Although Moeha Fujiwara and Kei Shirogane's tailing was clumsy compared to actual professionals, by keeping some distance they still managed to avoid being noticed by Shin and his group.
As for Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and Ai Hayasaka—it goes without saying. They were just high school students, and even though Ai Hayasaka had learned plenty of special skills, she wasn't exactly carrying out counter-surveillance at the moment.
Shin, while possessing the ability to sense "Ki," couldn't constantly pay attention to whether the same "Ki" was hovering near him in such a crowded amusement park.
After all, he had never met Moeha Fujiwara or Kei Shirogane, so he didn't recognize their "Ki." — If it were someone familiar, he would have picked up on them right away.
Thus, under Moeha and Kei's shadowing, Shin and his group quickly burned through the entire morning inside the amusement park, playing all sorts of rides.
For Shin, the feeling was mediocre. Those rides didn't exactly bring him much thrill—honestly, could the rush of a roller coaster ever compare to a life-and-death fight against Frieza?
Still, the girls beside him had a great time. Chika Fujiwara and Kaguya Shinomiya both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, so he refrained from saying anything to dampen their mood.
By this point it was already lunchtime, so Shin and the others went to one of the amusement park's restaurants—though pricier than outside food, nobody in the group particularly lacked money.
The only one short on cash was probably Kei Shirogane—yet since Moeha had dragged her along, it naturally fell to Moeha to cover lunch for the two of them.
At this moment, Moeha and Kei sat not far from Shin's group, both wearing sunhats they had bought at the park's gift shop to avoid being recognized.
"Just now, Kaguya's face on the roller coaster was priceless!"
Chika Fujiwara said while laughing, spooning curry into her mouth as she recounted the roller coaster ride.
Since she had sat right next to Kaguya, she had gotten a full view of the latter's exaggerated expression.
For a young lady who had never experienced such rides before, the roller coaster had been quite a shock.
Unfortunately, phones weren't allowed on roller coasters, otherwise Chika would have snapped at least a dozen shots to admire later.
"Fujiwara…! Weren't you just as terrified in the haunted house?!"
Kaguya's face flushed bright red at being teased, but since Chika's words were true, after struggling for a while she could only counterattack in kind.
Before the roller coaster, they had also gone into a haunted house—where Chika had shrieked miserably and clung to Shin's arm for dear life.
Of course, Kaguya herself hadn't fared much better. She and Chika had latched onto Shin's arms from both sides, so when they finally exited, Shin was sandwiched in the middle, drawing plenty of envious stares from onlookers.
After all, both Chika and Kaguya were stunningly beautiful—and to top it off, Ai Hayasaka was right there as well.
"Being afraid of ghosts isn't that strange. Didn't Hayasaka look scared too?"
Chika stiffened, but tried to save face by dragging Ai into it.
"Wasn't Hayasaka all stiff-faced and serious in the haunted house?"
Originally, Chika had planned to act scared in the haunted house just so she could cling to Shin, tease him a little, and deepen her impression on him.
But once inside, she inexplicably felt that there was something truly terrifying within. She was scared out of her wits.
In the end she did stay close to Shin the whole way, but her original scheme was completely forgotten—those manga-inspired little actions she had planned never happened at all.
"That wasn't fear… Anyway, if you girls ever become Stand Users, you'll understand what I was doing."
This time Ai Hayasaka, calmly eating tempura, spoke up.
She wasn't bluffing—while she had indeed kept a stern face inside the haunted house, it wasn't out of fear. She had actually noticed a large number of evil spirits there.
As a Stand User, Ai could see such things. Perhaps the haunted house environment suited them, but the moment they stepped in she had seen a horde of spirits drifting around.
One female ghost had even stretched her hand inside Chika's body—that was the real source of Chika's inexplicable terror.
So Ai had spent the whole time silently purging evil spirits behind Shin, her serious look simply the result of scanning for stragglers.
But Chika, who had no Stand, had mistaken her expression for fear.
"What are they talking about?"
Kei frowned in confusion. She had no idea Shin was a "superpowered person," let alone what a "Stand User" was.
Though the distance muffled the conversation, she could still catch a few words here and there.
"…Stand User… huh. Come to think of it, Kei doesn't know about that, does she?"
Of course Moeha knew—after the last banquet, Chika had told the family about it, and as her younger sister, Moeha knew too.
But Kei was different. Coming from an ordinary family, she hadn't been privy to those secrets.
"I'd love to tell you, Kei, but the family said we can't casually share this stuff with outsiders. Maybe someday, if there's a chance."
"…I see."
Kei nodded without pressing further. She wasn't the unreasonable type—beneath her cool exterior, she was actually very understanding.
After lunch, Shin and the others left the restaurant to continue their outing.
Naturally, Moeha and Kei followed—though Kei, who had been dragged along, was now curious to observe Shin's personality for herself.
But soon, they both had to stop in shock.
Because before their eyes, Shin and the three girls walked straight into a nearby hotel.
At this point, there was no way Moeha and Kei could continue tailing. They looked at each other, faces flushed.
Japanese youths matured early. Aside from sheltered heiresses like Kaguya, most had some level of "that kind of knowledge."
Seeing Shin take the girls into a hotel, Moeha and Kei could guess what would come next.
"So… what now, Moeha? Do we keep following?"
Kei, cheeks reddening, turned to Moeha—since this whole outing had been her idea, it was up to her to decide the next move.
"…F-Follow them and see!"
Though embarrassed, Moeha clenched her teeth and made a bold decision.
To be continued…