312 2.6

Before 10pm.

The guest room's door was gently knocked twice.

Seeing that, Watanabe quickly stood up from the tatami mat, saying that he would respond. Did he take the initiative for us, or himself?

"Kept you waiting."

Together with such a voice, four women entered from the opened door, with Kushida at the lead.

"W-Welcome. You're late, huh?"

Must be nervousness and embarrassment.

Watanabe suddenly slowed down, and made way for them.

"Sorry. We spent a little too long in the bath, that's why we're late."

Kushida, who replied so, definitely had a slightly red face.

Further, her hair was all smooth. You don't get many chances to see girls right before bedtime.

That's precisely why this is such a valuable experience for Watanabe.

With the four women coming in, the indescribable fragrance spread to the room instantly.

It's not like the gathering of boys stinks, but this is a completely different atmosphere.

"I wonder why it smells so good now..?"

"Well, that is a mystery, indeed."

The large bathing area was stocked with a large bottle of soy milk shampoo and rinse for commercial use.

There was no dissatisfaction, but the foaming was not particularly good, and it felt like it was relatively inexpensive.

Normally, I think the same thing is placed in the women's public baths too, but... The scent that drifts from them is obviously different from the same soy milk shampoo.

Perhaps they brought it in themselves.

"Hey, please ask them. How can they smell so good?"

"Sorry, but I can't really ask that."

Even if I lack common sense, I knew better than to ask.

I think that if I make such a statement, they'll definitely be creeped out.

"When you think that this is the boys' room, it's a bit exciting, huh?"

Amikura uncomfortably whispered so, to the other girls, looking around the room.

The floor plan of the room is the same, but it may look strangely different.

"When the discussion is over, why don't we go to Honami and the others' room later? I heard the girls are gathered all the way up until sleep time."

"Really? Yeah, I'm totally fine. "

Unlike Kushida, who pleasantly agreed, Nishino refused without showing interest.

"I'll pass. It's not like I'm good friends with them."

Following along, Yamamura also lowered her head and whispered.

"...Me too, I'll pass..."

"Is that so? I think everyone would be welcome, but... Well, that's fine."

Knowing that the girls would disperse soon, Watanabe looked sad.

The lights out time seems to be a little late at 11pm, so there is still time to spare.

It's a special school trip, so everyone wants to avoid awkward situations.

"So this is how it feels to have girls in your room..."

In a daze because of the girls, Watanabe quietly whispered so.

"Anyway, Watanabe. You'd better start following up with the girls. Isn't this your chance to increase your likability?"

Me, Ryuen, or even Kitou could invite them into the room.

After that, he has to take a step forward to make an impression

"Huh? Follow? Follow what?"

Still in shock because of the girls' appearance, it seems that Watanabe couldn't see the situation.

The girls, coming to an away match in the boys' room, were lost as to where they should gather.

[TL Note 16 - The word "match" isn't included but "away" is as it is in the original. It's a sports reference, when a team is having a match in another team's stadium it's an away match.]

"Um... where should we sit?"

The Japanese-style room already has four futons laid out by the staff with a little space between them, so you have to move to the edge of the tatami mats to sit on the floor. It's a show of skill whether to force them into a tight corner or to take other steps.

"Huh? Anywhere is fine, right? I'm fine with sitting on a futon too, you know?"

Waranabe didn't seem to understand things, so he took two futon blankets, and prepared a space.

The girls looked a little surprised, but there was no other suitable place, and Kushida showed agreement.

On two futons close to the entrance, each of the four sits down.

"Well then, the lights are almost out, so let's start right away. Wait, where's Ryuen-kun?"

"Beyond the shoji."

[TL Note 17 : Shoji, traditional paper sliding door]

The closed shoji opens up to a small table, two single person sofas, and a small refrigerator.

As Amikura was scared of going to the shoji, her classmate Nishino vigorously opened the shoji on her behalf.

Ryuen seemed to be relaxed, sitting on the one person sofa while playing with his phone.

"You heard, right? Come on."

"It's fine here, isn't it? I can hear just fine."

"That may be so, but I hope you can come over to everyone because this is also to increase the sense of unity of the group."

Without fear, Kushida called out to Ryuen to tell him to come over. Perhaps annoyed by Kushida, Ryuen turned off his phone screen while laughing.

"You seem to be getting ahead of yourself, but you know your position, right?"

"What do you mean, I wonder?"

"Just as I said. If you're saying you don't understand, then I can make you understand, you know?"

The other students can't understand why Ryuen was saying this to her. Ryuen is the one person outside the class who knows Kushida best, so his words were heavy.

"What are you talking about?"

As if taking this as a simple quarrel, Nishino approached Ryuen.

"Stop saying annoying things, and just come over here."

Nishino was not frightened or timid, and she was already grabbing his arm and pulling him up.

"Nishino. You've been saying a lot too lately, haven't you?"

"I've always been like this, though? I just didn't get involved more than I needed to."

She must mean that she's in a group now, so it can't be helped.

I thought that things would get even more tense from here, but Ryuen annoyedly got up and stepped towards the Japanese-style room.

As Kitou turned his gaze, the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Still, for the time being, it is true that eight people were now gathered in one room for the discussion.

"Do you all really need to be here? We could do this on the phone."

Kitou, who hadn't uttered a word since the girls arrived, asked so.

Indeed, if we made a group on an app, it would be simple to talk with everyone.

"It looks like the other groups are meeting face-to-face and making up their minds as well."

"Wow, you know everything, Kushida-chan."

Watanabe sat between me and Yamamura with an exaggerated nod, impressed by the flow of information.

Perhaps alarmed by the unexpected sudden approach of a boy, Yamamura took a half step back to get away from Watanabe.

"Ah, sorry, Yamamura. Didn't see you there."

"No... please don't worry about it."

Apart from such a trivial exchange, there was still a strong sense of tension because of the interaction with Ryuen.

"I don't care about other people. We can do things our way."

It must be Ryuen that Kitou is worried about.

I can clearly see that he is afraid it will not be a proper discussion.

"It's important to meet face to face, isn't it? I wanna hear everyone's true opinions, you know."

Kushida replies that there are things you can't understand with an app, and doesn't seem to be pulling back.

Kushida probably didn't want to step on the landmine that is Ryuen either, but she has to protect her own position.

If Kushida decides not to back down here, I'm sure he will just push forward.

"Well then, let's talk about the free time tomorrow."

[TL Note 18 - There is a word used that is like "after" or "from after" but it doesn't work in english with this context so I left it out now.]

"More importantly, you forgot about something we gotta decide first."

Looking over the Japanese-style room lined up with futons, Ryuen opened his mouth.

"I don't want to sleep side by side with you bastards, but the space is limited, so... I'll be sleeping here."

At the end of his gaze, was the futon at the far end of the room. It is ideally positioned so that if someone wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet or such, there would be no disturbance.

Indeed, we haven't decided who will sleep where yet. No, but, do we have to decide that now?

I think it's better to make a decision after the girls go back, but... Is he simply unable to read the room, or has he spoken out now deliberately?

Considering how Ryuen has been so far, I can't help but feel that it is the latter.

However, on the other hand, what about the people around?

Clearly, after that remark, everyone thought that he was being selfish and speaking out of place.

"No objections, yeah?"

He glanced at me and Watanabe for a moment and slightly strengthened his tone of voice.

"I... Well, I'm okay anywhere."

Like a frog against a snake, Watanabe accepted. Now, what would I say?

While I was thinking about it, Ryuen had already cut his gaze off from me.

"Yo, Kitou. If you have something to say, you can say it, you know?"

It seems that he thinks Kitou is the only one who would disagree.

"I won't accept it."

A rebuttal to symbolize it.

"Huh?"

He told Kitou he should speak, but Ryuen leaned his head, not liking the refusal.

"I won't agree with something unfair like that. Besides, we shouldn't discuss it now. Don't you even get that?"

"I don't give a damn. I don't remember giving you a right to refuse, you bastard."

"I'm free to speak how I want, where I want."

Kitou did not step back, rather, he entered a state of confrontation.

"Come on now, Kitou, calm down. It's just a sleeping place, why don't you let him have it?"

"I refuse."

"Ugh..."

Watanabe, who stood up and tried to stop this, sat back down after an intense glare.

In terms of the rage on his face, Kitou surpasses Ryuen.

"I'm not gonna let this man get away with being irrational."

"Hey, come on, boys. We're not talking about that now, so you can..."

Amikura timidly tried to warn them, but Nishino pulled the sleeve of her yukata and stopped her.

[TL Note 19 : Yukata, a type of kimono worn in the summer or used as a bathrobe.]

She shook her head left to right, silently warning her not to get between them.

"I'll say this as many times as I have to, but I'm not gonna surrender it to some bastard like you."

"Are you saying you wanna fight over it, fucker?Huh?"

"You want violence? I can give it to you, but you're gonna be laying here the whole trip."

Kushida looks troubled, but I can tell from her eyes...

I can tell that she feels depressed to death by how annoying this is getting.

"In that case, let's do this. Are you all gonna fight over it too?"

"I'll refrain from that... I said it before, but I'm fine anywhere."

I personally prefer to be on the edge rather than being pinched between, I hate to be caught up in trouble.

Whether the winner is Ryuen or Kitou, when one of them takes the edge, the two will no longer sleep next to each other.

Rather, the possibility that I or Watanabe would be caught between them as cushioning is higher.

"I'll pass too. Fight as you want and decide. However, if you two want that edge spot, Watanabe and I can take whichever one we want from the remaining three, alright?"

If you do not claim your natural rights, you will struggle again later.

They both want the same futon, so Watanabe and I should be free to choose from the free spots.

"Also, Please don't decide this with violence."

If I don't say this strongly, group 6 will stand out in a bad way.

I heard that the groups causing trouble will be relentlessly restricted.

It's a special school trip, so it would be a shame to not be able to leave the ryokan because things got a little out of hand.

"I like fighting better since that's easy to understand for me, but I guess we can't do that, huh?"

For now, I'm glad that they will refrain from using violence.

"Thanks, Ayanokoji, for saying what I wanted to say."

"No, it's not like I said anything significant."

"That's not true, though. Actually, yeah. You can sleep on the edge."

Are the only fundamentally good people here from the Ichinose class? Even though I didn't ask for any help,

He said so and gave me the edge spot.

With this, from the back, it's Ryuen or Kitou, and Watanabe by their side.

The loser of the match will get the third one. We agreed that I will sleep on the end closest to the entrance.

"I gotta show a little endurance too."

Apparently, one of the reasons for giving up was for personal reasons.

I'm sure being caught between Ryuen and Kitou would be too much of a thrill too.

"When you say school trip, I guess this is all that comes to mind, huh?"

Before long, a pillow was clutched in Ryuen's hands.

"It's a face to face match. I don't have to explain the rules, right? Kitou."

"Of course."

"What is it? What are you going to do with that pillow?"

Not knowing what was waiting after this change, I tilted my neck.

"When you combine a school trip and pillows, there's only one thing, right?"

Only one thing?

I don't get it at all...

However, the students other than me seem to understand and, and Kushida quickly gets up.

"Well, then, I'll be the referee, okay? I think that it would be best for someone to watch over this in an impartial way."

Kushida, who seems to regret being in such a ridiculous place, spoke out as such.

"Even at a time like this, you're so disciplined, huh, Kushida-chan?"

I want to know the truth, but other than Watanabe, there are other girls around.

More importantly, I'm deeply interested in what they will use the pillow for.

"I'll give you the first attack."

"Nah, you don't wanna be defeated without firing a single shot, do you? Come at me with no regrets, Ryuen."

Ryuen laughed as he bounced the pillow over his hands.

"In that case, I'll kill you without hesitation, Kitou!"

After saying so, he swung his pillow and threw it like a ball.

The pillow stuffed with buckwheat chaff attacks Kitou at high speed.

Though there is plenty of distance between the two, the throw is so strong that he could suddenly lose the match.

Kitou calmly and surely caught the pillow.

"I'll... I'll kill you!"

This time, Kitou himself swung and threw the pillow back with the same force.

Ryuen on the other side, again, elegantly caught the pillow, and instantly shifted to a pitching stance.

*Illustration

"Not bad, Kitou! Looks like we can have a little fun, huh!"

Again, the pillow is returned.

"This is..."

"It's pillow throwing. Haven't you done it before, Ayanokoji-kun? I thought that all the boys were doing it in school trips in elementary school and junior high school, and outdoor schools. "

First time I'm hearing of it.

[TL Note 20 : Expression, Hatsumimi, lit. "First Ear"]

Last year's training camp didn't have anyone throwing pillows either.

"Darkness Ball!"

"My mad, raging serpent... devour him!"

Darkness, serpent... that pillow is being turned into a lot of different things, huh.

"Ah, this is pillow throwing... right?"

A one-on-one match where outsiders aren't allowed to be tagged in... no, a pillow throwing match.

Amikura muttered as pillows were being thrown left and right.

From then on, the deadly battle lasted for a few minutes with no signs of a conclusion.

Both of them had no problem with draining their energy, and seemed like they would be able to continue fighting for longer.

Here, however, all of us except those two find ourselves in a tight spot.

"That pillow, is it okay to keep throwing it strongly like that? It's already in tatters."

After Kushida's silently muttered remark, everyone's gazes were taken by the pillow.

There is no need to explain this to anyone, but pillows aren't tools to be used for throwing.

Leaving aside some light throwing, with a series of blazing fastballs and further being caught with no insignificant power, there is no way damage wouldn't accumulate.

"By the way, whose pillow is that?"

After Watanabe's remark, we quickly checked the futon laid on the ground. From the four futons, the pillow from the one on the edge that was given to me by Watanabe had disappeared.

"...Is that mine?"

The pillow that should have been on my futon wasn't there.

And now, Kitou seemed to be further putting the power of darkness into the pillow held in his hand.

I could tell the pillow was screaming.

"If you sleep on that pillow, you'll probably have nightmares."

No, in the first place, I'm afraid that there is no guarantee the pillow will stay in shape.

No matter who wins, I want it to be returned safely.

"Hmph!"

A pillow, with an unprecedented, intense killer intent put into it.

Because of Kitou's thick fingers strongly digging into it, it burst the moment it left his hand.

The buckwheat that was clogged in the broken cloth was scattered in the room.

Along with the sound of it scattering around, everyone fell into silence.

The pillow that was supposed to gently support my head, turned into an atrocious shape.

My pillow, I wished for it strongly, but it couldn't return to me safely...

I would like to express my condolences to the victims that were cruelly scattered on the battlefield.

"Boys are... they're such pure children, huh?"

As Kushida muttered so in a way only I could hear, the scattered buckwheat chaff also became silent.

The two did not seem to care, and an index finger reached out to a nearby untouched pillow, but Nishino then sternly raised her voice.

"Listen... We have things to do, so can't you finish this later? This is annoying."

Ignoring that warning, Ryuen wanted to continue, but Kitou seemed to be different.

He silently sat on the spot, and decided to pause for a while. His hot thoughts cooled down, and I felt the discontent around me.

"Can we say it's your loss, then? Kitou."

"If she says this is a bother, then I have no intention of continuing."

From the atmosphere he usually lets out, I could not imagine it, but he quickly pulled out.

Well, if this was going to happen, I wish they hadn't done this from the start. At least the victims from the pillow which have been cruelly scattered around would have remained safe.

"Well then... let's start talking when we're done cleaning up."

With the help of all the boys and girls except Ryuen, we successfully collected the remains of the pillow without spending too much time.

I'll have to get a new pillow from someone from the ryokan later.

Should I be honest, or should I lie?

The scattered buckwheat chaff, we put them in a clear plastic bag set in the trash can, and started our discussion.

"About the free conduct, we just have to return to the ryokan by the final dinner reception, 18:00, right?"

As expected, Kushida first started speaking for the group.

"Mhm. That's why it really feels like a day of freedom."

Amikura also immediately began talking.

"I think we can gather on a train or a bus and depart that way, but what should we do? Is there some place you want to go to, Nishino-san?"

"I guess I wanna ski. All I've done so far is practice, and I am in Hokkaidou, so."

"I agree with Nishino's opinion."

Despite going to the trouble of learning how to ski, it would be a waste to end it after half a day. Silently, Kitou also lightly raised his hand and showed agreement.

"There are quite a few people who want to ski, huh? Watanabe-kun, Yamamura-san, what about you?"

"I don't think I have any objections either. We're going downtown on the third day, so why not?"

"I'm fine anywhere."

Yamamura, who still can't ski well, doesn't seem to particularly dislike the idea either.

Maybe she is just trying to match her surroundings, or perhaps she wants to get better at skiing.

I don't really see much emotion in that area, though.

"Mako-chan?"

"Hmm... I'm not so good at skiing, so I wouldn't say I'm happy about it, but... If everyone wants to ski, then that's fine with me. It's a group, so."

Saying so, she shows her concession.

Kushida did not answer her own question, but looked at Ryuen sitting on the one man sofa.

"What about you, Ryuen-kun?"

"Whatever."

Without insisting on anything particular, he lightly relinquished his right to speak.

After Ryuen, the most troublesome member, made such a decision, an air of relief flowed through the group.  

It would be better to think that Ryuen is also aiming to enjoy skiing, rather than having no interest in going anywhere.

Translated by Anime Anyway