"Aha~! It's so nostalgic, it really is an elementary school. It's hard to imagine we studied in such a small place for six years, hmm!"
"Well, for Iori, whom even the university couldn't contain, the elementary school must be a kind of prison, right?"
Kotegawa Chisa smoothly parked the car in the parking spot designated by the organizing party, turned the key to turn off the engine, and left the driver's seat with a feeling of relief mixed with lingering reluctance.
Honestly, driving was an exhausting job; if it weren't for the break for a picnic halfway, her back probably wouldn't have been able to handle it!
However, the only thing she couldn't part with was the air conditioning in the car. The weather was getting hotter as summer progressed; standing in the sun even in the afternoon was enough to make her sweat instantly.
But...
Shielding the setting sun with her hand, Kotegawa Chisa looked at the teaching building in front of her, whose outer walls were covered with climbing ivy and whose overall structure looked slightly dilapidated, and felt a wave of nostalgia!
Although Nippon has activities like school open days or school festivals, there are truly few opportunities for university students to legitimately enter a normal campus again.
The authentic atmosphere here, complete with the sound of the school dismissal bell, easily brought back childhood memories!
If it weren't for the three comedians beside her~
"Uwah, Kouhei, you better be careful! I heard these old elementary schools are built on grave sites; don't get scared to tears by an elementary school girl ghost!"
"Go to hell, Iori! Scumbags like you are the ones the cute ghost girls will drag straight to hell!"
"I'm telling you two! Don't say such inauspicious things when we're out having fun!"
"I have a headache…"
Holding her forehead with one hand, Kotegawa Chisa didn't know how to comment on the three people behind her, who were squabbling like an elementary school field trip. She only felt that Yuu's decision to go find Big Sister was quite correct!
Just then, a familiar license plate came into view, and she was slightly surprised: "Oh, the seniors seem to have already arrived!"
"Hmm? Did they come that early? I thought they would definitely break down because no one would drive after drinking…"
"Oh, you're here, please have a little faith in your seniors, alright~"
Having been waiting for the arrival of the freshman group, Miyazawa Yuu looked out to greet them while a drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead after hearing Iori's comment—
Iori might not have any common sense, but he was surprisingly accurate about the seniors!
In fact, if Nanaka-nee hadn't kept such a strict eye on them, the dozen or so people almost failed to gather four drivers and were on the verge of breaking down right there! Even with the large delivery van from the store, they barely managed to all arrive!
"Yuu! You got here so early!"
"I had a lot of preparations to make, so I couldn't help it..."
"This is truly satisfying, you guy who ran away early~"
His expression instantly became smug and irritating, Kitahara Iori bent down in an odd posture, putting one hand on his forehead to annoy Yuu: "Then we shall humbly accept the job! Heh heh heh!"
"Guh, you are as irritating as ever~"
Miyazawa Yuu's expression froze for a moment, but he was frantically suppressing the corners of his mouth, forcing himself not to laugh out loud, but this scene was instantly misinterpreted by Iori and Kouhei!
The guy who ran away in his romantic life and abandoned them in reality is now forced to work! How pleasing that sounds!
This is the expression they wanted to see from Yuu—the expression of him being jealous that they didn't have to do anything, and could only swallow his anger!
"Ah ah~ They're starting to bully Yuu again. That's Iori and Kouhei's traditional performing art, I guess. Is mutual torment really that fun?"
"Who knows, maybe all boys are like that?"
Boys: No! We are not! Please distinguish between scumbags and normal adolescent boys!
In any case, Kotegawa Chisa expressed her lack of understanding but respect for the mutual antagonism of the three Pab Club scumbags, sighed, and persuaded the immensely arrogant Iori and Kouhei, who were laughing maniacally, to break up the fight.
"Alright, Yuu? Where are the seniors planning to camp?"
"Ahem! They said it's on the back field, but before that, leave your valuables like phones with me for safekeeping."
Thinking about what was about to happen, Miyazawa Yuu almost burst out laughing. He could only cover his unusual behavior with a cough while pulling out a large leather suitcase.
Chisa and the others, completely unsuspecting, handed over their phones. After all, they wouldn't need them for the party, and since the school grounds were so large, they might lose them if they wandered around, so centralized safekeeping was better.
"I can't believe we're staying overnight at an elementary school, that's quite a novelty~"
"I heard we can play in the gymnasium too. Is the swimming pool open?"
"Mhm, they are mostly open, but there's one thing I need to remind you."
Walking ahead to lead the way, Miyazawa Yuu answered Chisa's question while slightly turning his head. Seeing that the group was completely defenseless, he held up a finger and issued a terrifying warning.
"Oh yeah, the administrator told us that it's best not to wander around alone in this school, or you might encounter the Seven School Mysteries after school!"
"Eh~ Every elementary school has those kinds of horror legends, you're trying to fool your comrades with something like that?"
Waving his hand dismissively, Kitahara Iori curled his lips into a scornful sneer, completely unconvinced.
Seven School Mysteries, after-school murder scenes, and the like are practically standard in schools across Nippon; even Izu University has many campus legends!
And what was the result? He had slept naked on campus so many times, yet no evil spirit came to take him away!
Yuu must be dreaming if he thinks he can scare him with something like this!
"Ex-exactly!"
The moment Yuu mentioned the mysteries, Yoshiwara Aina shivered. After all, her greatest fear, besides gore, was evil spirits.
However, after Iori's interruption, her fear instantly lessened by more than half, and she stepped out from behind her shield, Kouhei, and loudly condemned: "Yuu, don't be an alarmist!"
"Is that so?"
The corners of his mouth curled into a mischievous arc. Hearing the tremor in Aina's voice, Miyazawa Yuu shrugged indifferently and casually said: "Believe it or not, this elementary school is abandoned, so it wouldn't be strange for ghosts to move in."
"I told you to stop talking about it! I can't hear anything!"
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Yoshiwara Aina had been looking forward to collecting perfect youthful photos. It would be too embarrassing if the mean guy Yuu scared her so much that she didn't dare to go to the bathroom alone at night!
"Ah! We've arrived…"
[Clang clang clang——!]
Their footsteps stopped. The moment Miyazawa Yuu turned around, the last hint of sunset disappeared behind the mountain, and darkness quickly swept in from behind, enveloping the entire campus in shadow.
"…"
Looking up at the gloomy, dilapidated school building gate in front of them, coupled with the terrifying atmosphere Miyazawa Yuu had just created, the four people—Iori and the others—all froze in silence.
By the time Aina reacted and turned to look for Yuu, the latter had already disappeared!
"Is this a note left by the seniors?"
Stepping forward and picking up the note, which was obviously deliberately placed and held down by a small stone, Kotegawa Chisa read the contents out loud:
"Test of Courage, the four of you come up to the rooftop... that's all. And they even left us a flashlight."
"My... photo album of youth…"
The light faded from her eyes. The promised bonfire party had turned into a test of courage—Yoshiwara Aina couldn't accept it!
She knelt down on the ground with a bang, weeping uncontrollably, and loudly refused to cooperate!
"I don't care! I'm staying right here!"
"Well, you should give up on your photo album of youth, Aina; a photo album of youth full of naked men won't be moving at all when you look back!"
"Besides, isn't it scarier to stay here alone? It's almost dark."
"Wuwuwu…"
She wanted to say she was fine, but Yoshiwara Aina took two deep breaths and still couldn't summon the courage. She could only tremblingly hug Chisa's arm.
"Please... please take me with you!"
"No one is going to abandon Aina, and the seniors are definitely just joking…"
Smiling awkwardly, Kotegawa Chisa noticed that there seemed to be something on the back of the paper. She flipped it over and saw the supplementary instruction: [ps: No one is allowed to drink alcohol before the end of this plan!]
"Hiss... We're done for. Those bastards seem serious!"
Seeing such mean text, Kitahara Iori couldn't help but gasp. After all, alcohol was like the seniors' lifeblood; for them to make such a determination, the current plan was definitely going to be unrelenting!
"Seriously, let's…"
"Haha~"
Just as he was about to say they should all go in together, he turned around and vaguely caught a glimpse of something flashing by the corner window of the teaching building!
Judging by the faint laughter he heard, it seemed to be a... little girl?
"I'm telling you guys, did you hear any strange noises?"
"No, what's wrong, Iori?"
They all turned their heads simultaneously, and Kitahara Iori saw the other three looking confused. For a moment, he also began to wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Nothing, I just thought I saw a little girl flash by inside the teaching building. It must be an illusion…"
"Eek! Don't try to scare us, Iori!"