Chapter 177

In the early morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the window. Iroha Isshiki slowly opened her eyes as her eyelashes fluttered. The girl, still a little groggy from just waking up, blinked. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she immediately got up and looked to the side.

“Phew…” Seeing that I was no longer there, Iroha Isshiki breathed a sigh of relief. If I were still there, and Yukino Yukinoshita had just gotten up, she would have been completely unable to defend herself.

“What’s that smell?” As Iroha relaxed, she noticed a strange smell. Although the girl didn’t know what it was, she still felt guilty and quickly got out of bed to open the window.

“Hmm, Isshiki, you’re awake.” Just then, Yukino Yukinoshita also woke up and saw Isshiki Iroha by the window.

“Ah…yes, did I disturb Yukino-senpai?” Iroha Isshiki was startled by Yukino Yukinoshita’s sudden voice. It was all that bad guy’s fault that she felt a little guilty in front of Yukino Yukinoshita now.

“No, I woke up around this time anyway.” Sitting up and shaking her head to dispel the grogginess of just waking up, Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly to Iroha Isshiki.

“That’s good.” Seeing that Yukino was alright, Iroha Isshiki was relieved. It seemed that Yukino-senpai hadn’t gotten up in the middle of the night last night.

The culprit who caused Isshiki Hatake to be so fearful was me, who was sleeping soundly with Suigintou in my arms. It wasn’t until almost time for the assembly that I got up and washed up with Suigintou in my arms.

“Mr. Ken, you’re here.” Koda Mimi and her school teachers, along with the group from Soubu High School, had all arrived at the assembly venue. I had basically arrived on time, so I was the only one missing from the list of people in charge.

“Um, sorry I’m late.” There are still two or three minutes before the meeting time, so I’m not late, but everyone else is here, so I naturally have to say hello.

“No, that’s not true, it’s not time yet…” As Koda Mimi was speaking, the roar of a car engine came, followed by a beautiful drift and brake, and a black sports car stopped in the parking space opposite the hotel.

Without waiting for the people in the car to come out or using divine sense to investigate, I can’t think of anyone else but Hiratsuka Shizuka who would come here and make such a dazzling entrance.

Just as I expected, the woman who got out of the car was Hiratsuka Shizuka. Today, the beautiful and mature woman was wearing a dark blue baseball cap and black sunglasses, revealing only the lower half of her face, including her delicate nose and lips. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail.

Wearing a dark red short-sleeved top that revealed a pair of slender, jade-like hands, and brown off-road trousers that hugged the beautiful woman’s long, shapely legs, she also wore black short military boots. It can be said that she was well-prepared and that this outfit made her look even more dashing.

“Looks like the timing is just right.” Hiratsuka Shizuka got off the bus and walked straight towards me, stopping beside me.

“Hiratsuka-sensei, you’re as punctual as ever.” I was about to say the name Shizuka when Shizuka pulled up her sunglasses and glared at me. It would be fine if it were just the two of us, or in front of the girls I knew from the Human Psychology Research Club, but even Shizuka would feel embarrassed to call her Shizuka in front of others.

“Anyway, with you here, I don’t need to arrive early, right?” With me here, Hiratsuka Shizuka really doesn’t need to worry about the students’ safety. Entrusting it to me is more reliable than her doing it herself. However, other aspects are hard to say, such as the “safety” of the female students.

“Thank you for the compliment, Hiratsuka-sensei.” I winked at Hiratsuka Shizuka, implying, “I’ve worked so hard, aren’t you going to reward me?”

In response, Hiratsuka Shizuka rolled her eyes at me behind her sunglasses. It was clearly my own fault, yet I still wanted a reward? No way.

“Uh, excuse me, I’m sorry to have disturbed you both. Hiratsuka-sensei is very happy to have you here.” Koda Mimi, who had been left standing aside, apologetically interrupted my conversation with Hiratsuka Shizuka, because the first thing she needed to do today was to start preparing.

“No, Ms. Koda, you asked me for help, and as your student, I’ll definitely help if I can. Also, Ms. Koda, you don’t need to call me Hiratsuka-sensei, it just feels a bit strange.” The reason Hiratsuka Shizuka agreed to come and help this time was not only to give the students some practice, but also because this middle-aged female teacher was her elementary school teacher.

“So many years have passed, and you’re still the same as when you were a child. By the way, how have you been lately, Hiratsuka? Are you married yet? If I think about it, you should be married by now…” Koda Mimi was very happy to see her former student and immediately started talking.

“Ahem, teacher, shouldn’t we start preparing for the activities now?” Hiratsuka Shizuka wasn’t afraid to bring up the topic of marriage now, since I was there, but when it came to age, no matter how old a woman was, it was always a secret.

“Ah…right, we still have to deliver breakfast to the students.” Koda Mimi only realized that now was not the time for catching up after Hiratsuka Shizuka reminded her, so she quickly got back to the main topic.

Koda Mimi quickly assigned tasks, similar to yesterday’s dinner. However, today’s morning exercises were provided by the hotel through a school-sponsored order of milk and bread, which disappointed the elementary school students, who wanted to try my cooking again.

After distributing breakfast to the elementary school students, we also ate some bread and prepared to start today’s official activities. This morning’s activity was fishing. There is a small river not far away, which is one of the selling points that attracts schools to organize tours. Therefore, we always have a lot of fishing rods, bait buckets, small stools and other fishing-related equipment on hand, which can accommodate tour groups of 200 or even 300 people.

After explaining the precautions, we started distributing fishing rods, bait buckets, and small stools. Since there were enough, each person could have a fishing rod, while several people could share the bait buckets. As for the fishing method, it could be either in a team or alone.

If you catch a lot of fish, some will be used for lunch today, and some will be released back into the river as a selling point. The hotel regularly releases fish into the river, so there’s no need to worry about running out of fish; it all depends on your fishing skills and luck.

This time, we don’t need to patrol. Each person is responsible for an area and can fish together with a fishing rod. We just need to keep an eye on the elementary school students in our assigned area. Two people per group, each group can watch about ten elementary school students, which is more than enough.

Yui and Yukino, Yumiko and Ebina Hina, Isshiki and I are in one group, as for Hiratsuka Shizuno and Koda Mimi are in another group, they’re probably just catching up.

“Uncle, how did you get in last night? I asked Yukino-senpai, and her room key was on her bedside table all day.” After the groups were assigned, everyone took the elementary school students to the designated fishing area in an orderly manner, and Iroha Isshiki, who was in my group, stayed by my side.

Previously, I had been with Yukino Yukinoshita and the others, and I was also with the teachers’ group, so Iroha Isshiki didn’t have many good opportunities to get close to me. Now that such a good opportunity has come, the girl naturally won’t let it pass.

“These are some of my amazing little tricks.” I turned my head to look at Isshiki Yu. The girl had changed her clothes today, wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt and blue long jeans. Her short flaxen hair fluttered in the breeze. Her bright brown eyes revealed curiosity, and her fair hands gripped the fishing rod. Her nails, painted with brown nail polish, reflected a glimmer in the sunlight.

“Uncle, how do you have so many amazing little tricks? You’re not kidding me, are you?” Iroha Isshiki looked at me suspiciously with her brown eyes. The girl was almost starting to wonder if I was some kind of superpowered person.

“I have a lot more tricks up my sleeve, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn them in the future.” I reached out and ruffled Iroha Isshiki’s hair. The girl didn’t flinch; in fact, she moved a little closer to me, seemingly unintentionally.

While I was interacting with Isshiki Hachiman, we soon arrived at our destination, a small river about two meters wide. There was a simple stone bridge over the river, which made it easy for tourists to walk to the other side. It wasn’t ideal for everyone to be crowding on one side to fish, so we planned to fish half on this side and half on the other side of the river.

So I led half of the elementary school students to the other side of the river, while the first leader, Koda Mimi, had already chosen a spot. I and Isshiki Hajime were in the second group, so we just needed to be next to the first group. Isshiki Hajime, who was in the same group as me, looked after each other on the opposite side.

When we arrived at the designated area, I told the elementary school students to put down their little stools and start fishing. My attention, however, was focused on the black-haired little girl who had been specially assigned to sit next to me. That’s right, the reason I led this group was simply because I saw Tsurumi Rumi in this group.

“Little Rumi looks adorable today too.” Her black dress paired with light blue cropped jeans accentuated her slender figure while also exuding a cool and aloof air.

“Lolicon.” Tsurumi Rumi glanced at me as she cast her fishing line and said sarcastically.

“I’m just telling the truth. I’m not into lolis, it just so happens that you, Rumi, are cute. By the way, Rumi, now you know I wasn’t lying to you, right?” Thinking about what she did with Suigintou yesterday, she felt a little less confident saying this.

“Yeah, right.” Tsurumi Rumi knew what I was talking about. It was probably when we first met that I mentioned being popular. From her subsequent observations, she realized I wasn’t lying. At least the high school girls who came with me seemed to have a good relationship with me, and the female teacher who came this morning didn’t seem to be bad either.

“What’s wrong? Rumi, you seem a little down. Are you jealous?” Rumi’s tone changed slightly, probably because her supposed “like-minded” partner had suddenly betrayed her to the other side.

Rumi Tsurumi didn’t say anything, but silently stepped on my foot with her canvas shoe. The strange feeling she had just had vanished completely because of my words.

Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, I relaxed and chatted with Rumi Tsurumi while fishing. Fishing is best done in a quiet environment, otherwise the fish will be scared away. However, it is unrealistic to expect a group of elementary school students to be quiet during an activity. In addition, most of them were fishing for the first time, so they didn’t catch many fish in half a day.

“Here it comes again.” Feeling the hook being pulled, I immediately gave the end of the fishing rod a light tug, letting the fish get deeply hooked. After playing the fish a little, I started reeling it in. It was another small to medium-sized fish.

“Rumi, it seems you’re not very good at fishing. Do you want me to teach you?” I took the fish off the hook and baited it again. Most of the fish here were caught by me, only one was caught by another elementary school student, while Rumi Tsurumi had caught nothing so far.

“No need, I’ll try again myself.” Tsurumi Rumi pursed her lips, pulled up the fishing rod and cast it again. Her stubbornness and unwillingness to admit defeat were somewhat similar to Yukino Yukinoshita’s. Introducing the two of them might make them good friends, or perhaps they would just be attracted to each other because of their similar genders?

“Okay, then good luck, Rumi.” That being said, putting aside the fact that Rumi is a novice and doesn’t have my strong control and perception, with so many people fishing here, her chances of catching anything are not high, so I decided to help her.

First, I lured a fish over, and then let it bite Tsurumi Rumi’s hook. Everything went smoothly, except that the size of the fish was a bit beyond my expectations. I didn’t expect that the fish I attracted would be a large fish that is rare in the river.

While Tsurumi was focused on fishing, she suddenly felt the fishing rod in her hand move. The swim bladder of the fish floating on the river surface sank down. The black-haired girl knew that a fish had taken the bait, but the pulling force from the fishing rod was too great and completely beyond her ability to handle.

Just as Tsurumi Rumi was wondering if she was about to be pulled into the river by a hooked fish, a large and warm hand grasped her small hand holding the fishing rod, and suddenly someone appeared behind her.

“Thank you.” Without even turning around, Tsurumi Rumi could guess who it was. Apart from me sitting next to her, there was no one else present who could come to her aid in time.

I could have predicted Tsurumi Rumi’s situation. After all, a normal little girl like Tsurumi Rumi couldn’t handle such a big fish, so I immediately stepped behind her to help.

My hand covered Tsurumi Rumi’s small hand. Tsurumi Rumi’s small hand was not only fair-skinned, but also very smooth to the touch. At the same time, my body was pressed against Tsurumi Rumi’s back to prevent her from falling backward when I pulled the fishing rod backward.

So Tsurumi Rumi’s jade-like back and petite round buttocks leaned against me. Although, due to her height, her small round buttocks under her capri jeans rested on my thighs instead of my crotch, it was still beautiful enough. And wasn’t there also a girl’s jade-like back?

“Rumi, relax, I’ll help you. We can’t let the big fish get away.” I took a deep breath, suppressing the lust aroused by Rumi Tsurumi, to avoid pitching a large tent against her back.

“Hmm.” Tsurumi Rumi wouldn’t be stubborn at a time like this, otherwise, with her strength, she might have had to let go and let the big fish swim away with the fishing rod. She thought I was taking deep breaths to prepare myself, but she didn’t know that I was suppressing the desire she had aroused. If she knew that I was a lolicon in her heart, she would probably have confirmed my reputation.

Without using any special force, to avoid breaking the line, I immediately used my large hand, which was holding down Tsurumi Rumi’s small hand, to cut the angle of the rod horizontally and swing it left and right to minimize the height difference between myself, the fishing rod, and the fish.

Then I leaned forward and moved the rod forward with the pull of the fish. At this moment, my head was above Tsurumi Rumi’s little head, and I could smell the fragrance of the black-haired girl.

After moving forward a distance, when Tsurumi Rumi’s small hand had reached its limit, I used the Soft Power King rod to pull the big fish back and forth underwater, exhausting its energy.

Tsurumi Rumi was intently watching the fishing line and hook, unaware that I had quietly tightened my grip on her arm. Originally, my arm was a little distance away from Tsurumi Rumi’s slender arm, but now it was pressed directly against her.

Tsurumi Rumi was caught off guard and didn’t notice, but Isshiki Iroha on the other side had a strange expression on her face. The girl felt that it was odd for me to be embracing Tsurumi Rumi like this. If it was taking advantage of her, then it didn’t seem like I was taking advantage of her, given how focused I was on reeling her in. Maybe I was just overthinking it.

“We’re about to catch it, Rumi.” After several tugs, the big fish was almost exhausted. Although I really wanted to enjoy the feeling of holding Rumi’s petite body in my arms again, if we continued, Rumi would notice something was wrong when the big fish was completely exhausted.

Rumi Tsurumi nodded in my arms, and then I lifted her up. The fish, which had exhausted a lot of energy, surfaced. I used a little more force to pull the fish out of the water completely. The big fish struggled a few times in mid-air, but it was no use, and I brought it ashore.

“It’s a big crucian carp.” I reeled in the fish, and at the same time, I stepped back. It wasn’t appropriate to continue embracing Tsurumi Rumi now that I had caught the fish. Besides, when we were tugging at each other, Tsurumi Rumi’s petite body had been rubbing against me. If it weren’t for my strong self-control, I would definitely have gotten an erection.

“By the way, Rumi, did you bring your camera?” Rumi was quite happy that the big fish had been successfully caught, and she couldn’t help but smile. It would be a shame not to capture this moment.

The elementary school students around them were even more excited and exclaimed when they saw the big fish. They then fished harder, as if they could catch a big fish themselves in the next second.

“I brought it, it’s in my little bag.” Because she was going fishing, Rumi Tsurumi didn’t hang the camera around her neck, but put it in the pink little bag she was carrying.

Fearing that Tsurumi Rumi might have trouble carrying the big fish by herself, I kept my big hand in her small hand and reached into her pink bag with my other hand to take out the pink camera.

“Come on, Rumi, let’s take a picture to remember this moment. Smile!” After turning on the camera, I bent down and got close to Rumi’s little face. Because I wanted to include the fish we caught in the picture, my face was close to Rumi’s.

“This is an exception, and don’t move around.” Tsurumi Rumi glanced at the big fish next to her that was still struggling slightly, and felt me ​​rubbing against her little face as she said helplessly.

“Okay, okay, then give me a smile.” I smiled and agreed, not taking it seriously. Tsurumi Rumi had said something similar when we took the last group photo yesterday, and now she’s taking a “close” photo with me again.

With a “click,” the commemorative photo of catching the big fish was completed. Tsurumi Rumi in the photo looked a little reluctant, but still showed a slight smile.

“Great, let’s keep fishing.” I put the camera back into Rumi Tsurumi’s pink bag, and then together we put the big crucian carp we caught into the bucket.

From then until the end of the fishing time, no big fish were caught. Only a few fish were caught sporadically. When we returned to the meeting place, we calculated that we had caught a total of more than 50 fish, and my group caught the most.

However, more than 50 fish is enough for lunch. After all, elementary school students generally don’t eat much, so half a fish per person is enough, plus some side dishes.

Having learned from the previous experience, everyone unanimously agreed that I would be the head chef this time, while the rest of us would be responsible for preparing the ingredients. The newly joined Hiratsuka Shizuka was not surprised at all. Having tasted my cooking, she knew that it would be a waste not to have a head chef.

I originally wanted to make sauerkraut fish, but the space and materials were limited, mainly because the hotel didn’t keep sauerkraut on hand, so I made braised fish instead, which uses relatively common ingredients.

I selected the ingredients to be used, and the others were responsible for processing them. However, the task of removing the fish’s internal organs was left to me. With swift and skillful knife work, I cleanly and efficiently removed the gills, scales, gutted the fish, and then handed them over to the girls to clean.

I quickly finished off more than 50 fish with my skillful knife work. While cleaning them, I prepared the seasonings: sliced ​​garlic and ginger, chopped scallions, and cut chili peppers into rings. Then I marinated the cleaned fish with a little salt and cooking wine.

While waiting for the fish to marinate, I prepared other side dishes such as mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Everything went very smoothly under my direction, from cooking the fish to seasoning it. I had already cut the fish in half beforehand to make it easier to serve it with rice later.

My braised fish once again satisfied all the elementary school students. They were finally able to taste it this time, even though they missed it last time. The teachers at school also praised it highly. Only the girls who have tasted my real cooking know that I still hold back some of my skills.

After lunch, the students from Soubu High School sat at the long table and chatted for a while as a break. After yesterday’s adjustment, they were able to chat more freely today. Of course, most of the time they talked about their own things. So, the unknown girl who came with Yumiko and her group, perhaps to liven up the atmosphere or get everyone talking, started one of the most popular topics among high school students: love.

I guess she saw that Hiratsuka Shizuka wasn’t here and had gone to the teachers’ desk to discuss matters. Now that I’m the only adult from outside the school, she dared to bring up this topic. Otherwise, even if Hiratsuka Shizuka is quite cool, she is still a teacher at the school. Wouldn’t it be awkward to talk about love in front of her?

“Ah, speaking of this, it really is BL, right? Pure love between the same sex is truly the best!” The first to respond to this topic was the bespectacled girl who looked a bit timid, while Miura Yumiko sitting next to her had a helpless look on her face, as if she knew this would happen.

It seems that Miura Yumiko’s friend, Ebina Hina, is a fujoshi (female fan of male-male romance). Judging from her slightly fanatical tone, she might even be a seasoned fujoshi.

“Uh, Ebina, your hobby is quite unique.” The girl who brought up the topic was now a little embarrassed. Who would have thought that the tone of the conversation would suddenly change? In order to get back on track, she decided to quickly change the subject.

“By the way, Hayama-san, do you have someone you like? There are rumors at school that you and Miura-san are dating, is that true?” The girl who started the conversation decided to steer the topic towards the popular students at school, and she herself was also somewhat concerned about this issue. If Hayama-san didn’t have someone, did she have a chance…?

Upon hearing this question, Miura Yumiko, who was about to tell her friend to tone it down, raised her eyebrows and was about to say something when Hayama Hayato, the person the girl was asking, spoke first.

“Ah…that’s just a rumor. Miura-kun and I have no romantic relationship. We’re just classmates.” Hayama Hayato paused, glancing intentionally or unintentionally at Yukino Yukinoshita, before continuing.

Although Hayama was being quite careful, how could he escape my eyes? Suddenly, Hayama Hayato felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were being watched by some dangerous person.

“Really? Does Hayama-kun have someone he likes?” Hayama Hayato’s answer made the girl’s eyes light up, so she quickly followed up with more questions.

“Well, I guess you could say that,” Hayama Hayato said after a moment’s thought.

“Eh? So Hayama, you have someone you like? Why didn’t you tell me? Who is it? Do I know them? Are they from our school?” The one who spoke was Tobe Sho, who seems to be Hayama Hayato’s best friend.

“It’s not from our school, and I didn’t tell you because this is only from my perspective.” Hayama Hayato said with a wry smile.

“Oh, I see. Hayama, could you tell us her name? I’m really curious.” Hearing that Hayama Hayato had someone he liked, the girl who started the conversation seemed a little disappointed, so Tobe Sho continued to ask.

“It’s hard to say.” As he said this, Hayama Hayato glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita again, but this time he was more careful. The chill that had run down his spine just now made him feel uneasy, though he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.

“Come on, Hayama, just give us a hint.” Upon seeing this, Tobe Sho immediately put his arm around her neck and shoulder, adopting the posture of a best buddy.

“Well… I’ll just give you a little hint: her name has the letter Y in it. That’s all I’ll say.” Unable to resist his friend’s persistent nagging, Hayama Hayato finally spoke up again.

“Tch, couldn’t you have been a little more detailed?” Tobe Sho said, knowing when to stop, while I noticed that Yukino Yukinoshita gave a cold smile when she heard the information revealed by Hayama Hayato.

Considering Hayama Hayato’s glance at Yukino earlier, and the hint of the letter Y, I can roughly guess who it is. It should be Yukino Yukinoshita’s older sister, Yukinoshita Haruno. Although it’s not Yukino, your sister-in-law is not someone you can touch. Seeing that you and Tobe Sho seem to have a good relationship, let me help you take things a step further.

If Hina Ebina, who was watching with great interest the interaction between Sho Tobe and Hayato Hayama, knew what I was thinking, she would probably exclaim that she knew it all and then come over to shake my hand.

“How are you all? Have you rested well? There’s a lot of preparation work to do next.” Just then, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over and interrupted the conversation. Naturally, no one could continue chatting in front of Hiratsuka Shizuka.

“Well, even if you haven’t rested well, you still have to get to work.” Hiratsuka Shizuka crossed her arms and began explaining the upcoming activities.

“The elementary school students will be having a long recess activity later. During this time, we will be responsible for preparing the props needed for the evening bonfire party and the test of courage in the evening. Is that alright, everyone?” Hiratsuka Shizuka paused for a moment, and only continued after everyone answered that it was alright.

“Now it’s time to divide into groups. Some people will be responsible for preparing for the bonfire party, and some will be responsible for preparing for the test of courage.” After dividing the members into each group, Hiratsuka Shizuka directed everyone to start the preparations.

“So, Shizuka, which group am I in?” I wasn’t mentioned in Shizuka’s group assignments, so I took the opportunity to ask her.

“You’re not from our school, so you can be in whichever group you like or help out wherever you want. Isn’t that just what you want?” Seeing the beauties around her, Hiratsuka Shizuka didn’t bother to correct my intimate way of addressing her.

“Xiaojing really understands me. How about I reward you properly tonight?”

“Ken, don’t do anything reckless. What if I can’t get out of bed again tomorrow?!” Hiratsuka Shizuka doesn’t even need to guess what my reward is. Tomorrow she has to organize the students to leave, and if she can’t get out of bed again, her dignity as a teacher will be in jeopardy.

“Don’t worry, Shizuka, I know what I’m doing. That’s settled then, I’ll be going now.” Without giving Hiratsuka Shizuka a chance to refuse, I ran straight to Yukino Yukinoshita and the others.

Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed and watched me leave, hoping I would really know my limits, otherwise she would have to think about what excuse to come up with.