"Alright, let's start beach volleyball!"
Hifumi held the ball with both hands, presenting it like a treasure: "This time, I really prepared the beach volleyball properly!"
Mashiro, standing beside her, calmly undermined her: "Actually, Sensei just went to the nearby convenience store and bought the ball, right?"
"Ugh…" Hifumi blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry for always being so forgetful… and thanks, Sensei."
I shook my head with a smile. "It's nothing. Just running an errand, it's not worth thanking me for."
I forgave Hifumi's clumsiness, and I hoped that one day, if she learned that when she went shopping alone, I went on a little date with Azusa at the momofriends store we had talked about, and our relationship quickly deepened, she could take it in stride.
Though I was slightly worried that Azusa might blurt something out.
Looking around, Hifumi sighed softly: "It feels so quiet… fewer people nearby, no delinquent girls on the beach… I guess nothing will happen this time."
I nodded. "Yeah, they're probably distracted by something else. They can't be following us forever."
Unless, of course, they truly coveted my body.
Seeing the blonde girl sigh again, her gaze tired as if lifeless, I asked with concern:
"Hifumi, are you okay? You look exhausted, want to rest a bit first?"
"Ah? N-no…" She seemed half-surprised by my concern, waving her hand quickly, then hesitated: "It's just… I've been thinking… where did it all go wrong?"
She let out a cute sigh: "Ah… the beach vacation I imagined… it wasn't supposed to be like this… At first, I just wanted to come see the sea with Sensei and Azusa… and if possible, spend happy times together with everyone…"
Azusa tilted her head, puzzled: "I'm really happy now, you know? Doing all these things with Sensei… and with Hifumi. Aren't you happy, Hifumi?"
"No, well, I am happy… but, how should I say… if it's a summer vacation…"
Hifumi paused, choosing her words carefully: "It shouldn't involve being half-forced to do tasks nervously, drinking weird sea cucumber juice, or being attacked by delinquents over and over… And every time we try to do something, someone comes running, shouting 'Finally found you!' and ruins it…"
From Tsurugi's sullen expression, I could see she agreed with Hifumi's words.
So in Kivotos' general view, is summer really not supposed to be like this?
I remained skeptical.
Just then, as if responding to the flag Hifumi had just raised, a familiar female voice rang out using almost exactly the same phrasing as before:
"Finally found you! You're here!?"
"It was so hard to find you! Hiding in a place like this!"
Of course, it was the same group of delinquent girls again.
I couldn't help but think, they really have a crush on me, don't they?
After a brief moment of shock, this was already the fifth time we were dealing with them, and everyone expertly handled the suppression.
But this time, things were slightly different. After defeating them, Hifumi and I discussed it and decided to take them as "captives."
"Guh! W-what do you want to do!?"
One delinquent, tied up tightly, still shouted: "Don't think that because you've beaten us a few times, we'll submit to you!"
Another chimed in loudly: "That's right! Even though we're delinquents, we have our own pride! You can destroy our bodies, but you'll never crush our hearts!"
Judging by their stubbornness despite repeated defeats, it was hard not to think, are these kids a little thick-headed?
It seemed I had to step in, as someone who hadn't had a direct confrontation with them before, and who had already communicated normally with one of them.
I told Hifumi and the others to stay calm, then approached the delinquents, crouching down, and asked with a puzzled expression: "Why would I want your hearts?"
The delinquents were all momentarily taken aback, then erupted into a small commotion.
After the chatter settled, their leader swallowed nervously and asked, voice shaking: "W-what do you want to do with us?"
I reassured them: "Don't be so nervous. I just need a small favor. Look, you and my students, haven't we gotten to know each other through a little conflict?"
The delinquents pouted: "From the start, we were being beaten one-sidedly!"
"You started the attack in the first place," I emphasized, then switched to a coaxing tone: "But what I'm asking could be good for you too. Would you like to try a fair match with them? Maybe this time, you could actually win once."
The key was the last part.
I thought their desire to win, the one delinquent who cried during my interview, was a shared feeling among them.
Sure enough, their emotions stirred again, and they eagerly agreed to battle once more.
I signaled Hifumi, who was waiting behind me, to come forward and explain.
"Beach volleyball is a sport played on sand in teams of two… though, I've only played six-person volleyball in Trinity's PE classes, so I'm not very familiar with beach volleyball rules."
"Huh? Why are we suddenly talking about volleyball?" one freed delinquent impatiently asked. "How are we supposed to fight? One-on-one? Or what?"
Hifumi replied calmly: "Well, there are only four of us. If we divide ourselves into teams, there aren't enough players… so this time, we'd like to ask you to be our opponents!"
She held the volleyball, looking hopefully at the suddenly silent delinquent girls.
"So… that 'fair match' the adult mentioned… means you want us to play make-believe volleyball with you?"
Hifumi nodded cheerfully.
Learning the truth, the delinquent who had just been shouting suddenly exploded in anger: "What a joke! This ridiculous game... we can't possibly—"
I cleared my throat, drawing their attention again.
Tsurugi quietly moved behind Hifumi and silently grinned.
The delinquent's next words got caught in her throat, only letting out gasping sounds.
"…We really want to play! We really want to play!" she shouted. "Please let us join!"
"Ha, haha… I've wanted to play beach volleyball for so long, wow∼"
"Playing beach volleyball with everyone∼ I'm so excited, yay∼"
And just like that, we reached an agreement with the delinquent mobs.