SWNOVELXO Chapter 22
As the two finished sharing everything they wanted to talk about, a brief silence fell between them.
“…Hey, wanna take a bath together?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t make me say it again!! Let’s take a bath!”
Whoa, seriously…? Oh man, what do I do?
“O-okay! I-I’ll go in first, then!”
Such an adorably awkward couple.
“I-I said it in the heat of the moment, but… what do I do now…”
Watching Kirishima’s back as he headed toward the indoor bath, Hitomi squirmed with embarrassment.
“T-this means… what I think it means, right? It has to mean that…”
Of course, Kirishima wasn’t able to hide his own flustered state.
It wasn’t as if he was entirely inexperienced with women.
However, today’s partner was someone far beyond anything his past experiences could have prepared him for.
No matter what kind of strategy he tried to come up with, it would be like a kindergarten kid trying to outbox Pacquiao.
And because he understood that all too well, his experience only served to increase his anxiety. At the same time, he had reached a point where he simply resigned himself to whatever was about to happen.
Once in the bath, he scrubbed himself so thoroughly that his entire body turned bright red.
By the time Hitomi entered, Kirishima was already flushed.
“E-excuse me…”
She entered wrapped in a bath towel, but rather than concealing her beauty, the fabric only accentuated it.
Her hair, lustrous and elegantly colored, her flawless pale skin, her delicately blushing, well-proportioned face—everything about her was a manifestation of perfection.
“…Ah…”
“Say something, will you? Like… ‘You’re beautiful.’ Or ‘You’re beautiful.’ Or ‘You’re beautiful.’”
“Y-you’re beautiful.”
She made him say it, but now she was the one burning up with embarrassment.
Going into further detail would not be good for the two of them—or for the survival of this novel—so let’s leave it at that.
Kirishima: “It was… incredible.”
Yuki: “It was incredible. In many, many ways.”
Chirp chirp…
Waking up to the sound of sparrows, Kirishima found himself thinking, “Ah, so this is what they call ‘Asa-chun’…” before realizing how stupid that thought was.
Beside him, Hitomi was still sleeping, a content smile on her face.
I’m so happy.
Perhaps the sheer number of joyful events happening to him recently had completely loosened the screws in Kirishima’s brain.
After waking Hitomi up, they had breakfast brought to their room.
“So, both breakfast and dinner are served in the room, huh?”
“Tonight’s dinner is at the annex restaurant, though.”
“Oh, that sounds nice.”
Hitomi nodded in satisfaction.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” she asked.
“MOA Museum of Art and Mishima Skywalk. If we have time, I’d like to visit Hatsushima, too.”
“Hatsushima?”
“It’s the closest remote island to the Tokyo metropolitan area. We take a high-speed boat to get there, and I thought it might be fun.”
“That sounds like a boat-load of fun!”
Kirishima chose to remain silent.
It seemed Hitomi had thrown in a pun out of embarrassment, but she only ended up digging her own grave.
They drove to the parking lot and settled their first destination with rock-paper-scissors.
As a result, they decided to go to Mishima Skywalk first.
Mishima Skywalk, officially known as the “Hakone Seiroku Mishima Suspension Bridge,” was built in 2015 and is Japan’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge.
Kirishima never considered himself afraid of heights, but when he glanced down from the center of the bridge, he felt an unsettling sensation—as if he were being pulled toward the valley below.
His legs gave out, and he landed on his backside.
“What’s wrong?!”
“I-I don’t know… my legs just gave out…”
Later, Kirishima would learn that when people look down from extreme heights, they sometimes experience an illusion of being pulled down, which can trigger vertigo.
“What are you doing?”
Laughing, Hitomi extended a hand to him.
With her support, he somehow managed to make it across the bridge.
“Good job.”
“Yeah… seriously.”
Kirishima felt both embarrassed and apologetic.
On the drive, they ate gelato purchased at the Skywalk as they headed toward MOA Museum of Art.
“And here we are—MOA Museum of Art.”
“Oooh! So what’s there to see?”
“When you think of MOA Museum of Art, what comes to mind?”
Kirishima asked in a testing tone.
“The Triangular-Rim Four Gods and Two Beasts Mirror, the Red and White Plum Blossoms Folding Screen, and the Iroe Fuji Flower Tea Jar.”
“I’ve never heard anyone break down the Triangular-Rim God Beast Mirror classification so precisely.”
“My favorite high school books were the art textbook and Japanese history reference guide. I got a perfect score on the national history exam.”
Hitomi grinned smugly.
“People like you are the most annoying.”
“Teehee☆”
At the museum, they focused on the three works Hitomi had mentioned.
According to Kirishima, Hitomi’s knowledge was monstrous.
“I ate at an odd time earlier, so now I’m getting hungry at a weird time.”
Leaving the museum, they discussed their next move while driving.
“Let’s go to Hatsushima.”
They drove to the ferry terminal at Ito Port.
“We got here just in time for the boat.”
“Sure did!”
“Huh? (Why are you slightly angry?)”
For some reason, Hitomi seemed half-upset, and Kirishima boarded the boat nervously.
Once they arrived, they only had about two hours to explore before the return ferry.
Deciding not to waste any time, they headed straight for the seafood restaurant district.
As soon as they sat down in a random seafood place, they blurted out in unison:
“Kaisen-don (seafood rice bowl)!!”
The portions were generous, and they were thoroughly satisfied.
“Man, I’m stuffed.”
“Same here.”
Rubbing their now slightly larger bellies, they returned to their hotel.
Since there was still time before dinner, they headed to the large public bath they hadn’t yet tried.
“Apparently, it was designed by Kengo Kuma.”
“Oh, Kuma, huh.”
She’s really disinterested in things she doesn’t care about…
Despite her love for art and Japanese history, why didn’t architecture intrigue her? Kirishima felt like he had uncovered yet another mystery about Hitomi.
Soaking in the men’s bath, Kirishima thought, “This must be what happiness is.”
Then, recalling the events of last night, he couldn’t help but smirk.
A young man smirking alone in a public bath.
He must have received quite a few odd stares.
But Kirishima was oblivious to them, and with no Hitomi around to scold him, chaos reigned.