“So, Sounosuke?”
“Ah, you’re up.”
I responded to Shouko’s voice while pushing myself upright.
Yesterday had been Shouko’s turn for duty, so after we’d tidied everything up, we fell asleep together.
And now, without a second’s difference between us, we woke up at the exact same time.
Just as the Mystery Blackboard said, it must be the mandatory wake-up call at five in the morning.
Feeling my way, I reached the window and opened it; outside was already bathed in dim light.
“We only have ten minutes. Let’s hurry up and get ready. We’ll form a party with everyone else and gear up.”
“U-um…! B-but before that, t-that… ”
Shouko stood up, came over to me, and pressed her lips against mine in a quick kiss.
“Morning, Sounosuke. Last night was intense, wasn’t it?”
“Ah, y-yeah, good morning, Shouko. Thanks for last night.”
The memory of what I had done with Shouko surfaced, and my crotch instinctively began to stir in response.
Naturally, it wasn’t the time for that sort of thing, so I managed to hold myself back.
“Mm-hmm. Ah, assuming it’s fine if I stay in my uniform… what about Sōsuke?”
“Ah, yeah. I’ll change into my uniform too.”
I arrange the uniform on top of the desk.
“Then, I’m heading to the hallway first.”
“Got it.”
I hurriedly changed into my uniform and then stepped out onto the hallway.
Shōko was waiting there, but none of the others were around yet.
If I put my ear to the wall, I could hear sounds coming from inside, so they must be in the middle of changing into their uniforms.
Gently, Shōko reached out and took my hand. My heart skipped a beat, but I returned her grip.
“It’s way too late to do anything else, isn’t it? I want to wash my face, and I need to fix my hair, plus I fell asleep in my uniform earlier so it’s all wrinkled…”
“At the very least, I could rearrange the storage space right now to get your uniform.”
“Thanks. But… no. It smells a little bit like Sōsuke, so I’ll just leave it as is.”
Shōko said this while lifting up her collar and sniffing it intently.
It wasn’t calculated coquettishness… she was probably just saying it naturally.
My chest felt struck through by Sho’s cuteness just as the corridor doors burst open in rapid succession, with everyone filing out.
Sho hurriedly pulled her hand away from mine. It seemed she was too bashful to hold hands while being seen by the group.
“It seems you can summon the party function just by focusing on it, kind of like when we open up the ability-related explanations.”
Chiyu had apparently already verified this right away.
When I focused on the “Party” function—there it was.
• Kusano Souji
• Affiliated Party—None
• “Create Party”
• “Join Party”
“So first, one person creates a party, and the rest of us join that party, right?”
The flow Hinata described sounded correct.
“If so, our leader is settled: Sousuke-kun?”
In response to Shion’s words, everyone except me nodded in unison.
I felt a mix of pride and embarrassment.
Still, since there was unanimous agreement, I had no reason to decline.
I concentrated on “Create Party” and immediately created the party.
・Affiliated Party——『Sousuke’s Party』
The name is too on-the-nose, but I’m told it can be changed later, so I’ll treat it as a placeholder.
There’s no time to waste agonizing over details.
“Ahh, ‘Create Party: Sōsuke Party’ just popped up under ‘Party Members.’ If we join this, does that mean we can all fly together?”
Yoko, followed by the rest of the group, had apparently found it as well, and my “Party Function” displayed a notification stating, “You have received requests to join the party.”
I accepted all four of them.
“Alright. Everyone, quickly gather your essential gear and meet outside the front entrance. There’s a chance this location could be discovered during the event, so let’s stash everything for now.”
Since everyone was traveling light, they were able to gather outside the entrance right away.
I stowed away the house, the bathroom, Mashi-ro’s fenrir hut, and the stone walls enclosing the grounds.
All that remained was the fence for the entrance, with its posts still embedded in the ground.
Since this was “connected to the earth,” I couldn’t store it without digging it up. Leaving it as is should be fine.
“Sōsuke! Can Mashi-ro teleport with us?!”
Meiko’s panicked voice.
“Ah, I forgot to ask about that. Unless she’s particularly stubborn, I think Meiko’s summoned beast can teleport along with you…”
“Mashi-ro, if we suddenly disappear and leave only you behind, will you follow our scent to find us?”
Mashiro nodded with an air of absolute certainty.
He took another look at his companions.
Everyone was wrapped in flax-colored robes that concealed their bodies, and they had pulled their hoods up to hide their faces as well.
With this setup, there shouldn’t be any chance of their true identities being exposed, provided no one knew about their abilities.
Of course, it would be dangerous if someone were to get a good look at them in close proximity, but since the group was planning to ride on Mashiro’s back, it wasn’t an issue.
Just to be safe, they had all been made to carry concealed blades, though he could only pray that they would never need to use them.
“As far as I remember, the things we should be most wary of are ‘airplanes,’ ‘fire,’ and ‘guns.’ Blades in general come next, but they’re a pretty significant step down from those.”
The group had shared all the information regarding what the other students said during the initial dream.
“So regarding fire, you mean it would be a huge problem if we ended up in a forest and a fire started?”
Shion frowned, looking thoughtful.
Carrying lighters or matches could easily escalate into a massive disaster if those flames spread to the natural surroundings.
He couldn’t imagine anyone being that stupid, but it was better to be prepared for everything.
If they remained vigilant, they would be able to respond without panicking even in the unlikely event that things went wrong.
「『Guns』are dangerous to begin with, but 『Airplanes』are particularly risky if they can be stored and deployed the way Sousuke does them.」
“Aa. If you don’t mind collateral damage, you could position an airplane directly above a light orb and go for it.”
I suppose it’s a choice we shouldn’t make, considering the penalty, given that we have no idea how many classmates might get caught up in it.
“If we assume suicide ramming attacks are possible, the 『Undead』 kid is dangerous too.”
At Chiiyu’s words, I nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Mmm. That kid isn’t someone who hurts others, but…”
Shouko, who was that kid’s friend, made a subtle face, but there’s no loss in staying on guard.
Moreover, the terrifying aspect of the 『Undead』 kid lies in how they interact with penalties.
If someone gets killed, points equivalent to five years of coma are subtracted, but what if that applied to the death of the 『Undead』 kid as well?
With infinite reserves, there’s a possibility you might kill them in an attempt to stop someone who will do anything.
In that case, the side doing the killing would presumably be subject to the penalty.
The death penalty is applied to the person themselves as well, but that one is for a hundred days’ worth.
It would seem like an adequate countermeasure, but as you can see, such a tactic ends up being viable after all.
”…I’m guessing enough time has passed now—what!”
Without any warning at all.
The scenery shifted abruptly.
They were still within the forest, but they were no longer in the shadowed area near the cliff that had served as their base camp.
A quick check revealed that his companions, including Mashiro, had been transported there alongside him.
The ‘Party’ system was functioning correctly.
“Being teleported… it’s terrifying when you actually experience it.”
Fuhou was quietly astonished by the phenomenon that had just occurred.
“Mashiro? There! Phew, I’m glad we’re together!”
Shouko lunged toward Mashiro.
”…So it’s starting, huh.”
Shion seemed tense.
No, they were probably all feeling the same way.
At that moment, the sky blazed with light.
“Yeah, look at that.”
Where Chiyu pointed at the sky, a sphere of light hovered, slowly descending from above.
They had been told it would appear at a position visible to all participants initially, and indeed, that was the case.
From here on out, the participants would compete to reach that target.
“Everyone, get on Mashiro’s back. Chiyu, I need you to boost me.”
Everyone moved with swift efficiency.
Chia’s enhancement magic caused my body to glow faintly.
“Let’s go.”
It was a battle for the light orbs.
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