Stealing Spree

Perhaps finding that they’re indeed making no sense at all by what they’re doing there; standing like an idiot while watching my back, Ogawa and Fukuda eventually did their task.

On the other hand, Shimura and the other two girls looked a little confused. And to get some information, Shimura approached me and curiously asked.

“Onoda-kun, did you do something to them?”

How should I answer that? ‘Ah, yeah. It’s simple, I stole the girls they’re infatuated with and made them fall in love with me. Is that something they should be mad about?’

For sure, if I said that, this girl would think I was joking and laugh at me. The other girls would even join her in doing so.

But if I did that, the two idiots would definitely explode. Better let them keep quiet, I guess?

“None that I can think of.” I acted like I contemplated that answer. “Maybe they’re not satisfied with their task and want mine? It’s the easiest, after all.”

Ogawa was tasked to arrange the desks after the girls finished sweeping the floor while Fukuda was tasked to gather the trash.

Yep. Definitely a plausible reason. In Shimura’s mind, at least.

“Oh! So, that’s why…” Biting into my answer, the girl nodded a few times before looking at the two frowning idiots with a complicated expression.

She’s possibly thinking that they’re idiots too but couldn’t voice it. She’s a good girl, after all. Let’s not count how she nagged at them earlier. That’s justified.

“Yep. Anyway, I’m done here. Do you still need help?” Putting the blackboard eraser down, I turned to the girl who was still in a state of contemplation about whether to give the two idiots a piece of her mind.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Onoda-kun can go now if you’re finished.”

“Are you sure? What about you two?”

“Really, I’m sure. Isn’t this why the tasks are divided? If you’re done, you’re done. I appreciate the offer though.” Shimura explained while ending it with a rather bashful smile in the end.

I guess I'm being insistent.

Anyway, the other two girls also shook their heads but the way they looked at me and the two idiots was unnerving.

Their eyes were glittering in fantastical light as though they were submerged in a colorful illusion. For the record, they’re the last two girls out of eighteen in our class that I probably haven’t interacted with yet.

The other two fujoshi who always grouped up with Kikuchi to discuss their fantasy pairings of boys.

Most likely, they’re creating another scenario in their heads involving the three of us.

Uh. As long as they don’t show me their work then that’s fine, I can sleep well without worrying about it.

“Alright, alright. Then… Fukuda, Ogawa. What about you? I’m kind of feeling generous today, do you want my help?”

Although this would fuel the two girls’ fantasies, I ignored them and addressed the two.

Obviously, it’s to take a jab at them once more. Even if it’s a light one, a jab is a jab. I’m a petty guy. I took offense over what they did earlier.

It’s great that they’re not doing anything extreme but it’s also kind of annoying that they don’t even have the guts to confront me afront.

You know, what’s the point of trying to hate on me when the girls already expressed to them how much they wanted to be with me? Instead of moving on, they’re doing something useless that won’t even make the girls like them back.

Well, in Ogawa’s case, he’s having his false sense of justice, like any protagonist-type character who thinks the world revolves around them and only their justice should prevail and not anyone else.

That guy truly deserved to be kicked over and over until he dropped that mindset.

I thought he already changed after despairing but really, he’s becoming worse this way.

Anyway, if they answered yes here, I’d just make an excuse to bail out. I never really want to help them anyway. I still want to visit my girls and spend time in the club.

Besides, I still have something I need to do. I think I finally received a response concerning Aoi’s request… That girl, Ohori-senpai, finally bit onto the bait that I dangled in front of her.

Well, that’s just my assumption, I still need to see what she has to say.

“No. Who needs your help?”

“Nah, dude. Just go on your way, will you?”

The two idiots answered. While Ogawa didn’t even look at me, Fukuda looked like he was trying to maintain his image of someone strong who doesn’t rely on anyone else. Or so that’s how he wanted our classmates to see him.

Pretty shallow, if you asked me. If you couldn’t get the girl, what’s the point of being strong?

Obviously, I wouldn’t give away Chii. I mean, it’s still Chii’s decision in the end. And the girl chose me.

It would be better for him to start changing the target of his affection. That way, I might even see him in a good light. He’s someone that could be used… Especially if the time comes for me to dive into that little delinquent kingdom of Enomoto.

“Hmm? Alright. See you tomorrow.”

Just as I hoped, their dismissive answer was just perfect. And looking at how annoyed they looked from that simple extending of my hand to them, that’s a bit satisfying.

However, because of how they answered, Shimura, who was already convinced with what I told her earlier, curled her eyebrows as she alternately looked at us.

In the end, her eyes settled on me, asking for clarification.

Do I need to? Well, I guess it won’t hurt to also ease the girl’s mind.

I picked up my bag from my desk and walked over to her. And in a voice that only the girl could hear, I whispered, “It’s nothing serious. Just some kind of boy’s scuffle. Maybe they’re now threatened because I became friendly to… you know?”

“O-oh!” With her mouth taking an O-shape, the girl’s face brightened and once again nodded in utter understanding. “I see. You’ve been so popular nowadays that boys started to envy you.”

“Am I now? It’ll pass. Hopefully.”

“Un. I… If you need help…” Her voice trailed a bit, not knowing if she would continue what she wanted to say.

But from her reactions, it’s fairly easy to deduce it. This girl’s interest in me is also unusually high. Well, she’s not the straightforward type who’d just confess right away. At most, she wanted to be close to me as a friend. That’s how she sees the other girls around me, after all.

“Sure. I’ll be relying on Shimura if there’s anything. Thank you.” I smiled at the girl before going on my way.

Even if I didn’t look back, she’s probably turning red from being flustered.

Being aware of my new level of attractiveness, I think it’s already fine for me to assume that.

Anyway, leaving the classroom behind, I started making my way to the shoe locker. Before opening it to change into my outdoor shoes, I checked my phone.

And like I expected, Ohori-senpai finally contacted me… And her message was something I expected.

“Onoda-kun, what is this I’m hearing? You’re dating that first year, Shimizu. What about Aoi???”

Yep… The girl only realized by now that… I introduced myself as Aoi’s boyfriend but in their school, it’s widely known that I’m Akane’s boyfriend.

It took her four days to realize that. It goes to show how focused she is on her own relationship problem.