Chapter 446

Just as I thought earlier, Miyuki's room hadn't changed much.

Even so, it felt like a massive transformation. With those glow-in-the-dark stickers that used to be such an eyesore gone, the room itself looked remarkably modern and clean.

The sticker pictures on the ceiling still gave it a quirky vibe, but compared to how it used to be, this was more than tame enough.

“I like it.”

That was my assessment as I stared at the ceiling, my arm serving as a pillow for Miyuki.

Sweeping her wet hair to the side, she steadied her breathing and asked.

“What...?”

Even though we had just showered, the lingering afterglow of our rather intense lovemaking still seemed to cling to her.

I gently tousled her hair and answered.

“The room.”

“Why do you like it so much...?”

“Because it's nice.”

“Yeah...? I guess I should have changed it sooner.”

“So you were just dragging your feet all this time?”

“No... well... I just never really thought about changing it...”

“Guess you had no real attachment to it.”

“Don't say that. Can you open the window?”

“It's already open.”

“Open it more.”

“Rainwater will come in, you know.”

“It's covered by the curtain, so it's fine. I want to hear the sound of the rain.”

“Is it okay if the curtain gets wet?”

“Yeah.”

Miyuki seemed more sentimental than usual.

Sitting in a quiet place while it rained did tend to fill your head with thoughts.

Nodding, I reached out and pushed the open window wider.

Tap, patter.

I liked the sound of the raindrops striking the windowsill and the curtain.

The atmosphere in the room, darkened by rainclouds despite it being morning, was nice too... but there was one singular drawback: the humidity.

We had worked up a sweat together, taken a shower, and come back into the room with wet hair. Add the rain on top of that, and the room was incredibly muggy.

Damp enough to make my skin sticky. Miyuki must have felt the same way, as she turned the fan up to high.

Of course, it wasn't nearly bad enough to make us want to pull away from each other. Without a word, Miyuki and I lay pressed tightly together, listening to the rain.

How much time passed like that?

As I passed the time gently stroking Miyuki's damp, sticky arm with my thumb, she asked, “What did you do yesterday?”

At her question, I answered without hesitation.

“I met with Inoo-sunbae.”

“Inoo-sunbae?”

“Yeah. She said she wanted to give me a present, so I invited her over.”

“A present? What present?”

“A figure display case.”

“What's that? Is it for keeping those cute little figures you have at your place, Matsuda-kun?”

“That's right.”

“Really? But why would Inoo-sunbae buy you that?”

If it had been my own secret, I would have explained it right away, but it was awkward to talk about since it was Renka's secret.

Telling Miyuki all about Renka's tastes would make me feel like a blabbermouth. It was probably better to steer things so Renka could tell her directly.

“Ask her yourself later.”

“Will she tell me if I ask?”

“She'll probably tell you if you ask out of genuine curiosity.”

“What's with that vague answer?”

“It wasn't that vague.”

“You think...? Still, you invited Inoo-sunbae over to your house just like that?”

“How the hell did the conversation jump to that? I just gave her my address because she said she wanted to drop off a gift.”

“I'm joking.”

“Are you sure it's a joke?”

“Well... who knows?”

Miyuki fired the question back at me, her tone dripping with playfulness.

She was practically radiating coy charm. I covered her forehead with my palm and spoke.

“I told you the honest truth.”

“That sounds like you're asking me to praise you for not keeping secrets...”

I did still have secrets.

Like the fact that I had fooled around with Renka and Chinami while dating her.

I had failed to overcome the temptation of my own cock. No matter how much I loved Miyuki, I had to keep that under wraps.

If Miyuki absolutely had to find out, it would have to be after we stamped our marriage registration and tied the knot.

Until then, I needed to keep my mouth shut, and I had to make sure Renka and Chinami kept theirs shut, too.

“Matsuda-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“You know what you said last time.”

“What.”

“That.”

“I mean, what is ‘that’?”

“Ugh, why are you playing dumb when you already know...!”

I let out a light laugh at Miyuki's scolding, her face scrunched into a cute little scowl, and decided to steer the conversation the way she wanted.

“I know what you're trying to say. What about it?”

“...That...”

Seeing her hesitate like that, it was obvious she had been wrestling with all sorts of thoughts on her own.

It was exactly what I had intended, but it still made my chest ache.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, determination settled in Miyuki's eyes as she chewed her lip, hovering on the verge of speaking.

“If I said I didn't want you to do it, would you let it go, Matsuda-kun?”

I had to play this exactly how Miyuki wanted.

I was absolutely certain that if I stubbornly insisted on doing it right now, I'd be out of the game completely.

“Of course.”

I answered without a second of hesitation, making Miyuki's eyes go wide.

“Really...?”

“Really.”

“Why? Don't you want to do it?”

“I only said it would be nice, that it was my dream—I was just sharing a wish. I never said I was actually going to go through with it.”

“Is that so...?”

“That's right.”

She felt grateful to me for turning over a new leaf—even if I wasn't exactly a model student yet—and seemed inclined to try and grant my wish in return...

Add to that the conversations she'd had with Chinami, which probably clued her in to just how much the girl liked me...

She was also probably recalling the time Hiyori threw herself at me with her confession.

Her connection to Renka was a bit thinner, but considering how surprised she'd been to hear about the gift, there was a high chance Miyuki had figured out how Renka felt about me, too.

It was obvious that the moment she came to my house and saw that beautiful display case, those suspicions would only cement themselves further.

An ordinary person would have demanded I cut all those other girls off right here and now.

But Miyuki was close with the other girls, including Chinami, and cared about them.

Her dynamic with Hiyori was a bit complicated, sure, but they had still managed to patch things up in their own way during the school trip.

And she had even joined in on a threesome with Chinami. Sure, it was a one-off thing and hadn't gone all the way, but they had still done it.

It meant that Miyuki—whose entire sexual experience began and ended with me—had her sensibilities slightly warped.

Besides, given how soft-hearted Miyuki was, there was no way she could just coldly cast those girls aside after everything they'd been through together.

So, as far as I was concerned, the current flow of things was entirely in my favor.

Rainy days really did make people more sentimental.

And they meant good luck for me.

Should I call it a jackpot? I wished it would rain every single day.

Right now, the scales in Miyuki's mind were tilting, but she hadn't reached a final decision just yet.

I needed to make her feel perfectly at ease so she could mull things over and let her imagination run wild.

“Come here.”

I pulled Miyuki into a tighter embrace and gently massaged the crown of her head with my fingers.

A soft hum of pleasure slipped from Miyuki's nose.

It was proof that she had temporarily tucked her complicated thoughts deep away, simply basking in the affection I was giving her.

I gently massaged Miyuki's scalp for a while, but then I flinched. The sound of a knock rang out just as the door clicked open, and I whipped my head toward it.

“Miyuki, Matsuda-kun. I cut some fruit... Ah...!”

Midori stepped into the room holding a wide plate.

She saw us lying in bed with the covers only pulled halfway up. The moment she realized neither Miyuki nor I had our shirts on, she gasped in shock and spun right back around.

“Mom...! You're supposed to wait for an answer before coming in! You can't just open the door...!”

Startled, Miyuki yanked the blanket all the way up to her chin as she shouted. Midori kept her face buried in her free hand, refusing to look back at us.

“I'm sorry. I'll just leave the fruit right outside the door, so you two can take it whenever...!”

“I told you earlier we didn't want any fruit...!”

“Didn't you say you'd eat it?”

“When did I...!”

“I must have misheard you... I'm so sorry. Please, have a good time...!”

What exactly did Midori mean by ‘have a good time’?

A sticky, erotic time?

Or just a sweet, innocent time?

I wasn't entirely sure, but I didn't see the need to dwell on it.

Either way, I felt like this was the first time I'd ever seen Midori so flustered. That girlish side of hers was suddenly on full display, and it was honestly pretty cute.

Maybe next time I finish showering at Miyuki's place, I should step out completely naked?

I was dying to know how Midori would react to seeing me bare-ass naked.

Though really, why had such a random event triggered?

Was it just to shift the mood? Or was it some divine message telling me to add Midori to the harem, too?

If it was the latter, it would be my solemn duty to carry out that will with a glad heart.

Click.

The door shut tight with the click of the latch.

In the sudden quiet left in the wake of the storm, Miyuki—her face flushed scarlet—looked up at me, her voice dripping with worry.

“What do we do...? I think Mom noticed.”

“Noticed what?”

“That we... you know...”

Was she seriously saying that...? Miyuki could be unimaginably dense at times like this.

I let out a baffled chuckle and spoke.

“She's probably known for a while now.”

“How...?”

“Do you know how many times she's washed these bedsheets? It'd be weirder if she didn't know... Are you an idiot?”

“I guess I am...?”

“You've got way too much to worry about. Guess I'll just have to take responsibility for you for the rest of my life.”

“...Really?”

It was hilarious watching Miyuki blush at the sudden, subtle confession, even after the massive scare we'd just had.

Time to hit the gas a little.

“Yeah. Which is why I need to knock you up.”

“Wh-What... Are you crazy...? What kind of mental gymnastics gets you to a conclusion like that...!?”

Her jaw dropped open in shock, and she flinched away.

Mainly because my hand was already slipping down between her breasts, trailing further south.

“Ma-Matsuda-kun...! Hey...! We just took a shower...!”

She frantically pressed her hands against my chest and shoved with all her might, but with her frail strength, she couldn't budge me an inch.

I let out a mocking sneer, easily climbing on top of her and starting to strip off my pants.

Miyuki stared at me in absolute horror and pointed toward the door.

“The fruit... let's eat the fruit first...! Mom said she left the plate out there...!”

“I'll be quick.”

“You always say that and then take for—”

“Shut up.”

“Wait, why are you already turned on...! Just calm down for a sec...”

I hadn't just tapped the gas; I had slammed the pedal to the floor. She was probably panicking out of her mind right now, but once she had some time alone to process it, Miyuki was going to be ecstatic.

After all, what I just said was essentially a hard guarantee that I was never, ever breaking up with her.

Smack!

“Eek!?”

I gave the outside of her thigh a solid slap, making Miyuki's entire body jerk with a sharp gasp.

Her pupils blew wide open the very next second. She was definitely just as turned on as I was.

Seeing her react like that right after practically getting caught by Midori made me wonder—was she actually starting to get off on the thrill of the depravity?

Discovering a new fetish was always a good thing. Not a bad development at all.