Stealing Spree

Yesterday, despite resolving it easily, it left me some kind of notion to always double-check my surroundings regardless of whether I heard footsteps or not.

I did that with both Rae and Izumi-senpai earlier, albeit I kept it to a minimum to not freak them out or worry them again.

I mean, one wrong move, and I will make all of them a target as well. There’s nothing bad about being that cautious until I get to talk to Enomoto or if there’s someone else behind him as well.

The only protection we had was actually the absurdness of our relationship. If not for that, they would easily pinpoint who I cared the most about. For example, if I stopped at Satsuki or even with Aya as well, I would mostly be seen with either of the two. But because there are a lot of them, they could only label them as my friends or close friends.

And that’s the same case with Shizu.

But according to Nakanishi-senpai, they already know how special I am to the girl. If they make a move again, it will probably be aimed at me for the second time or Shizu.

There’s also no progress about whoever sent the first love letter as well as the last one with the key. I still kept that one.

Yeah, I said I’d return it and not fall for the obvious trap. But if I wanted to know more, I better stop being passive and reactive. I had to step out there and dig into it and if needed, root them out.

That’s why before coming to the Book Club, I sent a message to Kana, Rae and Ishida-senpai that I would be at least 10 minutes late. After that, my feet led me to another clubroom located on the second floor.

It’s located at some corner and away from the stairs.

Looking up to see the sign hanging above it, it’s read as, ‘Alchemy Research Club’.

Yeah. Someone made that kind of club rather than merging it with the Science Club.

However, that’s not why I was here.

It’s because someone pivotal to the delinquent group was a member of the club.

Once again, I made sure that no one followed me before knocking on its door.

As soon as I heard the cluttering of footsteps inside, I put on the Disciplinary Officer armband and prepared to greet whoever’s going to open the door.

A few seconds later, the door slid open and a glasses-wearing, brown-haired ponytailed girl in a lab coat appeared before me.

With a rather energetic expression, the girl cheerfully greeted, “Enomoto-kun, you’re finally here— Eh?”

With that abrupt pause, the girl finally realized that I wasn’t Enomoto. Most likely, she’s expecting that guy to appear here but she got me instead.

And so, she tilted her head in confusion before taking a few steps back in surprise. “W-who are you?! Wait… I know you… What are you here for?”

“I apologize if I’m not the one you’re expecting but I’m here on behalf of my office for an inspection.”

Saying ‘on behalf’ when I’m the only member of it is ridiculous. But who cares? It’s good enough to use for flaunting authority. Not that I’m going to close down this club. It’s a simple excuse to be here.

I looked inside and it was really like a science lab. I could even smell some kind of chemical, sulfur maybe? The curtains are closed and the room was only illuminated by a single light bulb right in the middle of the room. Moreover, a fourth of the room was partitioned with another curtain; the same as the ones in the infirmary. It’s probably a lounge room or whatever they’re hiding there.

In any case, that’s not important. I’m here to check on someone.

“Huh? Inspection?” The girl raised her voice in doubt. She then stared at my armband and gulped down.

“Nikka? What’s wrong—”

I was about to reply to her when someone emerged from the curtained area. She first addressed the girl in a lab coat before stopping abruptly as soon as she caught me in her eye.

“O-onoda-kun?”

“Yo, Nakanishi-senpai. I’m here for an inspection.” I grinned and waved my hand at her. She’s also in a lab coat and even with it, she’s as sexy as ever. Add to faint light illuminating her figure, she’s like a succubus coming out of a magic circle.

Yeah, right. There’s no succubus in a lab coat.

Anyway, looks like this is really her club. How did I find out? Of course, she told me about this yesterday. Well, given that we mostly spent the time in silence, she didn’t directly inform me of this place. I only deduced it by her words.

However, for the brown-haired girl to directly name Enomoto, Nakanishi-senpai was really telling the truth about being in his protection.

Just that… is he also a member? That’s what I’m going to find out.

“Eh? Reira-san, do you know him?” The girl Nakanishi-senpai named Nikka confusedly asked, not waiting for my answer anymore.

Anyway, Reira, huh? So that’s Nakanishi-senpai’s name…

“Yes. You can go back to what you’re doing. Let me deal with this.” Nakanishi-senpai answered as she walked in my direction.

“O… Okay.” Although a little confused, Nikka nodded a few times before running back to the curtained area. However, before she disappeared behind those curtains, she glanced back at us, looking very vigilant.

I simply looked on and waited for her to disappear from my sight before taking a step inside and closing the door behind me.

Nakanishi-senpai cautiously watched me, maintaining a distance of about ten steps between us. She looked unnerved and clearly didn’t have any intention to come closer.

She opened her mouth to speak again, however, she stopped even before saying a word. Following that, she released a sigh and took five steps forward. The girl then glanced back at the curtained area before finally focusing on me.

“I never heard of an inspection. And what kind of inspection is that?” She asked in a very low volume. Clearly, she didn’t want to let the other girl hear our conversation.

I simply smiled and copied her as I answered, “Regular inspection? Uhm. Sorry, I made that up.”

“You. Then what are you really here for? Are you going to…?” Upon hearing my answer, she immediately frowned.

The confidence that I got as my first impression of her seemingly disappeared without a trace. I couldn’t help but wonder if what she showed me last week was real. Or maybe this was just an effect of yesterday? Only Nakanishi-senpai could answer that.

“No. I’m just here to confirm something and I already achieved that by hearing that girl and seeing you here.” I shook my head and bowed my head slightly in apology.

She’s not a double-faced liar or a great actress. And Enomoto, as the one behind her continued protection, is true.

“Then…”

“But it’s a shame not to greet you, right? After all, I’m the only junior you feel close enough to. Or am I wrong? That girl, is she also a junior you favored?”

“Nikka is a fellow third-year. She’s not a junior. I never lied to you when I said that yesterday.”

“I see. My bad then…” Somehow, hearing that brought me some relief.

Am I actually disturbed by the fact that I might not be the only junior close to her? Uh…

I shook my head inwardly, sweeping that thought away.

“That aside, since I already confirmed what I wanted to check and I got to greet my beautiful senior, I’ll leave now. Sorry for the disturbance.”

With my goal achieved, there’s no reason for me to remain here. Meeting Enomoto could also be pushed to another day. I’m a busy guy, I can’t wait for him to show up here.

“You… You’re way too bold with this, Onoda-kun. I warned and reminded you again and again. Why are you so stubborn?” Perhaps noticing that I was really about to leave, the girl hurriedly blurted that out.

And yes, those are her honest thoughts. Furthermore, she said that in a louder voice, making the girl from earlier peek her head out to check.

I glanced at the girl before answering Nakanishi-senpai’s question, “Uh. That’s my trait, I guess?”

Indeed, it’s a bold move to show up in his supposed ‘territory’. But like I said, I cannot stay too passive in this. I thought I would be dealing with Ichihara Jun and Kujou Marika first but from what happened yesterday, I couldn’t neglect this as well.

It’s not the first time I dealt with problems left and right anyway.