Stealing Spree

There’s no dodging that question. Chii successfully put me in a situation where I should give an answer or they wouldn’t be satisfied with it.

And so, after acting like I contemplated a lot on how I should answer it, I confidently faced everyone.

“Maybe? I have to properly present myself to the girls who said yes, after all. And that includes you, Chii. Tell me, do I need to pass some kind of test to fall in love with you?”

Upon answering like that and shooting an arrow back to the girl, I watched how she slowly turned red, losing the composure of a gyaru.

However, she was saved by Kushii and An-rin who started laughing out loud as they found my answer too hilarious.

On the other hand, the other girls, especially those who playfully answered yes last Saturday showed different reactions. However, one thing was common, they all became flustered soon after and refused to meet my gaze which started roaming around the classroom.

The boys and girls who weren’t present that day all looked confused at their reactions but upon being informed, some of them shouted ‘How shameless!’ or ‘Onoda, you freak!’.

Sakuma arrived at the classroom in the middle of all that. When he also got informed of what happened, rather than reacting to my new look, he went straight to blurting out a reaction to something I told him before, “You… You’re serious at that time?!”

Yep. He’s referring to that time when I started confusing him about his feelings for Satsuki. I told him that if the girls really fell for me, I wouldn’t pick one but take them all.

I winked and put a finger on my lips, shushing Sakuma.

As for the others, I left them to make their own interpretation…

And to divert their focus on that, Hina and Saki mentioned the basketball game that we watched.

With that, they started consoling the sulking girl who was also as confused as to what happened last Saturday.

Right… I only told her that we went to a snack shop and failed to mention my declaration which many took as a joke, except my girls.

Uh. I’ll expect a scolding from her later.

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With the arrival of Shio, the commotion immediately died down. I gotta hand it to her not to react upon seeing me. But halfway through her lesson, she called me to the front and had me read a passage in a book she brought.

Whether that’s an excuse to see me up close or not, I had no idea. Maybe she just showcased me in front of everyone? That’s also plausible reasoning.

In any case, she slipped in her compliment before I returned to my seat and that made me smile.

Our beautiful teacher is still as lovable as I expected.

“That’s it for today's lesson. You guys had just passed the midterms. I forgot your test papers in my office so… Onoda-kun, come to my office to get them and distribute them to everyone.” Shio announced three minutes before the end of the first period.

With how her eyes glinted with a hint of excitement, I started doubting whether she had really forgotten it or not. Like the younger girls, she’s now making more effort to get my attention.

“Understood, sensei. Uhm… should I carry your things to your next class?”

“No. It’s fine today.” Shio rejected it instantly before turning her focus back on the whole class, “Anyway, the midterm exam rankings for your year level will be posted on the bulletin board outside, you can check it later.”

That’s weird. If telling me to go to her office is for spending some time with me, why did she refuse to capitalize on my role as her Student Assistant?

Precaution to keep our relationship hidden? No… for the past weeks, she never missed on using that privilege even if it’s just once or twice per day.

Is it because she doesn’t want me to be ogled at by other girls from the other classes? Most likely.

Still, I decided to confirm it and see firsthand how adorable she could be.

Sure enough, when I still went to escort her to the next class, Shio pulled me to some obscure corner, scolding me while at the same time, letting out what she bottled up earlier.

“Do you know? I believed that I was someone who did not care about external appearance. You’ve proven that wrong, Ruru. Haa, you’re making me go crazy about you.”

“I see. Now I’m thoroughly convinced. If even an adult like you can act like this because of my new appearance, I’m gonna accept that I’m handsome as all of you said.”

I realized. My exhaustion was most likely brought about by my denial about being called handsome by almost everyone who approached me.

Accepting it through hearing her reaction, I instantly felt relief on my head and shoulder as though the weight I was carrying disappeared. Am I weird? Perhaps…

Shio looked at me incredulously as if saying, ‘What is this idiot talking about?’

“Ruru, how inept are you at estimating your own attractiveness?”

“Perhaps fully inept? I mean, all of you fell in love with me not because I got the looks that you’re looking for. I never paid too much attention to my appearance. That’s why suddenly being acknowledged by everyone I ran into made me feel a little detached from reality.” I explained.

Perhaps a little unconvinced, Shio grabbed me by my chin and inspected my face closer. Once she was done, Shio pinched my nose and said, “Hmm… So, you’re saying that if I didn’t confess to you like this, you'd still feel like that?”

“Perhaps. Or I will understand it eventually.”

“Really, you appeared invincible at a glance but in reality, you’re still full of flaws.”

“That’s correct. That’s the fitting description of me.”

I didn’t deny it and just smiled at her.

Not knowing what to say anymore, Shio eventually gave up and just savored the remaining time we had there.

Soon after that, we went to her next class. And because I finally accepted the reality of my situation, I managed to be indifferent to the reaction of the students from Class 2.

Well, there’s Watanabe who shouted as if she saw a ghost. But I simply greeted her before leaving the room.

Before returning to our classroom, my feet naturally brought me to the empty room near the stairs.

Inside it, I was ambushed by Satsuki who instantly pushed my back on the wall while pushing herself as close to me as possible. The girl didn’t waste any second inspecting my appearance the same way Shio did just a few minutes earlier.

Once she’s done. Satsuki’s lips pressed on mine all the while scolding me for not telling her about what happened at the snack shop and about how she wanted to join that. For her, that’s a chance to announce that she’s also into me without getting any backlash.

Because even with what happened earlier, the others still believed that I was joking. They got flustered but once that passed, they all embarrassedly asked me to take my words back.

Truthfully, with or without that, our classmates already noticed how Satsuki was melting whenever she’s dealing with me. The only thing left was to confirm what was really happening between us. No one was brave enough to ask though.

After appeasing Satsuki for a few minutes, we returned to the classroom without hiding the minute clues that we went somewhere together.