Stealing Spree

Upon leaving the classroom, I passed by the Book Club and Poem Appreciation Club first.

I checked on Serizawa-senpai who clung to me upon seeing me again. After yesterday, I stopped being surprised at her actions. Furthermore, the way she happily just clung tightly to me like a koala was certainly adorable. Adorable enough that Haruko ended up getting slightly jealous. In the end, Haruko copied her which resulted in the two of them clinging to me tightly.

Once they’re done, I also paid a visit to Aya who I wanted to dote on even earlier. As always, she’s absorbed with her book so I didn’t disturb her for too long.

In the other room, I drank Mina’s tea that was still evolving in regards to its taste. In there, there’s also Himeko and the other two seniors who were leering at me during the time that I was there.

Even though I initially planned to just spend my time with the two, especially with Mina who couldn’t be honest again whether she wanted me to pamper her or not, I had to bear with the two seniors’ interrogative gazes and ultimately ignore it.

The two seniors Minori and Yuika heard the details of what happened with Serizawa-senpai yesterday which led them to decide to observe me today.

If not for Haruko and Serizawa-senpai’s heads up, I would probably at least answer the two who prepared themselves to put me down once I decided to talk to them.

While intentionally ignoring their questions, I savored my time drinking the tea while sneakily being intimate with both Mina and Himeko.

I remembered what Himeko told me earlier, about someone else watching us. But it seemed like those two seniors could act normally around me. It’s possible that it’s not one of them or the girl who peeped on us having sex in that room was great putting on a poker face.

When I asked Himeko to tell me, the rich ojou-sama only shook her head and smiled by saying that it’s up to me to find out who it was.

In any case, there’s no merit in knowing who it was yet so... after giving a serious review of Mina’s tea, I excused myself while paying close attention to the two seniors’ expressions. Just in case their poker face dropped. However, until the door closed before me, their leering eyes and slightly disappointed expressions remained.

When I reached the third floor and the Literature Club’s clubroom, I was met with Rae and Otsuka-senpai waiting outside.

“Are they all inside?” I asked.

Ishida-senpai and Kana told me that instead of going somewhere else, the talk was going to happen in the clubroom. Due to that, these two girls left the clubroom for a while.

Although they could remain inside, Rae respected that it needed to be resolved while Otsuka-senpai’s mind appeared to be out of sorts. Most likely because of yesterday.

“Un... Good luck there, Ruki.” Although there’s no trace of worry in her expression, Rae cheered me on.

“O-onoda-kun.” Otsuka-senpai stuttered. But soon enough, she pulled herself together. She stepped closer and put a hand on my shoulder, “Thank you.”

“What’s the thank you for?”

“Y-you know... My curiosity is more or less contained at the moment.”

Well, can’t say I’m not expecting it... And this reaction from her is also aligning with my guess. I got to the point of somehow expecting our relationship to spiral down to the same level as my other girls but before that... her curiosity comes first and perhaps, a realization on her part.

That her curiosity and her interest in me was not just about what she witnessed. She’s more or less in denial about that. However, forcing her to realize that won’t cut it... I better let her think about it as just her curiosity for now. Who knows? Her mind might truly clear up in the future and she’d stop her curiosity altogether before we reach that point of no return.

“Ah. No worries. It’s my responsibility like I told you. Senpai can just rest assured. If you cannot contain it again, just message me and...”

“I understand. It’s still fine for me to sit next to you, right?”

She wanted to continue sitting next to me, huh? As I thought, even if her curiosity was already on the down low, her interest in me was still there.

“Naturally, you’re my senior. Feel free to do so.”

I answered like that but Rae who’s listening in to our conversation stepped in between us.

“Senpai, it’s my turn to sit next to him. Look for another day to do that.”

Rae intentionally made it sound like she’s confronting Otsuka-senpai which led the latter to bite her lips and avert her eyes with a tinge of guilt. “... I know that. I won’t steal him from you.”

Upon hearing that, Rae stepped back, satisfied with her answer. Even so, I felt her thumb squeeze on my palm. “Un. As long as senpai understands. It’s a different matter if you’re like us though.”

“I... What are you talking about? Onoda-kun is my precious junior. That’s enough.” Otsuka-senpai awkwardly laughed before pushing me towards the door of our clubroom.

I met eyes with Rae and as expected the girl was shaking her head at Otsuka-senpai's reaction while having an amused and meaningful smile as she fixed her glasses in place.

Otsuka-senpai's curiosity over me is no secret to her and like me, she also came up with the same conclusion.

Anyway, gotta shelve that for now.

With Otsuka-senpai’s push, I hurriedly opened the door and entered the clubroom. And in no time at all, three pairs of eyes cast their gaze on me, one of them filled with affection, one filled with slight complexity and one filled with subdued hatred.

“Ruki!” With her shyness out of the way, Kana immediately stood up from her seat and ran towards me.

I naturally opened my arms and caught her in my arms, openly showing the other two our affection for each other.

And while I was caressing Kana’s head, I turned my gaze to them, “I’m sorry for being late, Ishida-senpai... Also Goto-senpai.”

Ishida-senpai was here to mediate so... I decided to be polite to that guy as well even if it’s just acting.

“Is that even news? You’re always late, Onoda-kun. Come here and sit.” Ishida-senpai answered while sighing.

She’s standing at the side of the table with her arms crossed while that Goto-senpai was sitting on Ishida-senpai’s usual seat.

On the other hand, Kana was sitting across from him before I entered. And looking at how relieved Kana was as soon as I arrived, she’s probably being intimidated by that guy.

“Kana, I’m here now. You don’t need to be afraid, alright?”

At the moment, Kana’s mature wisdom was seemingly nonexistent, she felt like the same girl who I coerced into kissing me at the top of the stairs on the 3rd floor of the School Building.

Well, she has this side and her extremely mature side... If I had to guess, no matter how much she wanted to express her newfound affection to me, she’s still feeling guilty towards the guy when I’m not next to her.

However, now that I’m here... she’s channeling her courage from me.

My arms wrapped around Kana’s body as I carried her with me, bringing her back to the table.

After settling her down on her previous seat, I took the chair next to her.

“It’s been a while, senpai.” Facing the hatred-filled glare of Goto Kenji, I opened the conversation.

Although I wanted to add a teasing question like ‘How’s your shoulder?’, I refrained from doing that because of the mediator that’s also about to glare at me.

That’s right. It’s supposed to be a talk between Kana and him. However, with Kana not letting go of my arm, it has to be like this. And he has no choice but to accept it.