November Sun 4
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
On the following Saturday, having turned down the invitation to the dessert buffet, Sōma found himself in a swimsuit, looking up at the sun through a large window fitted into the ceiling.
“I never imagined I’d be swimming in November.”
The brilliance of the late autumn sun was feeble, lacking the intense sting that the midsummer sun possessed.
Sōma was at an indoor leisure pool located on the outskirts of the city.
Despite being completely off-season, there was a decent number of customers who were playing in the water with joy.
Though small in scale, this indoor pool was reasonably popular because it was equipped with a water slide, a lazy river, a warm pool, and a jacuzzi.
The reason Sōma had to come here, even at the cost of turning down Wakui’s invitation, was naturally because Chika had said she wanted to come.
Last month, he had teased her about not being able to swim, and it seemed that had been quite a blow to her pride.
Despite it being out of season, she insisted on practicing swimming.
To be honest, Sōma wasn’t really looking forward to going to the pool.
『I’m not good enough at swimming to teach anyone.』
When asked to teach swimming at the pool, he grimaced and showed reluctance.
『Could it be that you, Sōma-san, can’t swim either?』
『I can swim.』
However, with the caveat of “just barely.”
『So you teased me about being a poor swimmer when you’re not good at it yourself.』
Chika looked up at him with puffed cheeks and an accusing gaze.
『I didn’t mean to make fun of you.』
『But my heart was deeply wounded by your words, Sōma-san. To heal this emotional wound, I believe Sōma-san has an obligation to teach me how to swim.』
By such a wildly illogical rationale, he ended up agreeing to go to the pool.
Well, the butterfly stroke might be impossible, but he could probably manage to teach the crawl.
However, there was another reason Sōma was reluctant to go to the pool.
“…”
Standing idly by the poolside, he glanced briefly toward the women’s changing room.
A pool is, of course, a place where you wear swimsuits. No one jumps into the water in their uniform. If they did, they’d be scolded by the pool lifeguards.
In other words, Chika would be in a swimsuit.
Could he really keep his composure upon seeing Chika in a swimsuit?
Wearing camo-grey surf shorts, Sōma waited for Chika to change, posing this question to himself.
Having been hugged by her countless times, he knew well that her figure was quite something.
If she were to appear in a swimsuit, it would be an incredible sight, one that many boys in the class would pay a good deal to see.
It would be a lie for Sōma to say he didn’t want to see it.
He wanted to see it. He wanted to take a look.
“Will it be a pareo? A bikini? A one-piece? Surely not a school swimsuit… no, that might be something too.”
He muttered to himself with such anticipation.
But at the same time, he had no confidence that he could remain calm upon seeing her in a swimsuit.
If his face turned red, Chika would surely tease him gleefully. Frankly, that would be humiliating.
He wanted to see Chika in a swimsuit, but at the same time, he didn’t.
It was this dilemma that made him not want to come to the pool with her.
But here he was.
He couldn’t very well say, “I don’t want to go because your swimsuit might embarrass me.” That would only ensure he’d be teased from the get-go.
In other words, as soon as Chika said she wanted to go to the pool, Sōma was cornered.
While waiting near the changing room for Chika to appear, he sighed deeply.
“I wish she’d come out in one of those bulky diving suits they wear for deep-sea diving.”
Of course, if she did wear such a thing, he’d probably be incredibly disappointed.
Truly, it was a no-win situation―Or maybe, this is just how all guys are.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. It took me a while to change.”
After about ten minutes of fidgeting, Chika’s voice finally came from the direction of the changing room.
Here it comes. She had finally arrived.
Before turning to where the voice came from, Sōma straightened his back and tapped his heart lightly.
Stay calm, Ichinose Sōma. You’ve seen her in outrageous outfits many times before. Get used to it already.
After reassuring himself, he slowly turned around.
“Hey, I haven’t been waiting that long――”
He intended to say “don’t worry about it,” but those words dissipated the moment he saw Chika.
“…”
With her brown hair tied up with a hair tie, Chika’s outfit was none of the swimsuits he had imagined.
Strictly speaking, he couldn’t tell what kind of swimsuit she was wearing.
She was completely covered in an oversized white T-shirt.
“The changing room was so crowded, it took me by surprise. I didn’t realize so many people wanted to play in the pool even in November… Is something wrong?”
Chika tilted her head as she noticed Sōma standing still, staring at her.
“No, it’s just… your outfit, Chika…”
“Eh? Oh, this?”
As Sōma pointed with a puzzled expression, Chika bit her lower lip slightly in frustration and pinched the hem of her T-shirt.
“I bought a swimsuit for today, but it turned out a little different from what I had in mind. I felt embarrassed, so I ended up wearing a layer over it. Online shopping is convenient and not scary, but you can’t try things on, so this happens.”
Sōma became curious about what kind of swimsuit she was embarrassed about.
However, the fabric of the T-shirt was thick, and it was impossible to tell what the swimsuit looked like underneath.
…I see. I don’t have to see Chika in her swimsuit.
As his mind and heart grasped this fact, he felt a sudden release of tension from his body.
Dragging his suddenly heavy feet, he headed towards the pool.