As Mirei and Kaede continued wandering through the forest, they kept their conversation light, teasing each other as they searched for more supplies.

"What do you think the others got?" Mirei asked, her fingers lazily twirling a leaf she had plucked from a bush.

Kaede glanced up at the sky, lost in thought. "Someone must’ve gone to the beach, right?"

Mirei nodded. "I think so. If I were on another team, I’d totally go there first."

Kaede chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. And I bet you’d be the first one to get distracted by the ocean and start playing instead of gathering food."

Mirei gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

Kaede smirked. "Am I wrong, though?"

Mirei playfully flicked Kaede’s forehead. "Shhh, no more words."

They continued walking, talking about what the next challenge might be.

"What if we have to do a test of courage here?" Mirei suddenly suggested with an amused grin.

Kaede’s entire body stiffened. "Ahhh, I hope not! I'm terrible at those!"

Mirei raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But aren’t you the one who’s always saying you’re fearless?"

Kaede huffed. "Yeah, but ghosts are a different story!"

Mirei grinned mischievously. "Well… I’m scared of ghosts too."

Kaede burst out laughing. "I never thought you'd just admit that so easily—especially in front of the camera!"

Mirei shrugged. "What’s the point in pretending? My fans already know I’m a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror stuff."

Kaede chuckled. "Wow, Mirei Nakamura openly admitting a weakness. This is rare footage. I better save this moment in my memory forever."

Mirei gave her a light shove, and they both laughed.

They continued searching, but most of what they found were just basic food supplies.

After a while, Mirei sighed, stretching her arms. "Ugh… I’m exhausted."

Kaede wiped her forehead. "Same. And I’m starving."

Mirei glanced at her watch. "Ten minutes left. We better start heading back."

Kaede nodded. "Yeah, let’s go—"

Just as she took a step forward, her foot caught on a stray tree root, and in an instant, she was falling forward.

"Ack—!"

Before she could hit the ground, Mirei instinctively grabbed her arm, trying to steady her—

Only to lose her balance as well.

And just like that, they both tumbled down together, landing in a mess of tangled limbs.

"Ow!" Kaede groaned, feeling something heavy on top of her.

She opened her eyes, only to realize that Mirei was practically lying on top of her, their faces mere inches apart.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Kaede's heart pounded against her ribs. Mirei's warm breath fanned over her skin, and her golden-brown eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"S-Sorry," Mirei stammered, quickly pushing herself up.

Kaede scrambled to her feet, brushing dirt off her shorts. "D-Don’t worry about it!"

Mirei let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. "That was... something."

Kaede nodded, her face burning.

As they walked back, Kaede couldn’t shake the strange feeling in her chest.

Mirei was casually talking to her, laughing, and teasing her like before. It felt natural. Comfortable. Almost too comfortable.

Was it because of the cameras?

Maybe she’s just being professional, making sure everything flows well.

Kaede shook her head. I shouldn’t overthink this.

By the time they arrived back at the villa, the other teams were already there—Hikari, Ayumi, Emi, and Risa were gathered, discussing their findings.

"Ah, you’re back!" Ayumi waved.

Kaede and Mirei walked over to join the group.

"So, what did you guys find?" Kaede asked.

Hikari proudly pointed at a pile of seafood. "We got crabs, shells, and fish! Looks like we were at the beach, huh?"

Kaede grinned. "Nice! That’s gonna be useful."

Emi and Risa, who had gone east, revealed a bundle of herbs. "We got these! They might help with flavoring."

Kaede placed their vegetables down. "We found mushrooms, tomato, and some other stuff."

Mirei suddenly held up a small slip of paper with a triumphant smile. "And this!"

Everyone leaned in curiously.

"5,000 coins!"

Excited murmurs broke out.

"What?! We didn’t see anything like that!" Ayumi exclaimed.

Emi and Risa shook their heads. "Neither did we!"

Mirei smirked, crossing her arms. "Well, that’s because it was hidden in a very hard-to-reach place."

Kaede coughed. "Yeah… ‘hard to reach’…"

She shot Mirei a knowing look, but Mirei simply grinned, acting all proud.

Just then, Minami and Yukina arrived—carrying massive stacks of wood.

"Omg!" Hikari gasped.

Minami and Yukina staggered forward, barely able to walk under the weight.

As soon as they reached the drop-off point, they collapsed onto the ground, panting.

"Oh my gosh," Minami wheezed, wiping sweat from her forehead. "That was something."

Yukina was still catching her breath. "We… even had to cut the wood ourselves…"

The others chuckled, shaking their heads.

"You guys are insane," Ayumi said, laughing.

"Good job," Mirei said, patting Minami’s back.

Kaede helped Yukina sit up. "Seriously, though, you two went through hell!"

As everyone gathered at the villa, the monitor beeped, signaling the next mission.

A message popped up on the screen:

“Are you guys hungry?”

"YEAHHH!" The entire group shouted in unison.

The next message appeared:

“Time to cook! Using only what you’ve gathered, prepare a meal within the next two hours.”

The screen switched to a countdown timer.

Minami clapped her hands. "Alright, first things first—who here can cook?"

Mirei, Kaede, and Yukina raised their hands.

Mirei smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Only three of us? Really?"

Hikari dramatically threw her hands up. "WE’RE DOOMED!"

Yukina turned to Minami. "Wait, you can't cook?"

Minami rolled her eyes. "What’s that supposed to mean?!"

They quickly divided the tasks.

Mirei and Minami were in charge of boiling and making soup.

Yukina, Risa, and Emi handled grilling.

Kaede, Ayumi, and Hikari were in charge of washing and cutting.

Chaos immediately ensued.

"AHH!" Ayumi yelped as water splashed everywhere.

"AYUMI, STOP FLOODING THE SINK!" Hikari screamed.

Meanwhile, Risa was trying to grill the fish, only for it to fall straight into the fire.

"NOOO!" Risa wailed. "MY BEAUTIFUL FISH!"

Kaede nearly choked on laughter. "Risa, how did you even manage that?!"

Mirei turned to Minami. "I’m suddenly very worried about our lunch."

Minami sighed. "Same."

Despite the initial disaster, they eventually found their rhythm. The teamwork kicked in, and the kitchen filled with the sounds of sizzling food, bubbling soup, and laughter.

As the countdown ticked on, everyone worked together, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten in the shared excitement of cooking their first real meal together.