The weekend had just ended, followed by P.E. class.
In the morning, we had a long-distance relay run covering a total of 18 kilometers round trip.
Each person had to run about 1 to 2 kilometers.
The distance was quite substantial, and the entire route wound through mountainous forests with uneven terrain.
The homeroom teacher wanted everyone to familiarize themselves with the route and return to the school building before afternoon classes, so Kaoru and the others set out in full force, trekking through the mountain woods in a group.
Thanks to the enhancement from the Wish Machine, Kaoru's stamina was actually better than most.
After walking five or six kilometers, some in the group were already struggling to keep up.
If Kaoru hadn't deliberately slowed his pace to accommodate them, the front and rear of the group would likely have been stretched far apart by now.
However, Kouenji spotted a sign warning of [Wild Boar Sightings] and promptly disappeared without a trace.
"Mitoma, are you seriously not going to do anything about that gorilla?"
Ishizaki felt Kaoru was being hypocritical—when he complained earlier, Kaoru had cut him off mid-sentence, yet he was turning a blind eye to Kouenji's antics.
"Maybe Kouenji just wants to help us add some meat to our meals," Kaoru said. "Have you ever had wild boar before?"
"No," Ishizaki answered reflexively before widening his eyes. "Wait, are you saying that gorilla is going after a wild boar?!"
"I don't know. Maybe there aren't any boars here."
Kaoru glanced at the distant mountains.
Without a map or GPS, it was hard to tell exactly where they were.
"Hey, hey, hey! If the school put up a warning sign here, there might actually be wild boars around!"
Ishizaki gestured wildly to emphasize the size of a boar.
"My grandma told me wild boars in winter are super scary—even Albert couldn't take one down, right?!"
Albert remained silent.
"Even you know humans can't win against wild boars. Do you really think Kouenji would be stupid enough to try?"
Kaoru understood the mindset of someone like Kouenji—in short, he was just bored and overflowing with curiosity.
Ishizaki was momentarily speechless, though he wasn't genuinely worried.
He just wanted to seize the opportunity to complain.
"Still, Ishizaki has a point. Should we send someone to look for him?" Hashimoto suggested.
After a moment of thought, Kaoru assigned Ayanokoji who's also from Class D, to go after Kouenji.
The group trudged on for a while longer before finally reaching the turnaround point, where they were greeted by Chie Hoshinomiya.
"Ara~ Congratulations on completing the course! Now, give yourselves a round of applause—clap, clap~!"
Hoshinomiya beamed, clapping enthusiastically before Kaoru and the others could even react.
"Is this woman a little… off?" Ishizaki muttered with a grave expression.
Hoshinomiya heard him and pouted.
"Now, now, student~ You shouldn't say such things about your cute and kind teacher, or even I might get a little upset."
Ishizaki gulped and nodded with great difficulty.
"Wow~ Mitoma-kun! Long time no see! Did you miss me over winter break?"
"Is this where we sign?"
Kaoru ignored Hoshinomiya's cutesy act, making her puff out her cheeks in frustration.
"So cold! You weren't like this with me before."
She pouted, waving the sign-in sheet in her hand. "Nee~ Mitoma-kun, is this what you want?"
"Are you free for lunch, sensei?" Kaoru asked.
"This depends on when your exam ends. If it finishes early, you can go back for lunch..."
Chie Hoshinomiya suddenly blinked. "Hmm? Could it be that Mitoma-kun is inviting me to eat together?"
"Is that not allowed?"
Kaoru sighed regretfully. "I think Hoshinomiya-sensei looks especially cute today, and you have such a mature, composed aura—it's quite captivating."
"Even if you flatter me like that, this kind of thing is a no-no~"
Hoshinomiya made an X gesture with her arms. "Students and teachers can't do that, Mitoma-kun."
"Fine, then let's keep it strictly business. Hand me the sign-in sheet—I'm leaving."
"Eh? Won't you chat a little longer?"
"Sensei."
"Actually, I'm very curious about what's going on between you and Ichinose."
"Sensei."
"Uuu… To think you'd hate talking to me this much."
Snatching the sign-in sheet from her hands, Kaoru signed his name and passed it to Hashimoto and the others.
Just as he finished signing, someone spotted Kouenji and Ayanokoji in the distance, their clothes slightly disheveled.
"Hey, where the hell did you run off to?!"
"Keh keh keh, what a nuisance. But since I just had a delightful frolic with a wild boar, I'll forgive your rudeness this time."
"What are you even saying?"
Not just Ishizaki, but probably most people wouldn't understand what Kouenji was talking about.
Seeing the group fully assembled, Kaoru led them back, and the group returned to the school building around noon.
Exhausted from the physical exertion, everyone rushed to the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Kaoru searched for Katsuragi and finally spotted him in the crowd.
After sharing a meal with him, the two exchanged opinions in the hallway before afternoon classes began.
The afternoon continued with lectures.
In the large-group classroom, Kaoru noticed the presence of Hiroto Mutou and the few people around him.
With the end of zazen meditation in the dojo, today's classes concluded—bringing them one day closer to the exam.
At the same time, Kaoru approached Ryuuen.
"Got a minute?"
Ryuuen, who had been heading to the cafeteria, stopped and turned back, slightly surprised.
"Keh, I thought you'd keep quiet until the exam was over."
He smirked dismissively at Kaoru. "How about we talk over lunch in the cafeteria?"
"No, this won't take long."
Ryuuen frowned.
It wasn't strange that Kaoru had noticed the situation with the girls' group—even if he intended to stop Miki Yamamura's expulsion, that much was expected.
What was strange was that Ryuuen couldn't detect even a trace of anger in him.
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