Did the exit truly disappear on them? That’s the first thing I tried to confirm on the four while they’re still trying to catch their breath.

Of course, that should be impossible. Maybe in their panic, they just kept running around the place, searching for a place to hide. But then again, how did they show up right after I opened the door? Furthermore, I might not be that much of an expert when it comes to acting but they acted genuinely relieved to see an exit to that place.

This was certainly strange.

If earlier, it was just a ghost story and we even experienced exploring inside, their experience was like no other. It’s like they were trapped.

Wait…

Let’s take this as positive. Whoever trapped them inside that turned them into a bunch of screaming pigs waiting to be butchered, helped us get sufficient time to satisfy each other.

I should thank them, no?

Ugh. Alright. That’s absurd no matter how I look at it. However, that ended up becoming the result.

After grabbing the flashlight that already ran out of battery and Juri’s wristwatch from them, I let those four catch their breaths while I shared with the girls my thoughts. We could ask them for their experience later, anyway.

Shizu and Izumi were definitely puzzled by what I shared. On the other hand, Arisa and Juri got their interest in the history of the place triggered.

Arisa even jumped up and down saying, ‘It’s real! The ghosts played a prank against them!’

Well, even if that’s the case, there’s no way to prove that it happened, no? Maybe they just experienced a collective paranoia. They all believed that they were trapped inside and the door they entered disappeared.

“Numbskull, can they go back like that?” Shizu asked.

The four looked haggard as though they’d been bathing in their own sweat. When they dried up, they’d surely smell.

I took a glance at the four who were now sitting with their butts on the ground and still gasping for their breath. Maybe if they had more strength, they would’ve already run away from the manor. They’re even making sure not to look back – maybe thinking that they would be sucked inside again.

“Maybe not… Let’s see… Why don’t you all leave this to me? I’ll handle them. I’m sure they already learned their lesson but let me make sure that they won’t cause you trouble because of this.” I suggested it after a while.

My reasoning for that suggestion was to avoid trouble coming to them in case these four idiots talk to the other students about how they were sent to explore the manor by Shizu and the other girls.

I’d straighten them up before sending them back to where they came from.

Arisa had no problem with that as she easily grasped my intent. The other three should also be able to understand it but among them, I know that Shizu and Juri would not let me take this responsibility by myself.

That’s why… before they can disagree with me, I’ve followed up after carefully choosing my words.

By then, Shizu and Juri could only fold. As for Izumi… she just glared at the four before reminding me not to fight them.

Yep. Just like last time when I got ambushed by the trio of delinquents, she’s still concerned that I might get hurt if I get into a disagreement with the idiots.

But well, do they still have the energy to argue with me? They probably wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Their experience spooked them to their core. They would probably spend the rest of their time on this camping trip wondering what happened to them inside that manor.

With that, I escorted them to the only path out of this area.

Of course, they didn’t just leave. They still went to me one by one to remind me.

Izumi tugged at my sleeve and once again reminded me to take care… I really love that she’s being so honest like this compared to her usual self. But thinking about it, this is how she always acts when it concerns my safety.

Arisa hugged me, checked my face, and even wiped the bit of sweat remaining on my forehead before sternly reminding me, “Ruki, I’ll let you play a hero today. I agree that if it’s you, everything will be sorted out easily. But there’s no next time, understand? We are also responsible for what happened to them. As much as you don’t want us to get in trouble, the reverse is also true for us.”

Hearing those words from the girl, I found myself breaking into another pleasant smile. She’s just so precious, no? And I know that everyone is sharing the same sentiment… I can’t help but repeat in my head how lucky I am to be loved by them. It’s extremely motivating to continue doing well and right to ensure that I can protect their smiles…

I still have a lot of shortcomings but with them, I believe I can mend all those in due time.

“Arisa-chan already said what I wanted to say, Ruki. So, let me just…” Juri stepped forward next. She reached for my head and like always, tapped it like she was doting on me as an older sister. But by the end of it, she sneaked in a kiss and squeezed my hand to express her concern. Once that was done, she walked over to Arisa and Izumi and put her arms around them.

“I’ll escort them to the gathering area. I’ll wait for you there. You know you can’t go around this hill alone, right?”

I could only nod and squeeze her hand back before turning to the last girl who had her arms crossed.

As the Student Council President and the one who came up with the idea of sending them in, she’s the one who wanted to see this through and not let me take all the blame if that’s how it went down.

But at the same time, she also couldn’t deny that my reasoning made a lot of sense.

“I’ll scold you next time for this, numbskull. Prepare yourself this Monday, okay?”

“I understand. I’ll accept all the scoldings. I also needed that to serve as a reminder anyway.”

“Psh. I’ll seal off your tongue too. That way, I can prevent that glib of yours from sweet-talking me.” Shizu was expectedly unamused at my response. In any case, I know that she just couldn’t accept that I wouldn’t let her join me in handling these four idiots. She still means well no matter how she worded it.

After giving the four one last glare that made them cower on their spot, she turned around to leave with the other three.

I watched all three of them until their backs disappeared before turning around to accomplish what I set out to do.

“Now then… Senpai, are you alright?”

I approached the four who were just starting to recover. There’s still fear in their eyes but it’s not towards me. Most likely, part of them were still left inside that manor, relishing the horror that they faced.

“W-we’re fine… But Onoda-kun… How long did we end up there and how come we cannot find the exit… The boiler room that you told us about… it’s blocked.”

Starting from that, I listened to their retelling of the events that were vastly different from my experience with Arisa earlier.

According to them, they did see some apparition, or at least, they believed they did.

Well, unless there's videographic evidence, there’s no way to prove that. To calm them down, I made them believe that they were just stricken by fear that they started hallucinating.

Whether they buy it or not is up to them. Do they want to keep reliving their nightmares or do they want to move past it and think of it as just some bizarre experience?

Anyway, once they got back on their feet, I escorted them out of the area, leaving that haunted manor behind.

When I glanced back one last time, the door that I remembered I left open was mysteriously closed shut.

Or did I close it? I don’t know. I guess I better treat that as a strange occurrence instead. Let’s not turn this into a supernatural genre. Whether there were truly ghosts or not, I could just honestly say that I’m thankful for the opportunities we’ve gotten.

Ah. Right. The four idiots believed that I saved them not just from being trapped inside that manor but also from Shizu’s wrath. They’re now looking at me like I’m some kind of a messiah…

If they found out that it was originally my idea to punish them, they’d definitely flip. But well, being ignorant about it will be their fortune.