Volume 2: Chapter 1 – Part 6
Author: Geraint
"This is so good! I wonder what kind of meat this is… Seir-kun won't tell me."
Riko grinned as she happily enjoyed the hot nabe along with the group—which included their teacher, Saeko-sensei, and even the Princess herself.
"I'm thinking of adding this meat to a ramen dish," she added, picking up another juicy piece from the pot. She gave it a quick blow to cool it down and popped it in her mouth.
"Hehe… Delicious~."
While enjoying the warmth of the meal, she suddenly noticed two of her classmates slipping away from the group.
"Hmm?"
It was a boy and a girl… and they seemed to be in a hurry. Her curiosity flared.
"Isn't that Fukutani-kun and Hayakawa-san? Where are they going?"
"They're always together," one girl murmured nearby.
"Oh, I heard they've been dating since middle school," another chimed in.
"They're so lucky to be in the same class in high school. My boyfriend's in another section…"
Riko listened quietly as her female classmates gossiped.
"What about you, Saeko-sensei? Do you have a boyfriend? We'd love to hear some teacher romance stories!"
All eyes turned toward their homeroom teacher, full of anticipation.
"…I have none," Saeko replied flatly.
"Eh? Seriously?"
The girls were visibly disappointed.
"My high school days just passed by… Before I realized it, I graduated without anything interesting happening."
A moment of silence. The girls gave her a collective look of pity.
Riko, however, couldn't get her mind off the couple. Curiosity tugged at her as she slowly stood up.
"Riko, where are you going?" asked Kaho, who had been quietly eating until now.
"Bathroom," Riko replied nonchalantly, already walking off.
Kaho frowned. Something felt off.
"…I'll go check on her. It's dangerous to wander too far."
She followed at a distance, eventually catching up to Riko—who was crouched behind a tree, peeking through some bushes.
"Riko! Seir already said not to—"
"Shh! Get down!" Riko hissed, yanking her down and covering her mouth.
Kaho blinked, confused. She peeked through the bushes too… and immediately blushed.
"Nnngh… Fuji-kun, not so rough!"
"Midori-chan…"
There they were—Fukutani and Hayakawa—engaged in some very heated kissing, hands wandering freely in the secluded forest.
Kaho's face turned bright red. "I-I can't believe they're really doing this out here…"
Meanwhile, Riko was… getting way too into it.
"Seir…" she mumbled under her breath, her cheeks flushed.
"Riko, let's go before they notice—" Kaho whispered.
But Riko didn't move. Instead, she suddenly pushed Kaho down.
"I can't take it anymore! It's not fair I'm the only one who has to hold it in!"
"H-Hey! Riko—?!"
Without warning, Riko lifted her shirt slightly and started groping her own chest.
"Waaah! Don't do that here!!"
Kaho's scream echoed in her head as she panicked.
Meanwhile, back at camp...
I slowly opened my eyes to find something warm and soft beneath my head.
"Good evening, Onii-sama. You've been sleeping all day," said Yuuka, smiling. Apparently, I'd been using her lap as a pillow.
"Seir-kun," Shiina added, sitting nearby.
"What time is it?" I asked groggily.
"No idea. We are in another world, after all."
I sat up, stretching my arms and yawning. As I glanced around, I noticed something off.
"Wait… Where's Riko and Kaho-san?"
I walked over to Saeko-sensei."Where did they go?"
"They said they were following two students who left earlier," she said casually.
"…You guys stay here."
I followed the direction she pointed, my footsteps growing heavier the farther I went into the woods.
Eventually, I found them.
"Kaho-senpai! G-Give! I give up! I'm sorry!"
Kaho had Riko pinned to the ground in a perfect jiu-jitsu arm bar. Riko tapped furiously in surrender.
I dragged them apart and gave them both a stern pinch on the cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow!!"
"Uuugh! Seir, I'm sorry!" Kaho whined.
Just then—
"Ahh! Fuji-kun! Nnh! Aaaah!"
"Hm? What's that noise?"
I turned toward the sound and peeked through the bushes—
"Wait, Seir! Don't—!"
Too late.
There, the couple was… still going at it, totally lost in their own world.
When they finally noticed me staring, they froze in horror.
"S-Since when…?"
"From the start," I said flatly.
Riko and Kaho stepped beside me and gave the couple an apologetic bow.
"We're really sorry."
"Fukutani Fuji. Hayakawa Midori."The moment I said their full names, their faces turned pale.
Midori yelped and scrambled to cover herself.
"Seir! Please don't tell anyone—"
"Shut up. I don't care if you two want to fool around, but not in this kind of place!"
"Wha…?"
All four of them looked confused. I sighed and raised my index finger.
A small flame appeared above it, casting light across the trees.
That's when they saw them—dozens of massive bats hanging upside down in the branches above. Each one was man-sized.
"W-What are those?!"
"Killer Bats," I said simply. "They hunt at night. Tear their prey apart and eat them. If I hadn't found you, you'd already be dead meat."
"Eeeek!"
The couple shrieked and rushed behind me, terrified.
"They won't attack yet—it's still twilight. But we're not staying here another night. Hurry up, get dressed. We're leaving after dinner!"
"Y-Yes!!"
We returned to camp, packed our belongings, and prepared to move out.
(To be continued.)