บท 841: Reality is Not as Logical as Novels

"What's the situation now?"

Kashima wandered around the conservation zoo area with Inomori and Choho. However, her focus wasn't on the animals at all.

Group chat messages appeared from time to time on their phones, and intelligence summaries came from the earphones.

"Currently, the first and second groups have trapped the quintuplets and taken them away from the direction of the princess and Ogata Rizu. Unless there's an accident, they won't meet them along the way."

Kashima nodded lightly. "Just let them be and let them retreat. Don't go too far."

"Okay. Right now, the princess is walking with the Second Monarch and Ogata-san in the nearest wildlife area. The Second Monarch is holding hands with them, and the three of them are walking together..."

"Wow, are you guys that open?" Inomori exclaimed. She also had wireless earphones with dangling thorn patterns on her ears.

"Furuhashi-san doesn't care... That's right. Besides, their opponents are the quintuplets. In desperation, joining forces with friends is the only way to save oneself. It's better to split it into two than to get no benefits at all..." Chono touched her chin while thinking, then shook her head and sighed.

"The Second Monarch is truly an extraordinary scoundrel."

The other two girls nodded sympathetically.

"In that case, do you want us to disband them? We're ready here. As long as the leader gives the order, the monkey team will approach them and then find an opportunity to take Ogata-san away."

This was one of the plans previously discussed by the Thorn Club to create an environment where the Second Monarch could be alone with the princess.

After all, if there were surveillance cameras, it would be troublesome for them to do anything.

"...No, if that's Princess Furuhashi's wish, then stop this part of the plan." Kashima thought for a moment but shook her head.

"Princess Furuhashi values not only love but also friendship... Ogata-san is her most important friend, and it's not right to force a separation. It's better to wait until the courage test at night before making a plan."

"I understand. Then I'll let the parade take a detour."

Kashima was about to agree, but suddenly thought of something and changed the topic of conversation.

"No, let's try it."

"What?" Not only her operator but also Inomori and Chono beside her looked at her in surprise.

Spreading out the classic and elegant fan on the floor, Kashima fanned her face with a meaningful smile and said slowly:

"Let the monkey team continue the plan. There's no need to force an outcome. Let's see the Second Monarch's reaction."

"After all, he's done a lot using our Thorn Club, so it's not excessive to mock him."

"Hum..."

Seeing the cold and beautiful smile on Kashima's face, Inomori and Chono swallowed their saliva, not daring to argue.

They heard Kashima being interviewed by the Second Monarch in secret. When she returned, she had a complicated expression on her face.

Could those rumors be true?

They didn't dare to ask...

△

In fact, the Thorn Club's power wasn't too great, at least not great enough to disrupt a famous resort park at will.

Moreover, for the safety of the students, Shuchi'in Academy had made great efforts in arranging human resources this time, and the level of prevention was very high, making it difficult for them to infiltrate.

But where there were humans, there were connections... The Thorn Club members themselves had a very extensive network of connections.

Even if only counting the senior cadres, they could find ways to exploit them in all fields and wherever they were.

If they were in an ordinary school, the Thorn Club wouldn't have had excessive energy. But fortunately, the place where they were rooted now was Shuchi'in Academy, a place with the "future of Japan" and "a place to nurture geniuses." "Noble Stairs." and other nicknames.

The six-dimensional space theory proved from the side that they had unlimited possibilities.

Therefore, there were many hidden clues that could be exploited in this resort park.

Passing through the school, opening up through their own interpersonal relationships, for example, the staff currently leading the monkey parade in the wildlife area were employees of the family company of Thorn Club members, as long as it wasn't too excessive, requests were usually granted.

Shinichi's group was completely unaware of this and still enjoying their autumn sightseeing leisure time.

Fumino and Rizu held Shinichi's arms on the left and right and walked intimately along the way. Although they attracted a lot of attention, at least it wasn't as intense as when they were holding hands. Moreover, holding hands provided more room for explanations.

Upon arriving in the middle of the wildlife park area, Shinichi's thoughts were very simple but relatively complex.

Different touches came from both sides of his arms, one was marshmallow-like, and the other was golden flat candy.

One was heaven, the other... couldn't be called hell, just the human world.

The ordinary human world.

One would squeeze as they walked, and the other felt nothing but warmth.

Shinichi sighed inwardly, then his foot was stepped on.

"Sorry, it was accidental."

Fumino said expressionlessly, then withdrew her foot, accidentally getting closer and emphasizing a little gentleness on herself, as if to prove something.

Unfortunately, Shinichi was wearing a small white cold-resistant coat, which was too small and couldn't be felt no matter how tight it was.

Shinichi sighed silently, but he didn't dare to pity her. He used a little force in his arms, pretending to be nervous about the close contact, hoping she would feel better.

Fumino was very sensitive to things like this, to the point where she could directly detect something was wrong as long as someone was quietly observing her figure.

The super flat-chested girl's sensitivity was truly terrifying!

On the other hand, Rizu seemed unaware, just staring at the animals in the enclosure with interest, her eyes like a little girl taken by her father to the zoo, with excitement and curiosity that couldn't be hidden on her face.

"Shinichi-san, Fumino, look, there's a monkey over there that's not caged."

In the middle of the road, Rizu suddenly reached out and pointed.

"A monkey?" Fumino heard the words and turned her head, only to see a group of small monkeys jumping in front of her. They followed the guard-uniformed man and followed his instructions to greet, dance, and perform with other tourists.

Many people immediately took out their phones to take pictures, and the small monkeys were not afraid of the stage at all. They even posed in various poses so that tourists could take better photos of them. They were clever and cute.

"I remember there's a monkey parade going on right now, but on this street... Forget it!" After a moment of confusion, Fumino was drawn to the liveliness of the small monkeys and followed them. Her phone started taking pictures, and exclamations continued to come out of her mouth.

"Wow, this one is so cute..."

"No, that one is sweeter..."

"What should I do? They're all so cute~ I really want to take one back home to raise it~"

After taking a few photos, she suddenly got an idea and turned to Rizu to discuss it further.

"Ricchan, did you know that the social structure of monkeys is actually very similar to humans in some aspects?"

"What do you mean?" Rizu asked.

Shinichi glanced at her leaning head but didn't really see it, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"For example, regarding marriage." Fumino raised her finger, smiling brightly.

"It's divided into monogamy and polygamy. Giant lemurs, marmosets, capuchin monkeys, owl monkeys, etc., and we humans are all monogamous."

"Long-tailed macaques, gorillas, red colobus monkeys, white-faced monkeys, ring-tailed lemurs, etc., are polygamous, but most are found in Africa. Except for artificially maintained gorillas, these species are difficult to see in Japan."

"So that's it... Fumino knows a lot." Rizu nodded in understanding, looking at her with admiration.

"Hehehe, it's nothing~"

Fumino smiled proudly, putting the animal guide in her hand into her bag, then lifted her face, half-closed eyes, and smiled at Shinichi.

"Asada-san, do you think my words were wrong?"

"...No." Shinichi replied honestly.

"Asada-san, where are you from?"

"...Tokyo."

"Ah~ I see." Fumino blinked, and the smile on her lips felt cold, "I thought you were from Africa, or maybe you wanted to immigrate to Africa and become an African monkey?"

"..." Shinichi rolled his eyes.

Fumino's sarcasm skills had improved since that day.

Initially, Nino used a lion to criticize him, but now Fumino directly used various types of male monkeys to mock him.

History wouldn't just repeat itself, but might also take it to the next level.

"I'm telling you..." Shinichi sighed, as he was about to protest slightly against these words.

A staff member leading the monkey group walked towards them intentionally or unintentionally.

"Excuse me, are you students from Shuchi'in Academy?"

With a friendly smile, the male staff member stood in front of them along with the monkeys.

The stranger suddenly spoke to her, and Rizu unconsciously hugged his arm, while Fumino reflexively looked at Shinichi.

Shinichi took a few steps forward, initially drawing the attention of others to himself, then looking directly into the other person's eyes, and speaking with a relaxed and cheerful smile.

"Yes, we're students here for the autumn excursion. How can I help you?"

"Uh..." The staff member opened his mouth but couldn't speak for some reason.

He quickly avoided the gaze of others, which was obviously friendly but made people feel stressed. After coughing, he looked at the beautiful girl with dyed hair next to the young man.

Feeling relaxed at last, the staff member wiped the sweat off his forehead, smiled at her, and said more enthusiastically:

"Students, would you like to interact with these little monkeys? Usually, they're not allowed to contact tourists, but this time it's an exception. I can allow them to shake hands and take selfies with you."

Wanting to increase temptation, he immediately made some gestures for the little monkeys to approach, jumping around in front of them while chattering and squeaking.

Shinichi in the middle seemed unaffected, no monkey dared to stand in front of him with an increasingly friendly smile.

"May I?"

Both Fumino and Rizu's eyes sparkled with surprise. Although they wanted to agree immediately, they didn't forget that they were in control. They naturally looked to the side and relinquished decision-making power.

Shinichi also made the decision for them naturally and said to the staff with a smile.

"Thank you very much for your kindness. The opportunity to interact with these little monkeys is indeed rare. This could be a fun experience..."

"Then—" The staff member blinked and was about to give a signal.

"But, I decline."

"...Huh?"

Not only the staff, but Fumino and Rizu were stunned.

Fumino couldn't help but complain: "Are you kidding right now?! But your facial expression is completely out of place!"

Rizu seemed even more confused after hearing this, not knowing what he was talking about.

Shinichi led the two girls around the monkeys and staff, bid farewell to each other like a student council president, and walked towards the exit of the safari area.

"That's it. Thank you for your kindness and allowing us to leave."

"Um, well..." The staff member opened his mouth and looked at the monkey beside him, but still didn't try to persuade them.

After seeing them walk away, he sighed helplessly, took out his phone and sent a message, then led the group of monkeys away from the road and back to the scheduled parade route.

The wildlife conservation area.

"Chairman, the plan failed. The Second Mornarch seems to have realized something was wrong and left immediately."

The operator's voice was heard in the ears of the three.

Inomori and Chono looked at Kashima at the same time, with doubt in their eyes.

"So, Kashima-san... What should we do now?"

And what was that joke really about?

Kashima covered her face with the fan, and a reluctant sigh could be heard from behind.

"...Of course, I lost the bet."

"What?"

Kashima closed her fan, the graceful and calm smile returning to her face, and she said nonchalantly:

"It's nothing, forget it. Let's just enjoy the autumn excursion alone, and don't worry about their affairs for now! We can't come here for nothing~"

"Hey~ Kashima-san, don't do this..."

△

The three of them continued holding hands and walked slowly on the last stretch of road before the exit of the park.

"Asada-kun, did you notice something?"

Releasing herself from the complaint, Fumino recalled what had just happened and wanted to ask.

Rizu tilted her head.

Although it was a pity not to play with the monkeys, since Shinichi made this decision, there must be a reason for it, and she would choose to trust him unconditionally.

Besides the overly complicated emotional aspect, Rizu could see many things very clearly, including that Shinichi wouldn't hurt them, and that he could always think more than she did.

"It's not that I realized it, it's just that there were too many suspicious places, so I took you and left immediately. Don't blame me, okay?"

Shinichi smiled, lowering his palm, naturally reaching for their hands and shaking them slightly.

There was no reason, he just suddenly wanted to eat tofu.

"Impossible..."

The faces of the two girls were slightly red, but they maintained a confused expression and waited for his answer.