Chapter 376

I glanced at Renka, who was staring out the window with a complicated expression, and asked a question.

"Should we go to a figure shop together? It's been a while."

"What are you talking about... I'm not going."

"Why not? Is there nothing you want to buy?"

"I just don't want to go with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's a shame."

"It's not a shame at all, you Trash. Forget everything that happened today."

'She was much more excited than when we normally have sex... but she always has to say things she doesn't mean.'

Swallowing those words, I turned the steering wheel and pulled into Renka's neighborhood.

"What are you going to do when you get home?"

"Shut up."

"Why do you keep saying such harsh things, President?"

"Because I feel like it."

"Right. Fair enough."

Tap.

"Hyaak!"

An adorable shriek slipped out the moment I touched Renka's thigh.

I chuckled and tried to slide my hand further inward, but Renka freaked out, grabbing my wrist and lifting it away.

"J-just drive, you crazy bastard...!"

She was acting extremely sensitive. It made sense—she was still on edge after experiencing a kind of play she had never even imagined before.

It was only right to find it cute and play along.

"I'm doing my best."

"Focus on the road! Focus!"

"I focus better when I'm touching you."

"You're talking absolute nonsense!!"

Even when I placed my hand back on Renka's thigh and blatantly massaged the area, she only grumbled in annoyance, not really trying to stop me.

I always thought this, but this gap in Renka's demeanor was incredibly hot.

"We're here."

Speaking with a hint of regret, I took my hand off Renka's thigh and tapped my index finger against my lips.

Realizing it meant I wanted a kiss, she shook her head vehemently.

"No...!"

Having made her refusal clear, Renka tried to open the door.

Before she could, I pressed the switch on the driver's door trim, locking the doors so she couldn't leave unless I manually unlocked them.

"Why won't this open?"

Renka pulled the handle a few times before looking back at me with a questioning gaze.

I gave her a mischievous smile.

"I locked it. You can't leave unless you do it."

"Ah, whatever...! Open it!"

"I'll open it if you do it first, President."

"Ah, damn it..."

"Damn it?"

"Haa..."

A deep sigh escaped Renka's lips.

It wasn't that she genuinely hated the idea of kissing; she was fully willing, just incredibly embarrassed.

It was such a Renka-like reaction that the corners of my mouth curled up on their own.

At that, Renka began sputtering unintelligible words in a fit of temper.

She seemed to think I was gloating. I waited silently for her to calm down, then pointed to my lips again.

"..."

This time, with her lips pressed tightly together, she hesitantly leaned her upper body toward me.

Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as she drew closer.

A moment later, a moist, warm, soft sensation pressed against my lips.

I had forced her hand a little, but it felt truly wonderful when Renka initiated the physical affection herself.

Feeling the sensation of her lips simply pressing against mine in the dim interior of the car, I subtly slipped my tongue out and slid it into her mouth.

"...Mmph..."

Even so, Renka only let out a brief moan; she didn't pull her face away.

Instead, she parted her lips slightly, accepting the slow intrusion of my tongue, and even let it gently tease the edges of her teeth without pulling back.

The way she intermittently intertwined her own tongue with mine was just an added bonus.

I grabbed Renka by the waist—her body trembling as if experiencing a novel sensation—and shared a rather deep kiss. I only let her go after a long time had passed.

"Let's eat at my place next time. The three of us, with Master."

"W-what...? Absolutely not...!"

"Why not?"

"Because you'll definitely be having weird thoughts...!"

'She knows me well. Then she'll probably prepare for it, just like how thoroughly she washed herself in the shower today, right?'

Without denying Renka's words, I grinned and unlocked the car doors.

"Take care. Text me before you sleep."

"O-open the door already...!"

"I unlocked it. You just have to pull it open."

At that, she quickly opened the door and bolted into her house without even saying goodbye.

Did she realize that when she was throwing a fit for me to open the door, she had licked my saliva off her own lips?

She might not know it now, but she'd realize it later.

Renka had her own delicate side, after all.

And when she remembered that action, she'd probably kick her blankets into the air in embarrassment.

Briefly imagining Renka kicking her blankets while wearing her otaku pajamas, I noticed that the Main Gate to her house was slightly ajar.

Did she forget to close it because she was so flustered?

Should I go out and close it?

I was about to step out of the car with that thought, but I changed my mind.

I saw the Main Gate move... just a tiny bit.

There was barely any wind, yet that heavy gate was moving? That was impossible.

I was certain that Renka was spying on me through that gap.

Perhaps leaving without a proper goodbye was weighing on her, and she was debating whether to come back out or not.

If I had my way, I would have gotten out of the car and sprinted over there, but since she let me engage in such an unconventional play today, showing some consideration wouldn't be a bad idea.

[The Main Gate is open. Close it.]

Leaving her that single message, I drove off.

It was a satisfying, truly satisfying day.

I felt like I would sleep well tonight.

Ding-dong-!

My eyes snapped open at the sound of the doorbell piercing clearly into my ears, bright and early in the morning.

I wasn't expecting anyone. Was someone trying to sell a newspaper subscription?

If so, I was going to unleash a barrage of curses at them.

No, they would probably leave on their own if I just didn't go out.

I laid my half-raised body back down on the mattress...

Ding-dong-!

...but got up with a deep scowl as the doorbell rang once more.

I heard the bell ring a couple more times while I sluggishly made my way to the front gate. Thinking that punching them would be better than cursing at them, I pulled the door open.

Clack.

"Which son of a..."

Ready to greet the visitor with a fierce scowl, I froze.

"...What are you doing here?"

The person who had rung the bell was none other than Hiyori.

"Good morning, Matsumatsu."

She waved at me with a bright expression.

I rubbed my bleary eyes, softening my expression as I asked.

"What are you doing here...?"

"I came to work out."

"At this hour...? Without even calling?"

"I did contact you, though?"

"When?"

"I sent you a message an hour ago. I told you I was heading over to exercise."

"I was asleep and didn't even see it. Did you think you could just meet me by sending a text and showing up out of the blue? What would you have done if I wasn't home?"

"Then I would have just gone back. But you were here, so it's a success."

For someone who was such an amateur that it showed whenever we had any physical contact, wasn't her reckless streak a bit too much?

She seemed even worse than me.

I figured that if Miyuki had been home today, it would have been quite the spectacle.

Normally, this would be a situation where I should have given her a stern scolding...

...but since she had come all this way because she wanted to see me, and seeing that shamelessly innocent face of hers made my anger fade, I decided to let it slide this time.

Tap.

I reprimanded her by flicking the ahoge fluttering in the wind and spoke firmly.

"From now on, make sure you get a reply before you leave."

"Got it."

"I'm going to wash up, so come in and wait. And go change your clothes."

"Okay. But you smell different today."

"What smell?"

"There's a strange shampoo smell. One that sunbae-nim doesn't usually use."

I had fallen asleep right after washing up at the love hotel and coming home. She actually managed to notice that.

Her nose was as sensitive as mine. That, combined with her utterly reckless personality... maybe Hiyori and I were half-siblings.

"You can even smell that?"

"Yeah. Did you wash up somewhere else yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"Kids don't need to know."

"Ah, what are you saying...! Hurry up and tell me."

I thought she'd figure it out if I hinted at it this much, but looking at her expression, she clearly had no idea.

Did she think I was just joking around?

Rather than that, it seemed she couldn't even fathom the idea that I had gone to a love hotel.

Hiyori thought I was only seeing Miyuki, so she probably assumed we wouldn't go out of our way to visit a hotel even if we were sleeping together, right?

Pondering this, I brought Hiyori inside the house and was about to tidy up the messy bedding.

Just then, Hiyori lay down on the mattress and picked up the remote control.

"Hurry up and wash."

Both last time and just now...

She was acting like she completely owned the place. It was dumbfounding.

"Why would I wash up when we're going to exercise? I'll just brush my teeth and come out, so wait."

"Okay."

Propping herself up on one elbow on the mattress and resting her head in her palm, Hiyori started watching TV.

I shook my head as I watched her giggling at the humor of a comedy show, then headed to the bathroom.

When I finished brushing my teeth and came back, Hiyori was lying on her side, covered in blankets with only her head poking out.

Looking at the situation, I realized she had absolutely no intention of exercising and called out to her.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to exercise?"

"I got sleepy the moment I lay down."

"Didn't you do this last time too?"

"I naturally fall asleep whenever I lie down anywhere."

I wondered if this was what people meant when they said there were rules within irregularity.

For someone as unpredictable as Hiyori, I suppose this level of consistency was more than enough.

"You're perfectly suited for slacking off."

"Right? So you have to understand when I skip classes on weekdays."

"Stop talking nonsense and get up."

"I don't wanna."

"Did you really come here to exercise?"

"I'm wearing my workout clothes, aren't I?"

"Are you sure you didn't just come here because your plans to meet a friend got canceled?"

"Come on... I wouldn't have dressed like this if I had plans."

She shifted her body slightly to the side, patted the empty space, and continued.

"Instead of doing that, you should rest too, sunbae-nim."

"Are you the owner of this house?"

"Is there even a yours and mine between us?"

'Isn't that what I always tell Miyuki?'

I never dreamed I would hear those words come out of Hiyori's mouth.

'I want to mash my lips against hers right this instant.'

Taking another pillow out of the closet, I placed it next to Hiyori's head and silently lay down beside her.

"Oh."

A short exclamation burst from Hiyori's lips.

Her tone was incredibly dry, so I wasn't entirely sure what meaning lay behind the gasp, but she was definitely a bit surprised to see me acting like this when I was usually so conservative.

"What do you mean, 'oh'? Let's just rest for thirty minutes, then go work out."

"Can't we exercise after eating?"

"Didn't you mean to say we should eat after exercising?"

"No. Let's eat first. I'm hungry."

"Do you think that makes any sense?"

"Why doesn't it?"

"You'll obviously throw up, so of course it doesn't."

"Are we going to go hard enough to throw up?"

"I'm saying that because even a light workout is hard with your stamina."

"Are you looking down on me?"

"Yeah. I'm looking down on you."

Tap.

The moment she heard my answer, Hiyori nudged my calf with her leg.

When I didn't react, she got even more excited and wiggled her lower body. The way she was acting felt exactly like she was asking to be punished.

"Why are you being so violent?"

"You made me this way, sunbae-nim."

Looking at Hiyori sometimes felt exactly like looking at a teenage schoolboy.

The kind of student who couldn't express their feelings properly in front of their crush and resorted to acting mischievously...

Of course, Hiyori wasn't actually that type—she was usually quite honest—but at least her current behavior felt remarkably similar.

After quietly observing Hiyori's actions, I spoke up.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"You don't want to exercise right now, do you?"

"That's right."

"Are you bored, at least?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna go out?"

"Where?"

"Anywhere."

"Sounds good."

"Then get up."

She effortlessly sat her upper body up as soon as I finished speaking.

It was absurd how she had just claimed to feel sleepy whenever she lay down, yet instantly shot up the moment I suggested going out.

"What are you doing? Aren't you getting up?"

Letting out a hollow chuckle as I looked up at her rushing me, I stood up from my spot and grabbed my car keys.

'Is there anywhere fun to go? I'll just have to head out and decide on the way.'