Chapter 132: Is this... a scam?

In response to Ichinose's question, Kanda Shuichi thought for a moment and realized it would be hard to explain everything over the phone.

"Let's talk in person. How about that?"

"Mm, sounds good. So where should we meet?"

Kanda Shuichi's request was something Ichinose, who had lost the initiative, couldn't refuse. Plus, Kanda Shuichi wasn't asking for anything unreasonable.

"Let's meet on the deck on the second floor. There's a cold drinks shop nearby. I often rest there."

"Alright, I'm heading over now."

After confirming the location, Kanda Shuichi folded the paper he had in his hands and placed it in his bag. He decided he would tell Hirata about the rules, but he wasn't ready to share the specifics just yet.

After storing the paper, Kanda Shuichi placed the notebook Hirata had given him earlier on the table and left the room.

Once outside, he immediately felt the humid heat from being on the sea.

Once Kanda Shuichi stepped onto the deck, the smell of the sea hit him, giving him a refreshing feeling. 

The boys' rooms were on the third floor. Kanda Shuichi walked down a corridor and took a staircase to reach his destination. Looking at the empty deck, he ordered a glass of watermelon juice from the snack bar. 

In Japan, watermelon is quite expensive, so watermelon juice is considered a luxury drink. However, everything on this ship was free, so Kanda Shuichi didn't hesitate to order it.

He had drunk a lot of soda, so having something healthy felt good.

"Kanda-san."

While waiting for his watermelon juice to be made, Kanda Shuichi heard Ichinose's call. Looking up, he saw Ichinose standing on the third-floor deck, waving at him with a smile.

From Kanda Shuichi's angle, he could just about see a glimpse of what was under Ichinose's white pleated skirt.

Her black over-the-knee socks were topped with a small area of bare skin, and above that, her mysterious area was surprisingly white, not black... 

Such purity, Ichinose-san.

However, Kanda Shuichi didn't get to enjoy the view for long. Ichinose soon turned and came down the spiral staircase from the third-floor deck to stand next to him.

"Um, could I have an iced Americano, please?"

After a brief glance at Ichinose Honami, Kanda Shuichi picked up his watermelon juice and went to sit under a nearby umbrella.

"I'll wait for you over there."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, Kanda Shuichi was checking the school forum on his phone when Ichinose pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.

"About the exam, Kanda-san, what are you planning to do?"

"Not much. I just hope you can assist me at the meeting. I want to settle everything in tonight's discussion. I prefer a relaxed atmosphere, so if the meeting keeps going like it did today, I might feel a bit awkward."

Kanda Shuichi was straightforward. There was no need to beat around the bush with someone like Ichinose; he wasn't Ryuen.

Although, even with Ryuen, Kanda Shuichi didn't seem to like dragging things out. It was actually easier to communicate with that guy—once the stakes were clear, Ryuen knew what to do. However, for this situation, Kanda Shuichi was more inclined to cooperate with Ichinose.

"Is there anything we need to do?"

"Just support my decisions when the time comes." Kanda Shuichi smiled. "Of course, I might make some tough demands, but I hope you don't mind. I won't make things too difficult for you."

"Ah, haha." Ichinose gave a wry smile. "Then, please be gentle with me, Kanda-san."

How could she argue? Now, Kanda Shuichi held the knife, and she was the fish. What could she possibly say?

But if Kanda Shuichi's conditions were too harsh, or if they were worse than losing 150 points, Ichinose would have to resist.

Ichinose tried to probe Kanda Shuichi a little more, but he firmly kept his thoughts to himself, not revealing anything.

Just because I saw your underwear doesn't mean I'll soften up. I've seen Kushida's too.

After Ichinose left, Kanda Shuichi decided it was time to eat. After spending most of the day in discussions, it was already evening, the time for dinner.

"Ah, there you are! Shuichi, want to grab dinner together?"

Miyake, wearing a white t-shirt and beach shorts, waved at Kanda Shuichi from the third-floor deck.

"Akito, you sure picked the perfect time to show up. I was just about to go eat."

"I saw you weren't in your room, so I thought you might be here."

With that, Miyake walked down the stairs and stopped at the cold drink shop. "A Pepsi with ice, please."

"Have you gotten hooked on cola recently? Be careful with all the sugar; you'll gain weight. You don't want to end up like that guy from the other village, right?"

Kanda Shuichi stood up from his seat, threw the empty watermelon juice cup into the nearby recycling bin, and walked over to Miyake.

"I do exercise, you know. I swam for quite a while this afternoon." Miyake replied casually, but then his tone shifted to one of awe as he added, "But Koenji is really something. His speed and endurance are on a whole different level. I can't compare to him."

"That guy? You can tell he's a monster just by looking at his build. Why would you even compare yourself to him?"

Kanda Shuichi rubbed his forehead. Why would anyone compare themselves to someone like that? It's just strange.

Looking at Kanda Shuichi, Miyake sighed. "Yeah, he's a monster, but I'm going to keep working hard."

Kanda Shuichi didn't quite get why Miyake was so motivated to work out lately. Was it because of Hashibara? If so, then I can only wish you luck, Akito!

"Your cola's ready. Let's go eat."

Kanda Shuichi had been eating three meals a day lately, never missing one. After a few months, his weight had almost reached 60 kg. But with his height of 183 cm, he still looked quite slim.

After eating with Miyake, it wasn't even 7:00 PM yet. The evening discussion session would be from 8:00 to 9:00 PM, so Miyake planned to go back to his room to rest for a bit. He had swum all afternoon and needed to recover.

After reminding him not to be late, Kanda Shuichi decided to take a walk around the ship.

On the first-floor deck, Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka were hiding in a secluded corner, doing something.

Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka stood about a meter and a half apart. Hasebe Haruka stood casually with one hand on her hip, smiling as she looked at Sakura Airi.

Sakura Airi, on the other hand, had her head down, blushing, staring at the deck, and was mumbling something.

"Kanda-kun, please, please, please… with me... uh... go... g-go—"

She couldn't finish her sentence after all that time.

"Sigh, Airi-chan, if you don't say it out loud, even if Kanda-kun is really smart, he still won't get it." Hasebe Haruka sighed as she watched Sakura Airi's struggle.

"But, but, but... I really can't say it..." 

It seemed like the nervousness from earlier hadn't worn off. Even though she was talking to her good friend Hasebe Haruka, Sakura Airi's words kept trailing off.

"Airi-chan, I'm not the real Kanda-kun in front of you right now. If you can't even say it to me, pretending to be him, you'll probably faint if you talk to the real Kanda-kun, right?"

Hasebe Haruka felt for her new friend. Sakura Airi clearly liked Kanda Shuichi but couldn't bring herself to talk to him.

Even though she had offered to pretend to be Kanda Shuichi to help her practice, it wasn't enough to help Airi overcome her fear.

Sigh, what am I going to do? Hasebe Haruka groaned inwardly.

No, I need to encourage her!

"Airi-chan! You can do it! Think of me as Kanda-kun and give it your best shot!" Hasebe Haruka placed both hands on Sakura Airi's shoulders and nodded at her.

"Okay, I'll try again?"

At that moment, Sakura Airi seemed unsure, but after seeing Hasebe Haruka nod, some newfound courage suddenly appeared within her.

"Kanda, Kanda-san..."

"Yeah, Airi-chan, go ahead! Say it!" Hasebe Haruka encouraged Sakura Airi.

"Pl-please go on a date with me!"

Sakura Airi's mind went blank. At that moment, she had only one thought: I said it, I actually said it.

"A date? Sakura-san, you like girls?"

Kanda Shuichi, who had just walked into the area, happened to overhear Sakura shout, "Please go on a date with me!" before turning the corner. After rounding the corner, he saw Sakura Airi bowing to Hasebe Haruka.

He was stunned. "Wait, what? Am I surrounded by the scent of Tachibana?"

This was why he had asked, "Sakura, you like women?"

How many men would cry over this!

Hasebe Haruka was also startled by Kanda Shuichi's sudden appearance, as she hadn't expected him to show up here.

Sakura Airi's reaction was even more exaggerated. Although her mind had gone blank just now, she definitely heard Kanda Shuichi's words.

No way, is this a joke?

Sakura Airi turned her head, and when she saw Kanda Shuichi's unique face in her line of sight, her mind went blank again.

Then...

Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted, her body falling towards Kanda Shuichi.

What the hell?

Although confused about the situation, Kanda Shuichi quickly took two steps forward, reached out his hands, and caught the falling Sakura Airi, pulling her into his arms.

Sakura Airi was no doubt the second most popular girl among the boys in the class, and when he caught her, Kanda Shuichi felt the softness of her body.

Hasebe Haruka, who had initially been nervous and wanted to help Sakura Airi, paused her steps. 

Not only that, she pulled out her phone and started taking several photos of Kanda Shuichi holding Sakura, the flash going off so brightly that Kanda Shuichi had to squint.

What the hell?

Kanda Shuichi's first reaction was... Did I just walk into a trap?

He quickly shook his head. Sakura wasn't that kind of person, so what is Hasebe-sensei up to?

"Hey, stop taking pictures and come over here to help."

Although the feeling of holding a soft and beautiful girl was pleasant, Kanda Shuichi knew if this went on much longer, it would be difficult to control himself. After all, he was a 16-year-old boy, and his body was at the peak of energy.

If something happened now, who would be embarrassed?

"Airi-chan, such a beautiful girl in your arms, Kanda, don't you want to hold her a little longer?" Hasebe Haruka slowly put away her phone and walked up to help Kanda Shuichi lift Sakura Airi.

"What happened to Sakura? Why did she suddenly faint? Is it anemia? Should we take her to the infirmary?" Kanda Shuichi frowned deeply.

"She's fine, don't worry, she was probably just too excited," Hasebe Haruka said nonchalantly, seeming to be used to such situations.

"You stay here with her. I'll go get Sensei."

"No need, really," Kanda Shuichi said, as he and Hasebe Haruka carefully laid Sakura Airi down on the deck. Kanda Shuichi checked her breath, and it seemed normal.

Still, he wasn't entirely reassured, so he stood up to take out his phone to call Chabashira-sensei.

However, as he stood up, he suddenly noticed that Sakura Airi's eyelids seemed to move.

No way, is she pretending?

"By the way, Hasebe-san, could you delete the photos you just took?"

Since Sakura was fine, Kanda Shuichi decided to deal with Hasebe for taking pictures while his hands were occupied.

"Are you trying to frame me with this evidence?"

"Eh? I won't spread it, don't be so petty. I also want the person involved to know about your heroic rescue of a damsel in distress, Kanda-san," Hasebe Haruka said with a sly grin, looking at the Sakura Airi who was lying on her lap.

"No way, what if you use these photos to accuse me of assaulting Sakura-san? I don't want to get expelled."

Hasebe Haruka tilted her head, looking confused. "Why would you think of such a dark scenario with such an emotional photo?"

"I swear I won't do that," Hasebe Haruka said, raising her right hand.

"No, no, it's just not happening," Kanda Shuichi said firmly. "If you really want to keep them, you have to let me check the photos first."

Seeing Kanda Shuichi's serious expression, Hasebe Haruka had no choice but to pull out her phone.

"Here, take it."

After receiving Hasebe's phone, Kanda Shuichi opened the photo album and started checking the photos. Aside from the ones of him holding Sakura Airi, there were also some selfies and pictures of Sakura and her together.

He didn't look at the rest, only deleting the few photos that seemed problematic before returning the phone to Hasebe Haruka.

After getting her phone back, Hasebe Haruka immediately began checking.

"Ah... you really did delete everything, didn't you?"

Hasebe sighed and put the phone away.

"Well, if there's no problem, I'll be leaving then."

After glancing at Sakura, who was still pretending to be unconscious, Kanda Shuichi left.

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