The m air on the isnd was crisp and refreshing.

  With few industrial buildings and minimal vehicle emissions, the air here was ri oxygen.

  A single deep breath after waking up was enough to reinvigorate the body.

  Ren, following his usual habit, woke up early long before the biological clock within him had fully activated.

  Si wasn't yet time for breakfast, and the girls iel were still deep in sleep, he decided to head out for a m run in simple sportswear.

  His jogging route took him through the isnd's main residential area.

  As he ran, he observed his surroundings.

  The atmosphere in the vilge was pletely normal.

  There were no traces of evil spirits here, their presence was trated entirely on the mountain.

  Well, that made sense.

  If bodies were being disposed of, it would be done somewhere secluded, like the mountain.

  As Ren tinued jogging through the vilge, he gradually approached the outskirts he back mountain.

  And that's wheiced something unusual.

  Surveilnce.

  At the very edge of the residential area stood a small guard post.

  Nearby, there were multiple surveilnce cameras, their presence made obvious by their strategic pts.

  Even more spicuous was the rge warning sigo them.

  [Danger: Risk of Landslides]

  A bright red caution symbol stered underh the text.

  It was clear that someone didn't eople going up the mountain.

  Using the pretense of ndslide hazards to deter vilgers from entering, it was a cssic tactic.

  Which meant…

  There was something up there they didn't eople to see.

  Though Ren was intrigued, now wasn't the right time to act.

  If he deliberately disappeared from the cameras' view, it would immediately raise suspi.

  Perhaps he could explore ter at night but for now, it was best not to dwell on it too much.

  He tinued jogging around the vilge.

  That was when he spotted something else.

  he er of a wall, several handmade protest signs had been stacked together.

  The message on them read:

  [Give Us Back Seawater!]

  So, was this the result manufacturing?

  Wastewater discharge polluting the nearby waters and impag the local fisheries?

  Although Ren didn't have firsthand experieh drug produ, he khat the process geed toxic byproducts.

  Even in his past life, knowledge of this kind was on, if not from research, then from TV dramas and crime dotaries.

  The enviroal damage caused by drug cultivation and produ was severe.

  If something like this wasn't done in a remote location, it wouldn't take long before people started notig.

  After all, when the enviro ges drastically, even the least observant person would realize something was wrong.

  And typically, people would report their s to the authorities.

  So, was the restricted back mountain being used f cultivation? Or was it a full-blown manufacturing site?

  Had the vilgers discovered the pollution without realizing its true source?

  If they khis was drug produ, they likely wouldn't have had the ce to protest with signs.

  Because if they truly uood what they were up against, they'd also uand that drug traffickers wouldn't hesitate to use lethal force.

  The fact that they were protesting at all suggested ignoranot bravery.

  That meant the drug operation on this isnd hadn't yet reached the point where the traffickers had absolute trol over the local popution.

  Of course, if the isnd's criminal activities were that advahey wouldn't be weling outside visitors so freely.

  After finishing his m run, Reuro the hot spring hotel.

  A quice at his watch told him it was 7:34 AM.

  Not bad.

  He had run for about an hour and a half.

  Even though it was just a light jog, he had worked up a sweat.

  Feeling sticky and unfortable, he decided to take a shower and ge his clothes.

  The men's and women's hot springs were in separate locations desighat way to prevent any unnecessary is.

  So when Reed the bath, there was no cliché "actal enter" like one might see in manga or anime.

  Instead, what he saw was…

  A group of half-asleep girls slumped iel lounge.

  It seemed they had stayed up too te.

  The bination of evil spirits and drug traffickers had certainly made for aful day.

  Firls unaced to such things, it was uandable that their minds had been too restless to settle down easily.

  ---

  "Good m~"

  Fujiwara was the first to greet him, eic as ever.

  pared to some of the others, her resilieo stress was truly remarkable.

  Seeing the trast, Ren could appreciate just how mentally tough this girl actually was.

  "Good m."

  "Did you sleep well st night?"

  "Yep."

  "You said there wasn't any danger, so I slept peacefully."

  A simple yet solid reason.

  Fujiwara was not only incredibly kind, but also someone who trusted others easily.

  Ren gnced past her, shifting his gaze to Kaguya and Hayasaka.

  Kaguya's dition didn't look great.

  Dark circles under her eyes, a slightly sluggish demeanor, clear signs of poor sleep.

  Oher hand, Hayasaka looked pletely fine, ued by whatever had troubled Kaguya.

  "Shinomiya didn't sleep well?"

  "Hmm…"

  Fujiwara tilted her head, looking equally puzzled.

  "Not sure."

  "I fell asleep while hugging Kaguya st night, so I don't remember much after that."

  Seeing Fujiwara's clueless expression, Ren immediately uood.

  He could already picture the se.

  Fujiwara ging to Kaguya while sleeping…

  Yeah.

  That would expin why Kaguya didn't sleep well.

  The person doing the hugging never realizes how unfortable it is for the one being hugged.

  If he imagined himself in Kaguya's position…

  If a boy his age had hugged him to sleep…

  Yeah, he wouldn't have slept either.

  In truth, Ren wasn't just awkward around girls.

  He wasn't particurly fortable around boys either.

  Especially when it came to bathing and sleeping.

  For example, he had never liked going to public bathhouses.

  Maybe it was due to habits from his past life, growing up where private baths were the norm.

  He had simply never adapted to the idea of unal bathing.

  He wasn't sure if girls had simir issues, but…

  At the very least, Kaguya clearly wasn't used to sleepio Fujiwara.

  Looking directly at Kaguya, Ren could tell, she was still resentful about her ck of sleep.

  "Fujiwara, Shinomiya didn't sleep well. You should be mindful of that today."

  "Oh! Amamiya, you noticed too?"

  Ren blinked in mild surprise.

  "You noticed?"

  "Of course."

  Fujiuffed out her chest proudly.

  "I woke up and saw dark circles under Kaguya's eyes. How could I not notice?"

  "Hmm~ but I don't know why Kaguya didn't sleep well."

  "Even though Hayasaka and I slept right o her st night."

  "…"

  Seeing Fujiwara's pletely oblivious expression, Re a bit awkward.

  Should I… tell her?

  Or would it just make things more unfortable?