Stealing Spree

"Why are you so stiff, Setsuna-nee? Are you worried about me? Don't be. I can dance more after this."

"Ugh. This shameless idiot. I'm not worried about you! I'm just... uncomfortable. Nothing more than that!"

With a shameless smirk on my face, I asked the woman whose movements were pretty much robotic as though she was still in the process of digesting what happened.

Ah. Wait. That was truly her current state at the moment. Bewildered at her own decision to take my hand and follow me back to the dance floor.

True to what Juri and I discussed earlier, I immediately went to invite her for a dance to prevent the woman from erupting like an agitated volcano.

Of course, not only she called me shameless for doing so but she once again put me in a headlock to express her frustration.

When Sakuma saw that, the guy almost dropped to his knees. He thought I was already trying to get my hands on her. Well, that's a valid concern from him but from how Setsuna-nee aggressively reacted to my invitation, he, at least, got relieved when he figured out that Setsuna-nee was annoyed at me for Satsuki.

I also have no idea if that's the only reason but after that initial reaction, she didn't actually reject my invite.

As soon as she found it pointless to hurt me through her headlock, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dance floor herself.

And at present, it's not even half a minute since we began dancing to the rhythm.

Since I've already done it more than ten times tonight, I could honestly say that I had no room for error anymore. Additionally, it allowed me to observe my partner more.

That's why I instantly noticed how stiff she was. If I'm not wrong, she's regretting the fact that she impulsively dragged me here.

Uncomfortable, huh? This woman wasn't really great at lying. In any case, I don't see anything wrong with playing along with her. I can use this chance to further probe what's going on in her head.

I won't apologize to Sakuma. It's not like I'm being malicious here. I'm not even thinking of stealing her away from him. Instead, that guy better man up, or else Setsuna-nee will truly slip away from his grasp. She's already shown signs of being too conscious of me. Not to mention, that unprompted hug when we're alone together. And if I added the effect of what she witnessed inside the bathroom, it's not wrong to say that her head must've been filled by me.

"I see. If you're this uncomfortable, we should stop. I don't want to step into you because you missed the beat. It will hurt you, Setsuna-nee-san."

"Huh? I'm not that clumsy yet! Fine... I'll try to match your steps. Stop nagging at me."

Heh. Look at her, she even intentionally avoided answering my suggestion to stop. Somehow, I couldn't help but remember how Satsuki acted around me back then.

My initial impression of her being a playful one was wrong. She's actually the same as her little sister in this regard.

"I'm not nagging though. In fact, you're the one who keeps on stressing out your words. Setsuna-nee-san, do you understand why I invited you to dance?"

"I don't know. Tell me why."

Setsuna-nee could only reply like that since she couldn't refute my words.

When I glanced down to check on her expression, I saw her biting her lips while having furrowed brows. Most likely, she's annoyed at the fact that I sounded like I could read her easily. As always, she wanted to get the upper hand in our conversation. Alas, she couldn't use her "˜older sister card' here.

"Because I know what you're thinking. I'm shameless, right? I keep on inviting girls left and right to dance. Should I explain my reason for doing this? Since we're already here and the music and noises will drown out our voices, this is the perfect opportunity."

"..."

"I'll take that silence as a yes, then? Alright... if I say I'm trying to draw attention away from our relationship, will you believe me?"

At this point, it's quite useless to make that kind of excuse anymore. I know that. Anyone with a good eye should've already noticed that the girls I've danced with are all emotionally invested in me. Their affectionate gazes weren't hidden at all. Only those who refuse to accept the reality that they're all in love with me could try to downplay it as nothing.

Furthermore, I was the same... When it comes to my girls my real feelings were surfacing on my face more often than not. My affectionate smile, gaze, and actions should be too obvious.

However, because it was an absurd notion to think that I am currently in a relationship with all of them, most would definitely dismiss that possibility.

"Why will I believe you? You're just a shameless brat." Setsuna-

nee huffed in annoyance but the way she tried to turn her head to the side spoke volumes.

She's among those few who didn't dismiss that notion. After seeing how I act around all of them, it's only natural for her to figure that out. However, for her to not bring that up here... I could only think about one possibility.

Setsuna-nee didn't want to believe it. Because if she did, she might also figure out why she's this conscious of me.

"Right. It's fine if you don't believe me regarding that. But Setsuna-nee-san, you should at least believe how much I love Satsuki, no? No matter what happens, that won't change."

"Tsk... Look at how thick your face is. Forget it, I'm just stressing myself out when Satsu-chan herself isn't saying anything."

"You know if there's something you want to understand, you can always ask me or Satsuki, Setsuna-nee-san. We will answer honestly."

There's actually no point keeping things hidden from her anymore when she could already connect the dots. And given how much she's observing me, even if my assumption wasn't really accurate, she's at least closer to the truth already. Only our confirmation would make it official in her head.

"Forget it. I'm not dumb, Onoda-kun... Given the way you're acting, isn't it best for me to be kept in the dark?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Everything is up to your choice, Setsuna-nee-san."

"Tsk. I hate that ambiguousness. Enough about this and that, tell me, are you going to continue dancing after this?"

Setsuna-nee clicked her tongue. Obviously, she's unamused but instead of pursuing this topic further, she veered away from it.

"Yes. I started it. I'll dance with everyone who will accept my invitation until that music and fire dies down."

I stared at her for a moment before answering. The few seconds we spent dancing to the rhythm probably felt like an eternity for her. Sweat started to pour out from her pores. She's most likely praying for the song to end soon. That way, she could get away from me.

"Crazy idiot..."

"I won't deny that. But Setsuna-nee-san. Why don't we focus on the dance instead? We're getting too much attention being close like this."

Upon hearing that, Setsuna-nee's shoulders jerked upward as though she had just woken up from a dream. Then, with her eyes observing our current closeness before comparing us to another couple in front, she immediately attempted to create some distance.

But it's all too late. She'd destroy the rhythm of our steps if she did that, after all.

And because of that, as the last minute of this loop commenced, Setsuna-nee could only try to act unbothered from the gazes focused on us and our closeness. Compared to her dance with Sakuma earlier, it was already incomparable to this.

In any case, I still couldn't care less about the envious, hostile, and wary gazes coming from the boys and college guys.

Why? Because I'm still not done yet with this. On my estimate, I could still invite twenty more girls if the 2-minute something folk dance song accompaniment looped for two hours.

Although I should be careful about provoking those Camp Managers, it's also too late to be mindful of that. I have to see this through to the end