Chapter 98: Memories of the School Trip
Driven by curiosity, Ren kept observing his surroundings while visiting the shrine.
Unfortunately, he didn't spot any divine beings—the pink-haired girls were all by his side.
Put differently, perhaps Hitori and the others were the pink-haired deities who had descended upon him?
Though disappointed at failing to encounter a god, Ren still formed a positive connection by tossing a 500-yen coin into the offering box.
It wasn't that he was stingy—this cash might not even reach the deities anyway. Had they manifested like Gabriel, he might have offered a hundred thousand yen.
Just as Ren was lost in thought, a soft body lightly bumped into his back. The impact was so gentle that he remained unaffected, while the other person fell to the ground.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."
When Ren turned around, the person had already been helped up by her friends, her face flushed crimson as she apologized.
"It's fine, but please be more careful next time."
The apologetic girl appeared quite young, standing just over 150cm tall. She had short pink hair like Ram's, but with two short pigtails on either side.
Since it was just an accident, Ren didn't blame her. After a few more apologies, she left with her friends looking embarrassed—apparently they were shrine visitors too.
As they departed, Ren faintly heard her blonde friend call her "Madoka."
Ren didn't dwell on this chance encounter. The girl seemed like just a middle school student—surely she couldn't be the pink-haired deity he was curious about?
"Are you interested in her, Ren?"
Since she also had pink hair, Yuno couldn't help asking.
"Not really. I just find my own thoughts rather amusing. Let's go."
Ren smiled and shook his head, no longer troubled about not encountering a deity today. Japan isn't that big—if gods truly existed, he'd eventually meet one.
After this brief interlude, they concluded their shrine visit and returned to the inn.
For the school trip, boys and girls were housed separately with arrangements made by the school, so Ren couldn't conveniently move out on his own.
His relationships with classmates were decent enough. Though they were just ordinary acquaintances, they could exchange a few words before politely parting ways—let alone sharing accommodation tonight.
The school had prepared quadruple rooms with futon bedding. When Ren returned to his room, his assigned roommates were playing mobile games—specifically the famous FGO.
Curious, Ren asked them about it, and they enthusiastically recommended the game. Having nothing better to do, Ren downloaded it to try.
After getting started, he found the gameplay almost nonexistent, yet somehow addictive.
Coinciding with some tenth anniversary event, the game offered numerous stages for Ren to conquer while abundant gacha pools satisfied his pulling urges.
Gacha mechanics are arguably the most entertaining and thrilling aspect in any game. Having never tried it before, Ren spent several million yen after being recommended and discovered that pulling was genuinely exhilarating.
Before he knew it, he had already pulled all the available limited-time characters to their maximum potential. By the time he came to his senses, he realized he had spent several hours on both pulling and building them.
In the end, his classmates revealed their true intention: they just wanted to add him as a friend, then went off to show off.
Later, when break time arrived and Mafuyu came to check the rooms before bedtime, Ren had just laid down when Yuno sent him a message telling him not to sleep tonight.
The three pink-haired girls shared the same room, with Gabriel being the fourth occupant—meaning there was plenty of room for maneuvering.
Mafuyu was likely to check the rooms again in the latter half of the night, so during that time, they could do something memorable.
Isn't this a bit too bold?
Ren sometimes had to admire Yuno and Satou's courage and ideas. There were things he would never have thought of, but Yuno and the others could, and once they confirmed it was feasible, they would drag him along to enjoy it.
Like now, at one in the morning, Yuno sent him a message, telling him to come over without worry.
All the classmates were already asleep. Ren got up and moved quietly, not feeling particularly nervous. Since Yuno said he could come over without worry, he wouldn't be discovered on the way.
Arriving at the door of Yuno's room, Ren slid it open and stepped inside.
The room was dark, with only the faint glow from Yuno's phone screen illuminating the space. Ren glanced around and noticed Gabriel was missing.
"She sneaked out to play games."
As Ren approached, Yuno noticed his puzzled expression and softly explained.
Gabriel had gone to sleep as soon as she returned, but she had just woken up and, feeling wide awake, wanted to play games. However, she tended to mutter while gaming, which wouldn't do in the room, so she sneaked out to find a corner to play.
This worked perfectly for Yuno. With Gabriel gone, only the three pink-haired sisters remained in the room.
After Hitori and Satou had also fallen asleep, she called Ren over.
"Are you trying to steal me away?"
Ren was impressed by Yuno's boldness, but the unusual circumstances also made him somewhat excited.
"Just wanted a little midnight snack~"
Yuno laughed as she pulled Ren into the room's bathroom. If Mafuyu came to check the room, she would definitely figure out what was happening, so they needed to hide.
Unlike at home, the inn had poorer soundproofing, average conditions, and required constant attention to noise levels and restraint.
Yet despite all the limitations, the thrill was unparalleled.
To avoid making noise, Yuno bit down on a piece of fabric from her clothes, leaning against the sink as she gazed dazedly at Ren in the dim light. Only faint, intermittent panting could be heard from the bathroom.
"!?"
Much later, the bathroom light suddenly turned on, and the door opened. Satou walked in expressionlessly, startling Yuno, who had been too preoccupied to check her phone. Yuno tensed up, and Ren, gripping her waist, froze in place—like a child caught doing something wrong, too scared to move, though in reality, he was pouring his affection into Yuno.
Satou shot them a glare, then casually turned her back to relieve herself without a care.
She had simply woken up because she'd drunk too much during the day and needed to go, never expecting to stumble upon such a scene. That alone would have been tolerable, but what truly irked her was Yuno excluding her from the fun.
How could she stand for that? After finishing up, she washed her hands thoroughly, shoved the overstimulated and limp Yuno aside, snatched the spot that originally belonged to Yuno, and let the atmosphere grow warmer and thicker.
It wasn't until around three o'clock that Yuno patted Ren's shoulder, quickly rinsed off, and brought this school trip memory to a close.
When Mafuyu came to inspect the rooms, she didn't catch them in the act, but she did catch Gabriel leaving her room intending to pull an all-nighter gaming.