Chapter 2961: "I got detention"

After resting for a while, Orimura-sensei had me go out first, stating that I should hurry up and go to my class.

As for the mess we made, she said she’d deal with it herself. In any case, there were also Shio and Ryouko-san who returned to the room, perhaps after sensing that things had already calmed down inside.

Of course, they knew exactly what happened, but they didn’t bring it up anymore. They only teased me about my knees... which were truly weakened after their ’joint effort’ of squeezing the life out of me as a disciplinary measure.

Anyway, before I left, they also told me that it’s fine not to visit them during lunch break today and I should devote my time to helping out the class in preparing our booth for the festival.

What can I say? It was probably one of the reasons they decided to keep me here with them on the pretext of coming to school past the bells.

And so, I could only nod and kiss them one by one before reluctantly stepping out of the guidance office.

I heard them giggle as they saw through my ’pitiful’ act, calling me a shameless student. I mean, that’s what makes our relationship fun, right? Being able to step into the role of a student while remaining as playful as their partner.

When I arrived in our classroom, I was met with inquisitive gazes, not just from my girls but from everyone. After all, those who saw me earlier when I escorted Marika should’ve talked about it already. And for me not to show up in the classroom for close to an hour is quite suspicious.

They must be wondering where I’ve been, and their looks suggested they were staring at someone trying to escape his responsibilities.

I should really explain but I didn’t know how to start. So, in the end, I could only simplify it as...

"Sorry, I got detention for being late. Eguchi-sensei even had me squat the entire time, making my knees weak." I pointed at my trembling legs with a sheepish grin.

The class erupted into a mix of laughter and disbelief. The excuse was so absurdly specific that most people just accepted it as a weird quirk of the guidance office.

However, as I made my way to my girls who actually knew me and my relationship with Ryouko-san, the looks coming from them were vastly different.

Except for Aya and Mio, they weren’t buying the ’squatting’ part.

Satsuki walked towards me, pulled on my collar, and sniffed my neck before frowning.

Then, I heard her whisper, "Liar."

Saki chuckled from her seat while Hina looked at me as though calculating how she could scheme a similar ’detention’ for herself.

Nami and Hana just stared at me with a meaningful smile. They’re naturally not going to be fooled.

Then, Chii and her two besties, An-rin and Kushii, called out to me, saying they could give my legs a massage.

Ah. No. It was just Chii shouting that. Kushii remained silent but her gaze told me she’d do the same. As for An-rin... she was silently mouthing ’perv lord’ as though trying to put a curse on me.

"Pfft, Onoda-kun, you must make it up for the class. The boys will complain if you don’t do some work today."

As I was thinking about how to make it up for my girls, I heard a voice from behind me.

I turned my head and found Shimura holding up a notebook. "Here, Andou-san said we should let you review this first. It’s the setting and plot for our Haunted Mystery Booth. Four scenarios. Three Riddles. Five Challenges."

She paused for a moment before lowering her head, looking like she was a little embarrassed. "Uhm... Everyone participated in writing them but I still added some suggestions. If it’s not good, you can ignore it."

This girl. She put in extra effort on this, huh? I mean, she volunteered to take charge of coming up with the lore and setting of our booth. But I guess since she had to accommodate everyone who pitched in creating them, she didn’t have the heart to just discard the weaker ideas. So, she came up with this. Giving suggestions before we finalize it.

But then again, why did it end up on my hands to decide this? I looked around and found Nami smirking.

I didn’t need to guess anymore. This was her idea. Since I became the only representative out of the five who had no actual duties, she set me up as the final judge. It was her clever trick to make it look like I still did my part, even though I was essentially an extra.

"Thanks, Shimura. I’ll look into this." I took the notebook and smiled.

The girl brightened up like a sunflower getting its first bit of morning light. She gave a small, polite bow and sweetly smiled with a touch of blush on her face.

"Give it to Andou-san once you finish. She said she’ll handle the setup for each segment.

"Mhm. Good work. You can all rest easy now."

"Oh no. We’ll help with the decorations next. Hehe."

With that, she turned around with a twirl, rejoining her little group who had already formed a circle with Chii and the others who were making the props and decorations.

After reading the content of the notebook, I went over to Nami, who had her arms crossed, watching over the boys who were already partitioning the classroom.

"So, what’s the verdict? Is it good enough for you?"

"What ’good enough for me’? Nami, this shouldn’t be about me, no?"

"You say that but you’re essentially the most influential in our class. Even more than the Class President." Nami let out a soft laugh, her eyes curving. "What? Are you trying to slink away from the responsibility? Ruu, that’s not going to be good for you."

I put on a helpless expression before standing behind her, my arm instinctively wrapping around her waist, "Yeah, right. I’m reaping what I sow. Who told me to win over more than half of the girls in our class? Now I can’t get away from all these responsibilities."

"Pfft. At least you’re aware. But Ruu, are you sure you want to hug me like this in front of everyone?"

"Why not? It’s not like I’m kissing you in front of them. If they have a problem..." I trailed off as I looked at Ogawa, who looked like he had swallowed a bitter pill, or Tadano, who still wore a complex expression. "They should call me out."

"With how shameless you are, you cannot be called out." Nami pinched my arm as she pried herself away.

Of course, she liked this kind of intimacy but she was also quite a sensible girl who didn’t want to ruin the class’s concentration with this public display. Besides, some of the boys were already at odds with me. If they decided to boycott the festival preparations out of spite, it would be bad for everyone.

"Alright, ma’am. Then, I’ll leave this to you. Shimura’s suggestions are good. Try to incorporate them. And I read that Aya also contributed to it."

"Okay. I also think their ideas are good. But you know that girl... she’s trying to earn points with you." Nami smirked as she patted my shoulder with the notebook, acting like a seasoned manager handling a problematic but high-value asset.

Yeah right. It’s Shimura’s way to interact with me more. After all, with how busy I was catering to my girls, we didn’t have much time to talk nowadays. Maybe I should ask her about the Photography Club next time?

Ah no. I really don’t have enough time.

For the next few hours until lunch break, I found myself acting as a floating coordinator. I didn’t have a designated task, but that meant I could wander between the various ’stations’ the class had set up.

I helped the boys haul heavy wooden crates for the haunted house segments and spent a good twenty minutes holding a flashlight for Tadano while he struggled to assemble a wiring kit for one of the riddles and challenges.

I also went over to check on Chii and their costume designs. They even brought up that crystal ball we bought last time, saying Kushii would be playing the role of an enigmatic fortune-teller to provide clues for the visitors.

As for my role? Well, I’ll be at the last checkpoint, acting as the ’Final Boss’ of the Haunted Mystery Booth to fleece the visitors with additional fees for hints on how to complete my challenge.

Right. It wouldn’t just be me. Satsuki would also stand in for me. And knowing that girl. No one would probably be able to escape the Haunted Mystery Room without paying the usual hint fee thrice.