Let's do it again, Yukino.

Yukino Yukinoshita returned to the starting camp as expected, found Komachi, and inquired about Haruhi's whereabouts.

Under the moonlight, Yukino looked just like Haruhi had just experienced something similar, her whole body appearing wet as if she had just emerged from the water. However, unlike Haruhi, who ran out carelessly without caring about her appearance, Yukino's long, smooth hair was almost completely dried by the night breeze.

asshole……

Holding the wooden clogs that Kasuga had asked Komachi to give her, Yukino, her face flushed red under the cover of darkness, muttered a curse under her breath after hearing what the boy had relayed.

Only a fool would be so shameless as to grab her and jump into the lake together, then abandon her and swim ashore alone.

Recalling what had just happened,

In a sense, the originally somewhat ambiguous and romantic scene was completely dispelled by that fool's scoundrel.

Yukino sighed somewhat helplessly, the wooden clogs in her hands feeling slightly heavy.

Diving and all that is enough, it's amazing he even managed to find it...

I was a little annoyed, but mostly I couldn't hide how funny it was.

Yukino really can't do anything about that guy now.

"Um, Yukino-neechan, did something happen between you and Haru-nii? It's not good to talk behind someone's back, but Haru-nii's cold demeanor just now really scared Komachi."

Yukino glanced leisurely at the group of elementary school students behind Komachi, who were almost all gone.

It was probably just a performance for them...

"I'll leave this to you, Komachi."

Wearing a kimono and wooden clogs, Koyuki now looks even more like a snow woman.

Xiaoxue wasn't a particularly gentle girl.

At least that's true of her in this life.

However, the only thing she couldn't bring herself to do was that silly guy who needed to be taken care of. In her past life, she had chosen him over the child in her womb without hesitation.

By this point, Xiaoxue was completely at ease letting that childish guy do whatever he wanted.

Even a world where no one gets hurt would be better.

Or perhaps it's an absolutely selfish world.

At worst, the two of us can face it together.

With this thought in mind, the girl silently walked deeper into the forest.

……

………………

And on the other side,

The night was shrouded in fog, and the sky was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

That night, all was silent. The shadows of the trees, the chirping of cicadas, and the pond were all shrouded in the thick, inky darkness. A gentle breeze stirred the branches in the dim light, creating a chilling sensation without a sound.

All the elementary school students participating in the courage test are gathered here.

The ancestral hall, our destination, is not far away.

It's not stagnation,

Rather, it was because their path was blocked by a deep ravine.

Moreover, all the older brothers and sisters that these elementary school students had respected and liked over the past two days were trapped in the deep pit.

"..."

From Hayama, Tobe, and Yumiko to Yui and Hachiman from the Service Club, they were all tied up in the deep pit, even though they shouldn't have been here in the first place.

It appeared that everyone's hands were tightly bound with rope, and their mouths were also gagged with duct tape.

Everyone sat slumped in the deep pit, heads bowed, without making a sound.

A gust of cold wind blew, and even the usually fearless elementary school students couldn't help but shiver.

They had no intention of continuing the test of courage; all they wanted now was to return to their camp.

"Since you've witnessed this, there's nothing we can do about it."

Just then, a remarkably indifferent voice came from behind them.

Sitting atop a small hill made of piled-up earth, the boy blocked the path that everyone was trying to take back.

"Sorry, none of you are leaving tonight."

The shovel was driven deep into the ground by the boy, and the loud noise stunned everyone present.

"Brother Haruhi, this is also a scary activity in the test of courage, right? It must be."

One of the bolder girls mustered her courage and asked Haruhi, who had appeared behind them at some point.

Although, from day one, all of them felt a sense of fear and distance from this difficult-to-get-along-with, unruly older brother.

"A test of courage? Hehehehehe, hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!" Hearing the questions from the children in front of her, Haruhi suddenly covered her face and burst into wild laughter. "How can such childish games be suitable for you little adults? There are clearly more interesting things to do, aren't there?"

"We're not adults..."

"Is that so? But I didn't see that coming. Besides, I, Haruhi Kasuga, just like to bully the weak. Don't you know that?"

A roguish smile appeared on his lips as Chunri stood up from the mound of earth.

"Do you know why I treated those older brothers and sisters who should have been my classmates like this? I'm such a perfect and kind person, yet those guys excluded me. They didn't even invite me to dinner that we were supposed to share, leaving me hungry until now. You know what? What I hate most are selfish, heartless, and hypocritical people!! Absolutely unforgivable."

He brushed the dirt off his body; the boy's once handsome face was now covered in grime, making him appear even more somber. He walked step by step toward the elementary school students who looked like lambs.

"Alright then, I'll let you all go down and keep my hypocritical classmates company."

"and many more!!"

A gentle, childlike voice stopped Kasuga Gian from committing violence.

On the other side,

A little girl suddenly emerged from the woods, dressed in lotus-colored clothes and with a pretty face.

The girl had a graceful figure and a slender waist; she stood charmingly in the shadows.

She was beautiful and delicate, with fair skin.

"Hey, Rumi-chan, are any of them your friends? Do you want me to let them go?"

A hint of expectation mingled with the coldness of springtime.

Shake your head.

The little girl simply pulled the shovel out of the ground.

Amidst the dark clouds obscuring the moon, the still somewhat aloof voice of the little girl could be heard.

"I'll bury it..."

As she spoke, the little girl's lips curled into a smile almost as bright as a spring day, and her eyes shone with excitement as she looked directly at her classmates.

It was as if that scene had flipped some incredible switch.

Kasuga: "..."

Meanwhile, from the depths of the pit came a series of thuds.

Chapter Twenty-Five: We'll Meet Again, Little Chinese Girl

Under the cover of night,

Rumi Tsurumi was holding a shovel that was a head taller than herself.

The little girl's slender waist was graceful as she stood charmingly in the shadows.

Having witnessed how Haruhi tricked her classmates one by one into their trap, Xiaoru Mei, now facing her classmates, is like a little girl whose switch has been flipped, and she is somewhat restless.

“Little Chinese girl, are any of your friends among them? Your friends are my friends, and I would never be so heartless to my own friends.”

Originally, Chunri had planned to see how many of Xiaoliumei's classmates would acknowledge her in this perilous situation.

"I'll do it."

The little girl holding the shovel looked eager to try it out.

Kasuga: "..."

However, it seems that Xiaoliu Mei doesn't have that thought at the moment.

In her eyes, people who only consider her a friend under these circumstances are not true friends.

Watching his classmate taking pictures of his various expressions with his camera, and seeing his happy and satisfied younger brother studying in the US, Haruhi stretched and stood on the mound as if born to be there, loudly announcing to him in the darkness.

"Well, since Xiaoliumei has said so, then the test of courage event will officially begin. Kids, will you go down obediently on your own, or will this kind big brother give you a push...?"

At this moment, Chunri held a long rope in both hands, like a cowboy in a foreign movie, swinging the rope loop in her hands to catch the prey she had her eye on.

Behind him, the little girl, Rumi, was also imitating Haruhi's actions. Children, after all, have an amazing ability to imitate and learn that even adults can't match.

And it was at this critical moment that

"Then I hereby declare this test of courage over."

Yukino's voice, panting from her hurried running, was heard.

Like a savior to everyone,

At that moment, a gentle sound rang out behind the group of elementary school students.

The girl in the kimono walked through the crowd without hesitation.

As she approached Haruhi, Yukino smiled innocently and bowed to him from the woods.

"Wait, wait a minute, just a little while, I just wanted to scare you—"

"Rejected! I won't listen!"

Before Haruhi could finish speaking, a familiar Aikido movement appeared before him, his smile freezing on his face. The next moment, the world spun around him, and Haruhi's handsome face pressed heavily against the earth in a passionate kiss.

I saw stars and my consciousness began to fade.