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

"Haruto-kun, you can go down now. Could you please take my bag with you?"

The bag naturally contained a laptop and a cup.

"Oh, of course, that's no problem."

"Then even if Haruto-kun turns on his phone's flashlight and shines it up to look at my panties, I'll pretend I don't know."

"I would never do such a perverted thing!! Utaha, your thoughts are dangerous!"

After getting off the ladder, she took a shower and went to sleep. Kasumigaoka cooks for herself, and she has already cooked and eaten while Himekoji is not around. Himekoji has been going to the main family for the past few days, but she doesn't stay there at night. After five days of this, Himekoji's annual visit to the main family is finally over. She has one more day off before she has to go back to school to prepare for the start of the new semester.

So he decided to take Kasumigaoka to play in the countryside woods. He remembered there was a clear stream there, and playing in the water would be nice. It wouldn't be good to waste the last day of vacation at home.

"By the way, Haruto-kun, my weight is back to 49 kilograms."

Is there any significant difference between 49 and 50...?

Because Himekoji is very tall, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between a kilogram more or less.

"49 and 50... This is a girl's obsession, it's a world of difference! It's like the difference of five to ten centimeters in your ○○."

While tidying up his clothes, Kasumigaoka calmly uttered words that almost made Himekoji vomit blood.

"Ahem—I've heard from some mature women that if it's too long, it can hurt, unlike the exaggerated descriptions in novels and comics." (Speaking of which, when I was in junior high school, one of our female teachers was suddenly hospitalized. A few of us went to the hospital to visit her and asked the nurse what was wrong. The nurse told us that she had a 'sudden cervical laceration,' so we all quietly went back.)

"Eek, Haruto-kun is such a pervert! I was clearly talking about height, why did you think of such strange things? Could it be that although Haruto-kun seems very proper on the surface, he is actually full of indescribable thoughts inside?"

Kasumigaoka turned around teasingly and lightly touched the corner of her lips with a finger.

"I surrender. I did nothing. I know nothing."

Himekoji raised her hands, looking regretful—she shouldn't have answered Kasumigaoka's question!

Because they were going to walk along a forest path, both of them changed into comfortable sneakers. Himekoji thought that Kasumigaoka's outfit would change a lot, but she still went her own way and wore a form-fitting dress with a cinched waist. She was still wearing alluring matte black stockings on her legs. Since it was the height of summer, they weren't too thick and looked rather sheer. Speaking of which, if those stockings got scratched by a bush while walking in the forest, they would probably come off immediately.

However, Kasumigaoka showed no intention of changing his attire. Himekoji had already given all the necessary reminders, and saying anything more now would be meddling. So he silently shut his mouth and set off with Kasumigaoka, following his childhood memories as they bypassed the town entrance and walked along the paths the villagers had taken into the quiet forest.

As soon as you enter the woods, the temperature drops several degrees after just a few steps. The heat outside and the coolness inside the forest seem like two different worlds. Dappled sunlight shines through the overlapping shadows of the leaves onto the ground. The Japanese have even created a poetic term for this state: "木漏れ日" (kirou re ni).

"Ah—this is a really nice place. After living here for a few days, I'm already thinking about settling down here permanently."

Kasumigaoka, who had just escaped the sweltering heat, relaxed and shook the clothes on her chest. Because she was still wearing a bra, the area around her chest was always unbearably hot in the summer, and the worst part was that she couldn't take it off, which was the most annoying thing. Then, when she got home, took off her bra, threw it aside, and lay down on the sofa, the feeling was... wow, it was like being reborn.

"If Shiyu wants to settle down here, I can definitely help you make all the arrangements."

"I was just saying. If I were to settle down here, I would have to live a life where I can only see Haruto-kun a few days a year. I don't want that. I wish I could spend 25 hours a day snuggling up with Haruto-kun in bed, making a mess of things."

"...What nonsense are you spouting? Is this really something a normal high school girl would say? Isn't there 24 hours in a day? And I've never spent time cuddling with you in bed."

Himekoji thinks that if more girls like Kasumigaoka joined the student council, then shouldn't this story be renamed "Delusional Gakuen: Soubu High School Arc"?

"Don't worry about the details. One day, cough—, it'll all be fine."

Kasumigaoka took a few quick steps forward, then put her arm around Himekoji's arm, looking very obedient. With each step they took, Himekoji could feel her soft breasts swaying against his arm like waves.

Something's not right, the monster in my pants looks like it's about to stir!

As we walked further, the temperature dropped and the humidity increased significantly. Fortunately, Ningyocho was not like Chiba, where the humidity was already frighteningly high. This place was still considered "inland," so the humidity was not so severe. Only here did we feel like we were in Chiba. The surroundings became increasingly quiet, and the afternoon birdsong was much less frequent. It seemed that the birds were also taking a nap.

"There's an open space ahead..." Himekoji was interrupted by Kasumigaoka before she could finish speaking. She muttered in distress, "Oh no, I forgot to bring a picnic blanket. If Haruto-kun is planning to make me give him my virginity here... am I supposed to do it while holding onto a tree trunk with my back to him?"

"I brought you to the woods to play in the water, not to do anything indescribable."

"Tch, what a waste of my expectations."

"Hey! What do you mean 'just a waste of time'? Are all high school girls this sexually frustrated?!"

Chapter 147 You big idiot, [Kasumigaoka Utaha]'s attempt to outsmart her clumsy self backfired.

"Hmph hmph hmph~"

Kasumigaoka didn't reply, but her cheeks turned pink, as if she was deliberately trying to hide something.

Because this was really just a simple outing to play in the water, not even a picnic. If we're talking about a picnic, Ji Xiaolu remembers that you can catch river shrimp and fish in that river, and it wouldn't be impossible to grill fish. Fortunately, Ji Xiaolu brought a lighter and some seasonings with her this time, so you could say she was well-prepared.

A male high school student taking a girl to the countryside to play in the water... It seems like a last resort for a date, but firstly, Himekoji had no other choice, and secondly, Kasumigaoka herself seemed to enjoy it, so it didn't matter.

After walking for a few more minutes, they could faintly hear the sound of water. The two quickened their pace, and it was clear that Kasumigaoka was quite looking forward to it. After all, living in the city, they had an instinctive longing for this kind of rural river.

The riverbank was covered with grass that reached almost to knee-high, making it almost look like a swamp. Only a small area was mostly bare of grass, covered with smooth pebbles. An oval-shaped shallow area, roughly large enough for six or seven people to sit around, was formed by a depression in the riverbank. Thanks to the good manners of the locals, there weren't any piles of trash left after barbecues. However, it was clearly visible that a few pebbles in the very center of the small riverbank were charred from the barbecue. Aside from that, everything seemed perfectly natural.

"This is a really nice place, I'm liking it more and more."

As Kasumigaoka said this, she left Himekoji's side and walked towards the small shallow beach. She walked along the shore, and Himekoji watched as she almost fell in several times.

"If you like, I can bring you here almost every summer."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

Ji Xiaolu shrugged. He didn't think he would break such a promise. Besides, he did have to come back every summer, so it didn't really matter who he brought along.

"Splash—!" A river fish suddenly leaped out beside Kasumigaoka, startling her. She gasped softly, lost her footing, stepped on the pebbles of the shallows, and wobbled as she fell into the river, crying out, "Eh! Eh! Eh!"

Fortunately, the river, which didn't even have a name, was not only very clear but also very shallow. So Kasumigaoka only fell into the river, and her right side and legs were soaked. She sat blankly on the pebble-strewn riverbank until Himekoji pulled her up.

"Honestly, I knew you were being reckless, and I didn't expect you to still fall in..."

Himekoji scolded her while helping her wring out the water stains from her clothes, while Kasumigaoka wrung out her skirt, water droplets falling and quickly evaporating on the smooth stone.

Just like that rainy night, she was soaked to the bone, her clothes clinging to her shapely chest, wrinkled and giving her a unique charm. The way she lifted her skirt and wrung out the water droplets was even more suggestive. But what was most eye-catching was her black stockings, which blended almost perfectly with her legs because they were soaked. The already slippery black stockings seemed to shine under the water, and when the sunlight shone on them, it was impossible to look away.

Tell me, did you deliberately fall in there?! — Himekoji really wanted to ask her that.

After taking off her soaking wet shoes, Kasumigaoka sat on the freshly washed and dried pebbles, awkwardly rubbing her stockings with her hands, but only a pitifully small amount of water came off.

"Haruto-kun."

She noticed that Himekoji seemed to be staring at her legs, so she called his name.

"Ok?"

"Want to lick it a little? Today's a free fan service extravaganza!"

As she spoke, she lifted her toes towards Himekoji, concealing the hem of her skirt.

"Really?!"

"what?"

"Pfft, cough cough cough, I didn't say anything," Ji Xiaolu quickly turned around and stammered, "You, you should take off any clothes you can and let them air out. I'll go get some firewood and start a fire to warm you up."

"ha..."

With that, Himekoji immediately slipped away, leaving Kasumigaoka standing there completely bewildered.

"Did he just promise something?"

Kasumigaoka murmured to himself.

Himekoji started a fire and brought over some sticks to help Kasumigaoka hold up her clothes. Kasumigaoka was facing away from him at the time. She had taken off all but her panties and was hanging up to be baked by the flames.

"By the way, why do you carry a lighter with you all the time... Haruto-kun doesn't smoke."

"I originally planned to catch some fish and shrimp for a casual barbecue, and I even brought some seasonings. I never expected to use the lighter in this kind of situation. Well, it's a case of losing one thing and gaining another..."

Himekoji pulled a pre-prepared, sealed bag of seasoning from her pocket, turned her back to Kasumigaoka, and handed it to her. Kasumigaoka took it, glanced at it, and sighed, "I'm so stupid..."

The two sat back to back on the pebble riverbank, the flames beside them drying the clothes of Kasumigaoka, who wasn't far away. Her underwear was a set of pure white lace, quite different from her usual style. Just looking at the bra hanging there, one could picture her full breasts in their minds. Tsk tsk tsk, what a pair of treasures. She's just as good as Yoko-neechan.

If Yukinoshita had experienced this today, Himekoji would probably have burst out laughing when he saw her bra. But then again, Yukinoshita would never take off her clothes to dry in this situation. She would definitely endure it and go home to change in her wet clothes. She is not like Kasumigaoka.

Because of what happened, Kasumigaoka lost her appetite for grilled fish and shrimp. The two chatted casually for a while, occasionally adding firewood to the fire pit to keep the flames burning, but not too much, or they would burn their clothes. After the clothes were mostly dry, Kasumigaoka put them on one by one and awkwardly and helplessly went home with Himekoji.

She kept complaining about herself the whole way, while Himekoji kept trying to comfort her. Even so, she still felt very guilty and even said something cryptic like, "I'm so sorry for ruining this trip. I'll make amends with my virginity."

Himekoji, of course, rejected it!

The next day, Ms. Reiko arrived on time and drove Himekoji and Kasumigaoka away from this town of dolls with somewhat complicated memories. They said goodbye at Kasumigaoka's house because school was starting the day after tomorrow and they had some things to take care of when they got back.

④ Therefore, their festival will never end.

Chapter 148 High School Student, [Hachiman Hikigaya] Doesn't Want to Work

The student council work is the main event this semester. In addition to the cultural festival, there is also a sports festival jointly organized by the three schools this year.

As soon as he got home and opened the door, his mother, who had been waiting there, rushed into his arms, almost causing Ji Xiaolu to fall to the ground. Fortunately, he had excellent balance and managed to hold his mother and spin her around several times at the door before stopping. Her white hair seemed to be doing concentric circular motions as well.

"quack--?"

Haruto's duck seems to have gotten even fatter lately. It waddles along behind its mother, tilting its head arrogantly at Himeko, as if to say, "Who do you think you are? Get out of my way!" The duck is wearing a sapphire necklace that its mother commissioned a craftsman to make, and its legs are adorned with a finely woven platinum mesh. Frankly, Himeko thinks that putting such things on a duck's legs is a huge waste of money and effort...

"Oh, right, I just downloaded a duck language translator. Let's see what it's trying to say."

After kissing her mother twice on the cheek, Ji Xiaolu carried her in her arms to the living room. The duck, which had been following her closely, flapped its wings and landed on the coffee table, scattering a few feathers.

"A duck language translator? Is there really such a powerful thing? Human technology is advancing so fast!"

"Mom, please don't say something that sounds like something an alien would say."

"Waaaah... Qingren hasn't been home for so many days, and the first thing she does when she comes back is scold me. Mom, I'm so sad..."

"Why did you have to say this in Italian on purpose? I haven't forgotten Italian."

Italian is her mother's native language, so it can naturally be considered Himekoji's native language as well.

"Stop talking so much, just open your duck language translator and let me see how it works."

(The original novel of "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU" features a "dog language translator," so I think a "duck language translator" probably exists as well.)

I turned on my phone and pointed the microphone at the duck named "Haruto." The duck stared at Himekoji with an expression as if she were an idiot, and just wouldn't "speak" until her mother poked its plump breast and it finally let out a "quack!"

The phone screen immediately began analyzing the message, and the translated message quickly appeared on the screen: "Don't poke me!"

"Pfft, hahaha, what is this? It's so funny!"

The mother scooped the duck into her arms, and the little guy named Haruto quacked frantically, but he couldn't break free from his mother's embrace. Meanwhile, lines of translated duck language quickly appeared on Himekoji's phone screen.

"Qingren, quickly see what it said."

"Oh, it said, 'You're hurting my feathers, don't hug me, I need to poop...'"