Stealing Spree

1831 First Task

Being the Year 1 Class 1, our class became the forerunner for this task. As soon as Shio walked away along with the other teachers, Shiina and the other college student who introduced himself as Sawano began leading us away.

Starting with Shiina who called for the girls to follow her, they started with a light jog as they entered through the opened gates leading to the path inside.

Considering they didn’t have us run at the same time, they’d probably let the girls take the easier road uphill. The one where there wasn’t that much obstacle.

And as expected, when Sawano signaled for us to follow him, he veered on a different path after passing the gates.

For sure, the destination would be in the same area but we’d be put in a more challenging task just because of the difference in our physique.

Well, that’s actually favorable for me. I’d be rest assured that Aya, Rae, or Misaki wouldn’t be too exhausted right away.

On the other hand, I couldn’t care less about our classmates. I maintained the same speed as Sawano and kept up behind me.

In any case, it might’ve sounded like we were up for a stamina drain but with the entrance located halfway up the hill and the tilt of the land was pretty much negligible, this would just be no different than running multiple laps during our PE classes.

If my memory serves me right, the path we were treading would just make us take the long road, circling the hill until we reached our destination.

It’s the path Juri, Setsuna-nee and I refused to take during our scouting trip. Nonetheless, it’s supposed to merge with the path the girls were taking at some point.

I had no idea how the second years would fare since they’re going to a different hill. Nevertheless, considering they planned this out, they probably prepared something else before they crossed to the other side where their cabins and camp activities would be held.

I just hope Shizu and the other girls won't be too strained. Especially Shizu.

“Damn it, Onoda. Are you not feeling it? How strong are your legs?”

Suddenly, pushing me out of my thoughts, Sakuma caught up behind me. As a soccer club member, he’s supposed to be the one with a higher stamina and leg strength.

But ten minutes later, he’s already sweating bullets like most of the other boys from our class. In fact, Sawano even slowed down since he also couldn’t maintain his top speed.

No matter how negligible the steepness of this road, it’s still considered a hike. Our weight would still be our burden as we deliver ourselves to a higher altitude.

I could say that this was just a little harder than my daily run on my treadmill. But for others who didn’t have that kind of routine, it’s only normal for them to feel exhausted halfway.

“How strong, huh? I think I can sprint past him if I so wish and arrive at our destination quicker.” I answered while pointing at Sawano.

The obstacles barring our path were just stones that could trip us if we weren’t careful. The road was flattened but there were a few instances where we had to leap or take a huge step upward.

In a way, this could be seen as an irregular set of stairs but then again, it’s probably made on purpose. Many of their guests would like a challenge like this.

“What the hell? Don’t leave us behind, dude.” Sakuma exclaimed as he continued to keep up running beside me.

“Are you going to impress Setsuna-nee? She might not even be assigned to us.”

“... Even so, I have to do something, right? You said it yourself. I shouldn’t keep on dilly-dallying... I don’t want to lose her to you.”

Heh. Look at this guy. Is he feeling threatened already even though I haven’t done anything yet?

Ah. Wait. I’ve done something already during that celebration at the restaurant. But then again, that’s just me keeping her in place. There’s no other meaning to it.

“Do you think I will steal her from you?”

“What?! N-no...”

The guy stuttered and he almost got left behind by me. But soon enough, he still pushed through and kept on running.

Looking at that conflict in his eyes, I could put out a few guesses as to why he blurted that out...

“Does she keep on mentioning me during your conversations? Geez. She’s probably badmouthing me, no?”

That’s one. Since I kept on annoying her, she’s probably venting to him but this guy would take that as her getting interested in me.

“Yeah. Sorry.” Sakuma answered, feeling a little guilty.

“Don’t be. I don’t mind it. I’m already being badmouthed by a lot of people. Look behind you.”

As I said that, I also glanced back to see Ogawa and Fukuda glaring at me. They probably wanted to catch up and turn this into a race. But no matter how much they sped up, they’re just getting their stamina drained quicker.

As for the others. Tadano was maintaining his speed so he’s not really burdened. The lackeys were like Fukuda, trying harder. Miyoshi, on the other hand, was like Sakuma. Since he’s a baseball player, he should also be trained physically.

The only one lagging behind was the otaku Matsuda who probably didn’t have any interest in getting into shape.

“... Are they still mad at you?”

“Of course, they are. I stole their girls. Ah. Nope, they’re theirs to begin with. I just beat them in the game of love.”

Hearing those words from me, Sakuma almost choked with his spit. I also saw Sawano at the front reacting a little as though he heard something incredulous.

As for Ogawa and Fukuda, their fiery eyes burned with their determination to take me down a peg.

Too bad, I wouldn’t give them that glory.

After seeing that path was already about to merge with the girls, I sped up and caught up to Sawano.

“Sir, those are the girls, right? Are we going to join up with them?” I asked him after we saw a glimpse of the girls from our class passing through.

“Yeah. Is this not that difficult for you? You’re something else.”

“No. It’s difficult. However, I’m just used to running.”

“I see. You’re that type, huh? Go ahead. You can speed up. Our destination is the same so if you follow their tracks, you’ll reach it the same.”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll go ahead!”

Having gotten the permission, I once again glanced behind to taunt the two cucks before sprinting up to the last stretch before the merge to the easier path.

I mindfully evaded the small rocks and other obstacles and maintained a speed that wasn’t really going to leave them behind but only kept a gap between us.

This way, I became the one leading them instead of the college student.

Around five minutes later, I already saw the girls who reached the open area before the cabins. And it’s not just our class, the girls from Class 2 have also arrived.

They’re the ones I saw earlier.

As our footsteps grew louder by the second, their attention soon turned to our direction.

Most girls were slumped on the ground, resting their legs with towels wrapped around them. The few girls who remained standing were Shiina, Satsuki, Nami, and Yanagi Kaede.

As soon as they saw me approaching them ahead of the pack, amusement formed in their eyes.

“Impressive. To think that someone can run ahead of Sawano... That’s amazing, student.”

Upon arriving and stopping at the marker they set, Shiina praised and welcomed me with a towel to wipe my sweat with. She hadn’t recognized me yet.