Chapter 211

Drooping shoulders and eyes glued to the floor.

Chuckling at the sight of Renka following silently behind me like a condemned sinner, I headed for the parking lot with her.

Renka, who had claimed she wanted to clear up my misunderstanding, didn't say a single word the entire ride home.

She seemed completely lost on how to organize her thoughts.

Her mind had to be a mess. She had just been caught indulging in the otaku hobbies she'd kept secret for so long.

That was why she should have hidden it better. How could she be such a sloppy closet otaku?

Even if it hadn't been me, someone else would have figured out the truth sooner or later.

"We're here. We've arrived."

I parked the car a short distance from her house. At my words, she gave a slight shudder and turned to the window.

Was she relieved to see her cozy nest right in front of her?

Looking a bit more at peace, Renka gathered her purse and shopping bags.

"I'll get going..."

"Say thank you."

"Say what? Ah... thank you... I'm so thankful I could cry. I'm so incredibly thankful I don't even know what to do with myself...!"

Her voice steadily rose in pitch.

I bit my lower lip and turned my head away.

If I didn't, I was going to burst out laughing.

After taking a moment to calm myself, I looked back at Renka.

"Did you find a part-time job?"

"I did."

"Doing what?"

"Waiting tables. At a gyudon place."

"Do they have any open spots left?"

"Spots?"

"I'm looking for a part-time job too, and it'd be nice to work with someone I know."

"You want to get a part-time job?"

Why? Is it that weird for someone who doesn't look desperate for cash to want a job?

It's all because of you. I might just like you, you know. Right?

Originally, I had planned to get a job at Renka's restaurant and pretend it was a coincidental, almost fateful encounter.

But since I'd already run into her far too many times under the guise of 'coincidence,' doing it again might make her think I was stalking her.

So I figured I might as well be upfront about it and get her consent to work there.

Even if today's incident made it half-forced.

"Yeah. I'm thinking of working over the vacation."

"Then... go look somewhere else."

"I want to work with you, President. It sounds like fun."

"You're getting a job for fun...? You do it to make money."

"I meant it'd be relatively more fun than working alone. Don't you think?"

"I think working with you would be hell."

"That's harsh. Was it like that at my uncle's restaurant, too?"

"Not back then. Because I was the one who asked for it as a wish."

"Is that right? Anyway, ask the Boss there if they're hiring any more part-timers."

"No."

"Is that so? Hmm."

When I let out that sound, Renka flinched and glared at me.

"What...? What was that just now?"

"What was what?"

"You just went 'Hmm...'!"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Ah, it's just that you did something you don't usually do..."

"I just did it without thinking. But aren't you going to get out?"

"..."

Renka looked like she wanted to say something more, but deciding she'd only lose out if the conversation continued, she opened the passenger door.

Then, handling her purse and shopping bags as carefully as if they were sacred relics, she glanced at me over her shoulder.

"G-Get home safely or whatever..."

She was still wishing me a safe trip, even in the middle of all this. Her tsundere tendencies were strong, but it was commendable.

I waved at the red-faced Renka, watching her trudge away before heading back home myself.

@@

"Aaaargh!"

Thump! Whack!

Renka kicked her legs wildly in the air, buried under her thick blanket.

After screaming and kicking her blankets in embarrassment for a while, she furiously messed up her already disheveled hair.

'I've been caught...'

Recalling Matsuda's reaction at Comiket, there was no doubt about it.

Her secret, which even Chinami didn't know, had been discovered by him.

By Matsuda, of all people.

Renka shuddered as she remembered the familiar deep voice that had spoken from behind her right as she was gleefully holding her new merch.

It had sent such a chill down her spine... she'd almost fainted on the spot.

If only he didn't have such a nice voice... so annoying.

"Haa... I'm really going to go crazy...!"

Slapping her mattress in frustration, Renka rolled over.

She buried her face deep in her pillow and tried to organize her thoughts.

What was she going to do now?

Should she just act confident? Pretend nothing happened?

No. If she did that, Matsuda would be like a fish in water, eager to tease her even more.

Then what? Should she just admit it entirely?

Matsuda would definitely be a smartass about it, but he wasn't the type of person to go around telling others.

No, she shouldn't get her hopes up.

She had to plan for the worst-case scenario.

But was there even any point in planning now? Wasn't it already far too late?

Why on earth had she used her nephew as an excuse? Even thinking about it now, it was absurd.

If only she could turn back time.

'I'm ruined...'

Lying flat on her back again, Renka looked at the new merch she had just bought and placed on her display shelf.

The cute character figure sitting on the top shelf...

Just looking at it seemed to clear away the stifling frustration in her chest.

Anyway, hadn't Matsuda arrived home by now?

He was a mischievous guy, so he'd probably tease her...

As Renka was thinking that—bzzzt!

Her phone vibrated by her pillow, and she checked the screen.

[Are you resting well?]

As expected, it was a message from Matsuda.

She could practically feel his intent to tease her seeping through the text.

He thought he had caught her red-handed, didn't he? He really was a bad guy.

After going through all sorts of negative scenarios in her head, Renka debated whether to reply before finally tapping the screen.

Because if she ignored him now, she felt Matsuda would only escalate his teasing.

[K.]

[Are you kidding me? Give me a proper answer.]

The corners of Renka's mouth twitched up, then went back down.

She'd tried to act a little defiant, and it was surprisingly fun. It felt like she could almost see Matsuda getting slightly annoyed.

She'd have to reply like this every once in a while.

[Yeah.]

[You said you were starting your part-time job tomorrow, right? Ask the Boss for me.]

[I told you no.]

[Let's do it together.]

[Why exactly do you want to work with me so badly?]

[I told you. Because it's fun working with someone I know.]

Why wasn't he bringing up anything about her being a closet otaku?

The thing Matsuda should be most curious about right now wasn't the job, but her otaku hobbies...

Maybe he was saving it to use as leverage in case she didn't listen to him.

[I'll only get stressed out if I work with you.]

[Isn't it nice that we can help each other out? The Boss would love it if we worked like we did at your uncle's restaurant.]

[The place I'm working at has a completely different style from my uncle's restaurant. It has a quiet atmosphere.]

[I'm not saying we should bring that same vibe, I'm just saying we work well together.]

[Not at all. Don't flatter yourself.]

[But why waiting tables? Couldn't you work at a café?]

[It's a matter of adjusting. I've worked at my uncle's restaurant quite a bit. Even if it was only occasionally.]

[You'd adjust to a café in no time. Let's do a café. Restaurants are too hard.]

Look at him, stubbornly insisting again.

He was such a pain.

Now that she thought about it, wasn't there a café right next to where she was going to work? And they were even hiring.

It would definitely smell less and be less physically demanding than waiting tables, but... she'd already said she would start tomorrow, and this place paid more anyway, so she had no intention of changing her mind.

[You go do it. I like waiting tables.]

[Or a figure shop wouldn't be bad either.]

Twitch.

Renka's face immediately flushed hot upon reading the word 'figure.'

Matsuda was definitely revving up to tease her.

She wanted to curse him out, but she couldn't react.

[Whatever.]

Honestly, she'd had her eye on a figure shop herself.

A place where she could combine her hobby with her job. It'd be a lie to say she wasn't interested.

But they all wanted long-term employees, so she hadn't even applied.

[Anyway, you're going to ask for me, right?]

It wouldn't be boring working with Matsuda.

She wasn't entirely sure why, but time seemed to fly whenever she was with him.

And the Boss would probably like Matsuda, who was good-looking and great at his job.

The problem was that he'd caught her indulging in her otaku hobbies.

Being around Matsuda was bound to feel like sitting on a bed of thorns.

But on the other hand, if she rejected his offer, she was anxious about what the wildly unpredictable Matsuda might do next.

It probably was better to keep him close by to keep an eye on him and control him...

To run, or to face it head-on. It was a night of deepening contemplation.

[I'll think about it.]

[Okay. Are you going to sleep now?]

[Yeah.]

[Good night.]

Why was he making a fuss and saying good night so sweetly?

Grumbling internally, Renka didn't reply and tapped on the AnyShare app instead.

Browsing communities was the best cure for a troubled mind.

She'd leave a review for the anime she'd just finished and check out some info on the new releases.

[Notifications: 68]

She had missed just one day of logging in, yet there was a massive pile of notifications.

They were the latest comments on the hundreds of reviews she had written.

Most were praise. There was even a comment on her recent review of a BDSM series saying that although it wasn't their usual taste, they'd found it interesting.

It was a genre she had only watched after getting a recommendation from a toxic user named MK.

The story hadn't been too extreme, so she had enjoyed it fairly well herself.

Now that she thought about it, that user MK had been strangely stubborn.

Just like Matsuda. That was why she had blocked him for her own peace of mind.

'MK...'

A user who liked BDSM and the training genre.

Coincidentally, he shared similar tendencies with Matsuda, and even had the same initials.

When she'd run into Matsuda in Akihabara last time, he had bought a training genre doujinshi called [Ms. Asagao's Household Circumstances].

She had wondered back then if MK and Matsuda were the same person, but had just laughed it off.

But not anymore.

That thought was turning into a suspicion, and that suspicion was well on its way to becoming certainty.

He was interested enough in this stuff to show up at Comiket in person despite not having a ticket, he had a taste for the training genre, and he had the initials MK...

Could all this really be a coincidence?

'Is it really him...?'

Suddenly, she wanted to confirm whether MK and Matsuda were connected.

But how could she check?

The next morning.

I was sleeping in to ward off the fatigue of the past few days when a call came from Renka. I picked up my Cell Phone.

"Hello..."

"Hey."

"Yeah."

"...Excuse me?"

"What is it?"

"Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"It's almost lunchtime."

"Are you going to lecture me for sleeping in?"

"...No, that wasn't it."

If it were the old her, she would have argued back, but putting her tail between her legs like this... her spirit was definitely broken.

I wanted to see the Renka who barked back at me, so I'd have to go easy on the teasing for a while.

"Did you ask the Boss?"

"I asked. The Boss wants to see you. He asked if you could come in by this afternoon."

She must have brought it up to the Boss as soon as she got to work.

Admirable. I should scratch her under the chin as a reward.

Sitting up and stretching, I asked.

"By what time?"

"By three. Write up a simple resume and bring it with you."

"Got it. Send me the location."

"See you later."

'''