1845 A Risky Situation

It took a minute before Sara could reply to me and possibly at this point, she already realized that I became a cushion for her fall. She awkwardly lifted her head and nodded before attempting to get up right away.

However, she found herself being unable to and ended up pressing down on me again.

“...I-I’m sorry, Onoda-kun. This isn’t intentional. My leg felt numb.”

Sara was quick to explain herself there as her body continued to shake. Either she’s uncomfortable with our sudden closeness or she’s afraid that I would take this the wrong way.

To calm her down, I gently placed a hand on top of her head. “It’s fine. You should relax first, Sara-san. You’re not heavy anyway. I should be the one apologizing for touching you without your permission.”

“T-that... Don’t say that. I’ll feel bad. I was the clumsy one who tripped over nothing. Ugh...” With her face turning crimson from embarrassment, Sara hurriedly shook her head. Her eyes then moved up to see my extended arm.

I retracted my hand right away and her eyes followed it. I don’t know what’s in her head but that’s the safest move. This was an accident, not an opportunity. Although I’ve taken some liberty when faced with the same situation before, it was with the girls I targeted or those who were already quite comfortable with me.

For this woman... I better not let my perverted nature take over. It’s already risky enough to enter their cabin, I shouldn’t make it too dangerous for me to leave.

“Indeed, that’s pretty amazing, Sara-san. You, tripping over nothing.” I chuckled as a way to soothe the situation.

With her face already as red as an apple from embarrassment, hearing me agree to her put her in further dilemma, “Ugh. Hearing you say that made me realize how much I’ve disgraced myself in front of you. Uhm... Is it fine like this? Am I not troubling you?”

“Mhm. It’s fine. I’m glad to be of help. Though, I won’t be able to explain myself if someone saw us like this.” I wryly smiled as I brought her up to the state of our current situation. Her face heated up again for being reminded of it.

A while later, she nodded, agreeing to my comment “... Y-you’re right. This is pretty daring. This is different than when you carried me last time.”

“Right. Seeing you up close like this... I can’t help but nod at my comment earlier.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“You know... That comment where I called you pretty.”

“Oh, you!” Hit by another bout of embarrassment, the woman drummed my chest to vent her frustration.

It’s not painful, she did it with barely any strength behind, after all.

But at this point, her ear that was partly exposed on her right became bright red.

“Sorry. I’m just stating the truth here. But don’t think much of it. I know my boundaries.”

“If you’re any other guy, I’d possibly take it as you hitting on me and taking advantage of this situation. But you, I believe you’re just being honest.”

“Really? Now that makes me feel better. I just don’t want Sara-

san to misunderstand.”

“I won’t. You saved me. The last thing I have to do is be ungrateful.” Sara gratefully smiled before lowering her head. With her hands avoiding gripping my clothes, she ended up just pressing them on my chest. “I feel like electricity is running on my leg... Onoda-kun, I’m sorry, I can’t get up yet.”

Her leg turned numb, huh That’s probably why she tripped. She’s lucky it’s not a spasm or else, she’d be crying in pain now. Still, that means that she’s really tired at the moment. Did she not take a rest yesterday even though she knew where she had to be?

“You said your leg became numb. Let me check. You might’ve dislocated it when you tripped.”

“Eh? Wait. It’ll feel—Aah~”

As soon as I reached for the leg in question, a simple touch of my fingers immediately made the girl’s body jolt uncontrollably. Her voice even came out like a moan. However, that’s not it... That’s just her feeling the tickling sensation spreading through her body.

Uh. I forgot or rather, I missed the part where she said she’s already feeling like electricity was rampaging on her leg. That meant the numbness was about to be relieved.

I should’ve waited.

I hurriedly retracted my hand before apologizing to her but at this point, the girl’s face once again buried in my chest, “... Onoda-kun, tell me that’s not intentional.”

“Yes. It’s not but I acknowledge my mistake, Sara-san. I’ll check it later. For now, can I carry you to that sofa? I think it’ll be better if you straighten it and rest it in that cushy seat.”

“Carry me? From the front?”

“Well, I can put you in a princess carry. I’ll be careful not to stimulate the leg.

“Onoda-kun... You’re too considerate.”

“I get that a lot. So, is that a yes?”

“Yes... I’m troubling you a lot for bringing you here. And here I thought I could thank you for your help back then.”

“Come on, don’t blame yourself for it. Instead, let’s look at the positive. If not for you inviting me, I won’t be able to help you out like this...”

As I said that, I carefully put her in a princess carry. Her arms naturally hooked around my nape to support herself up. Setting aside her embarrassment, the woman’s eyes locked on my face. I put on a gentle smile to ease her mind before standing up and moving us from that spot.

It’s only a few steps away, it didn’t take long for me to reach it. But during its entire duration, Sara’s gaze remained locked on me. And as I slowly lowered her down on the sofa, it took her a while before she could loosen her arms around my neck.

This... She got too taken in by the situation. Or maybe it’s because I’ve shown her my reliability again. And upon thinking about it, she never brought up her boyfriend in our conversation.

“Thank you, Onoda-kun.”

“Mhm. I’ll check your leg then, Sara-san. Please bear with me. If you’ll allow it, I’ll also massage it just to be sure.”

“Huh? No. Onoda-kun, you’ve helped me out a lot already... It’s fine.”

“I insist.” I swiftly rebutted, which made her close her mouth. Just like how she insisted on bringing me here earlier, she couldn’t deny me of continuing to help her out.

With that, I started with my check and found that everything was fine. But just in case, I still massaged her leg until she asked me to stop for finding it too comfortable.

I let go of her leg and sat on the ground with my back resting against the sofa where she was lying down.

Sara stretched a hand on my shoulder, draping it over it before saying, “Onoda-kun, you helped me out again. How can I ever repay you?”

“Hmm. Let’s see. Like what Miwa-nee said, do help out someone in need. That’s more than enough for me.”

“But we’re not on a hiking trail.”

Right. That’s only applicable there. Or there’s no reason to tell her to help out someone in here. She’d do it regardless of what I said anyway.

“Alright. Then, I’ll be more specific. Can you look after my girls during this camping trip, Sara-san?”

“Your girls? I... don’t know them.”

Figures. Even if she saw me mingling and flirting with them earlier, with how I went around all the tables, it’ll be hard for her to pinpoint them. Furthermore, it’s not all that entails with what she said. I glanced behind and saw her eyes burning with curiosity and a hint of envy.

I disregarded that last bit and smiled at her.

“Aren’t you curious about it, Sara-san? Should I tell you about them?”

Perhaps not expecting that, the woman moved her head closer to me in reflex, “Eh? You will? Okay... But you call them your girls. Does that mean...?”

“Mhm. I won’t mince my words. They’re all special to me and I to them.”

“That should be an absurd thing to say but you said it so casually... You’re not lying.”

So, she won’t even call me out on that, huh? And here I thought she’d question me about it.

“Have I ever lied to you, Sara-san? I’m someone who always values honesty. Though, I’m guilty of answering vaguely to avoid telling the full details.” I scratched my cheek, acting embarrassed.

That made Sara chuckle.

“I think that’s admirable of you, Onoda-kun.”

“Is it? Well, I’m proud of it but at the same time, I know not everyone will agree with me. I’m the most selfish guy in the world, after all. I cannot choose only one with them so... our unique situation was born.”

“I see... You’re not just being a playboy. You’re serious about all of them.”

“Yes. It must’ve been baffling to you, right? Anyway... I’ll start then. Forgive me if I ramble a lot when describing them.”

“Pfft. Go ahead, I’m willing to listen to all of it. Talk about your girls with this older sister.”

“Sara-san, you’re not the older sister type.”

“What do you mean? I’m still older than you. But if I’m not that type, what am I?”

“A pretty sister.”

“You! When will you stop calling me pretty?”

“I probably won’t. I like your reactions whenever I catch you off guard, Sara-san. Anyway... before we derail from our topic, I’ll start.”

Smoothing things out like that was certainly needed. Otherwise, she’d be overwhelmed when I started gushing out for my lovely girls. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that she’s not going to babble about this to anyone else. I trust her character just like how much she trusted me.