One of the attractions of the movie village was the Shinsengumi’s quarters, featured in an NHK epic drama.
In front of it, staff dressed as samurais were staging sword fights and taking photos with tourists.
And a place where people gathered was a good spot for hunting.
After stopping by the public restroom for a complete makeover, we finally stepped into the battlefield.
“Uh, I’m nervous.”
“Get a grip, Ryuji. If the best-looking among us is this nervous, what are we going to do?”
Filled with the desire to get a girlfriend this year, Satoru encouraged Ryuji, who was nervous about his first hunting attempt.
Their current appearance resembled hosts wandering the streets of Shibuya at night.
Their hair, fixed with spray, was sticking out in all directions, and the collars of their stylish casual clothes were sharp.
The sunglasses on their heads, a final touch to suit the tourist vibe, gave off a sense of casualness.
On the other hand, I wasn’t much different from usual.
At most, I wore clean clothes to change my gloomy look and styled my hair in a slicked-back fashion, which I didn’t usually do.
Considering that I usually had a mop of hair at school, this was a relatively neat look.
But it seemed it wasn’t quite right in the eyes of Chiaki, who was nearby.
「How do you always manage to look like a yakuza, no matter what you do?」
“...Shut up.”
Pointing out the part I was subtly conscious of, she had no consideration for people.
Anyway, with such a determined mindset, we embarked on our first hunting attempt.
“Okay, Ryuji. Now, your role is crucial. Approach a girl who looks bored and alone or seems easy to talk to and strike up a conversation naturally. Like, ‘Do you have a moment?’”
Ryuji frowned upon hearing Satoru’s explanation.
“Isn’t that too blatant? I heard hunting isn’t easy these days.”
“No, you can do it. It’s weird to say this as a guy, but you’re definitely good-looking. In terms of percentage, you’re in the top 20% of our school’s face ranking.”
“...That’s high, right?”
That’s a somewhat vague statistic.
Even I admit Ryuji is handsome.
Anyway, after receiving Satoru’s encouragement again, Ryuji reluctantly started the operation.
For security, we communicated through text messages, not vocally.
[How about the one in front?]
[You mean the one with yellow hair?]
[Yeah, the yellow-haired one.]
The first target was a female student alone with her phone.
Probably like us on a school trip, separated from her friends, she was constantly moving her fingers on the phone screen, focused on it.
Her dyed blonde hair, flashy manicure, and a phone case adorned with cute accessories completed the picture.
She was the very picture of a modern-day gyaru.
“Excuse me...”
The girl then lifted her head in apparent annoyance and said,
“I have a boyfriend, you know?”
This was a typical response from someone who finds street hunting annoying.
“I’m fine with anywhere.”
The opinions of the five quickly unified.
“Ok. Then let’s start with the ninja mansion.”
Watching the Class President fold the guidebook and put it back in her bag, Karen asked,
“Class President, aren’t you looking at the map?”
“Oh, I’ve already memorized the way, so it’s fine.”
With a nonchalant expression after making such an incredible claim, the Class President soon led the way to the ninja mansion in the corner of the movie village.
“Hello!”
“Wow! Amazing! Look at this guy’s muscles!”
A 3:3 impromptu meeting facilitated by Ryuji’s outstanding performance.
Honestly, such a gathering was incredibly unfamiliar to me.
Having lived a life far from social gatherings in both my past and present life.
If Satoru hadn’t been good at talking and playing the role of a mood-maker, we probably wouldn’t have spoken much and would have parted ways.
In that sense, Satoru was playing his role well.
It was something I couldn’t do, being shy.
“But are you really a high school student? Have you repeated any years?”
“...Should I show you my student ID?”
“Ahaha! Just kidding!”
After briefly exchanging information about each other and introducing ourselves, we decided to visit the attractions inside the movie village.
After all, the primary reason for coming here was to sightsee.
“What do you think would be fun?”
“Well, the haunted house wasn’t much when we went earlier. How about the ninja mansion up there?”
“That’s a great idea!”
“Right? Right?”
Satoru, always having high sociability, quickly hit it off with the girl he was paired with.
In Ryuji’s case, even without trying, the girl named Kobayashi was actively making moves on him.
Meanwhile, I had hardly any conversation with the girl wearing a mask, who I ended up paired with by chance.
‘Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to dislike me.’
Given her great interest in my muscles, which most people find intimidating at first, she might have a taste similar to my junior, Minato.
Anyway, we proceeded toward our agreed destination.
As high school girls of this age have the ability to chatter non-stop even while walking, it wasn’t particularly boring even as I walked quietly.
Given that my usual role was akin to a bodyguard or a backdrop, this situation felt somewhat familiar to me.
Starting from the Shinsengumi quarters on the west side of the movie village, we reached the ninja mansion after about a 10-minute walk.
As a place to enjoy various attractions related to ninjas, it was naturally popular among most tourists.
Following the guidance of a staff member in ninja cosplay, we lined up at the back of the queue to enter the mansion.
“Huh?”
And then I realized belatedly.
The girls we had parted ways with in front of the bus earlier were standing in a line not even 1 meter away from us.