(Bonus at 100 power stone)
Let's shift the perspective back to a day ago.
"Tada! How does this one look?"
Inside the department store, Kagamihara Nadeshiko spun around, showing off her swimsuit to Asakura, who was sitting on a chair waiting for the girls to change.
The girl's swimsuit was mainly pink and white, an adorable yet practical style adorned with black bows. it seemed to fit her optimistic and energetic personality perfectly.
"Mhm, it's quite light and refreshing," Asakura praised sincerely.
"Is it just my imagination? I feel like Asakura-san is emphasizing the word 'light' an unusual amount," the girl asked cutely, tilting her head.
"...It's your imagination."
Asakura looked away.
After all, he had seen Hitori's "fruits" before they set off. Compared to that visually impactful fullness, although Nadeshiko's "handful" looked healthy, beautiful, and elastic, it was clearly at least one level lower.
In short, she wasn't "wealthy" enough!
"Anyway, where's Hitori?" Asakura asked the girl.
"Ah, as for Gotoh-san... she seems too embarrassed to come out of the changing room."
The simple-minded Kagamihara Nadeshiko was immediately distracted by Asakura's change of subject. She scratched her cheek and said with a wry smile, "The swimsuit she chose before wasn't even that revealing..."
"Go tell her," Asakura said to Kagamihara Nadeshiko, "if she doesn't come out."
"If she doesn't?" The girl looked at Asakura in confusion.
Asakura smiled slightly. "Then I'm going in."
"Eh? In? In where? Wait, do you mean the women's changing room? Eh? Isn't that a bit..."
Nadeshiko's face turned bright red, and she looked completely flustered.
"Don't worry about it," Asakura gave her a thumbs-up to indicate she shouldn't take it seriously. "Hitori would never dare take that risk; she'll definitely choose to come out on her own. So don't worry about me actually entering the women's changing room."
"I-I see..."
Nadeshiko breathed a sigh of relief. "That's true. Asakura-san certainly wouldn't suddenly burst into the women's changing room, even if Gotoh-san really didn't come out..."
Asakura mused for a moment and said, "At that time, I'll perform a Domain Expansion first."
As long as he paralyzed all the surveillance cameras and phones so he couldn't be filmed, it wouldn't matter since there would be no video evidence!
Kagamihara Nadeshiko: "?"
Evidently, the girl did not grasp Asakura's meaning.
Asakura didn't explain. Instead, he signaled her to hurry back in and get Hitori out.
Though Nadeshiko didn't quite understand, she followed Asakura's instructions, went inside, and repeated his words to Hitori.
A moment later, Hitori appeared before Asakura, acting very coy and hesitant.
Asakura, who had been quite expectant, stared blankly for a moment at the girl's swimsuit, which was a strange piece somewhat resembling a bumblebee bodysuit.
"I-It's original, and the fabric coverage is very large... Even though it uses more fabric, the price is about the same as other bikinis... The price-performance ratio is very high...!"
Hitori explained her choice somewhat bashfully, then stared at Asakura expectantly, seemingly waiting for his praise.
That kind of pitiful look from the girl had a very strong effect on Asakura.
However, just as he was about to give in, Kagamihara Nadeshiko spoke up from the side. "Don't spoil Gotoh-san so much! Choosing a swimsuit like this when she has such a good figure is simply a waste of sweet things!"
Asakura glanced at her, thinking she probably meant a waste of God's gifts.
It seemed Nadeshiko's grades in language weren't very good.
"And she'll be wearing this swimsuit the whole time at the beach later. Asakura-san, do you really not mind!" The girl was unaware that her grades were being looked down upon by the top student of Sobu High's grade level and was still trying to egg him on.
Hearing her words, Asakura also snapped out of it, shaking off the charm of Hitori's pitiful appearance.
"You're right. If it were just a joke, it would be fine, but we are actually going to the beach... So, Hitori, do you plan to take it off yourself, or should I help you?"
Asakura said to his girl with a beaming smile.
"Eh? This one is no good?" Hitori was stunned.
"No." Asakura made an 'X' with his arms in front of his chest.
"An instant answer?!" The girl looked extremely distressed. "B-but I don't know which one to choose either..."
"Then I'll choose."
"I bet Asakura-san will choose a string bikini," Nadeshiko whispered.
"String? String!" Hitori was completely frozen.
"How did you know?!" Asakura looked shocked.
"Well, you are a boy, after all." Kagamihara Nadeshiko stood with her hands on her hips and her chest puffed out, looking like an expert.
To be honest, the girl looked quite pleasant to the eye doing that pose in a swimsuit.
"Unfortunately, you guessed wrong." Asakura shook his head.
"Huh? You won't choose that?" Nadeshiko was a bit surprised.
"If she were just wearing it at home for me to see, that would be one thing. But with so many people at the beach, I feel a bit unhappy thinking about others seeing her."
Asakura honestly chose to face his own desires.
"Oh~ You're surprisingly possessive. What do you think, Gotoh-san?" Nadeshiko asked Hitori cheerfully.
"A-anything is better than a string bikini..."
It was clear that Hitori was also quite resistant to showing too much skin.
"In that case, how about this one?" Kagamihara Nadeshiko ran to the merchandise area and picked out a swimsuit.
The swimsuit was primarily black and was a very common two-piece style. If there was any small "clever" design to it, it was a cat-head-shaped cutout at the chest. When worn by a girl of a certain "scale," the abyss could be clearly observed.
"Although it's better than a string bikini... I still feel a bit..." Hitori's face was written all over with 'I don't want to wear this.'
"When you actually need to wear it, you can just wrap a piece of cloth like an apron around your lower half." Asakura secretly gave Kagamihara Nadeshiko a 'good job' gesture while speaking to Hitori.
"T-then let's go with that..."
Although Hitori still felt that the bumblebee piece she chose was more avant-garde and fit her rock persona better, Asakura had already spoken to this extent, so she didn't intend to refuse.
Just then, Nadeshiko's phone rang.
She unlocked it and looked at the screen, and her expression suddenly became panicked.
"O-oh no!" the girl said.
"Are potato chips half-price in the neighboring prefecture?" Asakura interjected casually.
"That's not the problem!"
Kagamihara Nadeshiko said, "Because of the typhoon, the campsite I booked earlier that has a sea view is temporarily closed and no longer open to the public."