From the very first day of summer vacation, Airi had dragged me out to... the absolute boonies.
It was a mountain village nestled between massive peaks, located about a two-hour bus ride from the city where we lived.
Scanning the horizon, I saw nothing but verdant nature, weathered traditional houses, rice paddies, and a community center. It was like stepping into a diorama of a stereotypical rural village.
(Is the real countryside actually this intense...?)
"Izumiya-san, thank you for always being such a good friend to our Airi."
Airi's grandmother, who had met us at the bus stop, offered her thanks with a smile full of grandmotherly affection.
"N-no, if anything, I'm the one who's always being looked after by Airi..."
"Enough with the stiff formalities! Ryouta, come on, let's go find what we came for!"
"O-oh, okay."
Hurried along by Airi, I began preparing to search for our objective.
(Our objective... huh.)
The memory of how we ended up here suddenly drifted back to me.
—Going back one week.
The trio of beauties had engaged in a game of rock-paper-scissors. The prize? The right to issue the first command in our "punishment game"—or "reward," depending on how you looked at it—which gave them absolute authority over me for the duration of summer vacation.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
I had fully expected the usual pattern where Rui Kuroki would emerge as the sole winner, but the result that played out before my eyes was different.
Airi threw scissors, while both Yuria and Rui threw paper. The match was decided in a single round.
"I did it, Ryouta! Airi gets to make the first request!"
"Aww. Knowing Airi, I thought for sure she'd throw rock like she always does."
"I knew you two would think that, so I outsmarted you! Studying for those exams must have actually made me a bit smarter!"
Airi puffed out her chest with a triumphant look, the sudden movement causing her massive breasts to sway heavily.
(Whoa... Look at those... Wait, huh?)
While I was staring intently at her chest, a dark aura began to drift over from the side.
T-this aura...
"Fufu... To think that I, of all people, would lose."
It was... Rui Kuroki.
Having lost the match, she was narrowing her eyes and knitting her brows even more than usual, yet a smile gradually formed on her face regardless.
"That's wonderful, Airi. I also thought you would go with rock, but I didn't foresee you actually trying to outsmart us."
"Ehehe, Rui-chan praised me!"
Rui was talking to Airi with her usual smile, but I caught a glimpse of the hand she held behind her back—it was balled into a white-knuckled fist.
Since Rui was a perfectionist in everything, I suppose losing even a game of luck like rock-paper-scissors was incredibly frustrating for her.
Or perhaps she had something she really wanted to command me to do first... but no, let's not go there.
"So, what's Airi gonna order Ryouta to do?"
"Um, you see, the command for Ryouta is actually something I want to ask everyone to do—"
"Wait, us too?"
When Yuria tilted her head, Airi gave a firm nod.
"Airi wants to catch a rhinoceros beetle this year! And a giant stag beetle, too!"
The three of us went silent.
"So Airi's command is that as soon as summer vacation starts, we all go to the forest and go insect collecting! How's that?"
I had been wondering what kind of command she’d come up with, but insect collecting? Airi really was Airi.
"Uh, I'm passing. Bugs are a hard no for me."
"That's mean, Yuria! Mr. Bug is doing his best to live his life!"
"No... If I see a bug living its life, mine ends right then and there."
Yuria's eyes were like those of a dead fish as she spoke with a perfectly straight face.
(Just how much does Yuria hate bugs?)
"Then what about Rui-chan? Let's all catch rhinoceros beetles together!"
"I-I think I'll pass as well... Bugs are gro—I mean, I have an important track meet right after summer vacation starts—"
Hey now, even Rui...
Apparently, the bond of the "Three Beauties" was powerless in the face of insects.
"Geez, you're both so mean! Airi wanted to catch rhinoceros beetles with everyone."
"Sorry, Airi. But look, you've got Ryouta this time."
"That's right, Airi. Since Ryouta-kun is going with you, we're off the hook, right?"
Yuria and Rui suddenly tried to use me as a human sacrifice.
"Wait a minute, you guys! I'm not exactly great with bugs eith—"
"You'll follow our commands absolutely... You promised, right, Ryouta?"
"That's right, Ryouta-kun."
Yuria and Rui began saying devilish things.
T-these girls...!
"Ryouta, you don't want to go bug catching with Airi either?"
Airi looked up at me, her voice sounding as if she were on the verge of tears.
Ugh, using that face at a time like this... that's cheating.
It was true that I’d promised to follow their commands absolutely, so I couldn't exactly back out now.
"...I-I get it. I'll do it! I'll go bug catching!"
"Really! Yay!"
In an instant, Airi's tearful face transformed into a beaming smile as her chest bounced.
And so, I ended up going bug catching alone with Airi... which brought us to the present.
(Being dragged out to the middle of nowhere in the sweltering heat, currently serving as a buffet for the local mosquitoes... Sigh)
"We're here!"
"Hmm?"
Airi suddenly stopped in front of an old house near the bus stop.
"This is Airi's mother's childhood home!"
"Heh, her mother's."
"Let's put our bags here for now and relax until evening. Is that okay, Grandma?"
"Of course. I have a watermelon cooling in the river, so take your time and make yourselves at home."
Chilled watermelon at an old country house... huh. That was the ultimate Japanese summer vibe.
Well then, I guess I'd just hang out here until evening and... wait, hang on a second.
"H-hey, Airi."
"What is it, Ryouta? Do you need the bathroom?"
"No! If we wait until evening, won't the buses be gone?"
"Yeah. That's right. What about it?"
What do you mean, "What about it"?!
"Does that mean... we're staying overnight here?"
"Eh? Yeah, we are?"
What do you mean, "Yeah, we are"?!
(That was the second time I'd thought that today.)