After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Kagura Hikaru checked his phone and only then realized that the mountain had a name, Tanigawa-dake.

The name was quite elegant, unfortunate that it was not fully developed.

There were only very rough stone steps on the mountain, built who knows how many years ago, with no safety railings. The hiking trail was not particularly safe, and Teacher Yamazaki repeatedly reminded everyone to be careful not to fall off; a slip could lead to trouble.

The terrain outside the stone stairs was rather steep, with many trees and loose stones. One misstep could result in a fall, likely causing injury in the blink of an eye.

"And, you might step on a snake," Teacher Yamazaki added mischievously.

Hearing there were snakes, the students immediately scanned the ground and their surroundings in fear, dreading that a snake might suddenly jump out and bite them.

After over an hour, they finally reached the peak, which was a relatively spacious flat area.

It was originally designed as a viewpoint. In the corner, one could still see a restroom for tourists, but it was now abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

But none of this detracted from the scenery beyond the mountain.

The sky was clear and the sun hung high; below was an unending range of mountains, and in the distance, one could vaguely see a modern town.

Looking behind, one could see a deep valley, covered by vast expanses of forest, with occasional flocks of birds flying by.

The harder the mountain was to climb, the more breathtaking the view from the top. This saying was indeed true.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!"

"You can really see the town from here. It would probably look even better at night."

"I think it's good during the day; at night, everything is just too dark to see."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The students who had reached the mountain top were excitedly chatting among themselves.

Teacher Yamazaki stood in front of the fence at the edge, constantly adjusting his angle, frantically taking photos of the clear sky and the mountains.

For a moment, no one noticed Perfect Student Council President Kiryu Hina, who had somehow ended up at the back of the group, utterly unable to enjoy the view, drenched in sweat.

Ayakoji Chiyoko had been waiting for this moment for an hour and quickly walked up to start teasing.

"Look at you, Missy, panting so loudly. Isn't that a bit unbecoming?"

"Heh... hehe..."

With her bangs stuck to her forehead due to sweat and sweat dripping continuously down her cheeks, Kiryu Hina could only bend over, supporting her knees as she gasped for breath, too exhausted to retort, merely glaring at Ayakoji Chiyoko with a cold laugh.

Unfortunately, her weak appearance had none of her usual intimidating power, making the scorn on Ayakoji Chiyoko's face even more pronounced.

Kagura Hikaru silently watched this pair of natural enemies who loved to hurt each other.

It would be nice if things were always this peaceful.

Bantering and teasing each other like regular high school girls.

Instead of dragging an unfortunate outsider into their power games at school.

Especially when he himself was that unfortunate outsider!

Finally, a few students realized that Kiryu Hina had not kept up and came over to her.

"President, are you feeling unwell?"

"Would you like to drink some water?"

Then, something astonishing happened.

Right under the eyes of Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko, Kiryu Hina suddenly straightened up with a perfectly natural movement, as if her previous exhaustion were all an act, and switched to a poised demeanor, smiling in response:

"Thank you, you're so kind. Then, I'll have a bit, shall I?"

"Here, President, please have some!"

Kiryu Hina took the unopened bottle of mineral water handed to her by a female student, unscrewed it elegantly, and took a few sips, the movement graceful. In the sunlight, her face seemed to shimmer, stunning the girl who had offered her the water.

Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko were also stunned; it was their first time seeing Kiryu Hina pull off such an exaggerated change of face.

But why wouldn't she disguise herself in front of these two?

Was it not worth the effort, or did she feel that she could show her true self in front of them?

Regardless of the reason, it upset Ayakoji Chiyoko.

She made a disgusted face, turned her head away distantly, and went to quietly enjoy the greenery of the valley.

However, Kagura Hikaru looked serious.

The Kiryu Hina he saw was different from others.

Her mental issues seemed more severe than before.

The idea that she must maintain perfection under others' scrutiny had embedded itself in Kiryu Hina's subconscious; even if she was unwell, there was no pause for thought, and she would react instinctively, a clear sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Facing this condition, Kagura Hikaru couldn't be optimistic.

The only good news was that in front of him and Ayakoji Chiyoko, she still took off some of the facade.

The reason, probably because they were among the few who understood her true nature, Kiryu Hina figured a disguise wouldn't work, so her attitude relaxed.

But once outsiders appeared, she would switch back to the perfect Student Council President.

It was as if... she was deliberately playing someone else.

Out of place, Kagura Hikaru's thoughts drifted back to another girl, that perfect, pure person.

Since their reunion in Uka, with every meeting, the déjà vu feeling about Kiryu Hina grew stronger.

She was becoming more and more like Kohinata Motoyo.

Maybe it was the psychological shadow from a past relationship, or maybe it stemmed from some competitive feeling.

Exactly what it was, even Kagura couldn't figure out.

Teacher Yamazaki's reconnaissance of the summit ended.

The conclusion was that the space at the summit was a bit too small to accommodate a picnic for all the students together.

Although splitting into groups could solve this, it wasn't any big issue.

After scouting, it was supposed to be time to descend and join up with the other students.

However, Teacher Yamazaki said there was a small waterfall at the base of Mount Tanigawa-dake since they had come all the way up, he wanted to check it out and perhaps bring other students along tomorrow.

Everyone had rested at the summit for a while and regained some strength, and driven by curiosity naturally agreed.

Kiryu Hina, the athletic novice, still had weak legs after such a long rest.

She too expressed a desire to go along with everyone, but Teacher Yamazaki, as a physical education teacher, could clearly see she was overexerting herself, quickly had her rest back at the camp, and entrusted Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko to take her down the mountain.

Teacher Yamazaki was tall and robust, but being an adult, it was easy to see everyone's exclusions towards these two.

Not knowing why, but with the students feeling awkward, watching them made the leading teacher feel uneasy; perhaps it was still better to let them leave first.

Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko understood Teacher Yamazaki's kindness, agreed promptly, and took Kiryu Hina down the mountain.

During the ascent, the rough, steep, uneven stone stairs had already been rather tormenting, and during the descent, they had to be even more careful not to fall.

Especially Kiryu Hina, whose legs were trembling slightly from exhaustion, yet stubbornly refused any support and cautiously moved forward on her own.

"How long has it been since you last exercised? Did you skip gym class every time?"

Your journey continues on empire

Ayakoji Chiyoko found her condition utterly unbelievable.

Suddenly, she thought that conquering by force seemed much simpler than using wits. However, staring at her pretty face, she just smirked and gave up.

Disregarding such despicable hoodlum tactics, the reason not to hurt her stepmother was enough for Chiyoko not to lay a hand on Kiryu Hina.

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