
Besides, no one else had noticed anything wrong. If she brought it up now, she might not only be disliked by Ikuyo but also draw unwanted attention from the others.
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