Chapter 93 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (1) (1/2)

As I dived through the entrance to the school building, I suddenly stopped.

What should have been a sports ground waiting for us just a while ago, was now a forest formed of intricately intertwined trees and shrubs.

Thick trunks were laid out vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, and it was impossible to even accurately determine what was 5 meters ahead of you.

A large number of leaves blocked the way, and gaudy-colored flowers with huge petals were blooming everywhere.

Our school’s sports ground, which was larger than the neighboring high school, was now transformed into a magnificent sea of green.

“The school gate is over there, right?”

Kusaka murmured behind me with a voice filled with trepidation.

I silently nodded and looked around.

Next to the circular flower bed in front of the entrance, there was a metal rake used for sports ground maintenance.

A tool with which a slender sheet of metal was attached to the tip to clean the soil on the ground.

The soccer club, that had been training during lunch break, probably left it in a hurry.

“Kusaka. Take that with you. I don’t know what will happen.”

“Y-yes.”

Kusaka approached the flowerbed with a trot and held the rake with both hands.

After I ascertained it, I slowly proceeded through the sea of trees.

“H-help me.”

I heard a voice from above my head.

I was surprised and raised my guard, but when I looked up, there was a female student there.

“Hic, um, please… help me.”

The female student was entangled with ivy, and was hanging upside down.

“And don’t look.”

Yeah, I’m sorry.

I already saw it.

She was probably a first-year student. A girl from the cow tribe with long black hair.

Her adult black underwear that didn’t match her age was in plain sight as her skirt faithfully obeyed the gravitational pull.

“… I’ll get you down soon. I’m sorry, but please bear with it.”

“Ah, I won’t look.”

Kusaka, who caught up, shyly told the female student.

“Fueeh…”

Feebly crying, the female student gave up and shook her head.

I began lowering the girl down. I used a nearby branch as a foothold and supported the girl’s weight, then carefully tore off the vines one by one.

After a while, the female student was able to safely land on the ground.

Large teardrops ran down her face.

“Um, look, the inside of the school is still fine, so…”

I didn’t know how to console her.

“Fu, Hic, why me… I just wanted to water the flowerbed.”

“S-sorry?”

“I forgot! I have a bad memory!”

We should have been the ones who helped, but we apologized.

Kusaka, who has the highest grade in the class, doesn’t have a bad memory.

The female student who finally managed to stop crying entered the school building.

At the same time, the teachers appeared from inside.

“Let’s go Kusaka. If we don’t hurry up, the teachers will stop us.”

“Yes.”

There were four teachers.

Even if there was someone who was late to escape like the girl from earlier, it should be fine with that many teachers.

I pushed my way through the leaves and branches that blocked the way and proceeded forwards.

Since the sun was not visible, the sea of trees was very dim.

It was helpful that the ground was well levelled.

If this were a real forest, it would be hard to traverse because of the soft and unsteady soil.

“A-aniki. Wait up a minute.”

“Hurry up, Kusaka. Don’t get lost okay? This disaster isn’t a joke.”

However, it seems likely in the current state.

The school gate shouldn’t be this far from the entrance of the school building.

Despite that, it was difficult to grasp their current position because they couldn’t see their surroundings.

The only thing they could rely on was the walls of the school, which could be seen from the gap between the branches. If those weren’t there, they would even lose sense of their direction.

This forest was that dense.

“Are we there?”

“We’re there.”

We finally arrived in front of the school gate in a bit under 10 minutes.

Why did it take 10 minutes to get out of school?

The large iron gate was still open, and was tightly intertwined with ivy.

I turned around and looked at the school building.