Chapter 484

"You said you were going to give Chinami a massage?"

We were in the car on the way home.

Renka had been staring silently out the window before she suddenly threw that question at me.

"Yeah. Didn't the President already know that?"

"I knew, but..."

"You're asking why I won't give the President one?"

"No...! Can't you just let someone finish speaking without jumping to conclusions?"

"Sorry. Go ahead."

"..."

Judging by her silence and tightly pressed lips, what she had wanted to say must have been exactly what I'd just said.

"Ah, forget it...! I just won't get one."

Her reaction made it obvious.

I patted Renka's thigh as she shifted in her seat, and said,

"I'm doing it because Master is nice."

"What, you jerk? So you're saying I'm not nice?"

"Honestly, I couldn't really call you nice, could I?"

"You...!"

"I'm just stating the facts. Try evaluating yourself objectively instead of just getting mad."

"Ugh, then just go hang out with Chinami or Hanazawa...! Why do you keep inviting me out if I have such a nasty personality!"

"Because I like it when the President acts like this."

"..."

Renka, who had just been snapping at me, suddenly quieted down.

She seemed unnecessarily embarrassed now that I'd highlighted her own special trait.

"...You've lost your mind."

Hearing her voice soften so much, I smirked and decided to tease her a little.

"You're like a chihuahua. Yapping away without knowing your place."

"What...? You little..."

"Don't curse."

"You're the one making me curse...!! Besides, you said you like it when I act like this! Then I should do it even more! Right!?"

"Hmm... That's a compelling argument."

"See!"

"So you're saying you'll keep doing it?"

"I'm only keeping it up because you gave me permission...!"

Huffing angrily, Renka didn't even seem to realize the mistake she had just made.

I decided to kindly point it out to her.

"I never gave you permission. I only said I liked seeing you like that."

"That's permis... Ah!? Eek!"

A bizarre sound burst from her lips the moment she realized her slip-up.

She even flinched, clearly mortified by what she'd said.

"Not permission, acknowledgment...! I meant to say you acknowledged it...!"

When I gave her a knowing look in response to her frantic excuse, she scrunched up her face and pressed on.

"Don't look so smug...! It was a slip of the tongue! It just came out in the heat of the moment...!"

"Right. Your true feelings coming out in the heat of the moment."

"They aren't my true feelings! They really aren't!!"

"I got it."

"Then at least look like you believe me! Stop making that crappy face...!"

"I'm trying to focus on driving."

"Aaaaaah!!"

Renka writhed in her seat and screamed, venting her intense frustration.

Yet, even at the peak of her irritation, she managed to keep her voice at a reasonable volume so as not to distract me from driving.

"So nice."

"What are you talking about, you jerk...!"

"So pretty."

"Ugh, stop saying that like it's a compliment...! I'll kill you...!? I really mean it this time...!"

"All right. Calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down when you keep teasing me!"

"Take a deep breath. Stop talking to me now, I'm driving."

"You..."

Glancing over from the corner of my eye, I saw Renka trembling.

She always ended up humiliating herself, yet she never learned to watch her words...

The problem was that our Renka was just too hot-tempered.

Once we arrived at Renka's place, I glanced over at her; she looked like she might die of sheer frustration.

Seeing my calm, inexplicably triumphant expression, she let out a faint grinding sound from her teeth.

"I'm going..."

She was doing everything she could to hold back her anger.

I had been treating her well up until now... but she had handed me such a perfect weakness on a silver platter right at the end, and I'd ended up teasing her without thinking.

Even so, I didn't feel sorry. With Renka constantly acting like that, I really had no choice.

It was all because she was just so lovable.

"Take care."

"Yeah."

"Aren't you going to give me anything before you go?"

"No."

"Really?"

"..."

Perhaps thinking I would tease her again if she just left like that, Renka hesitated briefly before pressing her lips against mine.

I felt a soft, moist sensation just as the passenger door clicked open.

Watching her run off right after the kiss, I let out a pleasant chuckle and stepped out of the car.

I needed to close the passenger door she had failed to shut properly.

Her emotions must have been all over the place today, so I could let it slide.

Chinami came out to greet me, holding a translucent airtight container filled with peaches.

I pulled the car up to her, and she gave a polite bow before climbing into the passenger seat. Catching a familiar scent, she twitched her small nose and sniffed the air inside the car.

"You must have just come from seeing Renka, I take it?"

"Yeah. Did the scent give it away?"

"Yes. Renka's unique, sweet scent is lingering."

"Master's scent is better, though."

"Ah... I didn't mean to ask for a comparison..."

"I'm joking. Anyway, did you have a good chat with the President?"

"What kind of chat are you referring to?"

"About Wednesday."

"Eek...!?"

Chinami's already large eyes widened to twice their size.

Judging by her expression, even if it wasn't a long debate, they had definitely discussed it briefly over the phone.

"That is... something I cannot tell you..."

"Why?"

"We didn't talk about anything particularly important..."

"And?"

"And..."

"Looks like the President was talking trash about me."

"Eh...? She didn't..."

"It's all over your face. She probably told you not to get swayed by someone like me, right?"

"Huh...? How did you... N-No, she didn't?"

Chinami flinched violently.

Which meant I had hit the bullseye.

Our Chinami was truly terrible at lying. It showed so clearly on her innocent face that even a five-year-old could instantly tell if she was telling the truth.

"Weren't you just about to ask how I knew that?"

"No...?"

She seemed to be telling a white lie, worried that tattling would ruin Renka's image.

I decided not to push her any further.

People with Chinami's personality just couldn't handle that kind of pressure well.

"I see. Understood. Can I have a bite of that peach?"

"Yes...!"

Chinami's face lit up at the change in topic, and she vigorously stabbed the center of a peach slice with a plastic fork.

Her round, cotton-ball-like fist gripping the fork was incredibly cute, I thought, as I popped the peach she offered into my mouth and chewed.

"It's delicious."

"Isn't it? I specifically picked out the tastiest variety."

"Can I have another?"

"Of course. You can eat them all."

"Then Master won't have any left. It's a delicious variety, so Master should eat some too."

"Hehe. It's fine, I have more at home."

Now that I thought about it, neither Renka nor Chinami seemed overly worried about Wednesday.

Did they trust that I would handle things well?

Or did they think it was fine because they, as close friends, would be doing it together with the person they both liked?

Whatever the reason, it was a good thing for me, so it didn't matter.

"We still have to go eat... At this rate, I'll fill up on peaches."

"Just have one more, and I'll save the rest for dessert."

"Are you going to bring some on Wednesday too?"

"I-If you want me to, I should..."

"Shall we eat them together after everything's done, then?"

"Yes...? What do you mean by after everything's done...?"

"Sex..."

"Mwaah...! I get it...!"

Chinami cut me off, furiously patting the top of the container with her palm.

I chuckled at her face, which had already flushed the color of a peach. "Let's meet at noon on Wednesday," I said.

"Yes...? Didn't you plan to meet in the evening...?"

"I changed my mind. I want to see you both sooner."

"I see... Have you told Renka about this...?"

"I can just tell her later."

"I feel like it's better to plan these things out in advance..."

"The President listens to me very well."

"She does...? Renka?"

"She acts a little rebellious, but she listens to all my requests. She's a lot like Master."

"Is that how you see it...?"

"Yeah. It's great because you're both so nice."

Chinami slipped both of her hands between her knees.

She seemed overwhelmed with shyness after hearing such a sincere compliment.

Her pink hair softly cascading down as she lowered her head looked incredibly innocent, I thought, as I drove us to a nice Western restaurant nearby that I had scoped out earlier.

After sharing a slightly early dinner in a warm, friendly atmosphere, I dropped Chinami off, returned home, and lay down.

I made sure to text Renka that our meeting time had changed to noon.

[Screw you. I'm meeting in the evening.]

A reply came almost immediately.

Perhaps she was still bothered by how she had voluntarily humiliated herself earlier today; her text felt even more prickly than usual.

[Just wait and see what happens if you don't show up at noon.]

[Are you threatening me? You said you'd treat me well.]

[Then act like someone I'd want to treat well.]

[You Trash. I knew it. I thought I saw you in a new light today, but I was mistaken.]

Her text gave off the vibe that she was completely done with me, but it was just an act.

Renka still liked me a lot. She was just puffing out her chest and bluffing to save her pride.

[Yeah. See you tomorrow.]

Shrugging off Renka's complaints, I closed my eyes.

As I lay there without a single thought, my clear mind grew hazy, and my head went delightfully blank.

And just like that, I spent the rest of the day forcing myself into an elusive sleep, eventually opening my eyes the next day to welcome Wednesday.