Chapter 294: You Dare to Take Advantage of Your Senpai, I Will Beat You to Death!

"Erina, you're really good at skiing!" Sui exclaimed in surprise.

Erina blushed slightly, clearly pleased with his praise. "Well," she replied, "as the heir of a large family, I had to learn things like skiing and the tea ceremony. I picked it up when I was a child."

"As expected of someone from a prestigious family," Yoshino remarked enviously. Nearby, Mito Ikumi also skied gracefully, showcasing her own skill.

Alice, who had grown up in Northern Europe, was also a natural at skiing.

"But Megumi, you're pretty good too!" Sōma commented, his hair covered in snow, making him look like a snowman. He had already fallen several times.

"Ah, it snows a lot in my hometown," Megumi explained with a shy smile. "So when I was a kid, I'd often go skiing with my friends."

"Alice, how about we race?" Erina challenged, pointing to a hill ahead.

"Hmph, who's afraid of who?" Erina responded with a competitive snort.

In the blink of an eye, the two figures disappeared into the snow like mermaids riding the wind and waves.

"Hey, is everyone skiing too?" Eishi appeared with a graceful turn, snowflakes scattering as he stopped in front of them.

"Are the senpai skiing as well?" Megumi asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's a rare break," Eishi replied with a chuckle.

At that moment, another figure raced down the hill, spraying snowflakes in all directions—most of which ended up on Sōma's head. The skier removed his goggles and greeted the group with a cheery, "Good morning, everyone."

It was none other than Terunori Kuga.

"The second-years are here too!" Tadokoro couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, well, Eizan isn't really interested in skiing, and Saito and Tōsuke are probably sleeping," Eishi said with a smile. "But Rindō is having a great time—who knows where she is now. She's been to the Arctic before, so she's a natural at this. We didn't dare follow her too far."

Just then, Kinokuni Nene skied down the mountain path, though her form was a little wobbly, she remained stable.

"Kinokuni-senpai, is this your first time skiing? You're amazing!" Megumi exclaimed in admiration.

"Well, Nene has exceptional balance. She's quite the athlete," Eishi said with a smile.

"But she can't compare with me," Kuga boasted, turning dramatically and sending a spray of snow toward Nene.

Nene's forehead twitched in annoyance. "That's because you're short and your center of gravity is low, you little twerp!"

"Catch me if you can, facial paralysis woman!" Kuga taunted, making a face and skiing off.

"Damn you!" Nene's face turned pale with anger as she chased after him.

Sōma, Ryo, Akira, and Takumi Aldini were also racing, each determined to master skiing first.

Sui chuckled, then headed toward a high slope to continue practicing. Skiing was a lot of fun, and soon, to the amazement of the nearby Megumi and others, Sui was skiing quite well.

As Sui sped down a particularly steep slope, a girl with long red hair suddenly appeared around a corner. She was wearing ski goggles, so Sui couldn't recognize her at first, though he thought it might be Ryoko.

Since he had only recently learned to ski, it was too late to avoid the collision. As the girl screamed, Sui slammed into her head-on, knocking both of them to the ground.

Sui landed on top of her, his hands accidentally touching something soft and incredibly elastic.

"Ah!" The girl screamed. Despite the goggles covering her eyes, Sui could see her cheeks flush a deep red.

"S-sorry!" he stammered.

"Sui, you idiot! Be more careful!" the girl yelled angrily.

Sui froze, recognizing the voice. When the girl removed her goggles, a familiar face appeared before him.

"Wait, Rindō-senpai?" Sui was taken aback.

"Let go of your hand!" Rindō demanded, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

It was then that Sui realized his hand was still resting on her chest. He quickly pulled his hand away, flustered. "I-I'm sorry..."

But he couldn't help but notice that Rindo's figure was indeed impressive.

Rindō's face was bright red as she glared at him angrily. Sui had never seen her look so flustered before. Usually, she was the teasing, carefree senior who loved to bully him, but this was the first time he'd seen her show such a shy, girlish side.

"You pervert! How dare you take advantage of your senpai! I'm going to beat you to death!" Rindō pulled Sui into a headlock and began hitting him playfully with her small fists.

Despite the situation, Sui couldn't help but notice her faint, pleasant scent as she held him tightly.

After a while, Rindō finally calmed down and said, "Sui, it looks like you're still not very good at skiing."

"Yeah, I only just started learning," Sui admitted.

Rindo seemed surprised. Judging by how quickly he had picked it up, it was hard to believe this was his first time skiing. He must be very athletically gifted.

"I can teach you," she offered after a moment's thought.

"Really?" Sui asked, a bit surprised.

"Of course! I've been on expeditions to the Arctic, after all," Rindo replied confidently, puffing out her chest and showing off her slender yet graceful figure. "But in return, you owe me the ingredients for that bread you made last time!"

Sui was speechless. She was still fixated on food even now, but he nodded. "Deal."

"Alright, I'll teach you how to ski properly," Rindo said with a smirk, revealing her two sharp canine teeth.

Positioning herself behind Sui, she pressed close to his body, guiding his hands with hers. "The posture is like this. When sliding, you need to focus the force here," she explained.

Even through their thick ski gear, Sui could feel the softness of her body pressed against him, and her warm breath tickled his cheek as she spoke.

"Sui, you better not be having any improper thoughts about your senpai!" Rindo teased, rubbing his hair roughly with her hands as she blushed, hiding her own awkwardness.