Chapter 142

Another Deal

One corner of Renka's mouth curled into the faintest of smiles as she rested.

The soft bed and thick blankets seemed to bring her a sense of peace.

I wasn't sure if she had finally gotten used to spending time with me, or if she was simply relieved to lie down after burning through so much mental energy.

She watched TV intently, letting out quiet laughs whenever a comedian made a good joke, and occasionally fiddled with her Cell Phone to text someone.

Renka passed the time like this, saying absolutely nothing even after our agreed-upon break time expired.

She was subtly slacking off, waiting for me to bring it up first.

I knew exactly what she was doing, but I played dumb and gave her an extra thirty minutes of rest.

Once three hours had passed, I finally spoke up.

"Time's up."

"...Haa."

She let out a heavy sigh.

The prospect of leaving her comfortable spot to crawl back into the Training Cage seemed daunting to her.

Humiliation aside, being unable to move freely had to be incredibly uncomfortable.

If it were just a little taller, or if the floor were a little softer, she might have been able to endure it. But it was a ruthless cage stripped of all comforts, which was bound to be infuriating.

"Shall we go in now?"

"I behaved, didn't I? Can't you let me go now...?"

"Strictly speaking, you didn't really behave. You kept snapping at me the whole time."

"Snapping...? That's a bit harsh..."

"Harsh? You don't think it was harsh when you cursed at me, President?"

"..."

"Nothing to say, huh? I'll let you go earlier than we agreed, but we still have a long way to go. Hurry up and get in."

"..."

Renka stayed perfectly still, her head turned away.

I got up from the bed and stood over her as she threw her silent little tantrum.

Then I grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.

A heavy weight dragged against my grip as I forced her to her feet.

She had tensed her entire body to keep from being dragged along.

I looked down at her silent rebellion and spoke.

"Stop this and get up."

"No... And who said you could touch me? You touched me without permission, so I'm resting for another hour..."

I had been holding back my amusement this whole time, but her childish whining finally made me burst out laughing.

Renka really was cute. It was a refreshing change of pace from Chinami's usual style.

"Don't laugh...! It's annoying...!"

She looked adorable huffing and puffing with a bright red face.

I hoped she would keep acting like this from now on.

I maintained my grip on her wrist and shot her a stern look.

I had given her enough carrots. It was time for the stick.

"Get up. Before I change my wish to something else."

"Y-you can't do that...! You already used your wish...!"

"But you're refusing to cooperate, President. Or would you prefer I shove you in there by force and make you stay for five hours?"

"Do you realize how terrifying you are right now? You're like a psycho... Don't go around acting like a normal person outside... Everyone else needs to see this side of you..."

"It's enough that you know, President."

"T-this is illegal...!"

"It's not illegal. We agreed that you'd grant my wish, whatever it was."

"It's still grounds for a report..."

"So, are you going to report me? I don't mind, but get inside first. You can file your report after you come back out."

"..."

She must have realized that nothing she said would work on me anymore.

Renka let out a ground-shaking sigh, pushed herself up, and trudged slowly toward the cage.

She squeezed her eyes shut as I opened the door.

She dawdled, clearly hating every second of it, before shooting me one last glare and bending at the waist.

Once she was safely inside the Training Cage, I snapped the padlock shut.

Then I tossed a pillow in front of the cage and sat down on it.

I sat there and stared intently—unwaveringly—at Renka.

"What's wrong with you...?"

My gaze from beyond the bars must have been suffocating, because she shifted back to keep her distance.

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, looking absolutely pathetic.

"I just wanted to look at you."

"You really are Trash..."

"Having a hard time already?"

"My body was exhausted earlier, but feeling like I'm being raised in captivity and constantly monitored is mentally draining... I feel terrible... What am I, livestock...?"

"Do you want to come out? Should I end the wish here?"

"C-can you really do that?"

Life flooded back into Renka's eyes, brimming with sudden hope.

I smiled brightly and tapped my fingers against the iron bars.

"On one condition."

"What is it...?"

"I want you to cosplay for me. Just once."

Renka stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.

The sudden demand for cosplay left her entirely at a loss for words.

She gazed at me blankly, her jaw slightly slack, before snapping back to reality and shaking her head frantically.

Then she asked, "You want me to cosplay?"

"Yep."

"L-like an anime character...?"

We'll do plenty of that later, once you fall in love with me.

"It'll be a more mainstream concept than an anime character. So, do we have a deal?"

"No way... I'd rather you just pet my chin some more..."

She figures it's better to suffer through today and get it over with... How disappointing.

I was planning something that would fully awaken her inner slave instincts.

"I'm bored of doing that."

"B-bored...?"

"I'm kidding. But let me sweeten the deal. If you accept, President, this wish is officially over. I'll let you out right now and drive you straight home. You'll only have to cosplay once, right here, for just thirty minutes. I'll call you when I'm ready, but I won't drag you here recklessly like today—I'll take your schedule into full consideration."

"I told you, no..."

"Let me finish. If you refuse... you'll just have to sit in there for eight whole hours."

"E-eight hours...? It'll be pitch black by then! You said you'd let me out early!"

"It's 2:00 PM right now, isn't it? I was originally planning to let you go at midnight, so I'm actually knocking two hours off."

"W-what...? Two hours...?!"

Grind!

The sound of Renka grinding her teeth filled the silence.

She had been somewhat obedient, so finding out she had only earned a two-hour reduction clearly infuriated her.

I looked back at her with perfect calm.

"I took the constant tantrums and cursing into account, so two hours is all you get. Got a problem with that?"

"..."

"Besides, I gave you an extra thirty minutes in bed. You never put down your Cell Phone, so there's no way you lost track of time. You were keeping quiet on purpose, weren't you?"

"W-well, yes, but it's your fault for not saying anything...! You didn't say a word, so I assumed I was allowed to keep resting...!"

"Promises are meant to be kept."

"Verbal agreements can be broken anytime... You should've put it in writing."

"Verbal agreements are still binding."

"You don't have proof..."

"You realize how childish we're being right now, right? Don't you think we're a great match, President?"

"Don't make me laugh. As if."

Renka snapped back at my teasing, then continued.

"Eight hours is way too harsh. Cut it in half."

"Stop being stubborn. I'm not humoring you anymore."

"Then at least let me use my Cell Phone. And I want you to lay a blanket down in here. If I have to be in here for hours, the least you can do is give me some basic comforts."

"No."

"Please."

Going for the shameless approach now? Cute.

I clicked my tongue at her and stood up.

"Talking to you is getting us nowhere. I'm going out for a bit."

"Y-you're leaving...? Where?"

"I'm bored, so I'm going to catch a movie."

"What...? Don't joke around...! What about me? I have to stay in here by myself?"

"Yep. Wouldn't you prefer it if I wasn't here anyway, President?"

"W-well, yeah, but what if I have to use the bathroom? You told me to ask when I needed to go...! Are you expecting me to just go in here?"

"Hold it until I get back. What do you want for dinner? I'll grab some takeout on the way home."

I flipped off the TV and slipped into my coat. Renka flinched, clutching the iron bars with both hands.

"Hey...! Are you seriously leaving?"

Her voice pitched up in panic, her body trembling slightly. The psychological pressure of being trapped in the cage alone for hours was starting to break her.

Of course, I never had any real intention of leaving. I looked back at her and asked, "Will you accept my deal, then?"

"...This was your plan from the start, wasn't it...!"

"I won't deny it. But it's really not a bad deal for you, President. You only have to invest thirty minutes of your time."

"Adding more obligations when this was supposed to end today is a total loss for me..."

"You're saving time in the long run. You could even just drop by on your way home from school one day. Like I said, I'll work around your schedule."

"What kind of cosplay are you even planning to make me do? At least give me some details! If I just agree to this blind, how do I know you won't force me to do a naked cosplay?!"

"I explicitly said it was a mainstream concept. Are naked cosplays considered mainstream now? News to me."

"Ugh...!"

She looks like she's about to explode.

Her reactions were so entertaining that I wanted to keep teasing her.

Chuckling, I stepped back up to the cage and tapped the metal plate on the roof.

"I can't give you all the details right now, but I promise it'll be far less physically and mentally draining than rotting in this cage. And you definitely won't be exposing your breasts or genitals."

Renka gulped hard at my explicit wording.

I crouched down to meet her eyes.

"So, what's it going to be?"

Renka stared down at the floor of the cage, a troubled look crossing her face.

Inwardly, I cheered.

The fact that she was actually considering it despite knowing almost nothing about the cosplay was proof—Renka was slowly awakening to these kinds of tastes.

I might have been imagining things, but it was undoubtedly a positive reaction.

"Don't you have things to do today anyway? Didn't you mention that on the phone the other day?"

She flinched and shot her head up, suddenly remembering her forgotten plans.

She stared at me with conflicted eyes before speaking.

"...Are you really only going to take thirty minutes?"

She had finally decided to take the deal.

"Yep. Thirty minutes."

"And we'll agree on the date and time beforehand...?"

"Exactly. I'll make sure it fits your schedule perfectly."

"...And you promised it wasn't anything too extreme, right...?"

"If you feel it's too much, you can beat the crap out of me on the spot and call the cops. It's completely your call, President."

My sheer confidence seemed to do the trick.

Renka's expression softened slightly.

She chewed on her lip for a few moments, weighing her options, before finally letting out a long exhale.

"Fine... It's a deal."

The moment I heard her answer, I undid the padlock.

As she crawled out of the cage and stood up, I offered an apology.

"You really went through a lot today... I'm sorry."

"Whatever... Don't act like a nice guy now."

"I also wanted to thank you for indulging my fetishes."

"F-fetishes...? You really are a total psycho..."

"I'm dropping you off at home, right?"

"...Drop me off at Tokyo Station."

From Tokyo Station, it was only a two-stop ride on the light blue train line to Akihabara.

She obviously didn't want me to know she was going there, which was why she gave me this station instead... I could read her like a book.

"You're going out in those clothes? Won't you stand out?"

"I have my coat on, so it's fine... No, actually, it's none of your business."

"You wound me."

"It's not like I have to be polite to you anymore."

"Fair enough. Get dressed. Let's go."

Renka gave a weak nod of agreement and began putting on her coat.

Today's harvest wasn't perfect, but it wasn't half bad, either.

I could have gotten greedier and scored a bigger win, but it was better to stop before her resentment could build any further.

Besides, I had secured a favor that was almost on par with the original wish, guaranteeing that our master-servant dynamic would continue. I'd accomplished my goal, so there was no reason to be disappointed.