Walking along the same path that I traversed twice before while accompanying another woman again, I felt like this camping trip was slowly losing its purpose for me. Even if I was a bit inclined to follow their rules and comply with what they wanted to happen by grouping us up, more than half of my time here was already dedicated to seeking out my girls and spending time with them.

Although a bit different, the time I spent with Sara and the time I was going to spend with Shiina could also be considered to be part of that.

It’s still spending time with a woman, after all. Furthermore, they’re both someone who caught my interest and vice versa. Just that, the interest I have in them cannot even be compared to how interested I am in Komoe or Fuyu. Nevertheless, I could say that I wasn’t forcing myself to stay with them.

“Shiina-san, don’t we need to be discreet here? Why are we walking in like we’re strolling in the park?”

After seeing that we were already halfway through the path to their cabin area, I couldn’t help but raise a question to Shiina.

Even though she was still hugging my arm as she led the way, she appeared unconcerned about being caught or spotted by teachers or professors

Am I missing something or Shiina just doesn’t care about it? Sara wasn’t like this earlier and even Eguchi-sensei carefully guided me into her cabin.

Upon hearing my question, Shiina turned her to me. Her eyes blinked a few times as though she was waiting for me to repeat my question or rather, she was wondering if she heard me right.

“Discreet? Do we have to?”

“Yes? I mean, we’re going into a place where a student like me shouldn’t be strolling nonchalantly. We’d be stopped and questioned.”

Looking like she had just grasped the disconnect between our thoughts, Shiina shamefully twitched her lips to an awkward smirk, “Oh. I forgot to tell you, Onoda-kun... No one is around this place at this time. They’ll be returning in an hour though.”

“If you’re wondering, some are in the camps, supervising the activities. You should’ve seen some in your area before you left. The Dean should be accompanied by our professors to tour this place. Maybe they’re up there at the peak taking in the magnificent view. It’s a waste of opportunity if they let it pass by, no?”

Shiina continued listing where the people in this cabin area should be. And from the way she said it, she seemed so certain that there wouldn’t be anyone around at this time.

This... Does this mean our guess about her identity is correct, after all? She’s influential enough to even be aware of this small window where she could easily bring someone over in this student-restricted space.

“Shiina-san... I don’t know if I should be amazed by your resourcefulness. Is this just a mere coincidence?”

“Heh. Should I say yes?”

“I guess it’s not, huh?”

“Boo... I thought you were going to play along with me.” Shiina pouted her lips, acting a little upset. But it only lasted for a few seconds. “You’re smart, Onoda-kun. Shouldn’t your question be... how did I plan and time this?”

This woman... Yeah. She knew what she was doing. She appeared to be more cunning than I thought. What I’ve seen from her earlier was probably just like the tip of an iceberg.

Now that we’re alone, she’s not hiding it anymore. Not counting the softness of her body that was still stuck to my side, I used my eyes to properly observe the girl. Or at least, read her current expression.

Like earlier, there’s still a hint of amusement and excitement in her expression. She’s enjoying this exchange with me. Also, the way she’s playfully sliding her fingers across my arm shows that she’s expecting me to figure her out completely.

Maybe this was like a small game for her. Testing me if I could live up to her expectations.

But if that’s not the case... at the very least, I’ll consider her to be quite complex. I’ll probably find it difficult to understand her intentions.

Even as we started conversing after I raised my question, we never stopped our feet from moving. Soon enough, true to her words, what welcomed us was the extremely quiet and empty cabin area.

The two of us stopped by the entrance, checking every corner, ensuring that there was no soul around. From the corner of my eyes, I caught her momentary gleeful expression. It showed how pleased she was with my reaction.

After thinking for a while, I responded to her question.

“Mhm. Sorry, Shiina-san. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to go straight into suspecting you.” I started. “I’m quite confident that harming me is the last thing you will do if not never. Let me just say something. Can you tell me what kind of test is this?”

At first, Shiina listened to me while sporting a captivated smile. It quietly exuded her undeniable interest in me. She focused more on ogling my face rather than my words. Nonetheless, as soon as she heard that last part, the woman seemingly woke up from a dream, pursing her lips together.

She straightened her expression and paused in her steps. We’re still around two cabins away from theirs so... I’d take it that this was the first time I got a different reaction from her.

She still looked pretty but anyone could sense the change of air around her.

From a playful aura, it switched to a serious one. Like one would take if they wanted to clarify something.

“You’re mistaken, Onoda-kun. I’m not testing you.”

A few seconds of eerie silence later, that became her response.

At the same time as that, I felt her fingers which also stopped moving slowly sliding further down to my hand. As I wasn’t clenching my fist at the moment, she easily slipped into my palm as her fingers continued to slot themselves within the gaps of my hand.

Following that, she raised her gaze and stared straight at me. The glint in her eyes showed that she was still taking this seriously.

“Uh... I shouldn’t be saying this but... will you believe me if I say that it was my way to appeal to you?”

Shiina bit her lips at the end of it. Her forehead then dropped on my shoulder, breaking eye contact with me. It was as though she was afraid to see me become skeptical about her motivation.

The warmth of her hand and the hurried beating of her pulse being transferred to my palm were enough to let me know that she was becoming nervous. Or at least, she didn’t want this moment to end like this.

In any case, I still replied to her accordingly.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Shiina-san. Are you trying to appeal to me by presenting yourself as an enigmatic and resourceful trickster who is hard to read?”

Perhaps taken aback by that question, Shiina’s fingers suddenly clenched the back of my hand. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear from me.

“Onoda-kun, is that the vibe I was giving you? Uhm. I don’t see myself as enigmatic and I swear, I’m not trying to trick you. I’ll own ‘resourceful’ though. I did put in an effort to create this opportunity...”

As the woman explained her side, her fingers slowly lost the force pushing them to firmly hold onto me.

Taking in her words and weighing them using my imaginary scale, I eventually came to a decision.

Moments later, I also let my fingers curl, clutching hers tightly. Following that, I put on a gentle smile as I lifted her chin, raising her gaze back at me.

“I understand. There’s no reason for me not to believe you, Shiina-san.”

Then, without waiting to check on her reaction, I pushed my head to her side before blowing air into her sensitive ear.

“Hyaan~!”

Tickled by what I did, Shiina almost toppled over from the weakening of her knee. Moreover, her face as well as her entire ear instantly reddened.

Yep. This is why I firmly held her hand. Having deemed her words and explanations as her honest thoughts, I decided to move past this topic we’re discussing by staying true to my words as well.

Earlier, I made a mental note to tease the hell out of her after finding out how sensitive she was to a direct whisper in her ear. Or simply, the brush of warm breath against it.