Chapter 348

"Animal Crossing? I know it."

"How do you know it?"

"What do you mean, how? It's famous, so of course I know it."

Renka gave me a strange look, clearly wondering why I would even ask such a thing.

I ignored her stare and asked, "Have you played it?"

"No."

"Do you have a game console at home?"

"It's at my uncles' house. Probably."

It had been a while since I last heard about Renka's uncles.

I wondered how they were doing. I suddenly felt the urge to check in on them.

Fierce as they were, I'd secretly grown somewhat fond of them.

"Do your uncles play games too?"

"No. I bought one out of boredom about a year ago, played with it at my uncles' place, and probably just forgot to bring it back."

Seeing as she hadn't looked for it until now, she clearly had zero interest in games.

That was just like Renka—she only cared about things related to anime.

She had probably only bought the console in the first place to try out some anime adaptation game.

"So you aren't playing anything now?"

"I'm not."

"I am."

"...So what?"

"Let's play together."

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

"You're being really uncooperative today."

"I'm just acting the way I always do."

"I thought I told you to be careful."

"Th-That only applies to matters concerning Chinami..."

It was funny how reflexively she shrank back the moment I lowered my voice.

When should I flip the switch? I needed to wear down her resistance a little more first...

Should I treat her nicely for a few days? Or should I try neglect play?

Both sounded fine. If I mixed them well, it would likely yield great results.

"So you aren't going to play?"

"I don't have the money to buy it."

"I'll give you a copy of the game."

"With that kind of money..."

She trailed off.

I finished the thought for her.

"You'd rather buy a figure?"

"Ugh...! Wh-What are you talking about...!"

It was obvious I had hit the nail right on the head.

I chuckled and said, "You'll play with me, right?"

"I told you I don't have a console. My uncles might have thrown it away."

"Why would they throw it away? Look for it."

"It's too much of a hassle."

"Why don't you just say you don't want to?"

"It's not that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Got it. Then I'll just ask Master to play with me."

"Chinami doesn't have a console."

"I bought a spare."

At those words, Renka's eyes went wide.

"Who buys a spare console...? Don't tell me you bought it so you could play together...?"

"Yeah."

"You're really something else... Shouldn't you ask Chinami if she's even interested in games first?"

"Master likes anything as long as she's doing it with me."

"You're full of it."

"It's true. And isn't that the same for you, President?"

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

A strong denial is a strong affirmation, so it felt good to see Renka essentially agreeing with me.

Offering her a benevolent, all-knowing smile, I patted her lower back while she fumed—demanding to know what I was grinning at and telling me not to get the wrong idea—and then went back to work.

"Alright. If my junior wants it that much, I'll give it a try."

"You'll like it."

"Yes. Well, I have to go eat dinner now, so..."

"Okay. Enjoy your meal. And give my regards to your mother."

"Eep...! Y-Yes...!"

After finishing my sweet phone call with Chinami, I checked the message that had arrived in the middle of our conversation.

[Matsumatsuken.]

It was from Hiyori.

It was the first time she'd sent me a personal message. I was incredibly happy.

Saving her from the host and then taking care of her when she fell asleep in the stands—these events had happened back-to-back, so her affection level must have risen significantly as a result.

[So you don't even call me sunbae-nim anymore.]

Not long after I sent the message, a reply arrived from her.

[Should I?]

Even though I was only looking at text, her mischievous personality practically dripped from the words.

She clearly had no intention of speaking respectfully, but I decided to maintain my strict upperclassman persona.

[Of course you should.]

[No way. I sent a friend request to your game account, so accept it.]

[How did you know my account ID?]

[We made it together in the car.]

[Right.]

[Are you really a fool? I think the nickname Dummy Ken suits you perfectly, so don't change it.]

[Shut up. What are you doing?]

[I'm at a cafe. The one where you used to work.]

A place of memories with me... Well, I couldn't exactly call it that, but she went to the cafe where we first got acquainted without me?

That was a little disappointing.

[Why there? Trying to finish a stamp card?]

[Yep. That's part of the reason, but I also came because the chocolate chip frappuccino is good. Tasting it today though, it's just so-so. The recipe must have changed. It's bland.]

[Ask them to add more condensed milk.]

[Will they really add it?]

[I think they'll do it at their discretion.]

[Adding condensed milk costs money! 50 yen! You're making fun of me, aren't you?]

[If it tastes different from before and it's bland, you can obviously ask for it. Why would I be making fun of you?]

[So if you were working there and I made that request, would you have listened?]

Hmm... A situational comparison... That was a good sign.

I figured she wouldn't have even asked that question if she didn't have any interest in me.

[I wouldn't add it for you.]

[Why not?]

[Because it's a hassle.]

[You really lack the proper mindset of a service worker.]

[I'm not working part-time right now, so it's fine.]

[You're always acting so authoritarian and telling me what not to do, so why are you so lenient with yourself?]

[Because I manage myself well.]

[I manage myself well, too.]

[Sure you do, considering you fall asleep with your belly button and legs exposed.]

[Ugh... You're the worst.]

Chatting with Hiyori made it feel like time was flying by.

Even so, I had a small worry.

Because I had fewer points of contact with Hiyori than with the other heroines, it wasn't easy for events to trigger.

Given my current situation, getting Hiyori to approach me first was the best-case scenario. Going down to the first-year classrooms every day to show interest would be a little awkward...

Up until now, I had been able to run into Hiyori by wandering all over the place, but there was no guarantee I could keep doing that in the future.

If we had been growing closer slowly up until now, I wanted to drastically close that distance going forward.

I wished we could do something together, but was there a good way to go about it?

Harboring those worries, I held onto my Cell Phone and chatted with Hiyori for quite a long time.

Having stayed up late playing games yesterday, I didn't hear my alarm, so I hurriedly got ready and headed to school.

As a result, I barely managed to avoid being late.

I had almost received penalty points on a day when Miyuki was standing guard, so it was a huge relief.

After arriving right on time, I parked and was crossing the school grounds when...

"Wait...! Wait! Stop right there!"

I noticed Miyuki, who was supposed to be guarding the school gates, chasing after someone.

Wondering what was going on, I took a closer look and saw someone wearing a uniform skirt layered over gym pants running away from Miyuki.

They even had a gym jacket pulled over their head.

The back of the suspicious woman sprinting away in running shoes, as if she had planned this...

The moment I saw her, I knew exactly who it was.

'It's Hiyori.'

Like me, Hiyori had overslept. She was late because she took public transit, and to avoid penalty points, she had hidden somewhere until the guard's vigilance dropped, slipped inside, and then sprinted for it.

Did I really have some sort of connection with the heroines?

I guess this is what it means to be the protagonist.

An unexpected event like this... I loved it.

With a point of contact popping up like this, it seemed I had worried for nothing yesterday.

"Hey...! Huff... Huff... You're dead meat!"

Miyuki hurled a stern warning at Hiyori.

Naturally, Hiyori completely ignored the warning and dashed behind the cafeteria.

Anyway, it seemed our Miyuki's stamina had dropped a bit.

She had been lounging around lately and skipping her workouts... Her excellent athleticism had completely vanished.

I would have to help her build her stamina back up through some physical conversation.

Miyuki looked around the inside and outside of the cafeteria. When she couldn't find Hiyori, she finally decided to give up the chase, bending over with her hands on her knees as she panted heavily.

I approached her, pulled a handkerchief from my pocket, and offered it to her.

"Wipe your sweat with this."

"Haa... Haa... Matsuda-kun? What are you doing out here instead of going inside?"

"I saw you rushing after someone."

"Ah... It was a late student, but she ran away. I tried to catch her, but she was too fast..."

"Want me to help you?"

Miyuki wiped the sweat from her forehead and scrunched up her face, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"She's already gone... She must have some secret passage that only she knows about."

Hiyori was probably hiding in the spot I had shown her before.

That was the only place behind the cafeteria where you could secretly conceal yourself.

The problem was that leaving through any exit other than the entrance she used required passing through a bug-infested forest. However, Hiyori would likely just stay hidden and wait for Miyuki to leave, so it wouldn't matter.

"A first-year?"

"Yeah. I saw her drop her name tag while she was running and pick it back up. It was the color of a first-year's tag."

"Did you see her name?"

"She was too far away. Hah... If I catch her, she's really dead."

She clenched both fists, bracing her fighting spirit; she seemed incredibly ticked off.

"You should hurry up and head inside, Matsuda-kun. If you go now, I don't think you'll be late for class."

I told Miyuki I understood, planted a light kiss on her forehead, and left the area.

Afterward, I watched Miyuki from behind a nearby building wall. Once her face turned red and she walked away with a shy gait, touching her forehead, I returned to the cafeteria and hid myself.

Not long after, I saw Hiyori creeping out of the passage leading to the Agit like a stray cat, her hair a complete mess.

Hiyori glanced around, checking to see if Miyuki was still there.

The moment Hiyori put on a triumphant expression at finding the coast clear and tried to head toward the classroom building, I quickly threw myself forward and grabbed the scruff of the gym jacket she was wearing.

"Gotcha."

"Gyaah!?"

Seeing her scream and tremble all over as if she had just seen a ghost made me feel drunk on a sense of victory.

I looked down at her completely stiffened body and grinned, baring my teeth.

"Hi."

"M-Matsuken sunbae-nim...?"

Why wasn't it Matsumatsuken today?

Was she conscious of it because I mentioned yesterday that she didn't call me sunbae-nim anymore?

I didn't really care what she called me, but I was secretly a little disappointed.

I felt a bit like a drill sergeant.

Should I just let this troublemaker go? Or should I not?

Caught up in this happy dilemma, I dragged Hiyori off into a corner for now.