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Ayaka enjoys other people’s reactions after all, so she definitely won’t be clingy with uninteresting guys. While she’s unreserved with both girls and boys, she never came near perverts.

“I’ll handle things on my own, so please don’t mind me.”
“I refuse.”
“Nyah!?”

As I reached for the faucet to rinse my body, she grabbed my breast from behind. It surprised me so much that I let out a weird noise, gaining the attention of my classmates. The sound of muffled laughter is humiliating.

“The bounciness, the smoothness, both are just first class.”
“Stop with the exposition and please let go. Ughh.”
“That look, it’s so seductive. Nice, very nice.”

I’m seriously about to cry, what’s so nice about that? And here I am enduring this weird feeling and embarrassment. I look at Ran for help and she nods with a sigh.

“Enough already!”
“”So cold!!””

Ran threw the cold water from a bath basin on Ayaka, but as a result I got hit as well, leading to the two of us shrieking. Now it’s no longer a muffled laughter but full-blown laughs.

“What if that gave me a heart attack?”
“Like your heart is delicate enough for that. I’m of the belief that your heart is made of steel.”
“What a horrible partner. Don’t you think so too, Koto-chan? Oh?”
“Ran. Please protect me. I’ll do anything for it.”
“Yes, yes. Make sure to stay by my side, alright?”

Seeing my chance, I distanced myself from Ayaka and went beside Ran. If I don’t have Ran between us, there’s no telling what Ayaka would do, it’s scary. I’m having Ran be a defensive wall, so a bit of sacrifice is unavoidable. I don’t think Ran would make absurd requests anyway.

“I got rejected. For the second time.”
“The cause is definitely on you. Apologize to Koto-chan later.”
“I’ll do so. Still, I’d love to at least wash your hair.”
“It feels like you’d do something weird, so I refuse.”

She’s definitely touching things other than my hair. During our field trip in the past, I heard a scream from the girl’s bathroom, it was probably caused by Ayaka. That girl definitely went through the same thing I’m going through, I’m sure of it.

“This reminds me of the past.”
“The girl’s bath was in chaos then, that’s for sure. I can remember being so stressed even when it should’ve been relaxing, with the situation being a lot worse than now.”
“What happened?”

I remember being glared at with flushed cheeks by the girls when asking about it back then. Isami was no exception. There’s no doubt that it was so terrible that they didn’t want to talk about it, so the details were left in darkness.

“It was a war. The berserkers vs the suppression army. In the end, Nako sank most of them down.”
“All I get is that it was awful.”

Probably literally sank in the bathtub too. Still, what the heck did the berserkers do? For Nako the Empress to actively sink them down, it must have been serious.

“I don’t want to remember that time, so let’s end this here.”
“Right. I don’t think I should step into it any further, so let’s do that.”

Even though Ran’s just talking, I can tell that she’s starting to feel exhaustion. Getting tired just from recalling it, what the heck. And Ayaka is washing herself right next to Ran unfazed, making it worse.

“Still, I get Ayaka a bit. Your skin is so pretty, and your hair too. Can I touch it?”
“If it’s you, it’s alright.”

I just started washing my hair. Now that I’m used to its length, it doesn’t take me as long as before. Still, it’s inevitable that I take a lot longer than other people.

“You actually not doing anything to maintain this is unbelievable. At worst, you’d be an enemy of all women.”
“Even if you say that, I don’t have any relevant know-how and I’m not motivated to research either.”
“I’m so jealous. Hey now, no sneaking close.”
“Meanie.”

Stop drawing closer, archenemy. That’s it, Ayaka is my archenemy now. I don’t dislike her, but I’m still bad with her. I might actually be even worse with her than before. With the recent events.

“Was Ayaka always like this even then?”
“This time, she’s particularly bad. I understand her situation, but she’s extra excitable with it being so long since she was off her brakes.”

Come to think of it, it was the same with Isami and the others. I guess the office work really accumulated a lot of stress. Not letting off steam regularly is bad for the body.

“I feel like a dog being made to wait.”
“Please don’t treat me as food. Rather, if you’re already done, why not soak in first?”
“Going in together is the best part. The wait is boring me, so I’ll help wash your hair.”
“If you touch anything other than my hair, you’ll be soaked with cold water again.”
“That’s exactly what makes you defenseless. I’ll splash Ayaka in the face, so be prepared.”
“Please no consecutive ones. I’ll catch a cold at this rate.”

Still, this field trip should be for deepening bonds with your classmates. Would it be alright if I deepen bonds with people completely unrelated to the itinerary? My classmates are staring at us with interest, though.

“Now then, I’m rinsing your hair. While I’m at it, let me get your hair up too.”

The threats seem to have been effective, as she didn’t do anything weird. I’m just having my hair washed, but I feel nothing but fear. This is the first time I’ve felt so restless.

“Now then, let’s go to the spring.”
“I understand what you were talking about, Ran. I really couldn’t relax and just felt exhaustion piling on.”
“Right? I trusted that you would understand.”

I never thought I would understand the hardship of the girl’s leader with my own body. The boys had some unique characters too, but she’s harder to deal with and it’s stressful. At the very least, I’d like some peace while I soak in the hot spring. I want some peace of mind.