kscans

Chapter 43 - The Sin of the Past

"This is… this is… amazing!!"

"Yes, a masterpiece indeed."

Even after the Arima Brothers had left, we continued building the castle until we finally completed the invincible Akatsuki-maru. The result was so impressive that strangers were taking photos with their smartphones.

"S-Satou-san! Can I get a picture with it?"

"Sure. In exchange, take one of me afterward."

"Yes!"

I snapped a photo of Hikaru standing next to the castle making a peace sign, then sent the image to his smartphone. We switched places so he could take my photo, and then I took several shots of just the castle. After we finished our photo session, Rika and the others returned from the sea.

"Wow… what is this… it’s incredible…"

"I was wondering where you guys went, and you were making something like this…"

"How seriously were you taking this…?"

"What magnificent sand art."

Receiving their amazed praise mixed with exasperation, I checked the time and realized it was getting late. I should have checked the clock while taking photos, but I was so absorbed in photography that I hadn’t even glanced at the time. It was about time for lunch, so I took the children to the beach house. It was fairly crowded, but we managed to secure seats for six. Everyone ordered what they wanted, and we took a moment to relax.

"Ai, Midori, how are you doing? Having fun?"

"Yeah! The sea is the beeeest!!"

"That’s good. How about Rika and Sarna?"

"We’re having a blast! Summer is all about the beach!"

"Thanks to you, I’m having a wonderful time."

Good, good. When they say things like that, it makes taking a day off worthwhile.

"But hey, Uncle and Hikaru should come swimming with us after lunch!"

"You’re right. I’ve had my fill of sand play, so let’s do that in the afternoon."

"Big brother, let’s race!"

"Eh…? I’d rather just float around with an inner tube…"

"Big brother, you’re so boring!"

"Ah, looks like our order is here."

Oh, you’re right.

"Here you go, six orders of yakisoba!!"

The hero-turned-beach-house-worker dramatically placed a large plate on our table. I thought they would bring individual servings, but apparently we’re meant to share and take portions onto small plates.

"Thanks. By the way, where’s the yakitori?"

"That’ll be a bit longer."

Darn. Beer, even non-alcoholic, goes best with yakitori. Oh well. For now, let’s satisfy our hunger with some yakisoba.

"…This is delicious. The seafood flavor harmonizes perfectly with the sauce, creating an indescribable balance."

"Ah, this is dangerous. I could eat this endlessly."

"Rika-oneechan. Thinking about calories in a situation like this is so lame!"

"Who are you to lecture me… but yeah, it really is delicious… hits the spot when you’re hungry."

We ordered various other things as well, and I was worried if it would be too much, but it seems fine. Situations really are the spice of life… I feel like I could eat them forever. (t/n: implying he likes the atmosphere)

"Mmm, I really want some curry…"

"Hold on, Midori. Be patient. We’re making curry for dinner, remember?"

"I know, but still…"

We’re camping, after all. We planned to make curry for dinner tonight. By the way, we’re having barbecue tomorrow night.

"Here, I’ll share some of my yakitori with you… okay?"

"Okay!"

The meal continued in this pleasant atmosphere, and after eating, we took a short break to digest. Then we all headed to the sea together. We rented water guns from the beach house and decided to have a 3-versus-3 match, which turned out to be incredibly fun.

"There!!"

"Gyah!?"

The moment I aimed the nozzle, Rika took evasive action, but it was too easy. My style is to place an attack where they’re going to dodge to.

Rika, hit directly in the face, fell backward. Since falling and sinking into the sea counts as a loss, Rika was out. Hikaru and Sarna, having lost a teammate, launched a simultaneous attack on me… but they were too slow.

"Haha! You’re so slow, flies could land on you!"

"I can’t hit him! He’s dodging everything!"

"Damn it! You could be a little more fair-minded as an adult!"

I even had enough time to recharge my water gun between shots. By the way… Sarna is really something else.

(If she were an adult, I’d aim for areas that might cause a wardrobe malfunction…)

But that would be a crime against a junior high school student, so regrettably, it’s forbidden.

"By the way, are you two sure it’s a good idea to focus solely on me?"

"Huh!?"

"Got you!!"

The twins, who had circled around, opened fire at once. As a handicap, they were given powerful water guns, so the impact was impressive.

Sarna tried to retreat but stumbled and splashed into the sea. Hikaru, who had his face intensely targeted, reached his limit and fell in with a splash.

"Yeah! We win! High five!!"

"High five!!"

We slapped hands together, giggling with joy over our victory. Rika and the others looked at us with exasperation.

"C-couldn’t you have gone a little easier on us!?"

"Don’t be stupid. If you can’t get serious in play, when the hell can you get serious?"

"Uncle said something good. I’ll give you 1 Ai point!"

"I’ll give you 1 Midori point too! When you collect 3 points, I’ll give you a shoulder massage!"

How adorable.

"That said, it’s true that it’s no fun unless it’s somewhat evenly matched. Next time I’ll—whoops."

I think I drank too much. Need to go to the bathroom.

"Sorry, I need to hit the restroom real quick. Hold this for me."

"Oh, sure."

I handed my water gun to Hikaru and headed back to shore.

The toilet was… over there, right?

I hurried to the restroom, but… as expected, it was crowded. Public toilets in places like this are always packed. There are always lines for both men’s and women’s restrooms. I quietly got in line and waited for my turn. It would be stupid to use supernatural powers for something like this.

(I wish my turn would come faster… Oh!?)

Suddenly, I spotted a woman standing a short distance away, with her hand on her hip, drinking a beverage. She was a gyaru-type with short blonde hair and an amazing figure.

(Gyaru… nice. It’s been a while since I’ve even watched that style in adult videos, which makes it even more…)

She wasn’t quite on Sarna’s extraordinary level, but she had more than enough voluptuous curves. Large breasts and buttocks, but what personally scored high points for me was the slight softness around her stomach… crap, did she catch me looking!? Our eyes met. She initially looked displeased, but her expression quickly changed to one of puzzlement.

(W-what…?)

She approached me, clutching her plastic bottle.

"Are you… possibly Satou?"

"Huh?"

Who is this? She’s calling me by my surname without honorifics, so… but I don’t recognize her. Maybe she’s mistaking me for someone—

"I’m… no, I am. It’s ‘Takahashi.’"

"Eh?"

In that moment, memories of my blue youth flashed through my mind. The image of him lying collapsed, looking up at me. His transformed figure… I was the one who did it. Is this how he would look if he had grown up normally from back then and dyed his hair…?

"T-Takahashi…?"

It was a reunion with the friend I had once "killed."