How To Ruin A Love Comedy – Chapter 143

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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“I’m home…” Renka announced her return in a weary voice.

Remembering that her family was out, she headed straight for the bathroom. After a thorough shower, she went to her room. A smile bloomed on her face as she carefully cleaned the precious limited-edition figure from its shopping bag and placed it in her display case.

Time had been tight, but since the company hadn’t advertised it heavily, and it was a figure from a relatively obscure anime, she managed to snag one before they sold out.

Honestly, when she learned that Matsuda would be using his wish, she had half-given up and planned to buy a used one, but she was glad she managed to get a brand new one in the end. If she had missed out on this, she would have regretted agreeing to Matsuda’s proposal.

Satisfied with completing another addition to her anime collection, Renka sprawled out on her bed. She hadn’t spent that much time with Matsuda, but it felt like two days had passed. That’s how mentally draining this wish had been.

The cosplay was weighing on her mind. What was a “common” cosplay, as opposed to an anime character? Was it something like a bunny girl outfit, the kind you’d see on Halloween?

‘He thanked me for indulging his preferences before we left the hotel…’

She hadn’t expected him to be into SM… He didn’t look the type. It was surprising. She hoped he wasn’t expecting something extreme, like a ripped police uniform and a role-play scenario where she was a defeated officer, or something involving bondage. Though, he did say she could beat him up and report him if it was too much… so he probably wouldn’t go that far.

“That perverted bastard…!”

Renka cursed Matsuda under her breath as her mind ran wild imagining all sorts of delusions before ultimately accepting the inevitable: She might as well just follow Matsuda’s orders without complaint to avoid giving him any more ammunition. And then, it would be time for revenge. She hadn’t decided how to use her remaining wish yet, but she would make sure to wear Matsuda down mentally and physically.

Renka pulled the blanket over her head. Just then,

*buzz!*

Her phone vibrated. She reached out and fumbled for it, bringing it under the covers and turning on the screen.

[Matsuda Ken has sent you a gift certificate.]

‘…What?’

A gift certificate out of the blue? She tilted her head and tapped the notification, her eyes widening at the sight of a 30% discount coupon for an online shopping mall. It was a well-known coupon in the subculture community, and many of the affiliated stores sold figures, making it a very useful gift for Renka. But wasn’t it too much of a coincidence? Of all the gifts he could have sent, why this?

Did Matsuda know her secret?

As Renka was trying to decipher the meaning behind the gift,

*buzz!*

[I had some leftover from buying figures and stuff, so I thought you could use it.]

A message from Matsuda arrived. Renka licked her lips and typed a reply.

[Why are you giving this to me? As if I’d have any use for this…]

[Your niece likes figures, right? It should be valid for a couple more days, so I thought it would be useful when you buy her another gift.]

Ah… Matsuda remembered the excuse she had used when she bought that limited-edition figure. She could probably relax now… but she should still be careful.

Relieved but still slightly suspicious, Renka replied,

[Then I’ll put it to good use, you trash.]

[Thank you for the compliment.]

How could he be so shameless? Was he always this optimistic? But he did let her rest… so he wasn’t completely inconsiderate… Maybe she should go easy on him with her last wish…?

Renka shook her head vigorously.

‘No, wait… How is that being considerate?’

She had earned her break through a legitimate trade, by indulging Matsuda’s strange kink. She shouldn’t be swayed.

As Renka was trying to compose herself,

“Aaaaagh!”

She screamed and kicked her blanket in frustration. She was mortified at the thought of having sold her body like that for a break. She had made a complete fool of herself today. But what else could she have done? Her first experience in the cage was pure torture.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

She sighed repeatedly, trying to erase the day’s events from her mind. Then, she saw another text from Matsuda and scoffed.

[What are you doing now?]

[None of your business.]

[Okay. See you later.]

That was the last she heard from him. He didn’t bother her anymore. Renka stared at her silent phone and closed her eyes, trying to calm her frayed nerves.

But… Why was she feeling a strange sense of disappointment?

Was she mistaking it for relief?

Probably.

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Sunday afternoon.

Miyuki returned from her relatives’ house and immediately started helping Midori unpack. She casually brought up the topic of staying over at a friend’s house.

“Mom, can I go to a friend’s house today?”

“Not if you’re going to sleep over.”

“Aw, why not…? I’ve been coming home on time lately…”

“What are you going to do at your friend’s house?”

Study, of course… Final exams are coming up…

“Last time, you used midterms as an excuse, and now you’re doing the same thing again?”

“Oh… Did I?”

Miyuki scratched the back of her head sheepishly. Midori chuckled and shook her head at her childish daughter. Then, she looked around as if searching for Wataru and asked,

“Are you really going to a friend’s house? Just a friend?”

‘Just a friend’…

It was a loaded question. Miyuki’s heart skipped a beat.

“Huh…? Who else would it be but a friend…?”

“Really?”

“…Yes, really…?”

“Okay, you can go if you’re coming back today.”

“Why can’t I sleep over?”

“You can’t impose on your friend’s parents like that all the time.”

Midori’s emphasis on the word “friend” and her slightly raised tone suggested that she suspected something. No, she didn’t just suspect; she knew about Miyuki and Matsuda. It would be strange if she didn’t, considering Miyuki hadn’t provided much information about this mysterious friend, had snuck some of her belongings out to take to Matsuda’s place, and had been mentioning him more frequently lately.

Perhaps Midori had known all along but had pretended not to notice for Miyuki’s sake. Parents could tell everything just by looking at their children’s eyes.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

Miyuki had always known this day would come, and she had anticipated being incredibly embarrassed, but… she felt surprisingly calm. Why? Was it because Midori wasn’t scolding her and was speaking gently? She didn’t know. She might as well just come clean.

Miyuki took a deep breath and said, “Can I go to Matsuda-kun’s house?”

The corners of Midori’s mouth twitched upwards before returning to their normal position. Miyuki’s face flushed as she realized her suspicion was correct.

“Can I…?”

“When will you be back?”

Midori’s question implied she knew everything. Miyuki asked in resignation,

“When should I be back…?”

“Don’t be late. Tomorrow is a weekday.”

‘Tomorrow is a weekday’… That was another loaded statement. Miyuki nodded, relieved by Midori’s gentle response.

“Okay… I’m going…?”

“Yes.”

With tacit approval, Miyuki left the house with a light heart and took public transportation to Matsuda’s place. She unlocked the front door with her key, walked across the familiar stone path, stepped onto the porch, opened the closed window, and went inside.

Matsuda’s unique, refreshing scent filled the air, lifting her spirits. She was about to snuggle up to Matsuda, who was lying on the futon under a blanket, when,

“Huh…?”

She noticed an electronic device on the low table next to the futon and tilted her head.

‘A laptop?’

It was brand new. Did Matsuda buy it? He could have at least told her.

Miyuki was about to wake Matsuda up when she saw the open laptop and her curiosity piqued. He seemed to have fallen asleep while looking at something… but when they texted that morning, he said he was just watching TV at home. That meant he had lied to her.

Of course, he could watch TV on his laptop, but it was unlikely, considering the large TV right in front of him. And if he had been, he would have told her.

Had he been watching porn?

Her friends with boyfriends had mentioned it before. Regardless of whether they had a girlfriend or wife, all men watched porn. If they said they didn’t, they were lying.

Miyuki had thought about asking Matsuda about it sometime. She had wanted to tease him about it, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

She glanced at Matsuda, who was still fast asleep, and giggled softly, sitting down at the table. She was looking for the power button when,

“Miyuki…?”

A sleepy voice from behind startled her.

“Huh…?”

She instinctively turned around and gave Matsuda, who was sitting up and staring at her intently, an awkward smile.

“Y-you’re awake…?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when…?”

“Just now. I heard a rustling sound.”

He hadn’t noticed her entering earlier, but now he had sharp ears. He was full of surprises.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh… I saw you got a new laptop, so I was just about to look at it…”

Matsuda’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He casually reached over and closed the laptop, placing it aside. Then, he grabbed Miyuki’s wrist, pulled her into his arms, and lay back down.

“Let’s sleep a little longer… We can talk when we wake up.”

Hadn’t Matsuda just tried to hide something? He was awfully quick for someone who had just woken up… She was now almost certain that the laptop contained porn.

She was going to look at it someday. And then, she would tease him about it relentlessly.

After making that mental note, Miyuki hugged Matsuda’s waist, and simply enjoyed being in his arms.

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