The Best Partner

Seemingly noticing Kitagawa Ryo's predicament, Shiina Hiyori tugged at his sleeve and pointed towards her own tent:

"You should change your clothes quickly, otherwise it's not good for your health."

"Then I'll borrow it for now."

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't think of any other ideas at that moment. Even after wiping himself with a dry towel, his clothes were still a bit damp and uncomfortable to wear, so he could only agree.

It's just a tent, not a girl's room, so it's no big deal.

While comforting himself, Kitagawa Ryo walked straight into Shiina Hiyori's single tent with his clothes in hand, which made Ibuki Mio stare wide-eyed.

The tent was dimly lit, but there wasn't much there. A waterproof mat was laid out on the ground, and apart from a sleeping bag, there was only a backpack in the corner. Judging from the arrangement, there was absolutely nothing girly about it.

But the smell is the most problematic aspect.

Unlike the heavy smell of rain and earth outside the tent, the scent inside was more complex, a blend of mosquito repellent fragrances including citrus, jasmine, Nile water lily, and cypress, as well as a touch of more subtle aromas.

Kitagawa Ryo quickly began changing his clothes, first setting aside the bag of clean clothes, and then conveniently starting to undress himself.

To prevent Shiina Hiyori's tent from getting wet, he even brought an extra plastic bag and stuffed his wet clothes inside.

While taking off his clothes, Kitagawa Ryo also took out the small message in a bottle and put it aside.

However, as soon as he took it out, Kitagawa Ryo frowned slightly.

It seemed that he had bumped into the bottle while carrying the stretcher in the woods, and the bottom half of the glass had broken, spilling sand, shells, and glass shards into his pocket, which was now soaked and sticky with rainwater.

Reaching out and rummaging around, Kitagawa Ryo finally found the note inside.

However, after this the Tempest, only the blurry lower half remains.

But that's enough.

Kitagawa Ryo had undoubtedly read far more scripts than Shiina Hiyori, and he was able to deduce from just a few words that this sentence was from the original "The Tempest".

[If you're willing to marry me, then I'll be your wife.]

He knows it very well.

... because.

"Before shipping this couple, there are a few sacred passages, or rather, must-read classic texts, that you absolutely must read repeatedly."

Inside Kanzaki Ryuji's two-person tent in Class 1-B, the other three Class B students in his group listened to him with great interest.

Because the Tempest was so loud that no one could sleep, and since no teachers would be coming to check on the students on this day, the four members of Kanzaki's group in Class 1-B simply squeezed into a tent to chat and pass the time.

Because of Kanzaki Ryuji's presence, the conversation inevitably turned to Kitagawa Ryo and their class president Karuizawa Kei.

"First of all, in Romeo and Juliet, this was the first time the two played lovers."

"I watched this before I came, and the acting was superb!"

Amikura Mako raised his hand and eagerly spoke.

Kanzaki Ryuji nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Then there's Macbeth, a masterpiece by Karuizawa that officially responded to external criticisms and showcased her talent. Her co-starring with Kitagawa is also well worth watching."

I watched this movie once by chance, and it was really good.

Another boy adjusted his glasses and nodded in agreement.

"Furthermore, I'd like to highly recommend <The Tempest>."

Kanzaki Ryuji cleared his throat:

"Although the script itself is not as famous as Shakespeare's four great comedies and four great tragedies, the performance is still quite excellent."

"For a period of time, I would watch one of those clips every day."

Where?

Amikura Mako raised her hand curiously and asked.

"Of course, it's the Confessions scene. Shakespeare's lines are so well written, and Kitagawa and Karuizawa acted them very well too."

Kanzaki Ryuji replied enthusiastically.

"The female lead of this play Miranda, is a classic young girl character from Shakespeare's works. Because of her special upbringing, she has never been tainted by worldly filth. She is kind, pure, and beautiful, which is why she is so passionate and unthinking when it comes to love."

"If you're willing to marry me, then I'll be your wife."

"That one sentence is enough."

Kanzaki Ryuji exclaimed sincerely.

Chapter 154: The Best Partner

After standing silently for a while, Kitagawa Ryo wiped his whole body with the dry towel he had brought, and then picked up the clean clothes that were placed aside. The clothes that the school had prepared for him were the white gym uniform he usually wore in physical education class. Kitagawa Ryo didn't complain and quickly put on all the clothes.

Kitagawa Ryo packed the miscellaneous items and the clothes he had changed out of into a plastic bag, then quickly walked out of Shiina Hiyori's tent without lingering any longer.

After changing from wet clothes to clean ones, Kitagawa Ryo felt much refreshed. He rubbed his still slightly messy hair, which wasn't completely dry, and looked up to see the teacher from before beckoning him over. So he picked up the bag of clothes and headed over there.

Since it was a small gift from Shiina Hiyori, Kitagawa Ryo didn't want her to see the message in the bottle in its current pitiful state. So he could only wrap it in his wet clothes and tell her that he had already opened it and read its contents when asked later.

"It's just some simple questions, don't be too nervous."

Seeing Kitagawa Ryo looking like he was facing a major crisis, taking deep breaths and glancing around nervously, the teacher in charge assumed he was just tense and quickly offered words of comfort.

Several smaller tents had already been set up in a corner of the camp. The teacher led Kitagawa Ryo into one of them, bending down. Inside, a table had been set up with paper and a pen. The teacher sat cross-legged on one side of the table, picked up the paper and pen, and gestured for Kitagawa Ryo to sit opposite him.

"Name, Class."

"Kitagawa Ryo, Class 1-D, Grade 1."

"Could you briefly describe what happened tonight? The time can be rough, but it must be accurate."

"It's like this, probably tonight..."

About twenty minutes later, the interrogation finally came to an end. Although the questions did not imply any suspicion towards him, they asked quite detailed questions about various trivial matters, including his movements along the way, Ryuen Kakeru's state when he met him, and the conversation between the two.

When Kitagawa Ryo stepped out of the tent, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, stretching his somewhat numb hands and feet and giving a carefree yawn.

I glanced at my watch; it was already eight o'clock in the evening. The downpour had visibly lessened a little, but it was still drizzling on and on, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.

The teacher in charge followed Kitagawa Ryo out, handed the report and interrogation records to her colleague, yawned, and said to Kitagawa Ryo:

"Don't go back to your camp tonight. It's still raining, and the roads aren't safe. Stay here for the night, and the school will take you back tomorrow morning."

After saying that, without waiting for Kitagawa Ryo's opinion, he casually waved his hand and turned to leave.

Halfway there, he turned back and added:

"Just pick any tent you like; these are all for us to sleep in."

"... OK."

Since the other party had put it that way, Kitagawa Ryo had no reason to refuse and could only nod in agreement.

"But could you help me contact the rest of our group? I'm worried they'll be concerned if I don't go home all night."

"You mean this? While you were asking questions earlier, I already had the other students here pass on the message for you. Don't worry, get some rest."

The teacher let out another long yawn, looking quite tired.

"Yes, I understand."

After receiving Kitagawa Ryo's reply, the other person walked straight into a nearby single tent without looking back, seemingly intending to rest.

Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache, and headed back towards Shiina Hiyori's tent.

The first person to notice Kitagawa Ryo was Sakayanagi Arisu.

Actually, during this the Tempest night, the atmosphere among the three girls in the tent wasn't as tense as Kitagawa Ryo had imagined; in fact, they were chatting quite happily.

The reason is that Horikita Suzune was the first to bring up the topic of Shiina Hiyori.

After hearing the other party's explosive statement this morning, Horikita Suzune shared this information with Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu, including the possibility that Shiina Hiyori Confessions Kitagawa Ryo in the near future.

Before today, all three people present had noticed Shiina Hiyori's feelings for Kitagawa Ryo, but liking someone is one thing, and actually Confessions is another.

Confessions is a triumphant anthem, not a battle cry.

For Horikita Suzune, Ichinose Honami, and Sakayanagi Arisu, the underlying philosophy they all adhered to was essentially the same: they hoped that their relationship with each other would develop naturally and eventually lead to marriage.

Ichinose Honami didn't dare force Kitagawa Ryo to make a choice, Horikita Suzune disdained to force Kitagawa Ryo to make a choice, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't force Kitagawa Ryo to make a choice.

So even after Kitagawa Ryo expressed her hope that everyone could be happy, they found themselves in a dilemma.

Because they find it hard to accept Kitagawa Ryo's ideas, but even harder to directly deny them or leave his side.

"So, do you think Ryo will accept Shiina's Confessions?"

"If Liang were the type to accept a girl's Confessions immediately, he wouldn't have dragged it out until now."

Sakayanagi Arisu answered Horikita Suzune's question in a cold tone:

"Furthermore, Ryo herself is very good at preemptively removing any potential threats about Confessions her feelings."

"He knows best; as long as he neither refuses nor agrees, that's fine."

"That sounds like some kind of 'scumbag principle'."

"It's not the same at all."

Ichinose Honami quickly denied it:

"Liang is very proactive and responsible."

"That means he's too proactive and too responsible; he wants to care about everyone, right?"

Sakayanagi Arisu laughed:

"This is even worse than a scumbag boyfriend."

She recalled what Kitagawa Ryo had done for her, from the ALS ward to the White Room. He had done so much, yet it seemed like he didn't need anything in return. This sense of disparity was what truly bothered Sakayanagi Arisu.

"I'll go ask Liang; anyway, no one's coming to patrol tonight."

Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head, then suddenly stood up and opened the tent. The cold wind and rain immediately lashed her face, but she remained unconcerned and walked towards Kitagawa Ryo's tent not far away.

Ichinose Honami and Horikita Suzune frowned in unison and stood up at the same time to follow behind Sakayanagi Arisu.

From any perspective, they would not be happy to see Sakayanagi Arisu and Kitagawa Ryo in a tent on this stormy night.

"... Not here."

But soon, a surprised voice came from Sakayanagi Arisu's side. The sleeping bag in the tent was empty, and a thin, curled-up body was inside, as if there was still a person lying inside. But when you put your hand in, there was only a little bit of warmth left.

Sakayanagi Arisu climbed into the tent and searched every corner and even inside the sleeping bag, but ultimately couldn't find a trace of human presence in any of the nooks and crannies.

"Not here?"

She muttered to herself in confusion again.

At this moment, Ichinose Honami and Horikita Suzune also approached and confirmed that Kitagawa Ryo was missing. Horikita Suzune was about to look around to see if he had gone out to use the restroom, but Ichinose Honami had already used the emergency contact function of her watch without hesitation and sent a message to the school requesting assistance.

This was mentioned in today's notice:

If students encounter difficulties during the Tempest, they can contact the school immediately for assistance.

"Hello, what happened?"

Before Horikita Suzune could recover, she heard Ichinose Honami speak rapidly and in a very low voice:

"The leader of the Kitagawa Ryo group in Class 1-D, Grade 1, Kitagawa Ryo, has gone missing."

Then, Ichinose Honami's words shattered in an instant; she seemed to be trying desperately to calm herself down, but she couldn't.

"The watch should have GPS, right? Please... if Liang... no, I didn't hear any emergency alarms nearby, and besides, Liang's agility—"

Completely different from his usual impression, even the school staff on the other end of the phone nervously swallowed.

"Please calm down. I'd like to ask first, how long has it been since Kitagawa went missing?"

"... That's why I asked you to look it up—ah."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu looked at Ichinose Honami, who seemed to have lost her temper, and inexplicably recalled the warning that she had given them a couple of days ago, which was not really a warning.

"Excuse me, are you referring to Kitagawa Ryo's group from Class 1-D, right?"