"Have you guys finished ordering?"
"Arata and I are done ordering," Tenten said.
"Kobeni, you haven't even looked at the menu," Arai said, looking over at her.
"Um... I'll just eat whatever you guys eat. I'm not a picky eater," Kobeni hurriedly waved her hands, not wanting to become the center of attention.
"Peter, what did you order?"
"A plate of cicada pupae."
"Since we're all done ordering, I'll go find the waitress to bring the food," Tsurugi said.
"So fast? Miss Makima isn't even here yet," Denji reminded them.
"Miss Makima already told me what she wants to eat before coming. Don't worry, if there isn't enough, we can always order more later. Anyway, the budget for this dinner is very generous. If there's any left over, I'll use it all to buy souvenirs for everyone."
"Natsume-senpai, when I joined the Public Safety Devil Hunters, I heard people mention you. They all said the Captain of Division 3 is extremely friendly. Seeing it now, it's indeed true," Arai smiled.
"Of course. Our Captain Natsume is the best woman in the world."
Tsurugi stood by the door, continuing to sing Kiko Natsume's praises.
If they really started talking about Kiko Natsume, Tsurugi could easily talk your ear off all night.
"Alright, Tsurugi, tell the boss to start serving the food. There are a lot of people today, so I'm afraid it might take a while to cook," Kiko Natsume urged. She didn't want everyone to arrive only to have the twelve of them staring at a single plate.
After a while, a few dishes were served.
But Makima still hadn't appeared.
"Why isn't Miss Makima here yet?" Denji kept craning his neck toward the door. He had no appetite for the food, only thinking about the "dish" that was Makima.
"Himeno-senpai just messaged me. They're almost here," Aki Hayakawa answered.
"Excuse me."
At that moment, a gentle-looking man slid open the private room door.
As soon as the man walked in, Kiko Natsume spoke up, "This is my younger brother, Noriyuki Natsume. You guys should have all met him before."
"Sis, no need for introductions. They all know me."
Noriyuki Natsume spotted his seat at a glance. He walked straight toward Arata and sat down on his other side.
"I didn't expect you to actually be Kiko Natsume's younger brother," Arata joked as he watched Noriyuki sit.
"It should have been easy to guess, right? After all, we both have the surname Natsume, and we're both Public Safety Devil Hunters."
"Then why didn't you join Division 3?"
"I'm already strictly managed at home. I don't want to lose my freedom at work too."
While everyone was chattering away, the waitress had already brought the vegetables, meat, sashimi, and so on, placing them sequentially on the table.
When Power saw the meat, she grabbed the entire plate, meat and all, and pulled it right in front of herself.
"The meat is all for the Great Me! You guys eat more vegetables."
"Eat my ass! Hurry up and put the meat back on the table! I want to eat too!" Denji roared at Power.
"It's fine, there's plenty. Tsurugi, order a few more plates of meat," Kiko Natsume said.
"But all the food is served, why isn't Miss Makima here yet?"
"How many times are you going to ask? If Miss Makima doesn't come, are you just not going to eat?" Aki Hayakawa shot him a glare.
"That's not it. It's just that if Miss Makima is here, this party will be much more interesting."
Just as Denji was blankly staring at the door...
Himeno slid open the door and appeared before everyone.
Makima was standing right behind Himeno.
"Miss Makima!!!"
Denji jumped to his feet in excitement.
"Hey, Denji, I came in first, you know! Why do you only see Makima?" Himeno complained.
"Miss Makima, sit here! I saved a seat for you!"
Denji called out repeatedly, completely ignoring Himeno's appearance.
"Thank you for saving a seat for me, Denji-kun."
After Makima spoke, she walked over to Denji's side.
She noticed two cushions placed on her seat, while Denji was sitting directly on the tatami mat without a cushion.
"Denji-kun, is this your cushion?"
"It's fine if I don't sit on a cushion. It will be more comfortable for Miss Makima to sit on two cushions."
"Oh my! Denji sure knows how to act! I say, Aki-kun, why don't you give me your cushion to sit on too?" Himeno, sitting next to Aki Hayakawa, also wanted to try out sitting on two cushions.
"Here!!" Hearing this, Power directly whipped the cushion from under her butt right into Himeno's face, saying boldly, "The Great Me doesn't need a cushion! Take it and sit!"
Power's actions made everyone burst out laughing.
After all the food was served, draft beers were also placed on the table.
Only Denji, Kobeni, Peter, and Kiko Natsume weren't drinking.
The rest of the group held the firm mindset of not going home until they were drunk.
It was rare for so many of them to have dinner together; if they didn't get wasted, it could only be described as an absolute failure.
"Right, Miss Makima, last time the Eternity Devil kept demanding Denji's heart. Do you know why?" Himeno asked after drinking a few glasses.
"If you guys can outdrink me, I'll tell you." As Makima spoke, her hand was already gripping her glass.
Himeno and Aki Hayakawa exchanged a glance.
The two shared a telepathic understanding and instantly confirmed their goal for tonight.
After downing several heavy glasses of draft beer...
Himeno's body had already started to sway.
Aki Hayakawa continuously lit cigarettes to keep himself awake.
Only Makima remained completely unchanged, her face not flushed, her heart not racing. She showed absolutely no signs of being drunk.
"Arata, the mission was completed very smoothly this time. I see you in a new light."
Aki Hayakawa and Himeno had already lost more than half their combat effectiveness. Thus, Makima raised her glass to Arata.
Arata easily raised his glass, and the two clinked them together.
"Miss Makima, I put in effort too!" Denji hurriedly interjected.
"Is that so, Denji-kun? You must have learned a lot by your master's side. Why don't you substitute tea for alcohol and have a drink with your master?"
"Sure!" Denji immediately followed suit.
Arata just chuckled to himself; it seemed Makima was trying to get him drunk.
Just like how Himeno and Aki Hayakawa were trying to get Makima drunk to fish for information.
"Master, thank you. If it wasn't for you, I might not have made it this far."
"Say no more, it's all in the drink. I'll just down a whole bottle."
"Nice one, Arata," Himeno cheered happily. "I can't see the slightest sign of you getting drunk. How about you keep Miss Makima company and drink with her? The rest of us will drink on our own."
Himeno had abandoned the idea of getting Makima drunk. She chose to honestly just drink with the others.
"I can see that Miss Makima also intends to drink with me."
Arata smiled, while Makima's expression remained perfectly calm.
When they were almost done eating and everyone had a good buzz going, Himeno suddenly stood up and said, "Tsurugi, why don't we play Yakyuken (Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors)?"
"N-no... absolutely not! My Captain is still here!"
Mentioning Yakyuken was equivalent to bringing up Tsurugi's painful memories. In front of Kiko Natsume, he absolutely had to protect his pride as a man.
"What's Yakyuken?" Denji asked.
"It's a strip rock-paper-scissors game. The loser has to take off a piece of clothing."
"Take off clothes!" Denji was instantly fired up upon hearing this.
If he could play a round of Yakyuken with Makima, it would absolutely be the jackpot!
But thinking about so many people watching... forget about playing with Makima for now. Looking at other people's bodies first to get used to it wouldn't be bad either.
"Well? Do you want to play a round with me?" Himeno looked at Denji with a provocative gaze.
Denji looked at Himeno's chest and couldn't help but gulp.
"Bring it on!!"
"Good job, Denji! You have to avenge me this time!" Tsurugi immediately cheered Denji on. Last time, Tsurugi lost until he didn't even have his underwear left. This time, no matter what, he wanted to see Himeno lose all her underwear. Even if she didn't lose all of it, just catching a glimpse of the color wouldn't be a loss!
And Arai, who had a secret crush on Himeno, not only didn't stop them, but hot steam was continuously blowing out of his nostrils in anticipation.
"Don't worry! I'll absolutely show Himeno-senpai what I'm made of!"
Just as everyone's eyes were eagerly focused on the battle between Denji and Himeno...
Makima slowly raised her wine glass toward Arata once again.