Stealing Spree

Chapter 2310: Followed

Thirty minutes later, I concluded my patrol after finishing a round of the entirety of the schoolʼs ground. Nothing out of the ordinary, sports clubs were busy practicing, especially those who got qualified for the prefecture-level of the Interhigh like the Girlsʼ Basketball Club.

There wasnʼt anything to say to the other clubs though. They could do anything they want as long as itʼs in line with the name of their clubs.

I also met up with Uchiyama and his group whoʼs trying to crack down on the Anti-Ruki club. They were making progress even without my involvement since most of the members were first years. They were probably those who witnessed how popular I became with the girls during our camping trip.

Itʼs actually quite surprising that in our class, only Fukuda and Miyoshi were identified. Theyʼre so persistent in hating me rather than moving on and finding someone else. If theyʼre not going to confront me themselves, whatʼs the point of joining that group, right? Are they just going to slander me and wait until the girls leave me? In their dreams.

Anyway, according to Uchiyamaʼs findings, most of them were just a bunch of envious bastards who couldnʼt stand seeing me always surrounded by the girls. They even had some ʼeyewitnessesʼ making a statement about how Iʼm flirting with those girls whenever weʼre alone.

Which is not entirely false.

However, those became their fuel to continue funneling their antagonistic behavior towards me. But like I said, theyʼre still just a bunch of cowards who could only badmouth me outside of my earshot.

When I asked Uchiyama if Ichihara Jun, Inugaki or even Enomoto were among them, he said they were not. However, theyʼre still hanging out with the rest of the delinquents that were under Enomoto.

Since they were previously part of it, they pointed me to where they usually gathered. I had them lead me to it but even before we could approach the place, theyʼd already disperse. Itʼs like my presence was becoming like a repellant, scattering them like roaches when the lights turned on.

Still, to make sure that no oneʼs going to cause trouble in school, I told Uchiyama I was either going to dismantle those groups or make them become like them. If he could gather the ʼringleadersʼ, Iʼll make them submit to me. I mean, even with Enomoto posing as the head of them, theyʼre not truly unified just like how easily Uchiyama and the other two broke away from them. Furthermore, each one of those had their own group that they led. Mostly three to four people per group.

Right. Thereʼs another detail. Most of them were already third years so... a lot were worried about their upcoming careers. As for those like him who now have a seniority, theyʼre trying to recruit their juniors. Unfortunately, with only four first-year classes and having a ratio of boys and girls skewed to the other side, theyʼre really not gaining new people. And with the rise of the Anti-Ruki Club, thereʼs a chance that this school will be partially cleansed of troublemakers once those third years graduate at the end of the school year.

Anyway, thatʼs that. After I instructed them not to cause trouble and just scare those idiots from my ʼfanʼ club, I set aside the ʼschool undergroundʼ and just finished my patrol before coming to check on our potato clubhouse.

Since I didnʼt get busy investigating and chasing after a pranking incident just like last week, I arrived early. The sun could still be seen from the west, casting a light orange glow that bathed the school in its warm light. I entered the clubhouse expecting someone to be there.

Alas, most clubs were still in session, so it was quiet.

But thatʼs fine. Misaki would show up later for our rehearsal. I havenʼt memorized the full script of our two-person play yet. Only the first part. In any case, maybe I could ad-lib some parts depending on her lines, to make it more... interesting.

After checking the whole place, I once again moved to the back of the clubhouse to start clearing out the weeds in the garden I was planning to use to plant our potatoes. Since this place was the former ʼGardening Clubʼ clubhouse, those plots were already pretty good, it was just truly forgotten. I went to the small tool shed and found the rusty tools they didnʼt take away.

Since I planned to only weed them out for today, I grabbed a pair of gloves and a small hand shovel. The garden was a bit overgrown, with weeds wrapping around the metal fence that surrounded the plots.

I carefully approached the first plot, kneeling down and gently starting to dig out the weeds. The soil was surprisingly soft and rich, probably from the months or a few years of neglect. But itʼs not all bad. It meant that the ground was still fertile and perfect for planting.

After working on this for at least fifteen minutes, I heard the door creak open and a pair of footsteps entering. Thinking that it should be Misaki, I stood up, dropped the shovel and took off the gloves before returning inside.

However, I was wrong, it wasnʼt Misaki. It was Maaya and she wasnʼt alone.

Behind her, there was Miura-senpai, Komoeʼs older sister and the gamer girl, Sagara-senpai. ”Oh! Onoda-kun! This is amazing! It looked like an old dilapidated haunted house from the outside but here... Itʼs cozy!” Miura-senpai exclaimed as she immediately ran around the room, her eyes lighting up as she took in the sight of the lavish interior of the clubhouse. Sagara-senpai was also a little curious but sheʼs quite behaved.

And lastly, Maaya was staring at me with an apologetic look before saying, ”Sorry, Ruki. I didnʼt notice I was followed by them.”

Yeah. I figured thatʼs the case. Knowing that girl, she wouldnʼt just bring anyone with her, especially to this place that was supposed to be our groupʼs secret.

”Hehe. Donʼt get mad at Maaya-chan, Onoda-kun. This was all due to my suspicion. I once checked this place out because of rumors of ghost haunting, who wouldʼve thought that the rumors were probably born because you guys have been spotted coming to and from here.” As she said all that, Miura-senpai posed while nudging her glasses up her nose, a playful smirk on her face.

Right. We were here when they snooped around, talking about the ghost rumor or something. But thinking about it, this was truly bound to happen. Itʼs not like everyone was skilled in sneaking into this area. And with more girls coming here, people would start to notice.