Chapter 349

"Ah, sunbae-nim...! Let go...! My gym clothes are choking me and it hurts, you know? Are you going to take responsibility if it leaves a scar?"

"I'll loosen it a bit. Doesn't hurt now, right?"

"It doesn't hurt, but my clothes are going to stretch...!"

Hiyori flailed, caught by the scruff of her neck.

I dragged Hiyori to a secluded corner where no one could see us before finally letting her go.

"If you run away, I'll go straight to Miyuki and tell her exactly who escaped."

"...Tattletale."

The way she glared at me with a sullen pout was incredibly cute.

Suppressing the urge to kiss her right then and there, I spoke.

"Give me an excuse. I might just let you off the hook."

At that, Hiyori's face lit up.

Did she really believe I'd forgive her?

Tapping my arm in a fuss, she launched into an utterly ridiculous excuse.

"Well, see... I was originally planning to just take the penalty points and head in..."

"And?"

"But right at that moment, I just so happened to spot a hole big enough for a person to crawl through...! And you know I can never hold back when I see something like that..."

I understood.

When you see a hole, the natural urge is to stick something inside it.

Whether that something was a body, or something else entirely.

"An opportunity to avoid penalty points appeared. Only an idiot wouldn't take it, right?"

I let out a hollow chuckle at Hiyori's shameless logic and pointed down at her feet.

"Well... For someone who was prepared to take penalty points, your sneakers tell a different story."

"What do you mean?"

"Those are running shoes. You usually wear different shoes to school."

"You're uselessly observant, aren't you...?"

"So you admit you came ready to run away from the start?"

"I didn't..."

"Right, let's just say that's true... Since your excuse is so flimsy, I'm going to—"

"Wait...!! Can't you let it slide just this once? Please? My mom said she'd cut my allowance if I get any penalty points..."

She must have caused so much trouble that her mother had to resort to such measures.

I could fully sympathize with my fourth mother-in-law's feelings.

I'd have to thoroughly comfort my mother-in-law's heart with a mating press later.

"Are you in the Student Council, sunbae-nim? You aren't...! Isn't there any solidarity between people who find the Student Council annoying?"

"What exactly makes you think I find the Student Council annoying? I like the Student Council."

"Ah...! So you're the Student Council's lackey?"

"Lackey? That's a bit offensive, don't you think?"

"...Sorry. I know you're close with Miyuki Hanazawa, but couldn't you look the other way...?"

"Then how about you owe me a favor?"

"What...? That sounds incredibly ominous..."

"Then we can just wrap this up cleanly by telling Miyuki."

"Ah, no...!"

"Stop dropping your honorifics."

"Understood...! But I still think a favor is a bit much."

It was funny how she immediately switched back to polite speech the moment she was at a disadvantage.

"If you don't like it, you shouldn't have gotten caught in the first place."

"Do you usually get here at this time? I don't think so... Were you lying in wait for me?"

"Why would I have any reason to do that? I just overslept today of all days. I guess this was just meant to be."

"Isn't it destiny for you to let me off the hook, sunbae-nim?"

"Stop spouting nonsense..."

I had intended to tease Hiyori with a triumphant look, but my words trailed off.

My eyes had been drawn to her dress shirt.

The area around her underboob was slightly damp with sweat from running. If I just let her go like this, other guys would definitely see it.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I cleared my throat and continued.

"Do you have a change of clothes?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You're all sweaty."

"Where? Here?"

She reached down, rubbing her own underboob.

I hastily turned my head away at her utter lack of wariness and scolded her.

"Don't do weird things in front of other people."

"But you said I was sweaty, sunbae-nim, so I was just trying to check where?"

She was talking nonsense when she knew exactly that I meant her chest the moment I'd said it.

I will definitely make sure to test whether you can act this open and unbothered when looking at my cock later.

"You've got a smooth tongue. Anyway, you owe me a favor, so come out when I call."

"Come out when you call? What are we going to do?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Got it... Can I go now?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to stop by the School Store before heading in. Do you want to come?"

"You'll barely make it in time even if you head in right now. Forget the School Store. Go after first period."

"Please don't try to oppress me."

"Stop whining like an angsty teenager and get going. Actually, no. Knowing you, you'll probably still sneak off to the School Store, so I'd better walk you to the building myself."

Hiyori flinched as if I'd hit the bullseye.

Chuckling at her honest reaction, I shoved her forward by the back, continuously steering her away every time she tried to veer toward the School Store until we were finally inside the building.

The opportunity to collect that favor from Hiyori arrived shortly after, when the weekend rolled around.

Miyuki went to meet a former classmate, while Renka and Chinami said they were going to hang out together.

Feeling bored right from the morning, I immediately called Hiyori.

"Hello, Matsuken."

Her voice greeted me refreshingly, sounding as though she'd woken up early.

"You left out the sunbae-nim."

"Should I add it? Or not?"

"Forget it. Just come out."

"What? Right now?"

"Yeah. Where's your house?"

"Are you coming to pick me up?"

"Yeah. You aren't outside, are you?"

"I am outside, actually."

She had already gone out? Even though she was whining about being tired just yesterday?

It was the weekend, so she could have slept in... Unbelievable.

"Do you have prior plans?"

"No. Not right now."

"Then why are you outside?"

"To take out the trash."

"Haa..."

Did she find the heavy sigh escaping my chest amusing?

I could hear her giggling over the Cell Phone.

Fine. If you're happy, I'm happy.

If left alone, you'd probably cause all sorts of chaos, so I'm definitely going to devour you in the near future.

Or I might be the one who gets devoured.

"So you don't have any plans right now, right?"

"Nope."

"But you do in the afternoon?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go see a movie."

"Do I not get a say in this?"

"No. You have to pay back your debt."

"Got it. I'll send you my home address."

As soon as I hung up, Hiyori texted me her address.

She lived the furthest from my house out of all the heroines. I needed to wash up and head out right away.

I sent Hiyori a message telling her we would meet in an hour, then went straight to the bathroom and took a thorough shower.

What should I wear to hit the bullseye of Hiyori's tastes?

Since it was a hot and sunny day, pairing a sky-blue shirt with beige pants to give off a cool vibe seemed like a good choice.

Come to think of it, I hadn't gone clothes shopping recently.

Going alone with Miyuki would be nice, but it would be even better to call Renka and Chinami and have all of us go shopping together...

I should casually bring it up soon.

Harboring anticipation for the date with those thoughts in mind, I arrived at Hiyori's neighborhood, stepped out of my car, and observed her house.

Its shape reminded me of Miyuki's house.

A cozy two-story detached house. It was the perfect size for a family of three... No, four, including Hiyori's younger sibling.

The roof was a common silver-gray, and although the house seemed quite old, it had been maintained exceedingly well.

But why was I examining Hiyori's house so closely?

Hiyori would eventually move into my house anyway.

Her mother Rion, too... No. I should stop with the wicked thoughts.

Since I had arrived about fifteen minutes early, I figured I'd have to wait a bit, but only five minutes passed before Hiyori's front door opened and she stepped out.

"Matsuken!"

Spotting me standing outside my car parked near her house, she wildly waved one hand and approached with quick steps.

Seeing this tomboy greet me with such obvious delight lifted my spirits immensely.

However, the outfit she was wearing... did not please me.

Hiyori was wearing a casual white spaghetti-strap tank top.

A tank top that exposed everything from her collarbones to her shoulder lines and all the way down to her armpits.

As a bonus, her legs looked even longer thanks to the high-waisted, light-colored denim shorts that reached up to her navel.

It was an outfit that suited Hiyori perfectly.

But it was far too revealing.

The square neckline of the tank top conveniently covered her upper chest, which was good, but the material was so thin that the black stick-on bra she was wearing faintly showed through.

She should have at least brought something to wear over it... Such a promiscuous style was only acceptable when we were on a date in a private place or going to the beach.

In the first place, didn't people usually throw on a cardigan or an overshirt when wearing that kind of outfit casually?

She was being way too bold.

Furrowing my brow as she approached with her long hair fluttering, I spoke.

"Go back and bring a cardigan at least."

"Why?"

"You're practically naked."

"Are you acting all conservative again? They said it's going to be hot today."

"Bring one."

"You did this last time too, you're oppressing me—"

"No."

Hiyori stuck her lip out in a pout at my firm, conservative response.

Even so, she gently curled the corners of her mouth up, seemingly enjoying this in secret, and answered obediently.

"Understood."

Muttering something barely audible, Hiyori quickly darted back into the house and came out again.

Only after seeing the oversized shirt draped over her arm did I gesture toward the car with my chin, wearing a satisfied expression.

With quick, light steps, Hiyori climbed into the passenger seat. She sniffed the air, then turned her head toward me as I sat in the driver's seat fastening my seatbelt.

"Your car smells like an old man, sunbae-nim."

"...Seriously?"

"No. It just smells like plums."

"Hey, you little... Do you have a death wish?"

"I don't want to die. But was the phrase 'old man' really that shocking to you?"

"It's not that it was shocking, it's the fact that you tried to trick me."

"For someone saying that, your eyes got really wide, you know?"

It would be one thing to just call me an old man, but she explicitly said I smelled like an old man.

Any guy in his early twenties would be startled to hear that.

I am definitely holding a grudge over this.

"Shut up. Are there any movie genres you can't watch?"

"Nope. But can't we do something else besides a movie?"

"Like what?"

"Shopping."

I had just been thinking about clothes shopping earlier, so Hiyori had really read my mind well.

However, shopping was an activity I was saving for the heroines to build their bonds.

You can join in and do it with us later.

"Do that when you meet up with your friends."

"I'm meeting with you right now, sunbae-nim, so we can just do it now."

Hmm. I didn't know whether to be pleased or troubled by Hiyori's attitude of considering me a friend.

Barely suppressing the temptation to stare at her smooth armpits, exposed as she raised her arms to put on the shirt, I spoke.

"We're going to the movie theater."

"Okay. But I'm hungry."

"We'll grab something to eat nearby."

"Let's go eat conveyor belt Sushi. There's a place right next to the movie theater."

As expected of Hiyori, who loved roaming around, she knew the local geography well.

But why did I already feel so drained? Maybe it was because I'd been listening to her sharp, ringing voice since the morning.

Should I shove a ball gag with holes drilled in the middle into her mouth?

No, that was something I had to save to use on Renka.

"Please turn down the AC. My skin is thin, so I get cold easily. There's a Convenience Store just a little further ahead, right? Let's go there and buy some Melon Milk and Suichu."

Harboring such thoughts, I cast a sidelong glance at Hiyori—who was rattling off all sorts of demands with her Cell Phone in hand—and started the car.