Ch.271School Trip (10)

“Let’s all take a bath first. I’ll prepare dinner in an hour.”

The somewhat translucent hostess spoke in a neat, composed tone.

“Bath time! Bath time!!”

“Wow! Yukatas!!”

The children seemed excited about getting to take a bath.

And so we all entered the bath.

I had hoped for a hot spring, but it was just an ordinary public bath. Well. What was I expecting?

Still, everyone seemed excited about washing together in the large bathing area.

“Ahhhh…!”

I immediately poured hot water over myself.

“Shota. Sometimes you really act like an old man.”

Sasith said with an exasperated tone while looking at me.

“Sasith. Want to scrub each other’s backs?”

I decided to use this opportunity to strengthen my friendship with Sasith.

“No.”

Sasith replied. Just a flat refusal.

“That’s disappointing.”

I finished washing myself quickly and got up. Sasith also seemed to have finished washing and stood up.

Afterward, Sasith and I moved to a corner of the public bath.

At that moment, our classmates approached us.

“Hey. Shota. Sasith.”

One of them looked at me with serious eyes.

“How do you become popular with girls?”

These beings seemed to be seeking enlightenment.

“Especially you, Shota! You’ve basically created a harem of pretty girls!! Are you using some kind of hypnosis app or something?”

One made an insane deduction.

“What hypnosis app?!!”

That would change the whole genre!!

“I get why Sasith might date someone pretty like Frill since he’s good-looking… but Shota, you’re just average.”

“And… you have that spiky hair like you’ve been struck by lightning.”

The kids casually made some rude remarks.

“It just… happened that way.”

That’s all I could say.

“Tell us exactly how it happened!!”

Everyone seemed desperate for romance advice.

“Hmm……”

I pondered it myself. Why do these girls even like me?

First, with Umi… it felt like we connected while learning kendo. Eri came along naturally as Umi’s friend. After that, they suddenly started coming to my house regularly. Kendo actually helped me more than I expected. Kana and Tina were connections I made at a kendo tournament. Huh? Kendo was actually a more social sport than I thought?

Taiga… I met her while hunting monsters with Sasith. I guess you could say we got close through club activities. That’s the simplest way to explain it to normal people.

And Mika and I became close while writing web novels. We connected because we shared the same profession.

“I think it’s good to increase your points of contact with girls, whether through clubs or hobbies. First, put yourself in environments where girls are present and close the distance. It’s easier to become friends when you have common interests. Go in with a light mindset that it’s fine if you end up dating, but it’s also okay to just remain friends. Start with a comfortable relationship.”

I launched straight into a crash course.

“………..”

But everyone seemed disappointed.

“That’s too ordinary…”

“I thought Shota would say something crazy.”

They all sighed.

Hey. What kind of image do you guys have of me? Have I become someone known for doing bizarre things at every opportunity?

“I got chills too. I can’t believe Shota can say something so sensible…”

Even Sasith seemed shocked. Hey. What’s that supposed to mean?

“Anyway!! Just do something!! Clubs, hobbies, whatever!!”

I said decisively.

“Before thinking about wanting to date, it’s important to establish your own foundation. Starting with having clear goals and being passionate about something is the first step!”

People who build their own foundation definitely have something that makes them appear different. Isn’t it better to polish your precious qualities as a human being before dating? True charm comes from there.

I wrapped up my speech on that heartwarming note. Not that my words had much nutritional value.

“Ohhh… I feel like I’ve gained some insight…!”

Our classmates, caught up in the atmosphere, exclaimed loudly. Right. Being easily moved and impressed is characteristic of school kids. I was like that too.

“Well, now that we’re clean, shall we scrub each other?”

I immediately stood up.

Splash-!

And the sword between my legs swayed.

“………..”

The eyes of my classmates focused on my lower half. This is embarrassing.

“…So it’s about size after all.”

“So that’s what it takes to maintain a harem…”

My classmates seemed to feel some kind of deflation.

“Sasith! Let’s go!! Time to scrub each other’s backs!”

I shouted loudly.

Back scrubbing… a wonderful Korean cultural practice I’d love to spread.

“Alright, but stop swinging that thing around! Cover it!! It’s making me uncomfortable!”

Sasith shouted while looking at my lower half.

Twitch-!

Without realizing it, I had made it stand up.

“Why are you making it stand up?!!”

Sasith shouted.

“No, it’s because you were staring at it with such intense eyes!!”

“Shut up!!!”

Sasith yelled.

Yet despite all that, we amicably scrubbed each other’s backs. This dishonest punk…

———-

Anyway, after finishing our bath, we all headed to the changing room. There was one yukata prepared for each person.

“Ah… this is nice.”

Yukatas seemed to have low defense stats, which I liked. The feeling of air flowing around my lower half was pleasant.

After bathing, we headed to the inn’s dining room.

“Shota!!”

All my girlfriends greeted me wearing yukatas. They seemed eager to show me their outfits.

Eri, Umi, Taiga, Tina, and Kana were all impressive in terms of volume. The thin yukatas revealed their slender figures.

“Shall we go somewhere… private?”

I immediately tried to set the mood.

“Hahaha! Shota, we need to eat first!”

Eri laughed and nudged me.

Oh well… can’t be helped. I was already looking forward to the night. The boys’ and girls’ rooms were separate, but I could easily climb over the wall. Wall climbing was no challenge for me now.

Then the food was served. Though not a hot spring, it was an elaborate traditional inn-style meal. It felt authentically Japanese.

“Everyone, enjoy your meal!”

At our teacher’s words, everyone began devouring the food.

I was seated with girlfriends on both sides. Eri on my left, Umi on my right, and Kana and Tina sitting on my knees. A five-person combination that made my lower half feel secure.

“Aahn~”

Eri picked up some sashimi and fed it to me.

Squeeze squeeze-!

I checked the condition of my girlfriends’ chests.

“In a place like this…”

Kana spoke as if embarrassed, but didn’t actually stop me.

Our classmates… just seemed used to it by now. They’d seen it so often that they no longer felt jealousy or envy.

Sasith and Frill were also engaged in affectionate behavior while eating. By the way, the area around us was incredibly pink and lovey-dovey.

Ahh… this is good. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this the best day of my life.

That’s when it happened.

“Shota. Wake up.”

Sasith immediately cautioned me.

“Huh? I am awake though?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Not that! The employees and hostess of this inn… they’re clearly ghosts!! Who knows what they might do to humans!”

Sasith exclaimed.

“Ah… right. But does it matter?”

I replied indifferently.

“They’re giving us delicious food and letting us bathe in a nice place. They’re just innkeepers. We can just enjoy our stay and leave. What does it matter if they’re ghosts or humans?”

That’s what I said. They weren’t like the eight-foot ghost we met before. They weren’t attacking us without warning.

“They’re ghosts!! This is clearly a pattern where they lure us into a trap and attack!!”

Sasith shouted.

“Sasith!! That’s discriminatory!!! It’s not PC!!”

I shouted loudly.

“The least PC person here is talking about being PC…”

Sasith looked at me with cold eyes.

“Ghosts can run inns too!! They’re just differently-alive!! We should be considerate!!”

I shouted.

Right. They just have less inherent right to life, but ghosts are also subjects with self-awareness!!! At this moment, I had become an apostle of political correctness.

“Shota. You just want to enjoy the school trip. Aren’t you just making excuses because you don’t want to think about complicated things?”

Sasith hit the nail on the head.

“You got me.”

I admitted immediately.

“But there’s no point in staying vigilant here. Let’s just respond when something happens.”

That’s what I said. You need to maintain composure to win. That was my mindset.

“Haah… strangely reliable. Fine.”

Sasith accepted my words and resumed his affectionate behavior with Frill.

———-

That night. The first night of the school trip event began with everyone chatting cozily before sleep. The development where everyone talks about who they like in their class unfolded. The point was to exchange opinions about who everyone was interested in.

However, it had nothing to do with me.

“Let’s go!”

I immediately got up from under the blanket.

“That damn phrase…”

Sasith covered his ears with an expression of developing neurosis. What’s wrong with “let’s go”? I’m telling you, it’s addictive if you keep using it.

From what I heard, our girlfriends had cleverly secured a room together. Plus, Frill was with them. Sasith and I decided to climb over the wall to visit the girls’ room.

“Let’s go, Sasith! We need to visit the girls’ room!”

I said with a smile. I’d been waiting for this! Yukata time!!!

Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera… I didn’t care about any of that!! I wanted to play with my girlfriends!!

“Sure… but are we really climbing over the wall?”

Sasith seemed doubtful about that part.

“Yeah. Since our Sasith is just a baby, get on my back. I’ll handle it.”

That’s what I said.

“Haah… fine.”

Sasith immediately climbed onto my back. Well, even though Sasith was protagonist-level strong, his physical specs were still those of a normal person. Climbing walls for extended periods was impossible for him.

“Hup!!”

I immediately jumped high from the veranda.

Swoosh-!!

And I created a blade of wind in my hand.

Thud-!!

The wind blade stuck slightly into the inn’s wall.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!!”

After that, I began moving toward Building B where the girls’ room was, as if rock climbing.

“…At this point, I don’t even feel like objecting anymore.”

Sasith, now accustomed to my transcendent physical abilities, muttered to himself without realizing it.