Chapter 19: A Brief Rest

A few days later, we had come to our usual shopping mall. It has all sorts of stores, so you can pretty much find anything you need here—super convenient.

"Is this the swimwear section?"

"Yep, there’s a ton of stuff~"

Rows of colorful bikinis, one-piece swimsuits closer to competitive styles, and even swimsuits that looked like short dresses lined the racks. Deeper inside, beach goods like sunscreen, hats, picnic sheets, and cooler boxes were neatly arranged.

"What kind are you thinking of getting, Aika-chan~?"

"Me? Let me see…"

I know it sounds like I’m bragging, but this body has really good proportions. I don’t even have to push anything up—there’s naturally a bit of cleavage. So if I want something that takes advantage of that, then…

"Probably… a bikini. But showing too much skin is embarrassing, so… I’d like a pareo as well."

"Mm-hm, I think that’s perfect~. What about you, Masa-chan?"

"I’m not sure which one is good, so I’ll leave it to you."

"Hehe, then I have to choose something nice for you~. For Masa-chan… hmm, maybe a one-piece would be best…"

And so we each began picking out our swimsuits. I couldn’t help feeling excited to see what Masa and Maiha would choose.

"Aika-chan, how’s it going~? Have you decided~?"

"Yes, I have. And you?"

"I’ve pretty much got mine too~"

"I see. In that case…"

Time to try them on and show each other. With that decided, I changed into the swimsuit I’d picked out first.

"This is the one I went with. What do you think?"

It was a bikini in pale blue that matched my eyes, decorated with sky-blue flowers and ribbons, trimmed with white frills. I had a few contenders, but in the end this felt like the best choice.

"Wow, it’s super cute~!"

"Amazing."

"I’m delighted you both seem pleased. Now then, it’s your turn."

Their reactions were very positive. Even I had trouble looking away from the fitting-room mirror earlier—it was me, but I couldn’t stop staring.

After putting my uniform back on, it was Maiha and Masa’s turn. I waited, wondering what kind of swimsuits they had chosen.

"We’re done~ ta-da!"

"Does this look all right?"

Maiha wore a light green string bikini with a short skirt attached. With her taller height and glamorous figure, it highlighted her strengths while still giving her a cute vibe.

Masa, on the other hand, wore a one-piece with a short skirt—light blue with pink floral patterns. It leaned a bit youthful, but since she was shorter than me and Maiha, it suited her perfectly.

"You both look absolutely wonderful. They suit you very well."

"Right~? Ehehe~"

"I don’t really understand, but if it suits me, then that’s good."

Ahh… even if it’s only for a short time, getting to admire two cute girls in swimsuits is pretty great. Now I’m even more excited for our trip to the beach.

After buying the swimsuits—plus hats, float rings, a parasol, and all the other essentials—and after finishing lunch, we exited the shopping mall, only to run into a certain adult.

"Aika, Maiha, Masa. Hello—are you three out together?"

It was our Sensei from Schale. He currently handles the Make-Up Work Club at Trinity, but I wonder if he has some business here today.

"Oh my, Sensei. Yes, we came to buy swimsuits."

"I see. My group from the Make-Up Work Club said they wanted to watch a movie as a study break, so I came along as their chaperone, but…"

"But?"

"I got separated from them, so I stepped outside to regroup. Well, I contacted them, and with those four, they should be fine even without me keeping an eye on them…"

"I see~. Come to think of it, what kind of students are in the Make-Up Work Club~?"

Maiha’s question jogged my memory. Right—when we were planning to look into the Make-Up Work Club recently, the plan was to first talk to Sensei and confirm the members.

"The Make-Up Work Club? Let’s see… Hifumi, Hanako, Azusa, Koharu. Why do you ask?"

As soon as she heard that, Maiha pulled out a notebook from nowhere and began jotting down the information. I glanced over and noticed she had written full names, even though only given names were mentioned. Does that mean she already had suspects in mind and was just confirming…? Or could it be that she’s memorized every student’s full name in all of Trinity…?

"Hmm, hmm… Ah, don’t worry, Sensei~. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m confident in my academics, so I thought I could help them out~"

"If you’re willing to help, that would be a huge relief."

As we were talking, the shopping mall suddenly grew noisy. Students burst out of the building, running away.

"Oh my… Something unusual seems to be happening. Could it be delinquent students causing trouble?"

This mall does have a bit of a history, after all. As those unpleasant memories surfaced, Sensei hurried back inside.

"I don’t know what’s going on, but the Make-Up Work Club is in there. I need to get to them quickly. You three be careful too."

"Understood. Please take care as well, Sensei."

"Bye-bye~"

"If there’s an incident, should we also go help suppress it?"

Masa turned her gaze toward the mall. Hmm… but we already finished our errands… There’s really no reason to go back.

"If it’s just some delinquents causing trouble, I think we can leave it to Seimitsu~"

"I feel the same… I’d hate for anything to damage the things we just bought."

"…That’s true. There may be no need to intervene."

And so, we decided to head home before we got dragged into something troublesome.

By the way, according to what we heard later, the commotion wasn’t caused by delinquents at all—it happened because the security patrol robots experienced a system error and malfunctioned all at once. Sounds strangely familiar…