Among the members of the Make-Up Work Club, Hanako is always the most unconventional one.
When everyone else wears sportswear, she alone wears a swimsuit. When everyone else changes into swimsuits, she switches back into her school uniform.
After glancing a few times at Azusa, Koharu, and Hifumi, who had changed into school swimsuits that perfectly outlined their figures, I added silently in my heart that even in terms of body, Hanako was the most shameless.
As for the reason Hanako gave this time, even Koharu could not find words to oppose it. "Because my school swimsuit is being washed, and if this isn't allowed, then underneath I won't be wearing anything…"
Before she could finish, Koharu nervously told her to just wear whatever she liked. This must be the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils, a straightforward scheme tailored specifically for Koharu.
As expected of Hanako. After being forced to change from a swimsuit into sportswear earlier and suffering a setback, she switched strategies and openly won back a round.
Thinking back, her personality seems unexpectedly unwilling to admit defeat.
Having enjoyed the beautiful sight and discovered another cute side of Hanako, my mood improved slightly.
It is just that the girls' intentional and unintentional gazes still troubled me.
I understand very well what kind of temptation my tall and well built body, like a marble statue carefully sculpted by an ancient artist, with clear muscle lines and exuding masculine hormones from the inside out, holds for young girls in the prime of youth who are innocent and curious about the opposite sex.
…But why do they all keep glancing downward from time to time?
Hanako and Koharu, even Hifumi, I could understand. But Azusa too?
It cannot be that they noticed I had not expected this segment at all and therefore did not prepare swim trunks.
I thought I could muddle through…
It feels more likely that they are just coveting my body.
But no matter which it is, I have to devote part of my attention to pretending nothing is wrong.
Fortunately, everyone soon began cleaning while playing around, and the number of glances directed at me naturally decreased. I was finally able to focus more on the task at hand.
Before we knew it, we had cleaned the entire pool. After that, as planned, we began filling it with clear water that was said to be directly drawn from Trinity's lake.
Although we worked hard, it took longer than expected. By the time the pool was filled, the sun had already set.
Looking at the pool that truly sparkled, though now under streetlights that had automatically turned on at night, Hifumi said with slight disappointment, "In the end, we couldn't get into the pool to play…"
"I didn't expect filling it with water would take so long… Sorry, that was my miscalculation."
However, just as Hanako finished apologizing, Azusa shook her head. "It's fine. There's no need to apologize. I'm already very happy."
I secretly observed the white haired girl's face from the corner of my eye. That smile was incomparably sincere, absolutely not something that could be faked.
…It looked just like Saori when she received the gift I gave her.
"…It's so beautiful."
At that moment, Koharu, staring blankly at the pool, murmured to herself.
"Yes. A late night pool is a rare sight…" Hifumi agreed.
Koharu did not respond. Instead, she slowly closed her eyes and her head dipped heavily, as if she were dozing off.
Hanako asked with concern, "Oh my, Koharu-chan, are you sleepy?"
"N-no…"
Koharu suddenly opened her eyes and instinctively retorted, but she ultimately could not resist her body's instincts. Even her stubbornness faded as she muttered, "But I am a little tired…"
"That's true. We've been busy with the big cleanup since morning, all day long."
After thinking for a moment, Hifumi suggested, "Then maybe it's about time we head back to our rooms and rest? After all, the official training camp starts tomorrow… If we don't sleep soon, it might affect tomorrow."
Naturally, everyone, who was indeed already tired, agreed.
So after each of us showered and changed clothes, and we had dinner together in the cafeteria, I parted from the girls and returned alone to the room where I would be staying for the next few days.
I took out my phone, opened Momotalk, scrolled down a bit, and stared at Saori's profile icon, unable to help falling into thought.
Now that I think about it, Saori and Azusa really are very similar in many ways.
…Perhaps Nagisa's talk of a traitor is not just baseless nonsense.
If things are truly as I suspect, then I must be even more cautious from here on and avoid acting rashly.
At the very least, I need to first confirm whether there is really any connection between Azusa and Saori.
Just as I was thinking about how to probe indirectly, I heard a knock at the door.
I gathered my thoughts and responded, "Come in."
"Um, excuse me for disturbing you…"
From the voice and tone alone, I already knew who it was.
The door opened, and Hifumi stepped in carefully. "Um, I'm sorry to bother you so late…"
"Hifumi, what's wrong?"
"Well, it's just that I can't seem to fall asleep…" Hifumi said shyly. "Thinking about this and that, um… ah…"
So she could not sleep and came to talk with the person she likes.
I immediately understood. Coincidentally, I also had something I wanted to talk to her about.
By the way, I like Hifumi too.
After gently soothing her and sitting side by side with her on the edge of the bed, we first exchanged words of appreciation for today's hard work. Then she organized her thoughts and began to speak.
"Starting tomorrow, the official training camp begins, but… will we really be okay like this…? If we fail the second exam a week from now, then the third exam… and if, by any chance, we fail that too…"
This was exactly the topic I wanted to discuss with Hifumi.
"Everyone gets expelled. Right?"
"…So you knew too, Sensei."
Hifumi lowered her head, her tone confused, as if she wanted to pour out all the doubts and pressure she had been carrying during this time.
"I haven't told anyone else, and I don't even know if this is something I'm allowed to say… It's just an academic exam, so why use an evaluation system like 'all together'… and for our exam, they even provided us with a training camp facility like this…"
The matter of the training camp itself is indeed worth thinking about.
If the true purpose of establishing the Make-Up Work Club is to find the traitor, then going to such lengths, is it really just to give them a better environment to focus on studying?
Most likely, Nagisa hopes I can use this opportunity to observe them more closely.
"And also… um…"
Seeing Hifumi hesitate, my heart sank slightly.
Could it be…
"Hifumi," I asked as gently as possible, "Did Nagisa say anything else to you?"