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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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The next morning.
As usual, I woke up early and went to Miyuki’s house. I unbuckled my seatbelt as soon as I parked.
Midori was there, next to Miyuki.
I quickly got out of the car, bowed my head, and greeted her.
“Hello, Mrs. Hanazawa.”
“Hello, Matsuda-kun. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Midori was wearing a solid-colored, semi-fitted dress with a cardigan.
The fit, though not completely form-fitting, still revealed her curves to some extent.
It emphasized her already ample chest, slender waist, and hips. Suppressing the urge to discipline her for inappropriate attire, I replied, “Yes, it has been a while. How have you been?”
“We’ve been well. By the way, you haven’t been coming over lately… I’m a little disappointed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m just kidding. Let’s have dinner together when you have time. And take this.”
Midori handed me two long, vertically wrapped bundles.
I took them unconsciously and tilted my head.
“What are these?”
“My husband bought a lot of prepared eel yesterday, so I made some grilled eel with sauce. Eat it with Miyuki for lunch today. The pink one is yours, and the blue one is for Tetsuya-kun.”
Why would you make something like this?
Don’t sleep tonight, and come out around one or two in the morning and wait.
I’ll fold down the back seats and leave them like that just for you.
“Grilled eel? I’ve been wanting to eat some lately… Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
“No problem. Thank you for always taking Miyuki with you, even though it must be a hassle.”
“It’s no trouble at all.”
“I’m even more grateful that you say so. Please take good care of our Miyuki.”
Miyuki, with a troubled expression at the words that felt somehow suggestive, nudged Midori’s waist with her elbow.
“Mom…!”
“What are you doing?”
“No…! You’re saying weird things…”
“What’s so weird about it? Hurry up and go to school.”
“Okay…”
Miyuki slumped her shoulders at her mother’s scolding and walked towards me.
After saying goodbye to Midori, I got in the car. Miyuki opened the passenger door, got in, closed the door, and said, “I didn’t ask for that.”
She was referring to the grilled eel lunch boxes.
She seemed worried that I might get the wrong idea, since Midori happened to make a dish known for its aphrodisiac qualities.
Carefully placing the lunch boxes in the back seat, I shrugged.
“Who said anything?”
“…What a pain in the butt.”
“Did you just curse?”
“I didn’t curse…!”
The way she raised her tone at the end of her words as if throwing a tantrum was so cute…
Letting out a chuckle, I started the car slowly and said casually, “I think your mom has a vague idea about us. Just tell her you’re sleeping at my place from now on.”
“What are you talking about…? Mom doesn’t know anything yet.”
“That’s what you think. Did you ask her directly?”
“I don’t know… Hurry up and go…”
Miyuki being aloof in the morning… not bad.
But had Kana already left?
She’d probably be flustered to see me after the last incident. I kind of wanted to see her completely changed attitude, considering she used to always tease me.
I thought about visiting Miyuki’s house over the weekend for a meal.
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“Hey, Bread Girl.”
“Cough! Yes…?”
“What kind of bread is it today?”
“Th-This… is a tomato pasta croquette…”
“Isn’t it too early in the morning for fried food?”
“It’s okay… Cough! It’s okay…”
As I was talking to the still-timid Bread Girl, Miyuki hit my back rather hard.
“Ow! What was that for?”
I feigned pain and glared at Miyuki, who scolded me with a stern look.
“How can you interrupt someone while they’re eating? You’re giving Masako a hard time.”
“I was just talking.”
“Matsuda-kun, your face is so scary that just talking to someone is an interruption.”
“You’re being unreasonable again.”
“It’s not unreasonable, it’s the truth. Stop it and review yesterday’s lesson before class starts.”
“What review…? It’s not even exam period.”
“You need to consistently review and put it in your head so you can do well on the finals. You’ve been getting complacent after doing well on the midterms. You’ll end up last again like before.”
“You’re talking nonsense…”
The class president and Bread Girl, who were sitting in front of us, covered their mouths and laughed, probably amused by how obedient I was despite my grumbling.
They’d be moaning when they were under me later, so they might as well laugh now.
“Miyuki, I’m confused about the solution you taught me through video call yesterday… Can you explain it to me?”
Did he dislike the harmonious atmosphere between us?
Tetsuya dragged his chair over with his math book in hand and sat right behind Miyuki.
Miyuki nodded with a kind smile.
“Of course. What are you curious about?”
“This.”
“Oh… that part? You were struggling with it yesterday. First…”
Miyuki started tutoring him meticulously.
Tetsuya’s attitude towards Miyuki seemed to have become subtly more proactive… It was just pathetic seeing a cockroach-like existence acting like that.
“Do you understand now?”
Miyuki asked after finishing the detailed explanation. Tetsuya scratched his head.
I could see the bastard’s dandruff falling off, god damn it.
“I think I understand it roughly.”
“Then try solving this on your own, and if you don’t understand, ask me again.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have questions about anything else?”
“Um… not at the moment. Thanks.”
Tetsuya stood up, smiled brightly, glanced at me, and returned to his seat.
I could tell he was trying to give Miyuki a refreshing smile just now…
Why was he doing such an unnatural thing?
Did they talk about ideal types during their video call yesterday?
Was he acting like that because Miyuki said she liked guys with nice smiles?
Whatever it was, his constant awareness of me was getting annoying, like a buzzing fly.
I felt like I’d feel better if I could just punch him in the face, but would I get the chance?
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“Ah… So in this case, you parry downwards.”
“Yes. It’s not easy to regain your posture, is it?”
“Yes. Thank you for the valuable lesson today.”
“No problem. Your attitude is good, so it’s rewarding to teach you. Let’s keep working hard.”
“Of course, Captain.”
Renka and Tetsuya exchanged heartwarming words of encouragement.
I watched them as I carried a water bottle, and when Renka looked my way, I nodded.
“Hello, Captain.”
She shuddered, as if recalling yesterday’s events.
Tetsuya looked back and forth between Renka and me with a bewildered expression, then his face turned slightly serious, as if he was having some strange delusion…
It was a very satisfying scene.
“…Hello.”
Grinning at Renka’s reluctant greeting, I finished my task and opened the door to the storage room where Chinami was.
Then,
“Mwuh? Oh, hewwo?”
Chinami, who was busily chewing on something, greeted me.
Her puffed-out cheeks suggested she had stuffed something large in her mouth…
Frowning, I approached her and asked, “What are you eating all by yourself?”
“Wash gway.”
“What?”
“Wash gway.”
“Rice cake?”
Chinami nodded up and down, and a strong peach scent wafted from her.
Why were her cheeks so puffed out just from eating a rice cake?
Was it particularly large?
“Iths hawrd.”
“It’s hard?”
“Yes…”
It seemed so.
I took two tissues from the storage room, placed them on top of each other in my palm, and held them out to Chinami.
“Spit it out.”
She shook her head, seemingly reluctant.
“If you don’t spit it out, your chin will become square, you know?”
“Whaaat…?”
Alarmed by my playful threat, Chinami snatched the tissues and turned away.
Then, she struggled to spit out the rice cake that was filling her mouth.
“Mweeugh…”
Making a strange noise, Chinami wrapped the rice cake in the tissues and tossed them into the trash can.
“Phew…! That was a tough battle… Although I brought it on myself.”
“What kind of rice cake was it that you couldn’t even chew properly?”
“This one.”
Chinami took something out of a black plastic bag in the corner of the storage room and handed it to me.
It was a very large, flesh-colored rice cake.
A kind I’d never seen before. It was even hard to the touch.
As I examined the rice cake with curious eyes, Chinami moved her jaw and explained what it was.
“My elementary school nephew made it at school. He said he made it peach-flavored for me.”
“…Really? Then you could have just cut it into smaller pieces. Why did you put the whole thing in your mouth?”
“My nephew said he wanted to see me eat the whole rice cake in one bite… I put it in my mouth and took a picture, then tried to spit it out, but it was stuck. I tried to chew it, but it was too hard.”
Her nephew was quite the prankster.
Well, that was typical of elementary school kids.
“I say this every time, but you are too naive, Master.”
“Is it that bad? That’s a serious problem. I’ll try to be more wicked from now on.”
Even if you did wicked things, you’d still look cute.
Like a villain who plots evil schemes but always fails, which might actually suit you better.
“I’ll be rooting for you. Are you free the day after tomorrow?”
“If it’s for a thump-thump massage, I’m free.”
“I’m planning to do that next time.”
“I see… What are you planning to do tomorrow?”
“I was thinking of having ice cream with Miyuki and you.”
“With Hanazawa-kouhai? I’d love to!”
She clapped her hands, unable to hide her excitement. She seemed to simply enjoy meeting new people.
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes! I’ll have to have an in-depth conversation with Hanazawa-kouhai about Momo-chan tomorrow.”
“Why Momo-chan?”
“To recruit Hanazawa-kouhai into the Momo-dan, of course. Mmm… it’s a very worthwhile endeavor.”
Corrupting Miyuki, huh? Ambitious.
I wouldn’t let that happen.
“I’ll be cheering you on. Then let’s go home together the day after tomorrow after club activities.”
“Okay.”
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“Hey, Matsuda.”
Tetsuya called out to me as I was waiting for Miyuki in the parking lot.
His voice was subdued, as if he had something he wanted to say.
“What?”
“Did something happen with the Captain and you?”
Here it comes.
I had a strong feeling that Tetsuya was about to screw up, that his inferiority complex was about to explode.
Leaning against the car and killing time on my phone, I stood up straight and looked at him.
“What do you mean, something happened?”
“When you greeted her earlier, the Captain’s eyes looked unusual… She said nothing was wrong, but I don’t think that’s true.”
“Really? You can read people’s minds just by looking at their eyes?”
“As if. It’s just a feeling.”
“Nothing happened. You’re worrying over nothing.”
“Then that’s good. The grilled eel we had for lunch… it was delicious, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was good.”
“Miyuki’s mother doesn’t usually make grilled eel, so we were lucky today.”
He was subtly implying that he frequently ate food made by Miyuki’s mother.
I nodded indifferently.
“I guess so.”
“By the way, it’s unexpected.”
“I didn’t think you’d be so close to Miyuki. She’s the type who doesn’t even look at people she dislikes, she’s very clear about her preferences…”
Clear about her preferences?
If he knew how indecisive Miyuki was when we were intimate, he wouldn’t say that.
“I guess she didn’t hate me enough to want me dead in the end, huh?”
“Hey… that’s not what I meant.”
Tetsuya waved his hand dismissively, as if I was talking nonsense.
He was starting to get on my nerves, and it was interesting.
Letting out a light laugh, I nudged his shoulder.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“No, well… Miyuki’s coming. Let’s talk later.”
Tetsuya said, looking over my shoulder.
I turned around and saw Miyuki walking towards us quickly, just as he said.
I felt like I was close to having a reason to slap him… Too bad.
Suppressing my disappointment, I opened the driver’s side door.
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Thanks Neko!
Thank ye, Nek-o