NOVEL NEXT Chapter 70
“Yo, Ryuichi, what’re you gonna do about the sports festival?”
“Huh? I’ll probably just laze around or hit on a girl from outside.”
“You never change, do ya?”
“Shut up.”
Ryuichi laughed as he recalled this exchange he’d had during last year’s sports festival. Looking back on it now, it was baffling how much of a lust-crazed womanizer he used to be, but then again, he felt that he was still fundamentally the same even now considering what he was doing with Shizuna and the other girls.
“Ryuichi-kun?”
Shizuna, who was sitting next to him, was tilting her head to the side.
It was currently PE class, and since the sports festival is coming up, each student was in the middle of some physical training. Ryuichi had also just finished running with Makoto and Kaname, and sprinting because he was going to run a short-distance race.
“…Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
“I probably don’t need to ask, but… What’s the matter, Princess?”
Shizuna had called Ryuichi’s name with twinkles in her eyes. Ryuichi, who was more or less aware of what she was thinking, asked her this while keeping in mind the gazes of those around him. There was about 30 minutes left of class time, but his other classmates were either still exercising or taking a break.
“Can I scooch a little closer to you?”
As mentioned earlier, Ryuichi had just gotten back from working out a ton, plus, they were currently in the peak of summer, so he was sweating rather profusely.
So, Shizuna’s eyes were sparkling, Ryuichi was sweating, and she wanted to get closer to him… Ryuichi could clearly tell what she was thinking.
“…Do you like the stench of sweat that much?”
“Yup. ♪ To me, though, it’s not really a ‘stench’ so much as it’s a ‘scent.’”
“…I’m so lost.”
It wasn’t surprising that he didn’t smell his own sweat that often; the only time he did was when a towel or a piece of undressed clothing came close to his nose. It wasn’t a pleasant smell by any stretch of the imagination, but even so, Shizuna still seemed to like it.
“There we go.”
Moving her body, she came so close to him that she was barely touching his shoulder. She then turned her body toward him and sniffed his scent, and her cheeks gradually turned even redder. There was a subtle look of intoxication in her eyes, and she slowly reached out and touched Ryuichi’s arm.
“It’s so hard and big… I love it.”
Words alone could be very misleading. On an unrelated point, when the manga about this world drawn in Ryuichi’s previous life was completed, a survey was conducted to find out which phrase Shizuna had said that excited readers the most, and the words that the once innocent Shizuna had uttered with an enraptured look on her face after her corruption—the words she’d said just now—had been the indisputable winner.
“It’s so hard and biig~… I loveee it~. ♪”
Her expression in the manga and her expression now were very similar, and that alone was enough to arouse Ryuichi.
“You’re too lewd.”
“You’re the one who made me that way, aren’t you?”
Even in her replies, she chose words that tickled men’s hearts and threw them at them with precision. One could either take this as Shizuna having grown and matured, or as a source of change… It was probably the latter, and Ryuichi was the one who’d caused it.
“But you know, I think me being Mom’s daughter played a role in it, too.”
“…Ah~.”
Come to think of it, that’s right, he thought as he recalled the beautiful Sakie, who was very similar to Shizuna. She, too, had a masochistic side to her and a smell and muscle fetish, but at the same time, she had the same receptiveness, gentleness, and inner strength as Shizuna. Shizuna had inherited both the good and the bad from her, making them indeed mother and daughter.
“Hey, Ryuichi-kun, can we move to the shade?”
“…Do I dare ask what things you’re planning to do there?”
“What things? …There’s only one thing to play with here, isn’t there?”
She grinned suggestively as she stuck her tongue out. Shizuna probably meant it as a joke, but she wouldn’t be able to do such a reckless thing anyway since they were in the middle of class right now. In fact, they’d already decided not to do such things at school in the first place, so she must’ve meant it as a joke.
She’s really turned erotic, hasn’t she? I know she’s joking, but the Shizuna of the past would’ve never said things like that.
It seemed that in a way, Shizuna really did have an affinity for such character traits, after all. Be that as it may, he thought she had had a nontrivial amount of intent to make fun of him, even if only in jest, so it was only natural that he return the favor.
“………”
They weren’t visible to the eyes of those around them, so he pulled on Shizuna’s arm, who was still smiling nonchalantly. With a small scream, she settled into Ryuichi’s chest. He then tried to play more pranks on her, but she started sniffing his scent very intensely.
“…Haaaah. ♪”
“………”
Ryuichi put an end to his prank and slowly separated himself from Shizuna. Then, he and a disgruntled-eyed Shizuna resumed running with the rest of their classmates.
“What’s wrong, Shizuna?”
“…Nothing at all.”
“Nothing at all, you say… Ohh, haha~.”
Shizuna glanced at Ryuichi, then quickly averted her gaze. Seeing this, her friends immediately knew something had happened between them, and they directed indescribably lukewarm gazes toward Ryuichi.
“Hey, Shishido-kun, a junior of mine looks to be interested in you. If you’re okay with it, could you maybe meet her sometime—”
Halfway through her words, the girl became unable to speak due to the pressure Shizuna put on her.
And so, their eventful PE class ended just like that. Time passed, and it was now after school.
“Ah, Shishido.”
“What’s up?”
Sohei approached him as he was getting ready to leave. Their relationship had improved to the extent that he was able to talk to Shizuna as well as Ryuichi in a friendly manner, even though Shizuna was nearby.
“You work part-time at that place, right?”
“Yep. It just so happens that I have a shift today, too.”
“I see… Can I come visit today?”
“…Heh, you don’t need to ask for my permission, y’know?”
“Ah, then I’ll come visit too.”
They both stared at Shizuna, but apparently it was now a done deal. They then temporarily parted with Sohei and Ryuichi changed into his casual clothes before heading to Shizuna’s house.
“I never would’ve expected Sohei-kun to say something like that…”
“Well, it means he’s changed too.”
“…That’s true. But.”
Perhaps what Shizuna was concerned about was that Sohei’s mother would find out. Sohei’s mother seemed to be quite fastidious and would probably never allow her son to go to such an establishment. Yet despite that, the reason Sohei had decided to come visit was likely because of the kindness and warmth of the manager, Mihara, and the other women.
“To be blunt, I’m worried he’ll get scammed or tricked by some unruly couple in there.”
“…Well, I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
He was sure Sohei could tell the good from the bad, and besides, the employees of the club where Ryuichi worked were genuinely good people, so there was no point in worrying about it… Well, there were certainly some people who got completely absorbed in their encounters, but he was sure Sohei would be fine.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Yo.”
Sohei joined them, and the three of them headed for the club. Shizuna and Sohei sat at the counter where they could see the manager, while Ryuichi was hard at work by the manager’s side.
“…Why do I feel as if I’m being observed?”
“It’s fine. By the way, I’m glad you’ve come to visit, boy.”
“T-Thank you, sir.”
Sohei still seemed to be nervous. Approaching from behind Sohei was one of the employees, Mihara, who had previously accompanied him.
“Welcome, Sohei-kun.”
“H-Hi… Mihara-shan.”
He stuttered on his words a little, but that couldn’t be helped since he’d suddenly been hugged by her from behind. Though in this case, Mihara was standing and Sohei was sitting, so it would be more correct to say that she stuck her body close to his. She wrapped her arms around Sohei from behind, and Mihara’s mounds were directly touching the back of his head.
“What a naughty boy you are to come to a place like this.”
“Hey, don’t call it a ‘place like this.’”
The manager naturally inserted a retort. Then, Ryuichi and Mihara took their seats to serve Shizuna and Sohei, respectively.
“I see. So it’s almost time for the sports festival, huh?”
“Yes. I did a lot of preparation today, and—”
As Sohei got used to the atmosphere, he slowly got more fluent with his words, but still, he really did seem to be getting used to the place. Was it charming, or was it more appropriate to call it strange and peculiar? …Ryuichi and Shizuna were staring at him when the manager blurted out a few words.
“Mihara had a little brother, but he passed away a long time ago.”
“Huh?”
“Is that so?”
The manager nodded.
“Maybe she sees him in the boy. Well, we’ll just have to see how things change between them from here on out, but I hope something good happens for them.”
Although the manager had phrased it as such, Ryuichi and Shizuna could tell what he meant by that. They thought about how wonderful it’d be if it came true, and they let smiles show on their faces.
“Hey, boss, can we have some orange juice?”
“Sure… Ah, we’re out.”
“So there ain’t any juice…”
“There isn’t any juice, huh…”
“…I’ll go buy some.”
The manager in charge of the restaurant told them not to leave their seats, and they laughed as hard as they could to stop him from becoming so depressed.