CH 27

When I arrived at the beach, as I expected, there were already many people there.

Anyway, I went to get a place, but it seems that Natsuki wasn’t here.

Lost, as I thought.

I had thought that she might get lost when there were so many people, but not this soon.

In order to go looking for her, I put down my luggage and started back the way I had just come.

☆ ☆ ☆ 

When I went back to the first place, I found someone who looked like Natsuki.

When I got a little closer, I found that it was Natsuki. However, there was something strange about her.

A group of big-burly men were swarming around Natsuki. What is that, are they hitting on her?

As I got closer, I heard a voice.

“You’re alone, right? Come play with us.”

“No, like I said, I came with my friends…”

“But they’re not here right now, are they? Some people are cruel to leave a pretty girl like you.”

“No, it’s just that I got separated….”

They seem to be a troublesome bunch. Even though she doesn’t like it, why are they not stopping?

“Hey, Natsuki”

“Ah, Yuuki kun !”

“Hey, hey, who are you? We’re talking to this girl right now.”

Rather than talking, it looks more like you were pressuring her. The people around who were just looking are cruel too.

“I’m Natsuki’s…”

“Boyfriend ! He’s my boyfriend !”

“Y-yeah. That’s right. What do you want with my girlfriend?”

Natsuki called me her “boyfriend” and clung to my arm.

I was quite surprised, but somehow I managed to nod without raising my voice.

Thinking about it calmly, it was certainly more convenient to call me her boyfriend.

“Tch, so you have a boyfriend…my bad.”

With that, those guys left. I was relieved that there was no violence.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Um, isn’t it time for you to let go of my arms?”

“Ah, I’m sorry !”

Natsuki shyly let go of my arm. Her soft thing was hitting me.

I took Natsuki to where everyone is and started playing with her.

At first we were playing just like normal, but halfway through the game, Natsuki and my sister started wanting to play some kind of game.

They seemed to be betting on something, but I didn’t know what they were betting on.

Since there was no choice, we all decided to play together. Segawa said she could just watch, so it was just me, Ishizaki, Natsuki, and my sister.

Game 1: Watermelon splitting

It was a game of luck to see who could split the watermelon more cleanly.

I got the edge and Ishizaki missed.

My sister split about half of it, and Natsuki split it neatly in the middle.

Well, Nagatsuki won.

By the way, the watermelon came out of Natsuki’s bag. I don’t know why she had it in her bag.

Game 2: Beach Flag

Me vs. Ishizaki, Ishizaki won.

Natsuki vs. My sister, My sister won.

When my sister and Ishizaki played in the final, my sister won very easily.

Natsuki and my sister had competed against each other in the preliminary round, so Ishizaki and I were slower than them. What a lame guys, we are.

Game 3: Water Pistol PVP

You win if you crush a paper balloon on your opponent’s head with a water pistol.

Segawa also joined the game at this point, perhaps wanting to mingle. So, it became a team game.

The teams were as follows.

Team 1: Natsuki & me

Team 2: My sister, Ishizaki, and Segawa

Since the number of players was different, team 2 lost if they got 2 pieces crushed.

As Natsuki and my sister started to fire each other, Ishizaki and I started to squash each balloon from the side.

I felt that I had little chance of winning in a two-on-one game, but that wasn’t the case, and I squashed Segawa’s balloon.

Team 1, in other words, Natsuki’s team, won.

Game 4: Sea cavalry battle

As the name implies, this is a cavalry battle played on the sea.

The teams were to play in pairs, but everyone wanted to play, so we drew lots to decide who would play.

As a result

Me and my sister

Natsuki and Segawa

Ishizaki became the referee.

Well, I’m glad that it didn’t turn out to be Ishizaki and my sister. It would’ve been very difficult.

My sister and I are used to this kind of thing, so we didn’t lose to Natsuki and Segawa.

My sister won.

So far, my sister and Natsuki are tied 2-2.

I was thinking about what to do next with the equipment I had, when I heard the following announcement,

[We’re going to hold a beach volleyball tournament. If you want to participate, please write your name on the board at the reception desk and wait nearby.]

Beach volleyball.

As I was thinking this, my sister and Natsuki started running. We couldn’t catch up with them, so we hurried to the reception desk and found that they had already written our names on the board.

The event seemed to be quite popular and there were quite a few participants. At the same time, there were quite a large number of spectators.

By the way, the team consisted of my sister, me, Natsuki, and Ishizaki. I felt bad that Segawa was only watching the game.

We had a little lunch and went to the game.

Beach volleyball

{Preliminary round}

Me and my sister were scoring well, with my mistakes being covered by her.

My sister picked up most of the balls wherever they fell, and I was reminded how great she is.

We won, of course.

Natsuki and Ishizaki were surprisingly in sync and covered each other well.

Natsuki’s spike was particularly powerful.

Our opponent couldn’t take a single step.

Natsuki and the others won this match, too.

{Semifinals}

In the semifinals, as expected, I’ve gotten used to it.

My sister picks up the ball, and I spike it. I was able to do this flow smoothly.

My opponent, perhaps haven’t watch  the preliminary round, was aiming more at my sister’s side, and she picked them up most of the time.

The result was our win.

Natsuki’s side had a pretty tough opponent, and the game was dragging on for a long time.

Especially the opponent who always picked up her balls.

However, their spikes weren’t that sharp, so Natsuki’s team had the advantage.

The result was a win for Natsuki’s team.

{Final}

As expected, my team and Natsuki’s team remained.

There were sparks scattering around my sister and Natsuki.

As soon as the game started, Natsuki’s team began their onslaught.

The ball seemed even faster than I had seen it earlier when I was on the receiving end. No, perhaps it was actually getting faster.

However, my sister also doesn’t let the ball drop very often. I tried my best, but my sister usually picked up the ball.

But still, I was getting tired, and the two of them were starting to move a little slower.

Natsuki’s spikes were no longer hitting from high places, and my sister wasn’t able to get from one end to the other.

In the end, Natsuki persevered, and she won.

As expected, Natsuki and my sister ended their rivalry here.

The result was 2 to 3, with Natsuki winning.

What were they betting on in the end?

“Hey, what were you two betting on?”

“Oh…you noticed. I think it’s which one of us would do as she pleased with Yuuki today.”

“Eh?”

“Like I said, which one of us will do as she pleases with Yuuki.”

“……”

I don’t want you to bet on me without my permission.

But, I know she won’t stop even if I tell her.

“Sigh…. Just don’t do anything strange.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything weird.”

I was worried that she would really do something weird, but I decided to leave it up to myself to decide what to do at that moment.

Hang in there, me.