Stealing Spree

Is it their bad luck to have the girls they like fall for me? Perhaps. However, it's not my fault that they failed to man-up and take the chance while I was still out of the picture.

Imagine if Sakuma confessed to Satsuki before high school. They'd be a couple before meeting me in our class.

Although I would still end up targeting her, if their bond was already built, it would be difficult for me to crawl my way up to her heart and replace him, right?

The same goes for Nami. But thinking about it, she left the country for a year so there wasn't truly any chance for Ogawa to ask her out back then. Unless they were willing to settle for a long-distance relationship, of course.

And if that was what happened, Hina and Izumi would still inevitably be set aside by him. Nonetheless, the former possibly wouldn't give up easily and try some tricks to get his attention. As for the latter, she would bury the feelings she had for him.

Saki was another case since she'd probably not do anything drastic and just go with the flow of their circle.

Chii, on the other hand… Nothing would change since the clumsy girl had never moved on from me. Fukuda was doomed to be rejected by her even if I didn’t end up in our class.

All in all, I might be the reason for their current misery. However, it’s also true that I did not just magically make them fall for me. I put in effort – no matter how small it was – and most importantly, I never hesitated unlike them.

They hate me because I accomplished something they failed to do. Is that fair? No, right? I should be the one crying about unfairness here.

But then again, that was pretty pointless especially if they’re set on pushing the blame on me for their inaction.

Anyway, back to the present, Fukuda could only express his annoyance at the way I talk by clenching his fist and punching the floor. As for Ogawa, he protested not to pull him into our conflict.

Yep. The delusional guy was acting timid now for the sake of his older sister. In any case, regarding the advice I’ve given him regarding Mami-chan, it’s still up in the air whether he will listen to it or not. We’re still here in this camp, after all. Maybe I'll hear about it from Nina or Nami next week.

Since I’d already said what I wanted to say, I ignored their presence and let the time pass in silence.

When Hino exited the bathroom, Fukuda immediately locked himself in there. And that’s the same for Ogawa.

During the thirty minutes of waiting for my turn, I got pestered by Hino who kept asking me questions or just striking up a conversation with me; both related and unrelated to my conflict with the other two.

If I wasn’t wrong, he was trying to become our mediator again while slipping in his intention to hear more of my advice for his 'future romance'.

In a way, in our group of four, he took on the role of the oil while the three of us were the gears that needed to be lubricated in order to function without problem.

Obviously, it was a futile attempt.

Ogawa pretty much closed himself up while I also had no inkling of getting along with them.

For me, as long as they’re not getting in my way or being too obvious with their hatred of me, I could ignore their pathetic presence.

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Time passed and I also finished my turn for the shower. I made sure to use it up to relax until the last second before the Camp Managers outside called for us to line up again.

I probably managed to extend it for five minutes longer. My legs might still be throbbing from the accumulated fatigue of nonstop dancing but it’s not going to hinder my plan to sneak out.

Even if I have to crawl on the ground, I won’t just give up without even trying. I promised Chii and Hana earlier, after all.

The roll call was obviously to ensure that no one would slip away and hide inside those cozy cabins to spend the night. And given that they also needed to rest, having us gather like that made it easier for them to hand us over to their replacements.

Ah. Right. The day won’t end without them telling us how we performed today.

Although they didn’t spout bullshit like grading our performance, they mentioned key points regarding their evaluation of each of us.

For example, Sawano pointed out to Kobayashi that he excels in leadership but his confidence in himself needs improvement. Or Sakuma who got praised for being easy to get along with. The negative? He has a serious lack of initiative – unlike Kobayashi who’s a leader material, he’s pretty much a mob who often follows along the flow.

That format somehow ended up being a praise or a positive evaluation at first before telling us what we needed to improve.

Most likely, it was the result of their observation throughout the day.

My evaluation was pretty much the same. The positive thing that he pointed out about me was not my leadership but my adaptability to any situation. For them, I came off as someone who would never be fazed by anything.

As for the negative… It was my obvious act of being warm to the girls while being neutral and unbothered about my standing among the boys. Even though boys like Sakuma, Hino, and the others somehow always gathered around me, my countenance remained the same – frivolous.

That’s pretty accurate, I guess?

Well, some complained about their evaluation but those idiots didn’t know that by doing so, they’re proving their point by giving them that mark.

And that’s about it.

Sawano and the rest of the Camp Managers exited our area and we got ushered back to our tents. While they didn’t tell us to quickly turn in the night, they pretty much stood nearby to watch us carefully.

I mean, with more than fifty boys here, it’s safe to say that I may not be the only one planning to sneak out to go somewhere.

The replacement Camp Managers started by enforcing strict surveillance to prevent that from happening.

That does sound bad to me. However, I'll still attempt it. It's not like this will be my first stint.

Besides, I doubt they can continue this strictness for too long.

No matter how serious they are in their role, they’ll eventually feel bored or tire themselves out.

The night breeze in this hill is still biting cold and most of them will definitely find it hard not to be drowsy even if they prepared for this during the day.

They even have their own tents prepared so that they can also take turns resting.

And so, just like this, I had no choice but to settle down with the other three inside our tent to bide my time while feeling out the activity outside.

Each tent had a battery-powered lamplight but we could turn it off anytime, especially when one of us was already dozing off to sleep.

In less than five minutes, Hino, who was the most energetic among us as he tried to stir another conversation, became the first to fall asleep. His unpleasant snoring then began echoing inside our tent.

Fukuda and Ogawa had to cover their ears to avoid hearing it.

Using that chance, I turned off the lamp hanging on top of us. Of course, if the other two protested seconds after they noticed that our tent became engulfed in the darkness but they never even tried to get up and turn it on again.

Anyway, I stopped paying attention to them and just continued to wait.

When I was certain that the activity outside lessened I picked up the flashlight that we got as a reward earlier as well as the mosquito repellant that was already half-empty.

I then carefully crawled to the tent cover, unzipped it, and peeked my head out to check the surroundings.

I could sense that Ogawa and Fukuda were still awake and they’re watching my movements but like I said to them earlier, I couldn’t care less even if they eventually tattle on me.

I was also uncertain about my success, after all. But that didn’t mean I shouldn’t try…

My girls are waiting for me.