Chapter 82: Haunted House Tour

"That's for after school." Amamiya glanced at the time. "I'll head back to finish the exam."

"We'll talk after classes are over," Chika said, clasping her hands together. "By the way, I remember the entrance exam rankings. Amamiya, you came in second, right? Just behind Kaguya-chan?"

Amamiya replied with a blank expression, "You have too good a memory."

"Hehe, thanks for the compliment."

'Stop it already, I wasn't complimenting you!'

"Oh, by the way," Umi interjected, resting her hand on her hip. "Back in junior high, Amamiya-kun always ranked first in every exam. But he was pretty gloomy and rarely spoke. No one dared to talk to him."

Amamiya blinked, surprised. "How do you know that?"

"We were classmates in junior high, duh!" Umi widened her eyes, pointing to herself incredulously. "Don't tell me you didn't recognize me?"

Amamiya hesitated for a moment. "…We weren't in the same class, were we?"

"Nope, I was in Class C."

It made sense now.

Not being in the same class, it was normal not to recognize each other.

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Chika clasped her hands in front of her chest, eyes sparkling. "From childhood to now, Kaguya-chan has always been first in every exam. I remember the entrance ranking was close, right? Amamiya-kun and Kaguya-chan were only a point apart."

"Maybe I'll catch up with her on this exam," Amamiya remarked, eyeing Kaguya with a smile.

"It's not about catching up. It's about surpassing her."

Losing stung too much. He had to win next time.

Only people who've never taken first place say that rankings don't matter.

"You've got guts," Kaguya responded, crossing her arms and fixing Amamiya with her deep red eyes. Her lips curled into a slight smile. "If that's the case, I suppose I should take things more seriously."

"Eh? What?" Chika was startled. "Kaguya-chan, have you not been taking the exams seriously?"

Amamiya grumbled, "She's probably been taking them with just one hand."

"That's amazing…" Chika's eyes widened in admiration before a thought struck her. "Wait, don't we all write with one hand?"

"…"

The afternoon passed quickly with the exam behind them.

Tomorrow marked the beginning of the May Day Golden Week.

The exam rankings would be announced after the break, coinciding with the start of the competition for the new student council president.

"We're done with the tests, but they were so hard!" Chika whined, looking defeated. "I felt so sleepy during the exam, I almost didn't finish it. I'm definitely going to fail."

Hearing this, Amamiya reassured her calmly, "You'll pass."

"Eh? How can you be sure?"

"People who say they'll fail usually end up passing."

Chika quickly brushed off her worries and cheerfully called out, "Amamiya-kun, shall we go?"

Amamiya nodded. "Let's go."

Together, they left. It seemed that, in a sense, this pink-haired girl had become an unexpectedly significant person in his world.

"I haven't been to an amusement park in ages. I miss it," Shimizu said, clasping her hands behind her back as she glanced at her daughter. "Kaguya-chan, would you like to go?"

"I…"

A hint of hesitation flickered across Kaguya's elegant face.

"Kaguya-chan has a lot of lessons after school every day," Chika chimed in. "The four of us can go without any trouble."

"What a shame," Shimizu sighed in a wistful tone. "One of my life's wishes is to take Kaguya-chan to the amusement park, but it's never come true."

Just then, Umi burst into the room, her smile as bright as the sun. She waved enthusiastically and called out, "Let's go, let's go to the amusement park!"

Seeing her, Kaguya's eyes sharpened, and she spoke decisively: "I'm going too."

"Wait, Kaguya-chan is coming too?" Chika tilted her head in confusion. "Weren't you planning to study today?"

"I can study tomorrow," Kaguya replied calmly, clutching her schoolbag. She walked over to stand beside Amamiya. "We'll have my driver take us."

A private car was definitely more convenient than squeezing into a crowded tram.

Amamiya, along with the three girls and Shimizu, left the classroom and headed toward the school gate to meet the car.

Meanwhile, across the schoolyard…

"Look, quick, Miko-chan!" Hana said, eyes wide as she pointed excitedly toward the corner. "It's Amamiya-kun!"

Miko turned her head to look. "Yeah, I see him."

"Why's Amamiya-kun getting into Shinomiya-san's car again?" Hana asked, her tone filled with worry. She suddenly raised her hand to her mouth and whispered, "Do you think Amamiya-kun is cheating on you?"

Miko remained silent. 'We're not even dating, so how could he be cheating?!'

——

Sitting with the three girls in the car, Amamiya didn't have much to contribute to the conversation. He listened quietly as Chika and Umi chatted animatedly.

The conversation faded into the background, and Amamiya found himself feeling drowsy during the ride.

After a short nap, they arrived at the entrance to the amusement park.

The driver, an elderly man wearing white gloves, exited the car and opened the door with a respectful bow. After Amamiya and the others stepped out, he drove away.

"Let's go to the haunted house first!" Chika announced, pumping her fist into the air.

"Hold on a sec." Umi interjected, stopping them with a raised hand. "If we just go in like this, no one will get scared. We need to prepare some props first. You know what they say, if a chef wants to eat meat, he's gotta sharpen his knife…"

Amamiya sighed. "The saying is, 'If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools.'"

"Right, that's what I said!" Umi snapped her fingers with a broad grin. She seemed to be the type of person who was always laughing. "Anyway, we've got to get ready first."

"A wig, a white dress, maybe a mask. That should do it."

Preparation was indeed important. It wasn't going to be easy to scare the haunted house staff.

There was a shopping mall not far from the amusement park, so the group made a quick trip to pick up some props before heading back.

"I'm back at the amusement park at last," Shimizu said with a nostalgic sigh. "The last time I came here was when I was in junior high. I wonder if there are any new rides."

Amamiya, queuing up to buy tickets, whispered under his breath, "Sorry to disappoint you, but this park hasn't added anything new in ages."

"Hey, that roller coaster looks familiar." Shimizu pointed at it. "It looks like the one from the beginning of 'Detective Conan'."

'Good grief! It's a good thing no one else can hear you, or everyone would scramble off the ride!'

"The pirate ship looks fun! I've always wanted to try it." Chika said, coming over. "Oh, and look, there's a Golden Merry on the artificial lake. Should we ride that too?"

"It's getting late," Amamiya said, glancing at the sky. "Let's hit the haunted house first and we can ride whatever you want afterward."

"Alright…" Chika pouted.

Amamiya led the group to the haunted house entrance, where they lined up to enter.

Once they got inside, Chika quickly noticed a crucial problem.

"…I can't see a thing! How are we supposed to scare the staff like this?!"