Chapter 187

Goro let out a light laugh at my cheeky tone.

Placing his ridiculously large, hairy hand firmly on my shoulder, he asked, "Alright. Is your training going well lately?"

"Yes. Thanks to Senior Nanase, it's coming along well."

"You certainly know how to sound humble. I just wish you were a little less aggressive during friendly matches."

I could understand why he'd say that.

I had pulled some unsportsmanlike moves right in front of him, after all.

When I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment, Goro continued.

"I've said it time and time again, but Kendo is a martial art rooted in etiquette. You can only earn respect when you show respect to your opponent first."

"I'll try my best to fix that."

"That's all I ask. When do your classes start?"

"In about twenty minutes."

"Is that so? Want me to teach you a quick tip then?"

"Well... if you're offering to teach me, I have no reason to refuse."

"Good attitude. Watch closely."

Standing across from me, Goro took a deep breath.

His already massive torso suddenly expanded.

In that state, Goro mimed gripping a shinai and raised his arms above his head, taking the Upper Stance.

In Chinami's case, although Sangdanse was her main stance, her petite frame carried no real sense of intimidation.

Of course, once we exchanged blows, her sharp strikes would make me break a sweat, but until then, it was true that she simply looked cute.

But Goro was different.

His build was so enormous that when he took the Upper Stance, his presence was overwhelming.

It felt like facing a massive, solid wall that wouldn't break no matter how many times I battered it.

I considered myself fairly big, but compared to the naturally robust Goro, my size was just a drop in the bucket.

"You look huge."

"Yeah, you do, right? Before you start, draw a deep breath into your chest to puff up your torso. However, once you launch an offensive, you have to let it out so your movements don't become sluggish."

"Is it to intimidate them from the start?"

"Exactly. As you probably know, facing a spirited Sangdanse when you don't know your opponent's skill level can be incredibly intimidating psychologically. Give it a try."

I obediently followed Goro's instructions, taking a deep breath and raising my arms. Watching my posture, he spoke up.

"From here, spread both of your elbows further out to the sides."

"Like this?"

"Yeah. Widen your stance horizontally to make your already large frame look even bigger. If they look at you while wearing a Men that restricts their vision, it'll feel like they're facing a great mountain. It's even better if you glare fiercely."

"I think I understand."

"Good. You were the vanguard, right?"

"Yes."

"It's a high-pressure position. No thoughts about moving to the back of the lineup?"

"No. I'm happy where I am."

"Good call. The vanguard is the perfect position for you. Make sure you learn a lot from Senior Nanase."

"Understood."

"Go check the supplies."

After a brief standing bow to Goro, I headed to the storage room.

As I checked and organized the delivered supplies, a soft breath broke the silence. "Haa..."

A sigh had come from right behind me.

Wondering who it was, I turned around to find a sullen-faced Renka staring at me with her arms crossed.

It felt like we were ending up alone together quite often lately. Was she stalking me or something?

"We meet again."

"..."

"Not even going to answer me now?"

"..."

"President."

"..."

Seeing her stand there silently, I considered calling her by her name, but in our current state, that would feel like crossing the line.

"Did you just sigh at me, by the way?"

"..."

"Why? Happy to run into me?"

Renka flinched when I tried to lead her into an answer that favored me.

I smirked and took a bold step toward her.

"Hk...!"

She let out a short, quiet gasp, and I could see the muscles in her neck tense up completely.

"Why won't you answer?"

"B-because I have nothing to say..."

What did she mean, nothing to say? We had plenty.

"Did you get home safely yesterday?"

"I did."

"What did you do with Master?"

"Shopping."

"Did you buy clothes?"

"No."

"Then Momo-nim Merchandise?"

"No."

"Keep answering with just one word and see what happens."

"... W-we just took photo booth pictures... window-shopped a bit, and then went to eat desserts."

She only listened when she was threatened.

No, it would be more accurate to say that Renka was being well-trained here.

I let her off the hook again today. Be thankful for your generous master's kind heart.

"Photo booth pictures? Can I see them?"

"Of course not...! No way."

"Even if you don't show me, President, I'm just going to ask Master to show me anyway."

"Then just go ask Chinami to show you."

"I want to see them right now, so show me, President. I even postponed my wish..."

At the word 'wish', Renka glared fiercely at me.

"L-look at you...! I told you not to hold that over my head..."

"I wasn't holding it over your head; I just meant to ask if you could show me since I did you a favor."

"That's exactly what holding it over my head is...!"

"Is it? Anyway, show me. I won't bother you anymore if you do."

"..."

Muttering something under her breath, Renka rummaged through the inside of her jacket, pulled out her Cell Phone, and showed me the back of it.

"Here."

A single photo sticker was pressed firmly against the inside of its clear case.

The first thing that caught my eye was Chinami, who had both hands raised above her shoulders as if dancing to a children's song.

The pose was lethally cute. I could feel her untainted innocence.

And Renka... was standing behind Chinami with a truly bright smile on her face.

Cute little chick characters had been edited in on both sides of her brightened face, and they suited her surprisingly well.

She looked adorable in her own way.

"Satisfied?"

Perhaps finding my intense stare at the photo burdensome, Renka put her Cell Phone away.

I wanted to take a picture with my slave, too.

Once we grew closer working part-time together over the break, I'd ask her to take one with me after a shift.

"I'm satisfied. It came out looking pretty."

"... Now don't bother me anymore."

"Got it."

Nodding willingly, I brushed past Renka's side.

Then, Renka called out to me in a puzzled tone.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm leaving."

"Weren't you working on something?"

"I promised I wouldn't bother you anymore."

"No... You just had to stay quiet... Just go back to work. I'm leaving soon anyway."

Did she feel sorry that I was dropping my work and leaving because of her?

Or was she just pretending to dislike my presence, but felt empty now that I was actually leaving?

Considering my current relationship with Renka, the former was a bit more likely, but maybe it was a mix of both.

"Alright. But President."

"What."

"Did you know the next volume of Ms. Asagao's Household Circumstances is coming out?"

"... I had no idea. Why would I care about that?"

Judging by her face, she definitely knew.

She must have really liked the book and checked for herself. Typical.

"You said it was fun, so I figured you'd look it up."

"It's not even my hobby to begin with, so there's no reason for me to look it up. Didn't you say you wouldn't bother me? Just do your work."

"Will do."

Giving a lukewarm reply, I returned to the storage room and began organizing the items again.

Renka also went over to where the Bogu was kept and checked the condition of the gear, presumably preparing for today's sparring.

How much time passed as we each did our own tasks in the storage room, with only rustling sounds filling the air?

Just as I finished most of the work and thought about heading back to the classroom, Renka suddenly turned to look at me and asked.

"You got a tip from the director?"

"Yeah."

"Keep it firmly in mind. The director's advice will definitely be of help to you."

"I plan to."

She'd told me not to bother her... but I guess the silence got awkward after being together in a quiet place for a while.

Seeing how she was bringing up such obvious things.

Chuckling quietly so Renka—who was subtly glancing at me in hesitation—wouldn't notice, I opened the storage room door.

"I'm all done. I'll be going now."

"Bye."

"Aren't you going, President? Class starts soon."

"I still have things left to do."

"Alright then. See you during club activities."

"Yeah."

Hearing Renka's mild reply, I left the storage room and thought to myself as I trudged back to the classroom.

I really felt like I had too many things to do lately.

Not only did I have to worry about the upcoming threesome, but I also had to focus on the tournament, and the school trip was still looming.

And I had to focus on capturing Renka during the vacation... Was this the time things suddenly got busy?

I should give it my all.

"Junior."

"Yes, Master."

"I had peaches for lunch with junior Hanazawa today, but we completely left you out."

Ah, so that's why Miyuki had disappeared for a moment.

But are you teasing me right now?

There was no need to tell me every little detail like that.

"Good job. Was it delicious?"

"Yes."

"Then that's all that matters. What did you talk about with Miyuki?"

"Wh-what...? I-I can't tell you that...!"

Chinami flinched and shook her head side to side.

It seemed it was a secret conversation just for girls.

I didn't know what they talked about, but it probably wasn't related to the threesome.

If it was, Chinami's gaze would have been different from the start.

"Understood. What are you doing for Christmas? Sleeping in?"

"Sleeping in? Is Christmas on a weekend this year?"

Come to think of it, Christmas wasn't a public holiday in Japan.

Blasphemy. No, that was going too far.

"Now that I think about it, it's a weekday."

"Then I suppose I have to go to school."

"And after classes are over?"

"Hmm... Well. I'll probably hang out with Renka, won't I?"

"You don't seem to have any plans."

"For now, yes. There's still some time left until Christmas, after all."

I had no intention of saying anything about Chinami sticking to her best friend, Renka, every day.

But for Christmas, I had to intervene.

You have to hang out with me and Miyuki.

Gently ruffling the bangs of the girl looking up at me with her chin raised, I asked, "Why aren't you wearing the gloves I gave you?"

"Ah, it's because I'm currently attaching a Momo-sama embroidery patch to them. I want to attach it meticulously, so it's taking a little time."

"Is that so?"

"Once I'm done attaching it, I plan to show it to you first, junior."

"How commendable. I'll be waiting for it."

Grinning, I gently pressed down on the tuft of hair sticking up from Chinami's head.

At that, her face flushed red.

A somewhat exaggerated reaction for just being embarrassed.

She seemed to be having some weird delusions.

A sudden thought came to me: what if Chinami was in the tennis club?

Wearing a short tennis skirt, shouting "Horya!" while swinging a racket... Imagining it, she looked pretty.

Imagining her whining beneath me at night while still wearing her tennis outfit made my desires surge.

"Master, could you come here for a second?"