Well, it was a Saturday, a little while after July had begun.
Taking advantage of a rare two-day break where their schedules matched, the students were heading out to play together, following Satoru Gojo's proposal to make the most of the summer.
The roster included the usual six—Gojo, Geto, Ieiri, Haibara, Nanami, and Zen'in—plus Naoya's fiancées Mai and Maki, Toji's children Megumi and Tsumiki, Toji Fushiguro as the guardian for them all, and finally, Mari Zen'in, the mother of the twins who had been dispatched from the Zen'in household as their driver. It was a large group of twelve people.
Since their destination was the Gojo family's villa in Tateyama, Chiba, which came with a private beach hidden from the general public by a barrier, it was truly going to be a luxurious outing. However, Naoya and Satoru, born into wealth, wore expressions that seemed to say, "Why is everyone so surprised? Oh, is it because we're taking a Zen'in car to go to a Gojo property? I guess that is rare," completely missing the point that their nonchalance was genuine and not a joke.
Currently, the group was en route to the villa in a limousine, relaxing in the back seats in their own ways.
First, the super-rich young masters, Naoya and Satoru, were completely at ease. Looking accustomed to the environment, they adjusted the air conditioning and raided the refrigerator.
"Oh, they have Sembikiya juice. What flavor do you brats want?"
"There's jelly too. You want some?"
They acted exactly the same as if they were raiding the dorm refrigerator.
The only difference from usual was that both Naoya and Satoru were in plain clothes. Naoya, bound by a restriction prohibiting armor, wore a simple Western outfit consisting of a thin black Henley shirt and matching thin white Capri pants. Satoru, likely anticipating the ocean, wore a red rash guard with a hood, khaki shorts, and his usual sunglasses—a full summer play specification.
Their appearance, rarely seen at the technical college, looked fresh to their schoolmates.
That said, the others were also dressed unusually. Nanami wore a blue short-sleeved dress shirt with slacks and navy-lensed sunglasses. Haibara was in high spirits, equipped with a T-shirt, chinos, and a cap. Ieiri wore a lovely young-grass-colored sheer dress. And Geto matched Satoru's summer play vibe with an Aloha shirt and shorts.
The students had all pulled out their outing clothes to face this day.
However, the difference lay in the atmosphere.
"Sh-Shoko. I walked in with my shoes on, is that really okay?"
"You're stuttering like crazy, Geto. That's funny... Well, Zen'in is wearing shoes, so it's fine, right? Just ask them. I don't know about that stuff either."
"No, it's just, the atmosphere is different from usual... I can see something like an aura..."
"That's definitely a hallucination."
Geto and Ieiri had become as timid as borrowed cats.
"This is amazing, Nanami! Just amazing!"
"This is indeed amazing. It doesn't shake at all, and it's quiet... Above all, it's spacious. To think I can sit with my legs stretched out."
"True! You have long legs, Nanami!"
Haibara and Nanami had regained a bit of their childlike wonder and were getting excited.
None of this was unreasonable, as they all came from common backgrounds. As Ieiri implied, a limousine was something they only saw in movies.
Apart from them, there were the Fushiguro family and the Zen'in twins... surprisingly, they were in the calm group, just like Naoya and Satoru.
"Pass me the TV remote, Megumi."
"Get it yourself... Here."
"Thanks. What are you going to watch, Megumi? There are a lot of movies loaded."
"Whatever you like is fine, Tsumiki."
The Fushiguro siblings were fiddling with the built-in DVD theater with practiced hands.
"I'll have strawberry jelly! Mai, what are you having?"
"Um, peach jelly... Hey, Naoya, feed me."
"What's up? Acting all spoiled. That's rare."
"No, I'm seducing you! I read it in a book!"
"Mai-chan, you say 'book', but you're talking about Ribon or Margaret, right? Those are manga. You shouldn't take them seriously."
"Come on, don't say that, Naoya. She's your fiancée, so why not do that much for her?"
"You say that, Satoru-kun, but... No, fine. I can't help it. I'll feed you."
"Fe-feed me with a k-kiss...!"
"I'm not doing that, okay? We're not in Princess Mononoke."
The Zen'in sisters were indulging in appetite and romance alongside Satoru and Naoya.
The Fushiguro siblings were dressed adorably in matching overalls. The Zen'in sisters had adjusted the color of their Magical Mai-chan dresses to sky blue, creating an atmosphere that might pass for refined and modest from a distance.
It went without saying that their familiarity with this luxury was due to their experience playing the tycoon in places like Macau and Vegas.
Finally, there was Toji in the passenger seat and Mari in the driver's seat. As for the aunt and nephew duo, Toji wore overalls matching the children's, while Mari, likely deciding that a kimono would be difficult for driving a medium-sized vehicle, wore a classical black button-lapel dress. It was a somewhat mismatched sight.
However, since Toji was being cooperative enough to help input the navigation, the journey was proceeding smoothly so far.
'Now then, it would be good if there was at least a hint to make the brats think life is too good to throw away.'
Other than the thoughts held by Toji, the fixer who had casually guided this little excursion, the very peaceful trip had only just begun.
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