When I Rescued A Lost Girl, What Was Waiting For Me Was The Girl Who Was Ranked Number One In The List Of Girls I Wanted To Have As My Girlfriend - Chapter 123
Chapter 123: Enjoy SUMMER (Part 9)
It was just before noon, and feeling hungry, I left the girls behind to look after things as Hiwatari and I headed out for some shopping.
The beach house offered indoor dining, but they also provided takeout. It seemed they had a variety of items for sale, such as yakisoba, curry rice, and frankfurters.
“What do you feel like eating, Shima?”
“Maybe yakisoba. Somehow, yakisoba eaten in a place like this always tastes surprisingly delicious.”
“I get that. It’s like festivals, right? Atmosphere is the second most important seasoning.”
“What’s the first?”
“Hunger.”
“Yeah, true.”
As we chatted and made our way, something caught our attention.
“Hey, Yusaku?”
And then Hiwatari’s name was called from behind.
Hina, Akina, and Mizuki all referred to Hiwatari by his first name, while I was the only one among today’s group who called him Yusaku.
Now, I wondered who it could be and turned around.
Long, blonde hair.
Perfectly applied makeup.
A bikini that accentuated her well-toned body.
I knew this person.
Though I hadn’t seen her since becoming a second-year, she was one of the few classmates who paid attention to me last year.
“Oh, so Asami and the others are here too.”
It was Asami Nonaka.
She was a gal I was in the same class with during our first year. She was generally friendly with everyone and had many friends.
She got along well with Hina, Akina, and even Ameno-san, to the point where they were best friends. Since Hiwatari and I were also classmates, there must have been some familiarity there.
Well, considering she addressed me by my first name, we were probably on decent terms.
“Yeah.”
With Nonaka, there were two other faces I didn’t recognize. Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes, and gal friends stick together.
In other words, Ameno-san, who should have been my best friend, was not with them.
“What’s up?”
Upon noticing my curious glances, Nonaka asked with a puzzled expression.
“What’s up? You seem a bit lost.”
“No, just realizing Ameno-san isn’t with you guys.”
“Oh, yeah. Today is more of a one-group gathering.”
I nodded in understanding. It made sense; if it was a class get-together, Ameno-san not being there was normal.
“Are there others coming too?”
“Yeah, about ten people or so in total, including guys and girls. About half the class is participating.”
“I see. If it’s a class thing, maybe Hirano and others are coming. I’ll go check them out later.”
“You guys are hitting the beach with just the two of you?”
“No way. There are girls with us too.”
Nonaka glanced at me meaningfully and, finding something amusing, smirked.
“Hina and Azusa, right?”
“Correct.”
“Why did you look at me?”
“Your girls’ friends are the only ones I could think of.”
As I was feeling frustrated, one of Nonaka’s friends behind her asked,
“Do you mind if we join?”
“Oh, right. We were actually on our way for an errand.”
“We were too.”
In this unexpected encounter, both groups seemed to forget their initial purposes. With that realization, the conversation came to an end.
After parting ways with Nonaka and her friends, we purchased yakisoba for everyone at the beach house and returned to where everyone else was.
“You guys took your time.”
“We bumped into another group by chance. It seems like they’re here from our class.”
“Oh, really?”
“It’s quite a coincidence.”
Mizuki also mentioned that she had friends in that group and said,
“I might go check them out later.”
While continuing with such discussions, each of us started eating our yakisoba.
It was a simple yakisoba with a typical sauce flavor, containing cabbage and pork, and accompanied by pickled red ginger. Despite being a standard yakisoba, it somehow tasted better than usual, perhaps because of the outdoor dining setting.
After finishing lunch, Hiwatari and Mizuki left to search for the other group. That left me, Hina, and Akina behind.
“I think I’ll take a little walk.”
Akina casually said, standing up.
“Are you going alone?”
“Taking a stroll after lunch is part of my routine.”
“I’ve never seen you doing that before.”
Hina calmly retorted to Akina’s seemingly pretentious statement. Indeed, I hadn’t seen Akina do that before.
“Just feeling like it. That’s why, Shima, stay with Hina here. If such a cute girl is alone, she’d be perfect prey for pick-up artists.”
“If you say that, then you’re alone too.”
Considering appearance alone, I thought Akina was attractive enough to easily attract attention if she were alone.
Akina made a face like a pigeon hit by a peashooter but quickly returned to her usual self.
“Come on, Shima, your compliments are a bit too much for me.”
“…Pick-up artists can’t see through your true self at first sight, after all.”
I decided to play along with the teasing. Akina chuckled, satisfied with my response.
“Well then, it’s all good. A few words, and they’ll get a glimpse of the real me. Anyway, take care!”
Akina left as she was waving goodbye.
Well, with her personality, she’d likely handle any pick-up attempts with ease.
So, it ended up with just Hina and me.
“Uh, we’re left alone, huh?”
“Yeah, what should we do?”
Since I rarely had the opportunity to come to the beach, I had no idea how to enjoy it. Although I was having fun just fooling around with everyone, my limited knowledge left me unsure of what to suggest or do.
I was feeling a bit lost, so I decided to ask Hina for some guidance. However, as I was about to pose the question, she smiled and placed her hand on my leg.
I was surprised by the sudden touch. I looked at her and asked,
“W-What?”
“Well, since it’s just the two of us, how about we fulfill the request I mentioned earlier?”