Invitation to a Beach Trip!

Of course, he certainly wasn't going to transfer classes himself; he wanted his older sister to transfer.

Ever since he arrived at the school, Etsuka had discovered a few of its rules. The moment the teacher finished explaining Class Points, the ultimate goal became clear.

That was to be promoted to Class A!

But his sister was in Class D. Not only was it extremely difficult to reach Class A, but the most frustrating part was that he would have to compete against his own sister!

Even though they bickered and messed around, he and his sister were still very close.

That was why Etsuka was wondering if he could get her to transfer classes.

Even if a transfer were possible, the amount of personal points required would likely be astronomical. Besides, knowing my sister's personality, if I told her to transfer, she probably wouldn't agree.

As her younger brother, he understood his sister's character very well. If he were to say directly, "Sis, I'll pay the points for you to transfer to Class B," she would definitely insist firmly that she only wanted to rely on her own strength.

Sigh, it looks like I'll have to plan this out for the long haul.

"Horikita, what are you thinking about?" his desk mate, Himeno Yuki, asked indifferently.

"Whoa? Himeno-san, I've noticed you're very interested in prying into my private life," Etsuka said flippantly.

"Every time I space out, you have to ask what I'm thinking. What's the matter, are you that eager to keep me under surveillance?"

Himeno Yuki turned her head slightly to the side. "No. Forget it if you don't want to say."

Looking at Himeno Yuki's purple twin-tails, Etsuka felt a strange, genuine urge to grab them.

He sighed and said, "We've been desk mates for almost a semester now. Isn't it time we started calling each other by our first names?"

Because Himeno Yuki had turned her head away, Etsuka couldn't see her slightly reddened cheeks. She feigned calmness and said, "Do whatever you want."

"Alright, Yuki."

Himeno Yuki suddenly shuddered, her entire body trembling as if she'd been lightly electrocuted.

She actually had two names; Yuki was her formal name, while Yuki was her nickname. Since arriving at this school, Etsuka could be considered the first person to call her by her nickname.

Back when she was a child, only those who were extremely, extremely close to her would call her Yuki.

"What's wrong?" Etsuka poked Himeno Yuki's waist out of boredom.

Himeno Yuki's body twitched again, and she pouted, swatting Etsuka's hand away.

"That tickles, Etsu... Etsuka."

"That's more like it!" Horikita Etsuka nodded in satisfaction. How could desk mates act like total strangers all the time?

So, to celebrate, Etsuka held out his palm. "Come on, give me a lollipop to celebrate."

Himeno Yuki froze. She looked at Etsuka's sunny, smiling face, which stood in stark contrast to his outstretched hand.

She couldn't understand how someone could be so thick-skinned. Who asks for a lollipop from someone else to celebrate?! She really wanted to take a ruler and smack him!

"Here!"

Although she thought that, she still fished a lollipop out of her desk and placed it heavily into Etsuka's hand.

Etsuka tore open the wrapper and popped it into his mouth, not forgetting to give her a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, great desk mate!"

"You're welcome." With that, Himeno Yuki put on her headphones and started reading a world classic, showing no intention of paying any more attention to Etsuka.

After all, class was over, and she was ready to set sail into a sea of books.

Etsuka wisely stopped bothering her and began to space out in boredom. Suddenly, a pair of long, fair legs moved closer. Looking down, he could see a pair of short, white socks.

"Hm?" Etsuka looked up and saw it was Amikura Mako, so he asked with a smile, "Oh, it's Amikura? Do you need something?"

"Um... summer break is coming up soon. I wanted to ask if you have any plans for the break, Etsuka?"

At this moment, Himeno Yuki, who had been reading, seemed to hear them. She nonchalantly shifted one side of her headphones slightly outward so she could hear the conversation clearly.

People are always curious, and Himeno Yuki was no exception.

"Plans? I don't really have any," Horikita Etsuka answered honestly.

He really didn't have any plans for summer break. Usually, he and his sister would go back to the countryside to hang out, but this school was completely enclosed, so even during summer break, they could only stay on campus.

"Then could we... go..." In an instant, Amikura saw Hamaguchi Tetsuya turn his head to look over curiously, so she hurriedly changed her wording.

"Could we find a time to go to the swimming pool with Ichinose and the others?"

"The swimming pool?"

"Yeah! The pool is going to be closed for good before long. Ichinose suggested that since it's summer break and the pool hasn't closed yet, we should go play beach volleyball and go swimming."

"Is that so?" Horikita Etsuka nodded and made an 'OK' gesture. "Don't worry, I'll definitely go. Just let me know when."

He would get to see beautiful young girls in swimsuits again; Etsuka couldn't ask for more. The most important thing was that it wasn't just Class B going...

"By the way..." Amikura Mako turned to look at Himeno Yuki. "Himeno-san, why don't you come with us?"

"No need. I don't like crowded places," Himeno Yuki said, looking at her book and refusing bluntly.

"It's fine, it would be better to go and deepen our relationship," Amikura Mako said, even more determined to invite her after seeing Himeno Yuki's reaction.

She was afraid that Himeno Yuki would gradually become isolated if she spent too much time alone.

"Besides, the only ones going are me, Etsuka, Ichinose, Kanzaki, Komume, and Chihiro."

After saying this, Amikura slowly crouched down, resting her little head on the desk, and blinked her eyes as she looked at Himeno Yuki: "Please, please come with us too, Himeno-san?"

Horikita Etsuka also said with a smile: "Yeah, it's fine if you come along, right? I'll call you when the time comes, Yuki."

I haven't seen Yuki in a swimsuit yet, though.

An image of Himeno Yuki wearing a swimsuit gradually surfaced in Etsuka's mind.

A cold and aloof girl with a face that said "stay away" — she would definitely look stunning in a swimsuit, right?

"Yuki?" Amikura asked with curiosity and a slightly strange tone: "Is that Himeno-san's name?"

Etsuka nodded in response: "Yeah, that's her nickname."

"Ehehe? A nickname?" Amikura looked surprised: "Have Etsuka and Himeno-san reached that level of closeness already?"

"Is that such a big deal?" Himeno Yuki closed her book, took off her headphones, and said: "If we're desk-mates, wouldn't it mean our relationship is quite bad if we hadn't reached this point?"

"Hmm... Himeno-san is certainly right about that." Amikura Mako smiled helplessly.

"Then call me when the time comes, Etsuka." Himeno Yuki said.

"Huh? You agreed so easily, Yuki?"

Horikita Etsuka had thought she would have to spend some effort persuading her, given that Himeno Yuki's preference for solitude was plain for all to see.

"Yeah, just call me when it's time."

"Okay."

Amikura Mako watched the two chatting and couldn't help but feel a little regret for having brought it up, yet she also felt a bit happy to hear that Himeno Yuki planned to join them.

Amikura lowered her head slightly.

When did I become like this... Oh my, I'm truly conflicted.

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