Secret Whispers in the Sauna, Hope Cruise Reaches Its Destination

The third floor of the luxury cruise ship.

Ayanokoji arrived at the sauna area with great interest.

Today, he wanted to experience the feeling of a sauna.

He had fantasized about that sensation countless times in his mind, but he was curious about what it was actually like.

He had only learned about it during a social cognition class in the White Room, and now he finally had the chance to put it into practice.

Was it... really that refreshing?

The more he thought about it, the more impatient he became, and he quickened his pace.

?

What were these people doing standing here? And why were they holding small square slips of paper in their hands?

A bit confused, he squinted to take a closer look:

"Queue Number: 98"

Forget it, staying in the dorm room isn't bad either.

Mmm... ah~

Inside Sauna Room 1.

Sounds of sultry moans that would make anyone feel hot and bothered echoed within.

Hoshinomiya lay limply on the sauna bed, her lips continuously letting out onomatopoeic sounds that sparked the imagination and stirred the loins, making the technician's face turn red.

Beside her, although Ichinose wasn't as uninhibited, her face was also flushed, her entire body soft and weak, and the twin peaks on her chest were pressed into two flat mounds by the weight of her body against the bed, yet one could still see their firm and compact elasticity.

Although Hoshinomiya was older, her skin looked no different from Ichinose's; both were equally firm, smooth, and as supple as a young girl's.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, I think we need to pay extra attention to the movements of Sakayanagi and Katsuragi from Class A, as well as Ryuen from Class C."

"Ah~ mmm..."

"What about Class D?"

"For Class D, I think we just need to keep an eye on Horikita and Hirata," Ichinose said with a smile.

"There should be others, right... ah~"

Hoshinomiya twisted her waist slightly and turned her head to the side.

"Koenji, perhaps? I feel that although his academic and physical abilities are excellent, he doesn't seem to integrate well into the class..."

"That's not it, there's one more person~"

"Hmm..." Ichinose blinked. "Are you talking about Ayanokoji-kun?"

"That's right. My intuition tells me he's also someone who needs to be focused on."

"I don't think your intuition is very reliable, sensei..."

Ichinose pouted, and then, she was once again surrounded by the sultry moans of her homeroom teacher...

Ah~ refreshing!

Inside Sauna Room 2.

Ike and Sudo let out a blissful sound at the same time.

One thin and one muscular, they lay on the sauna beds to the left and right, with only short bath towels covering their nearly exposed buttocks.

"Hey, Ike, why have I been seeing you hanging out so closely with Ayanokoji lately? I remember you two weren't that close before, right?"

"Eh... really? Ah, about that..."

"Maybe we just suddenly found a common hobby!"

"..."

"Suspicious..." Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Sudo's mind, prompting him to jump up from the bed: "You guy, don't tell me you're into that?!"

"Y-y-you, what are you saying! Just think about it, that's impossible, right? Besides, in terms of our relationship, aren't I closer to you?"

Sudo was silent for a moment, then slumped back down as if deflated, muttering: "...That's true, too."

Mmm...~

"How about it? This is a pretty good spot, right~"

Inside Sauna Room 3, Ryuen said to Katsuragi beside him with a smug look on his face.

"Mmm~"

"Hey, hey~ don't tell me you've never been to a sauna before?"

Ryuen wore a playful, mocking expression as he sneered, "Don't get so comfortable that you lose the ability to speak; we have important matters to discuss later~"

"I've had steam baths many times before, but the technique this particular therapist uses feels exceptionally comfortable."

Katsuragi said, the corners of his mouth curling up as he glanced with satisfaction at the therapist working with their head bowed.

"Thank you for the compliment!"

"Hmph, you bald-headed fool, I knew you'd never experienced this level of high-end service."

"Fine, it's not too late to talk once you've finished enjoying yourself."

Ryuen watched Katsuragi's dazed expression and let out a scoff.

However... why was his own therapist's technique so mediocre?

Ahem~

Inside Sauna Room No. 4.

A blonde man lay flat on the sauna bed, his body fully stretched out.

He was covered in massage oil, his entire body appearing as if coated in a glowing film, shimmering with golden light under the sun.

His robust pectoral muscles rose and fell with his steady breathing, and his eight-pack abs looked like hard diamonds firmly embedded into his abdomen.

While enjoying the therapist's massage, he held a mirror to groom his hair, never once hesitating to praise himself every few moments.

"Ah~ I am truly beautiful."

On the second deck of the cruise ship, Ayanokoji walked along the deck with a listless air, his gaze somewhat unfocused.

The high-end sauna on this luxury cruise ship—he had missed out on it just like that.

For some reason, he had a feeling that this parting might be a final one.

Thinking this, his gaze grew even more vacant.

Quite by accident, while he was lost in his melancholy, he caught a glimpse of someone waving at him from above.

He looked up carefully and saw the girl with whom he had once shared shelter from the rain.

She was sitting upright by the window of the third-floor cafe, her gentle, watery eyes fixed upon him.

Ayanokoji shook off his disappointment and nodded at her, intending to go up and say hello.

It had been a long time since they last met; maintaining contact, even as ordinary friends, was necessary. This was knowledge he had learned from books.

Arriving at the cafe, Ayanokoji scanned the layout and precisely located the girl.

Seeing Ayanokoji approach, the girl's lips curved slightly, and a pure smile bloomed on her face.

"Long time no see, Ayanokoji-kun."

"Yeah, long time no see, Shiina."

Ayanokoji responded calmly. He took a slight measure of the girl and compared her to the others in Class C; she was like a lotus in a pond, managing to remain untainted despite growing in the muddy waters of the Class C ruled by Ryuen.

The temperament she exuded was completely at odds with the atmosphere of Class C, much like the highly educated intellectuals of the past who returned to the countryside after completing their studies.

Moreover, the most critical point was that Ayanokoji noticed there seemed to be no brand of Ryuen's tyranny on Shiina Hiyori. In other words, in Class C, Ryuen treated her as an equal and granted her a certain level of respect.

Good grief, could it be that all white-haired characters in 2D are never simple?

Seeing Ayanokoji standing there with a wandering mind after the greeting, his thoughts impossible to fathom, the girl tried to open the conversation: "Ayanokoji-kun, have you read any interesting novels lately?"

"I haven't specifically read any physical books recently."

Ayanokoji regained his focus and said calmly.

"So Ayanokoji-kun prefers reading virtual books? That's quite a surprise."

"...I suppose so."

Ayanokoji raised an eyebrow.

He couldn't exactly tell her that what he read were human beings.

That would be a bit too perverted.

Afterward, Ayanokoji spent the rest of the morning chatting with the girl in this question-and-answer format, mostly about books.

Although the process was somewhat subtly awkward, the two gradually became familiar with each other. For Ayanokoji, it could be considered a fairly meaningful morning, preventing him from wasting time in his cabin.

As for what the girl thought, she must have been happy, right?

Watching the girl waving her small hand and smiling goodbye in front of him, Ayanokoji thought to himself.

During the break after lunch, Horikita stood by the railing at the bow of the ship, her dark red eyes gazing intensely ahead, as if she wanted to see the full picture of something as quickly as possible.

In the direction the cruise ship was heading, at the very limit of her vision, a green isolated point was slowly approaching them, gradually expanding in Horikita's field of view.

A gust of chilly sea breeze blew by, and Horikita instinctively rubbed her arm, unconsciously casting her gaze toward the boy beside her who was also staring off into the distance.

He looked in the same direction with an indifferent expression, his hollow eyes making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.

Yet, even so, for some reason, Horikita had a strong intuition:

Ayanokoji had known all along that this was no simple trip.

The Hope Cruise, filled with joy, seemed to have already reached its destination.