Chapter 230

"I've never done that... What are you up to today?"

"Don't know."

"Sounds like you have nothing going on. Want to grab dinner together before heading back?"

"No."

"You like pasta, right?"

"Not really."

Why does she keep playing hard to get? She's going to come anyway.

I flashed Renka a mocking smile, taking advantage of her flare of annoyance to slowly reach out.

"Hk!?"

Was she scared by my hand suddenly reaching for her?

Or was her heart pounding because she thought a repeat of earlier was about to happen?

Letting out a sharp gasp, Renka squeezed her eyes shut.

Her knee-jerk reaction was hilarious.

Hiding my amusement as best I could, I asked in a puzzled tone.

"What are you doing?"

Then, as Renka tried to crack one eye open, I wiped a dab of whipped cream off her bangs with my index finger.

"W-what...?"

"What do you think? You had whipped cream on your bangs, so I'm wiping it off."

"...It must have gotten on me when I was topping off a coffee."

"I guess so. Why are you so clumsy? It seems the President is taking after the Master."

"N-no, I'm not...!"

"Sure you're not. Stop moving and stay still. Are you going through puberty? What's with the rebellion?"

"Stop talking down to me...!"

"Got it."

Ignoring Renka's fierce glare over my brazenly informal tone, I pulled a tissue and wiped the rest of the white whipped cream from her bangs.

Where in the world could you find an owner like this? Renka should treat me better.

"All done."

"..."

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

"No. I never asked you to wipe it off."

"Are you really not going to?"

"Yeah."

Slide.

Stepping next to the coy Renka, I subtly placed my hand on the small of her back.

"Eep...!"

Renka flinched, letting out a noise like a startled wildcat.

Staring at me with wide eyes, she swallowed dryly, completely at a loss for what to do.

Pressing myself right up against her side, I asked again.

"Are you really not going to?"

"T-thank you...! I said thank you, so don't press up against me...!"

"You're not forcing yourself to say it, right?"

"No...! I really mean it...!"

"And pasta is fine for dinner?"

"Yeah...! I like pasta...!"

Even as she nodded frantically and fidgeted in place, she didn't tell me to take my hand off.

It was proof that she was just flustered, not repulsed by my touch.

Having secured our dinner plans, I smiled in satisfaction and patted Renka's back a couple of times.

"Then we'll eat together when we get off work."

"Got it...! Now let go...!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?! Who gave you permission to just touch my body however you want...?"

"I did."

"..."

Baffled by my shameless response, Renka looked utterly dumbfounded despite her panic.

I stroked the curve where her waist met her pelvis,

"Hiyk...!"

relishing how she clamped her arms tightly against her ribs before I finally pulled my hand away.

Leaving her panting as if she had just sprinted at full speed, I turned to greet a customer who had just walked into the cafe.

Bzzzt—!

During the lunch rush, after sending Renka off to take her break first, I pulled out my Cell Phone when it vibrated in my pocket.

A notification from the AnyShare app had popped up.

Wondering what it was, I opened it and saw a direct message from Run Ino-chan.

[( ·'⌓´·) Trash, are you there?]

Seeing that, I couldn't hide the smile leaking onto my face.

So she was rebelling like this because she was too afraid of retaliation to talk back to my face.

She seems to completely believe that MK is me now... It's both hilarious and cute.

What kind of reaction would she show later when I told her I already knew Run Ino-chan's true identity?

Just imagining it was maddeningly fun. I would hold onto it for as long as possible before finally dropping the bomb on her.

With that thought, I tapped on my Cell Phone to send a reply.

[Why are you cursing at me again?]

[Just because. Have a good shift.]

[You're crazy.]

No further messages came.

As I chuckled at Renka's petty revenge, I was interrupted. "Who told you to look at your Cell Phone during work hours?"

Hearing Renka's sarcastic voice coming from behind, I scoffed inwardly.

The timing was incredibly coincidental.

Was it just a coincidence? Or did she walk in the moment she sent the message just to find an excuse to pick on me?

The former was highly likely, but if it was the latter, I didn't know whether to call it cute or pathetic.

"I only checked it for a second."

"What were you doing?"

"You don't need to know."

"Must be a secret you can't tell me."

It was funny how she tried to pry into my business with that sly tone.

"That's not it."

"Then tell me."

"I don't want to."

"Why do you always interrogate me when I do something, but hide your own stuff? Isn't it only fair that you answer honestly when I ask?"

Renka argued as if she had been deeply wronged.

Her slightly obsessive side was incredibly endearing.

"Do you feel wronged?"

"Not exactly, but it's unreasonable."

"Isn't that feeling wronged?"

"I don't feel wronged...? It's really pathetic how you just assume things."

"Pathetic?"

"Yeah. Super pathetic."

"There you go saying hurtful things again."

"So what."

She always gets cocky like this, even though she turns into a nervous wreck the moment I touch her.

Still, it's way more fun when she snaps at me like this instead of being obedient all the time.

As I pondered how to humiliate Renka—who seemed to have even less resistance to my touch than Miyuki, let alone Chinami—

Srrrk. The cafe door opened and a male customer walked in. I flashed a bright smile toward the entrance.

"Welcome. This is Cafe 24."

"Hello. I'd like one iced coffee..."

As the man placed his simple order, his gaze naturally drifted over to Renka.

His eyes were naturally drawn to her looks.

This happens almost every day, so I'm tired of even swearing about it. I just need to ring him up and get rid of him.

Just as I was about to read out the total on the POS machine, the man spoke up. "Uh... Inoo?"

I paused as the man acted like he knew her.

Renka reacted the same way. About to prepare an espresso, she widened her eyes and stared at the man when her last name was called.

"Who are you...?"

"It is you...! You don't recognize me?"

"I'm not sure... I don't really... Ah...!"

Tilting her head as she scrutinized the man's face, Renka suddenly let out a high-pitched gasp.

"Yoshida...? Yoshida Kenichi from Oike Middle School?"

The man's face brightened when Renka remembered his name.

"Yeah! You recognize me?"

"It's been so long...! Have you been doing well?"

"I've been doing great. How about you?"

"I'm... doing fine too. It's really good to see you."

This conversational flow was quite familiar.

A similar event had occurred in Doki-Aka as well.

It wasn't exactly the same, but one jealousy-inducing cliché was much like any other.

Considering Renka couldn't even recall his name right away, they definitely weren't close.

So it should have been fine to just let it go, but actually experiencing it in real life was irritating.

So this is why this painfully common cliché is used so much. I think I finally understand.

Wait, but isn't Doki-Aka a game geared toward men?

In cases like this, it's normal for the jealousy-inducing event to center around me so the heroine gets jealous... True to its reputation as a trash game, things are happening backwards.

I could have just let Renka and that guy keep talking, but I didn't want to.

Standing by awkwardly and fretting like Tetsuya didn't suit my personality.

Making a quick decision, I jumped in right as Renka opened her mouth to say something else to the man.

"I'll help you pay for your iced coffee. It's for takeout, right?"

The man flinched, then pulled out his money.

"Ah, yes."

I didn't care if I came across as completely lacking tact.

Getting rid of this bastard who was acting so friendly with my slave was much more important.

I'm not going to give him a stamp card either. Don't ever come back.

If you come back, not only will I steal away every single woman around you, but I'll also instill a cuckold fetish in you so you voluntarily offer your girlfriend up to me.

Though I have no idea if you even have a girlfriend.

"Why do you look so sour?"

Renka asked, having just sent her former classmate off with a brief farewell.

Turning my head slightly to look at her, I shot back a question.

"I look sour?"

"Yeah."

I wasn't happy about this unfunny cliché happening, but it was only right to play along.

While I was at it, I might as well get some physical contact in and educate Renka so she realized she belonged to me.

"President."

"What."

"Come here."

I grabbed Renka by the wrist and dragged her into the Changing Room.

Then, before she could say a word, I stepped right up to her nose and put on a serious face.

"W-what...? Why are you acting like this again...?"

Glaring down at Renka, who was looking up at me with clear tension on her face, I asked.

"Were you close with that guy?"

"...Why are you asking that?"

"Just answer the question. Don't piss me off."

"I don't want to...?"

I knew she would give an answer like that.

But was it just my imagination, or did she look secretly pleased?

Scoffing, I grabbed the sulking Renka's hand.

"Eep!?"

Taking advantage of her shock, I interlaced my fingers with hers and pinned the back of her hand firmly against a locker.

"W-w-w-what do you think you're doing right now...!?"

She was stuttering wildly.

Seeing her freak out time and time again, she clearly hadn't expected my actions in the slightest.

Fully savoring the slightly cool touch of her hand, I gently rested my forehead against hers, just like yesterday.

Taking it a step further, I lightly placed my free hand on her pelvis and lowered my voice as much as possible.

"I asked if you were close."

"W-we were just in the same class...! We barely even talked...!"

Only then did she confess honestly.

Frowning in displeasure, I said, "Am I supposed to believe that?"

"I don't know why I have to explain this to you... but he's just an old classmate! We were nothing! Really...!"

As Renka desperately explained herself, her ears flushed bright red, and the hand I had pinned with my interlaced fingers squirmed frantically.

She clearly wanted to escape, but the sheer difference in our strength made it impossible.

Renka was probably familiar with this kind of behavior.

Why? Because it was a scene that often appeared in female-oriented romantic comedy manga.

Simply put, from Renka's perspective, this was a common cliché too.

How was she processing this situation right now?

Judging by her complexion, it looked like her mind was completely blank.

"Hic...! S-stop...! Stop it...!"

When I squeezed the hand resting on her pelvis, she let out a moan tinged with a slight coquettishness and wriggled her body.

She seemed entirely unable to adapt to the unfamiliar touch of a man.

I'll have to push her a little harder.