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

"Exercise? Not necessary at all..." Kiryu Hina forced a smile, "Success in modern society relies on the brain, not like the Stone Age. What's the benefit of running a bit faster than others, anyway?"

"When the day comes that a big earthquake hits Tokyo, you'll know what good running fast does," Ayakoji Chiyoko looked at her with disdain.

"Hmph, that kind of low-probability event... Besides, it's correct to stay in open areas during an earthquake."

"And how many extra minutes will it take you to get to an open area compared to others?"

"Oh my, doesn't President Ayakoji know that in emergency situations adrenaline is released? When I start moving quickly, you'll be startled," she said.

"Tsk."

Kiryu Hina, exhausted and consequently very non-confrontational, even seemed unconvincing in her verbal sparring, allowing Ayakoji Chiyoko to take the upper hand, smugly looking down on her with her eyes.

Kiryu Hina was so annoyed she could grind her teeth, but she had to divide her attention and watch her step to avoid stumbling and giving the others even more reason to laugh at her.

"Really don't need us to assist you?" Kagura Hikaru couldn't help asking as he watched her.

She turned her head away, "No need, I'm not a child, I can walk on my own."

"It's going to take you a very long time to get to the camp like this."

"Mind your own business."

Kiryu Hina's tone was a bit rough, causing the atmosphere to cool down again.

"Watch your attitude, we're helping you down the mountain out of kindness," Ayakoji Chiyoko's tone also turned cold.

"That's just Teacher Yamazaki imposing his goodwill, I didn't ask for your help," Kiryu Hina said with an expressionless face, her features stiff, "People in the world call that meddling."

"Heh, showing your true colors now, aren't you? Only during performances do nasty people like you manage to trick others into liking them," retorted Ayakoji Chiyoko.

"Annoying."

Perhaps provoked by Ayakoji Chiyoko, Kiryu Hina deliberately quickened her pace to pass them and sped down the mountain.

For a while, the three of them had nothing to say, focusing only on hurrying along in silence, each consumed with their own thoughts.

Accidents tend to strike when one's attention is distracted like this.

The stone steps beneath Kiryu Hina's feet suddenly cracked and loosened without warning, the step she took went askew, she lost her balance, and without a sound fell off the edge of the stone stairs.

"Hey!" Ayakoji Chiyoko cried out instinctively.

Kagura Hikaru reacted even faster, without hesitation he dashed forward, sliding down the slope after her, both disappearing into the dense forest one after the other.

Ayakoji Chiyoko hurried to where they had fallen and looked down.

The slope here was steep and high, and with the view obstructed by leaves, she couldn't see a thing.

She didn't rush down but took out her phone to check if she could communicate with Kagura Hikaru using Line.

Only then did she regret not having exchanged phone numbers with him in advance; calling would have been much more convenient.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But she quickly realized that this worry was unnecessary because her phone showed no signal; there was no reception on the mountain at all.

Thus, Ayakoji Chiyoko had to resort to the most primitive method.

"Kagura Hikaru, Kiryu! Can you two hear me?"

She shouted down the slope.

After a few seconds, a response came from below.

"We can hear you, we're okay!"

It was Kagura Hikaru's voice.

"Are you injured, can you come up?" Ayakoji Chiyoko continued to inquire.

Kagura Hikaru replied, "We aren't injured, but we can't climb up!"

"Stay where you are, don't move! I'll go get Teacher Yamazaki!"

After the exchange, Ayakoji Chiyoko quickly made her way back to find Teacher Yamazaki and the others.

In such an emergency, she was still able to prioritize what was most important.

At the bottom of the slope, Kagura Hikaru leaned against a tree and looked up, glimpsing the steepness of the slope through gaps in the leaves.

They were at least ten meters below the hiking trail.

They were lucky, with tree branches breaking their fall and the slope providing friction; neither of them was hurt, save for some scrapes on their clothes and hands.

Listening to the departing footsteps of Ayakoji Chiyoko, Kagura Hikaru turned his head to Kiryu Hina, who was sitting under a tree.

Her hair was disheveled, her clothes a mess and smeared with mud, and her stockings were torn at the side—a level of disarray unprecedented for her.

"Are you okay? Does anywhere hurt?" asked Kagura Hikaru.

Kiryu Hina shook her head without a word.

Seeing she didn't want to talk, Kagura Hikaru didn't press her any further. "Don't worry, help will be here soon. With a rope, we can easily climb up this height, and they have the necessary equipment at the camp."

"... Snake."

"What?"

"There, a snake."

Kiryu Hina carefully stood up, pointing ahead.

Kagura Hikaru immediately scanned the direction she indicated and quickly spotted a roughly one-meter-long snake with a brownish back and chain-like patterns, raising its head among the leaves and hissing as if agitated by their presence.

He recognized it as a mamushi, with a triangular head—a clear sign of venom.

Teacher Yamazaki's warning had come true.

This type of snake was highly venomous and could be lethal. It wasn't common in the Island Nation, and it was a surprise to encounter one here.

And at the worst possible time!

Kagura Hikaru kept his eyes fixed on the snake and slowly stepped beside Kiryu Hina, whispering, "Follow me, slowly back away, and don't be too quick."

Kiryu Hina nodded beside him.

The two cautiously moved backward. Experience tales at empire

When they had backed up about three meters and felt it was safe to leave, Kiryu Hina's step backward accidentally snapped a twig with an unexpected crackle.

The snake lunged toward them.

"Run!"

Kagura Hikaru grabbed Kiryu Hina and they started running in large strides.

Zigzagging was harder for the snake to follow.

Snakes are not as fast as humans on the ground, even with the advantage of the terrain's many obstacles in the woods; with Kagura Hikaru's agile dodges, they soon lost the snake.

However, it strangely didn't give up chasing them, prompting Kagura Hikaru and Kiryu Hina to keep running without stopping.

After half an hour of running, when Kagura Hikaru couldn't tell one place from another, they finally no longer saw the snake.

As soon as he let go, Kiryu Hina bent over to catch her breath.

Having already been through an hour of climbing without having recovered, and now chased by a snake, once she relaxed, her legs were so sore that she could hardly walk.

Kagura Hikaru picked up a long branch from the ground to use as protection against snakes, carefully wary of the piles of leaves around while observing the surrounding environment.

The snake had chased them a long way before it gave up, and by now, not only had they strayed from their initial position, but they were also completely lost.

Kagura Hikaru was already unfamiliar with this forest, and to make matters worse, there was no signal on the mountain, so they couldn't even call for rescue or use navigation.

Tanigawa-dake is not an isolated mountain but part of a range of mountains connected together. If not careful, one could end up lost on another mountain, further and further away.

The only good news was that it was still daytime; they could discern the cardinal directions, and Kagura Hikaru roughly remembered which way the campsite was.

If they could find the right bearing, they might be able to get back to the camp.

But would it really be that easy?