Chapter 182

[Why?]

[Because I was busy.]

[So why were you busy?]

Was she subtly trying to pry into my business instead of holding back?

If I had told her I read it, would she have followed up with a question about yesterday?

No. I shouldn't jump to conclusions.

She could be asking out of pure, genuine curiosity.

Even if the chances of that were incredibly low.

[I just was.]

[You've been spouting nonsense for a while now. Is there something wrong with your head?]

[You shouldn't speak to your master that way.]

[Who says you're my master? You wanna diee?]

Her reply came lightning fast, complete with a typo.

Proof that Renka was getting worked up. Just imagining her face turning red with rage turned me on.

[It's going to be a problem if you keep being disrespectful. What did I tell you last time?]

[What do you mean, what did you tell me?]

[I told you to speak politely. Don't you remember?]

[I don't.]

[Now you're just hurting my feelings. Anyway, why did you want to know if I read the manga?]

The 'read' indicator popped up the second I sent the message, but no reply came.

Which meant Renka was busy thinking up an excuse.

My hunch was spot on. To think she dared to test her master...

I took back my thought that she was being cute. What a sly little fox.

[I was going to ask to borrow it if you were done reading.]

Her grand excuse was just asking to borrow it?

Our dear Renka really needed to learn how to lie better.

[An adult manga?]

[I told you I read that stuff sometimes when I'm bored.]

[I'll bring it on Monday.]

[You said you didn't read it yet.]

[I was going to start it today. It's only one volume anyway, so I'll finish it fast.]

[Really? Alright. Good work today.]

[You too, President.]

With our conversation over, I shoved my Cell Phone back into my pocket.

I was killing time, pondering how I would humiliate Renka next, when—

"Matsu... Ahem. Matsuda-kun."

Kanna's voice came from behind me.

She tried to mimic Miyuki before quickly snapping back to her natural tone; she must have remembered how I grabbed her waist the last time she tried to tease me.

"Yes, Kanna."

"Are you and Miyuki getting along well?"

Asking such a trivial question meant she didn't really have anything to say.

Being cooped up in the house with only familiar faces must have been boring, so she probably wanted to chat with me since I rarely visited.

"Of course."

"I shouldn't have asked. You're obviously getting along if you're here. Right?"

"It's fine to ask. Are you done talking to Miyuki?"

"I'm done. She asked me to bring you up. She said she's getting ready to study."

"Is that so? Thank you."

"But what kind of studying? I'm so curious."

Kanna asked her loaded question with her hands clasped behind her back.

Seeing her beaming face, she clearly thought some 'special' activities were about to go down in her sister's room.

"Studying is just studying. Do you want to join us if you're so curious?"

"Huh...? I-I had absolutely no intention of doing that...!"

Her reaction was surprisingly intense. Almost as if she had pricked her own conscience.

I had deliberately phrased it to invite a misunderstanding, but her acting like that was proof she'd been having dirty thoughts.

Kanna was just as brimming with sexual curiosity as Miyuki.

They say blood doesn't lie, so Midori was probably exactly the same, right?

A foursome with three beautiful women—a mother and her daughters... Just imagining it felt like my brain was going to melt from sheer pleasure.

I suppressed the wicked temptation creeping up from my lower body and spreading through my veins, burying it deep in my heart as I spoke.

"Got it. I'll head up now."

"Right... Do you want some fruit?"

"Are you going to bring us some?"

"No. I was just telling you to take the plate I left out in the kitchen. I'm heading out now, okay? Bye."

Kanna gave a quick wave and headed inside first.

What was she like normally? Her gait was so brisk and refreshing; she seemed even more bubbly than Miyuki.

"President!"

Startled by the loud shout, Renka picked up her pace.

She tried to walk away and pretend she hadn't heard, but there was no way she could shake me off while I was jogging over to her.

"President! Why are you ignoring me?"

Ultimately, unable to ignore me once I closed the distance, she had no choice but to turn her head.

"Keep it down...! People will hear...!"

"So what if they hear? Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"That's not what I mean... You should show some basic manners..."

"We're on the athletic field."

"Even if it's the field... it's still a public place..."

"Everyone is far away."

"...Forget it. Why did you call me?"

"To give you this."

I flashed a toothy grin and held out a paper shopping bag.

Guessing what was inside, Renka's face immediately drained of color.

"Is this... that?"

"Yeah. Ms. Asagao's Household Circumstances."

"Hey...! Keep it down...!"

Renka frantically pressed her index finger to her lips.

It was hilarious watching her nervously glance around.

"It's seriously so good. It's not just hot—the story is amazing."

"I-is that so...?"

With an awkward smile, Renka peeked inside the bag and grumbled at me.

"Why on earth would you give this to me now... How am I supposed to carry this around..."

"It's inside a shopping bag, so what's the problem? Just shove it in your locker."

"...I'll get demerits if I'm caught with it..."

"You should just be glad I didn't hand it to you without a bag."

"What kind of...! Haa... Never mind, whatever."

"Make sure to tell me your thoughts after you read it."

"Tell you my thoughts...? Why would I...?"

"It's nice having someone to talk about it with. By the way, where did Master go? Why are you alone?"

"Master went to the School Store to buy some new peach bread that just came out."

Peach bread... That sounds terrifying.

I had a bad feeling she'd force me to try it during club activities today.

"Alright. I'll get going, then."

"Just hurry up and leave..."

"Aren't you going to say thank you?"

"What?"

"You asked to borrow it, so I lent it to you. So what are you supposed to say?"

"...Th-thank you..."

Getting a half-forced thank you... wasn't so bad.

Telling Renka to take her time reading it before returning it, I turned my steps toward the School Store.

There wasn't much time left before class started, but there was still enough to pinch Chinami's cheeks.

I needed to recharge my energy by poking those plump cheeks of hers that had turned reddish from the cold.

@@

[Genes that can't even be compared to my husband's pathetic little seed...! Fill me up completely...!]

The female lead, her face completely melted in ecstasy and drenched in sweat, was begging the man mounted on top of her.

Seeing her wearing a police uniform cosplay and handcuffed to the bed was incredibly obscene.

Even the dialogue was unbelievably cheap.

"Haa... This is driving me crazy."

Matsuda must be out of his mind.

In what universe did this have a good story?

It was a manga stuffed entirely with provocative drawings meant only for a 'good time'.

A so-called nukige. This manga fell right into that genre.

Sure, she knew this author's style and had seen some of their earlier works, but this one was just too... explicit.

Still, the artwork was undeniably excellent, and the expressive faces were definitely a strong point.

After silently admiring and analyzing Ms. Asagao's varied expressions and bodily curves, Renka closed the book.

Unless one had lewd intentions, there was no need to read any further.

Matsuda had looked incredibly flushed when he lent this to her...

He couldn't have done that with this book, right?

If so... did that mean she was touching a book he had handled while rubbing his own member?

"Eek...!"

Reaching that conclusion, Renka recoiled in horror and tossed the book onto her bed.

Then, startled by her own action, she quickly checked to see if the book was damaged.

It was clean. Not a single creased page.

Thank goodness. It was absurd and frankly pathetic that she had suddenly freaked out like that.

What was she doing all alone during her precious golden break time...?

A wave of self-loathing washed over Renka. She placed the book next to her pillow and flopped onto her back on the bed.

And then she thought.

'...Do I really have to read the whole thing...?'

Matsuda had told her to share her thoughts on it... and she hadn't explicitly refused him at the time.

What if Matsuda used this as an excuse to pick on her later?

It felt a bit paranoid, but with him, it was entirely possible.

She just needed to remember one important scene from the beginning, middle, and end.

If he asked her what her favorite part was, she could bring those up and just bluff her way through.

Thinking that, Renka picked up the book again.

'Sigh...'

The taming scene right at the beginning was just so... embarrassing to look at.

She really didn't understand why people liked this kind of stuff.

Grumbling complaints internally, Renka's eyes sluggishly scanned the pages.

"....."

She had thought it was just a doujinshi focused entirely on pleasure, but looking closer, the casual, everyday dialogue actually did have its charming points.

It genuinely conveyed why the heroine grew tired of her husband and how she slowly fell for another man.

The standard trope in this genre was for the heroine to meet an NTR guy and immediately succumb to his massive cock to kick things off, so the attempt to break away from that cliché was refreshing.

Partially revising her initial pessimistic assessment, Renka popped the peach jelly Chinami had given her into her mouth and kept reading the manga.

Bzzzt—!

Right in the middle of it, her Cell Phone vibrated.

Wondering what it was, she checked and saw a call coming in from her eldest uncle, who ran a restaurant at a tourist spot.

Renka slipped a character bookmark she'd bought herself between the pages she was reading, closed the book, and pressed the call button.

"Yeah, Uncle."

"Renka, you doing well?"

"I'm... the same as always. How are you and younger Uncle doing?"

"Same as always over here too. By the way... you guys have winter break coming up soon, right?"

"Yeah. Right after finals."

"Then do you want to come down here with Ken for a bit? Ask him if he'd be interested in doing some free sightseeing while earning a fat paycheck working part-time."

At those words, Renka shot right up in bed.

"No way."

"Why not?"

Why not? Was he seriously asking that?

Did he really expect her to watch Matsuda strut around acting all high and mighty because he 'helped out her uncles'?

Since she'd be in the position of receiving his help, she'd have to sit there quietly and take it... Just the thought of it made her shudder.

And what was with the 'Ken' business?

They'd only met the guy exactly once and they were already on a first-name basis... Her uncles really were something else.

It wasn't like they were overly affectionate people to begin with.

It was pathetic how easily her uncles had fallen hook, line, and sinker for Matsuda's fake... well, not fake, but his highly sociable act.

Twirling her long side hair around her finger, Renka answered.

"What do you mean, why not... That would be a nuisance. You guys run a business way out there... It's an hour away by car..."

"What, is it a nuisance to just ask? It's not like I'm forcing him."

"You guys look scary. Just picturing you will freak Matsuda out."

"Ken? Freaked out by us?"

Her uncle raised his voice, as if she had just spouted total nonsense.

Recalling how Matsuda had acted at the restaurant last time, Renka let out a soft sigh.

He definitely wasn't the type to be scared of her uncles.

"Anyway, it's a no-go..."

"If it's awkward for you to ask him directly, just give me his number. We'll ask him."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Just 'cause."

"What? Are you drunk?"

"Ah, what do you mean, drunk...! I'm busy right now, so can you hang up?"

"Is that so? Business hasn't been doing well lately... This is a real problem."

How cheap to suddenly bring up their financial situation...

That was just going to make her soft-hearted.

"Are things really tough?"