Chapter 7
Hokuto: Fufu, the ocean breeze feels nice.
Subaru: I’m sooo glad we came!
...Wait, huh? Whoa, it’s Anzu! Ahaha, what a coinkydink~ Whatcha doing here? You going swimming?
No? Ohh, you couldn’t decide on a design, so you came by to get ideas?
I getcha~ We’re twinsies ☆
Mao: Yeah, you know how we’re going to open a booth at Sunflower Live?
We’re pretty much decided on the merch we’ll sell, but we wanted to make our own merch together too.
So we came down here to come up with ideas.
Subaru: Who cares about that! We’re at the beach, so let’s go swimming! Splish splash... ☆
Hokuto: Whoa, don’t jump around in the water—you’ll get your pants wet.
And even if you wanted us to go swimming, we didn’t bring any bathing suits. Unless you brought one for yourself, Akehoshi?
Subaru: Nah. But if you don’t have a bathing suit, you can just strip down to your undies and you’re good to go!
Hokuto: How is that good to go? Anzu is here; do not try to go swimming in your underwear.
Makoto: Seriously. Look, see? Anzu’s face is already getting red.
Hokuto: Hm... But it doesn’t look like she’s blushing because of Akehoshi’s tactless outburst.
Her face is burning up, and she looks a bit sluggish. Are these symptoms of heatstroke?
Makoto: Huh?! That’s bad! C’mon Anzu, we gotta get you out of the sun right now!
Mao: ...Look, there’s an umbrella over there. No idea who it belongs to, but let’s borrow it.
Subaru: You okay, Anzu? I can get you a cold drink if you want me to. I brought some with me, so don’t worry about it.
But don’t push yourself so much, okay? We’re all friends. If one of us is going through it, then it’s like all of us are going through it too.
Hokuto: It does seem to be a mild case of heatstroke. But like Anzu is saying, she’ll recover if she rests for a bit.
I am worried about leaving her on her own, though. Someone should stay with her.
Makoto: Sure, I can stay. We came here to think of ideas for merch, so you guys should go see if there’s anything useful out there.
Mao: Okay, then we’ll leave Anzu to you. Uh, and just in case, can I leave my phone here with you? I don’t wanna drop it.
Makoto: No problem. I’ll take good care of it.
Subaru: Watch Daikichi for me too! He wants to go out and look for sparkly things, but it’d be bad if he gets hurt!
Makoto: Yeah, got it. ...Hm? Aww, did the little guy miss Anzu-chan?
Subaru: Yup. I bet he’ll behave if he stays with her, riiiight?
So take good care of him! Oookie dokie, then let’s go shiny hunting~... ☆
Mao: Ahaha, it’s true: dogs really do resemble their owners.
Well, I’ll be going too. What about you, Hokuto? Wanna come “shiny hunting” with us?
Hokuto: No, I’ll walk around and think up ideas.
Mao: Suit yourself. Hopefully we both come up with some good stuff.
Subaru: Ah—there’s an empty bottle! Look look, it’s so sparkly and pretty in the sunlight~ ☆
Mao: No no no, that’s dangerous. Don’t touch empty bottles with your bare hands. ...Mm? Hey Subaru, it looks like there’s a pretty rock under your feet.
Subaru: Huh? Where, where? Oh wow, it’s so sparkly and pretty! It looks just like a jewel~ ♪
Mao: It’s sea glass, right? They’re called the jewels of the sea, you know.
Subaru: I’ve heard that before too! So this is sea glass, then.
Oh hey, you think we could use these as merch? They’re so pretty!
Mao: Maybe. Empty bottles aside, the sea glass would work well. And we can use the shells around them for something, too.
Subaru: Hmm... Ah! What about bracelets or necklaces?
Mao: Accessories would be good, yeah. How do you make accessories, anyway? I’ll try asking Ritsu next time I see him.
Subaru: ...? Why would you ask Sakuma-senpai’s little bro?
Mao: Oh, ‘cause he’s pretty good with his hands~ He makes accessories for me a lot, actually.
He once gave me a necklace saying, “I made it inspired by you, Maa~kun.” It made me pretty happy~ ♪
Makoto: Fufu. They look like they’re having fun.
Huh? Do I wanna go join them? Nah, I think I’d better stay here in the shade for a bit and just watch.
They’re all so incredible, aren’t they? So sparkling and beautiful. And they’re not afraid of being seen at all.
They worked hard to grab people’s attention at Summer Live.
I still can’t get used to that kinda thing. I still shrink back when people look at me. Ahaha, I’m a pretty pathetic idol, huh...
You don’t think so? You thought I was cool back then? Well, thanks.
You’re looking a bit better now, Anzu-chan. Do you wanna join them? Look, Akehoshi-kun’s calling you.
Oh, but if you’re feeling even a little bit sick, then come back here, okay?
...Me? No, I think I’ll stay here a bit longer. I’m looking stuff up on my phone.
Huh? You think it’s a waste of a beach trip?
I’ll be fine. I have enough fun just watching everyone play around like this. So you can go enjoy yourself too, Anzu. Don’t worry about me ♪