1844 Escorting Sara to their Cabin

Having Sara as a guide ended up becoming really convenient for me despite her somewhat adorable act of running away from compliments. She’s probably not that used to receiving some or even if she did, she’d only hear it from those close to her, like her boyfriend.

Was she being guarded too strictly by him? Maybe. If not for his lack of strength back on that mountain, he’d probably not let me touch her at all.

In consideration of her privacy, I didn’t ask her about that and simply continued to tease her on our way to the cabin. She did ask me to stop but what could I do when she was unconsciously setting herself up for it? There’s nothing wrong with taking the opportunity when it presents itself, right?

Nevertheless, I took it way milder compared to how I tease my girls. I can’t have my guide run away from me completely, right?

Wait. I mixed that up. She’s not guiding me. I’m accompanying her to her cabin.

If she runs away from me, who will I escort? What excuse will I make when I get spotted approaching their cabin?

And that’s why I didn’t push her too much so that she wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

With that, after the initial awkwardness when she let her curiosity take over to ask me those questions, I could say that the two of us got along pretty well. However, it's not to the point that I could consider us becoming friends. Even if she’s filled with gratitude towards me for that time, this was still our second meeting. Moreover, I remained a bundle of mystery in her head that she had yet to fully uncover. She had a lot of questions unanswered and I told her not to go there just yet.

Maybe this would become the same case with Shiina if that woman was the one who ran into me. But perhaps it would be livelier with her? I don’t know. Compared to Sara, that bright aura surrounding that woman could mean she’d be more susceptible to being teased. Ah. No, she’s probably going to be more persistent in finding out more about me. If not for Miwa-

nee's presence back then, I doubt she’d let me off without flirting with me, especially when I became that helpful to them.

Anyway, enough about that.

Despite the restrictions Sara and I put on each other, nothing held us back from forming a great atmosphere around us. Furthermore, with my current situation of having nothing better to do apart from gathering information and finding chances to see my girls, this woman was my best bet. At least, until I found someone better.

A short while later, the cabin area soon came into our view. At this point, some of the teachers, most of whom recognized me, asked me what I was doing there. Sara was quick to step up, saying that I was accompanying her.

Of course, the follow-up question became ‘why?’ but like she boasted earlier, she came up with a plausible excuse that ended up with me getting the pass.

It happened twice which effectively boosted her confidence to make this work. And every time we passed that hurdle, Sara would turn around and beam a proud smile along with an expression that was waiting for my initiative to praise her.

In that regard, I could somehow imagine an imaginary dog tail behind her. She’s like an adorable puppy who’d do impossible tricks to impress her owner. Except, I’m not her owner.

Much to her dismay, I held back in giving her the treat just to see her reaction. And sure enough, Sara rolled her eyes at me before pouting. Her wagging tail stopped moving as she looked at me like a stingy guy who wouldn’t appreciate her effort.

Nonetheless, that didn’t result in her leaving me to my own devices. Once we passed those hurdles, she still had me follow her up to their cabin.

Unsurprisingly, it’s the same structure as the one we were staying at – I mean it was to be expected. It’s all located in this part of the hill, facing the mountain north of here.

“Here we are.” Sara stopped by the door and reached for its handle. However, before opening it, she sneaked a glance at me, perhaps checking whether I was still unimpressed with her.

This time, I put on a genuine smile before saying, “I guess this is where we’re going to part, huh? Take a good rest, Sara-san.”

And upon saying that, I opened the door for her, putting my hand over hers.

Stuck between trying to make sense of what I said and the unexpected physical contact, the woman stuttered in response, “E-eh? You’re leaving?”

“Yes. I think it’s inappropriate for me to enter a cabin of two women. What will Shiina-san say if she finds out?”

Dragging in the name of her friend was to put some sense in my reasoning. For sure, she didn’t think that through when she offered me a showcase of their cabin. Now that the air around us normalized that we could start talking casually, she could now reflect on that hasty decision.

“Uh. I think she’ll ask me why I brought you here?” Sara answered. She then cautiously took a step forward, putting herself inside the cabin. Moving her body sideways and using her back to open the door wider for me to enter, she then continued in a hushed tone, “Come in, Onoda-kun. Before someone else sees you here.”

So, she’s set on not letting me get away, huh?

I already did my part by telling her that this could be inappropriate. And thinking about it, I haven’t even asked her about the kind of activity the girls are doing at the moment... I guess I could entertain her for a while, at least, until she found it awkward to be in a closed, private place alone with a guy who’s not her boyfriend.

Somehow, I couldn’t feel my desire bubbling up within me. I was already at the stage where finding a couple wouldn’t trigger it anymore even if that thought passed in my head. At the moment, I could already disregard that.

Looking around, there are actually a few teachers and college students walking to and from the place. No one spotted us yet since they were also busy with whatever they were doing

Unfortunately, there’s no trace of Juri, Shio, or Eguchi-sensei. Are they all in the girl’s area or resting within their cabin? I guess I’ll find that out later.

For now... I lifted my foot and crossed the boundary between outside and inside the cabin.

“Alright. Since you insist, I’ll take you up on this, Sara-san. I’ll apologize to Shiina-san later for intruding.”

“Come on, Onoda-kun. I told you she won’t take it the wrong way. Also, it’s not like we’re going to do something dubious. I trust my instinct that you’re the type who’s so considerate to women even if you’re a notorious teaser.”

Sara cheerfully giggled as though she was already that confident with her read on me.

She’s pretty defenseless. Or maybe, this was the culmination of our interaction on the way here. I gave her that kind of vibe.

As I previously guessed, the place was truly not that different from our cabins. Except the furniture that they removed from ours could still be seen here.

“Stop staring, Onoda-kun. I know your cabin is emptied unlike here. You won’t need it anyway.”

Closing the door behind her, Sara then caught up to me. I mean, I didn’t continue to the middle of the place. That’ll be disrespectful considering I haven’t been invited to sit yet.

She then continued to walk forward after tapping my back. However, for some reason, Sara tripped over nothing two steps in.

“Eek—!”

Her body quickly plunged down as her abrupt shriek pierced my ears.

Although my reflex was quick, I was a step behind her. Grabbing her to prevent her fall became impossible. Instead, I rushed forward to use my body to cushion her fall.

And with my feet failing to stabilize right away, I fell on my butt with Sara ending up falling on top of me. My arms supported her body and I managed to evade falling into the common trope of having my hands magically grabbing her sensitive parts. However, our situation didn’t fare any better.

With her whole body pressed against me, I could feel the same softness that rested on my back during the time I carried her up that hill. On top of that, the woman’s backside ended up landing on my thighs, narrowly missing my groin.

Given that she was pretty shaken by the sudden fall, she was slow to realize our current predicament.

I glanced down at her whose face was currently buried in my chest and asked, “Sara-san, are you okay?”