CHAPTER 194: NIGHT IN THE RAVINE

"By the way, it’d look suspicious if I seemed completely unscathed, right? At the very least, there should be some signs of damage to avoid raising too many questions."

Ren glanced at his clean, scratch-free hands, then felt his nearly spotless clothes. He could come up with a logical excuse for why his body was unharmed, but his pristine clothes?

That would be a lie no one would buy. This wasn’t a magic show—it was the site of a horrific accident.

Bending down and grabbing a metal shard from the bus wreckage, Ren began making random tears in the sleeves and knees of his pants. Then, his eyes shifted to Umi, still lying unconscious nearby.

"Not just me—Umi’s clothes need a bit of ’dramatic flair’ too."

He had no interest in mistreating an unconscious girl, so Ren ensured his touch was only on the fabric.

*SHRRIP—SKRRAAK!*

A few tears on the shoulder and hem of Umi’s skirt were enough. Ren even sprinkled some dust and dry dirt on both their clothes, creating a realistic impression that they’d been dragged or hit by debris.

"Perfect. Now people will just think we were incredibly lucky to escape serious injury. Just survivors of a terrible accident."

Ren could always make excuses. Whether people believed them or not wasn’t a big deal.

In situations like this, the truth was often the least relevant thing. What mattered was a convincing narrative.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

An hour later.

The cold night air stung the skin, but the small campfire Ren had built provided a bit of warmth.

In the silence, a faint groan broke through. The first to wake was Mafuyu, who had only suffered bruises on parts of her body.

"Where am I... Ugh..."

She tried to sit up, but a wave of pain made her wince and collapse back onto the rocky ground.

"Good night, Kirisu-sensei."

Ren’s calm voice greeted her from across the flickering flames.

Mafuyu quickly turned toward the sound. Her half-open eyes scanned the surroundings before focusing on Ren, who sat casually by the campfire.

"Rokuhara-kun... Where are we? What actually happened?"

Her tone was filled with confusion and a trace of fear she tried to hide.

Ren pointed behind him, toward the dark silhouette near the ravine wall, barely visible.

"Don’t you remember, Kirisu-sensei? The bus we were on crashed and fell into this ravine."

Mafuyu’s pupils shrank dramatically. Her body stiffened as her gaze caught the overturned, mangled bus wreckage, crumpled like a crushed can.

In an instant, memories flooded her mind: the violent jolt, panicked screams, the deafening crash, and the darkness that followed.

With trembling lips, she tried to sit up again, her pain momentarily forgotten amid overwhelming concern.

"H-How... How are the others?"

(This woman... Even after everything, after waking from an accident that could’ve killed her, her first priority is still others. She didn’t even ask about her own condition first.)

(She might seem like an untouchable iceberg—cold, rigid, unshakable—but beneath that surface is a deeply responsible soul. A rare dedication in this materialistic world.)

Shaking his head slightly, Ren felt a quiet admiration for the sincerity hidden behind her stiff facade.

"Well, except for Umi and me, who were lucky enough to escape mostly unharmed, the others have injuries of varying severity."

As he spoke, Ren directed Mafuyu’s attention to the area where he’d laid out the injured. He had arranged them clearly for her to see.

"Hisss...!"

Mafuyu drew in a sharp breath as she took in their conditions. Shock and horror crept into her.

Coach Takigawa lay with dried blood staining the side of his head, clearly from a heavy impact. His right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, indicating a serious fracture.

Ryohei groaned softly, his right leg bent at a horribly unnatural angle, clearly broken.

Minato lay motionless, with small glass shards embedded in the back of his hand and calf, glinting faintly in the campfire’s light.

Then there was Seiya. As one of those thrown from the bus, his condition was far worse. His face was deathly pale, nearly bloodless, and his breathing was shallow and labored. A deep gash on his temple still oozed slightly, and his uniform was torn in places, revealing large bluish bruises on his chest and abdomen from a violent impact with an unknown object.

Among the men, Coach Takigawa, Ryohei, and Seiya undoubtedly had the most severe injuries, potentially requiring immediate medical attention.

Turning to the girls—Nao, Rika, and Yuuna—their injuries, while serious, weren’t as grave as the men’s.

Nao had a long reddish scratch on her left cheek, likely from scraping against something rough, and several abrasions on her torn knees.

Rika looked paler, with a purplish bruise on her forehead and a long scrape on her right arm, likely from a rough graze.

Yuuna had only minor scratches on her temple and a faint bruise on her wrist, as if it had been twisted while she held on.

As Ren had said, Umi appeared physically fine, aside from her damaged clothes.

Seeing all this, Mafuyu felt their conditions were far from "fine."

"The hospital. Have you called the hospital, Rokuhara-kun? They need medical attention immediately."

"I tried, Kirisu-sensei. But there’s no signal here. We’re in the middle of nowhere."

Raising his phone, Ren showed the screen displaying "No Service."

"..."

Seeing that, Mafuyu’s heart sank. The faint hope that had flickered was now completely extinguished.

A ravine in the middle of a wilderness, with no phone signal. They were truly cut off from the outside world.

Mafuyu’s thoughts drifted to the students and Coach Takigawa. Those injuries... without medical care, their conditions could worsen quickly.

Despair began to creep into her mind.

"Mhm..."

Perhaps the sound of Ren and Mafuyu’s conversation slowly roused Umi. The girl sat up dazedly, her eyes blinking as she tried to adjust to the darkness and the flickering campfire light.

"Eh, Ren-senpai? Kirisu-sensei? Where are we? Weren’t we supposed to be heading back to Tokyo?"

Like Mafuyu, Umi’s initial reaction was total disorientation. Only after Ren patiently repeated his explanation about the bus crash and their fall into the ravine did her memories of the horrific event come rushing back.

"Oh... The crash..."

Her face paled, her eyes widening in shock. Umi clutched her slightly dizzy head, then her gaze shifted around, following Mafuyu and Ren’s line of sight.

When her eyes caught the silhouettes of her Archery Club friends lying helplessly, wrapped in emergency blankets or covered in dust, Umi’s expression changed drastically.

Her face was filled with horror and anguish. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle the sob rising in her throat.

Tears welled up in her eyes, reflecting disbelief and deep sorrow for what had befallen her friends.