"Eh?!"
Mio let out a startled cry and immediately shrank back beside Kotobuki Tsumugi. Her voice trembled as she looked at Ritsu.
"A... a test of courage?!"
"Ah!"
Seeing her reaction, Ritsu seemed to remember something. Her eyes lit up, and she suddenly ran over to Mio, looking at her teasingly as she burst into laughter.
"Oh right, Mio, you're terrified of ghosts and stuff, aren't you?"
"Ghosts?!"
Mio's face instantly turned pale. Even her voice changed as she trembled in Kotobuki Tsumugi's embrace.
Smiling warmly, Tsumugi hugged Mio as though she were a giant doll. Her face practically radiated maternal affection.
"How about we hold it at the shrine? Since we're already staying at a hot spring inn and there's even an abandoned shrine nearby, how can we not have a test of courage?"
Ritsu said excitedly, although nobody knew what inevitable connection she thought existed between those things.
"Yui? Yukinoshita-san? Yuigahama-san?"
"What do you think?"
Everyone looked at one another. Ritsu's sudden proposal had caught them completely off guard. Fortunately for her, she still had Yui as a loyal supporter and Yuihama Yui as someone who loved watching the excitement unfold.
"Yay!"
"I think it's a great idea! I want to be paired with Yukinon!"
Yuihama Yui declared enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling as though she were plotting something.
"Tsumugi, Ui, and Komachi?"
Seeing that everyone except the silent Yukinoshita Yukino had agreed, Ritsu eagerly turned to the others.
Hirasawa Ui glanced worriedly at Yui, thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay!"
Hikigaya Komachi also waved her hand excitedly.
"I want to go!"
A curious light flickered in Tsumugi's eyes. As someone who had never experienced such things before, the young lady was always interested in new experiences.
However, just as she was about to agree, she suddenly felt someone tugging at her sleeve. Looking down, she saw Mio desperately shaking her head with pleading eyes.
"It's okay. I'll protect Akiyama-san (Mio)!"
Tsumugi raised her fair, delicate fist and confidently declared her promise.
Mio's face filled with despair.
Soon, Ritsu obtained everyone's approval. In the end, even Yukinoshita Yukino reluctantly nodded.
Seeing this, Mio felt as though her heart had turned to ashes.
Life was meaningless.
"Alright! Since everyone agrees, tonight it is! Test of Courage, go!"
Ritsu pumped her fist energetically.
"Go!"
Yui and the others cheered together around her.
...
Evening.
Night had only just fallen, and traces of twilight still lingered.
A gorgeous glow remained in the western sky, like a veil drifting across the heavens and hanging over the dark mountains.
The foot of the shrine mountain had already become almost completely dark. Fortunately, everyone's phones were fully charged, and the screens could provide enough light to illuminate their surroundings.
However, because of the limitations of their devices, the illuminated area was small and the light relatively weak. Still, that hazy atmosphere was perfect for something as thrilling as a test of courage.
There were twelve participants in total.
The five members of the Light Music Club, the three members of the Service Club, the two younger sisters, one blue-eyed baby dragon, and Komachi.
As the only two people who had actually visited the shrine before, Sato and Kato Megumi had been assigned to the "ghost team," meaning they would act as NPCs hiding along the route to scare people.
Sato had no objections.
Neither did Kato Megumi.
Looking up at the bright full moon hanging in the sky, Sato noticed that tonight's moon was exceptionally large and round. Its silver glow was already bright enough to illuminate the mountain path.
"Then we'll head up first!"
"Mm!"
Sato took a few steps forward before suddenly stopping. He looked toward Mio, who was clinging tightly to Kotobuki Tsumugi's arm, and revealed a rather sinister smile.
"Mio, don't cry when you get scared."
Mio stared at him with a pale face. Shame, fear, and grievance mixed together in her clear eyes as she glared at him with pursed lips.
Do you seriously not know how to be considerate toward a girl?
"Hahaha!"
Sato laughed mischievously and left everyone with a meaningful smile.
The group was thoroughly unnerved and instinctively huddled together.
Even Yukinoshita Yukino lightly pressed her lips together, beginning to wonder whether agreeing so quickly had been a bit reckless.
After heading up the mountain, Sato and Kato Megumi separated and hid at different locations, one halfway up the mountain and the other near the summit.
The surroundings were silent and dark.
The tall grass rustled in the increasingly fierce mountain wind, while moonlight draped the landscape in a layer of pale silver frost.
Kato Megumi crouched behind a patch of tall grass, earnestly searching online for ways to scare people.
The glow of her phone illuminated her face, making her calm features appear deathly pale. Combined with the wilderness and silence around her, she looked like a wandering spirit drifting through the forest.
Farther up, near the summit, hidden within another patch of tall grass.
Sato browsed through his collection.
Suddenly, his eyebrows rose as he pulled out an item called Fake Blood.
After tearing open the package, he could actually smell a faint scent of blood.
"He he he he."
The corner of his mouth curled upward.
An excellent idea had just occurred to him.
...
At the foot of the mountain.
Ritsu held up a set of paper lots she had prepared beforehand and grinned.
"Come on! Everyone draw lots to decide the teams!"
"C... can't we choose our own teams?"
Mio asked while clutching Tsumugi's arm. She felt that only by staying beside the soft and comforting young lady could she feel even a trace of warmth.
"Of course not! Things like this need to be random to make them exciting!"
"For example, putting two scaredy-cats like Mio together."
Ritsu flashed a bright smile and a row of gleaming white teeth as she laughed without restraint.
"Y... you jerk!"
Although Mio felt embarrassed and indignant, she was also nervous.
What if she really ended up paired with someone just as timid as herself?
Her gaze swept around the group, searching for potential fellow scaredy-cats.
"Alright, alright, everyone draw your lots!"
After the drawing was finished, Ritsu glanced at the label in her hand and looked up.
"Who's Team One?"
The people present exchanged looks.
Then the seemingly calm Yukinoshita Yukino and the gentle Hirasawa Ui raised their hands.