Kanae and Mike didnât have to carry Alice and Misae for a long time. Neo appeared with the car and the two girls immediately got in. Misaeâs face was already beet red due to embarrassment. After all, she was not used to such close intimacy. Even if he was undeniably her boyfriend, they barely ever held hands, much less other things.
"Thank you for coming back, Neo," Misae gave her thanks.
Neo nodded his head. "Itâs Bossâs instructions. The girls are definitely going to feel that itâs difficult in the second half of the journey, so I will take them by car."
"That prediction is correct," Alice smiled.
"You two have piggybacked for some time. I believe you shouldnât be that tired, right?" Neo smirked.
"That...."
"I guess so," Alice answered in a low voice.
Seeing the red-faced Misae from the mirror, Neo smiled to himself. That Mike was certainly far ahead of them. He already got a girlfriend so quickly. Still, the two of them barely had any progress, which made him wonder about their relationship.
After taking in a few more tired girls, Neo drove to the inn. He dropped them off and returned back to gather more tired girls while the girls that were just dropped off headed towards the hall. Tommy, who had arrived the earliest, had arranged a lot of food in that place for the students to replenish their energy.
"You can eat first then go rest. Iâll divide up your rooms later," Tommy smiled when he saw them.
"Yay!" the girls headed towards the food and picked a bit to eat. They were not big eaters, but they were hungry, so they didnât want to waste this chance to fill their stomachs. After several minutes, they finished and started to talk to each other.
Misae and Alice also took some food to eat. It was definitely a great break after a hellish climb.
"How long was your journey in the car?" Tommy asked curiously.
"A couple of minutes," Alice answered. It might be longer than that as she didnât pay attention to the time they spent.
Tommyâs lips twitched. "You have only finished half of the journey, right? You canât last longer than that?"
"No," Misaeâs face darkened. Even for the last couple of minutes, she didnât walk at all. There was simply no strength left in her body to continue climbing.
"You can rest first here. Iâll check your names and give you your keys."
"How many people will stay inside one room?"
"Three to four people, for you, itâs three people," Tommy handed a key to Misae. "Youâre in the same room with Alice and Kanae."
This room arrangement was definitely on purpose. Of course, they preferred this kind of arrangement rather than rooming with other students whom they barely knew.
The two of them rested in the room and played a game for the next few hours. It was evening when Kanae finally arrived at the room.
"You took so long, Kanae," Misae smiled widely and waved her hand.
"I had to arrange the rooms and food. Today weâre just going to play a game inside the hall after dinner. Have you taken a bath?"
"Not yet, weâre too busy playing," Alice smiled.
"Thereâs still two hours before dinner, you can take your time," Kanae put her bag away. This was the first time she planned a trip, and it was a hellish experience. She had to make sure all of the students were present, so it took her some time to check that all the students who came today already arrived.
Thankfully, the third-years were quite cooperative as they helped the students who lagged behind. Of course, it didnât change the fact that the Student Council members had to work harder for this event.
"Iâll take a bath first, and then Iâm going out again," Kanae informed them. She wouldnât want to be a planner for an event anymore. It was too tiring.
"Where are you going?"
"Iâm going to prepare for tomorrowâs event. Oh yeah, donât sleep too late tonight, before daybreak weâre going to hike again."
"What?!" Misae felt like crying. Come on, they already felt tired after hiking for a few hours. If they had to climb again tomorrow, what would happen to their feet?
Alice sighed in exasperation when she heard their plan for tomorrow. It was going to be a very eventful trip. She could forsee many students filing a complaint to the principal because of the abuse they experienced.
Kanae walked out of the room and noticed Jason helping them out along with several other third-year students. She smiled and waved to the former Student Council President.
"Good afternoon, Brother Jason. Are you not tired from the walking trip?"
Jason smiled back. He knew that it was only pleasantries because they were supposed to be only acquaintances in their real identities.
"Iâm good. I have enough training."
"Heâs quite famous, Kanae. Have you never heard about this manâs accomplishments?" Neo interjected. He was also cleaning up the hall for their use tonight.
"I donât follow the news," Kanae shrugged. Well, she knew about some of them from what Jason told her. However, that was only a bit and there were more things that she didnât know.
"Well, I can tell you until daybreak and it still wouldnât be over. This man is all over the news at least once a week."
Jason rolled his eyes. "Donât spout nonsense."
"Kanae, you better help Boss. Heâs setting up the path for tomorrowâs game."
"Alright, donât forget to arrange the game tonight, Neo. Youâre the emcee once again."
Neo smirked. "I got it."
After talking a bit more, Kanae walked out and found that Kevin already departed. She quickly chased after him with a flashlight in her hand. It would be dark soon, so she didnât want to risk getting lost in an unknown area.
"President, have you finished marking the trail?" Kanae noticed Kevin after a few minutes of running.
Kevin shook his head. "We still have a long way to go."
"Is this area safe?"
"There arenât any wild animals around here if thatâs what youâre asking. A big fence on the opposite side of the mountain separates this place from the bears."
Hearing the word âbearâ, Kanae shuddered. Even if she was an excellent fighter, she would not go around and fight a bear head on. That was clearly seeking death.
"Shall we continue?" Kanae forced a smile as she erased the thought of the bear.
Kevin examined Kanaeâs expression and unconsciously raised his hand to pat her head. Since she was far shorter than him, it was easy for him to reach her head. "Youâre safe here."
Kanae was stunned, yet a warm smile made its way to her face. "Yes."
While these two were busy marking the way the students had to follow for the next dayâs event, the other students were busy eating and playing the game that Neo arranged. It was a simple game of remembering as many names as they could. Of course, they were only allowed to list the names of those who werenât in their class.
The game continued for an hour before Neo told them to rest.
"Tomorrow, weâre going to wake up before daybreak and hike for around two hours to see the waterfall."
This announcement immediately caused a ruckus.
"What?"
"Why is it another physical activity?"
"Weâre already tired from the hike!"
Those tired girls felt like they were going to faint. Who would have the strength enough for another hike? They would be better off staying at home rather than going on this trip.
Jason smiled wryly as he heard the complaints around him. Asking this bunch of lazy people to hike again was the same as courting trouble. There was no way they wanted to hike just to see a waterfall unless they genuinely enjoyed hiking and appreciating nature.
Neo glanced towards Mike and hurriedly changed his words. "Those who want to come along can wake up early and those who donât want to have to stay here. They can play ball on the field or stay in their rooms. If you leave the area, we wonât be responsible for anything that happens to you. Some third-year students will stay behind to watch over."
The students cheered. Even If they were not allowed to go outside the compound, they could play on the field inside the innâs area. It was good enough to play a simple ball game or anything else. After all, the field was quite large.
"At least, we donât have to hike tomorrow," Misae sighed in relief.
"I think Kanae is going to ask us to come along," Alice smiled wryly.
Misae was stunned. "I hope she wonât."