Chapter 105: Student council part (3)

Nishizono-senpai’s gaze was unsettling, almost chilling. In the novel, she was portrayed as a somewhat comedic villain, easily swayed by the protagonist’s confession… but without that option available to me, she was a formidable adversary.

Takase-senpai, who’d been dragged into our group, looked at us with a bewildered expression.

“Weren’t you supposed to be with Nishizono?”
“Of course not~! It’s much better with you, senpai!”

Mizuki beamed, linking arms with Takase-senpai. Takase-senpai, still looking confused, glanced back and forth between Nishizono-senpai and Mizuki before allowing herself to be led away. Nishizono-senpai could only watch from afar.

“Okay, has everyone formed their teams? I’ve handed out the hints! Let the treasure hunt begin!”

The student council president’s announcement signaled the start of the treasure hunt. Mizuki, the de facto leader of our team, unfolded the hint sheet.

“We have to find the next location based on this hint.”
“It looks pretty difficult. Do you have any ideas, senpai?”
“Huh? No… I have no clue.”
“Ah, I think I know.”
“As expected of Aya-ring~!”

Aya, my personal Doraemon, quickly examined the hint, turning it this way and that, before solving it. We immediately set off, following the path indicated by the hint.

Even in the novel, the treasure hunt locations were only vaguely described, with Aya quickly solving the puzzles. Experiencing it firsthand was… strange. It was as if Aya solved the puzzles while I was still reading the clues.

“Aya, how did you solve that?”
“Ah, well…”

Aya explained, but how could she come up with a solution so quickly?! It was an incomprehensible level of genius. No wonder no one could keep up with her…

We arrived at the second location and found the next hint. This one was even more baffling.

****

There are five houses. Each house is painted a different color, and each house is inhabited by a person of a different nationality. These five owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigarettes, and keep a certain pet. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigarettes, or drink the same beverage.
The question is, who owns the fish?

Here are the clues:

1. The British man lives in the red house.

2. The Swedish man keeps dogs as pets.

3. The Danish man drinks tea.

4. The green house is on the left of the white house.

5. The green house’s owner drinks coffee.
   …

This was clearly a time-wasting puzzle!!
…Or so I thought, until Aya solved it in ten seconds.

“The answer is that the Norwegian drinks water… and if it’s water, then it must be referring to the stream we passed earlier, right?”
“…?”
“As expected of Aya-ring!”
“Wow, Yukikawa-san is amazing at solving these…?”

Aya’s face flushed slightly, perhaps from the praise. No, it must be the heat… Aya wasn’t the type to get flustered over solving a puzzle quickly, was she?

As we headed towards the third location, I made eye contact with Nishizono-senpai, who was watching us from afar.

“…?”

Ugh, her gaze was so creepy…
Nishizono-senpai stared at me intently without looking away. Her gaze was still cold and haughty, and I flinched, shrinking back instinctively.

‘Eh…?’

Something felt… strange.
Why was she staring at me so intensely?
Was she… interested in me? Surely I wasn’t that delusional.

Thankfully, as we walked towards the next hint, some branches provided cover, shielding me from her gaze. And once we passed through the thicket, Nishizono-senpai and her team were out of sight.

We followed the path down to the stream and found the third hint. And… Aya solved this one instantly as well. Her eyes sparkled as she read the clue, and she had the answer in seconds.

“This time, it’s the wooden bridge. Let’s go.”
“What, already?!”
“I haven’t even read the question yet, Aya-ring!”
“Wow… Yukikawa-san is too fast. It feels like we’re just on a leisurely stroll.”

Even Takase-senpai was surprised by Aya’s speed. With Aya solving the puzzles instantly, it felt less like a treasure hunt and more like a hike.

Panting slightly, we arrived at the final location. A small flag, marking the spot, fluttered in the breeze.

“There it is!”
“Rina-tan, Aya-ring, senpai! Let’s go!”

We hurried towards the flag, following Mizuki, who’d spotted the treasure.
And that’s when it happened.

“Oh?”

Another team, led by Nishizono-senpai, appeared from the side.
Senpai’s eyes gleamed coldly.

Whoosh—

In a burst of speed, Aya darted forward and grabbed the flag.

“And the winner is Yukikawa Aya’s team!”

The student council president, who had been watching nearby, announced loudly, and our team cheered, smiling at each other.

“We did it~!”
“As expected of Aya-ring, amazing~!”
“Thank you, Yukikawa-san!”

Takase-senpai beamed, praising Aya.

Amidst the cheers, I glanced at Nishizono-senpai. She stood there for a moment and then slowly approached us with elegant strides.

Smiling at Aya, she said,

“That was a clean victory, Yukikawa-san.”
“Ah, yes… Thank you, senpai.”

Even as she spoke to Aya, her cold gaze remained fixed on me.
After a moment, she turned and walked away gracefully.

“…”

I had a bad feeling about this. But surely she wasn’t planning what I thought she was…

We decided to enjoy our victory for the time being.
Aya whispered to me with a slight smile,

“Are you alright, Rina?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you’re here, Aya.”

Aya smiled brightly at my words and squeezed my hand.

“The victory celebration will be held back at the lodge. Since the treasure hunt is over, we’ll call everyone back for the awards ceremony.”

“Yay!”

****

The scattered student council members returned to the lodge after receiving the message. The student council president, after checking that everyone was present, began the awards ceremony.

“Now, we’ll present the award to the treasure hunt winners. And the winner is… Asakura Mizuki’s team!”
“Wow~! Thank you!”

Mizuki beamed and walked forward to receive a small trophy and a gift basket filled with snacks.
Everyone cheered and applauded.
As I looked around, I suddenly felt a sense of unease.

I felt like… I’d forgotten something.

“Huh…?”

A feeling of dread washed over me, and I quickly scanned the crowd again.

The blonde girl I’d seen earlier, before we set off on the treasure hunt, was nowhere to be found.
I quickly raised my hand.

“Wait a minute, Emilia-san is missing.”
“Emilia…?”

The student council president and the other members looked around anxiously. But no one could find her.

“Emilia Howell? From the middle school division?”
“Yes… She was here earlier.”

I replied, my voice filled with urgency. The student council president and some of the senpais’ expressions hardened.
The president spoke calmly,

“Did anyone see her near the treasure hunt area just now? What about Emilia-san’s team?”

“Uh… She was definitely following us…”
“Perhaps… she got lost?”
“What should we do? Shouldn’t we look for her?”

The student council president bit his lip, looking troubled.

“It’s best to find her before it gets dark. Let’s split up and search the area.”
“Okay!”

Ah… so this was it. The wolf encounter.
But she was a kouhai from the middle school division. I couldn’t just stand by and watch a cute kouhai get attacked by a wolf.

“Let’s go, Aya, Mizuki!”
“Okay!”

We quickly left the lodge and headed into the forest. I grabbed the blank-firing pistol I’d used during the treasure hunt. It wasn’t a lethal weapon, but I had a feeling it would come in handy.

Takase-senpai, who’d been left behind, watched us go with tears in her eyes.

“Waa… Guys… I hurt my leg on the way here.”
“Senpai, are you alright?”

The student council president rushing over to check on her leg was a secret, of sorts.

Days are shorter in the mountains.
You can really feel it when you’re hiking.
The sun dipped below the ridgeline in the late afternoon, and the forest floor quickly darkened.

I was already scared of the dark, and my anxiety grew as my heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t stop thinking about that scene from the novel. The wolf attack.

‘It can’t be a wolf…’

I tried to reassure myself as I walked through the forest, when I heard a scream from up ahead.

“Kyaaaaa!”
“H-Help me!”

Then a familiar blonde girl came running towards us.

“Emilia?!”

Emilia, her eyes filled with tears, ran towards me at the sound of my voice.
Several other students also came running out of the forest, their faces pale with terror. We quickly realized what they were running from.

Countless pairs of sharp eyes gleamed in the darkness.

“Huh…?”

Accompanied by menacing growls, a pack of wolves emerged from the shadows. Wolves, which I’d only ever seen in novels, wolves that were supposed to be extinct in Japan.

“Wolves…?! How…?!”

And there weren’t just one or two.
At least five huge wolves were slowly approaching us.
My body froze at the sound of their growls, and I could feel Aya’s hand trembling in mine.

“What do we do, Rina…?”
“We have to run…!”

But we were already surrounded, the wolves slowly closing in.
I calmly gripped the blank-firing pistol. It wasn’t lethal, but it was loud.
Wolves were sensitive to sound… Maybe I could scare them off with it.

“Everyone, cover your ears!”

I shouted, aiming the pistol at the wolves.

Bang—!

The sharp crack of the gunshot made the wolves flinch and stop in their tracks.
They hesitated for a moment and then started to back away.

‘It’s working…!’

I fired again.

Bang! Bang!

Startled by the loud, consecutive shots, the wolves retreated further into the forest.

“We did it…!”

As the wolves finally disappeared into the darkness, we relaxed and looked at each other. Aya, her voice trembling, said,

“Rina… You were amazing.”
“Yeah… I’m glad it worked…”
“Wow… Rina-tan, you saved us.”

Both Mizuki and Aya hugged me tightly.
I was so relieved that the wolf incident was over.