Stealing Spree

Chapter 2097: Going home



Before arriving at the Student Support Club, Nina sensibly let go of my arm. As much as she wanted to be baptized by my fangs, she knew it wasn't a good idea to show up there while clinging to me.

Furthermore, she told me to act like we only met along the way, keeping the fact that she was with us for more than half an hour.

When I asked her why, she looked me in the eye and said, "I don't want my seniors to get the wrong idea".

By seniors, she probably meant everyone in their circle, including my girls and the three stooges.

It's understandable though. The girls will probably look at me in question but the boys, I can already imagine Ogawa or Tadano interrogating me right there and then.

I can shut them down but that's too troublesome.

My girls will probably figure it out anyway and if they don't, I will mention it to them later or at night.

Due to that, our arrival didn't cause that much of a disturbance.

She greeted her seniors and acted like a junior who arrived to soothe their minds from the workload they just finished.

Tadano was pleased to see her but Ogawa? The guy instantly eyed me, not even trying to hide his suspicion.

Nina and I ignored that nonsense.

Following that, it didn't take long for the girl to be doted on by Nami, Arisa, and Saki.

Kikuchi gave her a cookie.

As for Hina, the girl only went to pat her head before coming to me to find comfort.

From the way I saw it, she was also mentally tired from their club activity.

Izumi, on the other hand, remained in her seat. When I went to check up on her, I was met with a side eye though, primarily because of the girl curled up in my embrace.

Hina sensed that so once she got better, she joined the other girls to surround Nina.

Shortly after that, Izumi furtively signaled for me to come close and when I did, she pulled me down to her side before launching herself to me, using my chest as her place of comfort.

Yeah. She's the same as Hina. She was in need of the comfort I could provide.

I didn't say anything and simply held her.

They already finished their activity or the request Shizu brought to them so... there was nothing to stop Izumi from acting spoiled anymore.

While my attention was wholly focused on Izumi, I could sense Nina occasionally glancing in our direction, an envious expression momentarily appearing on her face.

For sure, Nami and the others caught that but they hid it quite well which prevented the boys from seeing.

Anyway, there's nothing much that happened after that.

The silent guy left silently once they finished tidying up the table.

He's supposed to be kicked out of the club. I know.

But something happened yesterday, the day his suspension was lifted. I wasn't at school so I only heard it from the girls.

He asked them for their time, and in this very room, he prostrated himself to apologize to Saki and everyone in their group.

Naturally, all five of them laid it out to him that he had broken their trust upon knowing what he did.

I suspected that Ogawa urged him to apologize but apparently, that's not the case. It's actually Umi, his cousin, who convinced him to apologize right away and not stall it. That girl... She visited their house and listened to his complaints where he was projecting himself as the victim. But then, she talked him down, making him realize the gravity of what he did.

The courage to do that was admirable. I'll pamper her a lot when I see her one of these days. As for why he's back in the club, he also pleaded to be allowed to come back.

While the majority already decided not to give him a chance after the incident, Saki herself stepped up. However, with harsh conditions wherein anyone else would choose to just walk away if they were in his shoes.

He could still come and join them in their club activities but once club hours were over, he had to leave. Naturally, approaching Saki or any of the girls was also prohibited. She also tasked Ogawa, the only one who refused to kick him out, to watch over him. He'll be joining the silent guy if he oversteps and breaks those conditions.

Basically, Saki turned him into an outcast.

And before I could ask her for her reason to do that, she cleared it up to me that it's not out of pity. She wanted him to feel unwelcome and eventually voluntarily choose to leave by himself.

Maybe that's her kind of revenge.

I can say that it is too soft. But looking at it from her perspective, it was also for her peace of

mind.

She watched me pummel the guy with my fists until he became bloodied on the day of her birthday... That's not a great memory to keep.

Besides, even if it became twisted in the end, their friendship before I appeared in their life was at the very least, genuine, no matter how pretentious Ogawa acted back then.

I wouldn't take that away from them. In the future, it will just be a part of their distant

memory buried by the memories we create together.

Anyway, after I finished pampering Izumi, I told them to wait for me.

I planned to go home with them today but before doing so, I'll walk the other girls to their

bus stop or the station.

Kinda unreasonable, I know but everyone agreed to it.

Nina also looked pleased upon hearing that which didn't escape Tadano's notice.

Yep. Hiding her interest in me was doomed to fail right from the start.

First, I walked with my girls from the Literature Club along with Chii, Kushii, and An-rin.

Then, I returned to get Haruko and the rest of the girls from the Book Club and Poem Appreciation Club.

Unfortunately, Maaya, Himeko, and later, Misaki and Marika were still picked up by their chauffeurs.

I got caught in a little trouble with Marika's guards who once again warned me to stop

meddling.

But what can I do? I'm still planning to pick her up tomorrow.

I even learned that someone from the Kujou Family might make the trip to our city to set things straight. Marika doesn't know who it will be but I guess I can ask my parents who are

already working behind the scenes.

I'll properly repay them once everything is over.

As for Satsuki, I ended up walking with more than half of the basketball club since they all decided to go home together.

Kawakami-senpai apologized to me but well, I didn't really mind. They're a lively bunch, that's for sure. But ever since they won the city-level inter-high competition, I'm already considered part of their club.

They're practicing again for the next level of that competition, after all. It will happen during the summer break so they really have no time to relax if they want to progress further into the grand ambition of reaching the nationals.

I also made a trip to see Ryouko-san and Shio. The former had just returned from the gymnasium while the latter was busily organizing her modules for tomorrow.

When I finally returned to the Student Support Club, close to an hour had already passed.

The sky outside was already halfway through transitioning to the night sky.

In any case, my girls didn't mind it at all. They even got an additional member in the form of Shizu and Komoe who's going to walk with us part of the way.

Well, scratch that, I decided to walk her to their house which was only a few minutes from that bus stop. Even if a bus arrives before I return, we'll simply wait for another one. Ogawa and Tadano already left. Most likely to save themselves from seeing me flirt with the girls. Good for them, I guess?

"Shall we?" I asked them while sporting a huge grin which earned me a few pinch on my cheeks from the girls. They found that grin irritating because of how over-the-top it was. In the end, I got sandwiched by Shizu and Arisa as we led everyone out of the school gates.