The sound of water droplets echoed clearly throughout the hot spring.

  All the girls on this weekend trip had undressed and immersed themselves in the soothing warmth, as if only by doing so could they wash away the lingering unease in their hearts.

  "Our first club outing, and we run into a real supernatural event."

  "I 't tell if we're lucky or just pin unlucky."

  Sonoko gazed up at the dark sky, uo suppress her pints.

  "This is definitely us being lucky."

  Kaguya answered without hesitation.

  "Didn't Miss Isumi say so?"

  "This supernatural event isn't that serious."

  "Even Amamiya said this was just a test for us."

  "A low-difficulty test, at that."

  "Besides, I think Amamiya purposely set the challe a very easy level just to help us adapt."

  The smaller the range in which evil spirits roam, the greater their harm to people.

  Following this logic, sihe spirits on the isnd were dispersed over a wide area, their danger level was minimal.

  Fuya, this was merely an adaptation period.

  The irls present had no objes.

  They all uood that with Ren and Isumi leading the way, as long as they didn't act recklessly, they would be fine.

  So, the most important thing right now was how well they could adapt.

  ---

  "Sonoko, do you like Amamiya?"

  Fujiwara's suddeion instantly ged the atmosphere ih.

  Almost all the girls turheir attention to Sonoko, their i piqued.

  Faced with their expet gazes, Sonoko remained unfazed.

  "Yes, I like Amamiya a lot."

  "Oh~!"

  Fujiwara's inner gossip instincts ignited.

  "What's the reason?"

  "Well… at first, it robably because I realized Amamiya's hidden charm."

  "As you all know, I have very high standards when it es to looks, and any guy I like has to at least pass that bar."

  "Yeah."

  Fujiwara nodded. She was well aware of Sonoko's taste.

  "What about the other reasons?"

  "The other reason… I suppose it was when I apanied Ran to meet Amamiya at his house."

  "Meeting the family already?!"

  Fujiwara's eyes sparkled with excitement.

  "Oh, it wasn't anything romantic."

  Sonoko sighed.

  "Ran had gotten hold of Amamiya's diary and wao dig up more information about him, so she dragged me along."

  "That's when I found out about the e between them."

  She expined helplessly.

  Seeing Chika's eager expression, she knew what the girl was expeg.

  Unfortunately, she too wished their first visit to Amamiya's house had been more romantic.

  But reality had other pns.

  Even if the reason wasn't particurly special, the result wasn't bad.

  Thinking back to that day, Sonoko couldn't help but smile.

  "But still, it was kind of nice."

  "At that moment, I thought he was really cute~"

  This revetion made Fujiwara even more intrigued.

  While the two tiheir versation, the irls around them had also taken notice.

  ---

  "Isumi, what do you think?"

  Nagi, who had been soaking i spring, suddenly spoke.

  "About Amamiya-sama?"

  "Yeah."

  "Amamiya-sama is a very gentle person."

  Isumi thought for a moment befiving her assessment.

  "He may be quiet, but he treats everyoh the same level of kindness."

  "And even though this situation turned out to be a little more plicated than expected, Amamiya-sama already had termeasures in pce."

  "Eh~"

  Nagi looked up at the night sky.

  The stars seemed to ect, f the silhouette of her mother, a figure she longed for.

  Then, an image of Ren surfaced in her mind.

  Quiet, reserved, ge as cold as he appeared on the surface.

  Even that ess seemed to be a defense meism, a mask to hide his struggles with iing with girls.

  Strangely enough, she felt that Amamiya and her mother shared a simir presence.

  But unlike her mother, Amamiya was much more… normal.

  "Isumi, do you think… I should try getting closer to Amamiya?"

  Isumi and Maria, who were sittio her, both wideheir eyes in surprise.

  This was… ued.

  But not bad.

  "I don't think that would be a bad thing."

  After a brief pause, Isumi gave her ho opinion.

  "Amamiya-sama is a good person. It wouldn't hurt if you took the initiative."

  "Besides, you and Amamiya-sama have some simirities."

  "You might even have on is."

  "…Hmm."

  This time, Nagi didn't object.

  While the three were whispering among themselves, Kaguya and Hayasaka were also having a quiet versation.

  "He never gets angry wheed. Instead, he responds with the utmost gentleness."

  "Amamiya-san's personality really is special."

  "If Amamiya-san weren't such a good person, Kaguya-san would've been the first to suffer."

  Hayasaka teased.

  Kaguya turned her head and shot her a gre.

  You get it, so don't say it out loud.

  That said, she had to admit, if Amamiya had been a different kind of man, she would've been the oo suffer the most under his influence.

  She was grateful that he was nothing like the people she had known in the past.

  "Kaguya-san, shouldn't you start preparing?"

  "Preparing?"

  Kaguya didn't quite follow.

  "If nothing ued happens, you'll always be by Amamiya-san's side iure."

  "Acc to Amamiya-san, this is the interse of fate."

  "In that case, shouldn't you start preparing now?"

  Kaguya fell silent.

  She uood what Hayasaka meant.

  It ragmatic, calcuted approach.

  If this had been before, she wouldn't have hesitated to a her ow i.

  But now…

  Thinking about how Ren had always been so geh her, how he had never approached her with any ulterior motives…

  Fag someone like that, she didn't want to approach him in a calcuted way either.

  Logically, this was the wrong choice.

  But she wasn't the same person she had been before.

  "No… I'll let things happen naturally."

  A firm determination flickered in Kaguya's eyes.

  "Let it be."

  Hayasaka didn't say anything more, but inside, she was already smiling.

  Because the moment Kaguya refused, she realized, Kaguya had ged.