It was just Hina and me in the hotel room.
The occasional distant explosions no longer stirred even the slightest suspicion in the girl.
Her mind was entirely occupied with what I was about to do with her, leaving no room for distraction.
"Se… sensei…"
On the soft bed, the silver-haired girl's fair face was flushed bright red, her breathing growing heavier. She seemed completely unlike her usual tough demeanor, weakly asking, "Are… are we really going to do this…? You're not tricking me, are you…?"
If her companions and even the enemies, who were working hard for her vacation, knew she was secretly doing this with me, acting like a delicate little girl, they would probably be utterly shocked.
But putting aside her strength and status, Hina was just a young girl, inexperienced and innocent.
I answered calmly, without changing my expression. "Of course. Hina, you don't come to the beach often, so you might not know, but this is a very important step. You can't be careless, or there will be serious problems."
"Th-That… even though I'm usually busy with work, I've read about it in books… After all, it's the beach… bu-but…"
After hesitating, Hina finally mustered the courage to ask, confused. "Can't I just apply the sunscreen myself?"
I was evenly spreading the sunscreen across my palms, gave her a strange look, and said with a tone of certainty.
"Of course not!"
Not a chance.
There's no rule at the beach that sunscreen must be applied by someone else.
I had just remembered Iori asking me to help with sunscreen before, and noticing that Hina didn't seem to have this habit, I made up a convenient lie.
Though it wasn't right, for Hina's sake, I had to deceive her, against my conscience and morals, taking advantage of her inexperience.
Heaven knows how much effort it took to calm down her astonishment and frustration, even persuading her to reluctantly agree... Actually, she was willing to try?
I had originally only intended to use it as an excuse to buy time.
I began to doubt who was really taking advantage of whom.
At this point, whether she was playing dumb or not, I had no choice but to play along and press on.
While the rest of the Prefect Team worked hard for Hina's vacation, I, carrying everyone's expectations, had to fight on a different battlefield.
So, with righteous authority, I coaxed her. "If you do it yourself, there will definitely be areas you can't reach, right? Like your back. When I went to the beach with other students, they all told me the same thing."
Thinking back, it seemed mentioning "other students" was what shifted Hina from firm refusal to hesitation.
The Prefect Team president still fidgeted. "But this swimsuit only exposes my hands, feet, and face… it still feels kind of weird… um, sensei, maybe we should forget it?"
At the last moment, she wanted to back out? Did she not consider the determination I was showing!
I muttered under my breath and urged her. "It's the same. I don't want such a cute Hina to get sunburned. Come on, hold out your hand."
"You're saying such weird things again… we won't be outside for long… getting sunburned won't happen, no matter what…"
Despite the complaints, she still blushed and extended her arm.
The odds of playful resistance just went up again.
Thinking that, I placed my hand over Hina's.
The moment our skin touched, she tried to pull away in surprise, but before she could, I interlaced our fingers.
Hina hesitated, unwilling to hurt me, and didn't pull away, only looking to the side, her body frozen.
To ease her embarrassment, I applied the creamy lotion while chatting gently.
"Hina, your hands are so small."
"Y-Yes… compared to an adult like you, I'm still short… an immature child…"
In terms of size, she did look like a child. But wasn't Hoshino the same?
Adjusting my posture, I continued.
"Hina, your skin is so pale."
"That's… natural, I guess… or maybe it's because I often stay up late for work…"
Honestly, even now with a light pink flush, her skin still had a somewhat pale undertone.
She needed proper care, so I had even more reason to do it carefully.
"Hina, you smell so nice."
"…What!? I-I have a smell!?"
Hina's face turned bright red, panicked. "That can't be… I showered properly before changing!"
Seeing her misunderstanding, I quickly clarified. "It's a good smell. Is it the shampoo? Or is it naturally yours?"
Hina, taking a few deep breaths and finally calming down a bit, glared at me indignantly.
"Sensei, please stop! Just focus on applying it!"
It was her shyness causing this.
I paused for a moment, finished one arm, and as I switched sides, I tested.
"Hina, you…"
"Sensei." The Prefect Team president finally lost her patience, shooting me a cold glare. "It's just normal sunscreen. If you continue disrupting discipline, I really won't pay attention to you."
I immediately backed down. "But I haven't even said anything yet…"
"…Sorry. Then what do you want to say?"
How did she turn into someone like Koharu?
I said in a serious tone. "If it's too uncomfortable, don't hold back. It's okay to make a sound."
"That should've been said at the start…"
Hina sighed, trying to be strong.
"I'm sorry for worrying you. Even though it feels a little weird… it's just normal sunscreen, so I don't feel anything unusual…"
When I applied it under her arm earlier, she was clearly trembling all over.
Biting her lip, refusing to make a sound, her endurance really was so typical of Hina.
Since she insisted on being stubborn, to give everyone else more room while they were busy dealing with delinquents, I had no choice but to make even more sacrifices.
So, I deliberately slowed my movements.
Finally, a barely audible, uncontrollable whimper escaped from her mouth.
"Ugh…"