Under the Veil of Night

Kanae and Mike didn't have to carry Alice and Misae for a long time. Neo appeared with the car and the two girls immediately got in. Misae's face was already beet red due to embarrassment. After all, she was not used to such close intimacy. Even if he was undeniably her boyfriend, they barely ever held hands, much less other things.

"Thank you for coming back, Neo," Misae gave her thanks.

Neo nodded his head. "It's Boss's instructions. The girls are definitely going to feel that it's difficult in the second half of the journey, so I will take them by car."

"That prediction is correct," Alice smiled.

"You two have piggybacked for some time. I believe you shouldn't be that tired, right?" Neo smirked.

"That…."

"I guess so," Alice answered in a low voice.

Seeing the red-faced Misae from the mirror, Neo smiled to himself. That Mike was certainly far ahead of them. He already got a girlfriend so quickly. Still, the two of them barely had any progress, which made him wonder about their relationship.

After taking in a few more tired girls, Neo drove to the inn. He dropped them off and returned back to gather more tired girls while the girls that were just dropped off headed towards the hall. Tommy, who had arrived the earliest, had arranged a lot of food in that place for the students to replenish their energy.

"You can eat first then go rest. I'll divide up your rooms later," Tommy smiled when he saw them.

"Yay!" the girls headed towards the food and picked a bit to eat. They were not big eaters, but they were hungry, so they didn't want to waste this chance to fill their stomachs. After several minutes, they finished and started to talk to each other.

Misae and Alice also took some food to eat. It was definitely a great break after a hellish climb.

"How long was your journey in the car?" Tommy asked curiously.

"A couple of minutes," Alice answered. It might be longer than that as she didn't pay attention to the time they spent.

Tommy's lips twitched. "You have only finished half of the journey, right? You can't last longer than that?"

"No," Misae's face darkened. Even for the last couple of minutes, she didn't walk at all. There was simply no strength left in her body to continue climbing.

"You can rest first here. I'll check your names and give you your keys."

"How many people will stay inside one room?"

"Three to four people, for you, it's three people," Tommy handed a key to Misae. "You're in the same room with Alice and Kanae."

This room arrangement was definitely on purpose. Of course, they preferred this kind of arrangement rather than rooming with other students whom they barely knew.

The two of them rested in the room and played a game for the next few hours. It was evening when Kanae finally arrived at the room.

"You took so long, Kanae," Misae smiled widely and waved her hand.

"I had to arrange the rooms and food. Today we're just going to play a game inside the hall after dinner. Have you taken a bath?"

"Not yet, we're too busy playing," Alice smiled.

"There's still two hours before dinner, you can take your time," Kanae put her bag away. This was the first time she planned a trip, and it was a hellish experience. She had to make sure all of the students were present, so it took her some time to check that all the students who came today already arrived.

Thankfully, the third-years were quite cooperative as they helped the students who lagged behind. Of course, it didn't change the fact that the Student Council members had to work harder for this event.

"I'll take a bath first, and then I'm going out again," Kanae informed them. She wouldn't want to be a planner for an event anymore. It was too tiring.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to prepare for tomorrow's event. Oh yeah, don't sleep too late tonight, before daybreak we're going to hike again."

"What?!" Misae felt like crying. Come on, they already felt tired after hiking for a few hours. If they had to climb again tomorrow, what would happen to their feet?

Alice sighed in exasperation when she heard their plan for tomorrow. It was going to be a very eventful trip. She could forsee many students filing a complaint to the principal because of the abuse they experienced.

Kanae walked out of the room and noticed Jason helping them out along with several other third-year students. She smiled and waved to the former Student Council President.

"Good afternoon, Brother Jason. Are you not tired from the walking trip?"

Jason smiled back. He knew that it was only pleasantries because they were supposed to be only acquaintances in their real identities.

"I'm good. I have enough training."

"He's quite famous, Kanae. Have you never heard about this man's accomplishments?" Neo interjected. He was also cleaning up the hall for their use tonight.

"I don't follow the news," Kanae shrugged. Well, she knew about some of them from what Jason told her. However, that was only a bit and there were more things that she didn't know.

"Well, I can tell you until daybreak and it still wouldn't be over. This man is all over the news at least once a week."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Don't spout nonsense."

"Kanae, you better help Boss. He's setting up the path for tomorrow's game."

"Alright, don't forget to arrange the game tonight, Neo. You're the emcee once again."

Neo smirked. "I got it."

After talking a bit more, Kanae walked out and found that Kevin already departed. She quickly chased after him with a flashlight in her hand. It would be dark soon, so she didn't want to risk getting lost in an unknown area.

"President, have you finished marking the trail?" Kanae noticed Kevin after a few minutes of running.

Kevin shook his head. "We still have a long way to go."

"Is this area safe?"

"There aren't any wild animals around here if that's what you're asking. A big fence on the opposite side of the mountain separates this place from the bears."

Hearing the word 'bear', Kanae shuddered. Even if she was an excellent fighter, she would not go around and fight a bear head on. That was clearly seeking death.

"Shall we continue?" Kanae forced a smile as she erased the thought of the bear.

Kevin examined Kanae's expression and unconsciously raised his hand to pat her head. Since she was far shorter than him, it was easy for him to reach her head. "You're safe here."

Kanae was stunned, yet a warm smile made its way to her face. "Yes."

While these two were busy marking the way the students had to follow for the next day's event, the other students were busy eating and playing the game that Neo arranged. It was a simple game of remembering as many names as they could. Of course, they were only allowed to list the names of those who weren't in their class.

The game continued for an hour before Neo told them to rest.

"Tomorrow, we're going to wake up before daybreak and hike for around two hours to see the waterfall."

This announcement immediately caused a ruckus.

"What?"

"Why is it another physical activity?"

"We're already tired from the hike!"

Those tired girls felt like they were going to faint. Who would have the strength enough for another hike? They would be better off staying at home rather than going on this trip.

Jason smiled wryly as he heard the complaints around him. Asking this bunch of lazy people to hike again was the same as courting trouble. There was no way they wanted to hike just to see a waterfall unless they genuinely enjoyed hiking and appreciating nature.

Neo glanced towards Mike and hurriedly changed his words. "Those who want to come along can wake up early and those who don't want to have to stay here. They can play ball on the field or stay in their rooms. If you leave the area, we won't be responsible for anything that happens to you. Some third-year students will stay behind to watch over."

The students cheered. Even If they were not allowed to go outside the compound, they could play on the field inside the inn's area. It was good enough to play a simple ball game or anything else. After all, the field was quite large.

"At least, we don't have to hike tomorrow," Misae sighed in relief.

"I think Kanae is going to ask us to come along," Alice smiled wryly.

Misae was stunned.. "I hope she won't."