Chapter 123

"Miura? Did something happen today? Why do you seem so down?"

Tetsuya flinched at Renka's impossibly gentle voice, his mechanical shinai swings faltering.

He had been spacing out all day, obsessing over what happened this morning. Keep that up, and your mind is going to snap.

Not that it was any of my business.

"Nothing really happened..."

"That's a relief, then. Your stance breaks down after a strike, so focus and correct it."

"Yes, President."

"Keep your head up. I'm rooting for you."

"Thank you...!"

Some color had returned to Tetsuya's face as he resumed his practice.

He seemed to have drawn strength from Renka's encouragement... What a pathetic sight.

I gave a quiet snort and went back to silently folding dry towels, until—

"Matsuda."

I turned my head as Renka's call cut through the sharp, cracking strikes of the shinai.

"Come here."

She was gesturing me over from a corner of the Club Room.

I finished folding the towels, walked over to her, and asked, "What is it?"

"Are you free on Saturday? I want to use my wish."

Why Saturday of all days?

I needed to get some proper rest after spending a passionate time with Miyuki the day before...

But if I said I was busy now, it would look like I was backing down. I had no choice.

"I'm free."

"You aren't going to ask what the wish is?"

"I figured you would tell me soon enough."

"...Good. I'll text you the time and location on Friday, so head over there the next day. I'll pay for gas, of course, so don't worry about that."

Judging by the mention of gas money, it had to be somewhere far.

Or maybe she just hated owing me even the slightest debt, and was offering to pay despite it being a short drive.

"Understood."

"Wear sportswear, or just anything comfortable to move around in."

Was she planning to make me do farm work or something?

Drain my soul by forcing me into hard physical labor... She couldn't be plotting something that old-fashioned, could she?

I doubted she would waste a precious wish on something like that, but...

Given the distance in our relationship right now, she didn't have any particularly useful wishes to make. Plus, with the one-month expiration date, she had to use it quickly, so the possibility wasn't entirely zero.

"Right. Are we done talking?"

"...We're done."

"Then I'll get back to work."

"Yeah."

While handling the remaining tasks, I watched the Club Room door open as a man in his sixties or seventies walked in.

He lingered by the entrance, watching the members sweat through their training. Renka approached him with a puzzled expression, exchanged a few words, and then led him into the director's office.

Not long after, the latch clicked.

"Matsuda!"

The director's office door flew open, and Goro burst out, looking for me.

Inside, the man was looking at me with a warm gaze. Goro was fidgeting nervously in front of him, and Renka stood at ease.

Looking at the three of them in the director's office, I had a rough idea of what was going on.

'It's because of what happened yesterday.'

The woman who caused the fender bender had recognized my uniform and taken a close look at my name tag. This was definitely related to that.

"This is the Vice Principal. Say hello."

Unlike when he bellowed for me earlier, Goro introduced the man with a remarkably gentle tone.

So she wasn't the Principal's daughter, but the Vice Principal's.

What did it matter whose daughter she was? As long as she was pretty and looked young for her age, that was enough for me.

"Hello. I'm Ken Matsuda. Did I happen to cause some kind of trouble?"

I bowed my head and pretended to be entirely clueless, drawing a hearty laugh from the Vice Principal and his thick white beard.

"No, nothing like that. Were you perhaps involved in a minor collision yesterday, in an alleyway leading toward Nerima Ward?"

"Yes, I was. How did you know?"

"The one who caused that collision was my daughter. I came to say thank you."

What a shame.

He should have just visited my classroom during a lesson or a break. Why did he have to express his gratitude here in the Kendo Club of all places?

Still... building up a heartwarming reputation in front of people was always a good thing, so I would let it slide.

"Ah... so the woman I met yesterday is your daughter?"

"That's right. She came home absolutely delighted, saying a student from our Academy named Ken Matsuda had generously let her off the hook. When I heard the name, I couldn't be sure it was the Ken Matsuda I knew, but to find out it was true... I'm surprised."

As a school administrator, there was no way he hadn't heard the rumors about me.

I scratched my head awkwardly and said, "I am a bit famous in a bad way."

"You used to be. Not anymore."

"I appreciate you saying that."

"It's good to see you turning over a new leaf. By the way... could I ask why you still accepted money from my daughter yesterday?"

He didn't seem to be faulting me for taking money I didn't need; rather, it looked like he just wanted to understand my reasoning.

"If I had just let it go with zero consequences, she might have become complacent and gotten into another accident. That's what I thought at the time."

"Admirable."

"You flatter me."

"Is the car alright? If the repair costs are high, I will pay to fix it."

"No, it's fine. There's no problem at all."

After a few more words, the Vice Principal offered a final, polite word of thanks and left the director's office.

Goro, whose lips had been twitching into a smile this entire time, slapped me hard on the shoulder.

"Well done, Matsuda. You did a really good thing."

"I guess these things happen by chance."

"Exactly. It's a very joyous occasion for our Kendo Club. Our budget might even increase a little next year."

From the impression he gave, the Vice Principal seemed like the type to strictly separate public and private matters, so would he really do that?

It would have been better if he'd given me a personal reward instead... like his daughter's body...

"Then are we going to a hot spring for next year's training camp?"

"If you're still around next year, I'll consider it."

After exchanging that brief joke, Goro stepped out, saying he needed to oversee the members' training.

Renka, who had been quietly watching me with a look of genuine surprise, finally spoke up.

"Surprising."

"What is?"

"Nothing. Just... you did well."

"A compliment from the President... I'm not sure if I should feel good or bad about it."

"...Even when I give you a compliment..."

"I'm kidding."

"Hah... I must be crazy... Let's go."

Renka muttered that in a self-deprecating tone and opened the door to the director's office.

Had Renka's evaluation of me gone up even a little?

Though she would probably forget it all when it was time to train her... Still, offsetting my bad reputation with good deeds wasn't a bad thing.

"It's finally tomorrow."

Chinami was psyching herself up like a soldier marching out to the battlefield.

I roughly dusted off the uniform dress shirt I had just changed into and nodded.

"Yeah, it's tomorrow. But why are you so nervous?"

"Nuh-uh...! It's anticipation, not nerves. Junior Hanazawa must be looking forward to tomorrow as well, right?"

"Of course she is."

"Hehe... Good. I'll buy us ice cream tomorrow."

"I don't think you need to go that far..."

"It's a monumental day where I meet a junior who will become a new connection. As a senior, I can't just sit back and be treated. Consider it settled."

She was trying her best to act mature, but did she know it only made her look even cuter?

With a soft smile, I said, "Understood."

"Chinami! Hurry up and come here!"

Renka's voice interrupted our cozy conversation.

Chinami turned her head and shouted back.

"Yes! I'm coming! Well then... Junior, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Get home safe."

Waving one hand brightly, she quickly started walking away.

Watching her hum a tune as she approached Renka, the urge to just bite her only grew stronger.

I was watching Chinami's retreating back with a warm, fatherly smile when I heard, "Matsuda. Let's go."

I recognized the grating voice of a certain nuisance and turned around.

"Did you leave anything behind?"

"No. Are you picking up your car today?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't it cost a lot to fix a busted rear bumper?"

"It didn't cost that much."

"That's a relief. I was worried."

Worried, my ass... Seeing him act so incredibly fake was starting to fill me with disgust.

As we made brief small talk on our way toward the main gate, Tetsuya said, "Earlier, it sounded like Senior Nanase mentioned Miyuki... Is that right?"

Staring at the ground as he walked, he had finally brought up his main point.

I clasped my hands behind my head, let out a yawn, and answered.

"Oh... That? Yeah."

"What did you talk about?"

"Ice cream. We decided to go get some tomorrow."

"Ice cream? The two of you are getting ice cream?"

"Three of us, including me."

At those words, Tetsuya's mouth instantly clamped shut.

I couldn't quite tell if he was annoyed or jealous...

It was probably both, which explained why he was making such an ugly face.

"...Did Miyuki agree to this?"

"Of course she did."

"You didn't force her to go or anything?"

What kind of delusion was this?

"What do you mean, 'force'? Do you think Miyuki is the type to meekly tag along just because I told her to?"

"I guess... That's true. Unless you used some weakness of hers to threaten her... Ah, you know I'm just joking, right? Don't take offense."

The moment I heard that, I stopped walking and glared straight down at Tetsuya.

Then I lightly slapped his cheek, just hard enough for him to feel a sting.

Smack.

"Ack!?"

Tetsuya let out a short yelp and clamped a hand over his cheek.

His eyes were twice as wide as usual. He had clearly never expected me to hit him, and he looked completely shell-shocked.

"Hey, are you crazy?"

"Wh-what...?"

"You deliberately scrape away at my nerves, call it a joke, and expect me to just let it slide? There's a limit to joking around. What you're doing right now is just straight-up provocation, isn't it?"

"I didn't mean it like that..."

Didn't mean it, my ass... Those words were completely loaded with his true feelings.

You really are showing the absolute depths of your ugliness. It's unbelievable.

Still, should I praise him for mustering the courage to talk back to me?

"I used to think you were a fairly deep guy, but why does it feel like you keep crossing the line lately?"

Smack, smack.

I slapped Tetsuya's covered cheek a couple more times, making him stagger backward in a panic.

I chased after him, shoving his shoulder, and was just about to keep laying into him when—

"Matsuda-kun! What are you doing!?"

Miyuki's loud voice rang out from a distance.

I turned toward the sound and saw Miyuki rushing over in absolute shock.