CH 5

Aramiya Remi and Chisaka Haruka and Club Activities!

“I’ve been waiting for my turn to arrive!” Chisaka-senpai puffed out her chest in confidence.

“I’m sorry, I was requested at the same time, but I sort of prioritized Aramiya first.”

“No problem! If we did actions together, they would find out about my company.”

“So, what will we be doing, coming here to the mountain stream? Or well, it’s more like a small stream.”

Chisaka-senpai and I stood on a small bridge that crossed the river, but what exactly can we even do here?

“Secretary.”

“Yes.”

“I received permission from Kasuga-san, so rest assured.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s go on a date.”

“……”

“………Hic.”

“…Huh? Eh?”

“Come on, don’t seeing me with such an ‘What is she saying?’ eye!”

“Also, I’m shocked Kasuga gave you permission. How did you win her over? Knowing her personality, she would do whatever it takes so that we aren’t alone.”

“Introducing a rotation, and an exchange condition.”

“Meaning?”

“Basically, the first half of free time, you will be spending time with me. The second half of the free time, you will be in Aramiya-san’s hands, and once we reach the campfire, it’s Kasuga-san’s turn.”

Eh? What’s up with that? That part didn’t reach me, though?

“So, what was the condition?”

“If she allowed me to go on a date with my secretary, I would give her this.” Chisaka-senpai took out a small bracelet from her pocket.

“But, Kasuga should have countless other accessories like that…”

“This isn’t any normal bracelet.”

“Did it use some expensive material or gemstone?”

“It is a test object, but if you set up the season, and put it on the other person’s hand, hold hands, link arms, and walk ahead, it allows you to observe respiration and heartbeat at the right distance……”

“Observe?”

“……”

“Chisaka-senpai?”

“Eh…”

“A picture? Illustration?”

“…Y-Yes, if you set it up as lewd OK…it informs the phone…”

Ahh…that really is another type of adult good. Also, who is Kasuga planning to use this for? Not me, right? Please, not me. If she has that, I definitely won’t hold hands with her.

“I figured it out, so don’t worry.”

“I-Is that so…”

“So, you want to test that item, yes?”

“I-Indeed.”

“There’s a problem.”

“The date hasn’t even started yet though!?”

“That’s right. Who is going to put it on, and who is going to have their mental state shown?”

“Secretary will put it on, and I will observe.”

“Let’s just go on a potential here, and say that it activates. It would mean that I’m looking at Chisaka-senpai with a lewd gaze. Are you fine with that?”

“……”

“Now is the time to stop if you want to.”

“I know that. But, following my grand design of wanting to make Papa and Grandpa make up, I want to bring the company on a more global, international stage, so I can’t underestimate my job as a company president.”

“………”

“Running away from an embarrassing mission is nonsense!”

“And yet, you’re making me the guinea pig.”

“Don’t bully meeeee!”

“Then, should we start?”

“Urk…Agreed.”

First, we held hands, and walked down the area South of the orientation. The North half is, as I said before, half mountain, so we can’t take it too far there. Also…

“You sure have small hands, Chisaka-senpai.”

“Are you saying that I’m like a small animal!?”

“You sure have some wild fantasies. It’s obvious, but a girl’s hand is smaller than a boy’s.”

“I-It’s embarrassing…Don’t treat me like a girl…”

“What a contradiction…”

“Still, it is barely summer, but it sure is hot…” She said, as she used her free hand to fan up some air to her face…which made the clothes get lifted up, revealing her blue bra.

Peek . She looked up at me, checking for my reaction. She flashed her bra on purpose, right? Just how easy does she think I am?

“Right, you need to be careful to not get a heatstroke.”

“Fufu, I have a proper drink with me. Would you like some?”

I see. That’s a self-conscious girl for you. So she had water in that shoulder bag, huh.

“Thank you very much. It’s important to be careful of heatstrokes.”

I’ll gladly accept some. Ohh, it’s Pocari Sweat.”

“That was an indirect kiss, huh.”

“Yup.”

“……”

“……”

“That’s all!?”

“Ah, you can have the Pocari Sweat back.”

“That’s not what I meant! I was thinking that an indirect kiss would invoke another reaction!?”

“I mean, I understand what you mean, but Kasuga has trained me well.”

“Objection!”

“More importantly, you should probably drink some yourself. Wouldn’t want you to collapse from a heat stroke.”

“Fueh!? I-I have to drink from it myself!?”

“Of course. It’s already too late once you get a heat stroke.”

“Grrr…”

“Or, are you too embarrassed about the indirect kiss, and can’t do it?”

“Hmpf, I understand! I’ll do it!” Chisaka-senpai said, and took a sip of the water.

Good, good. If I didn’t force her now, she might not drink anything at all the entire time. So, after she stuffed the bottle back into her shoulder bag…

“Not ringing huh.”

“I had a feeling this would happen.”

“W-Well, the date just started!”

However, shortly after we started walking through the forest…Chisaka-senpai periodically got scared by insects, I would talk about the various birds flying around…we’d leave the southern area, returning to the inn…and around four hours later…

“It hasn’t rung once!”

“Sure is weird~”

We sat on a bridge near the inn where we started, dangling our legs. Ahh, the water hitting my bare feet feels so great~ By the way, we are still holding hands despite everything.

“Why are you so relaxed about everything working out!?”

“I mean, although I won’t say who, I have someone I like, so I don’t feel anything at all when holding hands with someone else.”

“Well…is there really any reason to keep that secret? No matter how I think about it, that’s Kasuga-san…”

“I-I’ll use my right to remain silent.”

There, after 45 minutes, Chisaka-senpai let go of my hand. She had her face cast down, flashing a somewhat saddened expression, as she put her hands on her lap.

“Maybe I simply don’t have any charm as a girl?”

“I don’t think that’s true. I just have feelings for someone else, see.”

“However, my body is small.”

“When talking about a PC, do most people care about the case? What’s important is the CPU or motherboard.”

“Was that some attempt at cheering me up?” She pouted, but the moment she smiled, my attempt at cheering her up worked out.

“Leaving aside the jokes, would you really be happy? People aim for you because of your body.”

“That is true, but…”

“It’s fine. You’re a charming girl, Chisaka-senpai. You don’t like how your family is constantly fighting, so you’re working hard to get them back together, which is why you’re acting as the company president of an adult goods manufacturer, and you still don’t neglect your studies? Who would dislike you, really.”

“Secretary, why…”

“?”

“Why are you being this kind to me?”

“Are you an idiot?”

“Wha!?”

“Didn’t you say so when I first visited your company? You think of loners as weak. That’s why you wouldn’t make fun of them even if they show weakness…or something like that.”

“Ah…”

“That’s why I’m just trying to not betray your expectations.”

“H-Hmpf, acting so cheeky despite being my secretary…But, well…thank you.” She averted her gaze, and blushed ever so slightly.

“Oh yeah.”

“What is it?”

“I just realized, but what if the problem isn’t with you, Chisaka-senpai, but rather that the bracelet doesn’t work? It’s still in testing, right? That’s why, there’s a good chance it might not react.”

“That is a possibility I can’t discard.”

“What should we do? Have you put it on and then hold hands again?”

“Agreed.”

I took off the bracelet, offering it to Chisaka-senpai, once again realizing that it was heavier than your usual bracelet. Maybe because it’s a machine? No, that’s not important right now. After confirming that she put on the bracelet, I once again reached for her hand, and she nodded—

‘Ding ding ding.’

“Eh?”

“Wha!?”

That was Chisaka-senpai’s phone ringing. To think it would actually activate now under these circumstances…I mean, we were hoping for that to happen, but that sure came out of nowhere. And, in the one moment I was thinking about that, Chisaka-senpai frantically moved her hand and entire body away from mine—

““Ah.””

A splashing sound rang out, as she fell into the stream. Luckily, the river was barely 15cm deep, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. At the very least, she apparently couldn’t afford the phone to get wet, which is why she threw it at me on the way down. On the display it said…’Pattern C: Receiving kind words from the other person made her heart skip a beat! If you continue with that, she will not only offer her body, but also here as well!’……Hey now, we’re outdoors. You telling us to bang outside?

“Urk…I’m drenched…”

“C-Chisaka-senpai…!”

“Hm? What’s wrong? Your face is all red.”

“Your clothes.”

“Clothes?”

“Well…they’re see-through…”

“Wha~~~!? D-Don’t look! This is even more embarrassing than trying to show off myself!” Chisaka-senpai rushed up from the stream.

“For now, wear my shirt.” I said, not waiting for her answer.

“Are you sure? It’ll get wet.”

“It’s better than letting you walk around like that…”

****

“Seems like the swelling has gone down.” I said, sitting at the external corridor.

“You can tell without touching it?” Aramiya asked, sitting next to me.

“I mean, I’m judging with my gaze alone, but I can’t just touch your leg.”

“Ehhh, Remi doesn’t mind if it’s Shizupai. Whether that’s her leg or breasts.”

“More importantly, any rampant movement might be impossible, but taking pictures should be doable, yeah?”

“Of course! Standing, I’m cute. Sitting, I’m pretty. Walking, I’m charming. Remi’s smile and body is always a full 100 points, so leave it to the most beautiful high school girl in the world, Aramiya Remi!”

“Also, can you pull off your live concert at the campfire?”

“Yup! Even if Remi can’t dance, her singing is more than enough!”

Right now, Aramiya and I had visited the old Japanese-style house near the inn. Can’t tell when this was built from the document, but it seems to be an old relic from the Edo Period, and it has the image of that. First of all, the dirt floor. Next, there’s the stone cooking stove you rarely see in modern homes. Of course, facing that were cauldrons protecting the kitchen. If my memory serves right, you’d often see this in the Miyagi Prefecture and the southern parts of the Iwate Prefecture, but my lack of knowledge can’t judge if they existed in Tokyo. Seems to be some local tradition.

Next to those were flashy pillars, and the floor was mostly made out of tatami mats. It definitely wasn’t any western flooring. It gave off a traditional Japanese and calm scent. The living room had a kettle stand, a sunken fireplace or brazier, however you call it, with tools for hot pot and kettle, enough needed for the brazier and kettle stand.

The bedroom was blocked off by a paper sliding door, currently closed completely, from which a calm breeze came you wouldn’t expect from this month of June, and past the sliding door, you’d reach the outdoor corridor where you could traditionally eat watermelons while looking at the garden. It all feels so traditional, and somewhat lively.

“Alright, no waste in everything done early, so let’s take the picture, okay?”

“Ohhhh~!”

That being decided, Aramiya and I moved to take pictures here, using the house as the location.

“But before that, are you sure?”

“About what?”

“With a faux loner, it’s always a must to choose isolated locations, but you also wanted to show off to Miura-sensei…who isn’t here.”

“Yup, that’s why Remi already told him ‘If you’re interested, stop by! Remi will also do a mini live concert at the campfire!’ beforehand.”

“I’m relieved that you at least told him…”

“Well, the goal is also to break Miura’s prejudices, so Remi had to tell him individually.”

“Even if it’s Miura-sensei, if you tell him directly like that, he might stop by even without being interested. He is the advisor of our club after all.”

“And so, and so, how will we do the faux loner now? What should Remi do? Tell me~”

“Since we were in the middle of the mountains, we couldn’t use the internet, but now we’re back in civilization. So, it’s time to upload the picture we took yesterday with the text I’ll tell you up on Twitter.”

“OK!” Aramiya said, offering me her smartphone, but…

Wah, what is this weird phone case that’s harder to use than there being no case at all…It’s buried with some weird stuff, like character faces and whatever.

“Hey hey, Shizupai, isn’t Remi’s smartphone cute?”

“Don’t choose smartphone covers just because of their looks…”

“Then, how do you choose yours, Shizupai?”

“Usability.”

“Ehhh! Boring!”

“Yeah yeah, just tell me your code for the lockscreen.”

“Eh? Remi doesn’t have anything like that.”

“Huh!?”

“It’s a chore, you know?”

“What if you lose it!?”

“Oh oh oh? That’s unexpected. Normally, Shizupai would say that not using a code would be more efficient, and faster to operate.”

“No no no no no, it’s to protect your personal information, alright. Set it up, will you!”

“Aaaaanyway, it’s Twitter time, right?”

“You’re definitely not going to do it, right…”

Whatever, time to open up Twitter. By the way, her wallpaper on her phone is a selfie. How confident can she be?

“Now then, for starters…’Remi came to Izumigatake today! Since Remi doesn’t have any friends, she came here for some solo hiking~! This selfie is from when she put her smartphone on a rock~!’, there.”

“Ehh!? Not having any friends…that’s pretty lonely, right?”

“Ehhh…What do you think of loners, Aramiya?”

“But. but! Won’t they just bully Remi for being a loner and a poor girl?!”

“Bet on it. Nothing like that will come.”

Alright, upload time!

“Ah, don’t just!”

“Oh? There’s some replies already. Let’s see…’I never knew RemiRemi had such a hobby! If you want a hiking buddy, I’m always ready to come running!’, it says. Ah, don’t you dare say OK to that, you hear me? Meeting your fans is really dangerous after all.”

“No way!?”

“Besides that, there’s also…’RemiRemi’s hiking clothes are so cute~! I can feel it coming!’…Wait a second!?”

“W-What’s wrong, Shizupai?”

Aramiya doesn’t notice!? This guy has something other than simple admiration coming! What should I do…should I explain it to her? No, I’d feel bad for her!

“Shizupai, what did he mean with that?” Aramiya looked up at me with an innocent gaze.

“………”

“Shizupai?”

“W-Who knows? If I had to guess, he probably is talking about your breakthrough being close because your picture was so wonderful?”

“Right! Then I have to thank him!”

“Stop! Don’t do that, please!”

“Ehhh…why are you so desperate…?”

“I came up with that for your sake, Aramiya!”

“…Eh? ~~~! R-Right…then Remi will do as you said…”

That was close! Also, Aramiya is pretty innocent, huh? It’s the opposite from what I expected. Normally, someone like her would have a lot of experience. Then again, that’s a better image as an idol.

“Cough…A-Anyway, getting back to the main topic…There might be people who comment stuff like that, but in 90% of the cases, those aren’t your followers, so don’t count them. Not that they have any confidence actually commenting directly on your stuff. If they do, ignore them.”

“Right, then what should we do next…”

“We still have a lot more pictures, so why not practice with that?”

“O-Okay, um…’That selfie just now was from yesterday, but today Remi is challenging some outdoor cooking. Cutting the vegetables on her own, chopping wood, making the fire, cooking the rice, it was a lot of work~!’…Is that okay? Cooking curry on my own…is pretty depressing, right?”

“No problems there, so go and upload it.”

“Ah, there’s different people responding now. Let’s see…’Oh man, I didn’t think we’d have something like this in common! I guess RemiRemi and I are kindred souls, lol’…Oh man, they really think of Remi as a loner…”

“Although it was just a lie on your end, doing all of that on your own makes you seem more like a self-sufficient person on top of being a loner.”

“Seriously? Why?”

“If you declare that you don’t have any friends, you make them feel hope that maybe they could become your friends next.” I said, and stood up.

“Shizupai?”

“That’s how you use your faux loner principle on Twitter. Now, let’s take some more pictures?”

“Right! We finally found a perfect location after all!”

“So, about the faux loner version…”

“Hm? Remi learned how to take pictures on her own with the timer, you know?”

“…Yeah. So, let’s take a picture of you that you normally wouldn’t show to others.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, wait, my phrasing was…”

“~~~! Lewd Shizupai! Pervert! Wanting to see Remi like that!” Aramiya screamed with reddened cheeks, covering up her chest, closing her legs as she sank on the ground, but…

Well, I mean, that was clearly my fault, but Aramiya constantly keeps flashing her cleavage, and she always asks me stuff like ‘Wanna touch Remi’s breasts?’……Why am I being treated like a criminal just because I phrased that badly…

“Sorry, so what I was trying to say is that you should show yourself in a way that you normally couldn’t because people are around, right?”

“Of course.”

“In other words, that is another proof of you being a loner, as there’s nobody with you.”

“Ahhh~” It seemed like it finally clicked for Aramiya.

“I know it’s weird coming from me, but do you have any idea what you could be showing?”

“Hmmm…normally, Remi uploads pictures in her underwear, so—”

“Ah, right. You had me choose underwear back in April, so let’s go with that.”

“Ehhhh!?”

“Hm? Is there any problem with that? Also, I’m not telling you to strip just because nobody else is around. Simply lifting your skirt for a peek is more than enough…”

“No, well, um…Ah! Shizupai, do you realize that you’re not being logical right now? Asking for a panty slip is pretty despicable, you know?”

“I know that, but I don’t want to hear that from the girl who forced me to choose underwear for you. I simply judged that saying that with you would be a safe choice.”

“But…but…Oh! Shizupai is always bothered by purity and cleanliness, right! Taking a picture of a panty slip, that’s not your character, Shizupai.”

“Maybe it’s because the trip to the lingerie shop, and the whole erotic stories of normies made me change my view on all of that, so I don’t really care. It’s just flashing your underwear, and we’re not in grade school, so I don’t particularly feel anything.”

“Hmpf.”

“Also, I’m more versed in internet stuff, and although I don’t plan on checking, you probably already uploaded other stuff like underwear pictures, right? Such as swimsuit pictures.”

“Hmmmpf!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s annoying…Not getting any reaction despite seeing Remi’s panties.”

“Can you make it clear if you want me to be conscious of you or not?”

“~~~! Okay then! However!”

“However?”

“Don’t laugh, okay!”

With that kind of flow of events, it basically ended up with me taking a picture of Aramiya flashing her underwear, but…thinking about it again, this situation is just ridiculous. My head hurts. What am I even doing? It’s not like I’m super conscious of her underwear, but now I’m regretting why I was so desperate to explain why I wouldn’t. Also, what does she mean by I better not laugh at her?

“Then, well…how should we take it?”

“Why not sit on the exterior corridor’s floor?”

“What about Shizupai?”

“Spectator.”

“Eh, you’re the cameraman, right?”

“I offered the idea of taking a slip shot, but never once did I say that I would be taking it, remember?”

“Ah.”

“I was thinking that you could set up the timer again, like you explained before.”

“~~~! Nevermind! Remi was just an idiot! Remi thought that Shizupai would see her panties, and felt embarrassed!”

“Blaming the responsibility on me…”

And then, around ten minutes later…

“Shizupai…”

“Hm?”

“Help Remi…”

“What is it?”

“When Remi sets up a timer, she can’t see the screen, right?”

“Yeah.”

“She can’t take a proper picture…”

“Since my duty is to be the support, I don’t mind becoming the cameraman, but that means that I’ll see your underwear, you know?”

“~~~! Dummy, don’t say it!”

That being decided…Aramiya sat down on the exterior corridor with her skirt on, and had me take a picture…

“Aramiya, that’s…”

“Urk…Why…why did Remi have to wear the underwear you chose today of all days…”

Indeed, Aramiya wore the panties I had chosen for her back in April. So, she wore that ever since yesterday’s bath time…

“Kujou, Aramiya, what are you doing here?”

****

“Ah, Miura.”

“I’m your teacher, so address me that way.”

“Well, um…I was helping Aramiya with her idol activities, so to speak…”

“Taking pictures of her underwear is part of that?”

Yeah…this really is bad timing for sure…Then again, Aramiya informed Miura-sensei beforehand, answering my question, so it’s not weird that he would show up here, and we should have kept that in mind. That was definitely a mistake on my end.

“? What about it?”

“Huh?” There, I let out a dumbfounded voice.

Eh? As I was confused, Aramiya answered Miura-sensei? No…that’s even worse! You have to reflect on your actions!

“Aramiya…It’s true that idol activities have that in them…but it still isn’t something we should be doing in our free time during a school trip…”

I mean, I move according to this being my own responsibility, but that doesn’t mean we can just do something that would be forbidden even at school…Basically, I would do as I please, without causing trouble for anybody and not reaching the limit, but…Aramiya…

“It’s just panties, so what’s it matter? Or rather, why is it such a problem? Well, Remi did feel nervous being seen by Shizupai.”

“…! Do you not know the concept of common sense!?” Miura-sensei spoke up with a loud voice.

Ahhh…I know that this is partially my fault, but now Miura-sensei’s throwing a fit…

“That’s just the excuse of people who can’t be flexible, right!?”

Naturally, Aramiya got angry as well. And the more she fights back…

“You are students at our school, and in the middle of a school trip! Remember the saying ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’!?”

“So what, there’s no rule that says Remi will get suspended or expelled because a boy saw her panties! Not to mention that we both consented to this!”

“It’s true that there’s no regulation against that, but you’re not also not acting like proper high school students! This isn’t what people under their twenties would do! That’s what I’m trying to say!”

“~~~! Don’t decide on who Aramiya Remi is with your own values and ideas!”

“Ah, hey, Aramiya!”

Damn it, why is she running away despite her leg injury! Ahh, for crying out loud! If I don’t chase after her now, I’ll be the one getting lectured! So, my only choice is to run after her! It’s definitely not like I’m worried about her!

“I-I’m sorry, I have to run after her!”

“Hmpf, just make sure to tell her. One day will come a time where she realizes that my words have been correct, so if she doesn’t change her way of thinking now, she’ll only regret it later.”

****

“What are you doing here?”

“Why…did you know that Remi would be inside the bus?”

“On top of being injured on your leg, you were crying, right? That’s why you came to the place with the least chance of running into someone. So, since everybody carried their belongings to the facility or tents, and since it’s still only the second day, nobody would come here.”

“Hmpf, you should have said something like ‘Because I know you, Aramiya’, and it would have made my heart skip a beat…”

Do I seem like the type of guy who would and could say that? Well, whatever, I’ll just sit down next to her.

“Got a message from Miura-sensei. ‘One day will come a time where she realizes that my words have been correct, so if she doesn’t change her way of thinking now, she’ll only regret it later’, he said.”

“Shizupai…do you think he’s right?”

“Not at all. Even if I took a step back and accepted his words as correct, the one who has to experience that is you yourself.”

“Why?”

“If you simply accepted what someone else said as correct, and gave up that easily, then that just means you were never that serious about your dream, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Or, were you not serious after all?”

“…You bully. Of course Remi is serious.”

“So, what? Even if you do a live concert at the campfire, I don’t think Miura-sensei will understand that.”

“…Shizupai, you sure are asking a lot despite not being interested in Remi’s dream.”

“You’re not wrong, but I understand what it feels to not have other people understand you.”

“So, you’re worried about Remi?”

“Who knows?”

“…Dummy.” There, Aramiya went quiet.

How ironic. It’s not even that Aramiya did something bad. It’s simply inefficient for such chaos to explode. At the same time, Miura-sensei is simply trying to care for Aramiya. However, that benevolent meddling is seen as nothing but a chore on Aramiya’s end. As a result, she takes every word of Miura-sensei as negative, and acts rebellious. That’s probably the biggest chance here.

“Shizupai.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Remi said she wanted Shizupai as her producer for the live concert, right?”

“Yeah, that reminds me, I just checked out the location for the campfire, and there’s not really a stage or anything. The best you can do is dance and sing in front of the fire, yeah?”

“Right.”

“Sorry to switch the topic. Anyway, you mentioned something about making me the producer, yeah.”

“So then, you’re good at twisting around logic, yeah?”

“Well, I try to think about the small parts that other people would not consider.”

“Also, you said it during the orientation, yes? You might not be able to say it because of your communication disorder, but Remi can.”

“So?”

“Shizupai, Remi has been thinking about it…”

“Yeah.”

“She won’t hold back anymore! We’ll become the best tag team!”