I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

There are several types of fortune slips: very auspicious, moderately auspicious, auspicious, slightly auspicious, slightly inauspicious, inauspicious, and very inauspicious.

Overall, there are slightly more auspicious ones. Himekoji's draw of "minor auspicious" is somewhere between auspicious and inauspicious, which can be said to be the most bland meaning.

Then the girls eagerly explained their fortune slips to Himekoji, leaving Himekoji feeling dizzy and disoriented.

When they finally faced off against Yukinoshita, they both spoke at the same time: "I am Kichi..."

They then exchanged a knowing glance and smiled faintly.

After the lottery ended, the vast majority of girls flocked to the most popular attraction, the "Love Fortune Telling Stone".

In order not to hinder those who planned to take on the challenge, the friends were asked to act as guards, ensuring the road was clear while signaling, "Let's begin!"

The so-called "love fortune-telling stone" is something that claims your wish for love will come true if you can walk to a stone a certain distance away with your eyes closed—it's like saying, "If you can do this, you'll get a million dollars."

Furthermore, since it requires the help of others, just like playing blindfolded watermelon hitting on the beach, it probably means that this relationship also needs the help of others to succeed.

However, Hiratsuka Shizuka was not the homeroom teacher of Class J, and Himekoji did not see her happily walk past the love fortune-telling stone, which was quite a pity.

Seeing that Himekoji kept staring in that direction, Yukinoshita glanced at him and said, "You want to try it too?"

"No, I'm not interested. Why don't you give it a try?"

"I...am not interested either."

“My mother told me that if you love someone, you should boldly pursue them, as the saying goes, Veni Vidi Vici. So I would never place my hopes for love on such an ethereal divination.”

"I see..."

Yukinoshita nodded thoughtfully.

So, since Mother has said so, there's nothing wrong with pursuing her, right? Sigh, why doesn't the Vatican sell indulgences anymore? If you have an affair with your mother, you only need to pay thirty ducats to atone for your sin. (A ducat is a type of gold coin from the Renaissance period, minted by the free city-state of Venice.)

By the way, my sister and I each had ten Ducatis; back then, those indulgences were a hot commodity...

Ahem, jokes aside, it's absolutely impossible for me to do *that* with my mother; it's just a fantasy.

After all, my mother is just too adorable!

Wait a minute, isn't this a thought crime? A thought crime? A dystopian atmosphere is washing over me again...

After leaving Jishu Shrine, all that's left is to follow the path for worship. Himekoji strolled along slowly, gazing at the main hall and Kiyomizu Stage from the depths of the courtyard. This path leads to Otowa Waterfall.

The water flowing down from the waterfall is the sacred water from which the name Kiyomizu-dera Temple comes from.

The waterfall, which splits into three streams, was already packed with people.

The queues, divided into sections, snaked and stretched out in several layers. Wait a minute, isn't this how you queue at Disneyland? Didn't you make a reservation in advance?

One theory is that these three streams of water will have effects on studies, love, and longevity, respectively. As Himekoji was thinking about this, he noticed that Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei was filling a bottle with water from the "Love" waterfall. Because she was using a huge bottle, she was slightly scolded by the staff.

If you want love, why don't you just accept my feelings? Why bother collecting water from a waterfall? We can just take a bath together, and you can collect as much water as you want. It's much more effective than this, trust me.

But the condition is that you have to take a bath naked with me in the bathtub first!

Even so, there is a sign at Otowa Falls that clearly states: "All three streams have the same water!" But most people ignore the sign, since it hasn't been there long, while the legend has been around for hundreds of years.

Two-thirds of the girls in the class lined up in front of the waterfall of academic achievement, and another third lined up in front of the waterfall of love. It seems that Class J is indeed different from other classes, where almost everyone in other classes lined up in front of the waterfall of love.

Of course, there are also those who don't have to queue, such as Himekoji and Yukinoshita.

"Aren't you going to join the queue?"

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Yukino said calmly, “It’s really ridiculous to entrust the future to something uncertain.”

"Hahaha..."

"Ok?"

She suddenly glared at her, seemingly very unhappy that Himekoji was laughing at her.

“If you’re not going, I’m going,” Himekoji said as she walked toward the so-called “love” waterfall. Then she turned back and said to the dumbfounded Yukinoshita, “I’m thirsty, I’d like some water.”

The sterilizer in front of the waterfall contains many long-handled ladles. If you watch Japanese anime closely, you'll often see these things in front of shrines and temples. Generally, you need to wash your hands before going to these places, although some people also drink from them.

Well, it's drinkable water anyway.

Yukinoshita stood still, waiting for everyone in the class to finish drinking their water and come back. Himekoji took a few big, hearty gulps and put the long-handled ladle back into the sterilizer.

"There's no need to specifically line up that way..."

After returning, Yukinoshita muttered in a very low voice.

"After all, there are fewer people over there. The girls in our class are mainly focused on academics, while there are too many middle-aged people over Changshou."

Tourists aren't just students.

After hearing this, Yukinoshita left first.

The school's first day itinerary included Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Nanzen-ji Temple, and even Ginkaku-ji Temple. Because Yukinoshita was not used to crowded places and had poor stamina, she ended up falling asleep on Himekoji's shoulder on the bus to Ginkaku-ji Temple.

But when she returned to her booked hotel after visiting Ginkaku-ji Temple, she remained sober the whole way, or rather, she forced herself to stay sober.

It must have been incredibly embarrassing for Yukinoshita to have just fallen asleep on Himekoji's shoulder and been caught red-handed.

Author's Note:

P.S.: By the way, my wisdom teeth don't hurt anymore, so I'm not getting them pulled.

Chapter 224 At night, [Yukino Yukinoshita] couldn't stay any longer.

Back at the hotel, after having a meal, it meant that today's activities were all over. Everyone had to stay in the hotel obediently and not step out of the door. Anyone caught violating this rule would be severely criticized. The hotel staff had also made many arrangements to prevent students from sneaking out at night. It seems that the school had done a lot of work in consultation.

After having a meal and taking a short nap, then exercising and taking a shower, Himekoji became quite idle.

Because the rooms are divided by class, and it's a large Japanese-style inn, each room is quite big. So, the boys often share a room with eight or nine other boys, which is also to help them get along better.

But there were only three boys in Himekoji's class.

The other two were not interested in Himekoji, and they were not interested in Himekoji either.

As a result, only Ji Xiaolu lived in the empty house, because while Ji Xiaolu was asleep, they all went to other classes to play mahjong and cards with other people.

"Ducks, ducks, it looks like I'll have to get involved a little too."

The boys' rooms were on the first floor, and the girls' rooms were on the second floor. Along the only passageway in the middle, several physical education teachers, including the strong and muscular Mr. Atsuki, took turns monitoring the area to prevent the boys from going to different floors. Of course, if the girls went to the first floor, they wouldn't be stopped too much.

The teachers have their own single rooms.

The moment Ji Xiaolu opened the sliding door, she immediately heard the clattering sound of mahjong tiles being rubbed coming from several nearby rooms.

Quite a few people bring mahjong sets, but the problem is that a set of mahjong tiles is actually quite heavy. So who carries such a heavy thing? Answer—the one with the lowest status in a group.

Himekoji found the room for Class F. The boys in their class were divided into two rooms. As soon as Himekoji opened the door, she found the group where Hikigaya and Hayama were.

"Ah, welcome, welcome!"

Everyone was taken aback at first, and then suddenly seemed to be about to put away the mahjong tiles. But then they thought about it and realized that this was a school trip, not a secret mahjong game. Their expressions immediately changed, and they invited Himekoji inside.

Interestingly, Himekoji also spotted Zaimokuza, who was playing UNO with Hikigaya and Totsuka, while Hayama and his group of four were gathered around a mahjong table, apparently having just finished a round and were shuffling the tiles.

"President Haruto, would you like to play a few laps?"

Ye Shan gave up half a space and pointed to the small square table that had been turned into a mahjong table.

"Alright, the four of you are just right, I won't get involved. But it seems like Hachiman could easily add one more person."

"Oh? You're welcome here too!"

Although Hikigaya's gaze seemed to say, "You're not welcome here, go away," as soon as Totsuka spoke, Hikigaya immediately put on a meek and submissive expression and made way for Himekoji to sit down together.

“However, President,” Totsuka said, glancing at himself furtively, “we’re playing a game with penalties.”

"Hachiman lost because he didn't shout UNO. Since you're here, let's start a new game."

When playing UNO, you have to shout "UNO" when you only have one card left, so logically Hachiman is breaking the rules and should go down to buy a drink.

"Okay, restart, restart."

After Himekoji joins, the deck is shuffled, and then the game begins again.

Amidst the cheerful sounds of "eat, pong, kong" from the other side, Himekoji played her last card and said, "UNO!"

As the first winner, Himekoji is eliminated first, and the remaining three continue the game until a final loser emerges.

"Ah...that was fast."

Zaimokuza helplessly held his head and swayed his body. Hachiman moved to the other side, not wanting to be close to Zaimokuza.

"Okay, you guys continue."

As Ji Xiaolu said this, she bid farewell to Ye Shan and the others, closed the door, and went downstairs.

I think I might run into Hiratsuka Shizuka here later.

After buying a can of mango juice from the vending machine, Himekoji turned around and saw Yukinoshita striding confidently down the stairs and into the lobby.

She had probably already showered, as her hair was tied up. It was a rare sight to see her dressed so casually.

Yukino walked straight into the local specialty shop set up in the hotel, her eyes fixed straight ahead, and naturally did not notice Himekoji, who was wearing a fitted pure white trench coat and sitting with his back to her.

Then, she stared intently at one of the shelves with an extremely serious look. She had already looked at that shelf before; it was full of Mr. Panda, a Kyoto limited edition.

Yukinoshita touched the corner of her mouth, considered for a moment, and then reached out as if she had made up her mind. However, in that instant, Yukinoshita noticed her surroundings.

And so, her gaze immediately met that of Himekoji, who was staring right at her.

Yukinoshita pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted, and turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, she came back and stood in front of Himekoji.

Good evening. And what are you doing here?

"There are only three boys in the class, and they've all run away. There's no point in going to other classes. We played a round of UNO and then came down to get some fresh air. What about you? Do you just want to buy the Kyoto-limited Mr. Pan figure?"

Himekoji told him the truth.

"Who said I wanted to buy that..." Yukinoshita started to say, but then realized she couldn't continue. She lowered her head, slumped her shoulders, and admitted defeat: "Okay, I do want to buy it."

"Then let's buy it."

"Ah."

As she spoke, she went over again and bought it. And so, she sat down a little distance away from Himekoji, holding the Mr. Pan doll.

Yukino said, as if talking to herself, "I can't stand being in my room any longer."

"ha...?"