Maybe a Fake Gintama-Chapter 598: When It Comes to Comfort Trips, You Can’t Do Without Sake!

Chapter 598 - When It Comes to Comfort Trips, You Can't Do Without Sake!

In the end, it was only because Shige Shige spoke up for them that Kawaki reluctantly allowed the innkeeper to let Gintoki and Hijikata inside. As for the wild gorilla still standing in shorts at the entrance, everyone chose to ignore him.

It wasn't until everyone had walked away that Kondo, shivering with tears in his eyes, finally managed to speak up in a near-pleading voice, "Uh, excuse me, innkeeper... Could you remind them that there's still someone outside?"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," the innkeeper replied with a troubled expression. "But our establishment doesn't offer services for pet boarding."

"I... I'm not a gorilla!!"

...

In the lounge, Kawaki sat down in front of a small table, where someone had thoughtfully prepared slightly hot sake and some snacks to go with it. A soft smile played on his lips as he sat down.

After one cup, Kawaki slowly exhaled.

"Indeed, in this kind of weather, sake tastes better when it's slightly heated."

"Is that so?" Sougo, who had just entered with a bottle of hot sake, remarked casually.

"Come to think of it, Sougo-kun, aren't you still underage for drinking? Is this really okay?" Kawaki asked without looking up as he poured himself another cup.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

"That doesn't sound like something you'd say, boss." Sougo sat down opposite Kawaki, picked up an empty cup, and poured himself a drink. "But I must say, boss, you really do like strong liquor."

"Yes, indeed..." Kawaki replied softly, clinking his cup with Sougo's. "But... even if we each like different kinds of sake, we can still enjoy drinking together. After all, there are those who, even if they drink the same sake, can't drink together because of various reasons."

"That's true..."

As they were halfway through their drinks, the sounds of Gintoki and Hijikata arguing outside the lounge suddenly echoed through the door.

Seeing Gintoki, Hijikata, and Shige Shige, all dressed in dark blue yukatas, walk in, Kawaki sighed and shook his head, "Why is everyone coming to my room? Don't you have your own lounges?"

"It seems I've never had the chance to drink with you, Kawaki-san," Shige Shige said as he approached Kawaki's table and sat down with a gentle expression. "May I join you?"

"Sure," Kawaki replied nonchalantly after glancing at the remaining empty cups on the table. "As long as you don't need someone to pour for you, it should be fine."

Shige Shige reached for an empty cup in front of Sougo, placed it before him, and then picked up the bottle in front of Kawaki to pour himself a full cup.

"Kawaki-san, you're quite an interesting person..." Shige Shige laughed lightly, raising his cup towards Kawaki.

"Little Shogun, let me remind you," Kawaki said with a severe expression as he clinked glasses with Shige Shige, "I... like women. I have absolutely no interest in men."

"That's... unfortunate," Shige Shige replied with an unusually rare joke.

It was so rare that Sougo, Hijikata, and Gintoki were left slack-jawed in disbelief!

Kawaki just smiled lightly without saying anything and then downed his drink in one go.

After finishing his drink, Shige Shige looked at the empty cup in his hand and remarked with some sentiment, "This is quite a special sake..."

"I suggest you don't let the Shogun get too close to that idiot," Gintoki whispered to Hijikata. "He's already showing early signs of infection! If this continues, it could be dangerous!"

"Yeah, I know," Hijikata muttered back.

"Let me warn you out of kindness," Gintoki said thoughtfully, looking at Kawaki, who was still drinking with Shige Shige, "That idiot is dangerously idiotic! You can't let the Shogun continue associating with him! It will... absolutely cause this country to spiral out of control!"

"Indeed, if the Shogun really falls for a man, this country is doomed."

"That's not what I meant!" Gintoki hastily clarified. "What I mean is, that idiot, even though he's an idiot, is more dangerous than the highest-level con artist. He's the type of person who, without saying or doing anything, can turn everything around him into the same color as himself. He's extremely dangerous!"

"What do you mean?"

"In short, he's very dangerous."

Crash!

Shinpachi burst into the room, excitedly shouting, "Everyone! How about we have a pillow fight now?!"

"No." Kawaki rejected the idea without hesitation.

"Who has a pillow fight while drinking?" Gintoki frowned, grumbling. "Read the room, Shinpachi."

"Pillow fights... are something you do before going to sleep, right?" Shige Shige tentatively asked.

"No, that's not something grown men close to their thirties should be doing," Kawaki replied casually as he continued to drink.

"I see..."

Seeing the fleeting look of disappointment in Shige Shige's eyes, Gintoki, Hijikata, and Sougo simultaneously realized something. They thought to themselves, Could it be... the Shogun was actually looking forward to a pillow fight?

"I once heard from a friend..." Shige began again, his expression gentle but with a hint of longing in his eyes, "When people go to an inn together, they gather at night to tell interesting ghost stories."

"No." Kawaki, Gintoki, and Hijikata rejected the idea in unison without hesitation.

"I... I see..."

Seeing the fleeting look of disappointment in Shige Shige's eyes once more, Gintoki, Hijikata, and Sougo simultaneously thought again, "Could it be that the Shogun was also looking forward to telling ghost stories together?"

"Little Shogun," Kawaki asked, eyeing Shige Shige skeptically, "Have you never been on a school trip?"

"No." Shige Shige shook his head slightly.

"We'll go get the pillows!" Hijikata shouted as he stood up, dragging Sougo with him. "Please wait a moment, Shogun... I mean, Little Shogun! We'll be right back!"

"Shinpachi! Bring me all the best pillows from this inn!" Gintoki ordered with a severe face. "The softest! The most comfortable pillows!"

"Got it!" Shinpachi responded eagerly, turning and running out while shouting excitedly, "Tsukuyo-san! Kawaki-san agreed to a pillow fight!"

Kawaki, startled, immediately protested, "Hey! I never said that!"

But before he could finish, a horde of Hyakka members, each holding two pillows, filled the lounge, ready for battle.

"Isn't this a bit too much enthusiasm?" Kawaki commented with a blank expression.

"Today's teams are women versus men!" Otae declared with a smile, standing in front of a pile of pillows.

"That's way too unfair!" Kawaki retorted. "And Tsukuyo, what are you doing? Why are you putting kunai inside the pillows?"

"Because they're too light to hit the target properly," Tsukuyo explained. "This way, they'll hit more accurately."

"Are you sure... you understand the rules? Are you trying to win by eliminating everyone?"

"Let's start, aru!" Kagura shouted, immediately targeting Sougo as she charged with her pillow.

"Come on! I'll settle the score with you today!" Sougo, not to be outdone, raised his pillow and met her charge head-on.

"Well, I guess I have no choice..." Kagura said as she grabbed Shinpachi.

"You two are completely missing the point!" Kawaki yelled but then noticed something—Otae was already laughing maniacally after having knocked Gintoki out and was now searching for her next target. "Little Shogun! Run! These women's brains go haywire when it comes to winning or losing!"

Before he could finish, Kawaki was struck in the head by a kunai-laden pillow thrown by Tsukuyo, causing him to roll his eyes and collapse backward.

Immediately, the Hyakka girls swarmed over to the fallen Kawaki.

"Kawaki-sama!!" ×n

...

An hour later, the room was nearly destroyed, littered with the "bodies" of men, while the women stood victorious.

"Next, it's time for ghost stories!" Otae raised her hand with a smile.

Another hour later...

Though he was smiling, anyone who looked closely could see that Kawaki was trembling slightly as he stood up and walked stiffly toward the door.

"I... I need to use the bathroom." Gintoki, looking just as pale and stiff, also stood up and walked towards the door.

"I... I need to use the bathroom too." Hijikata, forcing a smile despite his pale face, also got up and headed toward the door.

"Does the boss have a weakness too?" Sougo blinked and asked Tsukuyo beside him.

Tsukuyo didn't answer. Instead, she stood up, put away her pipe, and slowly walked toward the door.

...

Sitting under the eaves, Kawaki, his arms crossed inside his sleeves, squinted at the falling snow, a small sake cup beside him on the floor.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Kawaki didn't turn around. He simply pulled his right hand from his sleeve and picked up the sake cup, raising it towards the direction of the sound.

"Thank you, Kawaki!" Katsura, who had crawled out from beneath the floorboards, exclaimed with gratitude. "I've been waiting under the floor all this time, and it's freezing outside. If I could just have a cup of hot sake..."

Boom!!!

"It's not for you." Kawaki ignored Katsura, who had been knocked up to the roof with an uppercut and raised his empty cup again to his right.

Tsukuyo arrived and knelt beside Kawaki, her hands trembling slightly as she carefully poured sake into his cup.

Though unsteady, she managed not to spill any.

After finishing his drink, Kawaki slowly exhaled.

"At least... it's not so bitter now," Kawaki turned and smiled gently at Tsukuyo, saying softly.

"Is that so..."

Click! Click! Click!

Hearing the sound of phones snapping photos behind him, Kawaki looked over his shoulder to see Kagura, Sougo, Otae, and the Hyakka girls crowded at the doorway, snapping pictures.

Kawaki sighed with a slightly exasperated smile, then slowly stood up and began walking away.

"Let's go back..." Kawaki's voice trailed off.

"Ah... okay." Tsukuyo, still kneeling, replied and then glanced at the empty sake cup on the ground. The fifth item... is complete, too.

"Is that it?" Otae asked in confusion. "Is that the end? Nothing really happened at all!"

"For the boss, he probably used up all his strength just to get this far," one of the Hyakka girls replied with an awkward smile, speaking quietly.

"But... the pictures turned out pretty well," Otae commented, looking at the scene she had just captured—a photo of Kawaki raising his cup slightly as he gazed at the snow, with Tsukuyo kneeling beside him, carefully pouring the sake.

"Yeah..." Kagura nodded, having just sent the photo to Tsukuyo's phone.

Comfort Trip Arc—End!