Chapter 210

Smacking my lips with a hint of regret, I grabbed Renka's bag and the Sushi set from the backseat, placing them on her lap.

"That's a shame. Want some water?"

"...No. I'm fine."

"Don't worry about the gas money. Just go inside and rest. You look exhausted."

"Then I'll pay you back later. Thanks for the ride."

"I said it's fine."

"And I said I'll pay you... Anyway, I'm going."

Renka weakly pushed the door open, told me to get back safely, and stepped out with her long legs.

Walking straight ahead, her head turned slightly just before she reached the main gate of her house.

Was she looking at my car? What was she thinking?

Was she wondering why I hadn't left yet?

Or was she feeling some inexplicable lingering regret?

I figured I would ask her tomorrow when I ran into her at Comiket.

The moment Renka opened her door and went inside, I took my foot off the brake and headed home.

Through the large window, a faint orange mood light glowed from inside.

It seemed Miyuki was here.

After parking, I hurried into the house and carefully slid the window open.

Miyuki, who had been lying on the futon covered in a blanket, let out a tired groan and sat up.

I had tried to be quiet, but I must have made a sound.

"You're here...?"

Sitting down in front of Miyuki as she rubbed her eyes to welcome me, I set the Sushi on the tatami floor and gently pressed beneath her eyes.

"I'm back. Eat some Sushi and go back to sleep."

"Sushi...? Did you get it from where you were working?"

"Yeah. It's Tuna Sushi. They gave it to me for working hard."

"Oh, really? That sounds delicious... Was the work hard?"

"It was manageable."

"Your voice sounds a little weird..."

She said this in a sleep-heavy voice, checking my face from side to side.

It felt like a wife worrying about her husband who had just come home from a hard day's work, which made me happy.

I accepted her touch for a while, then pulled her T-shirt up just as she stretched her arms.

Then I buried my face in her pale, startled stomach.

Since she was awake, I figured we should go a quick round.

'Why are there so many...'

The next evening, at the venue for Comiket, one of the biggest events for otaku.

Arriving there, I clicked my tongue in shock at the massive crowd.

There were way too many people. You could honestly call it a sea of humanity.

I was at a loss for how to find Renka in such a massive place, but I knew which booths she liked.

If I wandered around those areas, I was bound to spot the tall Renka.

Since I didn't have an entrance ticket, I could only roam the outside of the building, scanning my surroundings with utmost focus.

Among the people lined up to get into a booth, I noticed the person at the very back of the line holding a placard.

When someone lined up behind them, they handed it over, and that person accepted it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Was it some kind of culture? It was fascinating.

Fortunately for me, the vast majority of the people at Comiket were men.

Because of that, it wasn't hard to pick out the women.

The problem was that there wasn't a single trace of Renka to be seen.

A long time passed, and then more time.

Climbing onto a wall-like structure and constantly darting my eyes around to scan the crowd started giving me a headache.

Wondering if Renka had already left, I rolled my neck around to loosen my stiff muscles. Then—

'Huh...?'

I spotted a slender figure walking from afar, wearing a black hooded puffer jacket pulled low and a face mask.

Her face was almost completely hidden, but there was no mistaking that confident, brisk stride and those long legs.

Certain that it was Renka, I blended into the crowd and moved closer to her.

The backpack she wore was bulging, and she was carrying an armful of shopping bags to boot.

Her eyes were curved into crescents and her shoulders bounced slightly; she looked thrilled.

Did she get an autograph from her favorite artist? Even with the mask on, I could practically see the corners of her mouth turning up.

She really goes all out as a closet otaku.

Thinking that, I followed behind her, pondering deeply about the most natural way to call out to her.

"Excuse me... Do you happen to know where the Shonen Monday Corporation booth is?"

"Ah! I just came from there. The Saturday Corporation booth is that way... Go inside Building B, head to corner E-2, and you'll see it right away."

"Building B... Ah, I see it. Thank you so much!"

"No problem. Happy geeking!"

Renka was giving directions to a stranger.

Her voice was slightly higher than usual; she seemed to be in really high spirits.

Judging by the shopping bags she was carrying, it looked like she was done buying merch...

If she decided to head to another booth, I wouldn't be able to follow her inside since I didn't have a ticket, so I needed to catch her before then.

Keeping my distance as I trailed behind her, I decided it was the perfect time when she walked past a noisy building where some event was taking place.

She would definitely be startled if I called out to her, but the loud noise would drown out her scream.

With that thought in mind, I widened my stride and quickly approached her from behind.

Then, in a voice dripping with confusion, I called out to her.

"President?"

"..."

It seemed she didn't hear me.

I tried speaking a little louder.

"President!"

As I got closer and raised my voice, Renka finally stopped dead in her tracks.

At first, she didn't move an inch, but a moment later, her head slowly creaked around, like a main character encountering a ghost in a horror movie.

And then, our eyes met.

"..."

I couldn't tell if she was truly, genuinely panicked, or if her mind had simply gone completely blank.

She just stood there blankly staring at me for a brief moment, before—

"Hwaaaaah!?"

She let out a massive scream without any warning.

Hmm... That was the most dramatic reaction I had ever seen from her.

It would have been quite the sight if she hadn't been wearing a mask.

She flailed her arms so wildly in surprise that one of the shopping bags she was holding went flying into the air.

I quickly caught it, then waved my hand gently in front of her face, as she had frozen completely with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?"

At that, Renka flinched violently, and focus returned to her eyes.

"Huh...?"

However, she still seemed disoriented, letting out weird noises and swaying slightly.

Such a completely defenseless state. A laugh almost slipped out of me on its own.

"Ah...!"

Realizing the embarrassing display she had just put on, Renka shook her head vigorously, and her eyes quickly settled into a cold stare.

"What are you...?"

"What do you mean? It's me."

"Why... Why are you here?"

"I came to enjoy Comiket. Here, take this first."

I held out the shopping bag she had nearly dropped, and she reached out reflexively to take it.

Her grape-colored eyes darted around frantically.

Was it just my imagination, or could I practically hear the gears in her head turning as fast as her eyes?

"Well... Um..."

It seemed she couldn't think of anything to say.

I decided to help her out while teasing her a bit.

"Is that merch in the shopping bags?"

"Ah, yeah... Merch..."

"Did you come here to buy merch?"

"R-Right... My nephew... um... lives out in the countryside... so he asked me to buy some for him..."

Did our Renka have no other excuse but her nephew?

Usually, when you're a closet otaku, don't you prepare at least one plausible alibi in case an acquaintance catches you?

I figured she was so panicked from running into someone completely unexpected that she instinctively blurted out her nephew.

Either way, the sight of Renka's eyes shaking like there was an earthquake was so funny it was driving me crazy.

Barely suppressing a burst of laughter, I inhaled sharply through my teeth and spoke.

"For someone buying a gift for their nephew, you looked an awful lot like a hardcore otaku earlier. You were even letting out this weird laugh... I honestly thought you were going to drool."

"Wh-What are you talking about... You're just imagining things...!"

"And I get the feeling you use your nephew as an excuse a little too often..."

"T-That's just because I care about my n-nephew a lot...!"

"I mean, that's possible, sure... But you seem incredibly flustered right now."

"That's because y-you're making pointless misunderstandings...! I have no interest in these kinds of things...!"

"Your face is bright red. Is that also because I'm making a pointless misunderstanding?"

"Exactly...!"

Wasn't it about time for her to just admit it?

I observed Renka, who had one foot planted behind her in a posture that looked ready to bolt at any moment.

She looked like a mouse in front of a cat.

Still, there was a feisty spirit to her. It felt like she stubbornly refused to back down.

It seemed she was planning to brazenly insist her way out of the situation.

Wishing I could see her expression behind the mask, I stared intently into her eyes and gently scratched my lower jaw with my index finger.

"Hmm."

"Wh-What's with that Chinami-like exclamation?"

"President."

"What...! Why!"

"Was this the errand you had to run before your part-time job? Buying a present for your nephew?"

"Yeah...! That's right...!"

"Then you could've just honestly said you were buying a gift. Why did you dodge the question and just say you had something to do when I asked? It's not like I don't know how much you care about your nephew."

"That's... Um... I just didn't feel the need to tell you... I-Isn't that right...! It's not like we're that close or anything... Right?"

Renka's ability to handle pressure is seriously low.

Then again, that's exactly why she gets swayed by me so easily.

Wearing a meaningful smile, I continued.

"I heard you can barely even get tickets here unless you reserve them way in advance..."

"...Right. It was h-hard to get."

"President, be honest. You like this kind of subculture, don't you?"

"I already told you I don't! Why won't you listen to..."

"You like it, right?"

"I said I don't...! If you're going to talk nonsense, leave...! Just go...!"

"This is what they call being a closet otaku, isn't it? Or was it playing normal?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about...? Closet otaku? Playing normal? You're using such weird words..."

"Earlier, I heard you tell someone 'happy geeking'... Isn't that slang for enjoying otaku hobbies? If you know a phrase like that, that's more than enough proof..."

"...You have a severe case of delusions, don't you? And is your hearing bad, by any chance? Because I have no memory of saying such a thing."

"Your tone is surprisingly flat. Your way of speaking changed too... Are you reading from a textbook?"

"..."

Renka clamped her mouth shut in silence, like a mute who has eaten honey.

I wanted to keep teasing her, but her breathing was so heavy right now she sounded like someone hyperventilating.

It was so intense I could actually see her mask inflating and deflating.

It was proof that she was in an extremely sensitive state.

Even if I stopped here, Renka was definitely going to furiously kick her blankets out of embarrassment when she got home.

She was playing innocent, but she probably realized I had seen right through to her true self.

So I decided to stop teasing her for now. I had pushed her far enough.

"Understood loud and clear."

"U-Understood what...? What do you understand?"

"I just understand, that's all. Here, some water."

"Water...?"

"I figured you might need it."

I held out the small bottle of water I had in one hand. After hesitating for a moment, Renka snatched it away, pulled down her mask, and started gulping it down.

Draining the small bottle in a flash, she let out a refreshing sigh and asked.

"And... why are you here?"

"There's an anime I'm interested in, so I was going to check out the corporate booths, but I couldn't get in because I didn't have a same-day ticket. They said they don't do on-site sales, only reservations."

"...So you made a wasted trip? You should've looked into it better... Even I would have just shown up if my nephew hadn't told me beforehand."

"Tell me about it. Are you done with your business here?"

"My business...? I bought everything my nephew asked for... so I guess you could say I'm done."

It was cute how she kept bringing up her nephew in a desperate attempt to prove she had no personal interest in this stuff.

It felt like her final struggle.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to install a hidden camera in Renka's house.

I wanted to see what kind of reaction she would have once she got back.

"Is that so? Then let's head back. Since fate brought us together like this, I'll give you a ride."

"Fate, my foot... Haa... This is so annoying... Why do I always end up with him..."

It was muttered incredibly softly, but I still heard it.

Her voice was laced with frustration and dismay.

If anyone else sounded like that, I would have been worried first, but why did it feel so good when Renka did it?

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing... I'll go by myself."

"You're going to carry all of that?"

"I can just put it in my bag..."

"Why do I get the feeling you're avoiding me?"

"...Hey...! Hey! Fine! I'll take your car, then...! It works out perfectly, actually...! I wanted to clear up your misunderstanding anyway...!"

Why did Renka look so exceptionally pretty today?

If anyone saw us, they'd probably think we were a couple bickering over some trivial nonsense.

Flashing a wide grin at her as she practically gave up and sighed heavily, I held out my hand.

"Shall we go? Give me your bags. I'll carry them for you."

"No..."

"Then follow me."

"...Fine."

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