It doesn’t matter if I am unsuccessful tonight. It’s not like I haven’t tasted failure before. What’s most important is... I, at least, made an attempt. Even if trouble comes to my head because of this, I’ll just find another way to navigate out of the situation.
Call it recklessness but this is my standard of bare minimum. If I backed out easily without even trying then I shouldn’t even dare dating them all at the same time.
I don’t know about the other guys but like I always iterated, I’m different from them... Everything I do is all for their sake.
Well, I won’t deny that being reckless like this can also be seen as selfish. I’ll have them scold me for this.
“Let’s see... Three Camp Managers are patrolling around us. But thanks to the distance between each tent and the inherent darkness of the night, there’s at least a window of one to two minutes before they return here...”
“Three are standing by in their tent. Two are on a cabin’s elevated patio to stake out the woods one could use to sneak out. Alright. They’re quite meticulous, huh?”
I pulled my head back inside the tent before any of those three could spot me. Then, I waited for one of them to pass by before attempting again.
I needed to collect information first before fully attempting to leave. Isn’t it idiotic to just make an attempt without having sufficient information?
Thinking about it. I have at least four hurdles to pass through.
First, leaving our tent.
Second, leaving our camp area.
Third, navigating my way to the other side.
And fourth, sneaking inside their camp area.
Alright. The fifth should be slipping inside my girls’ tents. But I’d worry about that last.
I have to pass the rest before I can dare to think about how to accomplish that.
“There’s two near the entrance. Looks like they’re alert enough to not even allow an insect to fly by.”
With that third attempt to collect information, I successfully pinpointed the position of every Camp Manager.
I then sat down to let another patrol walk past our tent. And while doing so, I looked behind me.
At this moment, two gazes are quietly observing me. Who else are they but Ogawa and Fukuda?
Since I openly told them my plan, I doubt they’re going to just let me do what I want. Whether they’re planning to report me as soon as I step out of the tent or not, I’ll figure that out now.
“Hey. Do you know why I’m going this far when I can just wait for tomorrow to see them again?” I brought up a question as I sat down on that spot.
I couldn’t see their faces in the dark but hearing their movements and subtle reactions was fairly easy.
Without waiting for their response, I continued, “It’s simple, really. Because I’m afraid that I’m not doing enough for them.
“I’m the kind of bastard to date them at the same time so... I can’t just take everything into a stride and not put in effort.”
“I’m not telling you this to understand my side. Let’s just say... I’m airing out my thoughts before this undertaking. Because I’m lucky enough to be accepted by them, I’ll do everything in my power to make it worth it for them. Because like I said, I’m still afraid that sooner or later, they’ll leave me.”
“Well, that’s just how relationships work, no? If you find someone you truly love, you’ll end up defying everything.”
For someone like me to talk about this when all I did before was to ruin it for others... It's truly hypocritical.
I don’t know why I’m even telling them this, really. I’m also not seeking validation from them. But well, maybe this is the essence of the camp?
A minute passed and none of the two responded to what I said. They surely did hear me though.
Whatever conclusion they could draw from that, it’s already up to them to process it.
Before long, at the same time as I heard the footsteps of the camp manager walking past our tent, I slipped and carefully closed the tent before stealthily navigating out of our camp area.
The process wasn’t smooth but with the route I used, I only had one chance as I intentionally used the most obvious passage.
How? Let’s just say, I intentionally used the most obvious passage. Circling around their tent located on the left side of our camp area.
I stuck close behind that one Camp Manager before running to that side and hiding in the gaps between two cabins.
Because their attention was mostly focused on our tent and the nearest woods, they didn’t pay that much attention to that side. However, that doesn't mean they’re not checking it.
Since those patrolling Camp Managers have flashlights on their hands, they could easily check on it.
And that’s why, I waited for that opening when the next one was turning around before sprinting to the side of their tent.
No. Sprinting was impossible. I simply took huge strides while barefoot to minimize the sound of my footsteps.
And since the path outside was being illuminated by lamp posts, I carefully navigated into the woods, enduring the pain of stepping into stones and branches on the ground.
It’s not really a great escape plan like one you would see in a prison break movie and for sure, I would still have another problem regarding how I could return to our tent later. Well, I’ll think about that when the time comes.
For now, the next hurdle was to navigate through the dark woods and arrive at the neighboring area. Even though I already traversed through this place earlier, the difference between night and day raised the difficulty. If I’m not careful, I might lose my way.
Furthermore, who knows what’s inside the woods? There are nocturnal animals, after all. With only a flashlight and insect repellant in my hand, this wouldn’t be a smooth journey.
“Hey, can we sleep? I should’ve taken the day duty... This is too much. They won’t sneak out anyway.”
“You... Ugh. We’re not here to catch the girls sneaking out. We’re here to prevent those boys from sneaking in, remember?”
“Even so! Isn’t their surveillance supposed to be stricter than ours? They have eleven people there while we’re only five here. What can we do if someone is skilled enough to get past them?”
“Ssh! Stop complaining and let’s just do our job. Here, drink this.”
I had no idea how much time passed but I finally arrived at my destination.
Hiding at the same place I did earlier, I heard that conversation from the two college girls guarding the entrance.
Just like I expected, it wasn’t as strict here. And with their surveillance focused more on the illuminated path, much like the ones in our cabin area, they never spotted me who moved in parallel with it.
Once I emerged to this path, they served as the guideposts for me. Still, it was a rough journey. Because like they said, more college guys were making sure that no one would be able to slip away.
The flashlight became useless because of how noticeable it was, leading for me to navigate in complete darkness.
If not for memorizing the path I took earlier, I would probably be in there for a longer time.
But well, that’s over now.
I scouted ahead and checked the position of the other three Camp Managers before going inside the woods. To the spot where I saw Sachi earlier.
And then, using the same path that she used, I sneaked inside their area.
Now then... is it possible to visit all of them? No... Unless they’re also waiting for me.
I told them that if it’s impossible, I might not even show up, after all. But now that I’m here... how should I announce my arrival? Whisper close to their tents or slip inside without checking?
What if I ended up entering the wrong tent? They’re all identical and I’m only relying on my memory.
That will be disastrous.
“Ruki... Over here.”
As I was mulling over that in my head, I flinched in surprise when I suddenly heard a voice calling out to me.
Pinpointing the source of it, I saw a slightly opened tent entrance facing the direction I was in.
