“Heh. Onoda-shi. Would you turn your charm down a little bit? You’re gathering attention wherever you go.” An-rin, as jolly as she always was, approached me as we started walking out of the gathering area.
From the way she hopped towards here, there’s no doubt that she was trying to loosen up the air surrounding us. It’s a little restrained, after all.
There’s Kushii who couldn’t look straight at me. Fukuda who’s gritting his teeth, trying to endure or maybe forget how Chii only greeted him in passing before coming to my side. Ogawa who looked like he became a mute while emitting his eternal gloominess.
Naturally, Hino was as lively as An-rin. They could be considered as part of one group, after all.
As for Hana... well, her attention was solely dedicated to me.
Also, given that it’s also kind of a race, we’re all starting at the same time. Some of my girls joined us along with the other groups of girls whose intention to check me out was too obvious.
Unfortunately for them, I was already surrounded but An-rin found it amusing and a point she could insert herself into.
“I would’ve already turned it off if there’s a switch for it, An- rin. You know, I’m satisfied enough with my girls’ attention here.” I replied while pulling both Hana and Chii closer to me. I had my arms around their hips. Thanks to the others putting us in the middle, it’s not that noticeable, allowing me to get away with it.
Chii pinched my arm, her little protest at my bold move before happily resting her head on my arm. On the other hand, Hana pulled on my arm further until my hand firmly rested on her navel. At this point, she couldn’t care less even if the other students saw how much she loved to be by my side. She’s ready to throw away her angelic public persona and focus solely on me.
In any case, knowing how excellent her acting skill was, building up the same image could be easily done by her.
“Pfft. You say that but you keep ensnaring girls in your net, Onoda-shi. Like, seriously. Even our Kushii failed to evade.”
“Shut up, An-rin. I’m not totally into him!” Kushii, who's just next to An-rin, immediately retorted. When I took a glance at her, the cool gyaru turned her head away as her ears started to redden.
An-rin laughed and hugged her friend from the side. Those who’ve seen that interaction focused on me again. Most of them were intense enough that I could somehow sense how puzzled they were.
I paid it no heed and continued though.
Before long, we reached a crossroads where everyone would go their own way.
The groups of Nami, Satsuki, and Kanzaki were all going to the left path. It’s the one that could also lead them to the bridge for the next hill or the descent down the hill. The groups of Maaya, Rae, and Komoe were going on the opposite side. The one that could lead to the peak. Since there are a lot of pathways and public areas out here, their goals and destinations were probably also scattered.
Aya’s group would be continuing with us on our path. I could see Wakaba trying her best to keep her distance from me but since she’s a little conscious of my gaze, she would always react and catch me staring at her back at times. And true enough, she’s acting awkwardly again. Whatever she heard or seen last night must’ve kept her awake.
Ah. Right. Like us, they’re paired up with another group. With Shiina prioritizing pairing those from the same class first, our eight groups are paired with one another.
Aya’s group was paired with Tadano’s group.
Mio’s group was paired with Sakuma’s group.
Nami’s group was paired with Satsuki’s group.
Yep. Since there’s a higher number of girls, it was inevitable. And honestly, it’s a lot better than pairing them to another class.
Unfortunately, Komoe, Maaya, and Rae’s groups were unable to get away with it. They got paired with a boy’s group in their class. That’s the nature of this activity and the final task, after all. There’s no loophole to bring them to me.
That aside, there’s no point acting insecure there. It’s not like they’re going on a date with them. But if ever those boys ended up troubling my girls, there’s no way I’ll let them get away. My protectiveness or rather, my pettiness would easily find a reason to make things difficult for them. They have to be careful or they won’t know what will hit them.
Uhh... Alright. Enough about that.
As we were given our initial clue on who, where, and what to look out for, Aya’s group also soon separated from us.
Like earlier, I let Hino take the lead in our group while I took every chance presented to me to spoil both Chii and Hana. When I told them earlier during breakfast that I ended up sleeping in Maaya’s tent, the two acted like they were not upset or disappointed. I promised that we could continue what we started, after all. They must’ve been waiting for me.
That’s why I decided that for the duration of this final activity, I won’t be leaving their side. I’ll have to thank Shiina later for pairing us with them.
A while later, as we walked past a part of the woods, we exited into a clearing where the clear stream was flowing. It’s filled with weeds and flowers as if it was left unattended. We could cross the stream to enter another part of the woods since it’s not wide enough to give us any trouble. However, I doubt there’s more to see there.
Hino, with the paper in his hand, stopped in his steps and looked around before turning around to us with creased eyebrows.
“Dude, it says here the professor should be near the stream. There’s no one here.”
“Let me see.” I approached him along with Chii and Hana to check the piece of paper containing the clue for the first task. I didn’t look at it earlier since I planned to be carried by them in this final activity and only focus on my girls.
Unfortunately, this guy immediately turned to me for help instead of Fukuda and Ogawa. The two gyarus were also not that interested in solving a riddle – even if it’s not so... it was left to us to check if Hino just missed a detail.
I read its content. It only contained two sentences.
‘Go near the stream due north and look for the professor to get your first task. He should be around a bald tree, hiding from your sight.’
A bald tree... This Hino. He’s not reading properly.
All around us were lush trees making it look like we’re still in the early spring. There were even some that were bearing fruit so... we probably arrived at a different location.
I shook my head and called for Hino’s attention. Then I pointed at the paper, highlighting that particular line, “Alright. You got the general direction but we’re probably not there yet. Maybe we have to cross this stream and search there.”
The bald tree could be hidden there, after all. In any case, since it’s like we’re going to have to search the area, I also suggested splitting up and searching the vicinity. We could just shout at each other when we found the professor or the tree.
While it should be easy to divide us into two groups since we’re originally two, to begin with, Hana stepped up and brought up drawing lots instead to decide the split.
Little did the others know, the girl rigged it. Because of that, I ended up exchanging places with An-rin. She’s going with the boys while I will stay with my girls and Kushii.
Although she acted like she wanted to protest the result, An-
rin nudged Kushii on the side before whispering to her. Shortly after, Kushii stopped making a fuss and quietly moved over to our side. As for what kind of magic word An-rin whispered to her, I had no idea. I’ll commend her on that.
Ah. Right. Fukuda also looked like he wanted to protest but Chii easily put a stop to it. She simply bid them good luck and whatever negative feelings he’s nursing seemingly got washed away. The idiot even smiled. I guess he’s that head over heels for Chii. Even if the girl was already openly announcing her affection to me, he couldn’t let go of his attraction to her.
Too bad for him, he’s better off moving on than hoping for her to change her mind.
“Now then... Shall we start searching?” I said after seeing the four disappearing into the woods on the other side.
“No. Let’s wait here... You owe us one, Ruki.” With a meaningful smile on her lips, Hana looked at Chii who immediately agreed with her.
“That’s right, Kii. Let’s set aside searching. We finally got you alone with us. Don’t we need to take every chance presented to us? What do you think, Kushii?”
Really... Looks like planning for later is useless when they’re this proactive.
