Kaguya-sama: Love Is War wants me to turn myself in.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," Mrs. Kaguya said with a smile. "You were just talking too loudly."

“We weren’t talking very loudly at all,” Kaguya Shinomiya puffed out her cheeks. “What happened to you being on watch in the sea?”

"There's nothing in the sea, that's why I surfaced." Mrs. Kaguya's smile grew even more delighted. "Well, you guys continue chatting, just pretend I don't exist."

"How could I pretend you don't exist!"

"..."

After exchanging a few words, Mrs. Kaguya submerged back into the sea to continue her vigilance.

"call……"

Kaguya Shinomiya let out a soft breath, looked at Natsuki Amamiya, and whispered, "When we come to the beach during summer vacation, make sure Mom stays in the shadows the whole time, and don't let her come out."

It's clearly a date for two people, so bringing your mother along must seem strange, right?

Even when holding hands, they are very conscious of their mother's gaze.

Since that's the case, I guess I'll just have to make things difficult for Mom...

"Kaguya is so mean. She knows that her mother is afraid of the dark, but she still makes her stay in the shadows."

A plaintive voice rang out again.

Kaguya Shinomiya immediately got angry and couldn't help but puff out her pink cheeks and shout:

"Mom! You're still eavesdropping!"

“I really didn’t eavesdrop this time.” Mrs. Kaguya waved her hand and turned to look at Natsuki Amamiya. “Natsuki, a jellyfish has drifted over from the sea. I’m giving it to you.”

"receive."

Amamiya Natsuki nodded, put on his diving mask, and quickly dived into the sea. With Kaguya's help, he soon spotted a transparent jellyfish drifting towards him in the distance.

Jellyfish are 98% water, mostly transparent, and move by drifting with the waves. They are really inconspicuous in the sea.

The transparent jellyfish was only the size of a fist, drifting around in the sea, a blurry mass. Natsuki Amamiya couldn't identify its species, so she swam over, caught it in a net, and then surfaced.

Wow.

Natsuki Amamiya looked at the kayak floating on the sea not far away and raised her right hand in a gesture.

Upon seeing this, the spy maid quickly paddled over in a kayak to handle the aftermath.

"Senior, please give me this jellyfish."

"Okay." Natsuki Amamiya nodded. "Be careful not to bump into anything."

Fishermen living by the sea traditionally chop up jellyfish when they catch them. Jellyfish are poisonous, so they can't be eaten or sold. Chopping them up and throwing them away is the most convenient option.

However, researchers later discovered that throwing chopped jellyfish into the sea actually increases their numbers. So the best way is to take them ashore and throw them away. These things don't have legs, and once they're on land, they can't run away and will quickly die from the sun.

"I know~"

Hayasaka Ai waved her hand, put the jellyfish away, and paddled away in her kayak.

In front of Kaguya, this spy maid was quite obedient.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

During the past half hour, under Mrs. Kaguya's watchful eye, Natsuki Amamiya caught a total of three jellyfish and two sea jellyfish, all of which were taken to the shore and thrown away by Ai Hayasaka. Among them was a small jellyfish with speckled blue spots, which was obviously a poisonous creature.

Meanwhile, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, though the afterglow of the sunset still lingered on the horizon.

On the surface of the sea, things were still relatively clear, but underwater it was all a blur, so the task of keeping watch had to be left entirely to Mrs. Kaguya.

"got windy."

Kaguya Shinomiya gently furrowed her brows.

As the sun sets, the sea gradually becomes rougher, with waves rising and falling and spray surging, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty of vigilance.

"There are still more than twenty minutes left." Natsuki Amamiya raised her voice. "Don't let your guard down until the challenge is completely over."

"Ah."

Kaguya Shinomiya nodded earnestly, indicating that she understood.

As the waves grew larger, swimming became more physically demanding, and at the same time, the number of jellyfish and sea creatures that drifted ashore with the waves also increased significantly.

Amamiya Natsuki would occasionally dive into the water and scoop up jellyfish and seaweed that drifted by.

time flies.

The waves on the sea were getting bigger and bigger.

"Ten minutes left." Natsuki Amamiya shouted, looking at Hayasaka bobbing up and down in the kayak. "Throw the lifebuoy down. If there are any more jellyfish or sea jellyfish, I'll tie them to the lifebuoy for now. You stay on the shore and don't come over."

Hayasaka Ai bit her lip, unwilling to admit it: "I'm fine..."

"Hanamori, you should stay on the shore," Kaguya Shinomiya said. "The challenge is almost over."

"..."

Hayasaka Ai had no choice but to agree and paddled her kayak to the shore.

Natsuki Amamiya looked at Kaguya and extended her right hand.

Kaguya Shinomiya understood and extended her hand as well. The two intertwined their fingers to avoid being separated by the wind and waves.

"There are only a few minutes left." Amamiya Natsuki held the young lady's soft hand tightly. "Now we just have to see if that weirdo will try to trick us or launch a sneak attack."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another wave of water, half a meter high, crashed down from the sea.

Amamiya Natsuki and the young lady were swept into the sea together.

Wow.

The waves receded.

Natsuki Amamiya and Kaguya resurfaced at sea. Given the player's physical abilities, dealing with this level of waves wouldn't be too difficult.

"Eh?! How could this be?!"

Kaguya Shinomiya suddenly opened her beautiful eyes wide, a look of panic and confusion appearing on her pretty face.

"What's wrong?" Natsuki Amamiya's expression immediately turned serious.

Could it be that the mysterious entity launched a sneak attack?

Why didn't Mrs. Kaguya give a warning?

"Yes Yes……"

Kaguya Shinomiya bit her lip, a blush of embarrassment quickly spreading across her pretty face.

Seeing that the young lady was stammering and unable to explain herself, Amamiya Natsuki frowned and prepared to dive into the sea.

"Wait, wait a minute..." Kaguya Shinomiya quickly stopped her, stammering, "We didn't encounter any jellyfish or seaweed, it's just... it's just..."

"But what?" Natsuki Amamiya couldn't help but ask, "Just tell me already."

Where did the decisive and efficient vice president of the school go? When did she turn into a timid and hesitant girl?

"that……"

Kaguya Shinomiya took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and was about to speak when another wave of wind swept in.

This gust of wind was even stronger than before. As the shockwave swept in, Amamiya Natsuki instinctively reached out and hugged the young lady in his arms, but then quickly realized something was wrong.

Not right.

Something is completely wrong.

The sensation coming from my chest was nothing like the sensation of a swimsuit.

Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath and instantly understood why the silly young lady had been stammering and hesitant earlier.

Where did your swimsuit go?!

"Well--!"

Before Kaguya could react, her body was suddenly pulled into Natsuki Amamiya's arms, and their skin collided intimately. An electric shock-like sensation instantly coursed through her body, causing Kaguya to let out a soft moan.

"Cough cough..." Kaguya Shinomiya, not caring that she had choked on a mouthful of seawater, hurriedly said, "N-Don't move!"

“I really didn’t want to move.” Natsuki Amamiya took a light breath and quickly explained, “It was the waves that were pushing us, we just couldn’t stop.”

Only when the waves calmed down did Natsuki Amamiya and Kaguya, who had been unable to control their emotions, finally stop.

Amamiya Natsuki quickly pushed the silly young lady away to keep their distance. Her head was already throbbing with blood, and her rationality was being driven backward by her instincts. If she continued to hold the young lady in her arms, she might lose her mind and become a zombie whose head was filled with nothing but the young lady!

Where's your swimsuit?

Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm.

"I do not know either……"

Kaguya Shinomiya's pretty face looked like a ripe shrimp, almost dripping blood. Steam billowed from her head, and she felt completely powerless. She could only stay afloat by clinging to Natsuki Amamiya's arm. Her eyes were misty, and her voice was aggrieved, "Just now, a wave came and swept me away."

"Sister Aye probably didn't see it either, otherwise she would have definitely come out and told everyone."

Natsuki Amamiya looked around and saw only a vast expanse of sea with surging waves. In such an environment, there was no way to see a swimsuit that had been swept away by the sea. Although that thing was not a needle, it was almost like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"There are only a few minutes left, let's hold on until the challenge is over." Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath and said, "I'll get ashore first and have Chika bring your clothes over, but we don't need that swimsuit."

Kaguya Shinomiya bit her lip, unable to think of a good solution: "...This is the only way."

Crash.

Another wave swept in from afar.

Amamiya Natsuki looked down at the young lady.

Kaguya Shinomiya's eyelashes trembled as she looked up. Their eyes met briefly, then quickly looked away as if burned.

Neither of them spoke.

The waves rolled in.

Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath and hugged the silly young lady again.

"Well……"

An electric shock-like sensation instantly swept over the two of them.

next moment.