After Becoming a Counselor for Girls, I Ended Up Producing a Lot of Potential Girlfriends Who Became Mentally Ill

Chapter 25: A Trip with Shizuku – Off to a Land Full of Nature

Winter break is nearing its end.

It’s early morning. The sun is just beginning to rise.

Not much has happened since then. Requests for advice have trickled in as usual.

“Shiraishi: Good morning! Yasuda-kun appeared in my dream today, and it was super exciting. I’d like to go out with you again sometime soon. Let’s talk again!”

“Kujo: Do you still remember my kiss? I kind of want to hear what you thought about it. Let me know when you feel like it. (I’ll delete this right away if you don’t read it.)”

Some messages from the girls are getting out of control. I don’t know what I should do. I’ll meet up with Shiraishi at some point, but Kujo’s intense advances haven’t stopped.

Sometimes, my mind gets completely consumed with thoughts of how to deal with Kujo. If this is her strategy, then I’ve already fallen into her trap. She really is a terrifying person.

As for Shizuku, here’s the message I received from her recently:

“Shizuku: Hey, Seii-kun. How have you been? I’m currently in a wave of bad luck. So, to recover my luck, I’d like to go out with you. Let’s connect with nature a little and reset all this bad energy, shall we? I’d also love to eat some sweet treats. Answer with ‘Yes’ or ‘Yes’.”

That’s what she wrote.

I haven’t seen Shizuku lately.

I still haven’t told her about the incident with Shiraishi, and there’s also the fact that Kujo kissed me without saying anything. I feel guilty.

That’s why I decided to meet up with Shizuku soon. She’s probably feeling like she wants to see me, too. This should be a win-win for both of us.

Winter break is coming to an end. I’d like to make this trip with Shizuku one of the final memories of the break.

“So, regarding the schedule… it’s packed, huh?”

It’s rare for Shizuku, but she had carefully planned out the whole trip. She was completely into it.

I hadn’t expected her to be this excited.

“It’s finally time to leave, huh?”

We’re going on a day trip today. The meeting spot is at the station, so I have to leave as early as the first train.

I haven’t woken up this early since the school trip. I didn’t have morning practice either.

With a brain that’s not fully awake, I head to the station.

“Seii-kun! No, Seiichiro! I welcome you!”

“You’re full of energy this morning.”

“Of course! This is practically a date with you, Seii-kun.”

“We’ve known each other for a long time. Going on a trip isn’t unusual.”

“Yes, yes, yes! For me, going out with you like this is completely normal. That’s how it is, right?”

“…Uh, yeah.”

I expected her to say, “What’s with that attitude?” after calling it “normal,” but…

For some reason, Shizuku looked genuinely happy. Maybe her feelings had changed a little since the last time we saw each other.

“Today’s theme is ‘Soaking in Nature! A Luxurious Gourmet Trip with Seii-kun!’ Let’s get hyped!”

“You’re way too excited. It’s making me calm down.”

“…That’s a problem.”

“You suddenly sound serious. The change in tone might give me a cold.”

“Let’s blow away even that cold with today’s trip!”

“Shizuku, you’re even more extreme than usual today.”

“I’m ready to blast off to the atmosphere!”

She was in some kind of inexplicable high-energy mode.

Of course, as soon as we got on the bullet train, she passed out cold. She had been at full throttle since early morning. This was only natural.

By the time Shizuku woke up, we had already reached our destination. According to her, she was so excited that she ended up pulling an all-nighter.

That must’ve been some kind of midnight high, I thought to myself, feeling oddly convinced.

“Inhale… Exhale!”

“What kind of breathing is that?”

“The air here is so fresh! Amazing, incredible—this is a whole new world!”

“You’re exaggerating. Though I agree the air feels really good.”

Stepping into nature, we could feel the negative ions in the air.

But we couldn’t start sightseeing right away. We had arrived so early that not many shops were open yet.

“Let’s just take a walk for now.”

“You sure?”

“If we don’t, we’ll be starving by lunch.”

“A surprisingly logical reason.”

After transferring buses, we finally arrived at a waterfall.

“Is this the spot?”

The sound of the water flowing down echoed even from a distance.

“It’s a small, quiet waterfall where you can really enjoy nature. No need for SNS-worthy photos when the goal is to soak in nature.”

“Not bad at all.”

I’d never really stared at a waterfall before, but it was surprisingly nice.

It might seem like a mature choice for high school students, but it was perfect for soaking in nature.

I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs. It felt like all the bad energy was being pushed out.

“This should break my streak of bad luck!”

“Like when your IC card was short by one yen on the bus?”

“That’s one word too many! I never want that to happen again!”

To get to the waterfall, we had taken a bus.

When Shizuku tried to pay the fare, she was exactly one yen short on her IC card balance and couldn’t get off right away.

“Let’s reset it all here.”

“Of course. I’ll even pray to the gods just in case.”

We tossed some coins into a nearby offering box and said a quick prayer before leaving the waterfall. I won’t mention that most of the other visitors were elderly people.

“Next up—souvenirs!”

“Isn’t it a bit early?”

“I’ve forgotten to buy anything and gone home empty-handed too many times before. So this is a decision for me, by me, and for me.”

“Fair enough. Let’s go.”

By then, the shops had opened for the day.

“It’s always either cookies or manju (sweet buns). That’s just how it goes. What about you, Seii-kun?”

“Same for me. As long as it’s something I can carry easily and eat on my own, I’m fine.”

“How about a dragon sword strap?”

“Those are for kids on elementary school trips.”

“What about a wooden sword?”

“Do you want me to say the same thing again?”

She looked disappointed, as if to say, “How boring.”

It’s true, though, that during my elementary school trip, I bought a dragon sword strap and a wooden sword. I had told Shizuku that story once, and she laughed for ages.

I can’t believe she still remembers that. I probably only told her once or twice in middle school.

In the end, we both bought the same type of sweets—manju.

“Since we’re here, let’s get matching straps.”

“And where would we put them?”

“On the school-issued backpack.”

“That’s a little too obvious, don’t you think?”

“I’m committed to doing it. I won’t back down.”