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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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When we arrived at the mountain on the outskirts of Tokyo, the evening sun had already set.
Deciduous trees, tinged with orange, stretched out on both sides, creating a beautiful scene in harmony with the sunset.
Other club members seemed to share my sentiment, as exclamations of admiration erupted throughout the bus.
Glancing at Renka, I saw her gazing out the window with a faint smile, her arm resting on the armrest. She seemed to be enjoying the beautiful scenery.
Tetsuya was sleeping with his mouth slightly open, looking so pathetic that I wanted to punch him in the face.
And Chinami…
“Mmm…”
Was sound asleep, comfortably resting on a Momo-chan neck pillow. She was leaning against my shoulder, making smacking sounds as if dreaming of eating delicious food.
Since we were almost there, I shook Chinami awake.
“Master.”
“Mm…?”
Chinami blinked sleepily, looking up at me. I poked her cheek with my index finger, and it dented deeply. Perhaps because she had been sleeping, her muscles were completely relaxed, making her cheek incredibly soft. It was almost as warm and soft as Miyuki’s.
I wanted to touch it more.
After briefly playing with Chinami’s cheek, which showed a subdued reaction due to her drowsiness, I said,
“Master, we’re almost there.”
“Okay…”
“You need to wake up now. Drink some water first.”
I held a water bottle with a straw close to Chinami’s dry lips, and she bit the tip of the straw. Then, still with blurry eyes, she sipped the water.
“Mmm… It tastes sweet…”
She mumbled like an old woman, her voice thick with sleep. I chuckled and, while Chinami stretched, I cleaned up the empty peach pack and jelly wrappers.
Meanwhile, the bus pulled into the entrance of the mountain lodge.
The moderately sized parking lot was completely empty. Also, five or six employees were waiting outside, holding a banner that read, “Welcome, Yeboni Academy Kendo Club,” suggesting we were the only guests. Did they only accept one academy at a time for focused care?
That was a good thing for me.
*Beep-!*
Lost in admiring the exterior of the lodge, I was startled by a short, sharp sound and looked forward. There was Goro, grinning, with a whistle in his mouth.
Blowing a whistle inside the bus was a bit much. His enthusiasm was excessive.
“Everyone, wake up and get off.”
At Goro’s solemn words, the club members, coming to their senses, sluggishly sat up. I removed Chinami’s neck pillow, who was still half-asleep, rubbing her eyes.
“Shall we get off?”
“Yes…”
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Our room was a tatami room, and it could accommodate five people. Actually, it was actually called a “five-person room.” Since all the rooms were clustered within the traditional house, we could easily move to other rooms. Just open the sliding door and take a few steps.
It was the perfect accommodation for having fun. Looking at the excited faces of the club members, I had a feeling they would be having a drinking party at night. I had absolutely no intention of participating, so it didn’t matter to me… but they would probably get caught by Goro and be severely scolded.
“Well, I’ll be in your care, Matsuda.”
Tetsuya, who was sharing a room with me, said. I didn’t know what he meant by “being in my care.”
I nodded vaguely and asked,
“Do you snore?”
“I don’t. Don’t worry.”
You, who possessed every pathetic human flaw, how could I not worry? I was already so anxious I was sighing.
“That’s good. Assembly is in 15 minutes, so change your clothes and unpack.”
“I don’t have much to unpack, so it’s okay. Should I lay out the bedding now? We’ll be tired after training…”
“They said today’s training is light.”
“How do you know?”
“As a manager, I should know these things. But where are you going to sleep?”
“Shouldn’t the senpais decide first? I’ll ask them. I need to use the restroom first…”
After watching Tetsuya enter the room’s bathroom, I called Miyuki.
The phone rang only twice before Miyuki’s voice came through.
-Hello, Matsuda-kun. Did you arrive safely?
“Yeah. I just got to the room. What are you doing?”
-I just got back from meeting my friends. How’s the room? Is it nice?
“It’s alright. I’m sharing a room with Miura.”
-Oh really? So you two are sleeping together?
“No. It’s a five-person room, so I have to share it with three second and third-year senpais.”
-Is that so? This is a good chance to open up to each other and get closer to Tetsuya.
I could say with certainty that that would never happen.
“Go to sleep early today. We have assembly, dinner, and then training right after, so I don’t know when it’ll end.”
-That sounds like a tough schedule… Send me a text before you go to bed.
“I will. I’m hanging up now.”
-Okay. Train hard.
After finishing the call, which was similar to usual but a bit sweeter, I knocked on the bathroom door, telling Tetsuya I was leaving first, and opened the room’s door.
Then, I went to the assembly point and met Chinami. She was taking out the equipment, including the armor, from the bus luggage compartment. I hurried over to Chinami and practically snatched the box she was holding.
“Why are you doing this alone? We can do it together.”
Chinami blinked and replied,
“Dinner is in five minutes. I was just organizing things while I had time. So it would be easier to move them later.”
“Just leave it. I’ll do it after dinner.”
“We should do it together.”
“You were just doing it alone. It’s only fair if I do it alone next time.”
“That’s absurd logic. That’s incredibly unfair and unreasonable.”
“Think of it as punishment for acting on your own.”
“Huh…? Where in the world is there a student who punishes their Master?”
She looked so cute protesting with a pout.
I put the box down and, without warning, placed my hand on the back of Chinami’s neck.
“Hic…!?”
Chinami hiccuped, raising her shoulders. As I gently scratched the top of her neck where her hairline was, her wide eyes softened.
“Mha…”
A languid sigh escaped her lips, and her raised shoulders relaxed, becoming limp. Her eyes darted around as she gazed at me intently. Perhaps because it had been a while since I had touched that area, her reaction was immediate, and I felt like she might almost start to lose her mind if I continued.
“Kouhai…! What are you doing…”
“Do you like it?”
“I, I do… but you can’t do this here…!”
Chinami, barely holding onto her composure, let out a high-pitched moan. It happened because I had pressed and caressed the protruding area near her cervical vertebrae. She had always liked it when I touched this spot… and it seemed the same now.
“Chinami! Are you there!? It’s time for assembly!”
At Renka’s voice from afar, Chinami’s eyes widened. As if deciding she couldn’t take it anymore, she clenched her fists and ran off. And as soon as she was free from my touch, she let out a pent-up breath.
“Haa… Haa…!”
I wasn’t even holding her back, but seeing her act as if she had just escaped from a kidnapping made me want to laugh. She patted her chest, calming herself, and said,
“Matsuda-kouhai… are you going to keep touching me without permission like this…?”
“You looked like you were struggling carrying heavy things. I wanted to give you a massage since it’s been a while, and as your student, I wanted to take care of you…”
“I… I don’t want a massage right now…! I hope you’ll be more careful next time…!”
Was I mistaken in thinking she emphasized the word “now”? Probably not.
“I will. The walking trail around the lodge is nice. How about a short walk after training?”
“Ah…! That sounds like a great idea, but… training might be tough, so let’s decide depending on the situation.”
“You said today’s training isn’t too intense.”
“That’s ‘not too intense’ by the coach’s standards. It’ll be very tough by our standards.”
Considering Goro’s personality, he would definitely push us hard.
“Then you’ll be exhausted.”
“Well… probably?”
A massage would be perfect then. Since I knew a good spot where no one from outside could come in, I should gently persuade Chinami during our walk.
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Even though I often ate school lunches at the academy, this group meal felt quite unfamiliar. Perhaps it was because Renka and Chinami were here. And the still-awkward Tetsuya too.
“Matsuda.”
At Renka’s call from across the table, I swallowed the food in my mouth and looked up.
“Yes?”
“You’re free tomorrow at lunchtime, right?”
“Why?”
“You’ve only been learning from Chinami lately. You need to learn from various people who mainly use chūdan to learn diverse countermeasures.”
“So you’re going to teach me?”
“That’s right. You said you’d work hard, and I said I’d help. Like I said before, I’ll let you have the practice match you wanted. But only if you promise to follow my training without complaint.”
She was scheming. Judging by the situation, she was probably planning to push me hard under the pretense of mental training. Also, her confident tone suggested she had a way to put me in my place.
Would she have a match with me directly? Or would she pit me against another skilled member? And, was there a way to ensure the former?
“Captain, what about me? I want to learn from you too.”
“Of course, I’ll teach you too.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my best to follow your lead.”
Lost in thought, I saw Tetsuya, oblivious, interjecting into the conversation. This was a good opportunity. He was offering himself up as a stepping stone, driven by his growing inferiority complex towards me. It would be a waste not to use him.
“Renka is right. My chūdan is only at a basic level, so learning from her would be very helpful for you too, Matsuda-kouhai. You promised, didn’t you? That even if you learned mainly jōdan, you wouldn’t neglect chūdan.”
I looked at Chinami, who was siding with Renka, then turned my gaze back to Renka.
“How long will it be?”
“Depends on your guts.”
What a petty provocation. I’ll accept the challenge.
Shoveling food into my mouth, I nodded.
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
“Good thinking. We’ll start shortly after lunch tomorrow, so be prepared.”
“Sure.”
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Tyftc
I love how Matsuda have such a big hater energy towards Tetsuya, I think I will love a whole chapter on how Matsuda describes his hatred towards Tetsuya