I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

Shiina was still a little upset about what happened yesterday. Although she hadn't seized the opportunity that Arisu had given her, nor had she impersonated Arisu and done anything with Amane, she did want to use this identity to try and lower Amane's guard before the arrival of the maple trees so that she could confess her feelings to her.

Last night, when Shiina returned to her room, she was still a little resentful that Kaede had ruined her and Amane's good time at the most crucial moment. But after calming down, Shiina couldn't help but feel extremely surprised by the choice she had made.

From the very beginning, she vowed to make Amane confess to her through her own efforts. What does it matter if she uses Arisu's identity now? Even if she finally gets her wish and Amane confesses to her, who is Amane confessing to, or Arisu?

After realizing that she had made a very serious mistake, Shiina was extremely anxious and immediately went to Arisu to apologize to her in person. However, Arisu didn't care much about the matter, or rather, even if Shiina impersonated her, Arisu didn't think that Shiina's actions would cause Amane to have any thoughts.

It was even less likely that Amane's feelings for her would change, so Arisu not only did not blame Shiina, but also supported her in striking while the iron was hot to promote Amane's relationship. When she learned that Kaede had replaced Shiina, Arisu sighed helplessly and began to devise the next plan for Shiina.

Arisu's understanding and comfort brought Shiina a little relief, but the thought of Amane being deceived by him yesterday and almost having that kind of relationship, as if he deliberately made Amane make a mistake and then forced her to take responsibility, made Shiina feel extremely tormented. So, Shiina, who had only slept for a few hours, got up early and came to the Christmas tree on the only way to the hall, wanting to talk to Amane about what happened last night and apologize to her.

The words of apology had been repeated countless times in Shiina's mind, to the point that she knew them by heart. But when Shiina actually stood in front of Amane, she couldn't bring herself to say the words of apology.

It wasn't that she was unwilling to admit her mistakes, but rather that she was beginning to fear Tianyin's unpredictable reaction after she confessed to him.

Amane and Arisu's close relationship was common knowledge. Shiina felt ashamed just to say it out loud, let alone confess it to Amane.

"What's wrong with Arisu looking for you? Did you two have a fight?"

"We didn't argue, it's just... Arisu-kun said that Amane wanted to go to a hot spring with me or something... Is that true?"

After hesitating for a moment, Shiina decided to temporarily conceal what happened last night from Amane. Shiina felt that if she didn't make amends to Amane in some way, Amane might find it hard to forgive her for impersonating Arisu. So Shiina wanted to make amends to Amane as much as possible during the educational trip and then prepare an apology gift before confessing her mistake to Amane.

'Sigh, if I had known things would turn out this way, I shouldn't have been so greedy... But it's too late to say anything now. I hope Tianyin will forgive her then.'

"Soaking in a hot spring? Arisu mentioned something like that to you, but I don't have any plans for that. Maybe it's just a prank by Arisu or a little joke she's playing on you. But... if you insist on soaking in a hot spring with me, I'd be more than happy to."

Amane winked meaningfully at Shiina, and Shiina, understanding Amane's implication, blushed and quickly shook her head.

"Tianyin, you definitely have ill intentions. I won't fall for your tricks... Sorry for disturbing your time, Tianyin. It looks like you're going for your morning exercise?"

"Yeah, Suzune used to always tell people I was a late sleeper, but today I'm going to prove to everyone that I can actually get up and exercise in the morning! Hiyori, do you want to exercise with me?"

As she spoke, Amane showed Shiina the muscles on her arms, which made Shiina's face turn even redder.

However, Shiina was unwilling to accept Amane's invitation. Having only rested for a few hours, she was in extremely poor condition. Although Shiina really wanted to exercise with Amane in the morning, she was afraid that her current condition would be a burden to Amane. Moreover, forcing herself to train might cause physical injury. This educational trip had strict requirements for physical health, so after weighing the pros and cons, Shiina gave up this rare opportunity to exercise with Amane in the morning.

"I woke up too early and am now severely sleep-deprived. Forcing myself to exercise in this state will only have the opposite effect, so I won't trouble you, Tianyin. We can exercise together next time if we have the chance."

"Okay, it's a deal then! Oh, and by the way! If you've decided you'd like to go to the hot springs with me sometime, I'm always welcome~"

"Huh? Ah... um... okay..."

After seeing off the blushing Shiina, Amane's smile grew even brighter. From Shiina's few words, Amane had already understood how Arisu had orchestrated the whole thing. She simply wanted Shiina to take her place and accompany Amane to the hot springs and do some other unspeakable things.

However, Arisu was very confident that Amane would be able to see through Shiina's flawed disguise, so Arisu's actions yesterday were essentially telling Amane.

'Hurry up and eat Shiina Hiyori!'

If it weren't for Kaede's interference, Amane might have actually pretended not to know and bullied Shiina all night... It sounds a bit immoral, but Amane figured she would have a hard time resisting Shiina Hiyori's charm, so Arisu's plan was almost a sure thing.

However, a small accident occurred at a crucial moment, which ironically benefited Maple Flower. Speaking of Maple Flower, Amane even felt a little grateful to her.

Yesterday, Tianyin was so busy doing some naughty things that she completely forgot about something very, very, very important!

That was the bet between myself and Hiyori Shiina.

The person who confesses first is the loser in love, but Shiina's bet is a little different. Shiina's confession to her does not determine the outcome of the bet. The basis for determining whether the bet is won or lost is whether Amane confesses to Shiina Hiyori.

Shiina also confidently stated that she would use any means necessary to make Amane confess her feelings to her.

Therefore, Amane held absolute initiative in this bet. More than being serious about the outcome of the bet, Amane was curious about how Shiina would get her to confess her feelings.

Therefore, if something happened between Amane and Shiina last night, it would be impossible to be irresponsible. At that time, Shiina only needs to make the condition that he only wants a confession, and Amane will have no way of refusing such a reasonable request.

Fortunately, Maple Flower inadvertently helped Amane yesterday, allowing Amane to continue looking forward to how Shiina would rack her brains to get her to confess.

"I'm really looking forward to the day when I can confess my feelings to you, Hiyori~"

The rest period flew by. Everyone was fine during the first day of simple ski training, but after the rest, all sorts of aches and pains appeared.

Most second-year students lack physical exercise, and the school's requirement to strengthen physical exercise during the sports festival is also intended to ensure the smooth running of the educational trip.

However, what the school probably didn't expect was that today's high school students are incredibly fragile. Even a simple training session is like a death sentence for them, and the training they received during the sports festival has long since been returned to the school.

This resulted in most students spending their rest time yesterday in their rooms at the hot spring hotel. They didn't go out to play, and many were even too lazy to get out of bed and stayed in bed until now.

Considering the students' poor physical condition, and that a single day of rest wouldn't be enough to fully recover, the school cancelled the morning ski training and moved directly to today's main event—a treasure hunt!

"This treasure hunt is different from similar treasure hunts you've played before. First, you'll participate in the treasure hunt in groups. The game will last for 4 hours, and the group with the shortest time will win. They will also receive one of three special prizes from the school."

They are:

1. Each member of the group receives 100,000 personal points.

2. Each group member will have one opportunity to call their family, and each person's call time shall not exceed ten minutes.

3. A total of 10 yen in cash will be awarded as a reward for shopping outside of school.

It's important to note that regarding the third reward—cash—any unused cash will be reclaimed by the school after the educational trip without any compensation. Therefore, if the group with the shortest time wants to choose the cash reward, please use it wisely.

After Ms. Mashima finished speaking, she gestured to the several homeroom teachers who were waiting on the side.

"Before the treasure hunt begins, there is a small game where you will ask your class teacher ten questions to get clues about the items you are looking for. After you have used up all ten questions, no class teacher may provide any form of assistance to the students."

I now declare the treasure hunt officially open. You will have one hour to gather clues. All teams, please begin your treasure hunt activities as soon as possible.

After Ms. Majima announced the start of the treasure hunt, the group leaders swarmed around their respective class advisors, bombarding them with questions about clues.

It was much quieter around Hoshinomiya-sensei, because there were only two groups under her management, giving her more time to talk with the group leaders and members.

First, there was the second group. The members of the second group talked with Hoshinomiya-sensei alone for a full twenty minutes before leaving with the group members, completely bewildered.

Seeing the bewildered look on the other person's face as they left, Tianyin's heart skipped a beat.

She began to have a bad feeling. Could it be that the treasure hunt was taking place in the entire ski resort and several nearby snow-capped mountains and forests?

The ski resort that Gao Yu rented this time is located in a naturally formed canyon surrounded by mountains and forests. The area it covers is quite exaggerated. If the clues provided by Teacher Xingzhigong are not clear enough, it will be difficult to find the specified treasure or even complete a thorough search within four hours.

While Amane was still worried, Hoshinomiya-sensei sat down in front of Amane's group with a relaxed expression.

"Alright, now it's your turn. You have ten chances to ask questions. Each person must ask at least one question, and I will answer with 'yes' and 'no.' The group leader can ask three questions."

During the question-and-answer session, you can exchange clues you've gathered, but you cannot designate questions for other people.

The moment Teacher Hoshinomiya opened his mouth, the members of the Amane group were in a dilemma. They only had ten precious opportunities to obtain clues. If they asked a worthless question, wouldn't they be wasting the opportunity?

"It seems this treasure hunt isn't as simple as it looks. No wonder they've even offered a reward like being able to call your family. Miyako-kun, why don't you arrange the order of the questions?"

Tianyin's speech immediately received everyone's approval. Since it concerned the upcoming competition, she did not refuse any longer. She opened the OAA system and looked at the names of her group members. Tianyin quickly arranged the order of questions.

The ten questions were asked in the following order: Arisu, Matoba, Ando, ​​Hamaguchi, Albert, Yukimura, Shiina, and Amane herself.

“I’m fine with it. Since you trust me so much, Tianyin, I’ll go first. It’s a real shame that if I could ask twenty times, I’m sure I could guess what the treasure is…”

As Arisu spoke, her gaze turned to Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"The first question was asked by Sakayanagi-san, so please ask your question!"

"Question 1: The treasure does not possess biological characteristics."

"no."

Upon receiving Hoshinomiya-sensei's answer, everyone's eyes lit up. As expected of Arisu, she solved the most crucial question right away: whether the treasure possessed biological characteristics.

In other words, Arisu wants to know whether the treasure is dead or alive.

If it's alive, then the treasure is most likely a person, because in this remote ski resort, it's quite difficult to find a live animal that will follow the school's instructions, but we can't rule out the possibility that it's an animal.

Following Arisu's opening remarks, Madoka also spoke up and asked a question.

Question 2: Is the treasure a person?

Chapter 313: The Location of the Treasure

Question 2: Is the treasure a person?

"no."

After Hoshinoko-sensei gave this answer, Ando smiled easily.

"I thought it would be a difficult treasure hunt, but it seems quite simple now. I only needed two questions to determine that the treasure was an animal, which eliminated most of the wrong answers at once."

Hamaguchi, a classmate of Ando, ​​shook his head at Ando's optimistic statement.

"Ando-kun, you're probably getting a little too excited. Now that we know it's an animal, we know absolutely nothing about it, and most importantly, we don't even know if this treasure is constantly moving."

Hamaguchi's discovery made everyone's slightly relaxed expressions tense up again.

"Oh right! I almost forgot about that trick! I once saw a prank TV show that was also about a treasure hunt. They found the treasure based on clues, but the treasure was a pigeon, and they couldn't catch it at all, so they had to fail in the end. Could it be that the treasure we're looking for this time is also a pigeon?"

Ando asked with a pained expression.

"It shouldn't be that bad. Pigeons would probably freeze to death in Hokkaido's weather... The school wouldn't do something like having students search for treasure only to find the corpses of small animals, right, Hoshinomiya-sensei?"

As Arisu spoke, she suddenly turned her attention to Hoshinomiya.

Arisu, who had expected Hoshinomiya-sensei to be eager to clarify, was soon disappointed, because the smiling expression on Hoshinomiya-sensei's face had not appeared since the start of this Q&A session.

As a graduate of this school, Hoshinomiya-sensei has extremely strong mental fortitude and rich experience in special exams. How could she possibly be tricked into revealing anything by Arisu's words?

Arisu wasn't too discouraged when her little trick failed; she gave Ando a wink while pretending to drink water.

It must be said that although Ando is currently a student in Class D, her excellent qualities in all aspects are worthy of her being assigned to Class B upon entering the university.

Ando, ​​who had almost no private contact with Arisu, immediately understood each other through a brief exchange of glances.

Question 3: Will the treasure move?

"no."

Question 4: Is it a pet?

"..."

Before everyone could continue their discussion, Hamaguchi immediately asked the fourth question. It was this question that made Hoshinomiya-sensei, who always answered quickly, hesitate a little. Perhaps he wasn't sure if that thing was a pet.

After thinking for a while, Hoshinomiya-sensei finally answered the question.

"Yes, this answer needs clarification. It refers to pets that are legally permitted to be kept."

Teacher Hoshinomiya added a sentence.

"That is to say, this animal is not widely treated as a pet."

Tianyin now has a general list in mind, but if she wants to further refine it, she must significantly narrow down the categories on the list.

Question 5: Is it about the same size as a cat or dog?

The usually taciturn Albert found a way to filter out as many wrong answers as possible in one go.

With specific examples provided, Hoshinomiya-sensei answered confidently after only a moment's thought.

"Yes."

The current conditions are specific enough to find a pet that is similar in size to a cat or dog but is not common.

However, identifying the species still presents considerable challenges.

Question 6: Can it fly?

"no."

After this Q&A session, everyone felt it was necessary to have another discussion.

"Like cats and dogs, the only niche pets that come to mind when I think of land are foxes or hedgehogs."

Yukimura frowned; he couldn't think of any small pets similar in size to cats and dogs.

"I think Yukimura-kun, you might be right! I think the treasure is a cute little fox!"

Ando seems inexplicably happy when foxes are mentioned, as if he really likes foxes.

"We still can't be sure if it's from land, can we? Let me tell you about a creature you can identify: a crocodile."

Tianyin proposed a category that left everyone speechless.

"Well... crocodiles do have a size that fits cats and dogs, but if a crocodile suddenly appears without any water nearby, everyone would think something's wrong, right? Besides, the school shouldn't use such a dangerous creature as a treasure that high school students are supposed to find."

Arisu looked at Tenon speechlessly and explained.

Most people wouldn't think of crocodiles as an answer. Aquatic or amphibious creatures might be a possibility in other places, but in Hokkaido, the idea of ​​a crocodile suddenly appearing in the snow seems absurd to any normal person.

"That's right, if a crocodile or something really appeared, it would definitely be a treasure. A real crocodile would probably freeze to death from the low temperatures outside."

"A proper crocodile? What about an improper crocodile?"

Tianyin asked curiously.