Chapter 264

“We'll have one chocolate chip frappuccino, one Strawberry Latte, and one Grapefruit Juice...”

Rattling off her order without hesitation, Hiyori seemed like a bubbly girl who was always in a good mood. But once she got close to someone, she became incredibly mischievous—even downright wicked.

She was also a bit of a troublemaker, frequently clashing with the Student Council that Miyuki was part of. She wasn't a true delinquent committing actual crimes, but she would definitely give the Student Council headaches this year.

“And finally, one Cafe Latte... That'll be all.”

Having listened to Hiyori's entire order, I flashed a gentle smile at her as she stared back at me with eyes so sparkling they were almost overwhelming.

“Understood. I'll help you with the payment first. Do you have a cafe coupon?”

“No. Please give me one.”

“Just a moment.”

Rummaging under the counter, I pulled out a coupon and added six stamps next to the pre-printed one. I gave her seven stamps as a special favor. I wanted her to come back often, even if only to score a free drink.

Handing the stamped coupon to Hiyori, I said, “That will be 1,840 yen.”

“Okaay.”

Whenever something put Hiyori in a good mood, the ends of her sentences trailed upward like that. Her energy seemed pretty high today. Flashing a radiant smile, Hiyori pulled out her Cell Phone and tapped it against the card reader by the POS terminal. After finishing the payment, she grabbed the Pager and looked down at her coupon, tilting her head in confusion.

“Huh?”

It seemed the extra stamp had puzzled her. Just as she turned around to come back to me, Renka approached, adjusting her apron, and asked, “Are there a lot of orders? Need help?”

“Yeah. Could you blend some grapefruit for me? You'll find it in the bottom of the fridge.”

“Got it.”

Replying obediently, Renka stole a glance at Hiyori. Then, as if embarrassed for looking for no reason, she chuckled and continued.

“We'll have them ready in a jiffy. Please wait just a moment.”

Renka hurried away with quick, short steps. Hiyori, whose eyes had gone wide as she stared at Renka's retreating back, suddenly adopted a look of intense intrigue.

“Hmm... Aha.”

Aha? Why was she suddenly making that exclamation? It wasn't like Renka had given her a weird look.

I didn't know the exact reason, but Hiyori was incredibly sharp when it came to this sort of thing... She might have picked up on something. A woman's intuition, maybe.

Looking at Hiyori's amused expression, I asked, “Is something the matter?”

“Ah, it's just that I only ordered six drinks, but you gave me seven stamps on the coupon.”

I shouldn't try to flirt with Hiyori using weird pickup lines here. There was no need to leave a huge impact. We'd bump into each other often at the Academy anyway. For now, a light show of favor was enough. Just enough to be memorable.

“I added an extra one on purpose. To encourage you to visit often.”

At my nonchalant reply, delivered as though I didn't have a single ulterior motive, Hiyori let out a soft sound of acceptance and smiled brightly.

“Is this some kind of sales strategy?”

“Exactly. Get ten stamps, and you get any regular-sized drink you want.”

“Really? Anything?”

“That's right. Anything.”

“Thank you. I'll come often.”

“Please do.”

Her mood seeming to have improved even more, Hiyori hummed a nearly inaudible tune as she headed over to the table where her friends were waiting.

She kept glancing over here while saying something to her friends. I wanted to hear their conversation, but since they were sitting in the corner and keeping their voices down, I couldn't make out a single word. Figuring that was that, I walked over to Renka, who had started blending the grapefruit.

“President.”

“What?”

“You're not wearing the Choker on your wrist today?”

“What was that? I can't hear you over the blender.”

It was funny how she slyly feigned ignorance when she had clearly heard me. Snorting, I scolded Renka in a somewhat stern tone.

“You'll be punished if you lie.”

“...We agreed I'd only wear it yesterday...”

“I don't recall making such a promise.”

“...”

“You keep bringing punishment upon yourself. Keep your schedule open for tomorrow evening.”

“T-Tomorrow...?”

Even though I was just asking her out on a date, her reaction was quite intense. Mentioning the evening probably made her think we were going to the Hotel. She was likely feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, recalling the conversation she'd had with MK yesterday.

“Yes, tomorrow. Today's a no-go since I have to hang out with Senior Nanase.”

“With Chinami? Just the two of you...?”

“That's right.”

“But you can't...? Chinami is supposed to hang out with me today, too...”

“Don't make me laugh. She didn't mention anything like that.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because we talked on the phone.”

“...”

Like a mute who has eaten honey, she clamped her mouth shut. Furrowing my brows, I spoke.

“Are you going to keep lying to me like this? Can you handle the consequences?”

“C-Consequences...? Let's just talk about this later and make the drinks first...”

“Alright.”

As we prepared the drinks, Renka's eyes kept darting toward me. Was she already having delusions about what would happen tomorrow? Regardless, the way she stole glances at me was pretty. She gave off the vibe of a squirrel standing in front of a predator.

At the same time, I felt a gaze from the corner booth. Checking subtly while making the drinks, I saw Hiyori's female friends looking my way. I couldn't see them clearly from a distance, but their eyes seemed full of interest.

Had Hiyori said something to them? Or was it just basic attraction to my face? I had no idea what was going on, but it was a little sad that Hiyori herself didn't seem interested in me at all.

As for the guys, they were showing a tremendous amount of interest in Hiyori. Hiyori humored their conversation with a constant smile on her face. Not because she was interested in any of them, but simply because her personality was inherently bubbly.

I'm going to torment those bastards so much once they come to our Academy. Shooting a glare brimming with jealousy at the riffraff, I suddenly remembered the official guide I'd read before playing Doki-Aka for the first time.

The words sitting proudly right next to Hiyori's name: [Conquest Difficulty: Maximum]. That stood out in my memory the most.

But that was the difficulty from Tetsuya's perspective, not mine. Sure, it would still be tough, but I could do it. Bolstering my fighting spirit inwardly, I quietly went back to making the drinks.

“Goodbye!” “Keep up the good work!”

Leaving their cheerful farewells behind, Hiyori's group exited the cafe. Returning their greeting with a polite smile, I moved to clean the spot where Hiyori had been sitting, silently looking forward to our next meeting.

Suppressing the urge to steal glances at her had nearly killed me. Had Hiyori noticed my fresh, budding feelings? The next time she came, maybe I'd try striking up a personal conversation instead of just offering a standard greeting.

Wiping down the slightly damp table with a dry dishcloth, I looked over at Renka, who was silently washing the dishes. Energetic Hiyori was great, but snarky Renka had her own charm. The same went for Chinami and Miyuki. I really liked all four of them.

Picturing a future together with them, I stepped right up behind Renka and subtly placed my hand on the small of her back.

“Don't do that.”

I had expected her to jerk her hips away and let out a startled gasp, but her reaction was surprisingly subdued. Was she exhausted? A fair number of customers had come in since Hiyori arrived, so she might actually be tired. Pressing all five of my fingertips against Renka's pelvis, I spoke.

“President, go ahead and eat lunch first.”

“Okay. But...”

“But what?”

“What are we doing tomorrow...?”

Had she been thinking about that this whole time? She should have just asked confidently right away instead of agonizing over it... That wasn't like Renka at all. Still, it was cute.

“This and that.”

“What this and that?”

“I'll decide when the time comes.”

“...We aren't going to the Hotel, are we...?”

“I'm glad you brought it up first. As of now, I do plan to go there.”

“A-Are you crazy...? Why are you deciding that on your own...?”

“It's not completely decided yet. It depends entirely on how you behave, President.”

“What do you mean, ‘how I behave’...?”

“If you lie like earlier, or don't listen to me properly, my thoughts might just lean toward an outcome you don't want.”

“Don't spout nonsense like I don't have a choice in the matter...”

“Using harsh language like that counts against you, too.”

“You really are...!”

“Hurry up and eat your lunch.”

Cutting Renka off, I patted her backside. Unlike before, she flinched at my touch and bit down hard on her lower lip. She didn't seem to hate it. She was just feeling a bit anxious because we weren't near the Changing Room, which had no security cameras.

It was nice to see her visibly getting used to this kind of physical contact. Letting out a satisfied chuckle at Renka's somewhat docile reaction, I continued.

“Chew your food thoroughly so you don't get indigestion.”

“Don't treat me like a kid... Not unless you want to get hit...”

“More harsh words.”

“No... You use harsh language too, so why are you only picking on me...? You swear a ton...”

“I haven't lately. Plus, I've never once sworn at you, President.”

“Don't say such ridiculous things... You've always acted selfishly, like some tyrant...”

“That's about my attitude, not my words.”

“Words, attitude, it's all the same...”

“Are you talking back to me?”

“...”

Renka just glared at me with an expression full of dissatisfaction. From her perspective, she must be wondering since when she'd become such a pushover. Even so, she wouldn't have any real intention of rebelling. Why? Because she had already adapted to our reversed positions—and had even reached the point of enjoying it.

“Let's just eat lunch first. You're hungry, aren't you?”

Soothing Renka with a gentle voice, I chuckled as she grumbled and walked out the back door of the cafe. The gap between her timid side and her tough side was huge, but both suited her perfectly. I resolved to shower her with a whole lot of affection tomorrow.

Once it was time to clock out, having half-forced the date on Renka, I walked her home and went to meet up with Chinami.

“Fufufu... It's been a while since I've gone out to play with my junior.”

She let out a cute laugh the moment she got in the car. Agreeing with her, I asked, “Did you have fun hanging out with Inoo-sunbae yesterday?”

“Yes. We took a lot of very pretty photo stickers.”

“Can you show them to me, too?”

“Ah, I already stuck all of them on my desk.”

“Then I suppose I'll just have to see them when I visit you at Master's house?”

When I subtly hinted at my intention to visit, Chinami's face instantly flared red. How long had it been since I last saw her bashful face dyed that shade of peach...? I had really missed it. Tucking both hands between her thighs and squirming in her seat, she answered.

“Sure... Let's do that...”

“Understood.”

“By the way, what are we going to do today...?”

“Hmm. I haven't really thought about it yet, but... Should we hit up the Momo-sama Goods Shop for the first time in a while and see if any new merchandise has come out?”

“Ah, no new merchandise has come out yet... The new Momo-sama Key Ring is scheduled to be released in two weeks.”

She was like some rabid fan tracking an idol's schedule... When it came to Momo-sama, she was incredibly quick on the uptake. Amazing, simply amazing. Letting out an inward sigh of disbelief, I spoke.

“Then how about we finish up what we didn't get to do last time, and think about it after?”

“What we didn't get to do...? Whatever could that be...?”

“You'll find out soon enough. Shall we head out first?”

“Uhm...? Head where...?”

“Anywhere.”

“Okaay...”