"We also..." Honoka eagerly raised her hand.
But Umi interrupted her fantasy without hesitation, saying, "No way! We have to train today! We played for most of the day yesterday!"
"Why..." Honoka, Rin, and Nico suddenly felt completely drained.
"But... I can give you an hour to play." Umi's eyes sparkled again as she announced that she had arranged playtime. "So, in exchange, you must practice seriously during your training! Any objections?"
"None at all!"
Homura nodded. "Alright, Muse needs to practice today. If you need to do any physical training like running, you can do it in a flat area outside. For dancing and singing practice, you can use the same practice room as yesterday."
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing," Umi agreed with him.
"Oh, and we'll go camping up the mountain path. After you finish training, come find us for lunch!"
"Okay, understood. We'll come early, and hopefully, we can help you out then," Eli nodded and said.
"Alright then... let's disperse for now. Muse, continue practicing, and the rest of us will prepare some things."
Everyone went their separate ways. Homura and the others carried some items and set off towards the mountain with backpacks on their backs.
===
"This place is nice!" Homura looked around and felt that this open area was quite suitable.
"I think I've been here before when I was young..." Tsumugi frowned, reminiscing about her past. "Yes! My father took me camping here when I was little!"
Homura nodded. "No wonder. This place looks like a campsite that someone had set up."
"Then let's set up camp!"
Taking Haru from his backpack, he took out some tools and four large tents - one for himself and three to distribute to the others.
"Mugi-chan, do you know how to set up a tent?" Yui scratched the back of her head and looked at Tsumugi in a daze.
"I think I remember... there should be an instruction manual..." Tsumugi searched for it.
Mio looked puzzled. "This... is it an automatic tent? Is it that difficult?"
"I'm not sure..." Ritsu shook her head. "Mio, can you do it? Then we'll leave it to you!"
Mio: "..."
===
Saori, on the other hand, quickly set up her tent, and both Tamaki and Hinata immediately crawled inside.
"Phew... luckily I didn't forget..." Saori wiped the sweat off her forehead and let out a sigh.
"I didn't expect Saori to be this fast!" Kirino exclaimed, looking at her in surprise.
"Hehe~ It's nothing, de gozaru. As an Otaku, who hasn't experienced lining up with a tent before."
"Me..." Kirino shook her head.
"You miss out on some otaku activities it seems," Kuroneko said casually.
"Well! Let's forget about that. I'll go down and take some photos. Do Kiririn-shi and Kuroneko-shi want to join me?"
===
"Homura! How do I deal with this thing?!" Eriri's voice rang out.
Homura was busy placing some mats inside the tent when he heard her shout. "Can't anyone else do it?"
"No... Wait, it seems like I accidentally figured out how to open it!"
Homura shook his head in disbelief. After finishing with the items, he crawled out of the tent and saw Elf and Muramasa working on a portable table.
"Muramasa-chan, how do we set this up?" Elf scratched her head.
"Probably... like this?" Muramasa fiddled with it, then furrowed her brows. "I always find these things troublesome."
"Is it really that troublesome to you?!" Elf looked at her in astonishment. "Then how did you figure out how to use the computer in such a short time last time?"
"Because it was an interesting work project so..." Muramasa pursed her lips.
"You truly prioritize interesting things..."
Watching them interact so well, Homura didn't interrupt them and walked to the other side.
After some thought, he took a frying spoon, examined the bottom of it, and prepared to use it as a measure to create a makeshift stove.
After all, camping should be a bit adventurous. It wouldn't be fun if everything was readily available.
Sagiri, Mashiro, and Izumi were drawing. Sagiri was depicting the busy activities of the group, and Mashiro was capturing the view from the mountain to the distance, but it was different for Izumi... She was drawing a doujinshi of 'Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun'!
As Megumi, Nanami, and Nayuta watched the three of them draw, their reactions to Izumi's drawing varied.
Megumi remained calm as always, while Nanami blushed at the sight of some explicit scenes but couldn't resist wanting to see more... As for Nayuta, she found it enjoyable to not only look at Izumi's drawing but also observe Nanami's reactions.
Izumi was earnestly focused on her drawing, occasionally glancing at Mashiro and Sagiri's work. Although Sagiri's drawing surprised her with how well someone of her age could draw, Mashiro's drawing left her utterly astonished!
She deeply felt that she and Mashiro were in completely different leagues, like heaven and earth! It made her doubt herself involuntarily.
Nanami noticed her state and wanted to console her, but Megumi held her shoulder and shook her head.
Time passed slowly, and Mashiro continued to draw diligently, unaffected by anything. Similarly, Sagiri remained undisturbed, happily humming a song and drawing Homura's pouting figure!
Nanami: "..."
She was speechless, 'Why is Sagiri drawing that? What would Homura-kun think if he saw it?'
Looking at the two who were still immersed in their own worlds, Izumi clenched her fist secretly, then patted her own face and resumed drawing her doujinshi!
However, she still frequently glanced at Mashiro and Sagiri's drawings. Occasionally, her eyes would light up, and she would start drawing a new one... This cycle repeated continuously, and upon seeing this, Megumi and Nanami nodded in understanding.
===
After what felt like a long time, Homura had set up three makeshift stoves. After all, with nearly thirty people, one stove was simply not enough.
"Who wants to help me fetch water? I need to wash my hands; these stoves have gotten my hands all muddy!"
"Senpai, I'll do it!" Nayuta ran over and brought a bucket filled with water. "By the way, Senpai, what else do you need to do later?"
Homura pondered for a moment, washing his hands while saying, "Gather firewood! Three stoves require quite a lot of firewood. Although we brought some, it seems like it won't be enough."
"...I can't help but find it boring," Nayuta remarked.
"Well, camping is actually like this. We're doing things similar to what we do at home, but the experience is different because we're outdoors," Homura explained with a smile. "So... the interesting part is probably everyone doing the same thing together."
"Just like earlier, it would be more interesting if you and I set up the makeshift stoves together," Homura suggested.
"...No way, I don't want my hands to be covered in mud," Nayuta complained.
Homura patted her small head and looked at the scenery in the distance. "Since your book's title is 'Scenery'..."
"Why don't we take a look at the scenery of nature then..."