Asahigaoka Station.
At this moment, several girls stood at the empty station, looking at each other as they took in their surroundings.
All around them were vast mountains, stretching endlessly in rolling ranges. Aside from the single railway line leading into the mountains and this simple shelter, perhaps only the long concrete road nearby hinted at any sign of civilization.
"This… is Sato's hometown?"
Ritsu spoke hesitantly.
Although Sato had always emphasized that Asahigaoka was probably the most remote and secluded countryside in Japan, the girls hadn't taken it too seriously at first.
After all, in modern Japan, on such a small stretch of land, there probably wasn't any truly untouched place left.
But here…
The scenery outside the train had barely changed the entire way, and they hadn't seen a single house.
This couldn't just be called the countryside anymore. It felt more like a primitive area.
Ritsu complained inwardly.
Still, the environment here was quite nice. It hadn't been polluted by any industry, and could be considered a rare patch of pure land in modern society.
Thinking of that, she couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Mm… this feels good!
After looking around, someone in the group spoke with concern, "By the way, where is Sato-senpai? Didn't he say he'd come pick us up?"
The one who spoke was Hirasawa Ui. At everyone's enthusiastic invitation, she had also come along with the light music club.
Hearing this, the girls looked around again and couldn't help but shrink back slightly.
The station beneath their feet was probably the only steel and concrete building in the entire area. Without it, they likely wouldn't even have had the courage to stay here.
It just felt too desolate.
At that moment, a black van slowly approached from the distance and stopped in front of them.
Is that Nohara Sato?
The girls looked cautiously at the black van, their expressions tense.
After all, this was unfamiliar countryside. If something happened, there would be no one to call for help.
They didn't think they would have any ability to resist if anything went wrong.
Clink.
The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Sato's refreshing face. He smiled and greeted them.
"Yo! Ladies, where are you headed? Need a ride?"
"Hehe, so kind… then what kind of payment do you want, mister?"
Ritsu leaned on the window and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Payment…"
Sato's gaze swept over the girls before landing on Hirasawa Ui. He smiled.
"How about leaving her behind?"
Ritsu turned back to glance at Ui, then shook her head. "No can do. Ui is the prettiest girl among us!"
"Sato-senpai! Ritsu-senpai!"
Hirasawa Ui blushed deeply and glared at them. Seriously, why were they joking about her the moment they met?
"Ui belongs to me! You're not allowed to take her!"
Yui wrapped her soft arms around Ui and leaned against her, pouting at the two.
"Haha, just kidding. Get in."
"Wait!"
Mio suddenly spoke, staring at Sato.
"You're not even eighteen yet, right?"
"Ah, that's right."
Sato more or less guessed what she wanted to say.
Mio opened her mouth, then didn't say it out loud, but her eyes remained fixed on him.
That's unlicensed driving, isn't it?
Sato understood and waved his hand. "It's fine. There's no traffic police here."
"And even if I don't have a license, I'm a seasoned driver. I can handle everything from tractors, rice planters, harvesters to cars and small trucks with ease!"
"Un… unlicensed driving?!"
Only then did the other girls react, staring at Sato in shock.
"It's fine, trust me!"
Sato flashed them a bright smile, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.
Trust a veteran driver!
…
"Phew…"
Ritsu let out a breath as the cool mountain wind brushed past her. Feeling the steady movement of the car beneath her, she sounded surprised.
"I didn't expect your driving to actually be this good, Sato."
"Of course!"
Sato replied casually as he held the steering wheel.
Setting aside his past life as an experienced driver, in this life he had been driving tractors since middle school. He was extremely skilled with all kinds of farming equipment, and could even drift with a tractor.
Cough… of course, that last part was made up. With a tractor's speed, even turning took effort. Drifting was just a dream.
"But senpai… isn't this still a bit…"
Hirasawa Ui looked at him worriedly, hesitating.
"Still worried?"
Sato glanced at her through the rearview mirror and smiled. He suddenly took out a small booklet and handed it to the girls in the back.
They took it curiously and looked at it. Mio exclaimed in surprise, "This is a driver's license?!"
"Yep, that's right."
"A fake?" Ritsu looked at him suspiciously.
"Of course not. I got it through a special channel."
Sato answered with a smile.
As for that "special channel," it was naturally through the Hero Association. For them, something like this was trivial.
Besides, Japan didn't have a strict ID system like that, so they couldn't determine his real age through the license anyway.
"Oh right, there's something I wanted to tell you."
Sato suddenly remembered.
"What is it?"
The girls in the back looked at him curiously.
"In a couple of days, there's going to be a shrine festival near Lake Itomori, not far from here. I wanted to ask if you're interested."
"A festival?!"
The girls' eyes lit up at the same time.
"Yes! Of course we're interested!"
Ritsu asked eagerly, "When does it start? Is it lively?!"
"It should be pretty lively. It's the only shrine still operating among the nearby villages."
"Do we need to wear yukata?"
The refined Kotobuki Tsumugi asked with sparkling eyes.
"Yukata… well, that might not be possible. You didn't bring any, right? Just wearing normal clothes is fine."
Sato said with a faint smile.