Stealing Spree

Unsurprisingly, the first thing I noticed when Otoha and Hitomi guided us in was our classmates and those from the basketball club who had just arrived staring blankly around them. They had this look of awe and fascination at how luxurious the interior was.

There’s a huge wooden pillar in the middle which serves as a dividing line between the dining area and the service area. To match the motif, the floorboards used were more exquisite than what you would see in a traditional Japanese inn.

It’s no wonder Eguchi-sensei stopped and asked me if this really was the place.

Compared to the usual family restaurants that most people go to or other shops that specialize in one thing, this place was something those who wanted a finer cuisine and a better service would go to.

Thinking about it, I might be wrong to think that this was just one branch of a chain restaurant that the Kaneko owned. The place is probably a specialty restaurant that serves set or course meals depending on the customer’s preference. Furthermore, this one probably catered our local delicacy to tourists and locals alike through those meals. The view outside the windows was even taken into account. It showed a greenery that extends to the nearby mountains.

One more thing, the employees – waiters and servers alike – were all wearing kimonos and they all bore the simplicity and gracefulness; something that was possibly trained before being allowed to do the job.

At the moment, they’re all going around from table to table, accommodating everyone despite their awkwardness.

Well, I wouldn’t blame my classmates for being astonished about the place. No average high school student would go out of their way to pick this place to celebrate. They’d rather go to snack houses or smaller restaurants for it.

Anyway, with the arranged tables set to only two to four persons, the sitting arrangement got divided into groups – and it was the usual groups in our classroom.

But as always, my eyes somehow focused more on my girls.

While my girls were also among them, some of them sat alongside their friends. Like Aya with Wakaba and Kashiwagi. Chii with An-rin and Kushii. Hana with that girl who switched seats with her and Kanzaki.

Obviously, Akane and the others were in another area. Not far from the open seats and tables were the private rooms. Although those weren’t large enough to contain all of them, there were enough rooms to accommodate them all.

Even though our classmates were curious about them, getting to know each other was probably impossible. They’re basically strangers so it’s understandable.

Only those I mentioned earlier and some others like Shimura and Misumi had the guts to ask

Ah. Right. With my girls and classmates mostly girls, there’s a lone table at one corner hosting the four boys aside from me who came here with us. Matsuda the otaku, Yamada the loudmouth, Hashimoto the game idiot, and Sakuma the cuck – Huh? Why is he there? Did Setsuna-nee push him away?

“Ruki, Satsuki’s sister is with the others. Nanami invited them into the room.” Maybe noticing my abrupt pause when I looked at the lonesome boys in that corner, Otoha let out a giggle as she cleared up what popped up in my head.

So, Sakuma wasn’t pushed away but he couldn’t really enter that room with them.

Anyway, I doubt Setsuna-nee would stay there for too long. Satsuki might opt to stay with her club for a while before joining the other girls inside the room.

“I see. Thanks for arranging all of this, Otoha. Hitomi too.”

Otoha responded with her graceful smile as she continued guiding us. Hitomi, on the other hand, only nodded at me.

Eguchi-sensei was surely wondering who the two are but at the moment, she’s silently following us.

As for Satsuki, well, she continued clinging to me, not minding the reaction of our classmates who already noticed our arrival.

The basketball club being the main characters of this celebration was given the tables in the middle. They all looked nervous and excited at the same time.

When they saw us approaching, they also couldn’t help but ask me if it was fine to be there.

Thankfully, Eguchi-sensei helped me in answering their queries and calming them down.

With that, the situation soon stabilized and the celebratory mood gradually set in as dishes started to be delivered to every table.

For the first few minutes, I sat down with Satsuki, Eguchi-sensei, and the others from the basketball club but halfway through it, I stood up and made my way around the other tables, checking on everyone even though I wasn’t the host of this event.

Well, I could’ve opted to only stop where Aya, Chii, and Hana were sitting. However, given that the tables were on the way, it’s hard to ignore Shimura and the others.

Furthermore, I promised Kanzaki that I’ll be checking on her as well so I planned to take her to one of the rooms later to join up with Haruko and other girls.

Ah… One more thing, I also stop for a moment to give the lonely boys a pat on their backs.

It’s not like they’re being outcasted. I mean, Yamada was still being a loudmouth, shouting his praises to the basketball club which in turn made the place a little rowdy.

Unfortunately for them, it’s difficult to barge in other tables without being invited like me. They could only sit down at that corner to wait for more food to be delivered.

When the curious loudmouth asked me how I could be that flexible at being able to smoothly join in the other tables, I told him a simple answer along with the shrug, “There’s no trick to it. You just have to go with the flow.”

It’s unsatisfying, to say the least. But there’s no other explanation for it. Or should I say, they’re not thick-faced and shameless enough to do what I can do. Of course, physical appearance might also be a factor as well as my close relationship to some of them.

Before they could drag me down to sit among them, I already stood up and set to join the others who were in the room.

But before I could take a first step, Sakuma loomed behind me.

“Dude, help me out. Setsuna-nee is in there with Andou.”

I glanced back at him and shook my head. At the moment, he looked like a lost puppy who lost his owner, wallowing in despair despite the festive mood around us.

“What do you want me to do? Drag her out here?”

“Eh? No… I mean. Is it possible for me to come with you? You’re going in there, right?”

This guy is being impatient. Well, it’s understandable when he made it a task for himself to get closer to Setsuna-nee. He was unsuccessful earlier because of Hana. And coming here, he thought he’d get another chance. Much to his dismay, Setsuna-nee ditched him.

In any case, do I have a reason to bring him with me? None whatsoever.

“Possible, yes. However, do you need to? Satsuki is here. She’ll come out sooner than you think. Just a for a while here.”

Upon saying that, I tapped his shoulder and walked away. I then went to pick up Kanzaki and Hana before making our way to the private rooms a distance away from the festivities.

Chii and Aya would surely come in later so there’s no reason to drag them with me right away.

Of course, I timed our exit when a new dish was being served. That way, most of their attention wouldn’t be fixated on me, especially the basketball club members.