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"Next stop, swimming at the sea." Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her hips, lifted her chin, and said in a clear, sweet voice, "I've said my piece. Who's for it, who's against it?"
"I'm against it."
Shinomiya Kaguya cast the first dissenting vote.
"Eh?"
"The UV rays are too strong; I'll get tanned."
This was a lie.
There was only one real reason: just as Veneto would never bathe with Enterprise, Shinomiya Kaguya also didn't want to suffer a dimensionality reduction attack.
"I obey the Yound Lady's orders."
Hayasaka Ai, in her maid form, was calm, steady, and spoke little, standing two steps behind Kaguya, her professional maid's demeanor evident.
Next was Juju: "Um, I don't want to go swimming at sea either."
Let alone swimming, if she could, she wouldn't even want to attend swimming classes at school.
The humiliation of the sales clerk smilingly recommending children's swimsuits when she went to the swimsuit store was still fresh in her mind.
Finally, Komi.
Komi today was still a woman of few words, only shaking her head quickly to show her attitude.
"Wait, why are you all refusing such a fun thing?"
Fujiwara Chika expressed her incomprehension, and as she spoke, she looked towards Amamiya Natsuki, seeking his support: "Natsuki-kun, what do you say?"
"From the perspective of an ordinary high school student, wanting to swim in the summer is a very normal and reasonable thing," Amamiya Natsuki leaned against the railing, choosing to follow his heart. "I want to go swimming."
Fujiwara Chika said:
"Then just the two of us will go."
"No!"
Shinomiya Kaguya refused immediately.
How could she let the two of them go swimming alone? If she wasn't there to watch, Chika would definitely use her useless fat to tempt him!
"Stare—"
Fujiwara Chika narrowed her eyes, her gaze suspicious, "Kaguya-chan, why won't you let us go?"
"Could it be..."
"The reason is simple." Shinomiya Kaguya interrupted, her right arm wrapped around her chest. "If we act on our own, we might encounter an instant dungeon, so it's best not to split up."
"Then let's all go swimming at the beach together."
"No."
"..."
The two girls were unyielding, and finally, they both turned to look: "Natsuki-kun, what do you say?"
Komi didn't need to say anything, and Juju also folded her arms across her chest, looking at him with disdain.
Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression:
"We have to rush back to Tokyo tomorrow morning; don't waste time on these things."
"Kagoshima has a lot of specialty foods: black pork dishes, venison dishes, Sakurajima radishes, yuzu ice cream... Let's eat all of them. If we still have energy after that, then we can go swimming at the Sea."
The crisis was perfectly resolved.
Compared to swimming, the allure of food was, of course, even greater.
As they spoke, the ferry had already arrived at the port of Sakurajima, but Amamiya Natsuki and the others did not disembark.
Marin and her dad only met once every six months, so they didn't plan to go to the Island to play. They had already agreed to meet tomorrow morning and return to Tokyo together.
On Sakurajima, the volcano crater still emitted billowing smoke, which was quite spectacular for those seeing it for the first time. Several girls took out their phones and snapped pictures.
Amamiya Natsuki had already taken photos in the morning, so he wasn't interested in the volcano now. Instead, the girls by the ship's rail were a more memorable sight.
"If I suddenly ran off, would Auntie worry?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Chika and asked.
"Don't worry." Fujiwara Chika made a peace sign, her smile bright. "I told Mom that I was going to play with Kaguya-chan today and sleep with Kaguya-chan tonight."
"When I was in junior high, I often went to Kaguya-chan's house to play, so Mom won't suspect anything."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the Sheltered Ojou-sama: "What about Kaguya-san?"
Compared to Fujiwara, Shinomiya's family rules were stricter; she probably couldn't go wherever she wanted.
Shinomiya Kaguya heard this, slightly pursed her beautiful lips, and said softly:
"...Just for one day, there's no need to worry."
If it were before, she truly wouldn't have had the courage to defy Shinomiya's fate. Even if she escaped Shinomiya, there would be no place for her in the entire world.
But now it was different.
The Sheltered Ojou-sama's eyes shifted to the transparent Mrs. Shimizu.
As long as her mother was there, she was no longer alone. Now she had the courage to confront the entire Shinomiya.
Amamiya Natsuki then looked at Juju, asking in a low voice:
"Juju, won't your family worry?"
"No," Juju said softly. "Dad and Mom are usually very busy with work and are often not home. It's just my younger sister who's a bit troublesome."
Amamiya Natsuki's eyes lit up: "It's good that Uncle and Auntie are busy!"
"What's so good about it!" Juju puffed out her cheeks and glared at him in disgust. "Don't even think about coming to my house to play! I would never invite a wolf into my house!"
"What about Komi?"
Amamiya Natsuki then looked at the girl with long black hair.
"Shoko's mom is completely different from Shoko," Juju said with a subtle expression on her face. "When I went to call Komi, I thought it would be a lot of trouble, but who knew Auntie immediately pushed Komi out and said I was the first person to come to visit Komi, and she was super happy."
"It seems I overthought it." Amamiya Natsuki feigned regret. "I thought Komi was the type who wouldn't refuse others, that no matter how unreasonable the request, she would agree, like wanting to see Komi's swimsuit."
Hearing Amamiya Natsuki's words, Komi widened her eyes and quickly shook her head.
"Go away," Juju said, her cheeks puffed out. "Don't even think about bullying Komi!"
"..."
After taking the boat back to Kagoshima, it was naturally time for eating, drinking, and having fun.
Time was tight; they had to return to Tokyo tomorrow morning, so they couldn't go to distant places. The group only played around Kagoshima, and then dusk fell. After dinner, they returned to the reserved inn, and it was already eight o'clock in the evening.
"The weather is so hot; I'm all sweaty." Fujiwara Chika took off her sun hat and lightly wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Let's all go soak in the hot spring?"
Just as one takes a hot shower in summer, one can also soak in a hot spring in summer.
Juju was very interested: "It's been a long time since I've soaked in a hot spring."
Komi quickly nodded in agreement.
"I'm going back to my room first."
Amamiya Natsuki greeted the girls and returned to his room.
The girls were in one room, and Amamiya Natsuki had a room to himself. The hot spring was a private one, not a public one, but it was separated by a bamboo fence in the middle, so men and women could still be separated.
"Hoo..."
Amamiya Natsuki had set off with Marin yesterday afternoon, traveled all night, and only arrived in Kagoshima in the morning. He hadn't had a proper rest until now.
After showering, he walked to the hot spring and sat down. The feeling of complete relaxation made him let out a sigh of comfort and close his eyes.
"Natsuki-kun, I'm going next door."
Mrs. Shimizu appeared, smiling as she floated to the next room.
"Go ahead."
Amamiya Natsuki responded with his eyes closed, continuing to soak in the hot spring.
Tap, tap, tap.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of wooden clogs on stone slabs gradually approached.
Amamiya Natsuki thought it was the sound from next door, but soon realized that the sound of the clogs quickly became clear, having arrived by his side.
Opening his eyes in confusion, Amamiya Natsuki was surprised to see a girl wrapped in a white bathrobe appear under the hazy moonlight. The girl's skin was snow-white, clearly glowing with a moist luster in the moonlight, and she had a familiar red ribbon tied behind her head.
"Kaguya-san?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow and called out.
"Eh?"
Shinomiya Kaguya, who had taken off her clogs and was about to enter the water, suddenly heard a boy's voice from the shadows, which startled her. She instinctively retreated but stepped on accumulated water, slipped violently, and fell into the hot spring with a splash.
Splash.
Water splashed everywhere.
Looking at the Sheltered Ojou-sama who had accidentally fallen into the water, Amamiya Natsuki instinctively got up and helped her out of the water.
"Cough, cough..."
Shinomiya Kaguya coughed twice, and just as she was about to speak, she suddenly widened her eyes, her gaze falling on Amamiya Natsuki.
Amamiya Natsuki had been lying in the shadow of the building just now, so she hadn't seen him clearly. But now that he stood up, she realized Amamiya Natsuki was not wearing clothes.
This was normal.
One was not supposed to wear any clothes when soaking in a hot spring.
"Mon-monster!!"
Shinomiya Kaguya widened her eyes in disbelief. Because of the ability boost she had received earlier, she had some night vision, so she was completely stunned.
What was that?!
It must be a monster, right?
It definitely was!
It was completely different from the sculptures in history textbooks!
After two seconds of stunned, the Sheltered Ojou-sama quickly turned her pretty face away, covered her cheeks with her hands, and was about to flee in a panic.
But just as she was about to leave, Fujiwara Chika's voice suddenly came from across the bamboo fence:
"Natsuki-kun, what happened just now?"
Chika and the others were next door; she had gone into the wrong hot spring!
Shinomiya Kaguya instantly figured out the truth.
How could she make such a low-level mistake? This shouldn't be, it really shouldn't be!
When she came out of the bath just now, she clearly saw the character for 'female' on the wooden sign…
"Wait!"
Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly thought of a possibility.
What if the wooden sign was correct?
Chika and the others were next door; there was no reason for them to take the right path while she alone took the wrong path and ended up in the boys' hot spring.
So…
"It was Mother who did it, wasn't it?"
"No wonder when I was almost done bathing, Mother suddenly said she had something to do and left the bathroom first—she clearly went outside to secretly switch the signs!"
After figuring out the truth, Shinomiya Kaguya immediately felt terrible.
She had been sold out by her mother.
Although her mother said she would create an opportunity for her to be alone with Natsuki at school yesterday, she absolutely did not want to be alone with him while soaking in a hot spring! She would be seen as a shameless girl!
It's a long story, but in fact, it only took two short breaths for the Sheltered Ojou-sama, who had guessed the truth, to become dizzy and fail to get ashore, bumping into the wooden clogs with a thud and falling back into the hot spring.
"Natsuki-kun, what was that sound?"
Fujiwara Chika asked again.
"Nothing, I accidentally fell asleep just now and choked on the water."
After Amamiya Natsuki replied, he picked up the motionless Sheltered Ojou-sama and whispered:
"Kaguya-san?"
"…"
Shinomiya Kaguya remained motionless, her eyes tightly closed, her wet hair clinging messily to her forehead, making her look exceptionally delicate.
"She fainted?"
Of course, she had to faint! To be tricked by her mother into bathing with a boy—she already had no face to wake up!
"She actually fainted just like that," Amamiya Natsuki's tone became strange, "Then I won't be polite."
Shinomiya Kaguya: "…"
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