Chapter 119

"Tetsuya, why are you so quiet today?"

Startled by Miyuki's question from the passenger seat, Tetsuya flinched and turned away from the rear window he had been silently staring out of.

"I just have a lot on my mind..."

"A lot on your mind? Like what?"

In the rearview mirror, Tetsuya's eyes shifted toward me.

I could read the guy like a book.

It was hard to speak up because it was about me, wasn't it? I already knew.

"...This and that. I need to think about the final exams, too..."

"Well, aren't you being a good student? How about I tutor you over a video call today, then?"

"Huh? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. I can't leave the house because of my mom, but I can definitely manage a call."

"I'll take you up on that, then. It's been a while since you last tutored me."

Tetsuya's expression brightened immediately.

It was pathetic seeing him so thrilled that Miyuki—a girl forever out of his reach now—was willing to give him the time of day.

I pulled up to Tetsuya's house, benevolently accepted the shameless bastard's thanks, and drove off.

Just then, Miyuki's eyes went wide as she asked a question.

"You're being awfully nice today. What's the occasion?"

"You call this nice?"

"For Matsuda-kun, it's incredibly nice..."

"Is it? But you were acting pretty naughty today."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember first period?"

Miyuki's face burned red.

She had remembered groping my crotch.

She bit her lower lip.

"T-That was just because I was annoyed! You keep putting me in difficult situations, Matsuda-kun..."

"So you were trying to get back at me?"

"No, well... there was that, too, but..."

"Do it again next time."

When I indirectly let her know that I had actually enjoyed it, Miyuki quickly averted her gaze to the window.

She was clearly embarrassed by her sudden, childish behavior.

Chuckling, I drove the rest of the way in silence until we arrived at her home.

"We're here."

"..."

Miyuki grabbed her bag without a word, opened the passenger door, and looked back at me.

Her skin was breathtaking no matter when I looked at it, and the delicate, compact arrangement of her features was truly beautiful.

"What are you looking at?"

I gave her a blunt jerk of my chin. In response, Miyuki suddenly stuck her tongue out at me.

Then she scrambled out of the car, slammed the door shut, and sprinted toward her front door.

If she was going to act sassy, she should have stuck with it. Seeing her scurry away in such a fluster was just hilarious.

She opened the front door, ducked inside, and then poked just her head back out. Seeing my car still parked there, she stuck her tongue out a second time.

This time, she squeezed her eyes shut while doing it.

I chuckled at the cute display. Once Miyuki gave a frantic wave and closed the door, I headed into the city—specifically, toward Hotel Raffia, the very place where I had given Chinami that heart-pounding massage.

I parked at the entrance and stepped into the lobby, greeted by a familiar sight.

It was the same dim, shadowy atmosphere of a lobby run entirely by automated kiosks.

Would Renka tremble with anxiety when she walked in here? I was curious.

The room I had booked was just a standard room.

A room meant strictly for resting, devoid of any concept-play toys.

I flopped back onto the bed in the room, which felt like that of an average, mid-sized three-star hotel, and called Renka.

After three or four rings: "Hello?"

Renka's friendly voice came through the phone.

Judging by the background noise, she was out somewhere.

Probably in Akihabara. I didn't even need to see it to know.

"It's me."

"Who... Ah... Matsuda?"

Her tone instantly turned blunt. How hurtful.

No, wait, should I be grateful she recognized my voice through the phone at all?

"Yeah. Did you not save my number?"

"No... I did, I just answered without checking the caller ID."

"I see. Where are you right now?"

"Outside."

"Outside where?"

"Just outside."

Did she really hate telling me that much?

I'd make sure she learned to report to me on her own later.

I snorted and got straight to the point.

"You have time right now, right? Come to the location I send you."

"What... Why would I?"

"I'm using one of my wishes."

The only sounds coming through the phone were the blare of a billboard advertisement and the chatter of nearby pedestrians.

Renka seemed to have lost her words.

A moment later, she asked in an extremely flustered tone.

"You're using a wish now...? We just got back from the training camp yesterday...!"

"When I use it is up to me."

"I'm busy right now... I-If you had given me a heads-up..."

But that would ruin the fun.

I wanted to see her drop everything she was doing and come running at my command.

"If it's something important, I'll let it slide, but it'll cost you one extra wish."

"What!? What kind of nonsense is that...! We never agreed to that!"

"You said you'd grant anything except what we already agreed to exclude. Was I wrong?"

"W-Well, yes, but..."

"That's why I didn't say anything earlier... It's a bit problematic that you're already acting like this. Should I just let you off the hook? Shall we pretend the wish never happened?"

Renka hated losing when it came to anything involving me.

By lightly provoking her under the guise of doing her a favor, her pride—already bruised once during the training camp—would flare up, and she would snatch the bait in her refusal to back down.

"Pretend it never happened, my foot...! I'm going! I'll go...! Where do I need to be!?"

Just as expected, Renka shot back an agitated reply.

She was so easy to read. Just as easy as Chinami.

I put my phone on speaker and texted her the location.

"Check your messages. How long will it take you to get here?"

".... About... thirty minutes. Maybe ten more if the train is late."

"Then that's forty minutes. I'm starting the timer now. Call me when you get here."

"Got it."

Click.

She hung up right away.

I could almost see her trembling with clenched fists. Was it just my imagination?

Snickering, I stripped off my clothes and headed for the bathroom.

@@

'What the...?'

Arriving with five minutes to spare, Renka stared up at the tall building in front of her.

The building standing brazenly before her was named [Hotel Raffia]... What was going on?

Squeezing her large eyes shut and then opening them, Renka looked back and forth between her phone and the building to verify the address.

"This is the right place..."

No matter how many times she checked, it matched the location Matsuda had sent.

Tilting her head in thought, Renka opened her browser and searched for Hotel Raffia.

And then...

[Hotel Raffia]

[Category: love hotel]

[Rating: 4.8/5]

Her eyes widened at the search results glaring back at her.

'A-A love hotel...?'

Had Matsuda really called her to that... that kind of place where men and women went to have sex?

Dumbfounded for a moment, Renka's eyes soon turned icy.

She immediately called Matsuda and spoke the second the line connected.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you call me to a love—"

Renka hastily slapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish her outburst.

She had raised her voice and was worried about drawing attention.

Glancing around quickly, she lowered her voice.

"Why did you call me to a love hotel...? Don't tell me you..."

"You keep jumping to weird conclusions on your own lately, you know that? It's not like that, so don't worry."

Hearing his remarkably calm and carefree tone, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had somehow misunderstood him.

Even though it was a place that anyone would find suspicious.

"H-How am I supposed to trust you...?"

"I might be reckless, but I'm not that much of a degenerate. I seriously just came here to rest."

"If you want to rest, go home... Or somewhere else..."

"You're seriously a handful. Enter 503 at the kiosk and it'll spit out a keycard. Come if you want, leave if you don't."

"Wait... Matsu—"

Click.

The call cut off right as she tried to speak.

Renka let out a few scoffs of disbelief and shoved her phone angrily into her pocket.

Fine, she was going.

She would go in, proudly grant Matsuda's wish, and leave.

If he tried anything funny, she would just kick him in the crotch.

Suppressing her seething rage, Renka hesitated for a split second before stepping inside the building.

The dimly lit lobby greeted her.

It gave off an inexplicably gloomy vibe, and the scent of cheap air freshener filled the space.

Feeling unnecessarily uneasy, Renka glanced around until she spotted the kiosk Matsuda had mentioned.

After she awkwardly operated the unfamiliar machine to enter the room number, a keycard popped out at the bottom with a sharp click.

'Why is the security so lax...?'

They were probably watching everything on security cameras, but wasn't it a bit much not to have a single person stationed here?

Even if it was a love hotel, it was still supposedly a hotel... Maybe there was a staff member hidden behind the frosted glass?

Lost in thought, Renka got into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor, trying hard to hide her nervousness.

Checking the room number signs in the middle of the hallway to find 503, she took a deep breath and tapped the keycard against the lock.

Beep.

The door unlocked with an electronic chime.

When she carefully pulled the handle, bright light spilled out, a stark contrast to the dim hallway.

Renka hesitated for a moment as she peered into the dead-silent room, but she gritted her teeth when Matsuda's voice rang out from around the corner hidden by the bathroom wall.

"You're here? Come in. There are slippers, so take off your shoes."

"..."

Obediently changing into the slippers, Renka moved her long legs.

She strode confidently into the room. The first thing she saw was Matsuda, lying lazily with his head on a pillow, his hair wet as if he had just stepped out of the shower.

It was ridiculous, but she decided not to let it show.

With that thought, Renka spoke up.

"I need to add another restriction."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden? We finished that conversation yesterday."

"No... So you just want me to live in constant anxiety, never knowing when you're going to summon me? It's a good thing I didn't have anything urgent today, but... put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if you had unavoidable circumstances and I suddenly called you?"

At her words, Matsuda stroked his chin.

"Hmm... That definitely sounds like a hassle."

"See...! What I'm asking for is minor. Next time, don't just call me out of the blue. Tell me in advance when and where to meet you. When I use a wish like this, I'll consider your situation too. That makes things fair and balanced between us. Right?"

"I'll consider it."

She thought he would be unreasonable, but thankfully he was willing to listen.

Breathing a sigh of relief on the inside, Renka asked, "So... what's your wish?"

"Before I make it, I have one question to ask."

"Tell me."

"When do you have to head back?"

"Head back where?"

"Home."

"I have to leave here by ten."

"And if I drive you?"

".... Then I can probably stay until eleven-thirty."

"Is that so? Understood. Stand right there."

Matsuda gave a small nod and picked up the TV remote, flipping to a variety show channel.

Then, lying in an incredibly relaxed posture, he started watching.

Wondering what on earth this guy was doing, Renka spoke.

"What are you doing...? Make your wish."

"I already did."

"When?"

"Just now. I wished for you to stand right there."

"..."

Renka's mouth fell open slightly.

His wish was just for her to stand there?

What kind of simple little wish was this?

Right as she was about to plunge into deep contemplation over Matsuda's utterly incomprehensible behavior, he checked the time on his phone and continued.

"You aren't allowed to open your mouth until I speak to you first. It's seven o'clock right now... so you'll just have to stand there for about four and a half hours."

".... What? What kind of..."

Dumbfounded, Renka suddenly gasped.

Matsuda had brought a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet.

Staring intently up at her, Matsuda watched her mouth instantly clamp shut. He flashed a satisfied smirk, then turned his eyes back to the TV.