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As dusk fell, the lingering rays of the setting sun bathed every corner of the campus. The golden glow contrasted sharply with the slightly mottled gray walls of Soubu High School's old school building, which showed signs of age.
Normally, the athletic field at this hour would still be bustling with members of track and field clubs sweating to improve their performance, but due to the Founders' Festival, it was somewhat deserted. A few lonely pieces of exercise equipment swayed gently in the wind, emitting faint creaking sounds.
In the central garden, tree shadows danced, and leaves trembled softly in the breeze, rustling. Beneath the trees, there were many standees specially made by the Art Club for the Founders' Festival. Closer to the central axis of the atrium, one could even see the mini open-air stage set up by Yukino. That perfectionist seemed to attach great importance to the stage's symmetry; even the edges of the stage and the paving stones laid on the ground fit perfectly.
Inside the teaching building, the corridors still carried some of the daytime hustle and bustle, with occasional footsteps of Student Council members echoing, sounding particularly clear.
Outside the auditorium, which had been set up as a stage, large glass windows reflected the afterglow of the setting sun. Beams of light pierced through branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows. The students inside, working hard to meet the final deadline, at first glance had a sense of déjà vu, resembling future corporate drones. But upon closer inspection, one could feel the vibrant energy and overflowing youth that was absent in those who had already become stagnant corporate drones.
The entire campus was enveloped in a tranquil and solemn atmosphere. The twilight's afterglow cast large shadows, marking boundaries on the ground, moving slowly across the school like the hands of a pendulum as time passed. Every familiar object now seemed exceptionally quiet, as if waiting for nightfall and the start of a new day.
The cool breeze of approaching night gently stirred Amakusa Shino's dark, beautiful long hair.
The look in her eyes as she gazed at the Soubu High School campus revealed an anticipation and expectation not present in her usual demeanor. It was only at times like these that Asakura would feel, 'Ah, so this person is also a beautiful girl.'
As the light faded in the west, the boundary drawn by the twilight between heaven and earth shifted across the girl's body.
Amakusa Shino, with a calm, cool, and serene smile, gathered her flowing long hair with her hand and said.
"It's almost time for the swimsuit episode."
"What are you talking about?"
Asakura, who had been immersed in the inexplicably beautiful scene, nearly stumbled, and couldn't help but inwardly grumble: The atmosphere is completely ruined!
"Huh, Asakura-kun doesn't know about swimsuit episodes? It's when some slice-of-life anime, to give the audience fan service, specifically has female characters wear swimsuits and go to the beach around the sixth or seventh episode…"
Amakusa Shino diligently began to educate him.
"No, no, no, I'm not interested in that at all… Rather, isn't that generally an anime for boys? Why do you know so much about it?!"
Asakura retorted.
"It's just that I have a certain level of research and understanding of my country's culture."
The girl said with a proud smile, hands on her hips, "O-san, Chii-san, and Densha Otoko are all outdated! The most popular thing now is anime! Anime! Do you understand the value of cultural output?!"
"Isn't it a bit strange that the things you chose to represent Japanese culture before anime were…?"
"Instead of worrying about that, Asakura-kun, why don't you continue to walk around the school and comfort your Magic Club members?"
As Amakusa Shino suggested, she pulled out a stack of rectangular paper slips from her pleated skirt pocket.
"What's this?"
Asakura took the slips and found that they were a stack of discount coupons from a bathhouse near the school.
"Because the Founders' Festival budget was a bit tight before we got investment from Yukinoshita Haruno, when I went to the Toyama Shopping District to solicit investment to increase the budget, the owner of the bathhouse on that street gave these to me as part of his investment… Oh, but it only includes the bath; you have to pay for the milk after the bath yourself."
Amakusa Shino explained.
"No, what I want to ask is… what do you mean by giving these to me?"
Asakura asked blankly.
"Of course, it's for you to distribute them as club welfare to the members of the Magic Club. You can use the extra few yourself."
Amakusa Shino said.
"Yanami, do you know the gender composition of the Magic Club?"
Asakura sighed helplessly.
"Just male and female, are there armed helicopters and plastic bags too?"
Amakusa Shino asked in confusion, "Soubu High School doesn't support gender fluidity or anything like that, you know?"
"Sorry, my mistake. I meant, do you know the male-to-female ratio of our club?"
"It seems to be one to three?"
Amakusa Shino counted on her fingers, "Yanami, Yuigahama, and Yakishio-san…"
Asakura was silent for a moment.
It was indeed one to three, but Yakishio Lemon was actually a ghost member. Although her name was still on the Magic Club roster, she hadn't actually been there for a long time. The actual member now should be Asagumo Chihaya.
He organized his words, intending to politely refuse: "As a boy, inviting those girls to a bathhouse doesn't feel very meaningful…"
"What do you mean it's not meaningful?! Tomorrow is the Founders' Festival, so taking a good bath today to relieve physical fatigue isn't the greatest meaning?!"
Amakusa Shino said righteously.
"The truth?"
Asakura squinted at the other party and asked abruptly.
"Hehehe, I want to bathe with fair-skinned, tender beautiful girls!"
Amakusa Shino replied self-righteously.
Asakura occasionally wondered if the part of Amakusa Shino's brain that controlled her sense of shame was broken.
He sighed, "Then why don't you just invite them yourself?"
"…Although you yourself aren't aware, both Yanami and Yuigahama are actually quite difficult to ask out, you know?"
Amakusa Shino said, "If I go, they'll gently refuse me… Damn it, we're all girls, why do they have such a strong sense of caution?!"
"I think the main reason can be found in what you just said yourself."
"In any case, I'm entrusting these coupons to you! Since they have a time limit and will expire, it's fine if you give them to other people casually."
Amakusa Shino said, "That bathhouse seems to be planning to make money by offering scrubbing, drinks, and massages, so they gave me a lot of coupons. Now every member of the Student Council has one."
"Even if you say that, they should have already gone home, right…"
"That's not necessarily true."
Amakusa Shino said mysteriously, "You're not the only one who has worked hard for the Founders' Festival, Asakura-kun, that's why I told you to keep walking around the school."
Saying that, she waved her hand elegantly, shouted "Sayonara!" and left Asakura, who was stunned holding a stack of coupons, to escape into the teaching building.
Asakura was somewhat exasperated, "What is all this…?"
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