Chapter 496

“Ah... It's hot...”

The bathroom was thick with steam rising from the tub.

At Hiyori's complaint as she fanned her face, practically plastered against me, I splashed warm water over her shoulders to bring her body temperature back up and asked, “Are you that hot?”

“Yeah...”

Her body was trembling faintly.

She was still wrapped in the lingering afterglow of our sticky intimacy in the tub.

Hiyori let out a long breath, her exhalations still heavy with excitement. I gently smoothed back her damp hair and spent some time massaging her thighs.

After a while, when she let out a lazy hum, I pulled the drain plug in the middle of the tub.

“Let's go now.”

“I want to stay in a little longer, though.”

“Staying in too long isn't good for you. Listen to me.”

“Boo—”

“What was that, brat?”

“I didn't say anything.”

“Weren't you about to call me a boomer?”

“No, I wasn't.”

“I'll let it slide this once.”

When I stood up and held out my hand, Hiyori averted her eyes.

She seemed too embarrassed to look straight at my naked body right in front of her.

She usually tried to sneak peeks, but she always acted like this right after we slept together.

“Hand.”

“......”

I clasped her shyly offered hand, pulled her to her feet, and led her to the shower. Turning on the faucet, I looked at her as she squeezed her eyes shut.

“What are you doing?”

“I don't know.”

“You want me to wash you?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I told you I don't know.”

“Then what don't you know?”

“Dunno.”

She was just talking nonsense, but I could roughly guess why.

Seeing each other naked was apparently so embarrassing for her that she had decided to block out her vision entirely.

I pressed the showerhead—streaming with warm water—into her hands and washed myself silently beside her.

Hiyori, who had been spying on me through squinted eyes, finally spoke up.

“I'll wash later. I want to get back in for a bit longer...”

“Back where? In the tub?”

“Yeah.”

“I said no. Besides, the water's already drained out.”

“Ow, hot— Hey, why are you spraying water on me...!”

“I told you to shower.”

“How am I supposed to shower when sunbae-nim is standing right there like that...?”

“Now you're finally being honest. I'm all done. I'm heading out, so take your time washing up.”

“Okay...”

I chuckled at Hiyori's girlish behavior and stepped out of the bathroom.

Between staying in the hot bathroom so long and exerting quite a bit of energy, my head felt a little foggy.

Wondering if I was about to get anemia or something, I drank some water, got dressed, and called Chinami.

— Hello.

“Are you eating peaches?”

— Ah, how did you know?

“I know because you eat them practically every day.”

— I-I see... Should I cut back a bit?

A sudden thought crossed my mind.

What if Chinami bore my child, and the kid turned out to have a peach allergy?

More than anything, I was curious how Chinami would react.

Allergies are usually genetic, so the chances were slim, but if our kid did have one, she wouldn't be able to keep peaches in the house at all...

Picturing Chinami taking the news with utter shock and moping for days was both pitiful and cute.

“Nah, no need for that. I'm planning to get a fridge dedicated solely to peaches for the house later anyway, so Master can eat to her heart's content.”

— Aha... Thanks... Right...!? Wh-What did you just say?

“About what?”

— What do you mean by bringing a fridge dedicated to peaches into the house...? I-I don't quite understand...

“I'll explain it properly when we meet later.”

— Okay...

“You can step out for a bit tonight, right?”

— Tonight...? Yes, of course that's possible.

“I'll contact you before it gets too late.”

— Okay.

Having made the plans, I spent some time resting until Hiyori came out, at which point I put down my Cell Phone.

“You washed up fast. Did you just rinse off real quick?”

“Whatever. I'm feeling sensitive today.”

“So, you're saying I shouldn't talk to you?”

“Not that, I just want you to keep it in mind.”

“Are you acting up again?”

“Sorry.”

“You don't look sorry at all.”

“My bad.”

Her chin was tilted up at a slight angle, and her eyes were closed.

Anyone could tell she was sulking.

Was she acting like this because she'd expected me to wash her, but I just walked out instead?

A woman's heart is truly impossible to figure out.

“Come sit over here.”

“What for?”

“Hurry up.”

Hiyori plopped down right across from me with a pout and crossed her arms.

I rested my hand on her leg and said, “Does it hurt?”

“Where?”

“Down there. Earlier, it wasn't going in smoothly, so I forced—”

“Aaaaaah...!! Why would you just say that out loud...!”

Any trace of her sulking mood vanished completely as Hiyori frantically waved her hands.

With her face flushed in sheer embarrassment and her earlobes turning bright red, she clearly found the subject mortifying.

“Are you sleeping over tonight?”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

“I didn't get permission to stay out.”

Come to think of it, I remembered Hiyori mentioning she was grounded or something like that.

Wait, was it a curfew instead of being grounded?

That explained why she'd rushed over early today and tried to scale the wall.

“Is that so? What time do you have to be back?”

“I have to leave in a bit. Drive me home.”

“Will do.”

“......”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering why you're being so nice today.”

Right up until we showered, our sex had been almost forceful, and the dynamic inside the bathroom had followed a similar flow.

On top of that, I'd used my authority to shut Hiyori up when she threw tantrums...

From Hiyori's perspective, actions like those apparently didn't count as being unkind.

Or maybe, while we were being physical, she felt the genuine affection I had for her.

As the saying goes, women are highly emotional creatures.

It might be a rather random, somewhat abstract thought, but I figured it was highly possible.

“You've finally gained a shred of common sense. I'm touched.”

“Oh, what are you saying...!”

She was docile just a moment ago, and now she was huffing and puffing again...

Watching Hiyori's emotions bounce all over the place was fun.

I should spend plenty of time with her today.

And after that, I needed to go meet Renka and Chinami.

“You didn't forget our promise, right?”

Halfway out the passenger door, Hiyori tilted her head and looked back at me.

“What promise?”

“About seeing Miyuki later.”

“No... I have never, not even once, agreed to see her! At least tell me what we're going to do when we meet so I can think about it.”

“Right, I'll contact you later.”

“It's completely impossible to talk to you.”

“That's what I think every single time I see you.”

“Ugh...”

Lifting her slender arm to make a cute threat, Hiyori let out a huff and got out of the car.

Be that as it may, Hiyori was a good kid.

Even knowing all about my wandering eye, she still harbored feelings for me.

That sort of thing was something ordinary people couldn't even dream of.

Before she opened the Main Gate and went inside, she turned back and waved goodbye. I let out a dry chuckle at the sight and made a phone call as I headed toward Renka's place.

— What.

A blunt voice came through before the ringtone had even sounded twice.

Clicking my tongue at that, I said, “Answer a bit more nicely.”

— No thanks.

“Get over to my place right now.”

— .... Right now?

“Yeah.”

— Why should I?

“Just come when I tell you to. I have something to say.”

— If you have something to say, you should come over...

“Should I?”

— Ah, never mind. I'll go. I don't want you finding some weird excuse to pick on me again...

“I'm just joking. I'm heading over to President's place right now, so get ready.”

— Ugh, then you should've just said that from the start! Why do you have to piss people off...!!

“Me? Pissing President off?”

— Yeah...!

“When on earth did I do that?”

— Right now! Always!

Hmm. Was her training starting to wear off?

If she kept this up, I was going to change my mind about just having a peaceful chat today...

I should stop by home and grab something or other.

“It'll take me about thirty minutes. I'll call you before I arrive.”

— Why would it take thirty minutes? You can get to my place in fifteen minutes.

“I need to stop by my place for something.”

— Why? Ah... You're planning to bring some weird stuff, aren't you...!

She must have gotten burned by me too many times; it was funny how quickly she caught on.

With no intention whatsoever of denying it, I answered, “Yep.”

— Why on earth are you doing this to me...!

“It's just for intimidation.”

— In-Intimidation...??

“If you act up any more than this, I'll actually use them.”

— No... You're seriously unbelievable, you know that...? Can't you at least say it's an idle threat and you don't plan on doing anything like that?

“I don't really feel like saying that. Anyway, wait for me.”

— Haa... I'm going to die of stress...

Hearing Renka mutter to herself so I'd deliberately hear her, I hung up, stopped by my house, and packed the intimidation gear.

Arriving at Renka's place afterward, I saw her waiting out in front of the Main Gate.

Clack.

“You're here? Um...”

Renka's gaze, as she greeted me, drifted downward.

Her eyes widened when she spotted the items resting on the passenger seat.

“Wh-What are those...?”

A whip, a gag, handcuffs, and a rope.

Those were the four items I'd brought along.

Renka's expression contorted as she stared at the items sitting in plain sight.

“Are you kidding me...? Are you actually insane...?”

Pinching the items between her fingers as if she didn't even want to touch them, she somehow managed to pick them up and chuck them into the back seat. Watching her, I felt awfully glad I'd brought them.

“Did you make me come out just for this...!? What am I, your plaything?”

“I told you it was for intimidation. I don't have any plans to actually use them yet.”

“Yet...?! You... Haa...”

I felt a strong urge to tease Renka as she thumped her chest in frustration.

But I had to exercise restraint. I hadn't come here to be mean to her today.

“Get in already. Let's talk.”

“About what...!”

“Just get in.”

“Tell me what it is first...! If it's weird, I'm not getting in...!”

“It's nothing like that. I figured we should slowly start thinking seriously about our future.”

“Our future...? You mean you're going to use stuff like that in the future to satisfy your perverted pleasures?”

“I told you it's not like that.”

Did my confident tone manage to win a bit of trust?

With her suspicious expression returning slightly to normal, Renka hesitated before climbing into the car.

“You're really not doing that, right...?”

“I'm not.”

“Fine... Where are we going to talk? A love hotel is out of the question.”

“I wasn't planning on it, but if you say something like that one more time, my mind might change.”

“......”

“There's a Park nearby, right?”

“There is.”

“Lead the way.”

“.... But... what you're planning to do at the Park... No, whatever. Go straight and then take a right.”

Seeing Renka's persecution complex flare up again brought a natural smile to my face.

Renka would surely agree with my idea.

I had no doubts about that.