The setting sun sank in the west, dyeing the sea a deep red with its afterglow.
"Thanks to Sensei," Azusa brushed aside the strands of hair the sea breeze had blown across her face and tucked them behind her ear, giving me a breathtakingly beautiful smile. "Today I experienced so many fun things by the seaside."
Looking back, I couldn't help but nod in agreement. Although we had only done ordinary things, what mattered most was, indeed, the person I was doing them with.
"But," Azusa frowned slightly, "it's almost time to head back. Still, my tactical intuition tells me something feels missing."
"What is it?"
"Hmm… For this, I should probably discuss strategy with Sensei…" The girl looked a little troubled. "I don't mean that the time we spent earlier wasn't good. It's just that, with the remaining time we have, it would be best if we could spend it as efficiently as possible…"
I suddenly felt a bit regretful that I hadn't invited Hifumi along.
Even though that would mean sharing the attention, having Crusader-chan with us would have made things much easier.
But now, it was just a little more troublesome.
"Azusa, I might have a good idea." I suggested, "Anyway, why don't you come with me first?"
"Eh? As expected of Sensei." The white-haired girl didn't even ask what it was and eagerly replied, "Then let's go."
And so the two of us, one after the other, walked toward the spot I had spotted while doing reconnaissance earlier.
Even with Azusa's trust in me, after we had walked for dozens of minutes away from the beach until we were surrounded by lush green trees, she still asked with some confusion:
"Sensei, where are we going? N-no, it's not that I don't trust Sensei, but… confirming the mission objective and such…"
Azusa looked around left and right, her tone slightly uneasy. "Why are we leaving the beach and heading into the mountains? And it feels like after walking in a circle, we're going back toward the beach we just left… Still, since it's Sensei, there must be a reason…"
Holding the Shittim Chest and following Arona's navigation, I turned my head and said, "Just wait a little longer. We'll be there soon. Hehe, don't worry. I won't take you to do anything strange right now."
"…Is that so. Mm, even if you did, I wouldn't mind. Because I trust Sensei."
Hearing that, I felt that if I really took her to do the kind of things in those naughty books, I would be overwhelmed with guilt...
Even if I were planning to do that, I should at least take her to a high-class restaurant with a night view first and set the mood properly, right?
"Sensei, it's just up ahead! This navigation is about to reach its destination. Sensei should start thinking about how to praise this super AI afterward!"
Following Arona's voice, I took Azusa's hand and climbed onto a steep rocky outcrop. Rather than thinking about praise, I was more occupied with wondering how exactly Arona had led us here.
"Eh," Azusa seemed to have guessed something. "This wind direction… Could it be that ahead is… Ah!"
She let out a soft cry of surprise.
After reaching the top of the rocky outcrop, what appeared before us was a beach similar to the previous one, yet with an even wider and more magnificent view.
After a brief moment of daze, we carefully descended the rock and stepped onto the soft sand.
Walking over to a cluster of deep purple flowers, the girl sat down, gazing at the sparkling sea in the distance, and murmured:
"Wow…! This is the first time I've seen a sight like this… Everything that meets the eye is glittering so brightly. It's so beautiful… To be able to see a place with no obstructions at all, where your gaze can stretch endlessly… It feels almost unreal…"
"And there's no one else around to disturb us." I sat down close beside her. "This is a very well-hidden spot. At this time, the only ones who would come here are the two of us."
This was a place where Azusa didn't need to feel nervous and could fully focus on enjoying the scenery with me.
"I didn't used to like open places like this." Azusa's wings naturally rested on my back. "Without cover, it's hard to stay alert to the surroundings. But now…"
She turned her gaze toward me. "I don't feel uneasy at all… This must be because… um… probably because wherever I can see, Sensei is always there."
"So, as long as I'm by your side, you feel at ease?" I smiled. "In that case, we should make another promise."
"Hm? What kind?"
"When you feel anxious," I held her hand tightly, speaking half-jokingly and half-seriously, "I'll do everything I can to come to your side. How about that?"
At that moment, Azusa's breathing seemed to stop entirely.
Then, she shyly looked away. "…Sensei, I want to say there's no need to go to such lengths for me… But my heart keeps pounding so hard, and I don't know what to do… In this situation, is it better to agree?"
I nodded, my voice growing gentler. "If that's what you want me to do."
"…Then, can we pinky swear?"
Pressing her lips together, the very nervous girl extended her little finger.
Looking at her face, which appeared even more lovely in the sunset, I thought for a few seconds before suggesting, "Instead of a pinky swear, how about we seal the promise another way?"
"Eh? I don't really understand, but if Sensei can teach me… it won't be too much trouble, right?"
"Not at all. Rather…" Amid the girl's short, startled cry, I lifted her chin and licked my lips. "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
Even someone as pure as a blank sheet, Azusa, who had gone through the supplementary lessons club training camp had already possessed the most basic physiological knowledge.
Therefore, having guessed what was about to happen, she shyly closed her eyes.
And her mouth.
That said, Azusa truly lived up to her reputation as an Arius elite who had undergone strict interrogation training. It took quite a bit of effort before I managed to part her lips. At one point, I even wondered if she was resisting.
However, when I paused, her half-opened eyes showed confusion, as if asking why I had stopped continuing our promise.
Azusa was simply too shy. Her responses were, as expected, inexperienced and reserved.
In the end, I held the white-haired girl, who had already gone weak all over from just this, and gazed at the night gradually spreading across most of the sky. I suddenly spoke.
"How about tonight," I asked, "you don't go back to the dorm?"
"…Mm."
With misty eyes, she answered softly.