“Haa… It was supposed to be just Yuu-kun and me on this trip…”

With a sigh, Mina muttered to herself in the domestic flight boarding lobby at the airport, mixing her sighs with her words.

“How many times are you going to say that, Kohou-senpai? Seriously. Give it up. Or are you not looking forward to the training camp?”

“Well, I am looking forward to it in a way. After all, it was thanks to Kinoura-san finishing the paperwork we managed to get approval for the school trip.”

In the bustling airport boarding lobby where people were coming and going, Mina and Kotomi stood side by side, waiting for the other members.

Quite a few guys couldn’t help but glance at the silver-haired beauty and the petite girl carrying a stuffed toy as they passed by.

“Come to think of it, why didn’t you come to the airport with Yuu?”

Kotomi, who was puzzled by the fact that they were childhood friends and lived nearby but weren’t together, asked.

“Of course, I was planning to go with him, but I had something to take care of until the last minute, so we agreed to meet directly at the meeting place. But then, there was no contact…”

Mina looked worriedly at her smartphone.

“In that case, it must be related to some work… Oh! Suo-senpai! Marin-chan! Over here!”

Spotting the siblings pushing their suitcases around in the crowd, Kotomi called out to them loudly.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, everyone. Thank you for letting me join you this time.”

As Suou-senpai greeted them, Marin politely returned the greetings and thanks.

“Thank you so much, Marin-chan. For preparing the airplane tickets for me and Sensei.”

“Oh no, Kinoura-senpai. Please don’t worry about that.”

Kotomi took Marin’s hand and giggled.

While Marin, as the junior member, properly respected her senior Kotomi, ever since she started carrying Chuusuke, she seemed even younger compared to the mature Marin, who was already quite adult-like for a middle schooler.

“Really… Why is it that even though it’s high season in Okinawa, we managed to get adjacent seats to the ones Yuu-kun and I originally booked for our flight…”

“Since old times, Marin has always been fortunate with things like lotteries and draws.”

To Mina’s wonderment, Suo-senpai replied as if it were nothing.

“You seem to get clouded vision when it comes to your little sister.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, just a little sister complex.”

“So, are Kamiya and Sensei still not here?”

Suo-senpai asked Mina while looking at his watch. It was about time for the boarding gate for their flight to open.

“I’ve heard that in the military, it’s a principle to act five minutes in advance, but are Kamiya-senpai, the head of our department, and Sensei, our advisor, going to be late?”

Shinrin expressed her curiosity with a puzzled expression, causing Suou-senpai, Mina, and Kotomi to exchange glances.

“Kamiya is just busy with something.”

“Yeah, yeah, everyone has urgent matters sometimes.”

“That’s right, Marin-chan.”

The three, who knew the true status of Yuusuke’s rank as a major general, gently admonished Marin, who didn’t know anything, as she hesitated.

(Meow♪ Meow Meow Meow♪)

“Meow! Just as I said that, I got a message from Yuu!”

“What kind of notification melody is that…”

Reacting immediately to the message notification tone reserved for Yuu, Mina ignored Suo-senpai’s comment and took out her smartphone to busy herself with the screen.

And then, it was clear that Mina’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

It was as if a cat arriving at the hospital had drooped ears and tail, giving the illusion of being disheartened.

“Yuu can’t make it to the plane due to an emergency…”

Mina’s head drooped with a sigh.

“Kohou-senpai… There’s nothing we can do. Yuu is… Oh! Looks like Sensei also sent a message.”

“We don’t care about that…”

As Mina, lacking in responsibility as the summer camp’s leader was being scolded by Kotomi, she continued to operate Mina’s smartphone to check the message in her place.

“Oh…”

“What is it? Is that old hag going to be late? Since you don’t seem like reading, Kinoura-san, read it aloud for us.”

Without giving any indication of what she saw on her smartphone, Kotomi asked Mina, who had slightly recovered from the shock.

“Um… Uh… ‘To the little girl. Yuu-sama and I will be heading to Okinawa leisurely in the business class pair seats I rebooked for tomorrow morning. It couldn’t be helped since that was the only available flight, right?♪ (stick) Serves you right.’ That’s it.”

After reading Sensei’s message, Kotomi looked apprehensively at Mina.

“That old hag is g-g-g—!”

Just before triggering a sound bomb [Kohou], Mina stomped her feet while shouting.

“Hey, Kohou! If you cause a scene at the airport, you won’t be able to get on the plane at all!”

“Kohou-senpai, please calm down! Since Sensei is such a coward, even if Yuu and Sensei end up in the same seat on the plane, there’s nothing they can do!”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry about everything~.”

While the stares of other passengers were drawn to Mina’s loud voice, Suo-senpai and Kotomi hurriedly tried to calm her down. But the airport ground staff, who had approached wondering what was happening, were met with a smile and a calm response from Shinrin, who was supposed to be the youngest member of the camp this time.

“But it’s not good if Kamiya is late, but it’s painful that Sensei won’t arrive until the next day.”

“What do you mean Yuu doesn’t matter!? What about that old hag?!”

Mina reacted aggressively to Suo-senpai’s grumbling.

“Don’t bother her, Kohou. In practical terms, without Sensei, we can’t rent a car.”

“If the mode of transportation changes, we’ll need to reconsider the schedule for the first and second days of the camp.”

“Oh…”

Even though they had soul-equipped abilities, they were still just high school and middle school students.

Without the advisor, Sensei, who was the only driver, they would have no choice but to rely on public transportation.

“Alright. It’s time for boarding amid the hustle and bustle. Let’s discuss rearranging the schedule on the plane.”

“Come on, Kohou-senpai, let’s go.”

“Nooo! I want to be with Yuuuu!”

As Mina let out a mournful cry, Kotomi, using her small body, tugged at her to lead her to the boarding gate.

However, only Marin stood frozen in place, looking up at the void.

“Yeah, yeah, Espio thinks so too. It’s more fun that way for everyone.”

“How? If it’s Sensei’s Soul Armor ability, it can be solved instantly. The only question is whether Kamiya-senpai can persuade Sensei. Hehe, let’s leave it to Kamiya-senpai.”

While looking up at the void in the airport lobby, Shinrin chuckled.

With her mysterious allure in a light blue dress and a large white hat with a wide brim, she drew the attention of the other passengers in a different way than before.

“Hey, what are you doing, Shinrin? Let’s go.”

“Yeah, big brother. We’re going now~. Oh, thanks for carrying our luggage, big brother. You’re so kind~♪”

With a carefree step that seemed as if she wasn’t worried about the change in travel plans due to the accident, Shinrin headed towards the boarding gate where her brother was waiting.