Stealing Spree

It’s a beginner’s trail. That’s the truth. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be advertised as such.

Unfortunately, as we trod further upwards, I also started to feel that's not the case. And we're not even halfway from it. Minoru even asked his mother to carry him, having gotten tired of keeping up with our slightly hurried pace.

And because of the weight of a girl on my back, the first few beads of sweat had started to form on my forehead.

Miwa-nee was quick to wipe that though… And when the two girls with us saw that, they couldn't help but just admire our relationship.

No doubt I could still do this for a longer duration, I had sufficient stamina to do so. I just feel like I was under the impression that it's a fairly easy hobby. I underestimated it.

Even a beginner’s trail could be proven difficult for a lot of people, especially those who hadn’t made any preparation before climbing.

Perhaps if I was the one who planned this trip, I might also neglect a lot of things to be considered. Even if there’s the internet, there are pieces of definite information that can only be obtained through experience.

That’s why Miwa-nee appeared so capable today. Compared to how she's acting close to a proper housewife at our house; cooking, doing chores, and taking care of Minoru, it looked like she grew her own wings and became capable of flying.

Anyway, halfway through our destination, the girl on my back started whispering in my ear. However, they're mostly incoherent and unrelated to me. Most likely, she's probably in a delirious state by now. Her body temperature also rose as though a fever would flare up at any moment.

This was probably why Miwa-nee found it bad to leave her there. She'd fall unconscious sooner or later and if she failed to get treated right away, it might be more dangerous.

Even a not-so-serious injury could be proven critical if left alone, especially in a place somewhat away from civilization.

"This is the worst. We thought we're just going to have fun…" Shiina muttered to herself upon seeing her friend suffering from pain. She also couldn’t do anything but rely on us, after all.

But then, she realized that we could hear her. The girl cutely panicked and explained herself, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like a bitch. Sara and I are looking forward to this. We thought that guy could get this done… But…"

She didn’t finish her words and just ended them with a heavy sigh.

"No offense taken. It's understandable when your expectation wasn't met." I answered while putting on a smile. Although I did so a little insincere, I could just line it up on my acts whenever I would steal a girl.

And perhaps because of my appearance or there were other explanations that I had no idea of, the girl nodded and excitedly beamed.

"Un. He’s right. You can still enjoy this later. Though we're going ahead after dropping you two at the rest stop, I'll be delighted to see you at the peak." Miwa-nee positively said, her smile shining the brightest.

And because of that, Shiina’s admiration towards Miwa-nee grew to the point of reverence.

On the rest of our hike up the main trail, the girl asked Miwa-nee a lot of questions, not only about hiking but also about personal information.

But in turn, we also got to hear more about them.

Like I initially guessed, they’re college students in their third year. While the two of them were from the same department, the useless boyfriend wasn’t even attending the same college.

But because they were invited here this weekend, they thought they were going to have a great time.

Ah. Shiina only came at the request of her friend. Apparently, she also didn’t want to be alone with that guy. As for the reason, that’s already too personal so she didn’t say anything.

Nonetheless, the point that made a mark on me in regards to these two girls was… not only are they from the same college as Setsuna and Koizumi-san, but they’re also from the same department.

And remembering what Sakuma revealed a few days back, there’s a possibility for me to encounter them in case that camping trip was realized.

Uh… My ‘older look’ was still holding up, right? There shouldn’t be any problem if they saw me without this.

Well, there’s no worrying about that when it hasn't happened yet. For now, I’ll continue my act as Miwa-nee’s husband and enjoy this trip with her.

-

-

After several minutes of hiking up the main trail, we soon reached the next rest stop.

And like the one who pointed us here said, someone stationed here immediately went to assist Sara.

Placing her on a soft mattress, I finally got rid of the girl who enjoyed being carried by me a lot.

Well, she probably didn’t enjoy it as much because she already lost consciousness.

Looking at her pained expression even while sleeping, I guess I can say that she’s pitiable enough.

“Uhm, Sister Miwa, Brother Ruki, thank you for all your help. Without you, Sara will still be at that place, trying to wait until the pain subsides.”

Before we left them there, Shiina ran over to us again to once again express her gratitude.

For me to be called ‘Brother’ by her as though I’m a senior… I found it weird. She’s older than me by at least five years, after all…

“Save it. We only did what we must. To make it even, if you see someone in trouble, return the help we provided to you by helping them.” Miwa-nee said as she reached for the girl’s head and gently brushed her hair.

Although unintentional, she somehow started treating her as a child… If I pointed that out, Miwa-nee would surely be embarrassed, saying something like, ‘Don’t misunderstand, I’m not old enough yet.’ while blushing profusely.

That’s a sight to behold, I’ll keep quiet for the moment.

After a few more exchanges with her, we continued on our way, Minoru who already rested enough waved his hand to the girl.

It’s a good thing that I told him not to call me Ru-nii when we approached them earlier, or else, it would be hard for our relationship to hold as a husband and wife if our son was calling me brother…

Anyway, hopefully, that’s the end of the interruption in this trip of ours. However, knowing Miwa-nee, she’d surely not hesitate if she saw other people in trouble again.

And all I got to do was to follow her and watch her save the day.

“Miwa-nee, let me carry him.” Once we’re a distance away from the rest stop, I said as I gestured on taking Minoru from her arms.

However, instead of giving me the boy, she pouted. “No. After having you carry a person on your back, it’s best if you conserve your strength. Just because you’re too fit to not be exhausted from that doesn’t mean your energy is endless.”

“Yeah! Ru-nii should just follow us, I will protect mama instead.”

This boy, who says about protecting?

“Really? You can do that?”

“Of course! Look at me, I can scare away a bear!” The boy then raised his arms and curled his fingers before growling.

However, instead of looking intimidating, he only came off as an adorable cub.

Upon seeing that, Miwa-nee laughed heartily, “Ara~ My boy is already this reliable. See this, Ruki?”

“Yeah…” To not spoil their fun, I could only agree and also drop the matter altogether.

In this way, we continued on our trip up to the peak. Looking at the time, although delayed a bit because of Sara and Shiina, we’d still be able to catch a great view of the sunrise once we reached it.