I paid off the debt for the most beautiful sisters in the school, and then they barged into my house where I live alone. “Please go back home; you don’t need to repay the favor.” “No way.” “We don’t want to~☆”

Winter break had been underway for a while.

As expected, we were off on a trip.

After the train ride, we boarded a bus, and by the time we got off, it was around 1 in the afternoon. We arrived at a hotel styled like a traditional inn.

Though it had an air of luxury that looked like it would come at a hefty price, the exterior also had a somber appearance that made it an odd choice for three high school students to be staying at. Maybe what Azuma-san said about getting this place “by chance” wasn’t a lie. Though, the timing of this during the winter break felt deliberately planned.

“It comes with a hot spring, Sis!”

“It seems so. It’s really been a while since we’ve been to a place like this.”

The enthusiasm of the Kamishiro sisters seemed to be on the rise. Given the nice atmosphere of the hotel, it’s understandable. Really, I’ll have to think of some way to thank Azuma-san later.

Or so I thought until we entered the hotel—time for a retraction.

“What was she thinking!?”

“Well, there’s no need to call her ‘that woman’ like that.”

“What do you mean? It’s just one room, right?”

Come on, why aren’t you two more alarmed or panicked?!

“A room for a high school boy and girls? How is this not a problem?”

“It seems we’re booked as a family, so I think socially it’s okay?”

“Yep, we’re always under the same roof anyway, so it’s not a big deal, right?”

Too carefree! Don’t you guys have a sense of danger? If you did, you wouldn’t just barge into a guy’s apartment like that. And speaking of which, do they even see me as a man? No, never mind.

…Alright, let’s calm down.

Certainly, there’s some logic to what they’re saying. We do live together, after all. But still, sharing a room and laying futons side by side? That’s…

“Well, it’s okay. We’ve been trying to be more relaxed with each other lately. So, it’s perfect timing.”

“Uh?”

Relaxed? What’s getting relaxed? My sanity?

“It’s basically having a more relaxed relationship. Let’s not just focus on gratitude or work, let’s become super good friends!”

“Yeah, let’s be so relaxed we can even sleep side by side!”

“Great, let’s go full throttle!”

“Isn’t this a bit too relaxed all of a sudden?”

Damn it. It feels like I’m the only one overthinking things here. I guess it’s fine. If I don’t make a fuss, there’s hardly a difference from our usual lifestyle.

“Well, if we’re talking about being relaxed, maybe we could even share a bath.”

“That’s right. This room comes with a family bath plan, after all.”

“What did you just say!?”

No, this is definitely not okay. These guys don’t listen and have no common sense.

“Sigh. Setting aside the room issue, at least we’ve calmed down a bit for now.”

I sit on a tatami chair in a room at the inn, exhaling deeply.

Traveling itself is something I haven’t done in a very long time. Even if I have the stamina, the sensory overload is hard to catch up with.

“Why are you acting so old, Makoto? We just came to drop off our bags, we’re leaving soon.”

“What? Really?”

I have no clue about the schedule for this trip. I have no specific plans or places I want to go, so I’ve left it all up to these two.

“Yes. The travel voucher we received is for a trial experience of a newly established ‘glamping’ course. So next, we’ll be moving to a large lake nearby.”

“Glamping?”

What’s that?

“I haven’t experienced it myself so I can’t say for certain, but it’s a portmanteau of ‘glamorous’ and ‘camping’. It seems like it’s a kind of outdoor experience where everything is already prepared for you.”

“We have no experience with travel or outdoor activities anyway. So, it’s a bit of an unknown for us.”

I see, all three of us are relatively inexperienced when it comes to what you’d call “leisure.”

　Anyway, go outside and do something, basically.

“Well, I guess it’s good to go, just go.”

Sure, there’s no point in just sitting in a room at the inn until nightfall.

From the hotel window, a large lake was visible. Probably, this view is also one of the attractions.

In recent years, the awareness of camping and glamping has increased, and they’re planning to start a new accommodation service combining these.

Our course is exactly that, so we’re basically the guinea pigs for a new glamping experience. “We’ll give you a discount, so let us know what you think?” might be the ticket we got.

Mr. Higashi also has a wide network, so he often receives invitations from hotels and restaurants like this. In that sense, I still suspect that it was imposed on us.

So, we walked from the hotel toward the lake.

They seem to offer pick-up and drop-off services by car, but the weather is nice and the distance is short, so we decided to walk for the sake of it.

“Wow, it’s really quiet. Such a large lake has a kind of power, doesn’t it? There are even waves.”

“Do you think the waves are caused by the wind? It’s my first time in a place like this, so it’s fresh.”

“Yeah, yeah. And what a nice view! Right?”

“Yes, it’s a beautiful view. It’s calming.”

Certainly, with mountains at our back and a quiet, enormous lake in front, it might be what you’d call a wonderful location.

But, more than that.

“The view is good, but it’s pretty cold. What should we do outside at this time of year?”

We arrived at the site without getting lost since it was a straight path.

There is a plaza on the shore of the lake, with piers and several tents set up.

There’s also a small hut-like facility, so it seems to be a campsite.

There are several tents set up by the hotel side, but almost no one is around. Probably because it’s still a trial course.

Or maybe, considering the season and timing, we were the guinea pigs after all?

“This rental tent area is allocated for us. We’re free to do camp-like activities here. They also lend us things like electric stoves and hand warmers. There’s electricity and water too.”

“So camping is like doing BBQ?”

“That’s part of it. You can get the ingredients and equipment from that building.”

“It’s really like a full-service experience.”

So, glamping is basically like a pre-arranged camping experience.

I’ve never done camping, but I guess you usually set up the tent yourself.

“They are planning to have a course where the hotel prepares meals for you, but that service is not yet available.”

“Well, the fun is in making it ourselves, right? I’ll give it my best shot even outdoors!”

Erika rolls up her sleeves with an excited expression.

I guess it’s her first time cooking in such an environment, so I can somewhat understand her excitement.

Honestly, I’m also getting excited about this first outdoor experience.

“Then, I’ll help out too.”

“Are we starting to prepare dinner even though it’s not evening yet?”

“Since I have no experience in outdoor cooking, I’m not sure how long it will take. I thought it might be better to start preparing.”

Ah, I see. We have to start from making a fire, don’t we?

Although there seem to be gas burners, cooking alone is an event compared to doing it at home.

“Well, then I’ll try my hand at making a fire. I can get firewood over there, right?”

“I think so. They’ll probably explain how to do it, too.”

So, we each started doing our own tasks.

But it took longer than we thought.

After all, we’re surrounded by an unfamiliar environment and tools, so even preparing a meal is a struggle.

And first of all, it took quite a while to start the fire.

I guess you really don’t know until you actually do it.