Chapter 144: Sayuri's God of Faith

Returning to the wooden cabin, Heisuke and Kunida were sitting on the bed playing a video game, chattering and shouting endlessly. Meanwhile, Eto the otaku lay on a wooden bed for reasons unknown, wearing an expression as if life had lost all meaning. It seemed the earlier defeat in the match had dealt a rather heavy blow to the young man.

After exchanging a few words with the two, Haruno Haruhi picked up his change of clothes and walked out of the cabin.

A few birds stood upon the tree branches, tilting their heads and curiously sizing up the group of people before them.

On the slope beside the camp, a dense crowd of people had gathered. A school teacher moonlighting as the emcee held a microphone to direct the overall proceedings while providing commentary for the competition.

Nearby, a huge electronic screen had already been erected, and several small drones hovered mid-air while staff members busied themselves tuning the electronic equipment.

"Haruhi, Heisuke, you guys had better do your best!" Kunida Kazunaka looked at his two good buddies, a mixture of gratification and envy on his face.

"Just rest easy and cheer for us, Kunida. The cheering squad is the ultimate destination for every young man!" Yoji Heisuke flashed a wide grin, giving his good bro's shoulder a hearty slap.

"Go to hell! If I hadn't exhausted myself so much last night, it wouldn't even be your turn!" Kunida Kazunaka grew even more distressed. Had he known better, he should have conserved his energy last night; if he hadn't hollowed out his body, securing a top-five spot in the class would have been a breeze.

How he regretted his actions back then!

"Yeah, we'll do our best!" Haruno Haruhi also nodded.

"Hahaha, don't worry, when I stand on the podium to read the speech, I'll definitely mention your name!"

"Can you praise me a little more?"

"Of course, we share the ultimate bond, Kunida!"

Ignoring the two suddenly acting like lunatics, Haruno Haruhi walked toward the direction of the young lady.

"Seiryo-san, you've got to cheer for me later!" he walked over and said with a cheeky smile.

Seiryo Meru's cheeks flushed slightly, and she pouted, letting out a soft hmph.

"Don't worry, Haruno-kun's match—big sister will cheer for you. I definitely will." Seiryo Yukino at the side could never resist feeling lonely.

"Do you smell something?" Haruno Haruhi suddenly sniffed.

"What smell?"

"A strong scent of green tea."

None of the young women could grasp the meaning. Instead, they all sniffed the air very earnestly. There was no scent of green tea at all. How strange.

Even Ogata Yuriko, who was usually very cooperative with Haruno Haruhi, wore a conflicted expression.

The little loli had a giant camera slung around her neck, looking fully prepared for the day, but her delicate face was filled with entanglement.

She really hadn't smelled anything, yet if she had caught even the slightest hint, little Yuriko would have immediately offered her loyal, simper-like praise.

Hesitating endlessly, she fought an internal battle, unsure whether she should speak up or how to phrase it.

"What kind of weird nonsense are you talking about?" Seiryo Meru gave him a sideways glance, though she was already used to this fellow's frequent rambling.

"This is culture from the East. You can look it up yourselves when you get home," Haruno Haruhi said with a smile.

"Such a pretender."

Terashima Kana cast a disdainful glance at him and couldn't even be bothered to look him straight in the eye.

Yet no one found this strange, as these two were famously at odds. It seemed that apart from Seiryo Meru and Ogata Yuriko, Haruno Haruhi showed no mercy with his tongue to anyone, regardless of whether they were beautiful girls or not.

If not for his handsome face, which made him appear romantic and humorous in the eyes of outsiders, anyone uglier would have long since been beaten half to death by the passionate pursuers of these young ladies.

However, this time Haruno Haruhi unexpectedly refrained from talking back. Instead, his gaze instinctively dropped to that small foot clad in a boot, wondering what kind of socks little Terashima had changed into.

Noticing this, Terashima Kana's face flushed instantly, and she glared back with a fierce expression.

Seiryo Yukino caught this scene in her eyes, her pretty pupils darting as she wondered what was on her mind, observing the two with a look of amused interest.

This Haruno Haruhi seemed a little bit restless~

Amidst her thoughts, the loudspeaker was already calling for the contestants to prepare.

Haruno Haruhi planted a kiss on Seiryo Meru's cheek, then headed toward the competition venue alongside Hanai Mai.

A scattered total of twenty contestants stood ready, while the hillside was surrounded by students eager to watch the spectacle.

Dense and packed, the murmured discussions of everyone mingling together created quite a din. When Haruno Haruhi stepped up to the starting line, a drone drifted beside him with a buzzing sound, and his handsome face quickly appeared on the giant screen.

A sudden uproar broke out across the entire venue.

"Hey, hey, hey, who is that handsome guy? How could our school even have someone this good-looking?"

"You don't even know him? That's Haruno Haruhi!"

"He's totally my type. No way, look, he's looking right at me. He's so handsome!!"

Used as a testing target, Haruno Haruhi turned his head to glance at the camera, his deep and charming eyes projecting onto the big screen, immediately sparking another wave of exclamations.

"So, so handsome!"

Someone voiced the inner thoughts of the crowd.

The young girls placed their hands over their chests, pressed their legs together, and gazed with what seemed like little hearts flashing in their eyes. Though the boys felt envious, when they locked eyes with that gaze, they felt as though they were being pressed down and unable to raise their heads.

With a flamboyant gesture, he made an "OK" sign at the camera, striking the maidens' hearts like a pink arrow.

"Show-off," the young lady Seiryo muttered with a blushing face.

"Click, click, click!"

Suddenly, the sound of a camera snapping came from the side. Seiryo Meru looked over to find that Ogata Yuriko had pulled out a high-end large camera from somewhere. The black leather strap hung around her neck as she snapped wildly at Haruno Haruhi on the screen.

Seiryo Meru felt somewhat speechless. Having such a pursuer for her boyfriend, she didn't mind it at all.

This was absolute confidence in herself—or rather, aside from some lingering worry about her convenient younger sister, the young lady didn't take anyone else seriously.

There was no need to argue with Haruno Haruhi about such things; no matter how many wild flowers there were, the domestic flower blooming by one's side was always the best and warmest.

The young lady dismissed it all from her mind.

"I won't hold back this time, so don't go crying later."

Hanai Mai performed her warm-up exercises, stretching her waist and causing her magnificent curves to bounce with a duang-duang motion.

One glance, two glances—Haruno Haruhi stopped in time, displaying the honest and dutiful side of a rural boy from Hokkaido right in front of the camera.

"Tch, fake modesty." Hanai Mai showed utter disdain for Haruno Haruhi's act. Clearly, when they were alone, he couldn't wait to glue his eyes to her, yet here he was putting on an act.

"Mai, what kind of condition do you think I should ask for if I win?" Haruno Haruhi began putting on his equipment.

"You think you can win?" Hanai Mai put on her goggles, obscuring her gaze.

Yet Haruno Haruhi could already guess it must be a mixture of admiration and respect.

No help for it; this was simply the charm of a very handsome guy.

After amusing himself for a moment, the clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, and the bright sunlight shone upon the thick snow, casting a brilliant glare.

The cold wind and snow could not mask the fervent discussions of the excited crowd. Watched by so many eyes, all the contestants focused their full attention.

Suddenly, "Bang!"

A signal flare shot straight up into the clouds.

The contestants standing at the starting line exerted strength with both hands, shooting down the hillside in a flash and sliding wantonly across the slope, leaving behind trails of white snow.

The students not participating began boarding sightseeing vehicles in an orderly fashion to head toward the finish line, while those who hadn't gotten a turn yet stood in place, eyes locked firmly on the electronic screen.

The screen was divided into twenty small segments, occasionally giving close-ups to key contestants.

The staff were also quite savvy; Haruno Haruhi and Hanai Mai were the two receiving primary focus.

The handsome boy in the footage looked like a winter ice prince. Unlike the other contestants who were trying with all their might, he strolled across the snow on his skis with effortless ease.

It was as if he were dancing upon it, noble and graceful.

Yet even so, Haruno Haruhi remained firmly in the leading tier, trailing Hanai Mai by a mere body length, giving off the impression that he was doing it on purpose.

"This guy." Terashima Kana gritted her teeth slightly as she watched the free-spirited and natural Haruno Haruhi on the electronic screen.

This proved that right from the beginning, he had been hiding his strength. As for why he had purposely lost the first time, Terashima Kana also had her own guess.

It must have been because of the penalty she and Mai had formulated!

To that scoundrel Haruno, such a penalty was practically a reward for him!

At this thought, Terashima Kana's face flushed involuntarily, and the soles of her feet, newly fitted with fresh short socks, seemed to experience a wave of lingering dampness once again.

As things stood, she could only place her hopes on Mai, praying that her good best friend could unleash her hidden potential.

Seiryo Meru nodded with satisfaction. His performance was decent; she would reward him once they returned to Tokyo.

Seiryo Yukino's pupils were filled with intense interest. This fellow actually had some real skill—he wasn't just some pretty boy who lived off women.

"Click, click, click!"

The continuous sound of the camera shutter from the side left several of them speechless. Lowering their gaze, they saw Ogata Yuriko with her entire face blocked by the camera, constantly searching for angles and focus while posing toward the screen.

Such an expensive camera being used to photograph a broadcast on an electronic screen was far too wasteful.

However, for Ogata Yuriko, as long as it had to do with Haruno-kun, nothing else mattered.

Haruno Haruhi glided smoothly through the snow, casually flicking his ski poles, looking exceptionally relaxed and carefree.

This caused the people behind him to feel extremely depressed. We are risking our lives here, yet why does it look like your honored self came out for a leisurely stroll?

Suddenly, Hanai Mai, who was charging at the very front, accelerated abruptly, quickly widening the gap between herself and the others by more than ten meters.

Seeing this, Haruno Haruhi followed suit without a shred of panic, maintaining a distance of a single body length before halting his acceleration.