Chapter 511

“Nice house.”

“Did you even look at it?”

“I saw it on the way to your room.”

“Then you only saw the living room and the kitchen. Don't flatter me.”

Astounded by Hiyori's remark as she crossed her arms, I let out a dry laugh.

She sounded like a malcontent grumbling about society.

No, a bit milder than that. It was more like a little kid throwing a tantrum over a toy.

“Why are you being so cynical?”

“I don't know.”

“But what did you tell them?”

“About what?”

“What did you tell your parents?”

“Just... that a sunbae I know is coming over.”

“Is that it?”

“Yeah, well... that a male sunbae is coming over...”

“And what did they say to that?”

“W-why are you interrogating me like this...!”

Seeing her curl and uncurl her long toes, I could tell she was incredibly embarrassed by the whole situation.

Hiyori had this side to her too. I was glad to see it today.

“I'm curious.”

“I don't know.”

“Can't you tell me?”

“...Why are you suddenly acting so sweet? Ah... you're walking on eggshells because we're at my house, aren't you?”

“Aren't you being a bit too negative?”

“That tone doesn't suit you at all...!”

“Really?”

“Yeah...! Act like you normally do...!”

“I'll act normal if you tell me.”

“Ah, seriously...! They were just surprised when I said a male sunbae was coming over...!”

“Why are you getting annoyed?”

Giving her a cooing look, I gently scratched under Hiyori's chin and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

At that, Hiyori, who had been acting disgusted, clamped her mouth shut like magic.

Her visibly reddening ears were a bonus. I liked how transparent our Hiyori was.

“W-what are you doing...”

Listening to her thoroughly bashful voice, a sudden urge to cherish her welled up inside me.

It was funny. Usually, when Hiyori acted cocky, I wanted to forcefully conquer her, but seeing her look so submissive softened my heart.

I supposed everyone was like that.

Thinking that, I stroked Hiyori's slender arm up and down to soothe her.

“Because I want to.”

“...I know your true colors, sunbae.”

“What are my true colors?”

“You're a womanizer...!”

“Is that so?”

“Your tone again...!!”

“You hate it when I talk like I normally do. You hate this, you hate that... what do you want me to do?”

“Who said I hated it?”

“You keep nagging at me; doesn't that mean you hate it?”

“N-nagging...? Are you done...!?”

I stroked her arm again as she gaped in disbelief. Flinching or perhaps just startling, she clamped her mouth shut once more and lowered her head.

I was the one invited to her house, but doing this made it feel like the roles of host and guest were reversed.

But this turned me on in its own way.

If Hiyori's parents and younger sibling were out, I might have gone for a round with her right now.

“I mean, why are you doing weird things...”

“Why do you keep grumbling?”

“I'm not grumbling...”

“Then?”

“Ah, it's just your tone is awkward...!”

“My tone?”

“Yeah...!”

“Should I act like I normally do?”

“Well, I mean... just...”

Although she was showing signs of dislike, Hiyori seemed to secretly enjoy me acting like this.

Otherwise, she wouldn't be twirling her hair like a girl who had just met her first love.

The same went for her legs, which were now modestly drawn together.

As I did this, Hiyori's body temperature steadily rose.

The lemon scent wafting from her body grew stronger, making my head spin a little.

The one who halted my creeping desires was Hiyori's mother, Rion.

“Kids, come eat.”

She had knocked on her daughter's door to call out to us.

Snapping back to reality, I headed to the kitchen alongside Hiyori, who cleared her throat and replied that we were coming.

Appetizing food filled the dining table.

Just the smell alone made my mouth water. The heroines' mothers being good at cooking really seemed to be an immutable law.

However, Chinami's mother, Momoka, was the exception.

Anyone who experienced her various peach-based side dishes would think the same as me.

“I heard you're good at your studies. Hiyori mentioned it.”

Rion directed the question at me as I sat politely next to Hiyori.

Hiyori had claimed she only said a sunbae she knew was coming, but it seemed she had told them all sorts of things.

Being dishonest didn't suit her.

Glancing out of the corner of my eye at Hiyori, who was eating while nervously reading the room, I turned my attention back to Rion and answered.

“I'm not that exceptionally good. I think Hiyori exaggerated a bit.”

A hint of fluster colored Rion's face.

She seemed slightly surprised that her daughter's given name, rather than her surname, had popped out of my mouth.

I thought she would have caught on to our relationship when her daughter brought a guy over... Did she not know?

No, she probably knew, but just hadn't expected me to openly call her by her given name.

Rion quickly regained her composure and nodded, prompting Hiyori to abruptly interject.

“L-let's just eat now.”

“What's with the formal speech? Are you playing coy?”

“Ah, what do you mean playing coy...! I do this sometimes...!”

Pouting, Hiyori scooped some nabe into my bowl.

I could see her hand trembling ever so slightly around the ladle.

It was incredibly refreshing to see someone who didn't seem the type get so nervous.

This was exactly the time when I should go a round with Hiyori...

I wondered if we should sneak out for a quick one after finishing the meal.

“Right, since when have you known Hiyori?”

Meeting Ryushin's gaze as he picked up his chopsticks and asked the question, I tilted my head as if the answer were a bit ambiguous.

“That's a little tricky to pin down. We officially met after Hiyori enrolled... but I had seen her once before that.”

“Before that?”

“I'm in the Kendo Club, and while I was riding the bus to a tournament, I saw Hiyori split from her friends and cross at a traffic light. Her vibrant demeanor stuck in my memory then, so I was really glad when we met at the Academy.”

“Something like that happened?”

“Yes.”

Glancing back and forth between her parents, who were intently listening to my story, Hiyori interjected once again to scold me.

“What do you mean you were glad...! You didn't even remember me at first...!”

Mmm. It saddened me that she was throwing cold water on the mood just when I was building up a favorable impression by bringing up our fateful encounter.

I'd have to make her gladly accept her punishment for this later.

“I remembered, I was just pretending I didn't.”

“Liar...!”

“It's true.”

“You're such a liar, seriously...!”

Rion rebuked Hiyori, who was laughing with a look that said I was talking complete nonsense.

“Watch your language, girl...”

“Sorry.”

Delivering an apology that held zero sincerity, Hiyori placed the bowl down in front of me.

“Enjoy your meal.”

Seeing how unfazed she was even with Rion scowling at her, she probably received regular lectures from her parents about speaking properly.

And Hiyori just let those lectures go in one ear and out the other.

Looking at it this way, the atmosphere seemed similar to Miyuki's house.

It'd probably be more accurate to call it a slightly more boisterous version of Midori's home.

I figured adjusting to this wouldn't be too hard.

“I think Mom and Dad really like you, sunbae.”

As we came out for a short stroll after finishing the meal, I perked up my ears at Hiyori's words.

“How do you know that?”

Of course, I was just feigning ignorance to keep the conversation flowing smoothly. The fact that the two of them viewed me favorably was obvious just from talking to them.

“I can tell just by looking. Normally Mom plays a ton of pranks on me even in front of others, but she did it a lot less today. Same goes for Dad...”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“That's a relief, then.”

“Why is it a relief?”

“Just because. But why did you put me on the spot during dinner earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was telling them about our first meeting, you embarrassed me by saying I didn't even remember you.”

“That wasn't embarrassing you, that was a fact.”

“I remembered you from the very beginning.”

“Stop lying.”

“It's the truth. That's why I approached you on purpose.”

Did she think my words were a joke?

Hiyori snorted.

Still, she must have felt good because the corners of her lips twitched upward; she was so cute I wanted to relentlessly pound her.

By the way, how would Hiyori react if she realized everything I said was the truth?

If she knew that I wasn't just attracted to her from our chance encounter on the bus, but had actually been targeting her from the very start?

I had absolutely no desire to tell her the truth, but I couldn't help being curious.

“That's not funny at all, you know?”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“I don't know.”

Scanning Hiyori as she acted coy, I glanced around our surroundings. Sensing danger, she asked in a trembling voice.

“W-what was that look just now?”

“What look?”

“You were thinking about doing it, weren't you...!”

Between Renka yesterday and now this, the heroines had finally reached a level where they could tell what I wanted just by looking at my face.

This was also proof that the end was nearing.

If I dragged my feet here, the heroines might get sick of the stagnant relationship.

It was right to open a new chapter and make a fresh start.

Of course, before that, I'd have to relieve the lust currently building up inside me.

In these kinds of home visits, it was a cliché for the teacher, threatening the future of a troublemaking daughter, to covet the mother's body...

It was a lifelong regret that I couldn't experience that thrill because I wasn't a teacher.

“I noticed something like a shed in the garden earlier. What's that place for?”

“It is a shed, but... wait, why... I'm not doing it with you today, sunbae...!”

“Sure, sure.”

“Don't give me that half-hearted answer...! I'm gonna scream...!”

“I just have to cover your mouth.”

“W-what...”

“Let's go inside. It's cold.”

“What do you mean cold...!? It's super hot! I'm sweating right now!”

“You talk too much. Just follow me.”

“N-no...!”

Half-forcing Hiyori to stand up as she shook her head wildly and threw her weight down, I retraced my steps, letting the blood rush to my lower half.

Doing it for real on the first home visit was a bit much, so I'd just scare her by acting like I was going to.

Then, later, I'd sneak back out with Hiyori and have some real fun.