The picking of the fruits and completing the task was smoothly done soon after that.
To be fair, I still let them look for the other two fruits. Ogawa found one even before I could finish picking the peaches. Fukuda who was still seething also found himself another fruit tree. Something that had a relatively shorter and sturdier trunk for him to climb on. He disappeared and returned a few minutes later.
As there’s no point making a fuss about it, I let Hino take the fruits and submit them to the professor. After confirming the completion of our task, he got another piece of paper, sending us to our next destination.
For the next hour, we went and finished three more tasks without running into an obstacle. There’s even one where we have to compete with another group. The losing side had to stay there and wait for another group that they could defeat. It’s like a stage where we could be stuck if we’re not good enough.
Still, that’s probably the most interesting part of this task. Even someone like me who’s just doing it for the sake of doing it got a little engaged.
As for the other tasks, nothing was particularly difficult. Finding the task giver was possibly the most difficult part since they purposefully hid themselves from us.
Given that the tasks gradually needed the cooperation of everyone in our group, Fukuda and Ogawa could only suck it up.
In this case, An-rin and Hino dealt with them. No matter how much Fukuda showed his scowl. He’s nothing but a rebellious brat and a sore loser in our eyes.
And to make matters worse for him, Chii openly voiced her sentiment about how unamusing it was for her to see him acting that way. Knowing that she was the reason why the guy started antagonizing me, Chii wanted to put a stop to it.
However, she’s still a little softhearted, especially for someone she once considered a reliable friend. She could’ve dealt with him fiercely by further stomping on his ego but she stopped short of it.
Instead, the girl told him that her affection for me didn’t just suddenly spring up this year but something she’s kept inside her chest for years.
Kushii and An-rin most likely heard about our past already but not Fukuda and the others. And honestly, she probably wouldn’t tell them about it. Apart from the tearful day when I cut her off, she’s treasuring every day that she spent with me in the past. She’s as sentimental as she is clumsy.
It’s not that hard to believe anymore that I made her fall in love with me. I was just a thick-headed and stuck-up idiot who could not recognize that I felt the same way for her and the other girls...
After taking the clue for possibly the last task for this activity, our group reached a location just like that hidden park yesterday. There were benches around to sit on with tall enough trees to hide us from direct sunlight.
Other groups were resting who were probably just as exhausted after doing consecutive random tasks. Regrettably, none of my other girls were around. Although we did run into Satsuki and Nami’s group earlier, they were headed in the opposite direction.
“Kii, let’s take a break here. Lend me your lap. I’m tired.” Chii said as she pulled on my arm, bringing us to sit on one of the free benches. It’s long enough for someone to lie down if I sit on the edge so that’s clearly what she’s aiming for.
At this point, she couldn’t care less about hiding our relationship anymore. She’s just being true to her desire to take every chance now that we’re together.
Likewise, I also didn’t see any reason to reject her. I followed her lead, took a seat, and guided her head on my lap. Just looking at her satisfied grin and lovely expression, I could already feel my fatigue going away.
But would Hana let that pass? Obviously not.
A moment after Chii comfortably laid down, the girl finally reacted. However, Chii also has a swift response to her, causing sparks to fly between them.
“Wait. That’s unfair Chizuru! Shouldn’t it be my turn to be spoiled by him?”
“Hehe. We didn’t agree on the order of things, Hana-chi... It’s first come first serve.”
Chii teasingly sneered at Hana, looking pretty amused at her reaction.
With puffed-up cheeks, Hana stomped her way over to us. Jealousy was written all over her face. With unbelievable strength, the girl then pushed me to open up a space she could squeeze in.
Understanding her intention, I didn’t say anything and simply stretched my arm out, guiding her down to my side and hooking my arm around her back.
As soon as she settled down, she sneered back at Chii as she happily snuggled to me, both of her arms wrapping around me.
Those who saw this happening couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves. They’re pointing at me who’s getting this wonderful treatment from the two girls.
As always, the boys looked at me in envy while the girls who were fairly acquainted with me by now were mostly surprised at our bold display.
For sure, I won’t be surprised if this becomes another hot topic to spread like wildfire.
Shortly after, An-rin and Kushii also walked over with the three boys following behind them.
Hino was giving me a thumbs-up.
Ogawa was acting like a bystander.
And Fukuda? Well, the idiot was gnashing his teeth again. I wouldn’t be surprised if he found difficulty breathing while watching Chii unhesitatingly being this intimate with me.
“Oh my gosh! Look at these lovebirds. They’re like, seriously flaunting their relationship.” An-rin exclaimed as she was once again trying to make fun of this situation.
Next to her, Kushii was shaking her head while looking at us. Or rather, while watching both Hana and Chii acting unbothered by everyone’s reaction.
The awkward air around her had pretty much dispersed already. I mean, after more than an hour of watching us flirting, this could be considered a normal sight by now.
Due to that, everyone settled down too after their initial reaction. While I focused on pampering my girls – with Chii miraculously falling asleep despite the noise – An-rin and the others chatted with the other students, sharing their experiences on their tasks.
Of course, I also joined in the conversation, albeit, only when they were addressing me. Moreover, even though some of them tried to ask me what’s the deal with us, my answer was nothing more than a shrug. That’s to keep it vague. I mean, if they’re using their eyes properly and come to terms with what they’re witnessing, it’s not that hard to figure it out.
Hana remained awake but couldn’t be bothered joining in their conversation.
Anyway, when we started discussing our last task, we found out that everyone was given a somewhat similar clue.
Finding our Class Advisor. Looks like it’s just a roundabout way of telling us to gather around them to prepare for the ending of this camping trip.
As for whether Shio and the teachers prepared something for us, we’ll probably only know after finding her.
And while resting there, more groups trickled into the area. As usual, most of them stopped and stared at our PDA. Still, no one was brave enough to call us out.
Among those groups were Komoe and Kanzaki. Upon seeing me, both girls with Watanabe as a tag-along went to approach us. Unfortunately, with Chii sleeping and Hana without any plan of leaving my side, I could only stretch an arm to dote on them when they drew closer to me.
But even that created an uproar among the other students. In the end, we became like a public attraction but as always, it’s not enough to bother us anymore.
Ah. Right. I found it funny that Watanabe magically pulled her notepad from out of nowhere and wrote on it again, most likely making another entry of her observation of my relationship with the girls.
