[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-spree":3,"chapter-stealing-spree-stealing-spree-chapter-345":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Stealing Spree",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1760320,2333,"Chapter 345: Tea Tester (1)","stealing-spree-chapter-345",345,"\u003Cp>As I separated with Himeko who went back to their table, I took my time to visit Aya and check on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though she was immersed in reading the light novel she bought yesterday, as soon as I approached her, the girl turned towards me with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hugging her from the back, the girl started summarizing what she read to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her enthusiastically doing that, like always, I listened intently while engaging her with some questions even though I already knew the answer. Because of that, it made her even more engaged with our conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl clearly enjoyed what she was reading despite the long and absurd title it possessed. Apparently, there was a deep plot about it that went about redemption of the introverted girl and her beloved Demon King, restoring the world to how it was once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since she's already used to retelling the story in a clear manner, I easily followed it and even without reading that book, it felt like I was there with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that made it even better for the few minutes we had today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, I kissed her and told her that I would go back later to walk her to the train station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I would be meeting Chii there anyway so I was quite free when walking towards it. We were with Nami yesterday so my attention was somewhat divided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let's see, I'll just make it a little special for her today before I meet up with Chii.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I left the Book Club, my feet then led me to the next room, the Poem Appreciation Club.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's to fulfill my promises to that tea girl of seeing her everyday as well as tasting the experimental tea she would be brewing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There's still no clear date for that competition with her own mother so for now, I would become her lab rat to try every new tea recipe she could think of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike before, I only needed to knock once when Mina's small round face peeked out of the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it's because she was already expecting me. Compared to before wherein my visit was somewhat unplanned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm here for the tea… and the girl brewing it.\" I smiled at the girl which instantly made her pout her lips and roll her eyes at my shamelessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, instead of flaring up, she opened the door wide for me to enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shameless guy, behave yourself today. You're not the only one here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confirming what she just said, I noticed that there were two more girls sitting at that low table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obviously, they were the other two girls of Haruko.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They only sent me a single glance before instantly averting their eyes. Like Serizawa-senpai, more than hating my existence in Haruko's life, they're afraid to interact with me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, for them to stay here... Something was at play. Haruko or Mina? They probably decided that it's time for me to at least introduce ourselves to each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I not the most behaved guy you know?\" I answered Mina jokingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, it earned a sneer from her and a look of disgust from the two girls sitting by the low table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your shamelessness really knows no bounds.\" Mina released a sigh before going over to the tea that she was currently brewing at the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I followed after her, partly ignoring the two who wouldn't dare to meet my gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hugging the girl from the back, the expected slap on my hand didn't come but instead I was put under her judging glare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I told you to behave. What are you doing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Greeting my girlfriend?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm not your girlfriend! If you continue doing this I'll look for another guy to replace you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she's raising her voice, the girl was secretly enjoying my embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it was just an act for the other two girls but like her, I'm quite enjoying this act of hers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tightening my arms, I rested my chin on her shoulder before whispering in her ears. \"Just a little. I'll be behaving soon once you're done brewing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shameless guy. You keep on taking advantage of our situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. Reprimand me later but I just really like being this close to you. I promised to always see you, to make you understand that I'm serious about liking you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That tongue of yours, if I get the chance, I'll cut that off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be my guest. But I'll take all the chances with you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying that, I kissed her exposed side of her neck up to her earlobe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she was slightly squirming, it's just because she's a bit ticklish with what I did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I started nibbling on it, Mina held onto my arm and tried to stop me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haa… This guy. Stop for now. You also promised me to test my tea recipes. Behave yourself and wait for me to finish here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, I could honestly say that I was close to conquering this girl. Her words and her actions were somewhat contradictory because of how she couldn't fully accept me yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I might get away from being somewhat stubborn now but if I continue ignoring her pleas, this girl would really start hating what I was doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's why to tread on this carefully. I released her from my embrace and released her ear from my locked lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're right. I'll wait patiently there then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At least you know when to stop. Don't make them too uncomfortable, alright?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leave it to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although I said that confidently, I still had no idea how to deal with the two senpais who would probably not want to be associated with me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The low table was circular, the two senpais who I hadn't had the chance to know their names yet were huddled together on one side. Since they're afraid to meet my gaze, when I sat down on the empty side right in front of them, they instantly edged towards the side with considerable distance from me just to escape my gaze when I sat down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing that, I could only shake my head and turn my gaze to Mina's back who's concentrating on what she's doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haruko wasn't here who would make them try to interact with me so I had no idea how to approach this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps if I opened my mouth to talk to them here, I would be ignored or worse, they would stand up and run away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around two minutes later, amidst the silence surrounding us, my arm that was resting on the table started tapping on it to lessen my growing boredom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, no, I did that intentionally to see if the two would react.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hadn't had the time to observe them since that would make the two uncomfortable. It's better to bide my time to get a better result.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few seconds after I started tapping my fingers on the table, a silent voice entered my ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uhm… C-can you please stop doing that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking that as a chance to converse with them, I turned my head to look at the source of the voice, the other 2nd year like Mina and Himeko. She's sporting a low twintails hairstyle with her orange hair. Although her voice was that silent, her eyes were sharp, cold and somewhat dead-looking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps just being stared at by her, one would feel a biting cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought of responding to her but upon meeting her gaze, I was stumped.\u003C\u002Fp>",1252,"2026-06-08T09:42:53.574Z",1,"novelbin.me","5d5f733ea7b96995045763337ede645e4cef8d5962df7b7ff2365490ed3c8b2f","stealing-spree-chapter-346","stealing-spree-chapter-344",2873,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-spree-cover.jpg"]