I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

The ordinary female student scratched her cheek, smiled wryly, and didn't know what to say.

What does "trouble" mean?

Like a kitten whose tail has been stepped on, Yukino Yukinoshita immediately glared at her, her pale face flushed with anger.

Natsukawa Masaki, however, was concerned with something else entirely.

"You know Pingfanjiang?"

Startled, the ordinary-looking female student pointed at herself and blinked: "Ordinary-chan?"

"Don't give people nicknames casually." Yuu Tenkuji took out a handkerchief from his pocket and naturally wiped the sweat off Masuzu Natsukawa's face. As he spoke, "When I used to deliver documents to the student council, it was Ms. Pu... ○○ who was in charge of receiving me. She took good care of me back then."

"Fine, you can call me Ordinary-chan." With her shoulders slumped, Ordinary-chan readily gave up resisting and smiled helplessly. "I was just doing my job, it's hardly taking care of you, Tenkuji-kun, you're too kind."

"I see..." Natsukawa Masu looked the two of them up and down, nodded slightly, and gave Putsu-chan a sincere smile. "You've taken good care of my boyfriend. If he needs to contact the student council in the future, I'll have to ask for your guidance."

"No, no, no, you're all too kind..."

Ordinary Sauce quickly bowed in return, and after a long while, she tilted her head and realized—was this a declaration of sovereignty over her? I'm so ordinary, after all?

As if he had done something casually, Natsukawa Masuri quickly stopped paying attention to her and turned his gaze to Tenkuji Yu's face, which was very close to his, and gently tugged at the corner of his clothes.

"Carry me on your back."

"Go up the mountain?" Tenkuji Yu was stunned.

"If it's dangerous, then forget it."

"It's much easier than comparing strength with a bald guy in sunglasses."

Yu Tenkuji turned around and squatted down. The steps of this mountain trail were wide and had handrails, so as long as you had the strength, carrying someone on your back was not a difficult task.

"Come on up, don't accuse me of sexual harassment if I touch your butt later."

Natsukawa Masuzu couldn't help but laugh, muttering to herself, "You granted my wish; I'd even let you rub my breasts without a problem."

"what?"

"It's nothing." Composing herself, Natsukawa Masuzu calmly climbed onto his back, wrapped her thighs around his waist, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

She seemed a little uncomfortable; she didn't press her body completely against him, and her movements were careful and cautious.

"Okay... Ah!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuu Tenkuji suddenly stood up, the hand on her shoulder gripping her tightly, and something soft pressed against her. Silver hair tickled her neck, mingling with her gasp.

The body temperature was very high, and the sweat had a wonderful fragrance. The thighs on my palms were taut and soft, and even through the sweatpants, they felt wonderful to the touch.

"Your moan is quite lovely," Yuu Tenkuji said with a mischievous grin, in a voice only she could hear.

Natsukawa Masaki gritted his teeth, his face flushed red where he couldn't see, and whispered angrily, "Be careful, or I'll drag you down the mountain with me... Committing suicide with your fake girlfriend on the mountain would be enough to make you famous for all time."

"It couldn't be that serious."

"Why don't you give it a try?" His tone became more dangerous.

"Don't talk nonsense," he laughed. "Come on, I'll take you to the top of the mountain to see the view."

Natsukawa Masaki let out a breath, released his shoulder, and instead wrapped his arms around his neck, gently resting his hands on his chest.

The autumn breeze is cool, but the sun is still blazing.

Natsukawa Masaki looked up.

I don't know if it's because I'm too tired, or because my perspective is a little higher than usual.

"How beautiful...this world is."

"The scope is too broad. At least mention this mountain, right?"

"Mind your own business, you idiot."

Chapter Forty-Eight: Shrimp and Pork Heart (Two-in-One)

"Congratulations, host, you have received the reward: Weight Carrying (Expert Level)."

The peace and tranquility we enjoy is only possible because someone is bearing the burden for us.

As the system notification sounded, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but sigh.

It was already quite easy, but with this skill, even if he had to carry Natsukawa Masuzu back and forth along this mountain path, it would probably be an easy task.

Perhaps I could challenge myself to carry two people on my back at once?

When the power is fully utilized, you can ride one on your neck, hang one on your waist, and support two on your biceps—that's right, this is the Tenkuji Yu brand rickshaw!

"That's enough."

Putting aside those messy thoughts, Yuu Tenkuji glanced around and noticed someone watching her.

Not only Yui Yuigahama, but Yukino Yukinoshita also turned her head with a strange look, as if... she saw wild male dogs mating in front of her?

This level of disdain is honestly a bit hurtful.

Of course, his girlfriend's feelings were more important, so Yuu Tenkuji decided to pretend he didn't see anything and continued walking upwards.

Yumiko Miura, who was waiting over there, ignored him and said impatiently to Yui Yuigahama, who was still below, "Yui, hurry up and go! I want to go for a walk down the mountain after we get to the top."

"Ah, coming right away!" As if waking from a dream, the dango girl turned her gaze away from Tenkuji Yu's back, took Yukino Yukinoshita's arm, and looked at her with concern, "Yukino, are you alright? If you need to rest, I'll stay here with you."

"No need, let's keep going." Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head gently, broke free from her support, took out a hair tie and tied her long black hair into a ponytail. After jumping a few steps in place and taking a few deep breaths, she started to climb the mountain.

Yui Yuigahama and Putsu-chan followed.

Yuu Tenkuji, who was walking at the front, looked back and wanted to praise Yukino's ponytail, saying it looked like it could be featured in a fashion magazine.

However, considering that the moment he spoke, the person on his back would probably strangle him with a strangling force, he calmly turned around and walked up the mountain with a gentle pace.

"Who is she? Do you know Yui?" Miura Yumiko asked casually, glancing at Yukino Yukinoshita who was getting closer and closer.

"Yes, a friend from the same club, Yuki!" Yui Yuigahama said with a smile, and seeing Yukinoshita's indifferent expression that neither denied nor agreed, she laughed even more happily. "Yuki, she's my classmate, Yumiko... Speaking of which, Yumiko, you know Natsukawa-san but don't know Yuki?"

“I know plenty of people, one more won’t make a difference.” Rolling her eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita gave her an impolite look, and then Yumiko Miura suddenly took out a blue and white bottle of beverage from her bag and handed it to her as if there was no room for refusal.

"Here, sports drink. Drink some before you climb, just don't drink it directly from your mouth."

"..."

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at her in surprise, hesitated for a long time, then pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Huh? What do you mean? If it weren't for Yui's sake..."

Miura Yumiko's eyebrows furrowed, and she had only spoken halfway when she saw that although her complexion was not good, the serious light in her eyes never wavered. She gradually calmed down and put the drink back in her bag with a disgruntled expression.

"Whatever! Just don't get dizzy climbing a mountain."

“…Thank you.” Yukino Yukinoshita said softly, her gaze fixed on the mountaintop, her steps firm on the steps, her back straight as if to prove something.

"Tsk, she seems like a really troublesome person." Yumiko Miura sighed, twirling the end of her hair, and looked at Yui Yuigahama. "Tenkuji too, and this 'Koyuki' too... Yui, why are all your friends so strange?"

"Yukino's full name is Yukinoshita Yukino..." Yui Yuigahama gave a wry smile. "And if that's the case, isn't Yumiko also one of them? You're such a strange person."

“Uh.” Miura Yumiko choked for a moment, clearly not expecting that. “I… I meant, your friends besides me! Isn’t it strange that Hina likes men…”

Yui Yuigahama grabbed her hand, stopping her from continuing: "Alright, alright~ We're falling behind, let's catch up quickly."

"What?! You're talking to me like you're comforting a child! Don't be so arrogant!" Miura Yumiko said angrily, her eyes wide.

In short, the team expanded from three to six, with five women and one man marching towards the mountaintop in a grand procession.

Ordinary Sauce: "Um, am I being a bit redundant?"

△

Looking down from the mountaintop, the streets of the city and scenic area resemble a model, with tiny black dots like ants moving on the ground. The hustle and bustle has faded away, leaving only the rustling sound of the trees.

"Humans are just like trash."

At the highest point of Inkstone Peak, two beautiful girls looked down at the world and expressed their thoughts in unison, their faces filled with undisguised arrogance and sneers.

They heard each other's voices, exchanged a glance, and smiled knowingly at each other.

“I don’t think you have the right to say that, since you’re riding on someone’s back and easily reaching the top.”

"Yukinoshita-kun, are you about to collapse? Why don't you lie down and rest for a while until your legs stop shaking before you start talking about your so-called qualifications?"

It's a mutual appreciation in the form of sarcastic remarks.

Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but look at Touko-chan with even more sympathy—if they had been arguing like this all the way, the person who was excluded would have been under a lot of psychological pressure, right?

Ordinary Sauce smiled wryly and remained silent, seemingly already used to and able to handle the two of them properly.

Although the mountaintop was quiet, there were quite a few students, tourists, and hikers on autumn outings moving around.

Before being surrounded by onlookers, Natsukawa Masuzu got off Tenkuji Yu's body, stretched her limbs, and closed her eyes to enjoy the refreshing breeze blowing from the mountains.

Her long silver hair fluttered like stardust, shimmering and translucent in the sunlight.

"Mmm, that feels so good. We can go down the mountain now."

"That was too fast." Less than a minute after reaching the summit, this willful woman wanted to go back. "Let's rest for ten minutes first. Everyone except you and me is tired."

Natsukawa Masuzu looked at Tenkuji Yu: "Aren't you tired? You don't look like you're sweating much... Could you be a Ripple user specializing in physical strength?"

"Actually, my stand-in was carrying you just now; I didn't do anything myself."

She smiled, her eyes narrowing: "So the one who secretly touched my butt was also a stand-in?"

Several pairs of eyes turned to look at us, seemingly chilling the air by several degrees.

"No, neither I nor my stand-in touched your butt." Tenkuji Yu calmly defended herself, walked to the pavilion next to her, sat down, and took out a water bottle from her bag to take small sips.

"Would you like to come with us later? We can take the light rail from the amusement park back down the mountain, which will make it convenient to go to the shopping street or scenic area later."

“We’ve already decided on our next destination.” Sitting down a distance away from him, Yukino Yukinoshita answered calmly while drinking water. “If you want to come along, that’s fine too.”

"You really are quite aloof..." He turned to Natsukawa Masuzu, who was leaning on his shoulder, and asked, "Where are you going?"

“The cat house. Yukinoshita’s favorite place.” Natsukawa Masuzu answered lazily, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, her soft lips curving into a smile, looking quite content.

Yukino Yukinoshita twitched her eyebrows twice, but didn't offer any explanation, simply drinking her water silently.

Yuu Tenkuji understood: "Like attracts like... I can tell."

"What do you mean?" No longer indifferent, Yukino Yukinoshita cast an angry gaze at her, her pale face flushed with a different blush than after exercising, but she didn't seem to harbor much hostility.