This is not the date I wanted.

"--ah!"

“…It appeared!”

Nanashi and Yoshino were so frightened that they screamed.

"Honey! I'm so scared!"

"Onii-chan! Quickly defeat the ghost."

"Shidou, I'm so scared!"

"Eh? Ah, it's okay. Don't be scared."

Everyone immediately hugged each other like frightened birds, but it was obvious that except for Yoshino, Nanashi and Tohka, the others had other intentions from the very beginning.

For example, Miku is hugging Mengyue with a happy face, and Origami is lying in Shidao's arms with a calm expression.

"That's enough...Xixian."

Looking at the "white monster" in front of her, Meng Yue said helplessly.

"What a shame... it really can't scare Meng Yue."

Xixian took off the white cloth on her body and said with regret.

"Your position is obvious, isn't it? What's the purpose of this? Is it the revenge of the sunny doll yesterday?"

Xixian nodded slightly.

"Answer. That's one of the reasons. We mainly wanted to use it as a little entertainment during camping."

"What... Miss Xixian..."

After seeing the true form of the monster, Yoshino breathed a sigh of relief with lingering fear.

"I was so scared... I thought there was really a ghost..."

"Apologize. Sorry, are you okay, Yoshino?"

"Kuku - what do you think? My story is scary, isn't it?"

Obviously very satisfied with everyone's reaction, Yajuya said with a beaming face.

"It's just so-so! I can't say it's good or bad. I don't understand horror stories, but I feel like it lacks twists and turns. I guessed the ending halfway through."

Meng Yue shrugged and commented.

"…I'm really surprised you were able to express your thoughts so calmly."

Shidou said with a blushing look on his face.

"Well, my personal suggestion is that the part where the wife is thinking of death and is about to jump into the lake to commit suicide can be modified. Change it to the wife backing off at the last moment, but someone pushes her from behind and she falls into the water."

"You even suggested some revisions!?"

"Then, just before she fell into the water, the wife turned around and saw her husband on the shore with an ecstatic look on his face!"

"I instantly felt that my husband deserved to die!"

"Then the husband turned around and was greeted by the seductive woman he had fallen in love with, and she looked exactly like his wife who had fallen into the water."

"The story suddenly became confusing! Not good... I suddenly want to hear the sequel of the story."

"Just a casual aside. But, Yakuya, this story is a bit monotonous. Remember to add a few more twists next time."

"So, that's how it is - ahem. Whatever else you say, everything I said is true, not a bit of fiction!"

The dinner party that night ended with everyone making a fuss as usual.

—————————————I am the dividing line for deep sleep at night——————————————

"Miss Nanashi...Miss Nanashi..."

Just when Nanashi was sleeping soundly, he suddenly felt someone shaking him.

"Hmm...who is it..."

Rubbing his eyes in confusion, Nanashi rolled over in his sleeping bag. He took a closer look and saw that the person was none other than Yoshino.

“Y-Yoshino?!”

Suddenly waking up, Nanashi sat up straight and said somewhat at a loss.

"Shi-Shiono, why are you waking me up so late... is there something else?"

"That, that..."

Shion blushed and lowered her head, looking as if she couldn't say anything.

In response to this, the rabbit doll Shiona in her hand shook her head and added with a helpless look on her face.

"Actually, after hearing the ghost story told by Yakuya, Yoshino-chan was so scared that she couldn't sleep. Then she accidentally drank too much water and wanted to pick flowers."

"But...it's so dark outside...so scary."

After hesitating for a moment, Yoshino looked at Nanashi with tears in her eyes and pleaded softly.

"Can you go with me...?"

Yoshino Picnic (Part 7)

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

Let me ask you, when a petite, sweet and cute little girl looks at you with tears in her eyes and weakly asks you for help, can you refuse her?

——Can't refuse.

To be honest, Nanashi didn't understand clearly what Yoshino said, but at this moment, apart from these four words, no other words came to her mind.

“Well, let’s go, Yoshino—”

"Uh-huh……"

After notifying Yoshino with some stuttering, Nanashi opened the curtain of the tent.

"Ah...it's really dark."

The moment he walked out of the tent, Nanashi couldn't help but sigh.

Maybe it was because the campfire was extinguished, or maybe everyone was asleep. It was still night, but the atmosphere in the campsite was completely different from the feeling when everyone was having dinner a few hours ago.

Whether it was the grassland, forest, lake, or Mount Fuji in the distance, they were all shrouded in a layer of gloomy darkness, and only a vague outline could be seen through the moonlight.

The surroundings were very quiet. Although there was some sound, the occasional whistling sound from the wind made people even more creepy.

In an instant, Nanashi seemed to understand why Yoshino was afraid to go to the toilet alone.

"The toilet is in..."

Swallowing quietly, Nanashi looked around and muttered to himself.

"That...over there..."

Shion trembled as she pointed in the direction of the woods. Nanashi then remembered that the public toilet at the campsite was located opposite the woods.

"Ah, this is much more difficult than going to the toilet further down the corridor."

The corners of Qizi's mouth twitched slightly, and he said in a daze.

“Well, that’s it. Although Shiona is staying with Shiono-chan for now, I still want to find someone else to accompany me. So I’ll leave it to you - Nanashi-chan.”

"oh oh……"

After hearing what Yoshina said, Nanashi suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility.

"No, are you okay? I hope there won't be any monsters coming out..."

Yoshino asked with some fear.

"It's alright, the monster or something. It's just something Yakushi made up... probably... probably... maybe..."

Having said that, looking at the bottomless dark forest ahead that seemed to be able to swallow a person in one gulp, Qi Si's voice became less and less confident.

Human beings always have an unknown fear of darkness.

At this time, the excitement of being dependent on Shion gradually faded away with the decrease of adrenaline and dopamine secreted in the body, and was replaced by a cold feeling as if someone poured a bucket of cold water on his head, making his hands and feet numb.

(Wait… What if a monster really appears? What should I do? A lonely and cowardly scum like me, let alone protecting Yoshino, shouldn’t I be the first character to be killed in the story? Even if I serve as bait, this little body will probably be eaten up in a short time, and I won’t even be able to delay time…)

Thinking of this, Qi Shi could not help but tremble all over. Perhaps because of fear and pressure, suddenly, an impulse suddenly surged from Qi Shi's lower abdomen.

(Ah… not good…)

"Nanabi-chan?"

"Miss... Seven Sins...?"

Seeing Nanashi suddenly closing her legs, Shion and Shionna couldn't help but tilt their heads in confusion.

————————————I am the dividing line for calming down————————————

Let me ask you, when two petite, sweet and adorable little girls look at you with tearful eyes and red faces respectively, and ask you for help, can you refuse them?

No! You can't!

To sum up, Mengyue, who was awakened, readily agreed to their requests.

"Haven't you arrived yet... Miss Meng Yue..."

While looking around fearfully, Yoshino asked anxiously.

"Ah, we'll be there in a little while. Come on, Yoshino."

Although less than a minute had passed since they left the camp, Meng Yue still said this.

"Really? Why put the toilet so far away? Didn't you consider the safety and convenience of the passengers? There has to be a limit to cutting corners. Yakuya, you have nothing better to do than tell ghost stories. Reality is all rubbish. Ah, it's obviously my fault, but I'm putting the blame on others. People like me should just stop..."

At the same time, Nanashi had entered a negative and world-weary mental state. Like Yoshino, she held Mengyue's right hand and muttered to herself with her head down.

"No... that's not the case, Miss Nanashi... cheer up."

“Ah… Thank you, Yoshino… for comforting such a useless person like me…”

Looking at the miserable Seven Sins, Meng Yue smiled bitterly, looked around with a flashlight, and sighed softly.

"Well, there's nothing to blame myself for. After all, it's so gloomy that anyone would be scared."

"Oh? Meng Yue-chan will be scared too?"

Shionai asked with a surprised look on her face.

"Of course. If I were alone, I definitely wouldn't walk so far to the bathroom. What if I saw a ghost?"

Meng Yue shrugged and said as a matter of course.

Hearing this, Qi Sin had some reaction.

"...Surprisingly, I thought you weren't afraid of ghosts. You're just a superstitious person with no scientific basis."

"Well, after all, we elves are beyond common sense in the eyes of ordinary people. I can't say that there are no supernatural phenomena in this world except us."

"Well...indeed."

Nanashi nodded undeniably.

"But I can assure you that Yekushi's story is absolutely made up. This is Ratatoskr's property, and do you think I would choose a place where supernatural events have occurred to camp?"

After hearing Meng Yue's words, Yoshino and Nanashi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"...But I think Nanashi's choice was not wrong." After a pause, Meng Yue said gently, "Sometimes, facing difficulties head-on is a kind of bravery, but ignoring the danger and consequences and acting recklessly is just reckless. Being able to clearly distinguish this is remarkable in itself."

"...Well, I'm not the kind of person who cares about face. There's nothing worth bragging about."

Nanashi turned his head away a little shyly.

(So ​​impressive... Miss Mengyue.)

Noticing that Nanashi had cheered up without her noticing, Yoshino couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It is not about comforting the other person directly, but about arousing resonance through dialogue first, and then acknowledging her behavior and ideas, praising and encouraging her, and guiding her to cheer up little by little.

(I also want to be someone like that...)

Shion thought secretly in her heart, and Shion seemed to have noticed her thoughts. The rabbit doll quietly bent its arms and made a cute bodybuilding pose to encourage her.

"Well, we're here."