I don’t know about that guy who got caught. Most likely, he chose an easy route and got caught by the patrolling Camp Managers or he’s just trying his luck after sneaking out of their camp.
In any case, if he ended up successful at his attempt to sneak in, who’s to say the girls would stay silent and not beat him up? That’s like entering a girl’s locker room. It’s a social suicide.
And no matter how favored I am in the girls’ eyes, it can also be applied to me. That’s why I’ve been cautious not to wake up any other girls unrelated to me last night.
Well, there’s Wakaba but it’s up to her whether to report me or not. If she kept it to herself then I’ll consider owing her one...
Maybe I’ll grant her a favor if she asks for one and I won’t tease her even if a chance presents itself. Sounds good, no?
Yeah. As if it is that easy. It’s not even a day that she stopped being uncomfortable around me and that happened. I better expect her to act uncomfortable around me again.
Anyway, Sawano’s mood seemingly showed a sharp rise right after that. He’s pleased that he’s not going to have the same headache as the Camp leader from the other hill.
Once he finished his roll call, he allowed everyone to use our cabins to answer calls of nature or just refresh themselves before we could officially start the second day of the camp.
Sometime later, with the lead of the Camp Managers, we did some morning exercises; the notorious radio calisthenics. Someone brought a speaker they used last night and played it for us to follow.
It’s a 3-minute exercise that covers mostly the basics. You can’t even sweat with it but it’s enough to unwind your joints and muscles that have been sleeping for the night.
Then after that, they let us exercise on our own, giving us thirty minutes of free time to do so.
It was optional so... more than half decided to not do anything and laze around the camp area. The calisthenics were enough for the. As for the rest, they scattered to whatever kind of exercise they wanted to do.
Some followed a Camp Manager for a run down the hill to repeat what we did yesterday.
Some started stretching and exercising in pairs.
As for me, someone who had a strict morning routine, I naturally joined the run.
I don’t know what they’ve eaten but Sakuma and every guy that I can consider someone who doesn’t have any conflict with me followed after me to join as well.
But among them, Sakuma walked close to me. I could feel his intense gaze as though he was drawing some kind of rivalry against me.
Is this because of last night? He’s now stepping up to prevent me from stealing Setsuna-nee from him?
“Hmm? Do you have something to say?” I glanced at him which made the guy flinch.
Nevertheless, he held his ground and straightened his back. He looked up at me, his eyes firm and steady.
The events of last night seemed to fuel his courage to stand up and fight. In the end, it turned out better for him. He should’ve acted like this right away.
Or so I thought. The words that came out of his mouth sounded stiff and awkward contrary to what he was displaying.
“Onoda. I...”
“You what? Man, stop hesitating.”
Yep. He suddenly looked like he couldn’t bring himself to be straightforward in confronting me. He looked like he was conflicted about whether to go through with this or not.
Yeah. I can kinda guess what he’s thinking. Despite everything that happened, this guy truly wants to see me as his friend. Unfortunately, I can’t bring myself to accept that. There’s just no way.
“If you can’t even voice out your thoughts, there’s no point acting up like this, no?” I continued. If that’s not enough to push him over the edge, then he’s really hopeless.
Even if I hold myself back in approaching Setsuna-nee, she’ll just continue to get drawn toward me if he’s the only other option.
And presently, he hasn’t stepped out from being seen as a little brother. Their past was already inconsequential at this point.
He could be her first love or first kiss but years passed and those could only be fleeting memories by now.
I’m certainly not generous enough to continue helping him. If all the advice I’ve given him isn't enough, then the problem lies with him and his inaction.
“I know... You’re right. I can’t just continue like this if I don’t want to see her get stolen by you.” Sakuma eventually responded.
Those around us had confused looks but possibly remembering what they witnessed last night, most had looks of understanding.
Of course, I’m like the villain in this story. I’m that guy who shamelessly flaunted how I can invite anyone and not face any negative consequences.
For sure, some of them started seeing me in a negative light because of that. But as always, I couldn’t care less about their opinions.
I may not want to create unnecessary enemies for myself but that doesn’t mean I can just take everything lying down. So they can curse at me all they want but once they escalate it from that, they better be prepared to face the consequences.
Uh... Anyway, how should I respond to this guy?
On my left, Hino looked like he’s also interested in this and that’s the same even for Kobayashi and Shirai. And that’s normal, I guess? I put myself further into the spotlight last night, after all. Now, anything that might be related to me could gather this much attention.
“Look. No one’s stealing anything, alright? But this is good for you. You’re finally stepping up and taking my advice seriously.”
Upon hearing that, Sakuma got a bit flustered. He possibly realized it. All this time, I’m telling him to step up and stop being passive when it comes to Setsuna-nee. Besides, I can swear that I’m not even trying to make a move on that girl... she’s the one getting drawn to me...
But who will believe me if I say that on this occasion? That’s not only a bad idea but also something that I wanted to avoid. She’s still Satsuki’s older sister so I don’t want to start something that can tarnish her reputation.
Anyway, it took Sakuma close to a minute before responding. This time, his eyes became a little bit clearer. While he still looked like he found his resolve not to lose against me, his hostility already lessened.
“Your advice... I see. I understand now. But Onoda. I won’t lose.”
“Sure... Not that I’m competing against you. You can interpret things any way you want. Just remember not to stray from your objective. Who knows? You might succeed this time.”
“Yes... And I won’t ask you for advice anymore.”
“Great. I already ran out of things to say anyway.”
I shrugged and acted nonchalant, deflecting whatever hostility left that he was sending my way. There’s no point arguing with him. In the end, won’t this be one less annoyance for me?
A while later, with our conversation ending there, our morning jog started.
Nothing much happened during. The same as yesterday, most were exhausted on running back uphill. Following that, we continued with a standard exercise routine – nothing too excessive since it was already late.
Before long, we once again returned to the gathering area to have our breakfast.
