Stealing Spree

Chapter 1927 Crazy Idiot

”Why are you so stiff, Setsuna-nee? Are you worried about me? Donʼt be. I can dance more after this.”

”Ugh. This shameless idiot. Iʼm not worried about you! Iʼm 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, thatʼs 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 thatʼs the only reason but after that initial reaction, she didnʼt 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, itʼs not even half a minute since we began dancing to the rhythm.

Since Iʼve 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.

Thatʼs why I instantly noticed how stiff she was. If Iʼm not wrong, sheʼs regretting the fact that she impulsively dragged me here.

Uncomfortable, huh? This woman wasnʼt really great at lying. In any case, I donʼt see anything wrong with playing along with her. I can use this chance to further probe whatʼs going on in her head.

I wonʼt apologize to Sakuma. Itʼs not like Iʼm being malicious here. Iʼm 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. Sheʼs already shown signs of being too conscious of me. Not to mention, that unprompted hug when weʼre alone together. And if I added the effect of what she witnessed inside the bathroom, itʼs not wrong to say that her head mustʼve been filled by me.

”I see. If youʼre this uncomfortable, we should stop. I donʼt want to step into you because you missed the beat. It will hurt you, Setsuna-nee-san.”

”Huh? Iʼm not that clumsy yet! Fine... Iʼll try to match your steps. Stop nagging at me.”

Heh. Look at her, she even intentionally avoided answering my suggestion to stop. Somehow, I couldnʼt help but remember how Satsuki acted around me back then.

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

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

”I donʼt know. Tell me why.”

Setsuna-nee could only reply like that since she couldnʼt refute my words.

When I glanced down to check on her expression, I saw her biting her lips while having furrowed brows. Most likely, sheʼs 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 couldnʼt use her ”?older sister cardʼ here.

”Because I know what youʼre thinking. Iʼm shameless, right? I keep on inviting girls left and right to dance. Should I explain my reason for doing this? Since weʼre already here and the music and noises will drown out our voices, this is the perfect opportunity.”

”...”

”Iʼll take that silence as a yes, then? Alright... if I say Iʼm trying to draw attention away from our relationship, will you believe me?”

At this point, itʼs quite useless to make that kind of excuse anymore. I know that. Anyone with a good eye shouldʼve already noticed that the girls Iʼve danced with are all emotionally invested in me. Their affectionate gazes werenʼt hidden at all. Only those who refuse to accept the reality that theyʼre 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.𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

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? Youʼre just a shameless brat.” Setsuna-

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

Sheʼs among those few who didnʼt dismiss that notion. After seeing how I act around all of them, itʼs 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 didnʼt want to believe it. Because if she did, she might also figure out why sheʼs this conscious of me.

”Right. Itʼs fine if you donʼt believe me regarding that. But Setsuna-nee-san, you should at least believe how much I love Satsuki, no? No matter what happens, that wonʼt change.”

”Tsk... Look at how thick your face is. Forget it, Iʼm just stressing myself out when Satsu-chan herself isnʼt saying anything.”

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

Thereʼs actually no point keeping things hidden from her anymore when she could already connect the dots. And given how much sheʼs observing me, even if my assumption wasnʼt really accurate, sheʼs at least closer to the truth already. Only our confirmation would make it official in her head.

”Forget it. Iʼm not dumb, Onoda-kun... Given the way youʼre acting, isnʼt it best for me to be kept in the dark?”

”Honestly, I donʼt 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, sheʼs unamused but instead of pursuing this topic further, she veered away from it.

”Yes. I started it. Iʼll 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. Sheʼs most likely praying for the song to end soon. That way, she could get away from me.

”Crazy idiot...”

”I wonʼt deny that. But Setsuna-nee-san. Why donʼt we focus on the dance instead? Weʼre getting too much attention being close like this.”

Upon hearing that, Setsuna-neeʼs 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 itʼs all too late. Sheʼd 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 couldnʼt care less about the envious, hostile, and wary gazes coming from the boys and college guys.

Why? Because Iʼm 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, itʼs also too late to be mindful of that. I have to see this through to the end