Chapter 334

It was hot.

Spring was coming to an end, but for it to be this bad... I wondered if I would just melt while walking down the street once summer actually arrived.

Until just a few days ago, I had seen nothing but cloudy skies every single day. True to the trash game that was Doki-Aka, the weather here was wildly extreme.

The vast majority of students at the Academy were wearing their summer uniforms.

The sudden spike in heat left them no choice.

The faculty and staff were the same. They were dressed as if summer had already arrived.

"It's so hot..."

Miyuki complained next to me, then chugged the ice water in her hand.

Her pale skin peeked out from the sleeves of her short-sleeved dress shirt.

We brushed skin almost every single day, but this kind of subtle exposure turned me on no matter when I saw it.

"Looks like they have swimming class today."

Completely oblivious to my gaze, Miyuki looked around with interest.

Among the students wearing first-year name tags, a few were walking into the building clutching the navy blue swimsuits provided by the Academy.

The so-called school swimsuit.

Was the essential element of summer finally making its appearance?

It wasn't officially summer yet, but I had waited a long time for this.

The design for the guys was a boxy pair of shorts, though I couldn't care less about that.

The important part was the girls' swimsuit... It wasn't the old-style school swimsuit that covered the pelvis, but rather a cut that exposed everything.

I would need to see someone actually wearing it to be absolutely sure, but just eyeballing it, the design was quite daring.

It was impossible not to get my hopes up. Doki-Aka really gave off the scent of a masterpiece game in these specific areas sometimes.

Would Hiyori's class have swimming today?

If so, I would need to secure her class schedule through covert channels.

Or I could just ask Hiyori directly.

"Is this the first swimming class of the semester, then?"

"Probably? I heard the second-years will be doing it soon, too."

It was an elective class, so Miyuki would obviously skip it.

If she had managed to break free from the trauma of that incident even a little bit, I would have loved to take the class with her.

The secret, youthful heat blossoming underwater in the pool... Just imagining it made me happy.

"Oh? Tetsuya! Over here!"

Miyuki, who had been chatting with me, threw a hand high into the air toward Tetsuya as he walked through the school gates.

Spotting her, Tetsuya broke into a bright grin and waved back.

His shaggy hair was gone, making him look far more refreshing.

He was never an ugly guy to begin with, and since his physique had improved lately, he looked quite masculine.

When Miyuki grabbed my arm and pulled me toward Tetsuya, the guy's face stiffened slightly at the sight of her physical affection.

His gloomy, soul-deep aura was exactly the same as always.

That was exactly why he was a lost cause.

I walked to the classroom with the two of them, sent off Miyuki who said she needed to drop by the Student Council Room for a moment, and then sent a message to Renka through AnyShare.

[Are the Third Years having swimming class today too?]

A response came immediately.

[Why the fuck are you sending me a message on here?]

Her aggressive language made my head ring.

I could practically see Renka's face turning red in real time.

[Is that not allowed?]

[No, it's not. We made a promise.]

[I thought the rule was just that I shouldn't mention Ino-chan?]

[Playing word games again. You're utter trash.]

[I'm only doing this because I like you, so try to understand.]

Renka read the message but didn't reply.

The unexpected, straightforward confession probably left her flustered and embarrassed.

I chuckled, imagining her transparent inner thoughts, and continued tapping on my Cell Phone.

[I asked if you have swimming class.]

[I don't know.]

[You really don't know?]

[They said we aren't having it.]

[You always have to twist your answers at least once, don't you.]

[What do you mean, twist my answers? I didn't know either, so I just asked a classmate. Stop judging on your own. It's annoying.]

[Look forward to today at the Club Room.]

[You think spouting that crap will scare me? Fuck off. Don't send any more messages.]

With that final declaration, Ino-chan logged off.

Why were my conversations with Renka always so fun?

Falling into the same old contemplation, I tried to imagine what she and Chinami would look like in swimsuits.

With Renka's incredibly tall and slender figure, there was no doubt she would look amazing.

In Chinami's case... it was hard to picture.

I felt like she might be cute, but she might also be secretly sexy.

Regardless, a new event had popped up just as my daily life was getting a bit dull, and it set my collector's spirit ablaze.

Collecting every single CG in a visual novel was an unwritten rule.

I was going to see them no matter what.

Tap, tap.

Something with a pointy end poked my shoulder.

I turned around to see what it was and found Hiyori standing there with her trademark lively smile.

'I was actually just looking for you, so thanks for that.'

With that thought in mind, I spoke.

"Yeah."

"What's with that line?"

"Just returning your greeting."

"I haven't even greeted you yet, though?"

"You were about to, so doesn't it count?"

"No? You're supposed to wait until I actually do it."

"Then do it."

"Later. Where are you off to?"

"The School Store."

"Why do you only ever go to the School Store?"

"Aren't you exactly the same?"

"I suppose. But aren't the second-years doing swimming class?"

I was just wondering how to bring it up, yet here she was serving it on a silver platter... Hiyori was practically an angel.

"They said we'd do it soon, but I have no idea when. You guys start today, right?"

"Yep. We've got it during sixth period."

I had predicted it would be either fourth or sixth period, and I hit the nail right on the head.

Getting into the water right at the peak of the heat felt good and made the class actually worth doing.

Anyway, our Hiyori definitely shouldn't take up any kind of espionage job.

She blabbed absolutely everything.

"Outside?"

"Yeah. They said the indoor pool is still being prepped."

The outdoor pool was right next to the Gymnasium.

It was higher than the Gymnasium... well, the elevation was higher, but I could still find a way to see into it.

At this point, it was basically God spoon-feeding me a chance to collect CGs, so I couldn't betray those expectations.

"You and Mitsushima must be pretty excited. Didn't you say you wanted to join the Swimming Club?"

"Just a little bit? But it'll probably be boring if they just drill us hard with actual lessons."

"I'm sure they'll give you free time, too."

"Right? By the way, sunbae-nim."

"What."

"Lend me 100 yen. I left my wallet behind."

Now she was even extorting money from me.

I let out a dry laugh and asked.

"You came all the way out here even though you knew you didn't have your wallet?"

"I just realized it now. Please lend me some so I can buy some Suichu."

Hiyori looked incredibly fresh and sweet as she held her hands out together toward me with an apologetic smile.

It made me want to conjure money out of thin air just to lend it to her, but I couldn't fall for the temptation.

It was all an act. An act to get exactly what she wanted.

I couldn't let myself be bewitched this early on.

Digging a 100-yen coin out of my pocket, I placed it in her hand and spoke.

"Pay me back 200 yen."

"Isn't that interest rate way too steep?"

"Don't take it if you don't want it."

As I moved to take the coin back, Hiyori swiftly curled her fingers into a fist.

"I can pay you back in Suichu, right?"

I knew she'd say that.

I hadn't seriously expected her to pay me back in the first place, so I shrugged and let it go.

"Suit yourself."

Hiyori beamed at my response and eagerly took the lead, telling me to hurry up.

She looked to be in a great mood, and I couldn't help but hope it was because of me.

But wasn't she curious about Miyuki being so touchy-feely with me last time?

If I were in her shoes, I would have been dying to know and would've asked outright... but standard common sense never applied to Hiyori, so I decided to just keep my mouth shut.

Here was a fact I hadn't realized: our class had PE during fifth period.

Outdoor PE right before Hiyori's swimming class?

Could this be anything but fate?

Honestly, even though I was making a big deal out of it in my head, it wasn't all that surprising.

Outdoor classes across different years frequently overlapped several times a day.

It was a common occurrence, but the fact that our class lined up perfectly with a monumental swimming class was still something to celebrate.

And weirdly enough, the students in my class seemed particularly unruly today.

Volleyballs and basketballs they had been using were scattered all over the Gymnasium, and badminton shuttlecocks were strewn about haphazardly.

This meant I could buy time under the pretext of cleaning up. It was a very good omen.

It was pathetic to go to such lengths just to catch a glimpse of some swimsuits, but what could I do when school swimsuits were a matter of such utmost importance?

It was all the fault of those rom-com authors who poured so much effort into the swimsuit art to create this exact cliché.

Justifying my actions with that mental gymnastics while sprawled out in the corner of the Gymnasium, I finally dragged myself to my feet once class was about to end.

Afterward, I wandered over to where Miyuki was gathering the students in the middle of the Gymnasium and killed time. As soon as the teacher stepped in right on schedule and dismissed the class, I started tossing the scattered balls into the cart, pretending to clean up.

"What's this? What's gotten into you?"

Seeing me actually take the initiative to tidy up the Gymnasium must have been incredibly surprising, because Miyuki, who had been on her way to the showers, walked over with wide eyes.

How would that gaze change if I told her I was deliberately dragging my feet just to see Hiyori in a swimsuit?

I was curious, but I decided it was best not to say it.

"I was just bored. I should take the balls to the outdoor storage room, right?"

"You can just leave them in the indoor storage, though?"

"Just give me the key."

"Sure. I hope you get bored every day, then?"

"Stop saying weird things and hand over your towel."

"Why do you want my towel?"

"So I can smell it."

"Oh, come on...!"

Clicking her tongue at my sudden burst of perversion, Miyuki slapped the storage key into my hand and walked off to the showers, shaking her head.

Finding it endearing that Miyuki still got embarrassed despite seeing this side of me all the time, I pushed the ball cart out of the Gymnasium.

After leaving the cart in the storage room, I swept my gaze around the area before making my move.

My destination, naturally, was the outdoor pool where Hiyori would be.

The closer I got to the pool, the louder the bustling noise from that direction became.

I had assumed they were in the middle of a lesson, but had they been given free time?

Or had they not started yet? Given the timeframe, the latter was highly likely.

Pushing my pounding heart aside, I climbed the hill where splashes of water were starting to become visible and finally caught sight of the lively outdoor pool.

Dozens of students were inside the chain-link fence that surrounded the area.

Some were doing warm-up stretches, some girls were walking awkwardly as if embarrassed by their swimsuits, and groups were already playfully splashing around.

Amidst that scene practically radiating bright, youthful energy, I spotted Miho in the water, and Hiyori sitting on the edge of the pool, stretching her upper body.

Pushing aside all the flowery rhetoric popping into my head, I could sum up my impression simply: it was absolutely worth going out of my way to see.

That was what I thought.