Chapter 90

A street lined with boutique clothing shops.

I parked the car where Chinami had told me to and turned on the hazard lights.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes..."

"I don't see Inoo-sunbae anywhere."

"That's because we're fifteen minutes early... She'll be here in five minutes..."

"Should I stick around until she gets here? It's boring to wait alone."

"No... I don't mind waiting by myself..."

Ah! I was just thinking the same thing...!

"I'll just wait with you. I'm too worried to leave you out here alone."

"Worried...?"

"That you might get scammed or something while you wait."

"I-I'm not doing any secondhand trading right now..."

"It's raining too, so just do as I say."

"Okay..."

Fidgeting, Chinami couldn't keep her hands still.

Her head was bowed low, making her plump cheeks puff out. She looked exceptionally cute today.

"What kind of clothes do you like, Master? Cute ones?"

"Hmm... Normally I like pink... but since my hair is already pink, I try to go for a variety of colors if I can..."

Imagining Renka and Chinami picking out clothes together was somehow funny.

Their tastes had to be completely different... It was amazing that they got along so well.

"The outfits you tried on at the department store the other day really suited you."

"Did they...?"

"Yeah. They looked both cute and mature. Am I being too nosy?"

"A-no! You're not being nosy..."

Chinami waved her hands dismissively, the corners of her mouth twitching.

She hadn't known what to do with herself when I called her cute last time, but she clearly liked hearing that she looked mature too.

I let out a chuckle and looked out the car window.

The relentless downpour had lost its momentum, turning into a gentle drizzle.

The atmosphere was nice; if not for the puddles, it would have been perfect weather for a walk.

Through the sparse crowd, someone caught my eye.

A tall woman with a slender figure.

Her outfit was sexy enough that I could instantly tell it was Renka.

She arrived with exactly ten minutes to spare, just as Chinami had said.

Holding an umbrella, she approached our car and glanced around.

I took a moment to appreciate her outfit before speaking quietly.

"Inoo-sunbae has arrived."

"Where?"

"Over there."

I pointed toward Renka. Spotting her, Chinami's face lit up.

Folding up her Momo-sama Blanket neatly, she bowed her head.

"Well then... Thank you so much for today."

"I had fun. Let's do it again sometime."

"Ah...! Yes...! Let's have even more fun next time...!"

"Sure."

Clack.

Chinami opened the passenger door, popped her umbrella open, and bowed one last time.

I gave her a wave. As soon as the door shut, I rolled down my window a crack and observed Renka.

"Chinami...?"

Seeing Chinami get out of the car, Renka tilted her head.

She looked as though she hadn't recognized my car at first.

But then her eyes widened, and she closed the distance with long strides.

"Matsuda...? You're Matsuda, right?"

She probably never expected Chinami to step out of my car.

Rolling the driver's side window all the way down, I greeted Renka with a smirk.

"Hello, President."

Then, looking at Chinami beside the dumbfounded senior, I added:

"Buy lots of pretty clothes, Master."

"Yes...! Should I take pictures of what I buy and send them to you?"

What a fantastic assist.

Thanks, Chinami.

"That would be nice."

"Got it. Get home safely...!"

I waved back at the beaming Chinami and immediately stepped on the accelerator.

"Hey...! Hey!"

Renka's loud voice rang out from behind before fading away.

I caught a glimpse of a startled Chinami in the side mirror. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of conversation those two were about to have.

@@

"...You two watched a movie together?"

"Yes."

Chinami replied innocently, her eyes wide and round.

Sipping her coffee, Renka asked again.

"Just the two of you? You met up separately to watch it?"

"Yes. Why?"

"When did you get so close?"

"We were already close. We're Master and disciple, and working as managers together makes it natural for us to get close. Don't you think?"

"No, well... That's true, but... Did you really just watch a movie?"

"After the movie ended, we had dessert at a nearby ice cream shop."

"Is that so...? Matsuda didn't... act weird around you or anything, did he?"

Chinami's head tilted at a fifteen-degree angle.

She looked as though she was mulling something over.

After a moment, she replied with a question of her own.

"What do you mean by acting weird?"

"Like he was trying to seduce you..."

"Seduce...? In what way?"

Renka was left speechless.

How on earth was she supposed to explain this?

Since she had zero dating experience herself, it was a little hard to describe in detail.

"Like a vibe... or something like that..."

"A vibe...? Hmm... I didn't get any feeling that he was seducing me... Junior Matsuda was his usual self. Wait, actually, he did seem a lot nicer than usual today."

"Right...! That...! In what way was he nice?"

"Huh...? Do I have to tell you that...?"

Chinami's face turned red.

Seeing her shyly avert her gaze, unable to even look her in the eye, Renka knew there had to be something more.

Suppressing her boiling frustration, Renka gently coaxed Chinami.

"O-of course... Between us, it's easy enough to talk about... The truth is... I got a lot of massages today."

"Massages...?"

"Yes. I was so tense from watching the movie... Junior Matsuda helped loosen me up a lot."

"You were tense from watching a movie...? Was it a horror movie?"

"No. It was an action movie. But as you know, close friend, I get really absorbed in action movies. I tensed my whole body because I wanted to take in every detail of the action scenes..."

Looking at Chinami scratch the back of her head awkwardly, Renka seriously wondered if she was being too sensitive.

At first, she thought the insidious Matsuda was taking advantage of the innocent Chinami, but shoulder massages?

If it was just massages... wasn't that something she could let slide?

Chinami blushing like that was a little suspicious, but since she was naturally prone to shyness, it made sense...

After their sparring session last time, when she had scolded Matsuda, he hadn't paid any attention to her words, but he had listened perfectly well to Chinami.

Remembering that, it really did seem like Matsuda respected Chinami as his Master...

Chinami also wanted to get closer to him, which was probably why they had watched a movie together.

Him driving her here today wasn't strange either.

After all, he had even done a favor for Renka, someone he didn't get along with, by driving her home before.

How nervous she had been when they ran into each other by chance then...

Imagining it again made her heart start pounding all over again.

Anyway, that wasn't important right now. Seeing Chinami, who had never spent time alone with a man, acting fairly calmly now, she seemed to be quite comfortable with Matsuda too.

He had a track record of helping her during the secondhand scam last time... They must have gotten a lot closer then.

Still...

She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling.

It wasn't that she didn't want things to work out between the two of them...

She was anxious because the person acting affectionately toward Chinami was none other than Matsuda.

"Close friend Renka? What's on your mind?"

Renka, who had been harboring all sorts of worries, lifted her head at Chinami's concerned voice.

"No... It's nothing. But... Chinami."

"Yes?"

"By any chance, do you find it annoying when I meddle like this?"

"No...? Why would I find it annoying when you say things out of concern for me? I don't even think of it as meddling."

"That's a relief, but..."

"You have so many worries, close friend. Here, take a cool sip of coffee and then shall we go look for clothes?"

"Yeah... Let's do that."

She decided to let it be for now.

Matsuda had been getting better evaluations lately, and Chinami was honest with her. If anything serious happened, she would be the first to speak up.

Bzzzt—! Bzzzzzt—!

I had just finished a quick call with Miyuki and was planning to turn in early, but when the vibrations by my pillow wouldn't stop, I grabbed my Cell Phone.

Chinami must have finished her shopping and gotten home, because she was spamming me with pictures.

Clothes, of course, and even shoes... She really bought quite a bit.

Giving a weak laugh, I tapped the screen.

[You bought a lot?]

[It just turned out that way while shopping. What do you think?]

[They'll all look good on you, but the sandals will suit you perfectly. Your shoe size is small, Master, but your toes are long, so your bare feet look pretty.]

[Ah, is that so?]

[Yes. But didn't Inoo-sunbae tell you not to send pictures of your clothes?]

[No. She didn't really say anything like that.]

That's unusual. I thought she would throw a fit and try to stop you.

[Really?]

[Yes. By the way, are things bad between you and Renka, Junior?]

[Why? Did Inoo-sunbae say something?]

[No. It's just that when I got out of your car earlier, Renka seemed angry... so I wondered if you two had an argument.]

[We didn't have an argument, but we're like oil and water. There's no reason for me to like a senior who scolds me all the time.]

[Uh-uh...! You shouldn't think that way. Renka only says harsh things to guide you down the right path.]

[I'd prefer it if my Master guided me, not the President.]

[I will certainly do that, but I also want my precious disciple to listen to what Renka has to say.]

She could barely string a sentence together in the car, but now she was acting all dignified.

But still, our Chinami... She's even using the word 'precious' for me now?

This disciple is touched. I'll have to give you a reward soon.

However, I can't agree with those words.

I shouldn't be the one listening to Renka; Renka should be the one listening to me.

[I will try my best.]

[My disciple really is a good person. I am quite exhausted, so I'm going to wash up and head to bed now.]

[Will you send me a picture before you sleep? I want to see you wearing your Momo-sama pajamas, Master.]

[How did you know I had Momo-sama pajamas?]

[Considering how much you love Momo-sama, how could I not know?]

[How sharp of you. Fufu. Alright then.]

After finishing the conversation, I was about to happily wait for Chinami's pajama shot when I suddenly jumped up.

This was no time for that. I needed to practice.

If I was going to knock Renka down a peg and train her properly, I had to bring my skills up to par.