Stealing Spree

Although usually done with acoustic instruments like drums and guitars, the Camp Managers didn’t prepare something like that for tonight. Instead, they produced speakers and scattered them around the place before playing the song for the folk dance on repeat.

It’s not that no one had a background in music with them, they just didn’t plan on including this as an activity when they’re still planning for it.

Based on the schedule that Shiina showed me, we were supposed to return to our camp area and spend the next two hours before lights out gathered around a smaller bonfire. Our activity would be passing the time while taking turns telling a story.

It’s like having a huge boys’ and girls’ night in our respective camp area.

Now, it has changed to this where everyone has become involved. Maybe even the teachers or professors, if someone was brave enough to invite them. Unfortunately, Shio left with the Dean and Eguchi-sensei stayed at their cabin area.

As for why the schedule switched to this, it probably had to do with Shiina and her constant attempts to spice up the camp.

Yeah. This was likely cooked up by her before the long break.

However, since the ones in charge of the 2nd years were different, it might not be the same on the other hill. Most likely, they'd stick to the planned schedule after dinner.

With Juri and Setsuna-nee staying here with us, it’d be impossible to find out unless someone from there came over here to update us.

In any case, I’m in favor of the dance not happening. My girls are popular and beautiful enough to be asked out by someone for a dance.

Just that, at one corner of my mind, I also like to see them partaking in this festive mood. I'm also looking forward to taking them to dance.

Unfortunately, no matter how I overthink this part, I don’t have any authority to bring them here with us.

That's why I made a mental note in my head. Once the Cultural Festival arrives next month, I'll ensure that a bonfire dance will be held to make up for tonight. I'll even join the soon-to-be-created cultural festival committee to prepare for it.

With the fire currently ablaze and the moonlight shining from above making the surroundings a little mesmerizing to our eyes, the dance space was immediately filled up seconds after the music started.

Some boys were successful with their attempts to invite a girl and the couples excitedly jumped into the beat.

Nonetheless, even if everyone should already be familiar with the simplistic steps of the folk dance, we’re all out of practice.

The first few seconds ended up chaotic where more than half of the couples tripped as they failed to get into the rhythm. Some stepped on their partners while others crossed their legs together.

Some were injured and immediately ended their dance but nothing so serious as to call for a medic.

Of course, no matter how capable I usually was, Satsuki and I were among that ‘more than half’. Luckily, we didn’t trip or step on each other’s feet. We simply got stuck when we started riding the beat.

To solve it, I had to tip-toe to match her movements. She’s half a head taller than me, after all. That solved our problem. Without doing so, it looked like I was being dragged by her with how I had to stretch my left arm to its limit to hold onto her hand from over her shoulder.

Then for the rest of that first loop of the song, we concentrated on finishing the routine while slowly enjoying it. Her grumpy expression melted and was instantly replaced by a lovely smile.

Ignoring the eyes focused on us, Satsuki and I savored that moment until the song ended.

As for Sakuma who tried to invite Setsuna-nee, he was unsuccessful. Maybe because Setsuna-nee was focused on us. Because as soon as I returned with Satsuki, she accepted his invitation, sending the idiot into a joyous leap that got everyone to look at him like a freak.

Still, right after those who turned their attention to him found Setsuna-nee who’s clearly not a 1st year student like us, they gathered the spotlight on them.

I even heard Shiina announcing that like an accomplishment for everyone to hear.

Sakuma became hailed as the first lucky guy to have a Camp Manager accept his invitation to dance. Still with everyone noticing her likeness with Satsuki, we also got some of that attention.

Anyway, it’s still a win for him, no?

Finally, after all the advice I’ve given him, his proactiveness this time had borne fruit. He got to dance with Setsuna-nee. Something he could probably only fantasize about before.

Looking at Setsuna-nee who seemed to be unbothered by the unnecessary attention to them, she started guiding Sakuma to do the dance properly.

From the way I see it, she’s either rewarding him for his initiative this time or she’s just being kind not to reject him. Whichever the case, Setsuna-nee was quite pleased to see the dumbfounded looks of the guys, especially the Camp Managers who – like Shiina said earlier – were thinking of challenging themselves to court her.

As someone known to brutally reject even interacting with a guy, seeing her voluntarily accepting a high school brat’s invitation was like a bombshell they’re not expecting to drop. Some who probably already tried to approach her had a hardened expression as if their egos had been hit by a brick.

But well, I had no time to watch everything unfold around them.

I had more girls to dance with, no?

Since I started with Satsuki to evade Setsuna-nee’s suspicious looks, my next partner was someone whose relationship with me was known by her friends.

Yep… Who else it is but Rae?

Earlier, I’d already felt the cold and dreadful gazes of Nazuki and Yoneda drilling on my back. If I brought another girl on the dance floor before Rae, they might just stomp over to our side and make a scene.

I had to prevent that.

And so, using the attention that was focused on Sakuma and Setsuna-nee as a cover, I sneakily went over to Class 4 to get Rae.

Of course, I was met with the blockage made by Nazuki who had an interrogative posture, and Yoneda, acting as her assistant.

“Onoda-kun, care to explain why you didn’t dance with our Mirae first?”

With her every word feeling like a needle stabbing into my skin, she opened up with that question.

From over her shoulder, I could spy Rae looking at me apologetically but at the same time entertained.

Clearly, she wanted to witness how I would get past her overprotective guardians.

“Explain, huh? Nazuki-san, I have no explanation. I simply picked the girl closest to me at that moment. I mean… given the nature of this bonfire dance, I might not be able to just wiggle my way out without dancing with everyone close to me…”

I know. That sounded like a flimsy excuse with the only purpose of making a plausible excuse.

I wasn’t expecting Nazuki to accept that though.

And sure enough, her eyebrows twitched and her frown became apparent. She looked behind her to check on Rae’s reaction before shaking her head and mouthing, “Fail.”

Nonetheless, she didn’t voice that out.

Instead, it was Yoneda who spoke next in response to what I said. A hand was covering her mouth, expressing her shock.

“Huh? What are you saying Onoda-kun? Don’t tell me… Are you planning to dance with everyone?” Her eyes then focused on where I came from and where my girls were gathered. “No, you can’t! The dance will lose its significance! It’s supposed to be special!”

Well, she’s not wrong about that but it’s still going to be special for us – unfortunately, she wouldn’t know that.

With this, I spent the next minute until the second loop ended, convincing the two to let me pass to get Rae.

So, how did I eventually get past them? It’s simple… I invited them in place of Rae which made the two girls speechless.

In the end, my girl who got her fair share of entertainment at seeing her friends being taken aback at my shamelessness stepped up to smoothen things out.

Before dragging me to the dance area as the third loop began, she teased her friends by following up with my invitation, “Knowing this guy and his boundless shamelessness, you two should prepare. You’re now on his list of girls he’s going to dance with tonight. Leave the scolding he deserves to me. Let’s all enjoy this night, okay?”

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