Chapter Ninety-One: Soaked to the Bone, Saori Amamiya

With Saori’s meddling, it took A and H more than half an hour to get the tent set up.

After that, he made several trips to the surrounding towns, carrying back every last thing they would need for camping.

By the time everything was finished, it was already three in the afternoon.

Once all the supplies had been put away, A and H rubbed at the ache in his lower back and stepped out of the tent, only to find a cup of steaming warm water held out before him.

“Have some hot water first. The food will be ready soon,” said H, reaching up to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. Then she rose onto her toes and gently kissed his cheek before continuing, “Still tired? Want me to massage your legs?”

“Hah, I wasn’t tired before, but now that you say it, I suddenly am,” A and H teased with a smile, taking the cup and drinking as he looked around. At last, in an open patch of cleared ground not far away, he spotted the figure of Saori and asked curiously, “What sort of delicious things have you made?”

At that, H followed his gaze toward the busy girl in the distance and gave a helpless little smile.

“Just some ordinary snacks, really. But Saori bought a fish and insisted on grilling it herself.”

“She can do that?”

A and H was a little surprised. In his memory, Saori had stepped into a kitchen so rarely he could count the times on one hand, much less grill a fish.

“Who knows?” H said with a soft laugh, then took the initiative to loop her arm through his. Side by side, the two of them walked toward Saori.

Their shoes made a crisp pattering sound in the snow, and because of that, as soon as they drew near, Saori, who had heard the noise, turned her head to look over.

Perhaps because she had been staying by the fire, and because starting it had taken quite a bit of effort earlier, traces of black soot had appeared on her originally fair little face.

But she clearly had no idea. Seeing A and H approach, she sprang to her feet with great enthusiasm and called out, “Ah, you’re finally here. Look at the fish I grilled!”

As she spoke, she pointed proudly at the blackened thing skewered over the fire.

Well...

If it could still be called a fish.

If Saori had not said so, A and H would have taken it for a piece of charcoal.

Still, knowing it was the result of her hard work all afternoon, he could not bring himself to make the joke that had risen to his lips.

However, just as A and H was about to force out a few words of praise against his conscience, H suddenly stepped forward, crouched by the fire, casually picked up a bamboo skewer from the side, and poked at the thing roasting over the flames, issuing a soul-searching question.

“Is this really something a human being can eat?”

Damn, H is fearless!

A and H could not help but praise her inwardly. Yet upon hearing this, Saori looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling as she glared at her sister in anger.

“How could it not be edible!”

Seemingly to prove herself, after saying that she even took down the grilled fish together with the stick and was just about to bring it to her mouth, but fortunately A and H stopped her in time.

“You idiot!”

Snatching the fish away with one hand, A and H placed his other hand on Saori’s head and rubbed it firmly despite her struggles, scolding her, “Do you know how dangerous that was just now? What if the grilled fish was still scorching hot?”

“But, but...”

Hearing that, Saori wanted to argue back, but after a long string of “buts,” she could not say anything in reply. In the end, she had no choice but to puff out her little mouth and fall silent.

She knew he was saying it for her own good.

“All right.”

A and H withdrew the hand that had been rubbing Saori’s hair, then pinched her cheek and suggested, “How about we go fishing together this afternoon and see who catches more?”

At the mention of fishing, Saori, who had been somewhat downcast a moment ago, immediately perked up. Her eyes shining, she looked at A and H excitedly and said, “Okay!”

“Come have something to eat first,” H reminded them. In front of her was a mat covered with all kinds of snacks, all of which the three of them had bought that morning.

After the three finished eating, Saori could not wait to grab A and H and dash toward the lakeside, while H strolled along behind at an unhurried pace.

She had little interest in fishing; she was only following along for the fun of it.

When they reached the lake, Saori copied what she had seen on television, circled the shoreline in an impressively serious manner, and finally chose a relatively secluded spot.

A and H had no particular demands. He found a place nearby, set down the fishing gear and the little folding stool, and was just about to sit when footsteps sounded beside him.

Turning his head, he saw H had already come close.

“Are you not going to find a place to fish, H?” A and H asked, somewhat surprised.

H gave a light laugh and shook her head.

“I’m not very interested in fishing.”

“I see.”

A and H nodded, moved the folding stool a little to the side, and after H sat down, continued, “How are you feeling? Is your stomach bothering you?”

“A little, but it’s fine.”

As she spoke, H suddenly winked at him, then patted her thigh and reminded him, “Doesn’t A and H want me to massage your legs?”

A and H was tempted by the idea, but thinking she was still on her period, he did not agree. Instead, he patted his own thigh and smiled.

“You don’t need to massage my legs. Why don’t you sit over here and let me rub your stomach instead? I’ve heard it can help ease the pain.”

“Really?”

H looked doubtful. She glanced toward her younger sister in the distance; seeing that the girl had not noticed them, she hesitated for a moment before standing and sitting sideways on A and H’s lap.

Her thighs pressed snugly against his, and the delicate fragrance unique to a young woman drifted into his nose. A and H could not help swallowing.

As his hand slipped beneath the hem of her clothes and touched her skin, he clearly felt H shiver.

Although the two of them had already been intimate before, this was the first time they had been so close outdoors, and both felt a strange, tingling awareness.

But A and H did not fidget. He obediently massaged her lower abdomen.

Looking out over the calm lake and feeling the warm pressure on her belly, little by little the faint crease between H’s brows relaxed, and before long she was leaning softly against his chest.

Because he spent the whole time massaging H’s stomach, A and H naturally did not catch a single fish. By contrast, Saori at the side, whether due to beginner’s luck or not, actually managed to reel in quite a few, though not without incident.

At dusk, the three gathered outside the tent.

Saori set a bucket containing eight fish down in front of them, placed her hands on her hips, lifted her little chin, and said proudly, “Well? Am I amazing or what?”

“Yeah, amazing, amazing.”

A and H gave a perfunctory agreement, then draped a towel over Saori’s head and rubbed vigorously.

The girl was soaked through.

Earlier, in trying to reel in an eight-pound fish, she had been dragged all the way into the water and still refused to let go. Fortunately A and H had arrived in time; otherwise it was impossible to say whether she would still be standing here.