Today, the weather was clear and perfect for going out.
"Wow~! The ocean! The ocean!"
The blonde, golden-eyed girl parked her tank marked "Class 2-3 Spare Equipment" and stepped onto the soft sand, letting out an excited shout.
The moist sea breeze hit my face, carrying a slightly salty scent. It felt like summer in full swing.
Naturally, I had also changed into appropriate beachwear.
Aside from the necessary swim trunks, I didn't want to outshine the sun with my sculpted, nearly perfect physique. So, I wore a thin jacket over it to avoid attracting too much attention.
Even so, it couldn't hide my natural charm. I imagined countless girls attempting to approach me today, and me having to politely refuse their advances, truly a troublesome thought.
Hifumi glanced sideways, trying to share her excitement with her companion: "Finally here! The real ocean, Azusa-chan!"
Azusa merely gave a small nod, her expression calm and unmoved: "…Yes, it's the ocean."
"Ah… am I the only one excited?" Hifumi scratched her head awkwardly, then asked, "Azusa-chan, is this your first time at the beach?"
I immediately furrowed my brow at that question.
What was that supposed to mean? You little Faust... were you implying Azusa might have been here before?
Clearly, this was a test to see if Azusa and I had secretly visited the beach without telling you!
At this point, to prove my innocence, I might have needed to say: Actually, I haven't been here either…
"So, how does it feel?" Hifumi pressed, eager to hear Azusa's thoughts. "A vast ocean filling your entire vision!"
"…Yes, it's truly moving, very nice. But," Azusa's tone shifted, "…because various problems occurred before coming here, or rather…"
The white-haired girl squinted and looked toward another direction: "They're still going on as we speak."
Following her gaze, Hifumi gave an embarrassed but polite smile: "I-I see…"
Over there, two members of the Justice Task Force, who had also participated in today's event, had just arrived at this part of the beach.
"Hehehe… guhehehehe!" Tsurugi let out an unsettling laugh.
"…Phew, finally here." Mashiro wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked up at the sky.
Changing into her swimsuit and glancing around at Tsurugi, she stuck out her tongue and laughed wildly.
Arriving at the beach seemed to excite Tsurugi even more, and she lost even more control over her actions, making her seem stranger than usual.
Well… you just get used to it. Probably.
At least when she's not letting loose, Tsurugi is just a normal, cute girl, both in appearance and personality.
Hifumi and Azusa, not familiar with Tsurugi and unaware of her true nature, exchanged glances, speechless.
"Ahaha…" Hifumi said, "So… what should we do now?"
"Let's proceed as usual," Azusa said calmly, then looked at me with a slightly suggestive tone:
"There's a clear plan today, so I'll follow all of sensei's instructions. Is that alright?"
I winked at her and patted my chest reassuringly: "Of course, absolutely."
The bronze serpent cross hanging around my neck swung slightly with the motion.
Azusa smiled faintly.
After yesterday's heart-to-heart, although nothing further had happened, our relationship had subtly changed.
Anyway, the barrier was already broken, the rest would naturally follow, no need to rush.
The important thing though, after almost a month of inactivity, the card finally responded.
——
Solidify Authority: [Madman's Insight]
Description: The holder gains the ability to hear the mutterings of a madman.
Source: Successfully captured Shirasu Azusa.
——
Why would calm, even-tempered, pure-hearted Azusa grant me such a strange power?
After sending her back to the dorm last night, I naturally wondered this while checking the card.
And in the next moment, a whisper truly sounded in my ear.
[The great light of Shiya symbolizes wisdom, yet also guides one toward madness.]
It was a gentle, delicate, somewhat hazy female voice. Clearly Azusa's authority at work.
I thought for a moment, then the "great light of Shiya" must refer to the moon, and Azusa's aura resembled a crescent moon.
So perhaps these "madman whispers" were explaining something to me?
Unfortunately, after that, no new whispers triggered, despite trying various methods. Perhaps it's completely random, or requires some specific condition I hadn't yet met.
Since the pattern was unknown, I set it aside for now. As long as it didn't randomly speak while I and the other students were excercising with Arona, It was gucci.
Retracting my thoughts, I inhaled deeply, raised one hand to my forehead and pointed with the other:
"Hifumi, you're looking at me, aren't you?"
"Eh!? I-I… I'm looking at the checklist!"
The blonde girl, cheeks slightly red, who had been sneaking glances at me, flustered and hid behind the paper in her hands:
"Well, 'Go to the beach with Tsurugi and complete the tasks on the list, and take photos as proof,' Hasumi-senpai told us. But even now, some things are still unclear."
Then, Hifumi, now almost composed: "Ahaha, anyway, I'm glad sensei is helping… If it were just me and Azusa-chan, I wouldn't be confident about doing everything right."
"…I see. So this is the monitoring side." Azusa exchanged glances with Mashiro, who had just come over to observe. "They're trying to prevent us from escaping, thoroughly watching us. Truly flawless, Justice Task Force."
Mashiro weakly replied: "No… it's not exactly like that…"
At this moment, the expressions of both girls were particularly hard to read.
Azusa narrowed her eyes, cautiously addressing Hifumi: "We mustn't be careless. Even if it's monitoring, we can't be sure they won't act behind our backs."
Hifumi shivered: "I-If we don't complete the mission properly… will they really pull out our fingernails…? Ahh…"
"Or perhaps their goal is simply to make us disappear during the operation."
This discussion made Mashiro even more awkward.
"Sensei," she whispered, "Are they usually like this?"
I sighed: "Though I'd like to say no…"
I only said half of it, but Mashiro seemed to understand the unspoken meaning.
After a moment, I asked the flustered Hifumi: "Can I see that checklist?"
"Ah, yes!"
Taking the summer vacation wish list, I quickly scanned through it.