Chapter 130: Couple Drink

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Translator: Soafp

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The sky was high and clear, the sunlight dazzling, and the ocean blue. In that sea, Sora floated on an inner tube, being pulled along by Ginji.

Their hesitant swimming led them smoothly across the calm sea, and before they knew it, they had reached the area just before the floating buoy.

“Whoa… It's been a while since I've been in the ocean. Actually, this might be the first time I've come out this far.”

“We're not that far out, really. But I love the view from here. I wanted to show it to you.”

“Yeah… It's amazing. Beautiful…”

Ginji pushed his goggles up and pointed beyond the buoy. Beyond it was an uninterrupted stretch of open sea—utterly blue and devoid of people.

It was a view usually reserved for confident swimmers, and completely different from the one you'd get from a boat. Floating in the water, you felt as if you were melting into the scenery itself. It was so beautiful, Sora felt a sudden pang of loneliness and instinctively reached out for Ginji beside her.

“Ginji.”

“What is it?”

“Hold my hand.”

“Sure, but… something wrong?”

From beneath the tube, Sora extended her hand, and Ginji took it. In the cool water, his hand felt warm.

The sound of the waves whispered in their ears, so much so that the rest of the world seemed to fade away—it was as if they were the only two there.

“Ei!”

“Whoa—!”

Sora let go of the inner tube and pulled Ginji under the water with her.

The open-front rash guard she wore floated up like a veil. Tiny white bubbles surrounded them as they sank into the quiet.

And there, in that tranquil space, Sora pulled Ginji close and kissed him.

Keeping just enough distance to maintain a clear view of his blurred underwater outline, she then floated back slightly.

Ginji looked slightly pouty, as if saying “You tricked me,” while Sora chuckled at his expression.

Then, this time, Ginji pulled Sora in.

“Puhah!”

“Cough—”

A few seconds later, they surfaced, faces flushed red from lack of oxygen.

“Ahaha! I thought I was going to drown! My mouth is so salty.”

“Idiot. That's not something to laugh about—pfft, hahaha!”

Even Ginji, after trying to scold her, burst out laughing.

The sound of their laughter echoed across the waves.

After their fit of giggles, they clung to the inner tube and began paddling back toward the shore.

The sound of people and the sight of crowds grew louder and busier the closer they got.

“Being in a quiet, empty part of the sea is nice, but the beach view from here is kinda great too.”

“I never thought of it like that. You're right—noise has its own charm. You've got a knack for spotting beautiful things, Sora.”

“Told you! I never miss anything.”

Sora proudly puffed her chest and kicked off through the water.

The feel of her skin against his underwater, the hazel eyes shining beneath wet black hair—Ginji felt like he was being pulled into her.

“…This is bad.”

“What is?”

I almost missed something beautiful, he thought—but couldn't say aloud. So instead, Ginji just kept swimming.

Once they got out of the water, a pleasant tiredness washed over them.

“Let's take a break.”

“Wanna go to the roadside station or a beach hut? I'm kinda thirsty.”

“Let's go to the station. They've got lockers and a bunch of stuff there.”

Having recently gotten a mouthful of seawater—for certain reasons—the two were both parched. They decided to head to the roadside station to rest.

They took money from the locker and went to the cafe attached to the station.

It was designed to accommodate swimsuit-wearing visitors, and several food and drink vendors were clustered together.

As expected during summer vacation, the place was packed—mostly with college-age people.

“It's crowded…”

“There are beach huts down the shore, but I bet they're even worse. Want to skip this and go to a vending machine instead?”

Ginji, knowing Sora didn't like crowds, tried to be considerate.

But Sora's eyes were fixed on something.

“Hmm… But… look at that.”

She was staring at a big sign that said: “Couple Only”—advertising a special drink.

It was the classic “two straws in one glass” setup.

Of course, the two of them had never ordered one before.

“…You wanna get that?”

Ginji asked nervously.

Sora swallowed hard, just as nervous.

“I-I mean… It feels a bit too advanced. I don't know if we've leveled up enough for this… But it's a rare chance…”

The aura radiating from the sign intimidated them.

But Ginji slapped his cheeks, trying to psych himself up, and grabbed Sora's hand.

“L-let's do it.”

“Seriously!? I was a little curious… but you think we can actually pull it off? That thing probably has an invisible barrier or something!”

“When in doubt, go forward. You're curious, right? No turning back now—real men don't run!”

Something inside Ginji had flipped, and he was now acting weirdly bold.

Sora, flustered, gripped his hand back and made up her mind.

“Y-you're right! Let's do it!”

They both stiffened up as they joined the line, their tension palpable and drawing attention—especially since Sora's striking looks only amplified it.

The line moved, and soon it was their turn.

“Welcome~! Have you decided what you'd like?”

A smiling woman in an apron greeted them.

“…This, please.”

“…Ah, yes! That'll be 700 yen. Here's your number tag!”

The staff member—taken aback by the couple's extremely suspicious behavior—glanced between Ginji's scowling, nervous face and Sora peeking out from behind him like a squirrel.

After ordering, they found an empty table (oddly, there were no other couples nearby) and waited.

Soon the drink arrived.

“Here you go! Summer Couple Drink~ Please return the glass to the return counter when you're done!”

The drink was served in a large glass filled with peach juice and fruit in syrup—complete with the obligatory two straws.

“How are we supposed to drink this? Any ideas, Ginji?”

“Well, I guess… you're supposed to drink at the same time?”

“At the same time…?”

They hesitated, calculating the timing.

Sora made the first move, leaning forward and grabbing a straw with her lips.

Then she shot Ginji a look.

…Ginji followed, biting down on the other straw.

The two of them began sipping the juice silently, unsure of when to stop, and ended up downing the whole thing in one go.

“…That wasn't quite what I imagined.”

Ginji tilted his head after releasing the straw.

“Same here. I thought it'd be… you know, more romantic. But there was just this weird tension.”

The two naturally launched into a reflection session.

“Maybe it was our eye contact? But I do wanna see your face during it…”

“Or maybe the angle? Expressions matter too. Hmm… I don't really know. But it was tasty! Let's eat the fruit too. Ginji, say ‘ahh'.”

“Ahh. Munch munch… Maybe I should ask Tetsu what you're supposed to do in moments like these. Here, you eat some too.”

“Ahh—yeah, I bet Tetsu would have good advice. Ginji, your mouth's all sticky. Let me wipe it for you.”

“Ah—thanks.”

And so, feeding each other fruit and wiping mouths, the two continued their awkward but sweet reflection time.

Incidentally, just beyond them—thanks to fate or coincidence—there were still no other couples.

A nearby group suddenly stood up and dashed toward the sea, shouting something.

But Ginji and Sora remained blissfully unaware of the chaos unfolding around them.