Chapter Seventy:

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Today was the day of the school trip, the destination an old country inn on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Anhe hadn’t originally planned to go. The trip would last two days, and he’d rather stay home and enjoy time with Sagu Amamiya. But since Rena Serizawa wanted to go as well, and he worried she might have trouble managing alone, he decided to accompany her.

By the time he arrived at school, the entrance was already crowded with students.

The trip was organized by class, so only the students from Anhe’s class were attending this time.

Scanning the crowd, Anhe quickly spotted a solitary figure on the outskirts and walked over.

“Good morning, Rena!”

The sudden male voice startled Rena Serizawa, who’d been dozing against the wall. Seeing it was Anhe, she let out a relieved sigh.

Noticing the lingering fatigue on her face, Anhe couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

She nodded, then pulled a pink flip phone from her collar, flipped it open, pressed a few keys, and held it up for him to see.

“I was so excited about my first school trip that I couldn’t fall asleep until three in the morning.”

“So you only slept four hours?” Anhe frowned. When Rena nodded, he gave her cheek a gentle tug and admonished, “You! Sit with me on the bus and get some more rest later.”

“Umm…” Rena made a strange noise as Anhe pinched her face, but she nodded all the same.

Satisfied, Anhe released her and glanced with curiosity at the pink phone in her hand. “Is that yours?”

Rena, massaging her now-soft cheek, nodded and tapped on the phone again before holding it up.

“It’s Yui’s. She was worried something might happen to me during the trip, so she gave it to me and told me to message Lady Kurorai if I need anything.”

“Lady Kurorai’s at your place?” Anhe asked, surprised.

Rena nodded, tapped on the phone again, and showed him the screen.

“She’s staying over to help finish the manga more quickly. Of course, she paid for her stay.”

“I see.” Anhe nodded, though he made a mental note to ask Nadeshiko Kurorai about it later. He realized he hadn’t seen her in several days.

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Just as he was contemplating this, a commotion rose around him. Anhe looked up to see Nobue Ito approaching—the teacher in charge of this trip.

What drew the exclamations, though, was the little girl of about nine years old holding Ito’s hand, adorable beyond words. It was Sari Kurorai.

“Teacher, is that your child?” someone asked.

Ito nodded calmly.

With her confirmation, the crowd erupted again.

“But teacher, didn’t you say you were almost thirty and still single?”

“You know too much,” Ito replied with a sidelong glance at the student, then clapped her hands to draw everyone’s attention.

“All right, everyone get ready—the buses will be here any minute. We’re headed to a famous inn in the outskirts, and it’s over a two-hour drive. Anyone who gets carsick, come see Sari for some medicine.”

Right on cue, Sari unzipped the small backpack she wore, revealing, amid a pile of snacks, a few white bottles of medicine.

“Praise be to Miss Ito!” a girl cried, hurrying over to Sari to rummage for carsickness pills. The other students quickly joined, jostling for a share.

In no time at all, the bottles were gone. Some mischievous students even made off with a few snacks, leaving Sari stomping in frustration—she would’ve rushed after them if Ito hadn’t held her back by the collar.

At that moment, two large buses pulled up to the curb, reserved for the school trip.

Ito began organizing the students to board.

“Let’s go up too,” Anhe said, extending his hand. Rena, blushing, glanced down but took it anyway.

They boarded the second bus and headed straight for the back row. As soon as they sat down, a petite figure launched herself into Anhe’s arms.

“Anhe!” Sari Kurorai’s voice chimed like wind chimes as she nuzzled into his embrace.

“You rascal,” Anhe laughed, tousling her hair. “All right, that’s enough. If people see, they’ll think I’m a lolicon.”

Sari looked up with bright, innocent eyes. “Anhe, don’t you like little girls?”

“Um…” Sari’s guileless question left Anhe at a loss for words.

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Fortunately, at that moment, more students began boarding, including Nobue Ito. Sari scampered over to her.

Now that Sari was gone, Rena tugged on Anhe’s sleeve and handed him the phone.

“Yusei, do you know Miss Ito’s daughter?”

Realizing she’d misunderstood, Anhe glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to the back row, then leaned close and whispered, “She’s not Miss Ito’s daughter.”

“Huh?” Rena sounded confused, her cheeks tinged pink from the warmth of his breath.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Anhe replied, winking but offering no further explanation.

Soon, the bus pulled away.

As expected on a school trip, the students were especially lively, chatting in excited clusters. The noise filled the bus.

Anhe and Rena, seated in the very back, had no one else around them and so enjoyed a rare quiet.

“If you’re sleepy, Rena, you can rest your head on my shoulder,” Anhe suggested, noticing her frequent yawns. After a moment’s hesitation, she leaned over.

Time slid by slowly as the bus left the bustle of Tokyo behind.

Gone from the window were the neon-lit billboards, replaced by rows of shade trees, meandering rivers, and fields stretching into the distance. Occasionally, a bird would fly past, casting fleeting shadows on the ground.

These were sights unseen in Tokyo. Anhe had intended to take them in, but as his gaze drifted to Rena at his side, he suddenly froze.

He’d discovered a view more beautiful than any outside the window: two gently rising snow-white peaks.

Indeed, the last row of the bus, hidden from view—what a pity not to make the most of such an opportunity…