Stealing Spree

To make our exit less conspicuous, Eguchi-sensei eventually let go of my wrist. She also walked a step ahead of me to give the illusion that I was being asked to follow rather than getting dragged by her.

Of course, those who saw us leaving were momentarily confused. In this open space, having witnesses was inevitable.

I even saw Hino curling his brows as he attempted to make sense of my situation. If not for Fukuda next to him, he might've run to me and asked if I needed help.

Yeah. That guy could be as meddlesome as Sakuma. Good thing there was Fukuda to hold him back. He’s proving his usefulness in that way.

Apart from Hino’s reaction, no one else stepped up to question Eguchi-sensei or me. They just pointed at me. They were either gloating, laughing, or wondering. But there’s one thing that probably settled on their heads; I got myself in trouble.

Sometimes, I envy their oblivious minds. I wouldn’t have it otherwise though.

And well, that's the extent of it. They could laugh at me without knowing what was actually happening. I’m still the one winning, anyway.

Moreover, their sneers probably won't hold for long since those in the know about my position as Eguchi-sensei’s Student Assistant would be brought up soon. They’d choke on their saliva for thinking I was going to be punished.

Bystanders gonna act like bystanders, I guess?

I couldn't care less about their opinion. They could believe whatever they want to and it wouldn't affect us all.

Likewise, Eguchi-sensei was possibly not someone that would flinch at them. And even if they wanted to, they wouldn't dare offend her. Unlike me, they only know the side of her as the discipline-freak PE teacher. They had no idea that beneath that exterior was the hard-working teacher who’d do everything to bring us improvement when it came to her lessons and activities. Not to mention, they’ll forever miss out on how pretty and admirable she can be.

And that’s why instead of bothering about the unrelated, I focused on guessing where Shio was taking me.

It shouldn't be their cabin, right? Or is it?

Even if most of the teachers and professors were already here, there should still be people lingering in their cabin area.

But well, looks like I shouldn’t even try to guess because I already got it right.

We soon reached the path leading somewhere outside this open space.

Since I’ve already walked inside it earlier with Sara, it’s undoubtedly the one that would lead us to their cabins.

Is Eguchi-sensei being bold or what?

Thinking about it, there’s not that much of a choice for her as well, unless she brought me somewhere in the woods.

Without stopping in her steps, Eguchi-sensei set her foot on that path.

I followed after her to check on Shio who was still in the middle of conversing with the other teachers and professors.

When we got a sufficient distance away from the other students, I caught up to Eguchi-sensei and asked.

“Sensei, will this be fine? Are we going to your cabin?”

I was expecting a positive answer but surprisingly, she shook her head.

“I’m surprised you know where we’re going, Onoda-kun. Have you been here already?”

Looks like the question was thrown back at me.

And as someone who couldn’t straight up lie to them without sufficient reason, I nodded.

“Yeah. Didn’t I mention how I also attempted to visit the girls during my first free time? I encountered a camp manager there.”

“You encountered? You’re not caught?”

“Uhm. Maybe both? But she’s someone I know. She said she’s about to take a rest in her cabin so…”

“… You accompanied her. I remember that girl.” Eguchi-sensei finished my sentence before narrowing her eyes at me as she seemed to remember Sara.

With her lips curving up in another knowing smile, I could sense a hint of jealousy in her expression, “Onoda-kun, I changed my mind. I’ll bring you to my cabin. We can’t be seen entering it together but knowing you, we can work around it, am I correct?”

Upon saying that, she closed in on me, enough for our shoulders to touch.

Yep. Looks like I successfully made her jealous that she changed their plan to bring me somewhere.

Maybe Shio would have difficulty in finding us once she’s done with distracting the other teachers.

As the tension rose gradually, the cabin area soon eventually came into our view.

And as I expected, it wasn’t as empty as I could think of.

Furthermore, the first one we ran into was someone we had just been talking about.

Although there was still quite a distance between us, the figure of Sara still wearing the same shirt and pants from earlier was making her way out of the entrance.

And given that I probably made a mark on her mind, she also recognized me from the same distance.

Her droopy expression that was probably brought from being still a little sleepy immediately brightened as an elated smile bloomed on her beautiful face.

Of course, since Eguchi-sensei said she remembered her, she also recognized Sara.

Although subtle, I sensed her inching closer as though she was ready to protect me from being stolen by the woman.

“Onoda-kun! Are you… here to pick me up? Come on, you don’t have to.” With excitement flashing in her eyes as she closed our distance, Sara charmingly blinked a few times, letting her eyelashes flutter. Of course, with the way her voice delivered that line, she’s just teasing me. Eguchi-sensei wasn’t invisible in her eyes.

I guess this is the result of having a good sleep, huh? She became this energetic.

“I wish I could do that, Sara-san. But as you can see…” I trailed my voice there, hinting to her about my companion before continuing, “Anyway, looks like you got some good sleep, Sara-

san. You look refreshed.”

“Really? I owe you my gratitude then, Onoda-kun. You’re the reason why…”

Perhaps remembering that she shouldn’t reveal about bringing me into her cabin, Sara immediately cut off her words and put on an embarrassed smile.

I sneaked a glance at my side and I saw Eguchi-sensei’s face twitching a bit. Still, she remained silent while observing the woman in front of us.

If she’s already jealous, it looks like encountering the girl here intensified that.

Most likely, if it’s not because of how we have to hide our relationship, she already blocked Sara from approaching me or maybe, pulled me into her embrace.

At the moment, I could sense her shoulders trembling a little while she kept a straight face. I don’t know if her continued silence was hiding her relationship with me or not but I guess it doesn’t matter. She looked like she was being considerate by waiting for us to finish our conversation before taking me away.

“Nope. I don’t think I deserve that, Sara-san. I should be the one thanking you. Anyway, are you returning to the girls’ side?”

To bring us out of the approaching awkward situation, I steered the conversation away from what happened earlier.

“Yes. I still have my duty as the camp manager. Eguchi-sensei, are you bringing him somewhere? Did he do something?”

Taking my hint, Sara nodded and then turned to Eguchi-sensei, inquiring about me.

I thought her answer would be a little stiff considering what was going on in her head but Eguchi-sensei still had her bearing. She answered the same way she would if it’s any other students, “No. He’s not here because he caused trouble. He’s my Student Assistant and I need his help with something.”

“Oh! I understand. I won’t delay you any longer then. See you at lunch, Onoda-kun, Eguchi-sensei.”

With a wink, Sara waved us goodbye before continuing past us.

When I glanced back at her, I also found her looking while giggling quietly.

From the way she jovially walked those steps, the woman looked more like she was simply in a very good mood rather than having suspicion about us.

Uh. Is it because she ran into me after waking up? It can’t be, right? Yeah. I won’t be able to fool anyone from that.

In any case, until she reached a certain distance from us, Sara kept looking back at me. In a way, it ended up with me sending her off with my eyes.

As for Eguchi-sensei’s reaction to that, the moment Sara disappeared from our view, she hastened her footsteps.

We walked past the entrance without being noticed by the other teachers.

Perhaps because of her large strides, no one noticed us approaching a cabin.

Thankfully, it’s located close to the edge. There were at least five cabins in between hers and the cabin Sara brought me in.

Without taking a pause to check our surroundings, Eguchi-

sensei opened it and there, she grabbed my hand, pulling me inside at the same time as she pulled the door close.

I hadn’t gotten a proper look at their cabin yet when my vision immediately became blocked.

As the feeling of being buried in her bouncy softness, her slender arms enclosed around my head, hugging me tightly. Ignoring everything else, Eguchi-sensei secured me in her embrace.

This… Looks like I truly made her that jealous.