In the afternoon, even more students gathered in the pool, it was crowded everywhere.
Although we were a group of more than 10 people, when it was crowded, there would inevitably be people who got lost. So we temporarily disbanded and planned to gather again once the place was not that congested.
I believed the timing was perfect, so in order to act alone, I quietly moved away from Horikita and the others.
However, when I was ready to spend the time leisurely, someone pulled my arm.
"A-Ayanokouji-kun."
When I turned my head in order to follow the origin of the sound, Sakura was standing there looking at me concerned.
"There's quite a lot of people..."
"Yeah, let's go to the corner."
Sakura and I are not good at coping with big crowds. If possible, I really didn't want to be in the crowd. Sakura was also unlikely to reject it, so after I got her consent, we began to walk towards the windows of the facility.
"Ah, awa, please wait a moment! ...Puwa!"
After I heard a yelling, I turned around and saw Sakura, who was almost getting swallowed by the crowd.
She desperately extended his hand toward me, but she still looked a bit polite. Since it looked interesting, I observed it for a moment. Even though I obviously didn't move a step, Sakura was more and more away from me.
I believed if I kept doing nothing, it would be impossible to find Sakura later, so I approached her and grabbed her arm.
If Sakura had her skin exposed, her resistance would've been a bit stronger. It was fortunate that she was wearing a jacket.
"T-thank you."
"It was really dangerous."
In order not to get scattered with Sakura, we followed the wall.
"Are you not going to swim?
"I'll pass. And I'm not good at swimming... and you Ayanokouji-kun, are you not going to swim?"
She felt sorry that I was staying with her and looked cowered. Since there were a lot of people, her wariness was stronger than usual.
"I already swim during classes."
"But..."
"Am I causing you trouble by staying with you?"
"No, it's totally not like that! I'm happy, I'm very happy ..."
I decided to tease Sakura for answering like that.
Of course, I did all this also for her sake.
"Then I'll just go swim a bit."
I called on Sakura to remove her top. Even if we entered the pool wearing that, we wouldn't be reprimanded, but I deliberately did that, in order to cut off Sakura's escape.
"Eeeeh...!?"
"With so many people here, it's not going to be conspicuous. After all, our inconspicuousness had been evaluated with high marks."
"That is, ah, although it's true..."
Sakura also knew her presence was nonexistent.
"but I'm very embarrassed..."
"Nobody is watching."
"A-Ayanokouji-kun is watching..."
So it was like that... this is really strange. Then –I said this while I moved away my gaze.
"I'll try my best not to look at you, is that okay?"
"I-I understand..."
Has she mustered enough courage? I heard sounds of friction of her coat from behind.
Because I wasn't looking, the sound felt very real, it kept resonating in my head, making me almost have strange feelings. This is not okay, this is not okay – I shook my head to get rid of the worries.
"I-it's done..."
"Then... let's go."
"Yes...!"
I did not turn my head and I extended my hand backwards. In order not to get lost, Sakura, showing a slight concern, held my hand.
Facing this kind of strange situation, I couldn't help but laugh a bit.
Translation: Mp4directs Community