My steps as I returned to the dormitory with Satoru after greeting Yaga-sensei were incredibly light.
"I told you, Touya! I knew he'd give us a vacation, didn't I? Hehe."
I nodded with a smile at Satoru's words. She had linked her arm with mine, walking with a brisk, excited gait.
"That's our Satoru for you. Your intuition really is something special."
"Fufu. This is what they call a woman's intuition. You wouldn't understand, Touya."
I don't think 'woman's intuition' is usually applied to things like this... but then again, Satoru's instincts have always been sharp.
"I'm curious to see how Suguru and Shoko will react. Go ahead and brag your heart out to them, Satoru."
"Hmph. You don't even have to tell me. I'm going to make them worship me."
It's not like you were the one who secured the vacation, so why do they have to worship you...?
When we arrived at the dorms, we ran into Suguru, who was heading downstairs having already changed into his school uniform. Satoru immediately dashed over to him, standing before him with her hands on her waist, puffing out her chest with haughty pride. Suguru ignored her antics and looked at me with a questioning gaze.
"Touya. What is it this time? Though I suppose I'm used to it by now."
"They're giving us a vacation starting next week. For about two months. Satoru's thrilled because her 'hunch' was right. Better start playing along."
Suguru's eyes widened in disbelief for a moment, but then he nodded as if he understood the situation. He turned back to Satoru.
"Wow. Satoru's hunch was right after all? To be honest, I thought they'd give us a break too. Impressive."
"Right? Everything this great self says is absolute! Come on, keep the compliments coming!"
As Satoru grew even more conceited, Suguru shot me a weary sigh before immediately switching into his usual 'kindergarten teacher' mode.
"That's our Satoru! Truly amazing! Not a single word you say is wrong!"
Seeing Suguru circling Satoru while clapping—as if praising a puppy for performing a trick—made me chuckle. When I joined in beside him, Satoru eventually burst into laughter herself.
"Khahaha! What are you guys doing? Am I a toddler to you? God, that was actually hilarious. My stomach hurts."
While we were joking around, Shoko came down the stairs. Seeing us, she walked over with her usual lethargic pace.
"What is it today? Why is everyone so hyped up?"
"Oh, did you sleep well? I asked Yaga-sensei, and he said we're getting a vacation. Starting next week, for two months."
Shoko's eyes widened briefly, but she soon replied with her typical indifference, as if it didn't concern her much.
"Is that so? Good for you. Just get out of here already. It'll finally be quiet around here."
Looking at her sulky demeanor, I teased her with a smile.
"Why so cranky? Is it because you're sad about being left alone?"
"What? Who's sad? Don't say such weird things."
"Ah, I was wrong? I was sure that was it. It gets lonely when you're by yourself. At least, it does for me."
"Well, it's not. Don't go misunderstanding things."
"Oh, sure. I won't."
I gave a non-committal answer and leaned in, whispering into her ear.
"I'll finish things up at the main estate and come back early, so let's hang out then."
"Hk—!"
I smirked at her startled reaction as she practically jumped backward. I turned around and addressed Satoru and Suguru.
"Alright, then. If we want to enjoy our vacation to the fullest, I guess we need to hunt down every last cursed spirit before we go, right?"
After a brief moment of confusion, Satoru nodded vigorously.
"I won't let anything ruin my sweet vacation. Today, I'm going to wipe out every curse near Tokyo."
"Ah~ I feel like releasing all my stored curses just so I can catch them again. But I'd probably get arrested for that, wouldn't I?"
At Suguru's chilling suggestion, Satoru clapped her hands.
"That's actually a great idea! Why not?"
Hearing Satoru's response, Shoko sighed and shook her head.
"Gojo. Are you trying to turn Geto into a curse user? Even if Geto doesn't intend to go rogue, releasing that many curses at once would be an immediate state of emergency."
"Ehh... unnecessary worrying. It would be fine if Touya and I teamed up. Whatever. I'm heading out on a mission right now. I'm going to spend the next few days doing nothing but missions."
As Satoru spun around and headed toward the faculty office, Suguru followed suit.
"Me too. Should we have a bet on how many we can exorcise by the time we're done?"
"Oh! Sounds good, Suguru. Loser buys strawberry cakes. I found a really delicious shop recently."
The two walked side-by-side toward the office. Left alone with Shoko, she finally spoke up.
"What you said earlier... were you serious?"
"Hmm? What about?"
"About coming back early after visiting your clan. Dammit. Do I really have to say it out loud?"
"Ah, that. Of course I was serious. It's nice to rest at the main house, but you'll be lonely here by yourself. Some people say being alone is comfortable, but even they start feeling the weight of solitude after a while."
I'm sure Shoko, though she doesn't show it, feels a sense of isolation when the three of us go out on missions together.
"I... I see. Well... if you insist on coming back, I won't stop you. It's not like I particularly like going out to the city to play, anyway? I just like eating good food and stuff... anyway, that's that."
Watching Shoko suddenly become talkative, I chuckled and nodded before walking off to catch up with the other two.
"I'll keep that in mind. Make sure you study hard today."
"Ugh... so annoying. Why did I even say that?"
Hearing her dejected voice from behind, I began to imagine the upcoming winter break—my first in a long time.
-----------
"You kids really put in the work over the last few days just so you wouldn't be called in during your vacation. Truly remarkable work. I mean that in the most positive sense."
"Haha. We know, Yaga-sensei. Now, hurry up and give us our vacation. That's the only thing we've been waiting for."
After hearing news of the break, we had spent the past few days in a relentless cycle of waking up, eating, and hunting curses. The result was a staggering number of exorcisms—nearly matching our total from the previous three months.
"Haha... you can just take it as a sign of how much we didn't want our time off disturbed."
"I'll take it as such. Therefore, your vacation officially begins today as scheduled. Of course, Shoko has to remain at the school, but we will ensure her rest periods are strictly guaranteed, so don't worry about her."
"That's good. So, can we head off to rest now?"
"Yes. But keep your phones on just in case."
"Roger! Take it easy while we're gone, Yaga-sensei! Later!"
Suguru grabbed Satoru by the head as she tried to bolt out of the room.
"Haha... where do you think you're going first? We'll enjoy our vacation, Sensei. We'll be in touch."
"I'm heading off too. Have a peaceful rest, Yaga-sensei."
"Right. Have a good trip. Don't ignore my calls. And go show your faces to Shoko before you leave. She'll be lonely staying here alone."
"Yes. Don't worry. We're off!"
I bowed to Yaga-sensei, who sat back down with a wave of his hand, and we left the faculty office. Satoru, who had been struggling in Suguru's grip, immediately dashed off with an excited skip the moment she was released.
"Let's hurry up and say bye to Shoko! I need to get home and catch up on all the manga I've missed! I already called for a driver. I'll have him drop you guys off on the way."
"Oh, as expected of Satoru. I knew I could count on you. I'll take you up on that."
Since I hadn't informed my family yet, wanting to make it a surprise, I decided to ride with Satoru. We headed to the infirmary together, where Shoko was already waiting for us with her arms crossed.
"You're here. Have fun, everyone. And buy me a souvenir. The school's going to be quiet without you lot around."
"Yup! I'll buy you a strawberry cake, Shoko. We can eat it together. Get some rest."
"I usually hate sweets, but if you're buying, I won't say no."
"Call me if you're bored, Shoko. There's not much I can do for you, but I can at least answer the phone."
At Suguru's absurdly dry offer, Shoko furrowed her brows in disbelief.
"What? Why would I even? Sigh, just get going already. I need to rest and do some studying myself."
"Haha... take it easy, Shoko. I'll be back soon. We'll hang out then."
"...Hmph. Fine, just go. ...I'll be waiting."
I gave a wide grin at Shoko's cute response, while Suguru winced as if the atmosphere between us was hard to stomach. Satoru, meanwhile, seemed too caught up in her excitement for the vacation to even notice.
"We're off then, Shoko."
After saying our goodbyes, we left the infirmary and headed straight for the school gates. Seeing the luxurious limousine parked in front, Satoru ran toward it.
"Oh, you're here! Good timing. Let's go. We're dropping my friends off on the way."
"Yes, Clan Head. Friends of the Clan Head, please make yourselves comfortable inside."
The Gojo clan attendant, who had been speaking in a calm and detached tone while bowing, widened his eyes slightly when he saw me. He quickly masked the reaction, however, and boarded the vehicle.
The three of us sat in the back, chatting away until we reached Suguru's house.
"Thanks for the ride. See you both after the break."
We waved back at Suguru as he walked away, and the car started moving again.
"Shall I drop the Young Master of the Zenin clan at his estate?"
"Yes. I would appreciate that."
"Since you are a friend of our Clan Head, you are my superior as well. You may speak comfortably to me. We shall head to the Zenin estate immediately."
"Ah, no need for that. Thank you."
"The Zenin estate~ I feel like it's been forever. It must be almost ten years."
"Right. How many years has it been since you last visited?"
"It's not like I didn't visit because I didn't want to..."
After a round of playful banter with Satoru, time flew by, and we arrived at the Zenin estate in Kyoto.
"I will drop you off here. May you have a pleasant vacation."
"Yes, thank you. Thanks for the ride, Satoru. I'm heading in. Call me if you're bored."
"Okay. Have a good vacation, Touya."
After waving goodbye, I stepped through the gates of the Zenin estate. The members of the Hei standing guard widened their eyes upon seeing me.
"Young Master? What brings you here at this hour...?"
"Oh, I'm on vacation. You guys are working hard. See you later."
"Ye—Yes! Thank you. Please, go right in."
I gave a slight nod and headed toward the main house when, from a distance, Naoya came running out.
"Brother! What are you doing here?! Did you come back because you missed me? You did, didn't you, Brother? Hmm?"
As I hugged the chirping Naoya, who had practically pounced on me, the reality finally set in.
Ah... I'm really home. My vacation has truly begun.