Only when an endless green dragon slid into view did she realize that, without noticing, they had already been carried out into the suburbs.
The city gradually gave way to stretches of fields rushing past. If she let her gaze linger anywhere for a moment, she could spot quite a few farmers wiping sweat from their brows as they busied themselves in the fields.
Their faces were filled with joyful, satisfied smiles.
The healthy green scenery outside the window soothed Ando Meiko's tired eyes considerably. She then stretched lazily in her seat.
Although the sailor uniform concealed much of the girl's curvaceous figure, the proud twin peaks, enough to rival the mountains, pushed the fabric into a beautiful curve, carrying an almost bursting allure.
Meizi, who had narrowed her eyes to enjoy that brief moment of comfort, naturally failed to notice that her casual movement had drawn the attention of more than half the innocent boys on the bus.
After entering a mountain road and traveling quite a distance farther, they could vaguely make out a white building hidden among the woods not far ahead through the dense branches and leaves.
Although this year's destination seemed different from last year's, the essence of the study camp was still much the same.
Once they reached their destination, the bus finally came to a stop.
After the bus doors opened, Teacher Ci, who was leading them, stood up at the front and called out to the students behind her, "Students, remember to take your luggage before getting off."
"Okay." Filled with anticipation, everyone absentmindedly answered their homeroom teacher before hurriedly gathering their luggage and filing off the bus.
"Baigui, let's get off too." She turned back and smiled at Baigui Lingye, only to find that the other girl remained silent.
She had wanted to slowly build a good relationship with her groupmate, yet she had been met with a cold shoulder. Though it felt a little like pressing a warm face against a cold backside, Ando Meiko did not get angry over it.
"Let's go too, Kajieliena."
"Mm. And next time, don't stretch in a crowded place."
"Huh?"
"Do you know how many people were watching you?" Leaving those words behind, Kajieliena grabbed her backpack, ignored Ando Meiko, and left her seat on her own.
Ando Meiko froze at those words. As though she wanted to cover something up, she inexplicably crossed her arms over her chest.
She quickly realized that her behavior was rather strange. Awkwardly touching her hair, she followed Kajieliena off the bus.
Teacher Ci pointed a finger through the air at Ando Meiko, the last to get off. After counting everyone, she greeted the driver and gave the gathered students a brief explanation.
"Everyone, quiet down. Let me first explain what we'll be doing shortly."
Seeing that her students, though still excited inside, had quickly quieted down, Teacher Ci nodded in satisfaction.
"Once we go in, we'll gather in the hall with the other classes, listen to the director's speech, and receive our assignments. Once the assignments are handed out, we'll immediately find the students from Class Two, form groups, and begin today's study camp."
After speaking, Teacher Ci swept her gaze over the impatient students before continuing, "Any questions?"
"No, Teacher. Let's hurry inside."
"You'll have to walk the rest of the way yourselves. We teachers have our own gathering point. Class monitor, step out."
"Yes." A fairly handsome boy stepped out from the crowd and stood beside Teacher Ci.
"Before you're dismissed, put yourselves in the proper mindset for now. Follow the class monitor properly and obey his instructions. Can you do that?"
"Yes!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Good. You may leave now. I'll wish in advance that all of you can earn grades sufficient for graduation."
Volume Two: The Disappearing Everyday Life — Chapter 17: Wilderness Camping Life
Teacher Ci left her students and headed with the teachers from the other classes toward the gathering point on the other side of this mountain school.
Although Class One was famous for being noisy, under the lingering authority of Teacher Ci, none of the students defied the class monitor's orders. They obediently arranged themselves and followed behind him.
To prevent the students from crowding together in their impatience, each class lined up under instructions before the doors to the gathering hall and waited for the teacher calling out class names.
With nothing to do while they waited, Ando Meiko leaned back slightly and gently tapped Kajieliena, who stood behind her, with the back of her hand.
"Kajieliena, let me ask you something."
"What is it, Meizi?"
"How much do you know about Baigui Lingye, who's in the same group as us?"
"Who is she?"
Though she had her back to Kajieliena, Ando Meiko could not help rolling her eyes at that answer. Sure enough, asking anything of this blockhead, who only cared about things that interested her, was pointless.
"Forget it. Asking you was unnecessary."
Leaving Kajieliena aside again, Ando Meiko tugged on the sleeve of the girl from her class standing beside her. "Kano, how much do you know about Baigui?"
The female classmate Ando Meiko had grabbed was named Yoshida Kano. She usually wore slightly intellectual-looking red-framed glasses, while her smooth waist-length hair was braided into twin plaits that hung down over her chest.
Her roughly trimmed bangs were long enough to cover the upper half of her eyes. Though she wore the same uniform as everyone else, anyone meeting her for the first time would surely think she was a country girl who did not know how to dress up.
But in truth, she was a well-known social butterfly among the second-years. Both boys and girls got along well with her.
Quite a few boys even thought that this girl, whose appearance carried a touch of rustic charm, was cute precisely because of that contrast.
Of course, this so-called social butterfly only meant that she knew many people. There was nothing strange implied by it.
"Baigui Lingye..." Her gaze swept around before finally settling on a figure near the front of the line. "I'm not actually very familiar with her."
"Even you don't know?" Ando Meiko looked at Kano in surprise.
After all, because of her status as a social butterfly, Kano possessed plenty of information that even the teachers did not know. If even she did not understand Ling Ye, then this quiet girl was indeed mysteriously unusual.
"I've thought about trying to be friends with her too, but every time I try to pull her into a conversation, this iceberg freezes me to the bone." Kano shrugged helplessly.
After seeing that even Kano could not get this girl to speak, everyone in class gradually began treating her as though she did not exist.
Although Ando Meiko had no intention of becoming particularly close with anyone in this class, she had developed quite an interest in Ling Ye.
"What is it? Are you very concerned about Baigui, Meizi?"
Ando Meiko nodded without hiding it and smiled softly. "It would be nice if I could become friends with her."
"Good luck, Meizi. If it's you, you might be able to do it."
"Huh? You believe in me that much? I'm not even sure I have any confidence myself."
"Because Meizi is really cute." Kano promptly grabbed Ando Meiko's hand. "If you confessed to me, Meizi, I'd definitely agree without hesitation."
Kano's teasing laugh made Ando Meiko helplessly push her away before turning to look at the teacher emerging from the hall doors.
"Class One."
"Stop messing around. Let's go."
"Honestly, Meizi really is such an easily embarrassed girl."
Ando Meiko rolled her eyes at her and said nothing more, following the orderly line through the doors and into the hall.
Though the building had looked somewhat mysterious from outside, inside it was simply a sports hall commonly found in schools.
It just covered twice the area of an ordinary sports hall, so even with quite a few students already gathered in formation, it still felt very spacious.
"Students who have arrived can sit where they are and wait." No one stood on ceremony after hearing that. All the Class One students sat down where they were and waited for the others to enter.
Wave after wave of students poured in through the doors. Once all ten classes had gathered inside the hall, a middle-aged woman leisurely walked up onto the stage.
"Welcome to our study camp. I am the manager of this mountain school and also the person in charge of your second year. You may call me Sister Xia."
After sweeping her gaze around the entire hall, the middle-aged woman calling herself Sister Xia curled her lips into a sly, fox-like smile.
"This study camp concerns your graduation grades, so its format will differ greatly from the past. Let me now explain the contents of this camp's assignment in detail."
The moment they heard Sister Xia was about to announce the assignment, the hall, which had still contained faint chatter, immediately fell completely silent.
"Wilderness camping life. That is your assignment this time."
Everyone froze. Then, as if explosives had been ignited, countless disbelieving voices erupted throughout the hall.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"No way, right?"
Ignoring all their questions and discussions, Sister Xia continued on her own. "This mountain is usually managed by dedicated personnel, so its resources are sufficient. During the five-day study camp, you will need to solve your own drinking water and food problems."
"Any food and water sources you collect must immediately be checked by a supervising teacher to confirm whether they are safe to consume. Every day, from seven to nine in the morning and from eight to ten at night, you will each have two hours to freely enter the school's bathhouse to wash up. Outside of those hours and trips to the toilet, you must remain outdoors and live by camping."
"After dismissal, find the members from the other class assigned to your group. Then, the six of you will go to the back entrance to collect supplies and enter the rear mountain according to the instructions."
Before leaving, Sister Xia wore a gloating smile. "One final reminder: if you encounter something you cannot handle, immediately shout toward the sky. Points will be deducted depending on the circumstances, but that's still better than getting hurt."
"After all, Japan's deep forests are not safe."
"Of course, if anyone wants to withdraw now, you can directly find your supervising teacher. But if you do, you'll have to make up those thirty graduation credits elsewhere."
Watching Sister Xia walk down from the stage, almost everyone inhaled sharply. This study camp required them to rely entirely on themselves, and one careless mistake could even lead to injury.
It was frightening, certainly, but... Sister Xia's final words made many people lose the courage to withdraw early.
Volume Two: The Disappearing Everyday Life — Chapter 18: A Blockhead and an Iceberg
After the person in charge finished speaking, Ando Meiko stood and headed toward Class Two. When she spotted a pretty figure holding up a number card marked "6," she froze where she stood.
There was no particular reason for it. That girl was Nakajima Rei, her first love.
Drawing the lot to be paired with Rei for the three-legged race at the previous mobilization meeting had already been incredibly lucky. She had never expected to draw Rei again this time.
Rei was also stunned when she saw the number card in Ando Meiko's hand. Almost instantly, she crossed through the crowd and threw Ando Meiko into her embrace.
"This is wonderful, Meizi! This really is fate pulling us together. I never thought you'd be in the same group as me."
As Rei rejoiced, her gaze shifted, and the corner of her eye happened to catch the silver-haired girl following behind Ando Meiko.
When she saw that Kajieliena held a number card identical to hers, her eyes immediately narrowed, and an icy aura slowly spread from her body.
Ando Meiko sensed that something seemed off about the aura around Rei, who was hugging her, but she did not understand why. Still, she soon gently pushed Rei away and left that soft embrace she was reluctant to part from.
Rei was not the only member from Class Two in their group. Looking at the other two girls slowly approaching, Ando Meiko spoke first. "Rei, aren't you going to introduce the companions we'll be living with for the next five days?"
"Oh, right. I forgot because you didn't mention it. Honestly, why can't I control my emotions whenever I see you, Meizi?"
Her gaze drifted over Kajieliena without leaving a trace. Rei then turned and pulled the two girls over in front of them. "Let me introduce everyone. I'm Nakajima Rei."
After introducing herself, she pointed at the short-haired girl on the left. "This is Asakusa Megumi."
Then she pointed at the girl with a single ponytail on the right. "This is Chihaya Yuna."
"I'm Ando Meiko. This is Kajieliena, an exchange student from Russia, and this is Baigui Lingye."
"Wow, I didn't expect our group to be filled with such cute, beautiful girls." Yuna, the girl with the single ponytail, stepped forward and extended her hand to Ando Meiko. "Please take care of me over the next few days."
"Mm, likewise."
"I'm the type who finds formalities troublesome, so I'll just call everyone by name. You can call me by mine too."
Yuna's carefree personality immediately made Ando Meiko like her quite a bit. After all, no normal person could possibly dislike that innocent smile.
"Good. Since fate brought us together, let's not be reserved. Relax, everyone." Rei stepped forward to stand between Ando Meiko and Yuna. "Meizi, Yuna, Hui, Ling Ye..."
Looking at Kajieliena, Rei's voice paused for a moment. "Ka, Ka... Kajieliena."
Her pronunciation was clear and deliberate, syllable by syllable, but she seemed to force the four short syllables out through clenched teeth.
Ando Meiko, who did not understand why, failed to catch the underlying meaning in Rei's voice. She only thought Rei might have been worried Kajieliena would not hear her pronunciation.
"P-please take care of me..." Compared to the naturally friendly Yuna, Hui was far more reserved. Judging from her somewhat evasive gaze and expression, she was clearly the shy type.
The four of them exchanged greetings, while only Kajieliena and Ling Ye remained completely silent.
Seeing Yuna and Hui repeatedly glance toward those two, Ando Meiko could only shake her head at the awkward scene.
An iceberg and a blockhead. Ando Meiko wondered how many lifetimes of bad luck she must have accumulated to draw these two.
They could not even manage to speak at their first meeting, much less live together for five whole days afterward... Thinking of that, Ando Meiko felt somewhat helpless.
"Alright, now that we've introduced ourselves, let's set off early. Otherwise, all the good spots will be taken later, and that'll be troublesome."
No one objected to Rei's words. Kajieliena at least gave a slight nod, while Ling Ye did not even make a movement to express her opinion.
"Ling Ye, at least say something. Everyone will be working together soon. You can't possibly refuse to say a single word, can you?"
Ling Ye slowly raised her head and glanced at Ando Meiko, who had leaned close in front of her. Their eyes met, and it was then that Ando Meiko saw Ling Ye's face clearly for the first time.
The young girl's pretty face looked exquisitely carved. Her perfectly proportioned, refined features radiated an icy aura that kept strangers away, while her slightly vacant eyes carried a faint chill.
Before you continue