"That's something for after school this afternoon." Natsuki checked the time. "Back to the exam."
"We'll talk after school." Chika clasped her hands together. "Oh right, I remember on the entrance exam rankings, Amamiya-kun was second place, right behind Kaguya-chan, wasn't he?"
Natsuki's face remained expressionless: "Your memory is too good."
"Ehehe, thanks for the compliment."
Enough already—that wasn't a compliment!
"Come to think of it, Natsuki was always first in his grade on every exam in middle school." Marin placed her right hand on her hip, muttering. "It's just that his personality was gloomy and he rarely talked, so people were afraid to approach him."
Natsuki looked over in surprise: "How do you know that?"
"We were middle school classmates, okay?" The blonde's eyes widened as she pointed at the tip of her nose, incredulous. "Natsuki didn't recognize me?"
Natsuki hesitated: "...We weren't in the same class, right?"
"We weren't. I was in Class C."
Just as I thought.
Not even in the same class—it's perfectly normal not to recognize someone.
"Eh? What a coincidence! From childhood to now, Kaguya-chan has also always been first on every exam." Chika clasped her hands before her chest, eyes sparkling. "I remember on the entrance rankings, you and Kaguya-chan were only separated by one point, right?"
"Maybe you have a chance to catch up to Kaguya-chan on this exam."
Hearing this, Natsuki looked at Kaguya, his gaze intense:
"Not catch up—surpass."
Losing felt quite unpleasant, so he had to win it back.
People who say rankings don't matter definitely haven't gotten first place before.
"Admirable courage." Kaguya folded her right arm across her chest, her wine-red eyes gazing over as the corners of her lips curved slightly upward. "In that case, I suppose I'll get a bit serious too."
"Eh? Eh?!" Chika was shocked. "Kaguya-chan hasn't been taking exams seriously before?!"
Natsuki retorted:
"I only use one hand for every exam."
"That's amazing..." Chika was full of admiration before suddenly catching on. "Wait, everyone uses one hand to write answers, right?"
"..."
The day's exam passed in a flash.
Starting tomorrow would be the Golden Week holiday.
After Golden Week ended, exam rankings would be announced, and the competition for the new student council president would begin.
"Exams are over. The test was so hard." Chika looked pitiful. "I suddenly got so sleepy during the exam earlier. I almost didn't finish the paper. I definitely failed this time."
Hearing this, Natsuki said:
"Don't worry, you passed."
"Eh, why?"
"Generally, people who say they failed end up passing."
Chika quickly put the exam behind her, her voice bright:
"Amamiya-kun, shall we head out?"
Natsuki nodded in agreement: "Let's go."
The evil-fighting trio—not a single member could be spared.
In a certain sense, this pink-haired girl had become one of the most important people in the world.
"It's been ages since I've been to an amusement park. I miss it." Mrs. Kaguya clasped her hands behind her back, looking at her daughter. "Is little Kaguya coming?"
"I..."
Kaguya's face showed a flicker of hesitation.
"Kaguya-chan seems to have a lot of other classes to attend after school every day." Chika smoothly picked up the thread. "The four of us can go just fine."
"How sad." Mrs. Kaguya's voice carried a wistful tinge. "The life wish of taking little Kaguya to an amusement park together has never been fulfilled..."
As she spoke, Marin walked in from the door, her smile as radiant as sunlight, waving as she called out:
"Let's go, let's go! Off to the amusement park!"
Kaguya's gaze suddenly sharpened. She spoke without hesitation:
"I'm going too."
"Eh? Kaguya-chan is coming?" Chika tilted her head, puzzled. "Aren't you studying other things today?"
"I'll study tomorrow. The schedule can be rearranged." Kaguya's expression was composed as she lifted her bag with both hands and walked to Natsuki's side. "I'll have the driver take us."
A private car was naturally better than cramming onto a crowded train.
Natsuki and the three girls left the classroom—along with Mrs. Kaguya, who took up no space—and made their way to the school entrance to get in the car.
Meanwhile.
"Miko-chan, look quick!" Hana Yurikawa's eyes went wide as she hurriedly pointed toward the corner. "It's Amamiya-kun!"
Miko turned to look: "I see him."
"Why is Amamiya-kun getting in Shinomiya-san's car again?" Hana's tone was worried. She suddenly raised her hand to cover her mouth, whispering. "Amamiya-kun isn't... cheating, is he?"
Miko: "..."
They're not even dating in the first place—the word "cheating" doesn't even apply!
Sitting in the car with the three girls, Natsuki naturally didn't have much to say, content to listen to Chika and the blonde gyaru chatting happily.
The ride passed without conversation. He even started to drift off slightly.
By the time he'd dozed a little, the sedan had already arrived at the amusement park entrance.
The elderly chauffeur stepped out, put on his white gloves, and opened the car door before bowing respectfully and standing to one side.
Only after Natsuki and the others had gotten out did he drive away.
"Let's go—to the haunted house!"
Chika extended her right fist.
"Hold on." Marin stepped in to intercept. "If we go in looking like this, we won't be able to scare anyone. We need to prepare some props first. How does that saying go... a chef who wants to eat meat has to sharpen the knife first..."
Natsuki said flatly:
"The right tool makes the job easier?"
"That's the one!" Marin snapped her fingers, a bright smile on her face. This blonde gyaru seemed to genuinely love smiling. "Anyway, before doing anything, you need to prepare properly first."
"A wig, a white dress, and ideally a mask too. That should about do it."
Advance preparation really was necessary.
Wanting to scare the haunted house workers wasn't something that could be done so effortlessly.
There was a shopping center not far from the amusement park. The group headed over together and quickly bought what they needed before returning to the park.
"Amusement park, here I am." Mrs. Kaguya's tone was nostalgic. "I remember the last time I came to an amusement park was during middle school. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. I wonder if there are any new rides."
Natsuki was in line buying tickets. Hearing this, he murmured:
"Sorry to disappoint you. The amusement park has been coasting on the same old attractions. Absolutely no new rides."
"Eh, that roller coaster looks familiar." Mrs. Kaguya pointed. "It looks like the one from the opening of Detective Conan."
You—! Good thing ordinary people can't hear you, or everyone would be jumping off their seats!
"The pirate ship looks fun. I've always wanted to try it." Chika sidled up. "There's even a Golden Merry in the man-made lake up ahead. Want to go ride it together?"
"It's not that early anymore. Let's verify the haunted house plan first, then we can play the rest at our leisure." Natsuki said. "After that, take your time."
"Okay."
Natsuki led the girls to the haunted house entrance and joined the queue.
After successfully entering the haunted house, Chika quickly discovered a very important problem.
"...It's pitch black in here. How are we supposed to scare anyone?!"