Chapter 172

"...Yeah... let's stop here..."

Hearing her shy reply, I asked.

"Ready to go?"

"M-Matsuda-kun, go to the Nurse's Office and tell them you have a headache... then come back before the next class... If we head back together right now, people will definitely get suspicious..."

She wanted me to invent an alibi for the teachers.

I doubted they'd actually check, but I had to do it to reassure Miyuki.

"Got it."

"A-and I'll teach you what you missed during lunch... so just remember that..."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes, we do...! Finals are just around the corner... you idiot..."

She always used that excuse to force me to study.

I fixed Miyuki's messy bangs and smoothed out her dress shirt, thoroughly wrinkled by our intense physical affection, before I spoke.

"Alright, I get it. Let's just go down to the First-Year Hallway together."

"No... What if someone walks out..."

"Then I'll come up with a good excuse. Let's go."

"...Okay."

...

"Matsuda. Come here for a second."

I had changed into my Kendo Uniform for club activities with a joyful heart, dreaming of my reunion with Chinami, only to put on a sullen expression at Renka's call.

Renka flared up at that, furrowing her brow as she confronted me.

"D-Do you have a problem?"

"No. I don't."

"Then what's with that look...!?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"You just looked at me like I was a total nuisance...!"

Mmm... It was satisfying to watch Renka gradually learn to walk on eggshells around me.

If this kept up, there would eventually come a time when she'd beg for my attention.

"I did no such thing."

Feigning total ignorance, I walked over to her and added.

"Why did you call me? Do you need something?"

The wrinkles on the bridge of Renka's nose smoothed out.

She seemed to realize that huffing and puffing wouldn't get her anywhere.

Exactly. A slave needed to know her place.

I'd have to give one of her butt cheeks a stamp of praise later.

"Haa... I called you over to ask if your training is going well."

"I'm learning a lot from Master."

"Do you practice on your own when you go home?"

"Not lately."

"Even with the tournament right around the corner?"

"I've had a lot on my plate."

"...Hey. Opinions might differ, but I consider the vanguard the second most important position after the anchor. If you get arrogant and screw up, the one who suffers won't just be you—it'll be the entire team."

That kind of downfall only happened to side characters or villains.

There was no such risk for a protagonist like me.

That said, I really did need to practice.

Talent was useless without the effort to back it up.

With a thought straight out of a hot-blooded youth sports drama in my head, I gave her a docile, serious answer.

"Understood. I'll train hard with Master."

"...Good."

"But President."

"What?"

"What did you eat with Master yesterday? Peach yogurt?"

"You could just ask her yourself."

"True. But... why did you make me out to be some weirdo yesterday?"

"...A weirdo?"

"When I said the first snow had fallen, you called me a liar."

Renka's face flushed with flustered dismay at my words.

"Y-You overheard that...?"

"You can't call it eavesdropping when you were talking so loudly."

"That's... because neither Chinami nor I saw it..."

"I saw it, so I texted you to check if you or Master saw it too. How could you judge someone so rashly just because you didn't see it yourself?"

"..."

"Nothing to say, right? I'll be remembering this."

Using this as leverage to demand a reward from Renka during the Kendo tournament sounded like a pretty good idea.

For example, demanding something in return if I won the vanguard match without giving up a single point.

Renka would naturally refuse, but I could just insist by bringing up how she'd slandered me as a liar.

"Beginners like you don't play vanguard, Junior. Since it's the position right after the anchor, they always send out an incredibly strong Kendo practitioner."

Chinami spoke while happily munching on a piece of peach she had brought.

She was saying the exact same thing Renka had.

It meant their opinions perfectly aligned regarding the importance of the vanguard and the anchor.

"Is that so?"

"Usually, yes. Would you like a peach?"

"Please."

"Here."

Using a tiny plastic fork to poke around the airtight container adorned with a drawing of Momo-sama, Chinami skewered the largest peach slice inside and held it out to me.

When I popped it into my mouth and began chewing heartily, a little pfft of laughter escaped Chinami's lips.

"It's nice to see you eating so well. You might even put on some weight."

"If I turn into a pig, you'll have to raise me, Master."

A flush spread across Chinami's cheeks at my words.

She seemed to think there was a rather naughty double meaning hidden in them.

"P-Please restrain yourself... It's not right to say things like that in a place where someone might overhear..."

Hearing her response, I was sure of it.

I'd meant it purely as a joke... but Chinami was slowly turning into a total pervert herself.

Or would it be more accurate to say that the true nature buried deep in her heart was finally awakening?

Smacking my lips slightly to clear the lingering taste of peach, I brushed my finger against the shy Chinami's lips.

Then, before she could say a word, I popped that same finger—now coated in her peach juice—into my mouth and sucked it clean.

"Hieek...!"

Startled enough to jolt in her seat, Chinami covered her eyes.

The way she pressed both hands firmly against her eyelids was cute.

The Momo-sama container resting on her tightly pressed knees acted as a prop, making her seem even more adorable than usual.

At this rate, I might end up going crazy for Momo-sama myself.

"J-Junior...! Doing such a scandalous thing..."

Chuckling at Chinami's grandmotherly tone, I grabbed her wrists and pulled them down below her chin.

"What's so scandalous about it?"

"I-I don't know...! That's not what's important right now; this is the time to think about tournament strategies and focus on our training...! Why are you messing around instead...!"

"I was listening perfectly fine, but you're the one who gave me the peach first and praised me, saying I looked good eating it."

"...Did I? A-Anyway, we are starting over. Goodness... whew..."

Chinami muttered strange little sighs as she fanned her flushed face to cool it down.

After a short while, seemingly having calmed down, she continued.

"So, I believe it's best to launch a preemptive strike as soon as the match begins. You take your stance and strike downwards immediately."

Right. Striking first to secure victory was crucial.

"I see."

"However, because your ki-ken-tai isn't fully refined yet, there's a high probability the opponent will block your attack and counter. When that happens... hold on a moment..."

Pushing the Momo-sama container aside on the bench, Chinami stood up.

She brought her hands together as if gripping an imaginary shinai, hopped backward with a flick of her wrists, and looked at me.

"At that moment, you step back half a pace like this and execute a hiki-waza, aiming for the opponent's wrist. Do you understand?"

"Your explanation is so easy to understand that it went straight into my head, Master."

"Fufu... You flatter me. Make sure to practice this attack and counterattack whenever you have free time before the tournament so you can truly master it."

Puffing up with pride at the compliment, Chinami sat back down and went back to eating the peaches.

I stared intently at her and asked.

"Is that the only thing I need to practice?"

"Of course we'll be practicing the other basics as well."

"Understood."

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"...Why are you staring at me so intently?"

"Give me some peach too."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I ended up eating it all by myself."

She hurriedly held out the container of peaches.

Looking at her guilt-filled face, I realized she really hadn't intended to eat them all on her own.

It was a funny yet sweet situation. It wasn't half bad.

...

Clack—!

Renka and Tetsuya clashed their shinais and quickly retreated.

Unlike Renka, who kept her center perfectly and assumed her stance without wavering, Tetsuya lost his balance and stumbled.

Not missing the opening, Renka took a massive step forward with her pivot foot and launched another attack.

"Men!"

Crack—!

With a heavy sound of impact, the Third Year senior acting as the referee raised his flag.

"Ippon!"

Having allowed the strike to his Men and given up a point, Tetsuya lightly tapped his innocent Men in frustration and headed toward the center of the court.

Then, he and Renka brought the tips of their shinais together in a standing bow, withdrew their swords, and stepped out of the court boundaries while keeping eye contact.

"Good work. You're much better than yesterday."

Renka offered her praise as they finished the brief match.

Struggling as he tried to take off his Men, Tetsuya replied.

"Not at all. I still have a long way to go."

"It's better to do a lot of matches before the tournament. That way you can build up actual combat experience. Come here. I'll help you untie your Men strings."

"Ah, yes. Please."

Ha... Fuck.

Here I was busting my ass running around, and that motherfucker was comfortably getting waited on by Renka.

Why the hell was Renka taking care of a piece of trash like him?

Doing that without my permission, on top of everything... Since when did a slave have free will?

She needed discipline. I'd have to punish her.

"President! Could you look over here for a second?"

When I called out to her with a fairly loud voice, Renka flinched and shifted her gaze toward me.

"What?"

"I have something to tell you."

"...Wait a second."

Glancing at me with a suspicious expression, Renka meticulously finished untying Tetsuya's Men strings before finally walking over to me.

"What is it...? Is there a problem?"

"No problem. Just help me out. Let's fold towels together."

When I pushed half the pile of towels over to her side, she let out a breath of disbelief and crossed her arms.

"Are you crazy? Isn't this a little too shameless, even for you?"

"Let's fold them together."

"No. Why should I?"

"I said, let's fold them together."

"Stop being so unreasonable...! I'm in the middle of teaching the kids...!"

"Together."

"...I'm leaving. Do it yourself."

"Go on, if you can."

"Why wouldn't I be able to go?"

"Then go."