Chapter 176

"...From what I can see, you still have a long way to go."

Renka must have acknowledged me as a manager deep down.

Even so, calling my skills lacking was likely just an excuse to barge in while Chinami and I were alone.

"Is that so?"

"It is. I'm asking what I should do. Or are you going to handle it yourself?"

"No. Help me wipe down the shinai."

"With you...?"

"Yeah. Why? Are you worried I might do something weird?"

"Not exactly... but there are plenty of other things to do. Why insist on doing this together..."

"It's more fun doing it together. Time will pass faster, too."

Saying that, I opened the door to the Storage Room and beckoned to Renka as if calling a puppy.

Renka hesitated for a moment, scratched her head vigorously, and walked over.

A somewhat docile Renka wasn't bad, either. Though it was far more satisfying when she fought tooth and nail before finally submitting.

Thwack!

The heavy, distinct sound of a shinai striking my opponent's Men echoed out.

Having successfully landed a solid strike to the head, I was certain it was an Ippon, but I maintained my stance without lowering my guard and waited for the referee's call.

"Ippon! To your positions!"

Goro raised a red flag and shouted in a booming voice.

Having properly secured the point and finished the match, I bowed to my opponent, then approached Chinami, who was clapping like a seal, and gave her a wide smile.

"How was it?"

"It was wonderful. Your spirit was excellent, and while your posture wasn't quite perfect, it was still superb. I'd say you have great potential as a vanguard. But you must never let your guard down. The tournament will be full of highly skilled competitors."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Now, have a seat. I'll untie your Men."

As I knelt in front of Chinami, she began untying the Men cords with meticulous care.

Wanting to tease her, I shook my head back and forth wildly.

Chinami put her hands on her hips and glared at me, then...

Bonk!

She tapped the Men very lightly.

"Hold still! What are you doing?"

"A Master raising her hand against her disciple... That makes me a little sad."

"Hey now! I'd be upset if you considered that raising my hand against you. This is discipline filled with affection."

"I'll take your word for it. But, Master."

"Go ahead."

"Should I give you a massage tomorrow?"

"Eek...?"

A gasp slipped from Chinami's lips as her hands paused in the middle of untying the cords.

She frantically looked around and whispered in a remarkably tiny voice.

"A massage...? Are you talking about an oil massage...?"

"Yes."

"Ahem... I'm not entirely sure... It's such a sudden proposal, I'm a bit flustered..."

"Is that so?"

"It would have been nice if you told me in advance... Hmm... I will think it over carefully once I get home today and give you my answer then..."

"Understood."

"Y-yes..."

Chinami squirmed, her face rapidly turning red as if it were about to explode.

I hadn't even mentioned doing anything beyond a massage, yet she was already getting turned on.

"Aren't you going to finish untying the cords now?"

"Ah... yes... hold still... I'll scold you if you move..."

"I wasn't moving."

"Yes... I know..."

Embarrassment radiated from her as she babbled.

Judging by her reaction, a positive answer was virtually guaranteed. At this rate, lifting her up to fuck... I wonder if I could give that a try?

It wouldn't hurt to just try it. Right, Chinami?

It was nearing midnight.

I was watching TV while waiting for Chinami's message, and the moment my Cell Phone buzzed, I looked at the screen.

[I appreciate your offer, junior, but I think I'll have to decline.]

An unfortunate response.

It was also the answer I had been expecting.

[I'll behave and only give you a massage.]

[Ah, then I'll think about it again and tell you tomorrow.]

Her attitude shifted in an instant.

Giving that kind of answer meant that when I offered the massage, Chinami had also been assuming it would lead to sex.

As expected, our Chinami was definitely a pervert.

Her earlier refusal must have been out of fear of what Miyuki might think.

Smiling at the dash of cuteness mixed with a spoonful of perversion radiating from her texts, I sent a reply.

[Let's do that.]

[Yes. Good night.]

I could have kept the conversation going, but there was no need to force it at this late hour.

Besides, since we had something important to do tomorrow, I figured I should let her get some rest.

Having ended the conversation, I checked her profile picture.

It was still the heart-eyed Momo-sama... I wondered if Renka had seen it.

Judging from her reactions up until today, she probably didn't know yet.

This time, I tried sending a message to Renka.

[Are you asleep?]

My Cell Phone remained silent even after a long wait.

Just as I was wondering if Renka had simply ignored my message or if she was already asleep: [I'm not asleep.]

A reply dripping with tsundere tendencies arrived.

[Why?]

[Just because.]

[What are you doing?]

[Lying down. What do you want?]

[Should I not contact you if I don't have a reason?]

[It's late right now.]

[So you're saying I shouldn't contact you?]

[I never said that.]

Even though her reactions were lukewarm, why was this so fun?

Was it because I liked her? It felt like I wouldn't get bored even if we just texted all day long.

It would be nice if Renka felt the same way sometimes... but that was probably too much to ask for in the near future, right?

[What are you up to?]

[I told you I'm lying down.]

[I'm asking what you're doing while lying down.]

[Talking to you.]

[What were you doing before that?]

[Being on my Cell Phone.]

[If you were on your Cell Phone, you should have seen my text, but your reply was late.]

As if proving that my words had hit the mark, my Cell Phone fell silent again.

Not long after, a reply laced with her excuses arrived.

[That's because I was watching a video.]

[Got it. I'll let it slide.]

[I don't understand why I have to explain myself to you. Do I have to reply to your texts the exact moment I see them?]

Trying to salvage her pride after already defending herself like that.

How cute.

[It would be nice if you did.]

[No.]

[Thank you.]

[I said no, so why are you thanking me?]

[By the way, President, what are you going to do for me if I win the tournament?]

[Don't change the subject.]

[You'll grant me a wish? Understood.]

[It seems impossible to even have a proper conversation with you.]

[Good night.]

Following that farewell, Renka didn't send any more messages.

Pushing aside the lingering urge to keep teasing her, I logged into AnyShare and checked my inbox.

There was nothing aside from a few spam messages. It seemed Renka hadn't unblocked me yet.

Figuring that was just how it was, I closed my eyes, looking forward to tomorrow.

"Matsuda-kun, you know there's a test first period, right?"

The next morning, in the classroom.

As I pulled a book from my desk and opened it, I furrowed my brow at Miyuki's sudden remark.

"Test? What test?"

"I told you we had a math pop quiz. Don't you remember?"

Come to think of it, I recalled hearing something about a prep test for the finals not too long ago.

I had been messing around with Miyuki in the middle of class at the time and hadn't paid attention, and since she hadn't brought it up again, I completely forgot about it... but it seemed like we were taking it right now.

"Does this count toward our performance assessment?"

"No, it doesn't. You don't have to worry about that."

Then why the hell were we taking it?

Our teacher sure was passionate. Or were they just too lazy to teach and substituting the class with a test?

"The teacher said it wouldn't be hard... so you should get at least fifteen out of twenty questions right, don't you think?"

That I was bad at math was a fact known not just to me and Miyuki, but to Bread Girl, the Vice Representative, that worm Tetsuya, and even everyone else in the class.

And yet she expected me to get fifteen questions right?

Looking at Miyuki with an exasperated expression, I asked.

"That's 75 points... Aren't your expectations a bit too high?"

"I believe the current Matsuda-kun can pull off at least that much."

She seemed to be looking forward to it quite a bit, so I had to live up to her expectations.

I'd have to rack my sluggish brain and score myself a cowgirl session.

"Got it."

"The cutoff for you is also 75 points, Tetsuya-kun. Got it?"

Leaning forward, Miyuki placed her expectations on Tetsuya as she looked at him.

The guy, who had been scribbling a drawing, flinched and offered an awkward, sheepish smile.

"I-I'll try..."

"Why? Are you not confident?"

"No, I'm not... I'm bad at math just like Matsuda..."

"Do your best."

If it had been the old Miyuki, she would have told Tetsuya to point out any formulas or problems he didn't know, offering to study together right up until the test started.

But now, it was the exact opposite. She gave Tetsuya nothing more than a brief word of encouragement, all while poking my waist to urge me to open my study notebook.

Did Tetsuya see Miyuki acting like this?

I sincerely hoped he'd seen it and that his inferiority complex would explode just like it did before I slapped him, severing the stubborn thread of his childhood friendship with Miyuki with his own two hands.

Although it wouldn't be so bad if I cut it for him, either.

Pretending to yield to Miyuki's nagging, I opened my study notebook and crammed furiously, exerting maximum concentration during the pop quiz that started after the teacher walked in.

Once first period wrapped up and I checked the answers, I could only curse on the inside.

My score fell woefully short of her expectations.

'What the...'

I definitely knew the material, and my brain had been firing on all cylinders while taking the test... so why the hell was this my score?

The human brain truly was a mysterious thing.

Regardless, I was genuinely worried about the final exams at this rate. I needed to study in my spare time.

"Matsuda-kun, what was your score?"

Miyuki, having already finished grading her own paper, asked about my score with a beaming face.

Flashing an awkward smile, I answered her honestly.

"40 points."

"...40 points...?"