Why is the Demon King like this?

—The decision to go to the beach over the weekend wasn't a sudden whim of Aoki Keisuke's.

So inviting Fujiko Hoshino wasn't entirely a joke.

When they talked about this while accompanying Arisugawa Asuka during her training session that evening, Aoki asked her for recommendations on beaches worth visiting.

"Huh?"

Arisugawa headed the volleyball really high, and Keisuke Ao had to take several steps back before he could head the ball back.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, let's take a rest." Arisugawa fanned his face with his hand, unconsciously avoiding Keisuke Ao's gaze.

The two sat down on a bench. Asuka Arisugawa took a few sips of water before recovering and asked, "Why did you suddenly want to go to the beach, Aokae-kun?"

"...Yeah, I thought of it during swimming class."

"ah?!"

Asuka Arisugawa immediately thought of the photo Yuki had shown her that morning, and her ears turned red instantly.

Fortunately, it was nighttime, and the soft lighting made it less noticeable—that's what she thought.

"Qinggui-kun, do you simply want to see the sea or do you want to go swimming?"

"It would be best if we could go into the water," said Keisuke Ao. "I'd also like to try surfing."

"If you want to surf, you can consider going to Onjuku Beach in Onjuku Town, Chiba Prefecture. I heard the waves there are great and the scenery is beautiful."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked casually, "Who is Qinggui planning to go with?"

"Oh dear, I invited the president to come along this afternoon, but he refused without hesitation," Keisuke Ao said with a laugh. "So for now, I'm just planning to go alone."

Invite Hoshino-kun?

Three question marks popped up above Arisugawa's head: Why is the relationship between Aoki-kun and her progressing so rapidly?

Although she couldn't understand it, she was deeply shocked.

"Arisugawa, are you free tomorrow?"

"I???"

Arisugawa let out a cry of surprise far louder than usual, then fell into a dilemma—should he go or not?

Keisuke Ao glanced at the volleyball in her hand and said, "It's good to have more people so we can play volleyball."

Beach volleyball, beautiful women, swimsuits—all the essentials are there.

It's a bonus episode from episodes seven or eight of an older anime!

Of course, the most important thing is to call a few scoundrels to drive, then we won't even need to take the tram.

Driving your own car has advantages that taking the tram can't match—not only is your schedule more flexible, but you also don't have to carry your stuff around.

I don't know why, but at this time of year, I always think of Tsukishima-sensei's hardworking and dedicated figure.

Arisugawa Asuka gave a somewhat regretful and bewildered "Eh," then asked blankly, "Who are you calling? A classmate?"

Upon hearing this, Keisuke Ao stopped in his tracks as he pulled out his phone—if he were to call Yuto Nakagawa, his entire pleasant weekend would probably be ruined by a homoerotic attack, wouldn't it?

"Let's not disturb our classmate's planned weekend." Aokiji said sincerely.

I could try to schedule a meeting with Yuki in the morning, but unfortunately, this heavyweight is still recovering from injury.

But from another perspective, this is a good friend with whom you can share "happiness".

He thought about it again and sent a message to Shiraishi Chizuru, asking if she could call Tsukishima so she could work as a driver for everyone.

He then asked Kobayashi Rena if she wanted to go to Chiba Prefecture to eat saury, but... the poor first-year high school girl said she had tutoring on the weekend and couldn't go. After sending dozens of crying hippo emojis, Ao Keisuke finally agreed to send her a picture if he ate saury.

Rena Kobayashi's expression turned into that of a hippopotamus that could no longer get up.

The swift and decisive arrangement left Arisugawa Asuka speechless—not to mention that judging from the profile picture, it seemed that Qinggui-kun was only inviting girls, and she herself hadn't agreed to go yet.

But seeing the smile on Keisuke Ao's face, a surge of motivation suddenly welled up within me for some reason.

She said solemnly, "Qinggui-kun, I have time tomorrow!"

"Oh, that's great!"

……

The long night passed quietly.

Saturday morning.

It was supposed to be a happy trip for a group of people, and Arisugawa Asuka even made thorough preparations for it.

Cute clothes and bags, flip-flops that can only be worn in summer, with a pink plastic seashell embedded in the thin strap between the fingers.

Even her hairstyle was subtly adjusted, and she remained unfazed even when her mother teased her.

In my bag, I had a change of clothes, a swimsuit I just bought this year, and a towel to wipe myself down... Just in case, I even prepared an extra one.

Today, no matter who it is, the Yamato Nadeshiko will not lose!

With this kind of enthusiasm...

That's how it should be...

She looked blankly at Aokiji, and the Demon King, seeing her innocent expression, coughed twice and explained, "I originally asked Tsukishima-sensei and the others, but they have their own travel plans and have even booked their rooms, so they can't come."

Tsukishima-sensei? ??

Asuka Arisugawa simply couldn't ignore the glaring flaw in Keisuke Ao's words. Was the person she was calling out to last night actually Tsukishima-sensei?!

This is so weird!

Qinggui-kun has only been back at school for two weeks, hasn't he?

And who are "them"?

But soon, an even more obvious fact, one that left the girl no time to think about anything else, popped into her head—

It seems that she and Ao Keisuke are the only ones left on this journey?

Teeth white!!!

This situation was never rehearsed!

"Um... um..."

She stammered, trying to organize her thoughts, finally managing to utter only one drawn-out word: "Eh~?"

Asuka Arisugawa's face had unconsciously begun to flush and burn, her large, bright eyes fixed on the time on her phone's lock screen, as if every second was changing incredibly slowly.

The girl, who was almost turning into a steampunk princess, made one want to reach out and ruffle her hair, but in the end, Keisuke Ao just stood there and smiled, saying, "It seems I can't drive there myself, I'll have to take the train. If you don't want to go, you can wait until next time."

"Isn't Qinggui going either?"

"Me? I've packed my things, I'll go anyway."

Upon hearing this, Arisugawa Asuka cracked her knuckles and glanced sideways at the tiles on the hall wall, where the two figures were vaguely reflected.

She gazed intently at her blurred reflection on the wall, and said in a light, almost joyful yet shy tone:

"But I've packed my things too."