Stealing Spree

Chapter 1163: Spooked once more

With her glasses on, she’s sitting down behind her table, her elbows resting on top of it while her chin is supported by her clasped hands.     

There was a faint smile on her lips as she eyed both of us. She only gave me a quick glance and a noticeable smirk before focusing on Ishida-senpai.     

Is she trying to show off in front of me?     

Anyway, since I’m in a supporting role this time, I stood a step behind the Literature Club President as she made her way toward Shizu.     

Ah, right. She’s not alone in this room. Seated on her usual seat, Watanabe smilingly stared at us. She’s acting rather unusual. Her previous panicky behavior two days ago was nowhere to be seen.     

Did Shizu ask her to stay here?     

In any case, I nodded to the girl before disregarding her presence again.     

Once Ishida-senpai reached Shizu’s table, I pulled a chair for her to sit on.     

And when they started their discussion about those rooms for our club, I swiftly went on to work on my previous job; making tea for everyone.     

As I waited for the pot to boil, Watanabe, who seemed to have nothing to do except for listening in on their conversation, walked in my direction.     

With her hands behind her, the girl hummed jovially before calling out to me in a silent voice, “Onoda-kun.”     

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” I acted unperturbed as I picked up the cups we were using.     

However, that somehow made the girl burst into enthusiasm. She leaned closer and whispered. “Nothing, I thought you might need a hand on that.”     

This girl… What’s her deal today? And where’s her Maa-kun? It’s weird enough that she stayed here and even more so now that she approached me by herself.     

I looked over my shoulder to check on Shizu and Ishida-senpai but they were both locked in a conversation.     

Or that’s just my initial perception. Shizu also took a glance at me, smiling mysteriously before turning back to Ishida-senpai.     

If she’s acting like that… I could only put out a guess.     

Perhaps, Watanabe’s behavior has to do with what the four of them talked about yesterday.     

During the Mentor Program, Haruko and Nami went up here to meet Shizu and Satsuki.     

Nami and Haruko didn’t give me a hint at what they talked about and Satsuki, even more so.     

Shizu, on the other hand, kept on acting mysterious. She’s probably having a laugh from the messages I sent to her to which she only replied using three dots and a smiley face.     

Alright, I better test it then. She’s not some brave girl anyway. Thinking back to how spooked she became two days ago, I could easily induce the same fear from her. Just that, Ishida-senpai and Shizu might see me doing it. Although the latter was probably expecting it, the former would surely be confused or even suspicious of me. She’s still unaware of the whole scale of my complex relationship, after all.     

“Alright then, I need a hand, can you stand in front of me?”     

“Eh? What’s that got to do with—” Not waiting for her to finish her question, I turned sideways, opening up the space in front of me.     

Watanabe gulped down and alternately looked at that open space that I asked her to fill and me.         

After contemplating for a few seconds, she meekly stepped in and stood there with her back facing me.     

“… Here, what do I have to do?” Although her voice lost the initial cheery tone, the girl still came off rather strong. I looked down at her legs or specifically at her knees but they remained stable. Her shoulders, although small, were raised confidently.     

This girl’s shoulder-length grayish brown hair was a little curly at its tips which allowed her nape to be on full display.     

When my eyes focused on it, I noticed that she was wearing a silver necklace. Most likely, it’s hidden beneath her uniform.     

She smells good like the fresh morning breeze near the seaside.     

When I blew air into her nape, she shivered slightly but perhaps thinking that it was not intentional, she remained standing there, waiting for my reply.     

“Uh. Why don’t you prepare those cups? I’ll watch over you.”     

“H-huh? That’s not something you need help for is it?”     

“I suppose you’re right. But seeing how eager you are to help me, might as well use you for it.”     

“You’re being unreasonable.” Although she said that, Watanabe still did what I asked of her.     

And while doing so, I slipped my arm from above her shoulders as I reached for the jar of tea leaves.     

If Ishida-senpai or Shizu decided to look in our direction at this moment, it would definitely appear as though I was hugging Watanabe from behind.     

As for Watanabe’s reaction, she flinched and paused on what she was doing before turning her head to me, her eyes shaking while wearing a pleading expression. “… Onoda-kun. Isn’t this… really bad?”     

“Hmm? What do you mean?” I acted oblivious and retracted my arms back. However, instead of retracting it completely, I only switched it alternately to slip from her side before fiddling the jar open.     

“This… You’re practically hugging me…”     

“Am I? I’m not touching you at all though. Well, if it bothers you that much then, you can leave it behind, I’ll finish it. The water is about to boil, anyway.”     

“Uh…” The girl bit her lips in slight frustration. However, in the end, she remained there and continued what she was doing. On the other hand, I also opened the jar and took out the leaves I would be using.     

Before stepping away from her, I pressed my lips close to her ears and slowly whispered, “Good job not breaking down. I don’t know what Shizu asked you to do but… I want to let you know that I saw through your act. It’s up to you whether to tell me about it or not. Or if you want, we can act this close more.”     

As soon as I finished saying that, I watched the girl’s expression turn to ice as she went rigid and unmoving.     

Looks like I was right on the mark that Shizu put her up in this…     

Anyway, since I already said my piece, I didn’t wait for her reply and went to the whistling pot of water and started brewing the tea. I also stopped paying attention to her and just waited for Shizu to check on us again.     

And when she did, I shook my head and mouthed, “Talk to me?”     

Shizu’s eyes went to Watanabe and upon noticing the girl remained frozen on her spot, she copied me and smiled before replying in the same method, “Okay…”     

Before I brought the tea to them, I returned to Watanabe’s side and woke her up from her stupor.     

“Hey, let’s go. How long are you going to be frozen there? The tea will turn cold. We’ll have a nice long talk in the future, right?”         

“Uhm… Y-yes.”     

That’s all Watanabe could say before following me back to the long table like a meek little creature who lost her fang.