1837 My reputation precedes me

The cooking continued and when the clock ticked eight o’clock, we finished our second task.

After that short event with Maaya and Class 3 representatives, nothing relevant happened anymore. I returned with my girls after helping Kobayashi and we finished our chicken porridge perfectly.

Naturally, my girls and I also used that chance to bond.

Hina and Chii acted a little bolder. They kept on sticking close to me. At times, they’d surprise me with a hug while I was busy checking the status of our task. Kanzaki was a little reserved though. However, whenever an opportunity arose, her straightforwardness would once again shine.

We probably gathered a lot of attention by doing that. But that’s fine, we did nothing excessive anyway. It’s just pretty much the same as how I treated Maaya.

Before long, Shiina, along with the camp managers took over for us. They carried the food and prepared them on a long table before calling for us to announce the completion of our task.

Since we’re the ones who made it, they let us get our food first before telling the others to line up with their plates and bowls as the students tasked to serve it switched places with us.

As this would be the last event before we became separated by gender, my girls immediately secured a spot where we could all gather. Ignoring all the attention drawn to us, we had a nice breakfast together.

Maaya, Misaki, Rae and Komoe also joined us. And by extension, Sachi, Watanabe and Kaede also didn’t miss the fun.

Even Umeda thought she could squeeze in but at that point, our group already became large enough for someone else to join.

At one point, Shiina and Sara hovered over our table. They’re probably wondering why I am the only guy around a group of women.

When our gazes met, I tried inviting them to join us.

I mean, rather than be wary of their curiosity about me, I decided to just deal with them normally and shamelessly.

It’s quite effective.

Shiina and Sara backed away while laughing awkwardly, making a lot of other students confused.

My girls didn’t miss that detail, of course. With Nami bringing it up first, I reminded them of that hiking trip I went on with Miwa-nee. I told them the tale of how I helped carry Sara on my back while Shiina worried about her friend.

The innocent forehead girl showered me with praise right away while the other girls had meaningful smiles on their faces. It’s like they’re already calculating whether I would eventually get entangled closely with those two or not.

Well, how should I say it? I wasn’t certain about the future.

Soon, we moved from that topic, switching it to our eventual separation.

As soon as that was brought up, they started presenting their plan on how to meet up with me. I listened to it no matter how comical the plan was.

For example, Saki proposed that she’d bring me in by dressing me up like them. I mean, how? We’re all wearing identical PE uniforms.

That made the girls who realized how absurd that was laugh their asses off.

Anyway, there’s still a lot of question marks regarding our next activities. That’s why after we finished listening to their proposals, I told them that we should wait and see first.

With that, we concluded the topic.

For the rest of that breakfast, I went around our table, spoiling each and every one of them – Watanabe was excluded, of course. She’d be spooked if I also went for her. Instead, after satisfying Komoe with a hug, I also checked on Kaede.

Her motivation still hadn’t returned but she ran quite fast earlier. From what I heard, she had shown the rest of the Class 2 girls why she was dubbed as the rising star of track and field.

I went to Sachi last. Given that she’s someone who would rather ambush me where the girls weren’t around, she’s acting more reserved this time. Or maybe wary that the others would look at her like a hostile element trying to steal my attention.

And to make it look like I was just being friendly, I didn’t stop at our table. I went around everyone’s table like a busybody.

Some were annoyed at me but all in all, I somehow acquired quite a lot of positive reputation, especially from the girls...

As for the number of boys who started finding me a nuisance, they also increased. Still, Kobayashi and Shirai got on good terms with me.

Naturally, I would never consider them as friends... That’s a luxury I couldn’t afford to have given my nature.

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A while later, as the merry atmosphere of the breakfast ended, our next task naturally became cleaning up for ourselves.

It’s not considered our Third Task. It’s simply the last part of the Second Task.

With everyone’s stomachs filled, we lined up once again in front of the camp managers with girls and boys separated from each other.

Following that, two of the camp managers went around while holding a huge basket to place our phones in. They’re going to store it away.

And once that’s done, Sawano and Shiina announced our move to the cabins.

The boys were pointed to the left path while the girls were to the right.

With Sawano and the rest of the male camp managers guiding us, the sight of the girls soon disappeared.

Upon arriving at the vicinity of the cabins, Sawano turned around to announce another reminder.

“Alright. I believe you’re already informed about this but the cabin you will be assigned to is where you’re going to stay until tomorrow. Get along with your roommates and do not start a fight. The rules will remain the same.”

After saying that, Sarah’s boyfriend stepped out and opened the rolled-up schedule for this Camping Trip.

I read them all and noted that we’re going to have free time in between different activities. However, the activities will continue until deep into the night. We’re supposed to be in the cabin at 11 pm. And tomorrow, we are supposed to wake up at 4 am. Lastly, the camp will end at 4 pm.

Almost instantly, everyone groaned at seeing how packed it was. But for me, I memorized them all, especially in our free time. That’s my chance to find my girls, no?

Besides... I could very well sacrifice sleep to see my girls. But then again, shouldn’t I let them rest after an exhausting day? Well, I’ll think about it later.

After a while, Sawano continued with his reminders while pointing at the schedule.

“In your free time, you can ask one of us for permission to go out. Do not sneak out without permission or we will place you under heavy monitoring. Also, this is important. Do not sneak into the girl’s side. I know some of you are already thinking about having a tryst with your girlfriends or just looking at them. Stop that thought right away. Keep it in your pants for a day.”

Sawano smirked at the end. And somehow, I could feel his gaze landing on me. Furthermore, everyone came to the same conclusion that the reminder was heavily focused on me. If their gaze could cut, I’d be chopped to pieces by the feeling of being stared at by all of them.

Uh… What can I say? My reputation precedes me. And I’m a bastard who already stopped hiding whatever connection or closeness I have with them.

Scratching my cheek, I put on an awkward smile and broke the sudden tension in the air, “Understood. I’ll ask for permission to see my girls. Am I allowed to do that?”

“Oi! You brat!”

Almost instantly, someone shouted at the side of the camp managers, reacting to what I said.

Then, a second later, a series of laughter ensued. They simply took my words as a joke.

“Oh? Did I say something wrong?” I followed up, acting oblivious.

Sawano shook her head and smiled, possibly thinking that I was trying to lift the heavy mood. Due to that, he rode that ‘joke’.

“No. You’re allowed to do that, Onoda. Just remember not to see them all at once. Do it in moderation. Keep it one with just one at a time. You don’t want to get beaten up by girls, do you?”

There, another series of laughter ensued. The only ones not laughing were those in the know like Sakuma, Ogawa, Tadano, Fukuda, and Miyoshi.

Let’s see. I might really be able to use this to sneak out and visit them because of this. I’ll give Sawano a 5-star rating as a reliable Camp Manager.