Chapter 508

It had been a while since I'd ventured downtown alone.

Puddles littered the streets from the rain that had poured all afternoon.

Standing around watching people rush by, step in puddles, and lose their tempers seemed like an entertaining enough way to pass the time.

I was strolling down the street entertaining these childish thoughts when—

Drip—!

I popped my umbrella open as the rain suddenly began to fall again.

Two or three out of every ten people walking down the street didn't have an umbrella.

Did they think it had stopped completely? You should always carry an umbrella during the rainy season... What a shame.

I clicked my tongue and continued on my way, only to spot a familiar silhouette just ahead.

A long navy ponytail cascading past her waist, long slender legs, and a deliberately haughty expression...

There was only one person in the world like that.

She was taking shelter under a storefront awning, flustered by the sudden rain. Hiding among the crowd, I muffled my footsteps and crept toward her.

Then, I held my umbrella over her head.

"What the—?"

Renka asked in confusion, turning her head.

Right on cue, I looked down at her and grinned.

"Who do you think? It's your master."

"Wh-what...? What are you doing here?"

Her eyes went incredibly wide with genuine shock.

It looked like my words hadn't even registered yet.

"I came out to buy something and spotted you, President."

"Are you stalking me?"

"We ran into each other by coincidence. What do you mean, stalking? Is your paranoia acting up again?"

"If not, then whatever..."

"Let's stop talking back to your master now."

"What are you... Are you kidding me? Do you have a death wish!?"

Renka raised her voice and glared at me, only to flinch and quickly glance around.

Her hot-tempered nature was rather contradictory when paired with her constant fear of causing a public nuisance.

Still, it was far better than someone who blurted out whatever came to mind without a filter.

"But why are you here, President?"

I placed a hand on the small of her back and ushered her forward onto the street. She let out a dry cough before answering my question.

"I-I came out to buy something too..."

"Figures?"

"..."

I loved how our Renka's expressions answered everything for her.

In the past, she would even lie to pretend she wasn't into otaku culture, so seeing her quietly admit it now was rather endearing.

Chuckling at her guilty look, I asked, "Must be a pretty one among the new releases, huh?"

"Well... I guess..."

"What kind? One of those chibi ones?"

"No."

"A one-seventh scale?"

"Yeah."

"Is it a female character? What anime is it from?"

"Shut up."

"Why the swearing?"

"Because your intentions are obvious. You were trying to make fun of me."

"I wasn't."

"Don't you dare lie to me! Do you want to die...?"

Hmm. Listening to Renka grumble after running into her like this gave me a strange thrill.

"Wh-what...? Stop having weird thoughts!"

Renka quickly added, as if she had read my thoughts straight off my face.

A slave who could recognize her master's feelings... Excellent.

We really were destined for each other. Now, I just needed to do something about her tone.

I threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, saying, "Since we bumped into each other, want to go look at figures together?"

"I... don't want to."

"Together it is, then."

"I just said I didn't want to, so why are we going together?"

Because I knew her words and her actual feelings were complete opposites.

Our slave was surprisingly delicate, so she preferred it when I catered to her like this.

"Quit complaining. Where were you heading?"

"Just up ahead... It's about a three-minute walk. But seriously, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm out buying some daily necessities."

"Necessities?"

"I need to start preparing for the future, too."

"Oh...? What kind of necessities are you buying?"

"A slave cage, and some other things."

"Do you want to die, you bastard? How is a cage a daily necessity, you piece of trash!?"

Seeing her burst out in anger pleased me; it meant she was still fully aware of her position as a slave.

"It is."

"How the hell is that a necessity, you lunatic!?"

"Serving their master is a slave's duty, but the slave I have doesn't seem very willing to do that."

"Who's your slave!? I'll kill you! I'm really going to kill you, you know!?"

"I never specified who the slave was, so why are you getting so angry, President?"

"You're obviously talking about me...!"

Tap.

I slipped my arm down from her shoulders, lightly brushing my fingertips against the side of her chest. She jolted and frantically checked left and right.

She let out a sigh of relief before hissing at me in an agitated tone.

"What if someone saw you doing that...!?"

"I checked to make sure no one was around, so will you stop complaining? Besides, what's the big deal? It's not like we're strangers."

"In a public place..."

"Do you hate me?"

"What...! Just let me finish talking...!"

"I asked if you hate me."

"I don't hate you...!"

"Then do you like me?"

"...I like... No, I don't!"

She hastily changed her words, sensing that I was leading her on.

Chuckling at her cute behavior, I asked, "Do you have any other plans today after buying the figure?"

"I do."

"What are they?"

"I'm meeting a friend."

"Which friend?"

"Would you even know if I told you?"

"I would if they're from our Academy."

"They aren't, so mind your own business."

"Is it a guy?"

"It's a girl. And what if it was a guy?"

"Then we'd have a massive problem."

"You're really something else, you know that? You go around meeting all sorts of girls, so why are you telling me I can't meet guys? Don't give me that crap about how a slave has to obey her master. Give me a straight answer."

"That's totally different. The people I meet are close with you, President, so it's fine."

A derisive snort escaped Renka's nose at that.

"What are you even talking about? Of course I'm close with Chinami... And sure, I've gotten pretty close with Hanazawa recently too, but... not with Asahina."

"You can just get close from now on. Want to go to a Hotel together again?"

"You l-lunatic...! Are you kidding me?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"You've completely lost your mind... There's seriously something wrong with you, isn't there?"

"Think whatever you want."

"You crazy bastard... Unbelievable, really..."

Watching her grumble like that was really turning me on.

How big was this figure shop?

If it was a three- or four-story standalone building, I'd have to take her to the emergency stairwell for a quick round.

"What...? What's with that look on your face?"

Renka asked, carrying a large shopping bag with two figures inside.

I glanced out at the drizzling rain, popped my umbrella back open, and shrugged.

"Just because."

"You've been like that since we walked into the store... You were having dirty thoughts, weren't you...? You were totally planning to do that in the store, but you got disappointed because the place was too small, didn't you...!?"

She read my mind perfectly.

Just like earlier, when she scolded me for having weird thoughts...

It seemed she had reached a state of enlightenment after her arduous life as a slave. Truly remarkable.

"Not at all."

"Liar...! I know I'm right!"

"I told you, I wasn't. Anyway, are you going to meet your friend now?"

"...I'm stopping by my house first."

"Want me to drop you off?"

"If you don't mind... thanks."

"I'll drop you off, President, and then go hang out with Master."

"Why...? Stop harassing Chinami!"

"You're the one who said you had plans. And who's harassing her? Are you kidding me?"

"You said you were buying necessities! Just buy your stuff and go home!"

"Stop talking nonsense and let's go. Oh, right, about that display case in your house, President."

Renka's shoulders twitched.

She darted her eyes around as if recalling the time I had visited her house, then answered.

"I don't have a display case."

"The marks were perfectly clear the last time I was there, so why play dumb? Lie to me one more time and you're really going to get punished."

"...What about it?"

"Don't you think we'll need a bigger one?"

"Why? There's still plenty of space left."

"That's not what I meant. When you move into my house soon, President, we'll need to fit my figures and Master's Momo-sama figures in there too. I'm saying we should look for a bigger one."

Her eyes went perfectly round at my blatant mention of my future plans.

"Wh-what...?"

"There's all of Miyuki's stuff... and Hiyori's too. It might actually be better to just convert a whole room into a display room."

"Wait... what are you talking about right now!?"

"What is it?"

"What do you mean, 'what'!? I never agreed to that! And now that I think about it, you told Chinami I'd already said yes, didn't you? You can't just pull a scam like that!"

"How is that a scam?"

"I said I'd give you my answer in a month, and you agreed!"

"Wasn't it two weeks?"

"It's a month! And whether it's two weeks, three weeks, or a month, there's still time left! You can't just go around acting like that!"

I only told her in advance because I knew she'd agree anyway. What did the exact date matter?

I understood wanting to hide her true feelings, but she needed to know how to open up... It was frustrating that she couldn't even be honest with her best friend, Chinami.

"Alright, fine. I don't want to bicker with you, President, so I'll let it go."

"Who's letting who off the hook right now...?"

"I believe you'll say yes, President."

"You saying that just makes me want to say no out of spite!"

"I believe in you."

"Ugh... Haa... You're really frustrating."

I threw my arm over her shoulders again as she pounded her own chest in frustration.

"There's a puddle ahead, so watch your step."

"I see it, you bastard."

"I'm just looking out for you, no need to be so mean about it. Anyway, let's go."

"...Don't go spouting nonsense when you see Chinami later."

"What nonsense?"

"What I literally just talked about...! Lying to her that I said yes! Don't do that anymore!"

"Got it."

"I'm calling her later to check."

"And what are you going to do if I already did?"

"Then..."

"Then what? Are you going to kill me again?"

"..."

She clamped her mouth shut and jutted out her bottom lip in a pout.

Watching her act all sulky because she had nothing left to say made me feel like my energy for the day had been fully recharged.

Either way, I could safely assume Renka had accepted my plan.

In that case, should I go greet Renka's parents?

Or would it be better to see her uncles first?

If I went with the latter and things worked out, her uncles would probably put in a good word for me with her parents. But if things went wrong, there was a very high chance I'd end up buried alive.

I wasn't joking. Those two really seemed like the type to bury me in a mountain somewhere.

Since I didn't want to die, the plan I'd thought up before still seemed best: move in with all four of them first, and slowly break the news to their parents and acquaintances later.

Or I could just never tell them at all.