Chapter 2968: Soccer Club Captain

"The managers? Three of them quit after the Interhigh. The remaining managers complained that they could not support the club with just them.” Sakuma answered, clearing some of the questions I had in mind concerning the Soccer Club’s request to the Student Support Club.

But is that all there is to it?

"Just that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "It seems a bit excessive to request a whole support team just because a few managers left. Usually, clubs just scramble to find freshmen replacements."

Sakuma shrugged, looking a bit perplexed by my skepticism. "I guess. But the captain is really pushing for it. He says the ’atmosphere’ of the club has plummeted and they need a morale boost to keep the players focused for the tournament this fall. Wait. They’re requesting the Student Support Club to fill in as managers?"

"Mhm. I simply find it odd. Tell me about that captain of your club."

Sakuma scratched his head, looking a little troubled, "Honestly, I don’t know him that much. But... I heard some rumors."

"What kind?"

"The problematic kind."

Heh. I tried to recall the list of problematic students that Ryouko-san handed to me back then. Although I had only gone through solving two problematic students -- Komoe and Minami Shouko -- I hadn’t seen the name of the Soccer Club President/Captain.

Ah. It must be because he’s a guy. Or he just knew how to cover for himself, preventing the Guidance Counselors from detecting him.

Of course, the rumors might not be true but as they say, if there’s smoke, there’s usually a fire. And based on the fact that they couldn’t find replacement managers through the normal channels, it sounded like the captain was someone most students wanted to avoid.

"Problematic in what way?" I asked, leaning back. "Is he a tyrant? Or just someone with a very particular taste in management?"

Sakuma looked away, his expression cautious. "I heard..."

"Come on. It’s only the two of us here. And it’s just a rumor. Without evidence, it’s not like I can report him to the guidance office," I prompted, giving Sakuma a reassuring pat on the back.

Sakuma sighed, finally relenting. "I heard he often bragged in his private circle about dating and... bringing the club managers to love hotels. Like, some seniors thought those three who quit didn’t just leave because of their disappointment, but because they found out the captain had been playing with them."

I felt a cold ripple of irritation. If that’s true, he’s gutsy. It wasn’t that I cared about the ethics of a high school soccer captain’s dating life. After all, I’m probably worse than him. However, the idea of him treating the Student Support Club as a fresh batch of targets irked me to no end.

Although there wasn’t any evidence yet of whether that rumor was true or not, I could tell from Izumi’s narration earlier that he truly had an ulterior motive for wanting the Student Support Club’s help.

I mean, all the girls in the club are attractive. No, not just attractive, they’re on a whole other level entirely. Heck, even Kikuchi, that damned fujoshi, could be a beauty if she kept her mouth shut or kept her shifty eyes from observing the boys who could be stars in her fantasy.

"Good. Good. Of all girls he’s going to go after, he chose the girls from the Student Support Club, huh?"

"Wait, Onoda. It’s only a rumor. The club truly needs some help. If those remaining managers quit as well, our club will be... well, a disaster," Sakuma finished, his voice tinged with a genuine worry for his team.

I let out a slow breath, the irritation still simmering but now tempered by a strategic curiosity. "Mhm. I get you. But you know me, Sakuma. I’m the possessive kind. I’d rather my girls deal with difficult requests than difficult people."

"Your girls? Oh." Sakuma looked confused at first. Then he remembered. Sure, he had no idea how many girls I have already but he could tell who’s linked to me just by looking at how they act around me. "Does that mean, apart from Andou and the others, those seniors from that club are also... related to you?"

My lips curved into a proud grin. "Well, you can say that."

"Damn it, you casanova! You’re not neglecting Maemura, are you?" Sakuma questioned, his concern towards Satsuki was still there even though the girl was now fully captivated by me. After all, he liked her for years, and they’ve been together since childhood. It’s understandable.

"Haa. Come on. You know me well enough that despite my fault of being greedy, I’m not the type to neglect someone once they’ve fallen for me," I replied without any hesitation. "Besides, Satsuki’s grumpy face only looks that way because she’s actually quite pampered. Right?"

Sakuma let out a long, defeated sigh, though there was a trace of a smile on his face. He had finally accepted that he was playing a different game than I was. "Fine. I give up. Just... do me a favor? If that second-year I told you about sees you... don’t give her a positive impression. I mean, what if she also gets charmed by you?"

"Pfft. Man, I don’t even know her name. But don’t forget, I seem to have gotten a lot popular these days. Being the only Disciplinary Officer in this school put me in the spotlight. I might not know her but she might already know me," I teased, enjoying the way Sakuma’s expression shifted from hope to sheer panic.

This guy. How much is he going to trust me? If I were him, I would also not trust myself, knowing how many girls had already been entangled with me. After all, my bottomless desire and the greed to take anyone I fancy is still something I can’t do anything about.

"Don’t you dare! Just... let me try it out first, okay? If I fail, then... then maybe you can give me some more advice," Sakuma finished, his voice trailing off as he pleaded with his eyes.

I chuckled as I patted his shoulder. "Sure. I’ll give you that chance. But don’t blame me if she ends up approaching me, alright? That is not something I can control."

"I know... Thanks, man."

"Well, we got sidetracked. Do me a favor too, will you? Help me investigate that captain of yours. Find some dirt on him. I’m not going to stop the Student Support Club from taking the request. I’m not against your club getting good results anyway. However, I won’t tolerate it if someone tries to treat my girls like easy targets regardless of whether they’ll succeed or not. Just the thought of it makes me want to personally deal with him."

As I finished speaking, Sakuma stared at me as though he was finding a side of me I normally wouldn’t show. After all, even in his eyes, my public persona was that of an approachable guy who just happened to have a lot of female close friends, which led to other girls finding me easy to talk to as well.

"I’ll do my best," Sakuma said, his voice sounding a bit more grounded as though he had truly taken my request as a mission to accomplish. "He’s not exactly the type to leave a paper trail, but the rest of the team isn’t blind. Some of the guys aren’t happy with how he runs things."

"Good. Keep your ears open. If you hear anything specific, names of girls who left or specific incidents, let me know immediately," I instructed.

As always, there’s no point making a scene without a plan, but the idea of that captain thinking he could play games with Izumi or the others was an itch I needed to scratch.

If I don’t pummel him into the ground in the future, I won’t be satisfied.

Let’s see. Should I also send Uchiyama and the others to sound him out? Those guys are waiting for my orders, after all. They’ll scramble to fall in line if I tell them to keep an eye on the soccer field.

"Alright, we’re done here. Our classmates are probably thirsty by now, give me the other bag. I’ll distribute the ones for the girls."

Sakuma handed over the heavy plastic bag with a nod of respect. He looked a bit more confident now, as if the days of him suspecting me about Setsuna-nee were nothing more than an illusion. He’s so easy. But well, he’s this type of guy.

Too bad he found a bastard like me as a friend.

After handing out the drinks, I called for everyone to take a break first. The girls surrounded me again, but with Hana and Satsuki flanking my left and right, creating a sort of protective barrier.

As for Nami, she puffed her cheeks cutely before standing behind me to play with my ears.

Once the short break ended, our preparation resumed but like earlier, I had nothing much to do other than to check on everyone’s progress. The boys didn’t need my help while the girls were already organized enough that my meddling would just slow them down.

In the end, I could only stay between Satsuki and Hana, who also had nothing else to do, while occasionally interacting with Shimura.