Chapter 345

In the distance, I spotted Renka waiting for me on a bench with her legs crossed.

Her hands were shoved into the pockets of her long sweatpants as she gazed up at the night sky.

Above her short-sleeved shirt, her long, pale neck stood out.

I crept up to her, planting myself on the bench beside her before I spoke.

"Mind if I sit?"

"Oh my—! Huh...? Y-you're already sitting, so why... Goodness... Unbelievable..."

Why was Renka's face turning red?

It wasn't just because she was startled.

Come to think of it, this exact situation was a classic first-encounter trope in romantic comedies.

Granted, the cliché usually happened in a restaurant or bar rather than a Park, but my words must have made Renka picture the scene anyway.

I had just been teasing her, but her reaction was priceless.

So she liked this sort of thing. I loved how she showed a new side of herself the more layers I peeled back.

As expected, a refreshing sip of soda was exactly what I needed after a fluffy date.

"Why are you calling me out at this hour...? It's annoying..."

Renka grumbled under her breath.

Mimicking her posture, I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my comfortable shorts and replied.

"It's not that late."

"Who said the time was the issue...?"

"Didn't you just complain about the hour?"

"No, I mean... I was talking about that bossy message you sent, ordering me to come out...!"

"Thanks for coming out."

"..."

Renka's expression twitched before softening.

My gentle words seemed to melt her anger right away.

"Hey... At Chinami's house... you... uh, y-you didn't do anything, right...?"

I looked at Renka, who was timidly asking the question she had been dying to know, and spoke.

"We just held hands."

"Bullshit... Like you'd stop at just holding hands."

"What exactly do you want to hear? That we had sex?"

"Hyaa...! Shut up! I said shut up!"

Renka frantically looked around.

Visibly relieved that there was no one passing by, she glared at me.

"Are you crazy...!?"

"But that's what you were wondering about."

"Even so, you can't just blurt it out like that, you Trash...!"

"Isn't it normal to say things like this if we're close?"

"That depends on the person...! And since when are we close?"

'So you rolled around in bed with me like that even though we weren't close?'

'That's even hotter.'

"Are we not?"

"Of course not...! We're strictly senior and junior, President and club member..."

"Is that so? Got it."

I lowered my voice, acting as if it were no big deal while deliberately letting a hint of disappointment color my tone. Renka immediately stopped mid-sentence and snapped her mouth shut.

She sneaked a glance at me and corrected herself.

"W-well, we are a little closer than other people..."

"A little?"

"...A little. But why did you call me out? I already apologized."

"I called you out because I missed you."

"W-what are you talking about...!"

"What do you mean? I really did miss you."

"Hah..."

Her body temperature must have spiked, because she began turning her head this way and that, fanning herself with her hand.

She looked exactly like Chinami when she was embarrassed.

Chuckling, I casually draped my arm over the back of the bench and wrapped it around Renka's shoulders.

"Hyat...!?"

Renka jolted in surprise and looked at me.

Her lips twitched as if she were about to hurl insults, but she didn't say a word, seemingly fine with the unexpected physical contact.

The moonlight and streetlight illuminated Renka's face.

I stared intently at her flawless, pale skin before speaking.

"I'll just stay like this for a bit before I go."

"...D-do whatever you want..."

Renka began fiddling with the ponytail resting over her shoulder.

She seemed surprised at herself for so readily accepting my touch.

Looking away from her, I gazed straight ahead at the dense bushes and muttered softly.

"It'd be even better if you held my hand."

"What are you saying...! No..."

"Never mind, then."

"..."

I sat in silence with Renka for a while, eventually glancing over to see what she was doing.

I barely held back a burst of laughter.

She was stealing glances at my hand, which was dangling near her upper chest.

Her own hand was twitching as she fought a fierce internal battle over whether to grab it.

Roaring with laughter inwardly at her adorable behavior, I watched her finally give up and rest her hands in her lap. We stayed together until the wind started to feel chilly.

A pink bag with a Momo-sama Key Ring dangling from it.

I stepped up behind Chinami, who was wearing it, and went to tap her back to say hello.

"Master. Hello..."

"Hmyat!? I'll be going now...!!"

But she looked like she was about to faint from shock before scurrying away at lightning speed, leaving me standing there dumbfounded mid-sentence.

'This feels like deja vu...'

Renka had also let out a bizarre yelp and run away when I called her from behind once.

Chinami was doing the exact same thing. Just yesterday, Renka had acted a lot like Chinami...

'I'd believe it if someone told me they were sisters in a past life.'

Despite spending the entire weekend with me, instead of getting used to my company, Chinami had only grown more embarrassed.

Her reaction just now was proof of that.

It felt like I was the only one talking during our date yesterday, and it didn't seem like today would be much different.

"Waak!"

I shrugged it off and was about to head toward the Academy building when a loud, refreshing voice rang out from behind me.

Wondering what it was, I turned around to see Hiyori striking a pose with both hands raised over her shoulders.

Thinking she looked exactly like a fox, I asked in a deadpan tone.

"What are you doing?"

"Aw, man... No fun."

She was trying to scare me, but who would be scared by such a cute pose and voice?

If anything, it just brought out a fatherly smile.

Miho, who was staring at Hiyori as if she were pathetic, bowed to me.

"Hello."

'Miho always sounds so soulless.'

'Girls like her usually turn out to be the sluttiest and most yandere of them all once they experience a sexual awakening...'

'While I'm seducing Hiyori, maybe I should reach out to Miho, too.'

"Hey. Are you heading to class now?"

"Yeah."

Hiyori answered for her.

I flashed a weak smile and spoke.

"I didn't ask you."

"But I wanted to answer. Miyuki Hanazawa isn't with you today?"

"She had business in the Faculty Office, so she went ahead."

"Why?"

"I'm not telling."

"Isn't it that you just don't know?"

She was right; I didn't know. Miyuki hadn't known either when she left.

'Our Hiyori is needlessly perceptive. Would she still be like that after I discipline her with my cock?'

'Maybe I should smoothly talk Hiyori into a date this weekend.'

'Later, I can seduce Miho, too, and have both of them get on their knees and lick my dick.'

Just imagining the scene made the blood rush to my head.

"You have a really weird look on your face."

Hiyori's comment snapped me back to reality.

"That's just because you're having weird thoughts. Hurry up and go study."

"You're bringing up studying again? That really sucks..."

She fired back nonchalantly, no longer making the sick-and-tired expression she used to.

'She's built up an immunity to my boomer tendencies.'

'This is bad... I just lost one of my methods for teasing Hiyori.'

"Glad to hear it. Did you two eat breakfast?"

"We ate food from a Sandwich Shop on the train ride here. Why? Are you going to buy us something?"

"I was planning to, but never mind since you've already eaten."

"We still have room in our stomachs for dessert, though."

"Is that right?"

"Yep. Buy us cheesecake."

Her wide-eyed, shameless demand for dessert was amusing.

I thought she was just asking to be polite; I shouldn't have said I was planning to buy them something.

'Did I just volunteer to be a Bogu?'

'I'll buy it for now, but I'll make sure to get paid back double from Hiyori later.'

"Then follow me."

"Hehe."

Hiyori let out a loose giggle; I couldn't tell if she was teasing me or genuinely happy.

As I started walking, I heard the two of them whispering to each other as they trotted along behind me, leaving me genuinely curious about what they were discussing.

After making the unexpected expenditure, I returned to the classroom and finished my usual, uneventful lessons.

Later, I finished my club activities while spending a somewhat enjoyable time with Chinami, who was still overwhelmingly embarrassed, and Renka, who comforted her while glaring and warning me to stay away.

After that, I dropped Miyuki off at her house once her Student Council duties were over, and then I headed downtown.

It was to buy something fun to do with Miyuki, who lately had been doing nothing but rolling around in bed whenever she came over to my place, refusing to even consider going outside.

Initially, I'd thought about getting board games or comic books, but I was also perfectly willing to buy one of those popular console gaming systems.

A game where the player lived in a forest village, catching bugs, fishing, and building a house.

I had found it while browsing the internet on my Cell Phone, and it seemed like a great game to play as a couple.

Back when Miyuki used to see Tetsuya often, she'd frequently play games with him.

I had even joined in and played with them a few times.

From what I saw back then, she didn't have much of a knack for games. She enjoyed them while playing, but she never showed any serious interest.

However, I figured she might get into a cute, charming game like this that could be played casually in her spare time.

I heard it had online multiplayer where friends could visit the player's Home... If it was fun, I planned to ask Renka, Chinami, and possibly Hiyori to play it with me.

'I'll build my harem life in a virtual world.'

Smiling wickedly to myself, I was making my way toward the shopping district when—

"I said I don't want to, so why do you keep doing this?"

A familiar voice rang out from nearby.

Wondering what was going on, I turned toward the sound and saw Hiyori caught by a guy with a flashy hairstyle and flashy clothes.

Actually, rather than 'caught,' it was more accurate to say the guy kept blocking Hiyori's path as she tried to walk away.