Denji and Himeno's game of Yakyuken (Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors) was fiercely underway.
Since everyone was gathered around the two of them, no one noticed Arata and Makima talking. This naturally afforded them a bit of private space.
"Does Miss Makima know about Jiaobeijiu (cross-cupped wine)?"
"Cross-cupped wine?" Makima tilted her head, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
"Want to give it a try?" Arata teased.
"Sure."
Having gotten her consent, Arata picked up his glass and moved closer to Makima.
As he drew near, he caught a faint whiff of her natural body fragrance—a scent far more intoxicating to a man than any high-end perfume from Hermes or Chanel.
Arata took the initiative to guide her.
They intertwined their arms and each took a drink from their respective glasses.
Once finished, Arata unlinked his arm and returned to his original seat.
"So that was cross-cupped wine?"
"Exactly. Only close friends of the opposite sex do something like that."
"Sounds nice." Makima set her glass down and slowly asked, "What are your plans after we finish drinking, Arata-kun?"
"It's too late to head back to Tokyo. I'll probably just crash at Tenten's place with Denji."
"And where are you staying, Miss Makima?"
"At Kiko's place."
"That's not a bad choice either."
"But I don't really want to go to Kiko's tonight. How about we go to a hotel?"
"A hotel?!"
Arata hastily swallowed the alcohol he nearly did a spit-take with.
He hadn't expected Makima to be so forward. They had just shared a single cross-armed drink, and now she wanted to get a room with him?
Arata glanced at the others. Seeing that no one was looking their way, he asked cautiously, "Miss Makima, are you trying to apply some unspoken workplace rules to me?"
"I just have some questions I want to ask you. Going to a hotel would make it very convenient for just the two of us to talk. After all, Arata-kun always gives off an air of mystery, and that kind of mystery easily attracts a girl's attention."
"Sorry, but I'm drunk tonight. If you really want to understand me, Miss Makima, it's best you ask me during the day when I'm completely sober."
"Arata, are you afraid of me?" Makima asked, her eyes locking onto his.
"I'm not the least bit afraid of you, Miss Makima. On the contrary, you constantly want to figure me out—you must want to understand me because you are the one who is afraid, right?"
Arata didn't fall for her trap.
Not only did he deny being afraid, but he flipped the script, forcing Makima into a passive position.
"You truly are a difficult person to read, Arata-kun."
Makima rested her chin on her hands, looking at Arata with a gentle gaze.
If it had been Denji sitting across from her, he absolutely would have melted under Makima's eyes.
But Arata knew Makima distinguished people entirely by their scent. She didn't actually remember anyone's face; she only remembered the smell of each individual.
"Well? Are we still drinking?"
"No more. We won't get drunk anyway."
"By the way, Arata-kun, how many devils have you contracted? As your superior, I believe I have a right to know."
"Only one. The Dream Devil."
"Is that so? But I can smell more than one devil on you, Arata-kun."
"You must be smelling things wrong. I'm out of alcohol, I'm going to go ask for another pitcher. Do you want any more, Miss Makima?"
"I'll go with you."
Makima draped her black coat over her shoulders and left the room alongside Arata.
Tenten, who had been watching the spectacle, noticed the two of them leave but didn't think much of it.
"Take it off!!" Denji yelled excitedly after winning a round.
"Not bad, Denji. You've already figured out my pattern."
"When it comes to things I love, I never lose." Denji rubbed his nose, looking incredibly confident.
Himeno swiftly took off her top.
She was now down to just her two pieces of underwear.
Just one more win, and Denji would claim absolute victory.
The two threw their hands out again.
This time, Himeno won.
Denji immediately dropped his pants.
"Denji, you're down to your last piece. Are you sure you want to keep going?" Himeno asked.
"Denji, I've already covered Kobeni's eyes! Go all out!"
"Arai-senpai, you're covering the wrong place..."
"Sorry! But turn your head away, Denji might be going completely bare in a second."
Kobeni squeaked in agreement and hurriedly turned her back.
"Captain Natsume, shouldn't you turn your head too?"
"Don't worry about me, Tsurugi. It's not like I haven't seen it before."
"Captain Natsume, you've seen it before?!" Hearing this, Tsurugi instantly petrified into a stone statue.
"Please, the Captain is almost thirty. What's the big deal?" Tenten chimed in.
"Then Tenten, have you seen it before?!"
"Hey, what are you talking about?! How could I have seen it!" Tenten said angrily, her face instantly flushing bright red.
"Then turn around."
"Why should I?! If Himeno-senpai loses, are you guys going to turn around?" Tenten retorted. She clearly had no intention of missing out on a free show.
"No one needs to turn around. If you want to look, then look!" Denji declared boldly.
But the moment he said that, Kobeni turned back around.
"I didn't expect you to be this kind of girl, Kobeni... you aren't even an adult yet, are you?"
"Um... Arai-senpai, I just turned around to grab a glass of water."
Kobeni hurriedly picked up a cup and turned her back to them once again.
"Don't run away, Kobeni! We can't let these guys take all the advantage. Turn around!" Himeno called out to her.
"I'd rather not, Himeno-senpai." Kobeni kept her back to the group, too terrified to turn her head.
"Don't be shy! With your level of courage, it's a wonder you ever went to audition for adult videos before."
Himeno physically grabbed Kobeni and spun her around to face Denji.
The moment her eyes landed on Denji's boxers, Kobeni instantly buried her face in her hands.
"Hurry up, Himeno-senpai!" Denji was already vibrating with impatience.
"Don't run away when you lose."
"Relax, I'm a man of my word."
Seeing that Miss Makima wasn't in the room, Denji let loose entirely.
The two threw their hands out.
Victory and defeat were decided in a single instant.
At that same moment, cheers erupted.
"Awesome, Denji!!!"
"Hell yeah!!!"
Denji threw both arms over his head, cheering his victory.
Aki Hayakawa hastily turned his head away, not wanting to see Himeno expose herself right in front of him.
"Himeno, you actually slipped up!" Tsurugi laughed.
"Gentlemen, you are celebrating far too early." With that, Himeno unhooked her bra.
They all expected a nosebleed-inducing sight.
Instead, they were met with a pair of band-aids acting as forced censorship.
"Dammit, Himeno-senpai, you cheated!!" Arai roared in dissatisfaction, while casually lowering the phone peeking out of his pocket that had been recording everything.
"Don't get so worked up, Arai. The next round will definitely have what you all want to see," Himeno laughed.
"Alright, that's enough! Stop playing this stupid game!!"
Aki Hayakawa immediately spoke up to put an end to it.
With a single sentence, he reined in the situation before it spiraled completely out of control.
Meanwhile, Arata and Makima, finding the room too noisy, were sitting outside drinking.
"Tell me, what is your purpose in getting involved with Special Division 3?"
"I just wanted to find a stable job. I'm not lying about that."
"And what about the devils you contracted?"
"Since you insist on asking, I'll tell you. Besides the Dream Devil, I also contracted the Fly Devil."
"There are more than two." Makima popped an edamame bean into her mouth.
"Then what devil did Makima contract? Or rather... maybe you haven't contracted a devil at all, and you're actually the devil yourself."
Arata framed it as a question, but he had practically stated the truth.
This prompted Makima to reveal an incredibly intriguing smile.
Her previously gentle face instantly turned cold and sinister.
"You truly do know a lot of things. Now, tell me everything you know, or else I will kill Denji."
"Denji is your hero, and he's also your dog. You won't kill him right now."
"Then what if I kill Himeno? Or Aki-kun?" Makima smiled faintly.
Arata was well aware of Makima's ruthlessness.
If she said it, she would absolutely do it.
"It seems you intend to oppose me directly."
"I know you are very strong, but I am not weak either. If you kill me, there is a very high possibility that Himeno or Aki-kun will die indirectly as a result."
"I am well aware of that."
Arata naturally knew the full story behind Makima.
She had made a contract with the Prime Minister of Japan.
Any attack made on Makima would be converted into illnesses or accidents afflicting a portion of the Japanese citizens.
Japan had a population of 120 million.
Which meant Makima could transfer her deaths at least 120 million times.
But Arata didn't panic. He drained the rest of his draft beer and stood up.
He walked over to her, firmly grabbed Makima by the hand, and said,
"Let's go. Let's get a room."