This is not the date I wanted.

"Well, it's broad daylight in the winter after all. Christmas will be here soon."

After saying this, the rabbit doll looked around as if searching for a person.

"Hmm... As expected, there aren't many people here at this time. Ah——I got it!"

Looking in the direction that Yoshina pointed, I saw a beam of light slowly approaching from the mist. Soon, a man driving an electric car arrived at the door of the Gokawa family and put a newspaper into the mailbox.

"Oh! The newspaper delivery man! You have to get up so early to work. It's really hard work."

"Ah, what a lovely little girl."

Noticing Yoshino not far away, the newspaper delivery man smiled kindly.

"Good morning."

Although she was a little shy, Yoshino still greeted politely.

"Oh? Was that sound coming from the puppet? Ventriloquism? That's amazing."

After noticing Yoshina's voice, the newspaper delivery man couldn't help but exclaimed.

"That, that..."

“Oh, how rude, uncle! Yoshina is Yoshina! Isn’t this some kind of ventriloquism?”

"Haha, is that so? My apologies~"

The newspaper delivery man apologized with a smile. I don't know if he really believed what Shionai said, or if he regarded it as part of ventriloquism.

"You're up really early, little girl. Are there any club activities?"

"no no……"

“Yoshina and Yoshino-chan, we’re going camping together today! We got so excited that we—wooooo!”

"Shi-Shiona!"

“Hahaha—I see.”

The newspaper delivery man couldn't help but laugh as he saw Yoshino covering the rabbit doll's mouth with her right hand to prevent it from making any sound.

"Well, uncle is going to go back to work! Bye little sister, have a nice weekend."

"Bye, newspaper delivery man. Good luck on your work!"

"Thank you for your hard work."

After waving goodbye to the newspaper delivery man, Shionai seemed to have an idea and said in Shionai's ear.

"Now is the right time, Yoshino-chan. Why don't you go into Shidou-kun's house under the pretext of delivering the newspaper?"

"This is not good. It will wake up... Shidou-san..."

"It's not a big deal~ We're just helping Shidou-kun, so let's act like bad kids once in a while."

Shionai chuckled and spoke to Shionai in a gentle and persuasive manner.

"Maybe you can see Shidou-kun in his pajamas, disheveled. You can even see his sleeping face~"

"—!!"

As if she could imagine that scene, Yoshino's cheeks turned red.

"Well, and it's so cold outside, it wouldn't be good to catch a cold if you stay out too long."

“That’s true…”

As if convinced by Shiona, Shiona stood on tiptoe to pull out the newspaper from the envelope, and walked to the door of the Gokawa family holding it.

"Oh? The door is not locked?"

Shionai tilted her head in surprise.

"Shidou-san...are you awake already?"

After hesitating for a moment, Shiono opened the door and walked into the house with some trepidation.

"Sorry to bother you..."

"The lights are not on. Did you forget to lock the door? Shidou-kun is really careless. What if there is a thief?"

Shionai couldn't help but say helplessly.

"But... there seems to be some movement in the living room."

Could it be a real thief? When she thought of this, Yoshino couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

“H-What should I do… Yoshina…”

"Shh... don't make any noise, Yoshino. Just check the situation first. If it's really a thief, ask Shidou-kun to call the police."

The rabbit doll made a shushing gesture, and Yoshino nodded, tiptoeing towards the living room.

——I can't solve it. Isn't it a system that can be easily cracked? You are quite good at it, Kotori...

(This sound is...)

Hearing the faint voice coming from the living room, Yoshino felt somewhat familiar.

Who is there?

However, Yoshino's stealth soon exposed her tracks, and the other party came in front of Yoshino as soon as she finished speaking.

"Yoshino? Yoshino?"

When she heard the other party calling her name, the flustered Yoshino looked up in surprise.

"Ms. Origami..."

"I'm sorry, I thought it was a thief who came in. I'm sorry for scaring you, Yoshino."

After clarifying the misunderstanding, Origami and Yoshino returned to the living room.

"No, no. It's okay..."

"Really? You're in the room without turning on the lights this early in the morning. What are you doing, Origami-chan?"

"This, this..."

In response to Yoshina's question, Origami turned back into top student mode and looked away guiltily.

She entered the master state early in the morning, broke into Shidou's house, took a few deep breaths in the bathroom, replaced Shidou's personal clothes, and then tried to break the defense system of the safe. She used the seal of the Gokawa family to stamp the marriage certificate with her and Shidou's names on it - she couldn't say it even if she was beaten to death.

"Actually, I also received an invitation to camp today. I was so happy that I couldn't sleep, so I woke up very early and came here directly because I thought it was okay."

Origami said this perfunctorily.

"I-I see..."

In this regard, Shiono couldn't help but feel the same way.

"Actually...I was too excited, so I got up too early and came here."

"Ah~ It's really Origami-chan and Yoshino-chan. They're both still kids, right?"

"Ha ha……"

Seeing Yoshino and Yoshino firmly believing this, Origami felt a little guilty.

……

"That's it, we just spent the morning chatting with Origami-chan to kill time."

"Throat~"

After hearing what Shionai said, Meng Yue looked at Origami with a meaningful look. She would definitely not be as naive as Shionai and simply believe Origami's words.

Feeling Mengyue's gaze, Origami felt embarrassed as if his thoughts had been seen through, and awkwardly changed the subject.

"Um, um... the weather is really nice."

"Kuku - you have a good eye! This wonder is the great work accomplished by us, the Eight Dancers. Please thank me!"

"Awesome! You are worthy of being an origami master to notice this!"

"Yes, that's right... You're welcome."

Although she was a little confused about what she meant, Origami continued talking about the Yamai sisters.

"Really."

Not wanting to point out the origami, Meng Yue sighed and turned to give instructions to Shion.

"Shiono, remember to take a break and catch up on some sleep when you get to the car. Otherwise, you might get too sleepy and fall asleep when you get to the campsite."

"Okay, okay..."

Yoshino nodded obediently.

Xiaoxiao touched Shion's head and Mengyue walked to the other side.

"Tohka, Shidou. Have you finished packing your things?"

"Hmm! Don't worry Mengyue, everything has been put into the trunk."

"But who's going to drive?"

Looking at the van in front of him, Shidou couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Let's make a reservation for now... I'm in charge..."

Ling Yin slowly raised her hand and spoke weakly.

"Um... well, I'm not worried about Miss Lingyin. But I feel like if I keep doing this, the traffic police will stop me for fatigue driving."

"Then let Kannozuki come. He also has a driver's license."

Kotori said from the side.

"It seems to be okay, but if possible, please allow me to solemnly refuse."

"You're really picky, Shidao." Kotori sighed and said to everyone, "Well, either contact Fraxinus to send other crew members who can drive, or someone else here can drive... um?"

Having said that, Kotori didn't actually have much expectations, but she didn't expect that as soon as she finished speaking, Mengyue raised her hand and volunteered.

"Adjust the rearview mirror, fasten your seat belt, check for oncoming vehicles, turn on the warning lights... Is everything done, everyone?"

"Sister Mengyue, let me confirm, do you have a driver's license?"

Kotori asked with some uneasiness. If she remembered correctly, when Ratatoskr registered the elves, he did not prepare the driver's license together.

"Of course, don't worry, Kotori-chan."

Meng Yue replied with a smile. She had driving experience in her previous life. She also practiced driving by herself during the few months she was on her own in this world. There were basically no major problems except that the car had to drive on the left and the driver's seat was on the right.

"Even though the driver's license is fake!"

"--ha!?"

"Then, let's go!"

Just like that, the car carried the elves and headed towards the campsite.

PS: I feel so relaxed while typing this while listening to the BGM of Swaying Camping.

PS2: I just realized that I forgot to add a serial number to the title of the previous chapter. What a mistake.

Four Ion Picnic (Part 3)

==============================

Although Meng Yue's words before departure gave everyone a little scare, she is a person who pays attention to traffic and family safety after all.

As proof, even when a sports car passed her on the way and beeped at her - a provocation, she still resisted the urge to click "Deja Vu" and step on the accelerator. She just memorized the license plate number and continued to drive at the speed limit.

After driving smoothly for a while, the car arrived at the camping site.

"So beautiful..."

Shion couldn't help but exclaim in admiration with her eyes wide open.

In front of the lawn of the campsite is a lake as clear as a mirror. The surrounding woods, snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the blue sky are all clearly reflected in the lake, which is beautiful beyond words.

Looking around, the scenery in front of you is divided by the lake, presenting two upside-down worlds.

"Ah~ Is that Mount Fuji? It's the symbol of Japan, so beautiful that it's a bit unpleasant."