Shiina of Class C

"Hey, you. Big brother Ryuen wants you. Don't try anything funny—just come with me."

"Um... do I really have to?"

When Qiuyue said that, all the Class C students surrounding him turned to look.

"You do."

That was enough to snuff out Qiuyue's hopes of making a run for it. He had no choice but to give in.

"Fine. Please show me the way."

At that, the student turned and led Qiuyue along.

Qiuyue came before Ryuen and saw some sort of drink—or maybe alcohol—on the table, along with grilled meat. More importantly, there was a walkie-talkie.

"So it's you."

Qiuyue: (??? He knows me??)

"Um, I don't think we've met before, have we?"

"I've known about you for a while, Qiuyue Qi. You seem pretty close to Shiina from our class at the Library. But forget that—why are you here in our class?"

Ryuen lounged in a chair beneath a beach umbrella, wearing a swimsuit, and spoke as he ate one piece of meat after another.

"I told you, I really did get lost. I came to the wrong place."

Qiuyue said it without batting an eye.

Qiuyue: (The getting lost part is a lie, but I really did come to the wrong place. I was planning to visit Class A first.)

"Looks like we've got more guests. Ishizaki, go bring those two over."

Ryuen pointed toward Ayanokoji and Horikita, who had just emerged from the forest and were walking along the beach.

Ayanokoji and Horikita came before Ryuen, naturally ignoring Qiuyue as they started talking with Ryuen.

Ryuen also set Qiuyue aside, with Horikita capturing nearly all of his interest.

Qiuyue didn't mind. If anything, it was better to be treated like a nobody.

Even so, he wasn't paying the slightest attention to their conversation. Instead, he searched among the Class C students, looking around for someone.

The moment Qiuyue spotted that striking head of silver hair, he headed straight over without a second thought.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"It's fine, Ishizaki. Let him go. I can guess where he's headed."

"Hey, look who I found here—Shiina. Why are you reading here instead of swimming or surfing like everyone else? You don't get many chances like this, right?"

Shiina looked up at Qiuyue, blinking her violet eyes at him. A smile glimmered in her gaze, her lips curled up slightly, and her eyebrows lifted.

"What about you, Qiuyue? A Class D student came to Class C, and Ryuen didn't kick you out. He just let you come find me. That surprises me, too."

Qiuyue slowly came over to Shiina. She shifted to make room for him, and he sat down beside her. Their movements were so natural, it was as if they'd practiced them many times.

They sat very close. The space between their shoulders was barely ten centimeters.

"Really? Maybe Ryuen's actually a nice person."

Qiuyue said it in a half-joking tone.

"...Ryuen... a nice person..."

Shiina's voice broke up as if she'd heard an amusing joke.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, rested the book elegantly on her thigh with one hand, and covered her mouth with the other as she turned aside and giggled.

Seeing her like that, Qiuyue started laughing along, even though he couldn't tell what was so funny.

Qiuyue: (...Her skin is as white as snow, delicate and translucent, yet still full of color. She's so gentle and refined. Sigh... When I'm with her, everything feels so calm and peaceful, so natural and easy. What do you even call a feeling like this?)

The two of them laughed happily together, and Qiuyue began to study the distance between them.

Qiuyue: (...About ten centimeters, I guess. If I tried to close that distance, what would happen to our relationship...?)

(I almost fell for one of the three great delusions of life. Phew. No, I'd rather keep this distance forever than risk finding out. She only thinks of me as a friend who shares her love of books.)

"Shiina, is it really that funny? Ryuen does look like a little thug, but... no... I guess he really is a little thug..."

Even Qiuyue didn't sound sure of himself by the end.

"Be careful Ryuen doesn't hear you."

"Let him hear, then. I'm sure you'll protect me, Shiina, right?"

Qiuyue shamelessly said that, then flopped onto the ground like a 207-month-old baby.

Shiina propped herself up with one hand and leaned over to look at Qiuyue, who was sprawled on the ground in a shameless display. Her smile never faded as she said,

"The ground's dirty. You'll have sand all over you when you get up."

"Hey... can I just call you Shiina? Adding '-san' is such a pain. My mouth's getting dry."

"Sure. Then I'll just call you Qiuyue-kun, too. Qiuyue-kun, don't lie there. I only have plain water, but would you like some?"

Shiina didn't seem to mind that Qiuyue wanted to drop the honorific. She picked up a bottle of water beside her and handed it to him.

"Ah... thanks."

Qiuyue got up, took the bottle, and gulped down the water. Just as Shiina had predicted, his clothes were covered in sand at the back.

"Yes, yes," Shiina replied with a helpless smile. She radiated a motherly warmth as she gently brushed the sand off the back of Qiuyue's clothes.

Only then did Qiuyue realize what had happened.

"Wait... did I just drink your water? Sorry, Shiina. Do you have any left? Should I go back to my class and get you a bottle?"

...Even the author was surprised that Qiuyue was worried about the water, rather than the intimate gesture of Shiina brushing the sand off him.

"It's fine. I brought two bottles. The one I gave you was unopened."

Shiina wiped her hands with a handkerchief, then took out another bottle of water from beside her. She proudly held it up to show Qiuyue before putting it back where it had been.

Qiuyue didn't question her, since he'd already drunk a third of the bottle.

"I see..."

Qiuyue: (And here I was, getting my hopes up for nothing.)

After chatting for a while longer, Qiuyue decided it was getting late and prepared to leave Class C.

"Shiina, see you at the Library after the Special Exam. I'm heading out. Bye."

"Mm, bye, Qiuyue-kun."

They waved goodbye.

Qiuyue: (Where should I go next? I'll visit Class B first. It's about time I checked how things are going. I can ask them where Class A is while I'm at it.)

Before long, Qiuyue reached Class B's camp.

"Oh! It's Qiuyue-kun! Welcome!"

Handsome guys and beautiful girls, take a look at the author's note, would you? There's something I need to say.