Chapter 2003: Preparation

The four periods leading to lunch break passed by uneventfully.

If I have to point out something interesting without counting how I got grilled by my girls who were waiting for me to arrive earlier, it would be the seemingly heightened interest of our Mathematics teacher in me.

Must be because of my stint during the camping trip... I put myself in such a limelight that everyone there had started taking more interest in me.

I could recall that I've been in her good books ever since the start of the school year. But for some reason, she focused on me today when it comes to the participation in solving problems on board.

She called for me thrice as opposed to the usual once per lesson.

Honestly, it would be more than that if the bell didn't save me from it.

In any case, I don't see that as a bad thing at all. I mean, I understood the lesson more because of it. And with those problems, even when I got it wrong, she corrected it while explaining how to do so.

It became more beneficial for everyone.

Apart from that there's nothing noteworthy anymore.

Ah. Wait.

There's another one.

The silent guy's suspension is over. He returned to class but he kept to himself, not even answering Ogawa or Tadano.

He's probably afraid of me now. And that's better. If he tries to stalk Saki again, he'll have to recuperate in a hospital bed next time.

As for his threat and his presence in their club, Nami and the others told me that they'd handle it. I'll trust their judgement but I'll have to keep an eye out for them.

At this point, no one in their group can be considered a threat anymore.

Tadano won't cross me anymore since he accepts that Nami and the others chose to be with me. On top of that, he's still worried I might lay a hand on Mei-chan. He's going to act like a protective older brother.

Ogawa, on the other hand, had been docile since the camping trip. He's like that because of my promise to not approach Kazuha-nee again and maybe because of the advice I've given him regarding Mami. I don't care about his progress but if he fails then he can't blame me for it anymore, right?

They can keep their little club for now since Nami and the others still like helping the other students coming to request it. I'll just act like a shadow member watching from the back.

If anything, the ones who needed to be careful were those three guys rather than the girls.

Anyway, that's that.

In between classes, I used that time to either accompany Shio or spend it inside the classroom with my girls, mingling with our classmates.

Among the changes brought by the camping trip, Hino started approaching me more openly regardless of Fukuda or the other lackey's reaction. But even then, he still considers himself part of that guy's group.

However, the gyaru group that often hangs around them was more inclined to join us now. I mean, not counting Chii, Kushii confessed to me and An-rin wouldn't let her friend stay on the sidelines. So when Chii came over, the other two followed her.

It's safe to say that the delinquent group is no more.

In place of it, Onoda faction has become more official with everyone acknowledging my influence in it. In our classroom, rather than a popular group who's becoming the leader of the class, that role fell on top of my head.

Honestly, it's not that unexpected but I didn't anticipate for everyone to just fall in line.

We'll see how that will develop in the coming days. I can't just take over the whole class, right? I should give everyone some breathing space. Not everything should be centered around me.

But then again, it's also my fault for becoming close to most of the girls in our class that the boys could only watch on the sidelines.

As much as I am satisfied to just have my girls around me, it's unfortunately not progressing in that direction.

When another event that requires the cooperation of the whole class happens, I will, no doubt, be nominated as the leader...

Ugh. I guess that's the consequence of my actions and I have no other choice but to face it.

Moving on...

I ate lunch in the classroom and Marika joined us.

She's with Tanaka-senpai who's still acting like her follower. When I asked her why she's still doing that, she said it's hard to suddenly act like a friend to Marika after following her for a year. Marika also told me that it's fine. Thanks to Tanaka-

senpai, the other followers - or more like, Jun's paid followers - couldn't approach her anymore. They could only do so whenever they were in the classroom since Tanaka-senpai is only a second year.

Ichihara Jun was absent. However, there's no mention of his suspension or anything. Maybe I can hear more details from Hayashi-sensei about his situation.

Once we finished eating, I spent a little more time with them before I started preparing to leave.

I already talked to them about my trip to Tokyo. While none of before I started preparing to leave.

I already talked to them about my trip to Tokyo. While none of them really objected to it, it's easy for me to notice how clingy they became today. I guess it's their way to say how much they're going to miss me.

After that, I visited the others who didn't come to eat with us.

In particular, I stayed a little longer on the third floor where I walked Marika back to their classroom, met the glares of Inugaki as well as Ichihara Jun's followers, and lastly, spent time with Kana, Rumi, and Edel.

Rumi was unhappy again since I wouldn't be able to come to the club. That's why I pampered her a lot to let me off this time.

Thankfully, it's effective.

Kana and Edel, on the other hand, were more supportive of me. They asked me to take photos. I guess it'll be better if I record a video instead. We can all watch that when we return. However, it's not like we're going there to sightsee. I doubt we'll have enough time to navigate around a metropolis where everywhere you turn, you'll see people.

Once I finished everything I needed to do at the School Building, I began my walk towards the Administration Building.

There are only a few minutes left before the lunch break is over but it's not an issue anymore. I'm going to leave early anyway. I just maximized the time I could spend with my girls.

Upon arriving at the entrance, I deliberated whether to come and meet Hayashi-sensei first or knock on Orimura-sensei's office.

However, that became useless since it was such perfect timing that Hayashi-sensei exited the faculty room and saw me standing like a fool there.

I don't know what she did in that room. Maybe she's doing her job as a Director already or she's there as the School Nurse, either way, she signaled me to follow her upstairs.

Unlike the previous instances, she led me to the empty infirmary.

After we entered, she had me sit down on a stool in front of her reclining chair.

In a way, if someone peeked from outside, they'd mistake me for a student seeking treatment from her.

"Alright. I'm quite busy today with my nurse duties. You have to do your report here." She said after tidying up her table and removing her reading glasses.

As always, she looked pretty terrific for someone her age...