A Date

"Ayanokoji, are you actually here to watch the play all by yourself?" At the entrance of the theater, Sawahara spotted a familiar face.

"Sigh, as you can see, I don't have any friends I could come to watch a play with." Hearing Sawahara's question, Ayanokoji sighed helplessly.

"In fact, I don't even have any friends I can hang out with."

"Is that so? That's truly pitiful." Sawahara gave Ayanokoji a deep look. "I won't bother you any further; the plays on this ship are actually quite good."

"Mm."

"Shiina."

"Yes?"

"We were only supposed to have one agreement last night, right?"

"That's not right, there were two. You were drunk, Sawahara-kun, so you remembered it wrong."

"But even so..." Sawahara looked somewhat helpless as he stared at the massage parlor, which was decorated with a distinctly feminine, pink aesthetic.

"If we're going to get a spa treatment, it's more convenient to come with a girl, isn't it?"

"I don't have any friends I could come with..." Shiina lowered her head, looking exceptionally pitiful.

The young masseuse standing nearby could barely watch anymore. Are you really complaining about getting a spa treatment with your own girlfriend?

Seeing Shiina like this, Sawahara couldn't bring himself to refuse again.

After all, the ship was chartered by the school, and since it was filled almost entirely with students, there were no illicit or special services to worry about.

Because they had arrived together, the masseuse only arranged a single room for them. Even when Sawahara offered to pay extra, the woman simply refused, stating that all services on the ship were complimentary.

However, even though they were in the same room, it didn't mean there was anything scandalous to see. There was a curtain between them for privacy, though some things simply couldn't be hidden.

"Mm... huff... ah... mm."

The soft moans drifting from behind the curtain from time to time were enough to make one's heart race.

The masseuse attending to Sawahara had a strange look on her face. Just a moment ago, she had witnessed a certain part of Sawahara's body stir, only for it to return to calm in the blink of an eye.

Could this guy be...

Sawahara didn't know what the masseuse was thinking. Having noticed his body undergoing a certain change, he had quickly used self-suggestion to suppress it.

After Sawahara and Shiina left the shop, the masseuse who had attended to Sawahara cleaned the massage table once more and sprayed some air freshener around the room.

"Shiina-san, we shouldn't have a third agreement, right?" Sawahara asked. Although his memories from after the drinking were a bit hazy, he didn't think he would have casually agreed to three separate requests.

"No, that's all." Shiina shook her head, then reminded Sawahara, "But it's almost one o'clock now. What are your plans for the rest of the day, Sawahara-kun?"

What else could he do at this hour? Naturally, he had to go to the restaurant to eat, and Shiina would surely be heading there as well.

After a moment of silence, Sawahara bowed in a gentlemanly fashion and asked Shiina, "Then, may I ask, beautiful Miss Shiina, what would you like to eat for lunch today?"

"My dear Mr. Sawahara, I would like to have steak for lunch today. Would that be alright?" Shiina reached out and offered her hand to Sawahara.

"Of course, beautiful Miss Shiina, this way please." Taking her hand, he bowed to kiss it, and the two headed toward the Western-style restaurant together.

"Was that Sawahara-kun, the one little Honami can't stop thinking about? To think he'd act like that with another girl." Hoshinomiya, who had just walked out of the spa, pulled Ichinose along and remarked.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, please don't use such misleading phrasing." Ichinose's face flushed red, and she quickly stopped Hoshinomiya from rambling. There was no such thing as her "not being able to stop thinking" about him.

"Sawahara-kun and I don't have any special relationship."

"Is that so? Really?" Hoshinomiya blinked, her expression clearly saying she didn't believe a word of it. "But come to think of it, Sawahara-kun was quite ruthless in the previous exam. To think he'd send a girl from Class D to act as a spy in Class B."

Speaking of this, Hoshinomiya puffed out her cheeks. If it weren't for their leader being exposed, their class would have been Class A by now.

"Don't say that." Ichinose shook her head. "Sawahara-kun was just giving his all for his class during the special exam."

"But you two..." Hoshinomiya really wanted to say that since they were so close, he could have just gone easy on them.

"It's precisely because we are friends that we must work hard together." Ichinose smiled. "That's what we promised each other."

Looking at her class leader, Hoshinomiya could only shake her head helplessly at such naive thinking.

"So, Shiina-san, our agreements are now fulfilled. May I head back?"

After lunch, Sawahara asked Shiina.

"Do you not like spending time with me, Sawahara-kun?" Shiina's face was filled with disappointment.

"..." How was he supposed to answer that? Sawahara thought for a moment. "Of course not, it's just that Ryuen is still in the dorm and hasn't had lunch yet. He messaged me to bring him some food, and I can't just leave him hungry in the room."

"Mm, wait a moment." Hearing Sawahara's words, Shiina didn't say much. Instead, she bent down and picked up a bag. She had been carrying it since they met in the morning, and he hadn't seen her open it once. Sawahara had been wondering what was inside.

"The buttons on your shirt fell off earlier, so I've sewn them back on for you."

Shiina handed the bag to Sawahara. Inside was the very shirt he had worn on the deserted island. When his class left, he had told them to take it back and throw it away—he couldn't pollute the island's environment, after all. He hadn't expected Shiina to have repaired it.

"Thank you so much, Shiina." Sawahara thanked her, genuinely surprised.

"No, it was nothing."

I said goodbye to Shiina and opened the door to the dormitory room, only to find Ryuen still inside.

"Didn't you go out to have some fun this morning?" Sawahara asked, somewhat surprised.

"I did go out, but I heard someone was going to bring me lunch, so I came back." Ryuen leaned against the headboard and raised an eyebrow.

"...Did Shiina tell you that?"

"Heh, you bastard, you really were focused when you were eating with that girl. I was actually eating lunch at the same restaurant as you." Ryuen sneered. He had been sitting right behind Sawahara at the time, and upon hearing Sawahara use such a lame excuse to slip away, he immediately decided to return to the room to tease him.

"...My apologies." What else could Sawahara say?

"Did Shiina see you at the time?" Sawahara asked again, holding onto a sliver of hope.

"She did, and she even said hello." Ryuen narrowed his eyes; it wasn't often he got to see Sawahara so deflated.

"..."

"So, where's my lunch?"