DELAYED

Knock. Knock.

A lady called out to Shiro and Kohta who were still discussing in their room. "Uhm… Kohta, Shiro, it's about time for breakfast and my dad specifically told me to summon everyone." Turns out, Saya was the one knocking outside the door.

"Understood. We'll be there in a minute." Shiro replied. He turned to Kohta who had been bugging him to spill the beans. "I might tell you all about it when we return."

Kohta jumped down from the bed. "Agreed. Now let's head out for dinner."

Both of them walked out of the room but Saya was gone.

They didn't bother. If she wasn't here, then she's probably have gone to the dining room.

"I feel like we're going to be talking much during this breakfast." Kohta spoke after a long while of silence.

Shiro nodded. "I think so too and I might have to apologize too.*

"Apologize for what? Hey, Shiro, did you do something wrong?" Kohta got tense.

They arrived in front of the dining room and Shiro opened the door leading inside. "I promised to tell you, didn't I? You should wait till we return…" The moment he entered, all eyes got fixed on him. "... Or not." Shiro whispered when he saw everyone looking at him.

'They couldn't have found out right? There's no way he would be so petty and tell everyone about it. He's not such a person.' Shiro's thoughts were wriggling inside his head.

"You're both late. Hurry up to your seats." Yuriko scolded both of them.

'Luckily, it's because we arrived late.' Shiro smiled. "Good morning everyone." Shiro bowed before walking to his seat.

Kohta also greeted and walked to his seat.

Unlike what Kohta and Shiro had expected, the meal went on in silence. The only sounds heard were the sounds of the utensils being used.

Shiro couldn't bear the tension and guilt anymore. He opened his mouth to speak and Suichiro seemed to notice immediately.

"Shiro, meet me in my private room an hour from now." Suichiro informed Shiro before he could speak up.

Shiro gulped down the food in his mouth. "Yes sir."

"Good, I'll see you in an hour." Suichiro nodded and continued his food.

The whole group immediately suspected something must have transpired between both of them. Well, only Saya knew something had really happened between the both of them and she intended to keep it that way.

'I knew something was wrong. Saya's father is probably why Shiro's been moody since he woke up. Did a fight break out?' Kohta kept running scenarios in his head.

'Just eat your damn food.' Kohta yelled at himself mentally.

The breakfast ended and everyone left the room. Shiro called back to them. "I think it would be best to have a meeting before I meet with Saya's father. I can just pass on our final decision to him." Shiro suggested and they all agreed.

"First, we'll be leaving using the humvee right? Do you all think it'll fit all nine of us? Well, I don't think so." Shiro asked and then went ahead to answer the question himself.

"True, even with seven of us, it was an overload. One or two people had to stay on top." Saya nodded.

'Look who's in a good mood.' Shiro smiled.

"Then, hear me out. Why don't we attach a small wagon behind and have the boys stay in it?" Shiro asked.

"That's not a bad idea." Takashi agreed.

"Or… we could make it a little bigger and have more people stay inside." Saeko suggested and Saya nodded in agreement.

"Takashi, you're the only one who knows the way to our destination, so you'll stay inside the humvee for directions." Shiro pointed at Takashi who seemed happy that he would get some alone time with the boys.

"Fine." Takashi agreed because he had no other choice.

"Then, it has been decided. We'll be adding a custom-made wagon to the humvee. It shouldn't take too long to get one made." Saya clapped her hands in excitement.

"That's settled. Second, we just ruined our departure. Now, we can't leave until the wagon is completed, isn't that right? So, when are we leaving?" Shiro asked.

"We could leave tomorrow." Saya replied.

"How the hell are we supposed to build a wagon in a day?" Kohta asked.

Alice just sat on Shizuka's lap, listening to everything being said.

"Getting the required parts alone will take over a day." Rei suggested.

"That is correct but no one said anything about building a wagon from scratch." Saya chuckled.

"What are you trying to say?" Kohta asked.

"Our family has a collection of wagons that have been in the family for decades and even centuries." Saya explained.

"Now that you mention it when we were younger, I remember going to look at them and then falling asleep in it. Your parents searched the entire estate for us." Takashi smiled, scratching his head.

"So what you're saying is that we just take one of the wagons and find a way to attach it to the humvee." Shizuka summed it up.

"That is correct." Saya nodded.

"We'll have to make some adjustments but I'm sure it won't take longer than a day or two." She explained to the team.

"Since we won't be leaving today, there's no reason to make this our final meeting. I think we'll end here for today." Shiro spoke after a minute of silence.

"Yeah, we should have one more before we leave the estate." Saya agreed.

The others agreed with the decision.

"Then, I'll be on my way. There's someone I can't keep waiting. If there's any information I need to know about, Kohta, I'll hear it from you." Shiro walked out of the room after he finished speaking.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in, I've been expecting you." Suichiro answered from inside the room.

"Then excuse me." Shiro pushed the door open and walked in.

****************************

Hi guys, there were problems with yesterday's chapter and I apologize for that.

Here's today's dose of HOTD: SC...

Thank you all for sticking with me this far. I hope we'll all get to the end together.

Once again, I'll shamelessly ask you guys to check out my other book: Reincarnation Of An All-Rounder. Thank you all.