1854 Kushii's Troubles

Left with no choice but to stay with me inside the tent while she waited for her foot to be relieved from pain, Kushii remained silent when the other three left again to get what was left in their cabin.

Naturally, I also didn’t try to initiate a conversation. I mean, I’m not so oblivious that the girl was still too conscious of me. Maybe what she saw earlier also played a part. With our current distance, she might just break down from my consideration.

That’s not impossible, right?

Anyway, to take my mind off of the temptation to tease the girl, I focused my senses on what was happening outside. Those professors remained at a distance along with Shiina and the other camp managers but they could still roam and inspect every group anytime.

I could hear the hushed voices of the girls from the nearby groups from our location. They were wondering about my current situation. Still, despite their curiosity, they’re mindful not to be too loud and I appreciate them for that.

Thinking about it, there should be approximately 20 groups here, averaging at least five from each class, more or less. It’s a fact that girls are more populous in our year, after all.

That’s probably why the teachers and professors are more concerned about them.

Even though boys can be rowdy, it’s actually a little easygoing at our side with how Sawano and other college guys managed any commotion. Here, the college girls are probably stretching themselves to properly manage everyone.

Shiina adding ‘spice’ into their monotonous activity wasn’t just because she was bored. It’s also to alleviate some pressure on her colleagues. And thanks to that, it translated into my opportunity to be here.

I guess I owe her more than I thought, huh? At the moment, she’s even busily occupying their professors’ time so that they wouldn’t come and roam around.

Anyway, a minute quickly passed and the situation would probably not change anytime soon.

However, Chii and the other two were somehow taking their time to return. I tried peeking out of the entrance to check but with Kushii at my side, I could only move a little.

Looking at the girl whose hands were still covering her flustered expression, she probably couldn’t relax at all because of me. Her body was fidgeting slightly and she was trying her best not to push her weight on me.

Really, what should I do with her?

“Hey, if you can’t relax because of me, I can move away to the other side. Let me pile these bags so you can use that to rest your back on.”

I said I shouldn’t open a conversation but for her sake, I better do something, right? We couldn’t stay like this. And given that my stay here wouldn’t end if those professors stayed, it’d just be more awkward as time went on.

“No. It’s fine... I’m the one acting unnatural. You shouldn’t be the one to adjust.” Before I could reach for the bags and do what I just said, Kushii’s hushed voice reached my ears.

I looked at the girl and somehow, her fidgeting was about to subside. With her hands sliding off of her face, I finally got to see the state of her face.

It’s really red that the makeup she used seemingly faded away. She might not have the most beautiful face but she knew how to present herself. And being this close to her allowed me to take a closer inspection of her facial features. She has a small mole on her earlobe, at the lower right side of her lips, and her neck.

The one on her face is possibly unnoticeable because of its size and how her makeup often hides it. But now that I caught it in my eyes, it’s certainly something that adds to her charm as a girl. That’s why it’s called a beauty mark, right?

Anyway, with her eyes staring at me intently as though she was reinforcing her words by conveying how she didn’t want me to leave her side, I fell into contemplation.

Should I comfort her and tell her that there’s nothing wrong with her behavior? Or should I address what we’re ignoring all this time? I mean, she did start acting unnaturally around me after I called her a princess as a counter to her teasing during the last Cleaning Duty that we were both a part of. She tried pushing me to Hana but I turned it around and teased her instead.

After deliberating for a few seconds of staring at her seemingly fragile figure, I decided...

I fixed my sitting position and let her body lean closer to me before opening my mouth.

“Yeah... Not gonna lie, it also baffles me a bit. You suddenly acted so unnaturally around me. Although I can pinpoint why, I thought you’d brush it off the next day and continue acting playful like last time. Did I overdo it by calling you a princess? Or is it because of what I said along with it?”

Upon hearing that, Kushii’s lips curled before eventually turning into a wry smile. While nodding her head slightly, she replied, “The latter. I don’t know if you’re serious about it or not but from what I’ve seen from you... You rarely joke, Onoda-kun. Even if you’re not at all truthful when you said it, won’t you claim that it’s also not entirely false?”

Ah. So, it’s like that, huh? She became bothered when I brought up how I also confessed to her during that time in the snack bar. And given that she’s also closely following my interactions with the other girls and not just Chii, she started thinking that I might be serious about her as well...

Alright. That’s my fault, no doubt. I turned her into this kind of a mess because of my attempt to cover up how I was already in love with every girl perceived to be close to me.

“Mhm. You’re right, Kushii. It’s not entirely false. But you’re also aware that back then, it was simply my attempt to confuse everyone who was extremely curious about who I was really with. Asking if I can fall in love with all of you is pretty ridiculous, right?”

“Yeah. But when you bring it up again... It made me remember how I also jumped into that bandwagon... Ugh, sorry. I got the wrong idea, right?”

“Like I said, it’s not entirely false. If I can fall in love with you the same way I did with Chii and the others then... doesn’t that mean my words back then are also true?”

That’s reaching quite far, I guess? In truth, I haven’t delved into my interest in this girl yet. At the moment, she’s still nothing more than Chii’s gyaru friend along with An-rin who I get along with. Although her unnatural act drew my attention, that’s all it was. Just my curiosity about what happened to her.

Still, finding out that I was truly the culprit behind it, I kind of felt responsible for that.

“... Chii is right. There’s no limit to your shamelessness. How can you say that so casually?”

“This is just how I am, Kushii. I’m a selfish bastard. Nonetheless, I still cared about everyone, including you. If you’re that troubled with what I said, let’s just forget about it. I miss the playful Kushii from before who won’t hesitate to tease me whenever she can.”

“Psh. If it was that easy, I would’ve done it right away...” Kushii spat in a rather miserable tone. She then bit her lips and lowered her head, breaking eye contact with me.

Processing her response in my head, I found myself standing before a certain possibility... The possibility that I unknowingly pushed this girl in a certain direction.

“Kushii... are you... interested in me?”

“Ain’t that obvious at this point? I won’t be this troubled just because you counter my attempt to tease you with Shinohara-

san. You’re really a bastard, Onoda-kun.”

And there she goes confirming it without any hesitation anymore. Somehow, she already resolved herself to this. I guess that’s her only way to get out of her current state. Because she’s concerned about Chii and the girl’s relationship with me, she’s probably struggling to keep it in check.

But now that I intentionally opened that box she’s using to bottle it up, Kushii released it all without leaving anything behind.

And noticeably, her body relaxed almost instantly. She looked like a heavy weight had just been relieved from both of her mental and physical capacities.

A moment later, Kushii nudged my shoulder before she raised both of her arms. Then she took in a deep breath that her modest chest seemingly got inflated.

And upon releasing it, the girl cheerfully exclaimed albeit in a very subdued voice to not alert anyone outside.

“Woo! That feels so refreshing! Thanks for letting me air it out, Onoda-kun!”

Lowering her arms, Kushii turned her body to face me and the familiar playful smirk rose from her lips, “Surprised? Don’t mind it. I won’t jump at you all of a sudden. But Onoda-kun, I like this expression on you. It’s rare to see you this flabbergasted.”

The girl reached for my cheek and tapped it a few times as her charming grin decorated her face. That playful Kushii returned but at what cost? My defeat, I guess?

Am I flabbergasted? Yeah. I won’t deny that. The huge difference between how she was acting earlier and now put me in a serious bind. My head couldn’t process it right away.