[I Like You] (Continued)

No group photos.

As the words of the turning point came down, a touch of nervousness inevitably arose in the girl's heart amidst a slight surge of joy.

Even if the most important thing has been decided, it will still make people nervous if the other party says "but" at this moment.

Fortunately, the turning point brought some good news.

"Yes, I know." She nodded gently.

Ibuki Mio: "...?"

Seeing the two of them completely ignoring her and engaging in conversation, Ibuki Mio suddenly wondered if she had become invisible.

Otherwise, how could they so readily act as if they don't exist?

Ibuki Mio exists or not is irrelevant.

The sun was gradually setting, and the brilliance of the sunset swept across the sea.

A calm wait, a drawn curtain, and a slightly blurry but vaguely moving shadow inside.

"Splash--"

The small fishing hut was temporarily converted into a fitting room by a borrowed curtain. With a rustling sound, the girl's shadow stopped swaying, Shiina Hiyori, dressed in a swimsuit, nimbly leaped into Asakusa Toru's view from under the simple curtain.

Her long, silver-gray hair swayed gently around her waist, partially obscuring her fair and beautiful back. The swaying of her waist, along with the hem of her swimsuit, made the light-colored swimsuit appear less dazzling on her.

On the contrary, it makes people unable to help but focus their attention on the girl's heart.

The moment Shiina Hiyori saw Asakusa Toru, he understood.

This is... 'Don't look there, challenge'.

Unfortunately, he only lasted five seconds.

"... How was it?" Even the usually composed Shiina Hiyori couldn't help but feel a little shy when faced with a silent, focused gaze.

She clutched the hem of her skirt, her right hand covering her chest, which was perfectly outlined by her swimsuit, and cautiously asked him how he felt.

"Is it pretty...?"

Faced with the girl's question.

Asakusa Toru's choice was incredibly decisive; I give him a thumbs up.

"Great."

"It's really beautiful."

"I think I'll probably remember this for the rest of my life."

Praise should not be spared, especially since it is Asakusa Toru's truest feeling.

"... That's such an exaggeration for a lifetime." The girl visibly relaxed and smiled. "I just hope you remember this today."

While the Advanced Nurturing program included regular swimming lessons, those group classes were vastly different from the private, clandestine atmosphere of the beach today.

Her carefully chosen outfit and subtly thoughtful gestures clearly reveal the young girl's subtle thoughts.

She shouldn't have shown so much aggression.

But... perhaps it was because the opportunity was rare, or perhaps it was because a diary entry from last night subtly revealed her feelings.

Amidst a mix of complex emotions, or perhaps a touch of rebellion.

Taking this opportunity, she put on her swimsuit.

It doesn't necessarily mean that I want to do something, or say something.

Perhaps she simply wanted to hear his thoughts on seeing her in a swimsuit.

I just wanted to show it to him.

"Splash..."

The waves crashed against the shore, and the sea breeze whistled as it blew her skirt.

Asakusa Toru, holding his camera, awkwardly captured the image of Shiina Hiyori lightly treading on the water.

Her fair legs, now free of stockings, splashed water on the beach, and the swaying skirt and the girl's smile were reflected in the setting sun.

Look this way--

Drawing out his words, Asakusa Toru, who was some distance away from the girl on the water, raised his hand and tried to direct her.

Although he didn't understand photography, photography shouldn't be as simple as holding a camera and continuously pressing the shutter button on a moving subject.

So he shouted it out.

However, I don't know if it was the strong sea breeze in the afternoon, the noise of the waves, or the disturbance caused by the seabirds circling above the sea.

His voice couldn't reach Shiina Hiyori clearly.

"What did you say--"

Shiina Hiyori and shouted loudly.

Like an echo, Asakusa Toru, who was holding a camera in the distance, also put down his camera and did the same.

"What did you say--"

The voice was muffled and indistinct, but one could vaguely make out that it sounded like the same words.

So, the moment the words were uttered, the girl suddenly realized something.

Shiina Hiyori enjoys reading mystery novels.

But that doesn't mean she only likes reading mystery novels.

She will read any kind of novel.

Including romance novels.

This kind of plot often appears in romance novels, comics, anime, and similar works.

The male and female protagonists develop feelings for each other but hesitate to make a move. However, at an extremely lively and noisy fireworks festival, they squeeze together for various reasons to watch the magnificent fireworks explode into the sky.

The moment the fireworks burst open, the sound was deafening, and the people around me were noisy, their words indistinct and their shouts unclear.

Everything was shrouded in mystery.

In such situations, one party will often want to express their feelings.

Shiina Hiyori didn't quite understand it before, but now she seems to understand it a little.

It should feel like you're shouting from your chest, not just exhaling from your throat.

Very good.

So, seeing Asakusa Toru holding a camera in the distance seemingly responding with some still indistinct words, Shiina Hiyori took a few steps back, increasing the distance slightly, making sure that Asakusa Toru's voice, which should have been louder than hers, had also become indistinct.

She spun around, splashing through the water.

Then, she opened her voice, which she had been holding back.

"I like you--"

Can't you hear me?

I told you I like you.

That's exactly what I want—for you to not hear me.

"Click--"

The crisp click of the shutter captured Shiina Hiyori's figure. Putting down the camera, and listening to the voice beside him, Asakusa Toru softly murmured:

"I can hear you."

This sentence employed the long-unseen Voice Transmission.

In the end Shiina Hiyori returned to the cruise ship.

In a flash, she transformed into a steampunk princess, letting out a strange groan as crimson skin spread from her neck to her earlobes.

Shiina Hiyori, clutching her skirt, returned to the cruise ship with Class C, who had played until the sun had completely set.

"Waaaaah..."

Why can I hear it?

There were no fireworks, but there was a sunset; there were no crowds, but there was the ocean tide; there were no hand-holding or close-up moments, but there were swimsuits and cameras.

That's why she couldn't help but shout out joyfully.

It's because she felt the other person couldn't hear her.

His voice was so indistinct, so his own voice should have been even more indistinct.

But he heard it! And it was said right in his ear!

What did I do?!

On the cruise ship, in his room on the bed, Shiina Hiyori and turned, his calm words always echoing in his ears.

"I can hear you."

Are we actually very close?

Was he pretending because he couldn't pronounce his words clearly?

How could this person be so wicked!

With a pout, Shiina Hiyori reached for her Diary.

"You agree, don't you, you wicked fellow?"

The conduction of sound is disrupted, and the volume of the sound gradually decreases as it propagates through the medium.

Noise can impair people's ability to receive sound.

However, it is highly unlikely that a situation will occur where shouts are muffled while calm whispers are clear.

So, as the girl's shyness gradually subsided, and the ripples that had started to spread across the water because of her bashfulness completely disappeared.

Shiina Hiyori couldn't help but start to deduce things a little.

She enjoys reasoning.

Find the unusual parts, find the illogical content, and based on the known clues, peel back the layers and follow the clues to piece together the facts that are called the truth.

So, she would think.

Was he hallucinating when he said that?

Because deep down, I really wanted him to know how I felt, that's why I suddenly shouted it out so recklessly at that moment.

Is that so?

... yes.

That's right.

Shiina Hiyori actually understands herself very well.

She shouted it out because she wanted him to hear it.

But she didn't really want him to hear, which is why she shouted it out despite the loud noise.

Is it contradictory?

Contradiction.

Isn't that contradictory?

It's not really contradictory.

But thinking about it, it probably wasn't a hallucination.

It wasn't some meticulously logical deduction, just something like... a young girl's intuition.

He pretended he hadn't said those words, but it was he who had.

The change in sound defies common sense.