Chapter 89

"You bastard...!"

The villain locked arms with the hero of justice, his eyebrows twitching as if he were struggling against the sheer force...

It made for a spectacular scene, resembling a tsubazeriai in Kendo. It was a nice touch, subtly hinting to the audience that the strongest villain in the story was being overpowered by the hero.

-Smash!

And so the duel began!

The two men exchanged blows at an incredible speed, providing a feast for the eyes.

It was an intense action scene that would make anyone's heart race.

However...

"Mmm...!"

At that moment, Chinami's heart was pounding for a completely different reason.

It was because of her junior, Matsuda, who was gently massaging her shoulders.

She had been watching the movie in a state of tension, acutely aware of him sitting so close just to share the Popcorn, and by the time the film reached its early climax, her shoulders had grown stiff.

She had managed to endure it somehow, but just now, during the pivotal action scene, she had tilted her neck for a moment...

As if reading her mind, Matsuda quietly reached out and began to massage her shoulders.

The problem was that he was touching her neck as well.

As he kneaded her shoulders, his fingertips would lightly brush against her, and every time they did, a strange sensation bloomed within her body.

It felt electric, yet ticklish.

Even her lower abdomen, which had nothing to do with the massage, was throbbing with an aching clench.

What was even stranger was that, although she knew she should tell him to stop immediately, she simply couldn't.

Matsuda's touch possessed an addictiveness similar to the very first time she had tasted a peach.

If that time had felt like flopping down onto a bed of soft, squishy peaches, right now it felt as though she had wandered into a peach orchard overflowing with heavily ripened fruit.

And Matsuda smelled incredibly good.

A masculine scent, mixed with a faint hint of plum—a sweet yet heavy aroma wafted from him.

"Mhehe..."

Without realizing it, Chinami let out a loose giggle, her eyes starting to glaze over before she snapped them wide open.

Grabbing five pieces of Popcorn at once and stuffing them into her mouth, she tried her hardest to focus on the movie.

She had to enjoy this pleasant massage, she had to watch the important action scene, she had to take in the nice body odor wafting from Matsuda, and she had to munch on the peach-powdered Popcorn...

Her body... no, even if she had two minds, it wouldn't be enough to process it all.

-Pow! Whack!

"Keugh..."

Exerting the greatest focus of her life to stare at the screen, Chinami drained the tension from her entire body the moment the villain's chest was pierced by the hero's hand.

Her nerves had slightly unraveled as the intense action scene came to an end.

Right then, Matsuda's hand gently wrapped around the nape of her neck.

"Hyaa...!"

Startled out of her wits, a sudden jolting sensation shot straight up from the tips of Chinami's toes to the top of her head.

The shock made her jolt her body, causing a few pieces of Popcorn to tumble down onto her lap.

Plop.

And Matsuda picked up the Popcorn that had landed between her tightly squeezed thighs and popped it right into his own mouth.

Afterward, he looked at Chinami and gave a refreshing smile.

'Haa...'

A smile overflowing with masculinity, and a large, soft hand caressing the nape of her neck.

Experiencing those two flavors at once, Chinami gulped heavily.

-Slip.

In that moment, Matsuda pulled his hand away from her neck.

"I'm sorry."

He suddenly apologized.

Judging by his expression, he seemed to feel guilty for touching her neck so carelessly without permission.

"Ahem... I-It's fine..."

Clearing her throat, Chinami twisted her legs together.

It was because her lower belly was vibrating with a tingling ache.

Suppressing an inexplicable urge to go to the restroom, she chugged the peach iced tea sitting in the cup holder.

The taste of peach swirling completely over her tongue, the refreshing liquid sliding down her throat.

Feeling her chest cool down, the corners of Chinami's mouth twitched.

"Phew..."

Having let out a satisfied sigh, she flinched when she noticed Matsuda staring intently at her.

'Ah...!'

Oh no! Matsuda's touch had felt so good, and drinking the iced tea on top of that had put her in such a fantastic mood that she had accidentally shown him her disheveled side.

What if Matsuda thought she looked like an idiot?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Matsuda patted her arm as if massaging it.

Then, he quietly asked, "Is it good?"

Judging by his tone, he didn't seem to care much about the reaction she had just shown.

Relieved, Chinami replied.

"Yes... but aren't you going to watch the movie...?"

"The important scene already passed."

"That is true, but..."

"Can I have one more of these?"

Matsuda pointed at the Popcorn still resting on her lap.

Nodding her head in a flurry, Chinami picked up a piece of Popcorn and offered it to him.

"H-Here..."

At that, Matsuda flashed that same masculine smile, took the Popcorn, and popped it into his mouth.

Watching him eat food that had touched her body made her feel strangely erotic, and her face flushed hotly.

Overcome with shyness, Chinami deeply bowed her head.

She could have shifted her body outward toward the stairs, but for some reason, she didn't want to do that.

Maybe it was because Matsuda smelled so good, and she wanted to keep breathing him in.

With that thought in mind, Chinami began to eat her Popcorn as demurely as possible.

She decided she should just watch the movie.

Though whether she would actually be able to focus on it was another matter.

The post-credits scene finished, and the credits were rolling on the screen.

Looking around at the audience members who were getting up one by one to leave, I slightly rolled up the sleeve of the dazed Chinami's sweatshirt.

Then, I lightly poked her thin, pure-white wrist.

"Master."

"Hm!?"

Shivering at the touch, Chinami's senses returned to her.

"Y-Yes...? Did you call me...?"

"Yes."

"W-What is it...?"

"The movie is over. We should get up now."

"Ah...! Right... It was a really fun movie..."

Fun, my ass. She couldn't even focus and was just squirming in her seat the whole time...

"Did you enjoy the Popcorn?"

"Um... of course I did... You ate a lot too, didn't you...?"

You ate it all. And in the blink of an eye, too.

I chuckled at Chinami, who couldn't seem to remember a thing, and spoke.

"Yes. It was very delicious."

"I'm glad... Shall we get up then?"

"Wipe your hands first."

"My hands...? Ah!"

Noticing the thick layer of peach powder coating her fingers, Chinami flinched and pulled out a wet wipe.

Should I have just sucked it off for her? I suddenly regretted missing the chance.

Chinami scrubbed her hands clean while anxiously gauging my reaction.

Watching her silently, I pulled a regular tissue from the holder, brought it to her mouth, and gently flicked it as if brushing away dust.

"You need to wipe your mouth, too. You've got so much powder on it that your lip color changed."

"....."

She obediently let me tend to her, puckering her lips noticeably.

Having dusted off most of the powder around her mouth, I crumpled the tissue and spoke in a gentle tone.

"I'm suddenly curious about something."

"About what...?"

"The powder definitely tasted like peach, so why is it colored like an apricot?"

".... That makes me curious too...! Should we look it up when we get home...? Or should we go on a field trip to the company that makes the powder...?"

It was funny how seriously she took what was meant as a joke.

Anyway, looking it up at home was one thing, but a factory tour... That was such a Chinami-like answer.

Chinami made me want to stay by her side and take care of her every little need.

She looked like a naive country girl fresh to the city, the type who would get completely swindled the second you took your eyes off her.

"Let's think about it together later."

"Yes...! Let's do that..."

Clenching both fists with the firm resolve to find out the truth, Chinami stood up from her seat.

But she immediately lost her balance and stumbled.

"Hyaa...!"

Having expected as much, I was already prepared, swiftly grabbing her arm to support her.

"The movie must have been really fun, seeing as it completely drained your strength."

".... Yes... It was a really fun movie... L-Let's hurry and get out of here. I need to go to the restroom right now..."

"Understood."

We moved slowly as we made our way outside.

After ducking into the restroom, Chinami only emerged a very long time later.

Seeing her fiddle with the front of her pelvis with freshly washed hands, I figured she must have exhausted herself dealing with whatever sticky substance had leaked down there.

It seemed the subtle caresses I had given her inside the theater had worked perfectly.

I flashed a benevolent smile at her as she self-consciously twirled her side hair around her finger.

"When did you agree to meet with Inoo-sunbae?"

"Huh...? Ah... in about an hour..."

"What are you going to do until then?"

"I-If I grab some ice cream for dessert with you, and then take the train, the timing should be just about perfect..."

"Then we'll have ice cream, and I'll give you a ride to your meeting spot with Inoo-sunbae."

"You really don't have to go that far... I couldn't impose..."

"You have to listen to your disciple, right?"

"Huh...? Shouldn't it normally be the other way a- Eeek!"

Chinami's shoulders suddenly shot up.

It was because my hand was gently stroking the line connecting her neck and shoulder.

As I lightly poked the hard cervical vertebrae at the back of her neck with my fingernail,

"Ahik...! Hnngh...!"

Chinami's mouth slowly parted, and an erotic moan slipped out.

Her eyelids fluttered as her body twitched.

Observing her reaction, I asked again.

"I'm going to give you a ride. Got it?"

At that, Chinami gritted her teeth and nodded her head frantically.

"Y-Yes...! Please give me a ride...!"

"No changing your mind, alright?"

"I won't...! I'll ride it...! So, please, stop tha-aat...!"

"Your muscles are really tense, so I want to loosen them up a bit."

"I-I never asked you to... ngh! ...loosen them...!"

Her voice was steadily growing more agitated.

I figured I should probably stop before she got angry. We'd had some fairly deep physical contact today, and she hadn't yelled at me for touching the back of her neck, so I decided not to get greedy.

Giving Chinami's back one final pat, I pulled my hand away.

"Wheeze... huff..."

Chinami exhaled heavily, gasping for breath as if she had just sprinted a short distance.

Resting her hands on her knees, she spent a long moment catching her breath before stiffly straightening her upper body.

"H-Hurry up and let's go... I need to get out of here...!"

Hearing her say lines like that just made me want to kidnap her.

A delusion unfolded before my eyes.

The pure holy woman Chinami falling into my trap—the Demon King disguised as a hero's party—and being lured deep into a dungeon, only to be separated from the party containing the hero Renka and left utterly stranded...

An image of her trying to take care of me, her comrade, without knowing a thing, only to fall into a trap of pleasure and gradually succumb to corruption...

That was roughly what it felt like right then.