join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories
A seemingly unremarkable black minivan drove along the mountain road.
Inside the car, of course, were Asakura and his group, heading for their training camp. It was a two-day, one-night trip, including Saturday and Sunday, officially designated as a club training camp.
As for why Chiba Magic Society, a group that could only be considered a hobby group for now and didn't yet meet the threshold for a club, could obtain school permission for a training camp, that story begins with Hiratsuka Shizuka, the driver for this trip.
Although there were decent hot spring inns near the city, the hot springs in such inns were mostly 'ordinary bathwater mixed with hot spring salts' or 'hot spring water transported from the source that had cooled down and needed reheating.'
Since it was a rare training camp, if they were going to choose, they naturally chose the most authentic kind.
Chiba is not like Hakone; there aren't many famous natural hot springs nearby. To find well-reputed natural hot springs, they had to go to the more remote suburbs.
Asakura had originally planned to rent a small bus for pickup and drop-off, but when he inquired about this with Hiratsuka Shizuka, she offered to directly help with transportation and even serve as the club advisor to guarantee this training camp.
The cost was that she also wanted to enjoy a holiday trip at the hot spring inn, with the expenses coming from the portion originally intended for renting the bus and dealing with the school.
"There are so many girls on this training camp; I have to watch over you all to prevent any improper heterosexual (harmony) interactions!" The iron-fisted teacher lady righteously rationalized her behavior.
What a pity. If this hot spring trip was a plate of dumplings, then half of these dumplings were made to facilitate the very 'improper heterosexual (harmony) interactions' that she claimed to prevent.
However, after Asakura calculated the total expenses and considered that having an adult present during the training camp would make many things much more convenient, plus the fact that Hiratsuka Shizuka wasn't actually so strict about general boy-girl interactions, he still agreed to her request.
As for Hiratsuka Shizuka's joyful self-confessions like 'No more blind dates!' 'To hell with the crappy class reunion!' and 'So what if I'm still single?!' her bitter murmurs after he agreed, Asakura very considerately pretended not to hear them.
At this moment, the driver of the minivan was naturally Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was inexplicably listening to 'Deja Vu', and in the passenger seat was Yukino Yukinoshita.
When Hiratsuka Shizuka saw the latter appear, she almost swallowed her cigarette butt in surprise—I told you to get along with Asakura, but I didn't tell you to get along so well that you'd go to a hot spring together!
Fortunately, many others appeared afterward, such as Yanami Anna, who was sitting in the front seat of the cabin, currently engrossed in enjoying a hot spring bun.
Yui Yuigahama, to Yanami's right, couldn't help but comment, "Why are you eating hot spring buns before we even reach the hot spring inn?" but was then made to doubt herself by Yanami's matter-of-fact reply, "Isn't it common sense to eat hot spring buns before going to a hot spring inn?" She began to question her worldview—could it be that hot spring buns weren't souvenirs to take home after a hot spring trip, but rather preparatory activities to be eaten before going to a hot spring trip?
In the middle seats of the cabin were Gokou and her two younger sisters.
When Gokou received Asakura's permission to bring her sisters along, she actually hesitated.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Asakura, but rather that she worried if this would be too much special treatment for herself and cause trouble for Asakura, as she was nominally a provisional member of the Chiba Magic Society, but in reality, she was still a middle school student, and ostensibly had no direct connection to a high school club.
However, Asakura was very open-minded, feeling that if he only let the girl come to the training camp and left her two younger sisters at home, it would not only increase the burden on the girl's already busy parents, but there would also definitely be times when they couldn't take care of the two children.
Rather than being worried about home during the hot spring training camp, it would be better to bring them out to play together. Anyway, the two children's tickets combined are not as expensive as Hiratsuka Shizuka's adult ticket.
"Is it really okay to invite even me? It seems like Lemon only joined Asakura-kun's club not long ago."
In the car, as one of the only two male compatriots, Lemon Yakishio's childhood sweetheart Ayano Mitsuki naturally squeezed into the back seat with Asakura, while Lemon Yakishio sat on the other side of Ayano Mitsuki.
"It's okay, being able to bring family members is part of our training camp. If you're not happy, don't play!" Asakura said in a rich and imposing voice.
But in fact, Ayano Mitsuki's expenses for the hot spring trip were paid by Lemon Yakishio. After all, helping Lemon Yakishio with her confession was just a commission. If Asakura and the others had to pay for the client's hot spring trip, it would be too much of a rip-off. It is said that the other party even smashed her beloved piggy bank for this.
But even so, after Asakura calculated the cost of this trip, he couldn't help but start to worry about his savings.
It's not a solution to just sit and eat like this. I still have to find a way to increase my income... Or maybe I should find a chance to pretend to be a sorcerer, or go to some shrine and pretend to be possessed by their gods...
Considering the prevalence of cults in Japan, it seems like a good option to specialize in those things and exploit them.
"Speaking of which, I'm not sure what kind of club Asakura-kun founded."
Ayano Mitsuki, who wore glasses like Asakura and looked quite refined and scholarly, asked gently.
"It's the Magic Club!" Before Asakura could speak, Lemon Yakishio immediately said.
I don't know if the girl felt that Asakura's 'Chiba Magic Society' sounded too strange and aroused her childhood sweetheart's suspicion, or if she simply couldn't remember such a long and awkward name and just said a word that she had in mind.
"Magic Club?" Ayano Mitsuki showed a curious expression.
"Yeah, it's probably a club that studies magic, the supernatural, and stuff like that." Considering that half of this training camp was to bring these two people together, Asakura didn't deliberately correct Lemon Yakishio, but explained along with her words.
"I didn't expect Lemon to be interested in these things," Ayano Mitsuki pushed up his glasses with some surprise: "Speaking of which, shouldn't this kind of activity be called the Supernatural Club?"
"The previous Supernatural Club was ordered to be abolished because they burned straw on the school rooftop in an attempt to summon UFOs, so there was no way to reorganize it. We could only change the name."
Asakura made up a story in a serious manner.
"D-did such a thing actually happen..." Ayano Mitsuki showed a surprised expression.
"You can't expect chuunibyou to have too much self-control, right?" Asakura said with a smile.
Ayano Mitsuki looked at the serious-looking bandage on Asakura's left arm and the heterochromatic pupils that seemed to be wearing colored contact lenses, and fell silent.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories