The moment Amane returned to the classroom, Horikita rushed right over.
"Amane, what did Chabashira-sensei say to you?"
"Sigh..." Amane let out a long sigh, then rubbed her eyes.
"Don't cry! Whatever it is, tell me. We'll solve it together." Seeing Amane like this, Horikita immediately grabbed her hands.
If they weren't still in the classroom, she might have been bold enough to pull Amane into a hug.
"Chabashira-sensei said... 'Miyako really has it tough. Suzune, you must take good care of her, be more affectionate with her...' Waaah."
Horikita rapped Amane lightly on the head with a knuckle.
"Hmph, wasting my feelings. I should've known someone as unserious as you wouldn't actually be sighing like that."
"How is it wasting feelings? I was very brave, telling Chabashira-sensei I want to protect Suzune! Don't you want to know what she said?"
Amane deliberately leaned in close to Horikita, asking in a tempting tone.
"No."
Though a little curious, Horikita still refused. She knew Amane was surely about to make some embarrassing request. Like last time, when she made her wear that maid outfit...
And the black one...
"Eh? Suzune, aren't you curious at all?"
Amane was a bit disappointed, but she still planned to try harder. What if she succeeded?
Imagining Suzune in a maid outfit saying, "Master, please rest with me. You have to be gentle with me," or something like that.
Yeah.
If Horikita knew about such a daydream, she'd definitely deliver a triple-combo at the very least.
"Just looking at you tells me it's nothing serious. But I can give you a little reward."
Upon hearing 'reward,' Amane's ahoge instantly stood straight up.
"What reward??"
"You're in charge of dinner tonight."
Amane's face fell immediately.
"Suzune, you're so mean! How is that a reward?"
"We have swimming class this afternoon. We can take a bath together tonight."
"What would Suzune like for dinner? How about some creamy stewed chicken? And a plate of shrimp?"
Looking at Amane's silly grin, Horikita patted her head.
"Whatever you make is fine." Sigh. Looking at Amane like this, would she really be okay? Would she not get kidnapped just walking down the street?
--+--
Swimming class ended.
Since it was the last period, the pool needed to be locked up. To prevent students from sneaking in to play at night and causing safety hazards.
This important task was assigned to Amane.
The reason? Amane had secretly used her phone during swimming class to take pictures of Horikita.
When caught, she claimed it was 'for art' or something. In the end, the swimming teacher punished her by making her clean the area and lock up.
"Boo hoo, she deleted them again. But luckily I still have backups. Geez, even though we've bathed together, she's still so shy."
The bump on Amane's head was bright and striking. This was the result of Horikita throwing a punch upon discovering someone was taking sneak photos. After realizing it was Amane, Horikita felt a pang of guilt.
Then gave her a sanction-chop 2.0.
Looking at the photos in her phone, Amane broke into a happy smile. These recorded all the little moments of her life with Suzune.
Though most would probably require blurring.
After cleaning the area, the next task was to check for any stragglers—she meant, check if any students were still left.
Amane first made a round through the boys' locker room. Finding no one, she headed to the girls' locker room. At a glance, it seemed empty too.
Just as Amane was about to leave, she noticed a pair of shoes still inside one of the lockers. This meant at least one person was still here. And she was sure she'd checked everywhere else in the facility.
The only place she'd missed was... the terrace at the very top. But getting there required climbing a ladder. Surely no one would do something so dangerous?
Amane went to the back of the spectator terrace, where there was a partially concealed small door. It did show signs of having been opened.
She hadn't thought anyone would actually do something so dangerous.
Amane sighed and climbed up the ladder.
The moment her head cleared the top, two somethings hit her right in the face.
"Eek!"
The other person let out a shriek and quickly scrambled back. Amane desperately grabbed the handrail to keep from falling.
"You're... Sakura-san? What are you doing up here?"
Amane's expression was a bit...
Sakura-san was holding a digital SLR camera in one hand. She wore her school uniform unbuttoned, revealing a swimsuit underneath.
This kind of outfit looked somewhat... how to put it... not quite proper.
It wasn't that Amane was judging by appearances. But Sakura-san had, again, been an observer/on standby during today's swimming class and hadn't changed. This could only mean she had been wearing the swimsuit under her clothes the entire time she came here.
So likable—Ahem! So scandalous!!!
"I-I was just passing by. I'll leave right now."
Sakura said nervously, trying to move past Amane. But Amane blocked the only way down.
"Miyako-san...?" Sakura shrank back fearfully.
"Sakura-san, were you taking pictures just now?"
Hearing Amane's question, a blush immediately spread across Sakura's face.
"I wasn't taking... I was just taking some scenery shots."
She initially intended to deny it, but then realized saying she wasn't taking pictures while holding a camera would sound strange. So she hastily came up with an excuse.
"Then can you show me the scenery photos? I've never enjoyed the view from such a high place before."
Amane's request made Sakura hesitate.
"The photos are my personal belongings..."
"Coming up here privately is against school rules, you know? Sakura-san, you wouldn't want everyone to find out about you being dressed like this, would you?"
Sakura clutched her camera tightly, clearly still struggling.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Th-then... only Miyako-san can see them."
In the end, Sakura chose to compromise. She knew taking photos here was against the rules. But finding a secluded spot on campus was just too hard.
Taking swimsuit photos openly was even harder. In over a month, this was the only outdoor spot Sakura had found where she could take swimsuit photos undisturbed.
She never expected to get caught the very first time she tried. If everyone found out about this, she couldn't imagine how she could possibly stay in the class.
So she chose to compromise with Amane.
"That's a good girl."
Amane took the camera and started scrolling through the photos. She initially thought it was just Sakura's personal hobby, but the more she looked, the more something felt off.
That part sticking up so high... surely that was from some special pose, wasn't it?
Amane's face grew red just looking, but Sakura was even more embarrassed, covering her face with her hands.
"Sakura-san, you look really pretty without your glasses! Since I haven't taken any photos today, how about I take one for you? My photography skills are top-notch, you know~"
Amane attempted to coax—ahem, attempted to persuade Sakura to let her take a photo.
As for Amane's true intentions...
Did they even need to be said?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.