To actually access the caverns, you first had to scale the mountainside.

Under normal conditions, this climb would've been doable thanks to the protruding rocks that had been generously scattered across the cliffside, meant to act as a way to let us climb up it.

However, due to the rain, these rocks had become wet to the touch, making them slippery hazards that were practically impossible to grip.

Not only that, but the rain had also turned the mud floor into a pit of thick sludge, meaning that if you fell while climbing the mountainside, you'd splash straight into it.

While it would be marginally less painful than landing on solid ground, it would be a far more disgusting experience. Nobody wants to be dipped in mud, let alone have it be the first thing they experience after falling.

"Well, this wasn't what I expected..."

Megami, who had been trying for the past five minutes to make any sort of progress up the mountainside, finally gave up, leaning against the wall with her chafed hands.

"It seems the rain made these rocks as smooth as Takanori-san's brain."

You're the smooth brain for thinking such a lame insult, Megami...

For a natural structure, the protruding rock formation looked a little too deliberately placed. Considering these additional rocks were obviously more refined than the natural stuff, it was a safe bet to assume the school added them to make climbing up easier.

Unfortunately, it backfired on us in this particular instance. The only way we'd make our way up now was by either taking the long way round or by climbing using the mountain's real rocks, which would be a lot more difficult to do and harder to find.

"Considering our original goal was to save time by climbing up the mountainside, I think we'd waste more time by trying to figure out how to do it here. I say we cut our losses and take another route."

As I suggested that, Megami crossed her arms, furrowed her eyebrows, and nodded.

"I agree... there's no point trying to shortcut it if the shortcut is broken. Now I feel like a fool for suggesting this..."

"Don't be. I'm pretty sure we're the only group of seekers who are on the move right now, so even if we spend a bit longer taking the long way, we'll still be ahead of the others who are taking shelter."

"...you raise a fine point. Then, there's no better moment than the pres—"

Before Megami could finish, Shimizu jumped up like a spring, heading straight towards the cliffside. However, before she collided into it, her small hand reached out, catching onto a rock that was slightly above and to the left of her.

Then, with a large swinging motion, she propelled herself upwards, catching onto a rock that was to her far right, and using it to pull herself upwards.

In two swift motions, Shimizu had climbed up a quarter of the wall. Megami was in shock.

"S-Shimizu-san? How did you..."

Shimizu, whose tongue was stuck out a little to show she was fully concentrated, ignored Megami and continued to scale up the mountain using the same swinging technique.

She must've had really good grip strength to not slip off these rocks. Even if they were real, they were still slippery, but not so slippery that they were impossible to grip, unlike the fake rocks. She probably had only a second or two before falling off.

It just made it even more impressive that she was able to so quickly discern between which rocks were safe to grip and which rocks weren't, especially under such a tight time limit.

To be able to pick so fast and under so much pressure requires a very high level of judgment and an eye for fine details. And so far, Shimizu had yet to miss any of her jumps.

I had no clue that she was capable of such a smart and acrobatic feat. You'd never expect this sort of gracefulness from a shy and quiet person like her.

In just a few minutes, Shimizu had gotten halfway up the mountainside. The next rock she was aiming for was quite far away from her current position, and her small arms couldn't reach it that easily.

So, Shimizu did the unthinkable.

She jumped upwards, letting go of the rock she was holding on, and snatched onto one of the fake rocks that was just beneath it using her left hand.

Then, in the split second she had without falling, Shimizu crossed her right arm over to reach the rock she was truly aiming for—

—and just before she fell, Shimizu's long fingertips latched onto the very edges of that rock, allowing her to pull herself up and hang on by the very skin of her teeth.

Even when the rain was battering her face, even when the bag on her back was weighing her down, and even when the rocks seemed impossible to reach, none of that stopped Shimizu from storming on ahead.

In fact, those swift movements she made...

It reminded me of the motions a monkey would make swinging from tree to tree.

And when I thought that...

One key detail about Shimizu rushed into my head.

Asukai Itsuki, her older step-brother, was the king of monkeys.

I came to the conclusion that she must've learnt these nimble movements from him.

That was the only way to explain how she was able to swing from rock to rock so skilfully.

This was Shimizu's hidden ability— her secret athleticism that no one knew about.

And just like that, Shimizu had managed to reach the next level of the mountain. Albeit, she keeled over and was huffing and puffing from exhaustion once she got there, but still, it was really impressive. Me and Megami clapped in awe for her.

To think that was her strong suit... I knew E Class was filled with athletic people, but Shimizu was on a completely different level. I think she's going to end up being a dark horse for E Class someday, mark my words.

After catching her breath, Shimizu peered down on us, looking at me and Megami with a shy face.

"S-sorry for not responding, Megami-san... I was too concentrated on not falling..."

Her voice, while distant, was just loud enough for us to hear what she was saying. Megami tilted her head and shouted back.

"That's fine, but where did you learn all that?!"

"Um... Itsuki-nii taught me?"

I knew it...

"I see... so how we meant to replicate that then?"

When Megami asked that, Shimizu stiffened up.

"T-that's... a good question..."

In my opinion, it was pretty simple. Just follow the path that Shimizu took and replicate it. Of course, this was easy from my perspective, since I had already memorised her route and had the physical chops to pull it off like she did.

My real concern was on Megami, someone who wasn't suited for this sort of work at all. While she wasn't bad at athletics, she wasn't on the level me and Shimizu were at either. This would naturally make it a lot harder for her to pull off.

As I thought about what we could do the remedy the situation, the only thing I could think of was climbing the mountain while Megami rides my back. But knowing her, she'd probably reject it, saying that she doesn't want to touch me or something.

I guess maybe the next best option would be to let Megami climb up the mountain first, and I'll wait at the bottom to catch her if she falls? Then again, she might reject that on the same basis of not wanting me to touch her either.

"Takanori-san, are you able to climb up the mountain like Shimizu-san?"

When Megami proposed that question, I could already get a grasp on what she was thinking.

If I said yes, she would tell me to join Shimizu and go on ahead, while she goes and takes the long route to join us later.

As much as I didn't like her, I didn't exactly want to leave Megami behind. Besides, it'd be a hassle for the agreement we made if she wasn't present when we find a third hider. It was better for us to stick together.

"...nope, probably not."

In the end, I decided to lie. Most people know my athleticism skills as average anyways, so showing it off here would be pointless.

"That's annoying... if you could, I would've just asked you to give me a piggyback up."

...you're kidding me.

"Even if I could, I don't think I'm strong enough to carry you all the way up there though, Megami-san..."

"I can't tell if you're calling me fat or if you have a severe case of memory loss."

"You're not fat. You're quite slim."

"Oh, so you have been ogling at my body? Pervert."

I clicked my tongue in my head. Why does she always have these remarks lightning ready to snap back at me?

"...I was trying to be nice. What do you mean by memory loss then?"

"You punched Ritaka from B Class."

"...that doesn't necessarily mean I can carry you though."

"No, but it does prove you are strong, liar."

I sighed. Megami giggled happily to herself.

"Let's just make this simple and take the long route. Shimizu-san, are you fine with waiting up there for us?"

"Y-yeah, that's okay!"

"Cool. You heard her, let's go."

Megami raised her eyebrows before smiling thinly.

"Look at you, taking the lead. Now you actually seem like a leader."

"I've just grown tired from your replies, Megami-san."

"I know you secretly like them, you closet masochist."

"Stop trying to gaslight me into liking getting hurt..."

"I think you're gaslighting yourself into thinking I'm gaslighting you. In fact, gaslighting would require a significant amount of time investment in order to trick that person, and quite frankly, I wouldn't want to spend more than ten seconds around you."

"...so, why are you here then?"

"That was hyperbole. I can stand you for maybe five minutes. That's at least four minutes more than most other girls."

I'm just going to shut my mouth and stop talking. Megami's replies are going to end up giving me a headache...

As we walked through the rain together, Megami peered at my face.

"You've grown awfully quiet."

I didn't say anything. I know that moment I give in, she'll just hit me with another mean spirited comment.

"Not in the mood for talking now, huh?"

Once again, I ignored her. Instead of wasting a lot of unnecessary energy dealing with her cheekiness, I could just be saving it for later.

"I guess it makes sense you'd get cold feet all of a sudden. I'm not the type of person you usually talk to, huh?"

For some reason, Megami laughed. I didn't really think it was funny that she was calling me socially inept though.

"Or maybe, you're just pissed off at me. Which, to be fair, is understandable."

I sighed.

"...I'm not mad at you."

I have better things to direct my anger towards.

"Oh. I'm surprised that got you to speak up."

"I don't like it when people assume my emotions."

"You don't give a lot of room to guess though. That poker face of yours is harder than stone."

Before I replied with "Maybe that just means I don't feel any emotion towards you?", I remembered who I was dealing with and held back.

"Thank you for the compliment, I guess."

"If you thought that was a compliment, you really must've received no love as a child..."

Somehow, she twisted it back into insulting me regardless.

"Oh, actually, Takanori-san."

Even though Megami called my name in earnest, I didn't say anything back. This could be yet another cruel set-up to make fun out of me.

"I should've asked earlier, but do you know where we're meant to go? I've just been following you the entire time, assuming you knew, but I'm pretty sure we passed the connecting point a little while back."

"I do. The way I'm going will take us a bit longer, but the terrain will be better suited for our current weather—"

Before I could even finish my sentence, I stopped.

Through the mist, I could see a shadow in the distance draw closer to us.

Megami, also noticing it, stopped next to me while raising an eyebrow.

"A seeker...?"

It seems like we weren't the only ones moving around in this cruddy rain.

As they drew closer, I could make out their hourglass figure and finer features.

Once they were within eyeshot, I had to wipe the rain off my sunglasses to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

...it can't be.

Their blurred and faraway visage which I was unable to see a few seconds ago had instantly become recognisable to me.

I knew who was approaching us.

With a graceful stride, she stepped out of the darkness and revealed her identity to us.

Rinbayashi Amou.