Suddenly, Rika turned her head back.
“Huh? Didn’t I just hear Ryu-chan’s voice?”
I instantly crouched down deeply to avoid her attention.
What’s this? I haven’t done anything wrong, but why do I feel guilty?
“It must be your imagination. If Yu-seong was nearby, we would have known.”
“Well, Ryu-chan is really tall, after all.”
Fortunately, due to Karen’s unintentional assistance, Rika’s suspicion quickly faded, and both girls looked ahead again.
My partner next to me, a girl wearing a mask, asked,
“Onii-chan, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, I suddenly have a stomach ache.”
“If that’s the case, it’s okay to go to the restroom. We will save your spot.”
I sneakily glanced at the other members of our group.
Ryuji and Satoru looked bewildered by my sudden action.
‘They clearly have no idea.’
Leaving aside Satoru, the perennial single, Ryuji’s situation could become really awkward if Yamaguchi finds out.
“Then, I’ll be back soon.”
After saying that, I left the queue and headed towards the nearby public restroom.
Then, after checking my surroundings, I stood in front of the sink and sent a text message.
Me: [It’s an emergency.]
Ryuji: [What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
Me: [The girls from our class were in the front row.]
The chat room instantly froze.
Ryuji: [Really...?]
Satoru: [Wait a minute! You’re not planning to betray us now, are you?! You can’t just disappear in this great atmosphere!]
It was a cry of desperation.
I chewed on my fingernails while pondering.
Is it about friendship with friends or about self-preservation?
Having already betrayed once during the summer vacation, it weighed even more on my mind.
For starters, Satoru and I had sworn a brotherly oath while drinking yogurt at Ryuji’s house, and it was our common intention to find him a girlfriend, especially since he had been feeling increasingly lonely lately.
I was tired of hearing him constantly whine about being single, so I hoped to settle it this time for sure.
If he really got a girlfriend, his complaints would decrease.
After much inner conflict, I made a decision.
Me: [Let’s continue as planned. The girls haven’t discovered our identities yet. We coincidentally crossed paths this time, but next time we’ll just avoid them.]
Ryuji: [Are you sure?]
Me: [Even if we get caught, we’ll just take the heat. Besides, we swore last night at the lodging to find Satoru a girlfriend this fall, right?]
Satoru: [Yu-seong...]
After a moment of silence, Ryuji’s chat popped up.
Ryuji: [Okay. Let’s give it a shot. As long as we don’t get caught, right?]
Fortunately, it seemed Ryuji’s fading enthusiasm was revived.
Satoru: [Thanks! I’ll treat you guys once this is over!]
Feeling Satoru’s gratitude even through the message, I chuckled and stood up from leaning against the wall.
The emergency meeting was over, and it was time to return to the battlefield.
“Wow! It’s huge!”
After a long wait, we finally entered the ninja mansion.
True to being one of the most popular attractions in the movie village, the mansion was filled with various fun activities.
Including a ninja costume rental shop, throwing shuriken, learning hand signs, and a stealth experience, there was something for everyone to enjoy.
“Nin-nin!”
“Wow! It looks so real, Onii-chan!”
“Amazing!”
“Really?”
Do kids these days not think much of this level of physical contact?
As I was rubbing my forearm, still feeling the soft touch, in bewilderment,
“Wow! There’s an experience area here too!”
“It doesn’t look very interesting. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Aww, but we’re already here. We should at least check it out.”
A familiar voice came from nearby.
‘It’s Rika!’
I quickly looked around.
Fortunately, Ryuji and Satoru were engaged in an experience crawling in a space designed like under eaves.
So, it was just me who needed to hide.
“Wait, this way.”
“????”
When I suddenly said this and pulled her arm, the masked girl looked bewildered, but I had no time to think about that now.
I hid in the empty space between fake walls made of planks.
Fortunately, there was just enough space for two people to hide, saving us from being seen.
Meanwhile, the girls from our class entered the photo experience zone.
“Wow! It’s a photo zone!”
“We still have a lot to see, so let’s just take a few quick pictures and move on.”
“Should we?”
Luckily, it seemed we just managed to evade them in time.
As I leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief, the masked girl, who was pressed close to me due to the cramped space, asked,
“...Did you hide because of those people earlier too?”
Apparently, she had already figured out why I hastily hid.
“Yeah, they’re classmates of mine.”
I admitted the reason and explained the whole story involving Satoru.
But, contrary to my expectations, the masked girl didn’t seem surprised.
“I thought that might be the case. Someone like you doesn’t seem the type to go hunting.”
...It was somewhat embarrassing to confess such a thing to someone I had just met.
“But why did you hide? It’s not like hunting is something bad.”
“That’s... true.”
Unless most of those members like me romantically.
It might sound deceptive to someone else, but from my perspective, it was quite a dilemma.
Choosing one person as a romantic partner would automatically hurt the others.
I didn’t want that to happen.
Having read more love comedies than anyone else, I knew the reality faced by the heroines who didn’t make the cut.
But then, at that moment,
Thud!
The masked girl lightly punched me over the heart and said,
“Onii-chan, it’s awkward to say this on the first meeting, but don’t worry too much about relationships.”
“If you fear hurting someone from the start, you can never begin anything.”
“......”
I felt like I had been hit on the head with a hammer.
Because I had never thought about it from that perspective.
“Anyway, I haven’t experienced love either.”
Saying that, the masked girl, seemingly hiding her shyness, scratched the back of her head and peeked outside.
“They’re gone now. Let’s go out too.”
With that, she quickly left the space between the walls as if escaping.
I watched her leave, a small but significant revelation given, then followed with a small chuckle.
“Hunting isn’t necessarily a bad thing, after all.”
This time, I think I owe Satoru a thank you.