I Know That After School, The Saint More Than Just Noble - Chapter 3

It was past 9:00 PM.

The downtown area was still busy at night, and a few students could be seen here and there.

“…Not here yet.”

Although the meeting time had already passed, Seira and Tsubaki still hadn’t shown up.

Yamato was so excited that he had arrived 20 minutes before the meeting time, but thanks to this, his excitement was beginning to settle down.

After another 20 minutes or so had passed, he spotted them running toward him from a distance.

Seira was wearing a long blue one-piece dress and Tsubaki was wearing a long white one-piece dress of a different color, so they were easily recognizable even from a distance. Seeing that both of them had their hair braided and arranged carefully, they might have taken some time to get ready.

“So you’re finally here. If you were going to be late, you could at least call—Wha!?”

As soon as they joined, Seira grabbed Yamato’s hands, and for some reason, they began to run.

Yamato, not fully grasping the situation, instantly turned his head and made a guess.

“Perhaps someone is chasing us?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

Seira denied it nonchalantly while running. It was Yamato’s fault for saying it half-jokingly, but even so, it was a terribly cold response.

“Then, what’s the reason?”

“Because we won’t make it to the train?”

“We’re trying to catch a train!?”

“The last train is leaving already!”

Tsubaki, who couldn’t bear to look at him, interrupted.

Apparently, they were not going to karaoke in front of the station, but to some other place.

However, Yamato thought it was too early for it to be the last train at this time of the day.

“Last train? It’s only 9:30 p.m. Isn’t that the wrong time? Where the heck are we going?”

“Don’t ask.”

“It’s the ocean—Senpai, did you not tell Kuraki-san about this?”

“Ah, I guess he found out. I thought it would be more surprising if I didn’t tell Yamato.”

The two of them were not understanding each other at all.

Rather, first of all.

“The Ocean!? Now!?”

When Yamato, surprised, shouted loudly, Tsubaki smiled wryly.

“Seira-senpai suddenly wanted to go… I thought Kuraki-san had already been informed.”

“No, no, I haven’t heard of it… Shirase sometimes likes to keep secrets for some reason.”

They certainly talked about how they wanted to go to the beach for summer vacation, but it was too sudden.

In the meantime, they arrived at the station platform and went through the ticket gate.

They went up the stairs and managed to get on the train.

The train was quite crowded at this time of the day, but there were just three seats available, so they sat down in line. They sat down in a hurry, so Yamato ended up in the middle.

“…Whew, we made it in time.”

Seira sighed in relief.

“So, would you be able to explain to me which ocean we’re going to?”

“Ah, Yamato, are you mad at me?”

“…No, I’m not mad at you.”

Rather, Yamato was feeling excited right now. The sense of excitement that had been deflated has returned all at once.

“I’m glad. —I think it will take about three hours to get there by train.

“That’s quite a long time, so that’s why this is the last train. But if all you wanted to do was go to the beach, you could have done it closer to home.”

“That is, well, true.”

Seira slurred her words and looked away in a huff.

Yamato looked at Tsubaki with the intention of asking her about the rest of the story, and Tsubaki smiled and opened her mouth.

“The place we are going to is a private beach owned by the Shirase family. I wouldn’t have minded going somewhere closer.”

“I-I see…”

The ocean is the ocean, but Yamato never thought it would be a private beach… The rich are scary.

“But I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”

“Ah, I see. Well, you can get it locally. I’ll pay for it.”

“No, I’ll buy that much myself… Shirase and Tsubaki brought their own, right?”

“Yes.”

“I borrowed one from Senpai.”

This was not the first time this had happened, so Yamato had begun to calm down for the time being.

However, Yamato has other things on his mind than that.

“But why at this hour? Couldn’t you have waited until tomorrow?”

“That’s—”

As Tsubaki was about to tell him, Seira quickly covered her mouth. However, Seira had leaned forward across Yamato to do so, and his heart pounded while Seira was in front of him.

The only reason they would go that far was that they didn’t want it to be discovered.

Yamato decided to refrain from pursuing the matter any further, since Seira’s secret was only to “surprise” Yamato and not to really trouble him. More than anything, Yamato thought he’d enjoy this more.

“I get it, I won’t ask anymore. So please go back to your seat for the time being.”

Yamato was relieved when Seira returned to her seat as she had been told.

“However, have Kosaka-san show us the way. She seems to know where it is.”

“Well, I don’t mind.”

“Mu…”

Seira stared at him with a pouty look on her face. She was cute, like a child who was being teased.

“Getting lost in other prefectures would be really bad.”

“I’m not going to get lost. I’ll call a taxi.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It kind of frustrates me. But whatever.”

Tsubaki, who was watching the exchange, said with interest.

“You two are very close. Are you sure you two aren’t dating?”

This should be the first time that Tsubaki asked Yamato if he and Seira were dating or not. However, from the way she was asking, she may have already asked Seira.

Since this was a good opportunity, Yamato decided to answer clearly.

“…Sure we’re good friends, but we’re just friends. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Yamato intended to answer clearly, but he ended up saying it in a muddled way. For some reason, he could not bring himself to say, “We are not dating.”

But the meaning should be the same. In fact, Seira said to Tsubaki, “See, I told you so.”

But Tsubaki didn’t seem to take his words as they were. She smiled with some kind of implication and agitated Yamato with just her gaze.

“H-Hey. You’re younger than me, don’t tease your senpai too much.”

“No, technically I don’t remember being Kuraki-san’s junior yet.”

“What criteria do you use to determine that…?”

“Hmm? If I were to say so, it would be whether or not you’re worthy of respect.”

In other words, Tsubaki does not respect Yamato at the moment. Yamato flinched at the straightforwardness of the statement.

“Huwah~.”

Next to Yamato and Tsubaki’s quiet battle, Seira was absentmindedly yawning.

The tension in the train suddenly relaxed because of this.

The next thing they knew, there was not a soul in their vicinity, and the number of customers sitting had dwindled to a few.

“I’m afraid I’m going to exhaust myself, so I’ll stop for the time being.”

“I would appreciate it if you would do so.”

They continued to travel for a while without conversation, changing trains several times.

By the time they finally arrived at their destination, the date had changed.

“…It’s dark.”

Yamato sighed as he passed through the deserted platform.

The only lights other than the street lamps were the signboard of an izakaya (Japanese pub) and the lights of a convenience store standing alone in the distance.

The taxi that Seira had called had not yet arrived, which, combined with the unfamiliar scenery around them, made them feel strangely uneasy.

The sound of waves could be heard in the distance. The ocean seemed to be close by, but the fact that she took the trouble to call a taxi suggested that the private beach was not within walking distance. They had no choice but to wait for the cab to arrive.

“The taxi should be here soon, right?”

Seira looked at her phone and nodded.

“It should be, I think, about five more minutes. They’ll call me when they get there, so let’s go somewhere to kill some time.”

“Then we can stop by the convenience store there. It’s hot outside.”

“Yeah.

“Yes.”

When Yamato entered the convenience store, a cool breeze from the air conditioner blew on him, cooling his heated body.

There were no other customers, just an unmotivated clerk standing idly at the cash register.

“I’d better have a drink, some snacks, and maybe some refreshments.”

Seira was mumbling to herself as she placed items into her basket.

Tsubaki, on the other hand, seemed to be planning to hold on with just a bottle of a sports drink.

“Kosaka-san is only getting a drink? It saves money so I guess I’ll do the same.”

“Well, I don’t think I would willingly eat food from these stores. Besides, even today, I’m just overloaded with calories.”

As one would expect from an active ballerina. Yamato was sure that she spent a lot of time paying attention to nutrition. It was very different from Seira, who eats nothing but ramen every day.

“I see. You must be going through a lot of hardship.”

Saying this, Yamato puts a pair of swimming trunks in his basket from the general merchandise section. This was a necessary expense.

“Mmhmm~♪”

Seira hummed along to the cheap background music playing in the store as she added ice cream in her basket.

Yamato and Tsubaki watched her and sighed a little. But they decided to hold back their comments. Yamato resented it, but he knew that Seira was not at fault.

“We should go pay the bill.”

“Yes.”

Yamato and Tsubaki went ahead and purchased their items at the cash register and walked out of the store.

They sat down on a bench set up in front of the store and sipped their drinks.

“Phew.”

With their thirst quenched, they both took a small breath.

“It’s really dark around here.

“It’s eerie indeed when there’s no light like this.”

“I’ve never experienced being outside at this late hour with someone my own age, so it kind of makes me a little nervous.”

Tsubaki was smiling, but Yamato could still sense that she was as anxious as her words.

Her appearance overlapped with Yamato’s when he first went out into the night. Yamato still vividly remembers the feeling of being filled with anxiety at that time.

However, he would be lying if he said that even now he was not anxious. This was not a familiar town, and it was thrilling to be in a strange place in the middle of the night.

“Really, I don’t know how this happened… Kosaka-san knows what Shirase is hiding, right?”

“Ehh, well… But since we’ve come all this way already, I won’t spoil it.”

“Well, of course not.”

After finishing the conversation in this way, Seira still did not come out.

Frankly speaking, the current situation was awkward. Seira was in the store, and Yamato couldn’t think of anything to talk about immediately to break the silence between them.

Yamato thought about asking Tsubaki about her relationship with Seira, but since he didn’t know when Seira would come back, he didn’t feel comfortable doing so.

While Yamato was thinking about this and that, Tsubaki spoke up first.

“Do Kuraki-san participate in any club activities?”

“No, not particularly…”

“I see.”

…The conversation ended.

Yamato had let the conversation end without expanding on the topic, even though Tsubaki had taken the trouble to broach the subject.

Realizing that this was not the way to go, Yamato quickly returned with a question.

“Well, Kosaka-san, you have done ballet for a long time, right? How long have you been learning it?”

“I started when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, so I’ve been doing it for almost ten years.”

“So you’ve been a ballet dancer all your life?”

“No, in the beginning I took various other lessons besides ballet. I also studied piano, calligraphy, flower arrangement, and martial arts.”

“I didn’t know that. You sound like Shirase.”

Yamato wondered if all children of wealthy families were like that from childhood. But he thought it was not good to lump them all together.

But Yamato wondered if their circumstances were the same, and Tsubaki shook her head from side to side.

“We are totally different. In my case, I quit everything while I was still in elementary school.”

“Is that because you loved ballet the most?”

Tsubaki turned her head down and answered.

“No, it is not for such a noble reason. It’s simply that ballet is what I am best at, and I still had a chance to win.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by ‘a chance to win’?”

To Yamato’s bewilderment, Tsubaki replied with a self-mocking smile.

“Yes, it was against Seira-senpai. However, even that was a poor decision.”

It seemed that the person to whom she was comparing herself was Seira after all.

In other words, Tsubaki seemed to have seen Seira as a rival since childhood.

“I-I see… So that’s the relationship between you two.”

For Yamato, who has never been devoted to anything or competed with anyone at all, this kind of story seemed somewhat distant.

Therefore, not knowing how to respond, he could only reply with a simple “I’m sorry.”

Perhaps sensing Yamato’s concern, Tsubaki smiled gently at him.

“But that was a long time ago. I’ve already accepted the reality and I don’t have any rivalry with Seira-senpai anymore.”

“I see. I was a little worried because I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“It’s not like we don’t get along. Even now and in the past, my senpai has always been someone I admire. That’s the one thing that hasn’t changed, and that’s why I came all the way here to see her today.”

Her implied words made Yamato feel a little uncomfortable.

However, in the face of Tsubaki’s smiling face, he was not inclined to pursue the matter any further.

“Yes, I can fully understand your admiration for Shirase, Kosaka-san.”

“Fufu, I’m glad to hear that.”

After a break in the conversation, Yamato turned around to look for Seira, who still had not come out of the store, and found that she was in the middle of paying at the cash register. It seemed to be taking a long time due to the large number of items she had purchased.

Yamato looked back next to him and saw Tsubaki looking forlorn and downcast.

“…Um, I think Shirase was happy to see Kosaka-san after a long time, too. It may seem casual, but I think she’s more excited than usual.”

Trying to distract her from her feelings, Yamato said these words.

Then, Tsubaki looked up and smiled at him as if she was trying to be strong.

“Isn’t the reason why senpai’s excitement is higher than usual, is it because we are on summer vacation?”

“Ugh… sure, that may be part of it.”

“Fufu, thank you for your concern. Kuraki-san is really a kind person.”

“No, it’s normal…”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Seira came out of the store and was carrying a plastic bag in both hands and looked extremely satisfied.

“It looks like you bought a lot.”

“Yeah. —Come on, let’s all eat together.”

Seira said and offered him a box of fruit ice cream (eight bite-size pieces) that she had just purchased.

The reason Yamato held back from buying ice cream was to save money. But Seira had offered him some and there was no reason for him to say no.

The cool feeling and sweetness of the fruit filled his mouth and refreshed his heating body.

“Mmm~, ice cream in summer is very special.”

Seeing Yamato’s face breaking into a smile, Tsubaki couldn’t resist and popped a piece in her mouth.

“─ !”

Tsubaki’s eyes widened for a moment, then she stood up and went straight into the convenience store.

In Tsubaki’s place, Seira sat down next to Yamato, looked up at the night sky, and popped an ice cream into her mouth.

“I knew it wouldn’t feel like summer vacation had started if I didn’t eat ice cream.”

“I hope that doesn’t have a bad effect on Kosaka’s ballet. Besides, we are eating it in the evening.”

Once again, Tsubaki entered the store, probably to buy ice cream for herself. Apparently, after taking a bite, she was unable to control her cravings.

“Well, don’t just eat ice cream, here’s some fried chicken.”

“You don’t really care about the time of day… I mean, isn’t fried food at this hour really fattening?”

“I’m fine. I don’t gain weight no matter how much I eat.”

Seira said cheerfully, popping a bite-size piece of fried chicken into her mouth.

“I don’t know about that…”

“Really, the world is unfair…”

Tsubaki, who came out of the store, said, looking at Seira resentfully as she sipped an ice cream stick.

Seira did not care about her gaze and quickly ate the fried food and then stood up.

“I think the taxi has already arrived. Let’s go.”

Yamato and Tsubaki looked at each other and laughed at Seira’s pace, then followed her.

They got into the taxi and went along a mountain road for a while until they came to a road by sea.

On the way, the driver asked if they were students traveling together, which made Yamato a little nervous, but he was able to get through it without any difficulty because Seira, who was sitting in the passenger seat, lied and said that they were university students.

After about 30 minutes, they arrived at a place that seemed to be their destination.

Seira was going to pay the bill, but Yamato was stubborn, so they split the bill. It was a painful expense for Yamato, but it was a small price to pay to protect his pride.

When he got out of the taxi, he saw a sign indicating private property.

Seira stepped over the chain that blocked his way without hesitation and walked straight ahead.

“Hey, just to be sure, do we have permission to go there?”

Yamato asked him, and Seira stopped and looked back at him.

“Nope. So you can’t get into the villa, but you should be able to use the ocean.”

“I figured it would be something like that…”

Yamato wished he could remember to plan more or act more carefully, but it was too late for that.

Yamato contemplated his choices and straddled the chain, and Tsubaki followed suit.

Then, as they proceeded up the gently sloping uphill slope, they came to a plaza. There were a number of wooden buildings — log cabins — lined up in a row.

None of the log cabins, built in a row along the road, were lit. Yamato thought it might be because of the time of day, but he didn’t feel like anyone was inside.

“No one is using the place.”

‘It’s still July. But in a little while, the place will be full of my relatives.

“This entire place, filled with only your relatives…”

Yamato didn’t realize that this whole area would be used only by her relatives. It seemed that rich people live in a different world from that of his.

Unlike Yamato, who was looking around in amazement, Tsubaki seemed to be walking around without thinking.

“I guess, from a rich person’s point of view, this kind of thing is normal?”

When Yamato asked Tsubaki about it, she immediately shook her head from side to side.

“No, not many families have more than one villa. My family only has one.”

“So you do have one…”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. It is true that most people do not have a vacation home.”

Perhaps amused by Yamato’s reaction, which was both surprised and dumbfounded, Tsubaki chuckled.

While talking like this, they entered a downhill slope, and after a while, their view opened up.

“Ooh…”

Yamato couldn’t help but let out his voice.

The night sea was spread out below them.

At first glance, the scene seemed dark and somewhat eerie. But more than that, the vast natural landscape created an uproar of feelings in his heart.

Yamato had smelled the scent of the tide a while ago and thought it must be close by, but he had no idea that there really was a private beach just a few minutes walk away. When he actually saw it, he was speechless.

“It’s still dark around here, too. And it’s a little chilly because of the strong wind.”

Tsubaki said, desperately holding her hair and the hem of her dress, which was being blown by the strong wind.

In comparison, Seira, who was also wearing a one-piece dress, was spreading her arms comfortably while receiving the wind all over her body. Yamato wished she would learn a little from Tsubaki.

“I’m done with the view for now. Shall we go back?”

“You don’t want to go swimming?”

“It’s still dark, so it’s not safe to swim. Maybe we can take a nap at the log house for a while.”

“Hah…? Then why did we come here so late?”

“Secret.”

Even after all this time, Seira apparently has no intention of telling Yamato her purpose. Tsubaki, on the other hand, looked at Yamato as if to say, “Haven’t you noticed yet? ”

“I’m really being pushed around all the time…”

Yamato followed the two walking ahead, pondering the situation.

So they returned again to the square where the villa was located and then took a nap on a bench.

“Then, good night~.”

Seira laid down on the bench and fell asleep.

“I hope you wake up in two hours, too, Kuraki-san. Good night, then.”

Yamato felt as if he finally understood Seira’s purpose when Tsubaki told him that.

“Ah, good night. I’ll make sure I don’t oversleep at best.”

After saying this, Yamato lay down on a bench located some distance away from the two of them.

However, he did not feel like he could sleep under such special circumstances.

—Bing.

Yamato’s consciousness was awakened by the sound of a light alarm reaching his ears.

Perhaps because he was tired, he had fallen asleep without realizing it.

Prying open his heavy eyelids, he found that the area was a little brighter.

He sat up and looked towards Seira, and saw Tsubaki getting up.

But apparently Seira was not yet awake.

Yamato sighed and then approached Seira.

“…Shirase, it’s time. We’re going to watch the sunrise, right?”

When Yamato called out to her, Seira woke up with a start.

“Mmm… So Yamato noticed.”

“As expected. So… are you going to go? Or are you going to stay here and sleep some more?”

“Mmm, I’m going.”

The three of them walked together to the washroom, washed their faces, and started walking toward the ocean.

“I-I don’t have makeup…”

Tsubaki realized that it had faded off her face and hurriedly covered it, but it was too late. Yamato already saw it.

“It’s not really weird. You don’t look any different than you normally do.”

“Hey, are you trying to make me angry?”

“I’m not! No, really!”

The fact that Tsubaki’s eyes were twitching with a smile was so frightening that Yamato tried desperately to deny it.

Yamato tried his best to follow through, but it seemed she was offended. Yamato was reminded once again that the female heart was a difficult thing to understand.

“Tsubaki is cute even without makeup. And I have no makeup either, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

Seira then casually joined in the conversation. Since it was Seira, she was probably not following Yamato’s lead, but simply speaking her mind honestly.

However, when Tsubaki heard what was said, instead of feeling better, she seemed to become rather grumpy. Not even trying to hide her irritation, she glared at Seira.

“Wow, sarcasm coming from Seira-senpai, who is too beautiful even when she’s not wearing any makeup.”

“”Fufu, thanks. I’m doing my best to take care of myself.”

“Haa… goodness, this person.”

It seemed that Tsubaki was no match for Seira’s pace. She seemed to have been completely drained of her hostility.

The fact that the problematic comments made by Yamato had been forgotten, he felt relieved for the time being.

In the meantime, they arrived at the private beach.

The sea, which was now dimly lit, did not seem as eerie as it had a few hours earlier.

As they stepped onto the sandy beach, Seira stretched out.

“Mmm~ It feels so good~”

“The wind is as strong as ever, but the temperature is getting warmer.”

“The scenery changes depending on the time of day. ─Shirase, have you checked the time of sunrise?”

Seira checked her phone and then nodded.

“About five more minutes, I think.”

“Almost there.”

The three of them sat side by side on the beach and waited in silence for the sun to rise.

A few minutes passed.

“””Ah──”””

The three of them shouted in unison, and then stood up at once.

The distant horizon seemed to brighten, and a dazzling light filled their field of vision.

It was the sunrise.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

Immediately the sunlight illuminated the entire area, changing the scenery of the sea.

By this time, Yamato and the others’ eyes had begun to adjust to the dazzle of the sunrise.

“How do you like it? Isn’t it amazing?”

Seira said smugly to the two awestruck people next to her. It was as if she herself had brought the sun to them.

“I don’t know why Shirase is acting so high and mighty.”

“That’s because, well, somehow.”

“Somehow? …Well, I am grateful to Shirase for bringing me here to see the sunrise.”

“I’m glad I got to see the sunrise, too. Thank you.” –

“You’re welcome. —Fwah, I’m going to get some more sleep.”

Seira, apparently completely satisfied with the gratitude of the two, turned back the way they had come.

Yamato was about to follow when he noticed that Tsubaki was still gazing at the horizon.

“Kosaka-san?”

“Is this also called the first sunrise of the year?”

“Heh?”

Yamato was puzzled when Tsubaki started to say such a thing.

The term “first sunrise” was supposed to refer to the sunrise seen on New Year’s Day.

Turning around, Tsubaki looked aghast and added to the story.

“No, Seira-senpai told me something like that before I came here. It’s the sunrise you see on the first morning of summer vacation, so it’s called the first sunrise…”

“H-Heh…”

“I’m not the one who started it!”

“Haha, I get it. And it sounds like something Shirase would say.”

It was kind of funny to see Tsubaki in such a hurry, and Yamato couldn’t help but laugh.

Tsubaki, apparently not pleased with this, turned around on her heel with her cheeks puffed out.

“Do you not need to see it anymore? The first sunrise?”

“Don’t make fun of a junior too much. Well, shall we go back?”

“Yes.”

When they returned to the square where the log cabin was located, Seira was already lying down on the bench.

“Shirase is really going at her own pace.”

“Geez. It must be difficult for you to be friends with such a person, Kuraki-san.”

“Guess so. But if you say it like that, it must be hard for Kosaka-san, too.”

“I’m… a friend of hers. I may not be able to speak for her though.”

For some reason, Yamato felt uncomfortable when he saw Tsubaki smiling sadly.

Seira had once said about Tsubaki, “I don’t know if I would call her a friend.” Was this related to that?

But now was not the time to ask, so Yamato decided to sleep peacefully.

“Then, good night.”

“Yes, good night.”

After exchanging such greetings again, he lay down on the original bench.

Perhaps it was because he had just seen a beautiful sunrise, but this time he fell asleep immediately.

“—Yamato, wake up.”

Yamato heard Seira’s voice.

He opened his heavy eyelids and saw Seira’s face reflected in his blurry vision.

“Nn…”

“It’s already noon. We’re all ready to go.”

Seira’s face, as she said, was indeed beautifully colored with natural makeup.

And her bright blue bikini accentuated her white skin—

“—A swimsuit!?”

Recognizing Seira in her swimsuit, Yamato’s consciousness was instantly awakened.

He jumped up and fell down from the bench, and the bikini-clad Seira held out her hand to him.

“Ah, hi.”

Seira said to Yamato, who stood up while looking at her with a puzzled look on his face.

“We’re going swimming now, so it’s only natural that I’m wearing a swimsuit. Yamato, you should eat quickly and change into your swimsuit.”

Seira pointed to a table on which were bread and rice balls prepared beforehand. Apparently, she had bought them while Yamato was sleeping.

“I can’t believe you said that… It’s too much stimulation for a man who is just waking up.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing. —Where is Kosaka-san?”

“Hm? She was there just now.”

“Well, that’s all right. Well, just put this on for now.”

When Yamato handed Seira the T-shirt he had taken off, she tilted her head.

“Even though we’re about to go swimming?”

“At least keep it on until we get to the beach. Otherwise, I’ll be in trouble.”

“That’s weird. Well, that’s okay.”

Seira put on Yamato’s T-shirt as she was told, and started the preparatory exercise as it was.

Yamato made her put it on, but the glimpse of Seira’s bikini from the hem of his T-shirt was so stimulating that he was fidgety and restless since he woke up.

Leaving his upper body naked, Yamato used the toothbrush set and face-washing cream that had been prepared for him, and after finishing his portion of the bread and rice balls, he changed into his swim trunks in a corner of the building. In addition, he took off his shoes and went barefoot.

“Thanks for waiting. I’m ready to go, too.”

“All right, let’s go. Tsubaki seemed to have gone ahead of me.”

Seira, as if she was tired of waiting, pulled Yamato’s hand and started to walk away.

As usual, Seira’s skinship was so natural and so spontaneous that it made him nervous.

Also, the way they were dressed now was too stimulating. Since both of them had a lot of exposed skin, Yamato couldn’t help but be aware of it just by touching each other’s hands.

—And just as Yamato was agonizing over it, his vision suddenly brightened.

They were on the beach, and the sun was shining directly on them.

“Ugh, so bright.”

“It feels like summer. —Ah, Tsubaki.”

Yamato managed to look toward the beach and saw Tsubaki sitting on the beach.

Tsubaki was wearing a jersey over her swimsuit. She seemed to have noticed them and was looking at them suspiciously.

“Oi!”

Seira ran to the beach, waving her hand. However, her other hand firmly grasped Yamato’s hand and would not let go, so they had to run together.

The white sandy beach has a unique feel, like a cushion. One careless step would tip their balance.

“Hey, Shirase, don’t run on the beach.”

“I’m fine. Even if I fall, it won’t hurt on the sand.”

“You have already assumed you would fall— Whoa!?”

“Wha.”

As soon as she said this, Yamato’s legs got tangled and he and Seira fell down.

“”…””

As a result, Yamato was on top of Seira, and when he immediately tried to move his body away, their gazes crossed.

Reflexively, Yamato gulped…

Seira’s face was right next to Yamato’s. Her clear eyes were looking straight at him, and her well-shaped lips were open as if she wanted to say something.

Yamato could feel his heart beating faster. And his face was hot.

As they stared into each other’s eyes at close range, Yamato felt as if he was being drawn to her eyes. Yamato knew it couldn’t kept going on like this, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

(…No, don’t get swept away! Pull yourself together, Kuraki Yamato!)

In that moment of time, Yamato managed to rouse his reason to let go of her body, and as he stood up, he held out his hand.

“S-SS-Sorry, are you all right?”

Yamato tried to act calm, but he was in a hurry and couldn’t speak fluently.

Without showing any pretense of making fun of Yamato, Seira took his hand and nodded.

“I’m fine, thanks. I knew it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Standing up, Seira stretched greatly and then turned to Yamato.

“Also, Yamato has beautiful eyes.”

“Pfft!?”

Yamato coughed with all his might as he was suddenly told this.

He then swallowed as Seira rubbed his back.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine…”

As of now, Yamato thought from the bottom of his heart that he was really glad that Seira was wearing a T-shirt.

Otherwise, Yamato didn’t know what he would do when his reason collapsed.

—Stare.

Then he noticed the look from Tsubaki. She was clearly giving him the eyes.

“…Animal, yes.”

And then she hurled disdainful words at Yamato. Because of this, Yamato was already in the mood to go home.

“Alright.”

But Seira didn’t seem to care anymore.

She suddenly shouted out, and then she took off her T-shirt.

The blue bikini looked good on her white skin. With the sea in the background, Seira’s swimsuit figure looked like a scene from a movie.

Naturally, Yamato was transfixed by the sight of her, but then he came back to himself again when he saw Tsubaki’s eyes on him once again.

Quickly, he pretended not to see it, but it was already too late. Tsubaki smilingly opened her mouth.

“I forgot that Kuraki-san is a boy, too. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“No, Kosaka-san didn’t forget, you have been on the lookout from the very beginning. You’re even wearing a rash guard.”

“It’s… that the swimsuit is more flashy than I thought, and I thought it didn’t look good on me…”

Tsubaki, perhaps not expecting to be counterattacked, muttered.

Seeing Tsubaki like that, Seira ran up to Tsubaki.

“Yes!”

She vigorously unzipped the zipper and took off Tsubaki’s rash guard.

Then, her polka-dot red bikini was revealed—

“Kyaaa!? —What are you doing, senpai!”

Tsubaki frantically protested, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Even though Yamato knew he shouldn’t be looking, his eyes were glued to Tsubaki’s swimsuit.

“And you, Kuraki-san! Don’t stare at me so much!”

“S-Sorry!”

Yamato hurriedly turned away, but then he suddenly became calm.

“But this is the ocean, and it’s normal to look at swimsuits, isn’t it?”

“Ug… still, I need to be prepared. It’s embarrassing… to be dressed so thinly in front of a man.”

Perhaps because of her upbringing in an all-girls school, Tsubaki seemed to be resistant to such things.

Her embarrassment was also adorable, but here Yamato decided to listen to her and turn his back for a while.

“…It’s okay if you turn your head this way now.”

As he was told, Yamato turned around.

Then he saw Tsubaki in her swimsuit standing ten meters away from him, fidgeting.

“Ah… Umm, it looks good on you, that swimsuit.”

Yamato said half-stunned, and Tsubaki said apologetically, “Sorry…”

“Well, you’ll get used to it. As Yamato said, it looks good on you.”

In contrast, Seira encouraged Tsubaki with an open attitude that showed not the slightest hint of embarrassment.

“Umm, I know it’s a little late to say this, but Shirase looks good too—Whoa!?”

Seira pulled both of their hands and started running toward the sea.

“Senpai, I haven’t prepared myself…”

“I’m not ready either—S-So cold!”

Stepping into the sea water, Yamato was surprised to find it unexpectedly cold.

Still, it didn’t matter for Seira, she jumped up and down with her hands in the air.

“”Woah!?””

The three of them were hit by the waves and instantly became soaked.

“Ahaha, it feels so good, but it’s so wet. I got soaked.”

Seira started to laugh, and Yamato and Tsubaki both looked at each other and then laughed.

From then on, they enjoyed the private beach, splashing each other with water and playing beach volleyball, without much awareness of each other.

…But it was still impossible for Yamato not to be somewhat conscious of them still.

“Ah!”

Seira, who had lost her balance in the water, leaned over, and Yamato’s reason was about to explode when he caught her.

After all, he was in such close contact with Seira, who was wearing a swimsuit. Naturally, he was touching her ample chests, and the soft feeling was almost too much for him.

—Stare.

At that moment, he felt Tsubaki’s cold gaze on him, and he managed to regain his reason.

“A-Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks.”

—Rumbling…

A rumbling sound could be heard.

Black clouds could be seen in the distance. The sound they heard earlier seemed to be thunder. It appeared that it was going to rain soon.

“This is not good. Let’s go up before it starts raining.”

“Right.”

“Yes.”

By the time the three of them got out of the water, the sky was covered with clouds.

As they hurried back to the log cabin square, a few raindrops hit them on the bridge of their noses.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it turned into a torrential downpour.

Fortunately, there was a pavilion where they could shelter from the rain, so they decided to spend some time there until it stopped.

But then— ……

“Wow, a shower.”

The reason being that she was sticky from the seawater, Seira started to take a shower in the rain instead of a normal shower.

“Senpai, just how free-spirited are you…”

“If you aren’t careful, you’ll catch a cold.”

Yamato and Tsubaki watched the scene from afar in exasperation.

There were installed showers available at the beach. Therefore, they could have waited for the rain to stop, but it seemed that in Seira’s case, mood took precedence over rationality.

“Hey.”

Seira called out to them as she was being drenched by the rain.

When they tilted their heads, Seira smiled innocently.

“You two should come too, it feels so good.”

She said it in such a happy way that they were naturally drawn to her.

“Can’t help it.”

“I want to wash my sticky body as soon as possible.”

With that excuse, the two of them excitedly went outside.

Then, the downpour was indeed like a shower, perfect for washing their bodies sticky with sea water.

“Not bad, huh?”

“I know.”

“But isn’t it a little too strong?”

“Well, that’s what a strong shower is like.”

“Is that how it is?”

“That’s right.”

While they were in an idle conversation, the rain began to slow down. It was over.

“Ehhh, is it over already?”

“Don’t look so disappointed. Let’s go to the beach for a real shower.”

“Right. The rain isn’t too good for you.”

“Don’t tell us that after you went in first…”

“That’s the worst…”

After regaining their composure and grabbing towels, the three of them headed to the beach to use the actual showers.

The shower stalls were separated into private rooms, but because they were next to each other, they could hear everything.

“Phew, I feel refreshed.”

“”I’m tired…””

Because of this, Yamato and Tsubaki were exhausted by the time they finished showering.

“Well, now that we’ve done what we came for, let’s go home.”

Seira, who had finished changing her clothes and looked refreshed, said this before walking away.

The purpose here would be to see the sunrise at sea and to swim and play. In that sense, it would be fair to say that they have achieved their objective this time.

But what about Tsubaki’s objective — to see if Seira had gone off astray?

Normally speaking, it would have been out of the picture since they had gone out late at night, which was unbecoming of a high school student.

“Kuraki-san?”

As he stopped to think, Tsubaki called out to him in concern.

Yamato turned to Tsubaki and decided to ask her directly.

“Kosaka-san said you were going to judge whether Shirase had gone off astray, but have you come to a conclusion?”

Perhaps surprised to be asked at this point, Tsubaki replied with a pout

“Yes, she seemed to have ruffled far more than I expected. But if you ask me whether she went astray, in general, I got nothing.”

“Well, I guess…”

“But that’s just ‘in general’. What I want to determine is something else. I have not yet made a judgment on that point, so you can rest assured.”

Even if she said, “Rest assured,” Yamato cannot rest assured until he understands what her intentions are.

Yamato responded with some irritation to the blurriness of her answer.

“What do you want in the end, Kosaka-san?”

“I just want to return the situation to the way it should be. —We can talk more about it at another time.”

In other words, she would not accept any further inquiries.

Yamato nodded his head, feeling a little bitter.

Instead, he decided to ask one more question.

“I have just one question for now. Did you enjoy these two days, Kosaka-san?”
　
To this question, Tsubaki immediately nodded.

“Yes, I did. It was all new to me, and I enjoyed it very much.”

She seemed to be telling the truth as she beamed.

“I’m glad to hear that. I—”

“Hey, hurry up, the bus is coming!”

At that moment, Seira called out to them in a cheerful tone.

It seemed that they were going to take the bus part way to get home. It was said that buses in the countryside were infrequent, and it would be best to avoid missing it.

“Yeah, coming.”

After replying, Yamato asked Tsubaki, “Shall we go?” and she immediately went along.

The bus arrived just as they reached the bus stop, which was located just past the Shirase family’s private property.

The bus was empty and sparse, so they sat side by side in the very back.

Some time after getting on the bus.

Just as Yamato was about to fall asleep from exhaustion, Tsubaki poked him on the shoulder.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

When Yamato forced himself awake and replied, Tsubaki said apologetically.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No, you’re fine.”

“I’m glad. —Actually, I wanted to exchange contact information.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I see, I see,” Yamato nodded repeatedly and put his hand in his pocket.

But because his hands were shaking, he couldn’t get the phone out properly.

Quite simply, he was surprised that a beautiful girl asked him for his contact information.

Incidentally, Seira was sleeping soundly next to Tsubaki. She looked very comfortable.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just my phone—okay.”

Yamato finally got it out, and they exchanged contact information.

“Thank you very much. Please come hang out with me again.”

Tsubaki said with a smile

Although she seemed friendly as long as they talked like this, Yamato could not read her true feelings.

Not long after that, the bus arrived at the station.

It took some effort to wake Seira, who was sound asleep, but she managed to get off the bus and get on the train.

By then, the sun was setting and it was expected that it would be night by the time they reached their destination.

During the train ride, there was no conversation, probably due to fatigue.

After changing trains several times, they had to part ways with Tsubaki on the way.

“I’ll leave here, then.”

“Okay, take care.”

“Bye bye.”

Tsubaki got out of the train, turned around as if remembering something, and said.

“Thank you both very much. Seira-senpai and Kuraki-senpai, we’ll be in touch.”

With those final words, Tsubaki waved her hand smiling at them.

The train departed as if she was seeing them off.

“Did you two exchange contact information?”

Seira asked with a blank expression, perhaps because Tsubaki left her words in a way that clearly implied that they had exchanged contact information.

Yamato nodded, feeling awkward, although he had nothing to feel guilty about.

“I see. You two have become good friends.”

“W-Well, we’ve been together for two whole days.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Seira responded in a casual manner.

After all, it was hard for Yamato to know what she was thinking at a time like this.

He decided to talk about something else for the time being.

“I’m tired, anyway. We were lucky to be able to sit down. My legs were sore and my muscles were long gone.”

“Right. I’ve got to massage them properly, or they’ll stay sore.”

“I’ll do it after my bath.”

Yamato changed the subject rather forcefully, but Seira didn’t seem particularly concerned.

With relief, Yamato naturally continued the conversation.

“Also, I have nothing on hand because of the last two days… I’ve only just started my summer vacation, and now I’m going to have to start by getting a day job…”

“Heh, you’re going to get a part-time job?”

Seira looked at Yamato with curiosity.

For some reason, Yamato had a bad feeling and turned his face away.

“Yeah. I haven’t decided where I’m going to work yet, but I have some ideas.”

“Sounds interesting. Maybe I’ll try it with you.”

“What?”

Yamato turned his head back and his eyes met Seira’s at close range.

Her slightly tanned face was still as outrageously beautiful as ever, and Yamato couldn’t help but avert his gaze.

“Y-You’re joking, right? Most day jobs are hard work.”

“Hmm, but I think it would be fun with Yamato.”

Seira smiled at him. It seemed that she was already motivated to do it.

—She was always ready to take on anything that she found interesting.

This may seem simple, but for Yamato, it was an extremely high hurdle to overcome.

After all, Yamato first calculated the risk and return. In addition, his negative thinking made him slow to take action because his predictions for things to take a turn for the worse.

In contrast, Seira was active and straightforward.

It was this aspect of her that Yamato admired.

“In a way, I admire that part of you Shirase.”

“Thank you. I also like this part of myself a lot, so I’m glad.”

This kind of honesty of Shirase was called innocence.

In that respect, Yamato thought, the nickname “Saint” was not far off the mark.

“Then I’ll send you the link to the temp agency I’m registered with. We’ll decide together which job to do later.”

“Yes.”

This was the first part-time job in his life.

At first, Yamato had planned to start by himself, but he would be lying if he said he was not anxious.

That was why it was reassuring to have Seira with him.

But that would also be a new source of anxiety.

“Well, whatever goes.”

“Hmm?”

“No, I’m talking to myself.”

Until a few minutes ago, Yamato was worrying about Tsubaki, but now he found himself thinking about the future.

It was strange, Yamato thought sincerely, because talking with Seira made him look forward to tomorrow’s arrival.

EDN: Another long wait, my bad. Was mostly me being lazy but also some IRL complications, anyways fund my genshin addiction plz thanks (Donate to Char if you, for some reason, actually want to and mention me in the comment hehe). These chapters are too long -_- shoutout to Char for giving me too much to edit!