"That was more or less what I meant," Oreki said.
"..." Airi Sakura said. "How should I put this...?"
Sakura seemed to have fallen into memories of the past. "Being back on a cruise ship reminds me of that previous cruise ship exam, when Horikita came to me for counseling."
The past?
Yeah.
This was Oreki and the others' second Uninhabited Island exam. During the first one, he had teamed up with Kōenji and Horikita, then completed the exam.
Of course, the result of the exam was not important.
For Oreki, there had been two noteworthy points during that exam. His relationship with Horikita had gone from feeling awkward just being in the same room together to her being able to smile when they shook hands.
"Um..." Sakura seemed hesitant, as though she were fighting with her conscience, but in the end, her friendship with Oreki won out.
"Oreki," Sakura said. "Could it be that Horikita has become aware of you?"
"Aware?" Oreki looked over.
"Mm-hm." Airi nodded. "During the previous cruise ship exam, Horikita consulted me."
"Um... well..." Sakura was still struggling with her conscience, but this side seemed to win in the end. "Back then, Horikita felt completely different when she shook hands with you. My answer was that she might have fallen in love."
"Love can bring people quite wonderful physical pleasure," Sakura said. "So, um... I think Horikita might like you."
"Maybe she did not realize that she was in love, but now she is avoiding you. Could it be that... she has realized it?" Sakura said.
Huh?
That instantly reminded Oreki that he had once avoided Ichinose as well.
Back then, he had even gone to consult Horikita's bookworm older brother, Manabu Horikita.
Then he had used reading to keep himself from having improper thoughts