Trip Begins

***

Friday, 7th July. The summer vacation had been in full swing for a week now.

The group of friends, consisting of the eight individuals who had visited Gaming Guilt previously, gathered at the parking lot in a small Slovak village called Smolenice, one of the famous starting points for exploring Male Karpaty, the mountains covering the land of western Slovakia. They were all dressed in comfortable hiking attire, with backpacks slung over their shoulders. While everyone else wore typical summer clothes, Fantasia stood out with her long trousers, usually reserved for outdoor adventures in nature.

“So you came…” Ravel greets two additional members joining the trip. “Ares! Zinia!”

“Hey, what’s Big E-“ Seko catches himself, remembering Ravel's reprimand after the Beauty Contest. “What’s Zinia and the little muscular guy doing here?”

“Got a problem, bitch?!” Zinia’s fighting spirit flares up.

“I invited them! It just doesn’t feel right to exclude them from our hiking trip…” Ravel reveals who he went after on the last day of the school.

Everybody else, except Fantasia, gives Ares an unimpressed gaze.

“I don’t know, Big Bro, I shouldn’t have come here…” Ares feels increasingly uncomfortable with the company.

“No, no, we’re glad you two are here!” Fantasia says out loud and comes face to face with Zinia.

“Good to see you, Fanta-“ Zinia is suddenly embraced tightly by Fantasia. “…-sia.”

Eleona approaches them and joins the heartfelt hug. “I’m so glad my two best friends are here with me…” She says with a faint tone of relief in her voice.

“Well, I don’t mind those two at all, you don’t mind either, correct?” Yutaka challenges the others.

“Technically,” Zhang doesn’t really mind anybody, his heart stays with Eleona foremost.

“Not a problem for me,” Silveria responds.

“I h-have no issue at all with anybody…” Leanna responds with her soft voice. “You’re o-okay with it too, right, Seko?”

“Geez, of course I am.”

“Then let’s this trip get started!” Ravel assumes the role of the group’s leader.

They set off from the meeting spot, passing through a street that led out of the village and into the mountains. The asphalt beneath their heavy boots gradually gives way to dirt. They have a long journey ahead of them, with Zaruby, the highest peak of Male Karpaty, as their destination. Ravel had planned a tourist route that would take nearly five hours of uphill hiking.

“I can’t… this is killing me…” Eleona’s the first to complain.

“Girl, we’ve been on foot literally for only 15 minutes,” Seko rolls his eyes.

“That’s okay, we can take as many breaks as we want, and we can move at a slower pace,” Ravel reassures Eleona.

Despite Seko, Ares and Leanna being the ones doing sports or lifting weights, there’s somebody else in even better shape.

“Come on, slowpokes!” Fantasia shouts at the whole group from far ahead.

“Damn… I’ve noticed before, but her legs are something else,” Ravel quickens his pace, attempting to catch up with her.

“Oh ya, somebody’s got a nice leg fetish,” Zhang teases him with a poker face, eliciting a chuckle from Eleona.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant!! She mentioned she used to hike every weekend with her father, so I meant-“

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you love her. Fit legs or not, you’d still wanna take a gentle bite of those thighs,” Silveria says nonchalantly.

The whole group pauses for a moment and processes the sudden sexual undertone of her joke.

“This girl is perfect. Does anybody have an engagement ring somewhere?” Yutaka enters his fanboy mode.

“President, you’re quite a pervert yourself!” Zinia remarks playfully as they resume their hike.

“Or perhaps that’s just what she wants.”

Ares’ response stuns everyone, causing them to stop in their tracks again.

“He’s actually funny!!” All the other boys yell in unison, not expecting this character trait from a cold guy named after god of war.

“When did you become so open with other people?” Eleona, being Ares’ classmate, is well aware of his usual behavior.

“Once you get close to someone, you’re more open, eh?” Zinia points out the pun paradox.

“W-well, I mean… you’re all Big Bro’s friends, so you’re my friends as well…”

“Pretty bold for a guy who wasn’t even sure if it was okay to come with us!” Eleona lifts her head upwards with shut eyes, but she peaks through her left eye to gauge Ares’ reaction.

Ares blushes.

“Don’t tease him, Eleona! He’s just a little baby,” Zinia comes to his defense, patting him on the head.

“S-stop it, people are here…!” Ares’ face turns even darker shade of red.

“Awww, so this is how you guys act when nobody’s around? So sweet~,” Silveria’s melting.

“I wish I had someone to pat me on my head and be sweet to me like that,” Eleona’s voice tinges with a touch of sadness.

“Let’s ambush her,” Zhang whispers in Yutaka’s ear.

“I don’t want to have anything to do with you,” Yutaka retorts coldly.

“OK, I’ll do it myself!”

Zhang ‘sprints’ towards Eleona, causing Yutaka’s eyes to reflect sheer terror.

“Nooo! What are you doing?!”

Yutaka extends his hand as if he wanted to stop him telepathically but soon retracts it.

“Huh?”

For Zhang, the meaning of ‘ambush’ meant granting Eleona’s wish.

“Good girl, good girl,” he gently says while patting her head.

“That’s so creepy dude…” Seko comments on Zhang, averting his gaze.

“N-no… l-look closely…” Leanna tugs on his t-shirt, “She likes it…”

Eleona beams, her cheeks turning rosy. “Ahahah, that’s what I needed!”

It already feels as if we’ve been friends for years. I’m so happy for the group, Ravel comments on the atmosphere.

Except…

His eyes fall on Fantasia who remains a significant distance ahead of them.

No, let’s not dwell on the negatives. Eleona, Silveria, Zinia, Ares, Leanna, even Yutaka… all of them have already shown some kind of affection towards her.

She’s not alone.

Two more targets and my entire small inner world will have accepted her.

***

The group has made a stop at Vlciaren, a scenic valley beneath Zaruby near the village of Smolenice, through which many hiking trails pass. There is a small wooden gazebo where hikers can take a break and enjoy snacks.

After recharging, they continued their hike, overcoming multiple difficult routes, leaping over a small river and climbing a humongous fallen tree that was blocking their way. Two hours later, they finally approached their first destination.

Fantasia’s already waiting at the top, Ravel comes second to enjoy the breathtaking view. The whole gang catches up, with Eleona trailing at the rear, breathing heavily with teary eyes. Zhang offers his hand to pull her over the final natural ‘staircase’.

“The view is so awesome…!” Fantasia’s eyes widen as the sunlight baths the green mountains in the distance.

They all stand on a rocky outcrop right next to the ruins of a historical fortress called Ostry Kamen, the highest located castle in Male Karpaty.

“Those ruins marked by time… so beautiful~!”

“Yeah, much more and I mean much more beautiful than the stick you found along the way...“ Eleona teases Fantasia about her unique taste.

“This calls for a group photo!” Ravel enthusiastically suggests.

“Yeah but who would take the pic? We can’t have anyone missing,” Silveria makes a valid point.

“I’m willing to take the photos for you!” Fantasia offers herself.

“No, I don’t want you of all people be missing there!” Ravel almost aggressively states. “I want to have a nice memory primarily with you, Fantasia.”

“Don’t worry, bitches! My baby anticipated this issue!” Zinia proudly exclaims, while Ares retrieves a tripod from his backpack.

“Ares! You’re a lifesaver!” Ravel feels a sense of relief.

The group lines up beside the ruins, with the scenic greenery and faraway expansive fields as the backdrop, while Ares sets the timer on his smartphone.

When the timer reaches zero, Fantasia gets distracted by a bird flying over her head, turning her face away from the camera lens.

Everyone eagerly awaits the photo’s outcome as Ares hands the phone to Ravel.

“Wait, wait, wait, Fantasia’s not in the frame! Let’s do it again!” Ravel begs the group.

“You’re right, she turned her cute little head at the last second, fufu,” Silveria observes the photo, “Welp, we need to take another one!”

“No, no, it’s okay, I am on the photo!”

“No way~! Everybody, line up! The Queen commands you, hehe!” Zinia playfully imitates Silveria.

Nobody even protests. They all want Fantasia to be included on the photo properly, too, Ravel feels like this is how it should be.

The gang takes another group photo but Fantasia gets distracted again. With the try number three, Ravel wants to ensure she doesn’t turn her head so when the timer reaches zero, he kisses Fantasia on her cheek to capture her attention, much to her astonishment.

“What a power move~,” Fantasia chuckles.

CHAPTER 37: END