Stealing Spree

Acting uninterested, I glanced back at Sawano for a few seconds. Then, while shrugging, I turned back to face him.

That was to make him think I got interested because of what he was offering.

But well, that’s just a plus for me. Understanding that he couldn’t ask anyone but me was more than enough for me to pry into this.

Whether his request would be beneficial to me or not, it’s still up in the air. But I doubt he’s someone who would hatch a plot to take me down when we barely know each other.

“As long as it’s not going to cause me trouble. Can you promise that, Sir?”

“You’re suspicious, aren’t you?”

No shit, Sherlock! Uh. That’s obvious. And for him to bring that up rather than answer me... he possibly realized the blunder that he made.

He’s pretty much open with his thoughts and I couldn’t really sense any hostility or scheme coming from him. Still, I don’t know if he’s just acting behind a mask. There are those who can hide their maliciousness behind a smile, after all.

“I think anyone will be if you suddenly come after them like this. I’m curious about the task and interested in the chance to skip an activity. However... I have no idea why you consider asking a student a ‘personal request’.”

Pointing those out was of no consequence to me. It’s also a way for me to check if he’d react differently. I kept an eye open to observe his facial muscles. Sometimes, a twitch was enough to give away if someone was lying. Also, the most telling part would be to find certain mannerisms done unconsciously.

With an awkward laugh, the desperate guy scratched the back of his head, “Haha. You’re right. I’m being too ridiculous. This is why I picked you. You’re frank and won’t simply accept my request.”

Alright. That’s quite clean and he’s probably not lying. My skepticism and wariness are still high though.

It’s one thing for me to plan for my benefit but if it’s done by someone, I’ll probably never trust it fully.

“I don’t think that trait alone equals trustworthiness.”

“Yes. However, Onoda-kun, you stood out among the rest. That much is pretty clear from our point of view.”

Ah. Of course, at this point, I cannot pretend to be Classmate A anymore. With how much attention I kept on drawing on myself, there was no way to escape their watchful eyes.

However, what’s that got to do with his request?

I pretended to contemplate how to reply to him. Then, I closed my mouth in response to what he just said.

Understanding that, Sawano took in a deep breath, “Alright. I get it. Hear out the request and you can decide whether to take it or not. Is that good?”

I kept my mouth shut and nodded.

Looking like he was already exhausted from trying to convince me that it was not anything suspicious, the guy tried to gather his composure again. Once that’s done, he said in a low voice while handing me something.

“Can you deliver this to someone?”

It looked like a small pouch. As for its content, I had no idea. I squeezed and turned it over but I couldn’t make sense of what’s inside. It’s padded with something, maybe cotton.

Looking at how he’s not even reacting to what I was doing to scrutinize what he handed, it’s probably not something that would break or crumble.

“Deliver this? What’s inside this pouch?”

“I prefer it if you do not pry about its content. I can swear that it’s not something illegal and will never bring you trouble.”

Yeah. Right... This guy is shady as heck. Whatever’s inside, why will he keep it inside a pouch like this?

“You know saying that only makes this more suspicious, right?”

“I understand that it puts a wrong shade on it. However, I can assure you that you only have to hand it over and it’ll be done.”

“Alright. To whom will I hand this over, then? A professor? The dean? Or someone unrelated to our camp?”

Since he already revealed his request, I just have to squeeze out more information from him. I’m not buying the ‘not illegal’ yet but for him to entrust this to me, it must be something important that he cannot divulge to the other camp managers or those close to him.

Did he get a secret task from their professors? Perhaps. But the answer depends on who will be the recipient of this delivery.

He said I’m trustworthy so... he probably believed that I wouldn’t look into the pouch at all. Otherwise, he’d just pick someone else.

Sawano looked around first and acted a little sneakily, making sure that no one was around us. Then he hunched over and mentioned a name, “That’s for the leader of the girls’ camp managers, Shiraishi Shiina. You’re acquainted with her, right? This is why I picked you... She told me that you can be trusted for this.”

This... Alright. That’s unexpected. But what the hell is going on with that woman? Earlier, she never mentioned anything about Sawano which made me assume that they’re only friends. But it looks like they’re associates or something. Whatever this was... it also pointed to Saki’s suspicion that Shiina could be someone influential.

“Sir, I think you’re forgetting something. I cannot come to that place, right? I’ve tried twice already.”

Even if I became aware that he had another mysterious connection to Shiina, I still wouldn’t tell him how Shiina brought me inside earlier. There’s no merit in doing so.

“That doesn’t matter. You do not have to visit their cabin area. She’ll be expecting you and waiting for you outside.”

Hmm? I see. This is the reason why he’s desperate to get me to do this for him. Shiina specifically named me to be the one to bring her this pouch.

However, there’s still another point that needs to be addressed...

“Alright. Let’s say I believe you and I take this task. Is there a reason why you cannot hand this to her when they show up later? Aren’t they going to eat with us?”

As though it was something that never passed his mind, Sawano looked like he was hit by a blunt object on his head. His eyes went wide and his pupils dilated. Following that, he awkwardly chuckled, “... I have never thought of that. You’re right. It should be possible for me to hand it over to her.”

“You don’t need me to deliver it, then.”

“No. I still need you to deliver that to her, Onoda-kun. There must be a reason why she instructed me to do so.”

Alright. That one was a straight-up lie. He knew that there should be no risk in handing it to her during lunch. However, he stuck to the task Shiina possibly handed to him. Rather than go on his way to change it, he’s sticking to it by having me deliver this pouch to her.

Now, it’s making me more curious about its content. However, there’s the saying that ‘curiosity killed the cat’, even if I’m curious, I should make sure that it won’t bite me in the ass if I ever decide to pry on it.

“I see. I’ll take up this request then... If I ever get in trouble, I’ll make sure to point at you. Even if I don’t have a witness, I’m confident that they will believe me.”

After deliberating for a while, I decided to accept it. If it’s Shiina we’re talking about then there’s probably no reason for her to put me in trouble. I just have no idea when did they talk though or when did she instruct him to ask me to be their courier.

Still, I have to say that to see if that will make him react in a different way again. Fortunately, there’s nothing of the sort anymore. He was more relieved that I didn’t reject the request.

After that, he told me I should keep the pouch to myself first. Shiina wanted it delivered later in the afternoon. Upon hearing the time he mentioned, it made me recall that it’s similar to one of Shiina’s recommendations of when to visit...

Coincidence? I think not.

That woman is playing a game of chess by herself and we are her pawns.

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