Chapter 297

“Mmm...”

Letting out her signature languid moan, Chinami pressed herself even closer against me. I felt the soft sensation of her breasts squished flat against my chest. With one hand kneading her waist and the other massaging the back of her neck, I asked, “Does it feel good?”

“...”

As if embarrassed by her body growing hotter, she answered by tightening the arms she had wrapped around my neck. Chuckling at the sight of Chinami dangling from me, I slowly stood up, holding her in my arms, and gradually pressed harder with the fingers massaging her nape.

“Mmph...!”

Chinami's body gave a slight tremble. Why did it feel so good to wander slowly around the Drying Room with her, watching her give such honest reactions to every bit of stimulation?

If I could, I'd want to invite Renka too. That would make Chinami even more embarrassed, wouldn't it? And Renka would be just as restless as she had been behind the tournament venue.

“Umm... Junior...”

“Yes.”

“Aren't I heavy...?”

“Didn't you ask me that last time too?”

“Did I...?”

“Yes. I believe I told you that you weren't heavy, and my answer is the same now.”

“Ah... Okay...”

Chinami's pure white neck brushed against my jawline. When I moved my face around, I felt a soft friction without the slightest hint of resistance. Was this what they called baby skin? It felt amazing.

“Junior... why do you keep rubbing your cheek against me...?”

“Because it feels good.”

“I-I see... Shall we start thinking about promotional ideas now...?”

“I want to give you a massage first.”

“Hk...!? N-No massages...”

“Why not?”

“If I feel any weirder in here, I might cause an accident...!”

She was probably worried about the fact that she squirted every time I massaged her. To be fair, Chinami was incredibly weak to that sort of thing, and with the other club members just outside in the Club Room right now, I could understand her concern.

“I can make sure no accidents happen.”

“Really...? That is very tempting, but for now, I'd like it if you just held me...”

“Not even this?”

“Huh...? What kind of... Mmph...!”

Chinami's half-lidded eyes shot wide open as I turned my head and captured her lips.

Her mouth was instantly ravished, completely helpless against the tongue that swiftly pushed its way inside. I teased her by gently tracing the outside of her teeth, only pulling my lips away when all the strength had completely drained from Chinami's body.

“How about it? Is this allowed?”

“Haa...”

I wiped around Chinami's parted lips as I asked, and she answered in a dazed state, utterly failing to hide her emotions.

“This is... fine...”

“How much?”

“I-I don't really know...”

“Should I just do as I please then?”

“Yes...”

Chinami gave her consent in a faint whisper and squeezed her eyes shut. At the same time, a tiny crease shaped like the character for river wrinkled the bridge of her nose. It was an incredibly cute little scrunch, similar to the ones Miyuki and Renka made. Maybe it was a common trait among pretty girls.

With that thought, I brought my face close to Chinami, who was waiting with firm resolve. Then, feeling the soft touch of her lips, I engaged her in a heated, steamy kiss.

“Phew...! Haaah...!”

She took deep breaths while fanning herself with her hand, then opened the window and stuck her head outside. After cooling herself down like that, Chinami twisted her body and spoke.

“Then... I'll head out first.”

“Already?”

“W-What do you mean, already...! We've been in here for over ten minutes. If I do any more heart-pounding activities with you, Junior, the other club members will definitely get suspicious.”

It was funny how she came up with her own little phrases to avoid using the word 'skinship.'

“What kind of activities are heart-pounding?”

“The things you were doing just now...”

“And what exactly was it that I was doing?”

“Junior...! If you're trying to tease me, I'll have to give you a lecture...!”

“Sounds good to me. I'd love to hear a lecture.”

“T-That's...! Anyway, I'm heading out...! You come out twenty seconds after I do, Junior...!”

“Understood.”

When I obediently nodded, Chinami let out a sigh of relief, cleared her throat to steady her breathing, and stepped out of the Drying Room. I counted exactly twenty seconds, just as she had instructed, and opened the door, only to—

“Nanase.”

—find a male club member of the same age calling out to Chinami as she headed toward the restroom.

“Eek! Who is it!?”

Chinami jumped out of her skin, looking as if she had just seen a ghost. The male club member answered, a hurt expression crossing his face at her reaction.

“It's me, Tokiyama...”

“Ah, so it was you, my close friend Tokiyama. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you approaching, so you startled me. Do you need something?”

Seeing Chinami return to her usual kind demeanor as she chatted with the club member, I slipped out of the Drying Room without anyone noticing. Right then—

“Hey.”

Renka, who had been lingering nearby, marched up to me with a serious scowl and crossed her arms.

“What were you doing in there? You were doing something weird with Chinami, weren't you?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

Rendered speechless, Renka's face flushed with bewilderment. She clearly hadn't expected me to answer so honestly without making any excuses. I stared at her as she blinked her large eyes in shock, and asked her nonchalantly.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

“Huh...? Ah... Do your job as a manager properly. What are you doing during club activities...?”

To think that was the only flaw she could pick at... It was obvious she was extremely flustered.

“I think I'm doing my job perfectly fine. It's not like I've ever missed a deadline and delayed my work, have I?”

“Shut up.”

“Aren't you being a bit too authoritarian?”

“Don't talk back to me.”

“It seems the President is the one talking back.”

“What?”

“Am I wrong?”

“...”

Renka glared at me with fiery eyes, but her spirit was quickly crushed by my attitude. She met my gaze for a moment before the pressure became too much, and she averted her eyes as she spoke.

“Get to work now... you lazy Trash.”

“What did you say?”

“I said, get to work.”

“After that.”

“...I called you lazy.”

“The part after that.”

“Ugh, what are you even saying...!”

Renka gave an awkward snort, as if she would rather die than admit she had insulted me. I chuckled as I watched her face start to turn red—she must have been picturing exactly what Chinami and I had been doing—then I slapped her on the butt and turned to head toward the Storage Room. At that moment—

“Hyaan!?”

Renka suddenly let out a high-pitched shriek that sounded almost like a moan. I hadn't smacked her hard enough to make a sound, nor had I grabbed her; I'd only given her a light tap. It was a purely reflexive reaction from all the spankings I had given her up until now. She really was well-trained. I felt like I could take things to the next level.

“Hup...!”

Realizing what she had just done, Renka hurriedly clamped her hands over her mouth, but the entire Club Room had already fallen completely silent.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and every eye was fixed on her. The atmosphere was far more serious than yesterday's; there was no way we could brush this off without an explanation... But Chinami was the one who shattered the awkward tension in the air.

“Hm? What's going on?”

She emerged from the restroom and walked over with a bewildered expression. Swallowing hard, Renka mumbled her excuse.

“I-I just got a sudden cramp in my leg...”

Offering what I considered to be an utterly ridiculous excuse, Renka pretended to limp before flopping down onto the floor and massaging her own leg. Seeing this, Chinami lifted the leg Renka was rubbing with a worried expression.

“Let me massage it for you.”

“N-No...! It's going away, I'm fine...”

“Hey now! Just stay still.”

“I'm really fine, though... A-Ah...! It hurts...!”

She sure was good at pretending to be hurt. It was completely absurd.

“You have to bear it. It'll heal faster this way.”

Chinami pressed her arm fully against the sole of Renka's foot, moving it around to loosen the muscles. Renka kept up her pained act for a little while out of respect for Chinami's kindness, then forced a stiff smile.

“I-I think it's fine now...”

“Is that so?”

Fortunately for Renka, her painful acting and Chinami's natural response seemed to dispel the other club members' suspicions, and they all returned to what they had been doing. They probably just figured Renka had a rather unusual scream... and left it at that.

“W-What are you smirking at...!”

Renka snapped at me for chuckling to myself. Hearing Renka's quiet grumbling, Chinami chided her with a stern expression.

“Hey now...! My close friend, how can you use such crude words?”

“...Sorry.”

“You shouldn't be apologizing to me, but to Junior...!”

“Why are you only scolding me...! Matsuda was making fun of me first...”

Renka threw her arms up in the air as she lay there, looking deeply wronged. At her reaction, Chinami turned to me and asked, “Junior, were you making fun of my close friend?”

“No. Of course not.”

Renka let out a dry laugh at my brazen attitude and grumbled.

“Obviously he's going to deny it if you ask him like that... So annoying...”

“My close friend. You need to speak nicely.”

“...Fine. Help me up now.”

Renka grabbed Chinami's arm and pulled herself up. Then, turning her back so Chinami couldn't see her expression, she shot me a murderous glare. After that, she announced that she was leaving first and walked away.

As an added bonus, she glanced back at me several times as she walked away, mouthing curses at me. Chuckling at her cute little rebellion, I spoke to Chinami.

“Did you have a good trip to the restroom?”

“Ah...! I think it's rude to ask something like that...”

Normally, she would have answered obediently, but judging by how she was stammering and failing to meet my eyes, it seemed she had gotten a little wet while we were kissing in the Drying Room. It was about time I booked a Hotel. I'd have to half-force Renka into letting me give her a massage, too.

“I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on.”

“I wasn't reprimanding you or anything.”

“I know. Shall we get to work now?”

“Yes...!”

It was a spirited reply from Chinami, whose cheeks were flushed slightly pink. Breaking into an involuntary, fatherly smile, I spent a peaceful session of club activities together with her and Renka. Later, after parting ways with them, I headed back to the campus to wait for Miyuki, who hadn't finished her Student Council duties yet.