The weekend.
For students, the most anticipated day of the week.
For Takumi as he was now, a day no different from any other.
And for the player squad now formed by him and the three girls, a day well suited for doing a bit of team-building.
"Yo-ho! Next up is that, right—the hot spring hotel, right? I've already booked the rooms, you know. Let's all go together tonight!"
Friday afternoon at four o'clock. After school let out, Takumi and the others gathered in an empty classroom. Then the already impatient Chika jumped out, waving her hands excitedly as she spoke, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
A hot spring hotel trip.
This was a team-building plan that Chika had brought up right after the Red Nut Grey Cave mission ended, and one that all squad members had accepted.
The plan was to check in tonight—Friday night—then stay all day Saturday, and check out on Sunday morning. There was a commercial street near the hotel, and inside the hotel there were e-sports rooms. One could say there were quite a few options when it came to entertainment.
Mm—although in Takumi's own mind, the only kind of "entertainment" he could think of was the lewd kind.
"The car is already prepared. We can head over directly in a bit."
Kaguya, who was sitting to the side, spoke with a smile. After the greatest trouble facing the Shinomiya family had been dealt with, this girl now had nothing left to worry about. Her overall demeanor had changed considerably—the cold, sharp air she once had was now almost entirely gone.
Next, at the hot spring hotel, she would have to find a way to display her charm as a woman.
Kaguya thought about the advice Ai had given her earlier.
[Takumi-san is someone with very strong desires and a highly proactive, aggressive approach. As long as you make him recognize your charm as a woman, you will definitely be able to make him fall for you. Therefore, appropriately showing Kaguya-sama's figure will certainly achieve very good results.]
A day earlier, after completing her investigation and personality simulation of Takumi himself, Ai had given Kaguya this answer. To be honest, when she first heard it, Kaguya felt somewhat embarrassed. But since she had already decided to take a step forward, she naturally would not choose to give up at the last moment. And so, she began making preparations in earnest.
"I'll go together with my Auntie and… Fujiwara-san. But as for Takumi-kun, it's probably better to keep him a bit hidden. At least before we reach the hot spring hotel, Takumi-kun should travel separately from us. That will also make it easier to avoid some trouble."
Maki frowned slightly and, after hesitating and thinking it over, spoke up, her gaze drifting intentionally or unintentionally toward Chika nearby.
'I absolutely will not hand Takumi-kun over.'
On this hot spring hotel trip, she was going to keep Takumi-kun stuck to her side all day long. No matter what, she would not give even a bit of time to that detestable, bow-wearing fat woman. She did not care about anything else—she was going to do everything she could to monopolize Takumi-kun!
"Hey, Little Maki, you can just call me by my name directly. We're all good partners who've fought side by side—no need to be so reserved."
Grinning happily, Chika moved a bit closer and reached out, wanting to hug Maki.
The blazing fighting spirit that had just been revealed in Maki's eyes was something Chika naturally could not fail to notice. It was just that—how should she put it—it felt like watching a little kitten or puppy trying to act fierce. There was not the slightest sense of threat, and instead it was rather cute.
"What 'Little Maki'? Don't call me that—call me Shijō-san, you jerk… ugh?! Don't hug me! I don't want to get along with you at all—ugh, ahh, I hate this, stop it…!"
Maki angrily struggled to resist, but the actual effect was obviously not very good. As she struggled, Chika held her the way one would hold a disobedient little kitten, and even kept reaching out to stroke her head. Maki ground her teeth in anger, yet was utterly helpless.
"…"
Meanwhile, Takumi, who was still sitting in his seat and keeping silent, was at this moment appreciating the sight of Chika casually manhandling Maki, while also continuing to indulge in fantasies about what kind of wonderful stories might unfold later at the hot spring hotel.
As for the specific images in his mind, those belonged to a category that simply could not be described in detail.
Before long, Kaguya and the other two set off first, riding in a car toward the hot spring hotel. Takumi, meanwhile, left a bit later, taking another car to the hotel.
Kaguya herself sat in the front passenger seat. As for Maki, although she was not very willing, she could only sit in the back seat together with Chika. At this moment, she had already shifted her entire body to the edge of the seat, making it clear that she did not want to be anywhere near Chika.
And so Chika directly leaned over, almost pressing herself right up against Maki.
"Ugh—what exactly are you trying to do?"
Feeling extremely uncomfortable with Chika's excessive enthusiasm, Maki let out a soft, plaintive protest.
"I'm just giving a friendly greeting. After all, in a certain sense, Little Maki and I can be said to be on the same side now."
Chika blinked her blue eyes and spoke softly to Maki, an unexpectedly serious look appearing in her expression.
"The same side?"
Maki froze for a moment, not quite understanding what Chika was talking about.
"That's right. We both like Takumi, don't we? So in terms of our stance, the two of us are aligned."
Chika blinked again, and the smile curling at the corner of her lips carried a hint of mystery.
"W-what do you mean, the same side? Shouldn't we be rivals instead?"
Although she more or less understood what Chika was getting at, Maki still spoke stubbornly, clearly unwilling to acknowledge such a thing.
"That's how it works for normal boyfriends and girlfriends, but as players, we can't look at it that way. Takumi's abilities and personality are destined to attract more and more girls. Right now, the only person Little Maki needs to be wary of is me—but what about later? There will definitely be a third, a fourth, maybe even a fifth person. If you put all your energy into internal conflict right now, is that really an appropriate thing to do?"
As she spoke, the teasing look on Chika's face grew ever stronger.
Under the weight of what the other party had just said, Maki could not help but fall silent, unable to speak any words of rebuttal. Because she knew that what Chika was describing was the truth—something that had a very real chance of happening, something she had been deliberately trying not to imagine these past few days.
'But even so, that still did not mean that you and I are on the same side, you cheating cat. You were clearly the first "third party" to pop up.'
Feeling somewhat aggrieved, Maki struggled, trying to push away Chika, who had already pressed herself completely against her.
Then her movements froze at once when Chika leaned close to her ear and spoke the next sentence. Her entire body stiffened completely.
"I'm serious, you know."
Chika blinked at Maki, covering her mouth as she let out a soft laugh.
"Y-you… have no sense of shame at all… This kind of thing, this kind of thing—how could you even say it…"
The girl, trembling all over, wanted to say something to criticize the other party, but in the end she could not get anything out. After stammering a few words, she fell silent once more, retreating into herself.
As for Chika herself, after saying all that, she cheerfully shifted her attention elsewhere. She picked up a small booklet she had set aside and began continuing her research into a Monopoly-style game she had designed earlier.
No matter what, the girl named Fujiwara Chika was, at heart, still a playful young girl who loved to have fun. Previously, it had only been the threat posed by the Sacrifice Game itself, as well as the urgency of managing team relationships, that had forced her to suppress her true nature. Now that she finally had time to properly relax, she naturally had no intention of letting this opportunity slip by.
Mm-hm, this time there were three whole people accompanying her to play. She could boldly and freely try out all kinds of games.
First, she would try the Monopoly game she had just designed recently. After that, she could also try out some of the things she had not experimented with before…
An enthusiastic Chika, a distracted Maki, and an outwardly calm Kaguya—all three fell into silence together, remaining quiet throughout the journey to their destination.
As for Takumi himself—well, he was on the car playing mobile games to spend stamina.
After a drive of several tens of minutes, the group passed through the urban area and arrived at the hot spring hotel located near the outskirts.
Kaguya, Maki, and Chika each received the keys to rooms 101, 102, and 103 respectively. As for Takumi, the key he received was for room 204.
"I always feel like this room number bears some kind of malice toward me."
Key in hand, Takumi almost immediately recalled the days he had spent at the Shirakawa Apartments and could not help but complain.
"Indeed. How about contacting the hotel front desk and changing rooms?"
Maki, standing nearby, nodded in strong understanding of Takumi's discomfort and tried to make a suggestion.
"No, that won't be necessary. I'm not so fragile that I can't even tolerate a room number."
Shaking his head slightly, Takumi picked up his luggage and headed toward the second floor.
And not far away, seeing that Takumi did not request a room change, Kaguya quietly let out a sigh of relief.
[By making use of important locations from shared memories with the male party, and by employing certain methods to trigger those memories, it is also possible, to a certain extent, to strengthen the other party's impression of oneself. This is a very effective means of increasing the probability of a successful approach.]
This was one of the key points Ai had given to Kaguya. And so, Kaguya had quietly tampered with Takumi's room number, arranging for it to be room 204.
Back at the Shirakawa Apartments, he had shared a room with her, waking up together in room 204.
Although this room number would very likely cause Takumi to recall some rather unpleasant memories from the past, it should also allow him to remember the time the two of them had spent together, right? By strengthening his impression of her in this subtle way, and then adding some other approach tactics on top of it, she would certainly be able to make Takumi fall for her!
At this moment, Kaguya could not help but admire her own meticulous thinking.
The night sky at the horizon was already gradually spreading and closing in.
And so, the four of them—each harboring different thoughts—set off and stepped into the hotel ahead.
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