After so much time trapped in that eternal winter, my body is not accustomed to heat and intense sunlight.
I look up and see the scorching sun of a summer day.
"Mistkerl, you haven't caught any yet," says Ailiss in disappointment.
We're enjoying our summer vacation, which led us to the unfortunate idea of camping. This means nature, dirt, and mosquitoes. In this way, I've discovered that interacting with nature can be just as problematic as dealing with other humans.
"Oh dear, this way only you will be without lunch," Mikoto teases.
At the moment, the three of us are in a river catching fish for our meal. It wouldn't be a problem if we had the right equipment.
"Cut it out. I can't catch them without a fishing rod."
"What's your excuse? I've already caught five fish with this improvised spear," Ailiss clicks her tongue while bragging.
"You're an outlier, so you don't count. Primitive fishing isn't a skill expected from the average citizen."
Clearly, I haven't caught any.
At least the cold water reaching up to my shins dissipates some of my body heat and refreshes the environment.
"What are you talking about, Johann? The river is shallow and calm, and the water is practically crystal clear. Not to mention, I have already caught two," Mikoto giggles softly. "So I believe the problem here lies with your lack of motor skills."
Very funny.
I spot one!
I try to hit it with the spear, but when I thrust it into the water, I realize I've only hit the rocks at the bottom of the stream.
Meanwhile, I notice the two girls have each caught another fish.
"Nothing yet? I see you're not cut out for this; I'll give you one of mine," Ailiss comments grumpily.
"Thank you for your benevolence."
"Well, it is time to light the fire to roast them," says the other girl as she leaves the river.
"Alright, I'll take care of that while you clean them," she replies and also leaves the water.
As I follow them, an unwanted doubt lingers in my mind.
How exactly did we end up here?
I pause in thought as I watch the two girls walking away toward the campfire we set up by the riverbank.
Suddenly, I feel something trapping my foot against the rocks at the bottom.
I immediately look down to check the situation and notice that the previously clear water has become murky. At the same time, bubbles rise to the surface.
"Hey, help me here! I think I'm stuck on something!"
My voice doesn't come out.
The two girls continue walking away, chatting casually with each other.
"Mikoto, Ailiss! Help me!"
As I struggle to free myself, the water flow gradually turns red. Within seconds, my other leg is immobilized in the same way.
I watch the water darken bit by bit as a feeling of dread grows in my chest.
Finally, what was holding me takes form, emerging from the water and wrapping around both my legs. Tinged with the same mud of pain, I am seized by human arms.
All around me, the scarlet bubbles overlay the foul fluid's surface. Slowly, what emerges from all directions are human figures covered in the same hue as my sins.
Even so, I can recognize each of them, who proceed to repeat the same sentence.
"Die. Die. Die."
The identity of those holding me is also revealed as they lift their faces from the mud.
"Why? Why, Jocchi?"
"Johann-kun, why did you kill us?"
I widen my eyes even more but soon recoil in acceptance.
I understand. Now that Manabu and Miyu are gone, it's only natural that they would be here to judge me. There's no escaping my fate.
Their fingers pierce my skin and then suddenly pull me downward.
I dive into this sea of crimson mud as they all close in on me.
Their nails are as sharp as knives, cutting my flesh like paper and slicing through my muscles and tissues with ease.
"Die. Die. Die. Die."
The voices of Shou, Manabu, Miyu, and my other colleagues echo even beneath this column of bloody sludge.
From what seemed like just a stream, I sink further into these foul waters as my viscera are slowly torn apart by their bloodthirsty hands.
…
"My God!"
Abruptly, I touch my stomach and limbs, confirming that there are no wounds or cuts on my skin.
I stand up, panting, until I can distinguish reality from imagination.
I rub my eyes thoroughly with my hands.
These nightmares are definitely getting worse by the day.
9:01 AM
After feeling unwell for the rest of the day, I also had trouble sleeping due to ingesting Ailiss's food. It would have been much more straightforward to die and wake up normal in the next iteration.
I wake up feeling a bit better this morning. As usual, I head to the council room to check on them.
"Sorry, you are too late for breakfast. Someone devoured everything," Mikoto comments.
I glance at Ailiss, who remains silent and doesn't seem to care much about the other's remark.
Thankfully, our resources are infinite and reset with each repetition; otherwise, her food consumption rate would be truly problematic.
"I wasn't planning on eating anything. I still need to recover a bit more. I think I'll rest for the rest of the day."
"Not a chance," she stares at me disapprovingly. "We have already planned our morning activities, and our schedule must be followed to the letter."
Schedule? Who else but she would care about time and planning in this situation? She treats organization as an end in itself.
"And what exactly are these activities?"
"Ailiss and I compiled a list of various club activities, and I created a routine in this spreadsheet so we could carry them out weekly," she pulls out a clipboard. "However, after completing it, I realized it was unfeasible to do everything, so I cut a lot out," she hands me the paper.
I look at the day's activities.
A day dedicated to sports clubs?
There are a lot of things crossed off on this spreadsheet. She really had included every sport practiced at the school.
It's time to use the evasive excuses I've practiced with Manabu and the others to get out of this commitment.
"Oh, maybe after I wake up, I'll swing by to watch."
"What are you talking about? You are coming with us," she gives me a cold look. "This was not an invitation; we had already agreed to follow a list of tasks. You need to fulfill your commitments. Come on, get ready."
I just didn't expect her list to be this extensive. Not to mention, sports aren't my strong suit. To be honest, I always prefer to avoid them.
"To be honest, I'm still not feeling great. Do I really have to go with you?"
She doesn't seem likely to give in easily, so I need to escalate to the second level of evasion: health issues. It's just like saying you have a stomach ache to avoid eating something strange without offending anyone.
"Yes, you do. How long are you going to use that excuse to slack off?" Ailiss speaks up, glaring at me.
Now, the other one has decided to chime in? And she's siding with this?
I confess these iterations are getting stranger by the day. I never thought sharp-tongued girls like them would want to entertain themselves this way. Let alone force me to participate.
...
Our first stop is the Kyudo Club.
"You go first," Ailiss tosses the bow to me.
I grab it and observe the targets.
I believe target shooting shouldn't be a problem for me, given that I trained with a revolver and also used a machine gun for such a long time.
I adjust the bow in front of me, pull the arrow, aim at the center of the first target, and then release the string.
I manage to hit the disk, but my accuracy is far from the center. I think I need to consider gravity and aerodynamic effects during the trajectory to achieve a better result.
On the other hand, Mikoto manages to hit all the disks in the center, scoring maximum points. This girl excels at everything she does. She must have even accounted for the Coriolis effect for such precision.
"How did you do that? I thought I had developed a good aim, but I'd never hit them all on the first try," I turn to her and comment.
"I went through several clubs in elementary school, including Kyudo, so this was nothing special for me. Need a little help?" she asks with a mocking smile.
Oh, of course. I forgot she has experience in every possible area.
She also wouldn't miss this chance to try to irritate me. Accepting her offer would be like letting myself be at the mercy of her teasing.
"No, I'll handle it. I'm already understanding the principle," I prepare the bow again.
"I bet you'll miss again," Ailiss comments disinterestedly.
I've never been a very competitive person, but now I see I need to step up a bit to avoid being their constant mockery.
"Do not be so stubborn. I will help you anyway," Mikoto stands behind me and wraps her arms around me.
Hey! I said I could do this myself. Something that bothers me more than having a request denied is when someone forces help even when it wasn't requested. Individual reflection is an essential step in learning.
Even so, I can't protest against her, as she definitely has me under her control. The way she guides me makes me follow her lead, even against my rational mind.
She continues.
"Aim a little higher and slightly to the side to account for the wind," she adjusts my hands on the bow.
"Like this?"
"Perfect."
Maybe she has good intentions. Perhaps she wants to help me and not just demonstrate her superiority.
All the conditions seem adequate. However, as I'm about to release the arrow, Mikoto gently licks my neck, making me reflexively misfire.
W-what?! What was that?!
The arrow flies off and doesn't even come close to the targets.
"What a shame you missed," she whispers mockingly. "Looks like I will have to give you some remedial lessons."
"That was your fault, with that surprise attack."
"Oh dear, I do not know what you're talking about."
Feigning ignorance? How cynical... Just when I think she could be a good person, she goes out of her way to show her toxic, manipulative personality again.
"Are you done? I want to move on to Kendo," says Ailiss, standing up.
"What do you mean? You two forced me to participate in this. And now you want to move on to the next activity without even trying to hit the target?" I protest.
"I'd hit it on the first try."
"Would you? I think you're afraid of missing."
Perhaps she's also fixated on firearms and would miss with arrows. She'd probably make the same mistake as me in underestimating this sport.
She grabs the bow and arrows from my hand and not only hits the center of the disks but also pierces through the arrows Mikoto had left earlier.
"Satisfied? I'll take this opportunity to punish you for your defiance during Kendo."
The world seems to conspire to get me into trouble...