Stealing Spree

1849 Another Attempt to Visit the Other Side

“You’re going to leave again? Are you still not giving up on visiting the other side?”

Like the previous time, Sawano and Arai were standing guard at the path leading outside of our area. With our tent already properly set up, I had no plans to stay and become chummy with my group.

And since I’m still not giving up on finding a chance to be with any of my girls, I’ll always come here to get permission to leave whenever we have free time.

“I failed earlier. There’s no hurt in trying again, right?” I said which drew chuckles not only from the two but also from the other camp managers and students around us.

“Yeah. You’re not hurting anyone as long as you’re not causing trouble. Come back here before the appointed time.” Sawano could only shake his head as he gave up on persuading me to change my mind.

Soon afterward, he waved me off and I once again got freed from that den.

Following the same path that I took earlier, I found myself back where I ran into Sara. That woman was probably still asleep in their cabin. She’s that exhausted, after all.

As I drew near the entrance to their cabin area, I spotted activities from afar. Like us, the girls were also in the middle of setting up their tents. However, unlike us, the camp managers were also helping them since not everyone could pitch it up stably.

Due to that, no one was left standing by the entrance.

Taking the opportunity that I hadn’t been spotted yet, I stealthily approached and lightened my footsteps.

Of course, I couldn’t just barge in just because no one was looking. I stopped before the table they set up as a boundary and watched the things unfold from there.

My eyes searched for the figure of my girls and luckily enough, some of them weren’t too far from the entrance. In one group, I saw Nami, Hina, Saki and Kikuchi. They’re one of the few that didn’t need any extra help from the camp managers.

Following that, I spotted Chii and Hana along with An-rin and Kushii. Chii was all over Hana, annoying the girl who was trying her hardest to hold a stainless tube up that would be used as a pillar for the tent. A camp manager was at their side, facepalming at the gyarus’ rowdiness.

Then the third group was composed of Satsuki, Shimura, Takishima, and Mitsugi. The last two are Shimura’s friends. Also, Mitsugi was the one who switched seats with Hana which brought the girl to the seat in front of me. As for Takishima, she’s not in any way related to the vengeful dude, Takashima. It’s similar but the kanji in their surname is different whereas, Takashima has the kanji that means hawk in his surname.

Anyway, just as I expected, Satsuki wasn’t really taking the lead but at the very least, the other three weren’t afraid of her anymore. They’re already used to her resting face which was normally grumpy.

As for Aya, I sighed in relief when I saw her grouped with Kashiwagi and Wakaba. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence but at least, she’s with someone she’s close to.

The last group was Kanzaki, Amano, and Esumi. They’re the trio of girls sitting in the front row and close to the door. Saki and Kikuchi were also in the front row of our classroom but well, they’re on the far left side with Yamada separating them.

Because we have 19 girls. They were split into five cabins with the last group only having three girls.

As for the other class, I was already expecting Komoe to be with Watanabe, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case. She’s actually grouped with the Class 2 President, Hayakawa. At the very least, she’s not being excluded so that’s great.

Maaya and Misaki were together with two other girls who I don’t know the name of. There’s no troublesome Umeda near them.

Lastly, Rae was grouped with her two friends from the same class, Nazuki, and the other girl who was probably Yoneda, Hino's crush. The fourth member of their group was none other than Sachi. A coincidence again, I guess?

Anyway, as soon as I gathered all that information from spying near the entrance. I took a few steps back before returning with audible footsteps.

That’s intentional, of course.

I did that to gather someone’s attention.

At the same time as I stopped before the table, Shiina, who was still acting like the leader of the camp managers, turned around and caught me with her eyes.

She curled her eyebrows at first but as soon as she recognized me, she left what she was doing to another camp manager to approach me.

“Onoda-kun? What are you here for? Wait. Didn’t Sawano tell you that it’s prohibited for you to come here?”

“They did. But I still want to try if I can get permission to visit. Looks like you’re still in the middle of an activity. I’ll come back later.”

“This guy... Are you not afraid to be scolded by your teachers? Of all the boys there, I never thought you’d be the first one to try your luck here.”

“Is that a praise, Shiina-san?”

Not expecting my response, she almost shouted out loud. Luckily for her, her voice was drowned out by the noises being made inside their area.

“It’s not! Geez. Are you actually this shameless? You’re not even faltering from what I said.”

“Ah. I’m ready to face the consequences if that’s the case but, you see, I can’t miss the chance to visit my girls, no?”

“You... You can make someone’s perfectly fine head to be in pain. What should I do with you?”

Looking exasperated, Shiina facepalmed and used the hardest part of her palm to massage her forehead.

If I told her that this should be my second attempt if Sara didn’t spot me earlier, would her headache turn into a migraine?

Possibly. But well, seeing that I couldn’t spot the shadow of Sara yet. My first guess was probably true.

However, I also couldn’t see the shadow of Juri or Setsuna-

nee. Did they return to their cabin? Or are they sent to the next hill where the second years are?

“Hmm. Maybe send me away? I mean, I shouldn’t disturb your activity. I’m fine trying again at the next opportunity.”

Raising her gaze to stare at me with her narrowed eyes, Shiina released a sigh.

“You’re still thinking of trying for a third time? Onoda-kun, you’re amazing.”

“I feel like that’s not a compliment at all.”

“Of course, it’s not. I don’t know how to deal with you. On one hand, I want to see what kind of chaos you can bring her and on the other hand, I’m afraid I’ll be reprimanded for allowing you in. What do you think?”

“What do I think? Shiina-san, I’m also amazed at how your mind works. How did you come up with those?”

“What? We’re here to have fun. It’s not bad to add some spice. But knowing you and your popularity that I witnessed, you’re the best spice to be used in this kind of situation. I just hoped Sara was here with me to back me up.”

“You’re even going to drag Sara-san? Alright. I have to revise what I said earlier, I’m not just amazed by you, Shiina-san. I’m also in awe. Please guide me.”

“Pfft. So, you can also be a funny guy despite your usual poker face, huh? Come in. I’ll give them some motivation.”

Upon saying that, Shiina closed our distance and grabbed my arm, intending to drag me inside with her.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah. I’m ready to risk my neck to bring that spice in here.”

I asked just in case but she already set her mind on that. With a playful smirk, she soon guided me into No Man’s Land.

Starting with the first girl who spotted me, it didn’t take a minute for it to spread like wildfire. Everyone who was busily setting up their tents paused what they were doing to check what the commotion was about.

“Alright, girls. We have a visitor from the other side. I’m sure you all know him. I’ll give you the opportunity to decide what to do with him.”

As soon as we got everyone’s attention, Shiina pushed me to the front, facing everyone.