Chapter 232: It's a Common Cliché, but It's Annoying
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 232: It's a Common Cliché, but It's Annoying
“Thank you, enjoy your coffee!”
Renka’s voice rang out as she handed the coffee to the customer.
I approached her as I watched the customer leave the cafe.
“Captain.”
“...What.”
“Why does your voice get like that when I call you?”
“Like what?”
“You’re being unfriendly.”
“How can you even say that!? You...”
“Was the candy good? Want another?”
“Ngh...!”
Renka’s expression turned troubled, as if she was recalling what had happened in the changing room.
Seeing her fine brow furrow, I asked, “You don’t want one?”
“...No. And stop talking to me like I’m a child. It’s incredibly annoying.”
“I’ve never done that... Anyway, what are you doing today?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sounds like you have nothing planned. Should we get dinner together before heading home?”
“No.”
“You like pasta, don’t you?”
“Not really.”
Why does she keep playing hard to get? She’s going to come anyway.
Giving Renka a condescending smile, I waited for her to get annoyed and then subtly reached out my hand.
“Hk!?”
Did she get scared because my large hand was coming toward her?
Or was her heart pounding because she thought the same thing as before was about to happen?
Letting out a short gasp, Renka squeezed her eyes shut.
Her reflexive action was amusing.
Hiding my true thoughts as best I could, I asked in a puzzled tone, “What are you doing?”
Then, with my thumb and forefinger, I plucked off a bit of whipped cream that was stuck to the bangs of Renka, who was trying to squint one eye open.
“Wh-what was that...?”
“What do you mean? You had whipped cream on your bangs, so I wiped it off.”
“...I must have gotten it on me while topping the coffee.”
“I guess so. What’s with you being so clumsy? Looks like you’re starting to take after our Master, Captain.”
“N-No, I’m not...?”
“What do you mean, no? Stop moving and stay still. Are you a teenager? Is this your rebellious phase?”
“I told you not to use informal speech...!”
“Alright, alright.”
Ignoring Renka, who was glaring daggers at my cheeky, informal reply, I pulled out a tissue and wiped away all the white cream remaining on her bangs.
Where else in the world would you find a master like me? Renka had better be good to me.
“All done.”
“.....”
“Aren’t you going to thank me?”
“No. I never asked you to wipe it.”
“You’re really not going to?”
“Yeah.”
Swoosh.
I moved to the side of the coy Renka and subtly placed a hand on the small of her back.
“Gah...!”
Renka’s body flinched with a sound like a wildcat.
She stared at me with wide eyes, then swallowed dryly, her expression showing she had no idea what to do.
Pressing myself right up against her side, I asked again, “You’re really not going to?”
“Th-Th... Thank you...! Thank you, so stop clinging to me...!”
“You’re not just saying that because you feel forced to, are you?”
“No...! I’m really grateful...!”
“And you’re okay with pasta for dinner?”
“Yes...! I like pasta...!”
Even as she nodded her head frantically, fidgeting restlessly, she didn’t tell me to take my hand away.
It was proof that while she was flustered, she didn’t dislike my touch.
Having secured our plans, I grinned in satisfaction and patted Renka’s back two or three times.
“Then let’s go eat after we clock out together.”
“Okay...! Now take your hand off...!”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why...!? Who said you could just touch my body whenever you want...?”
“I did.”
“.....”
My shameless answer seemed to stun her. Even in her flustered state, Renka wore a look of utter disbelief.
I gently caressed the curve where her hip met her waist one more time.
“Eek...!”
I enjoyed her reaction as she pressed her arms tightly against her ribs, then I removed my hand.
Leaving her to catch her breath as if she’d just run a full sprint, I turned to greet a customer who had just entered the cafe.
* * *
Bzzz-!
During lunch break, after sending Renka off first, I was working when a vibration in my pocket prompted me to take out my phone.
A notification from the AniShare app was on the screen.
Wondering what it was, I opened it to find a private message from Run Ino-chan.
[( ·`⌓´·) Trash-nim, are you there?]
Seeing it, I couldn’t hide the smile spreading across my face.
So she’s rebelling like this because she’s afraid of retaliation if she defies me to my face.
It seems she now completely thinks M.K is me... It’s both funny and cute.
What kind of face will she make later when I tell her I knew her identity all along?
Just imagining it is thrillingly fun. I should save it, save it, and then drop the bomb when the time is right.
With that thought, I tapped on my phone and sent a reply.
[Why the profanity again?]
[Just because. Have a good day.]
[You’re insane.]
No more messages came after that.
As I was chuckling at Renka’s timid revenge, a voice laced with sarcasm came from behind me.
“Who said you could be on your phone during work hours?”
I let out a silent, hollow laugh.
The timing was incredibly coincidental.
Was it just a coincidence? Or did Renka send the message and then immediately come inside just to find fault with me?
The former was more likely, but if it was the latter, I wouldn’t know whether to call it cute or pathetic.
“I was just looking at it for a second.”
“What were you doing?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Got a secret you can’t talk about?”
It was funny how she was trying to pry into my business with that sly tone.
“That’s not it.”
“Then tell me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why is it that whenever I try to do something, you pry into every little detail, but you try to hide your own business? Isn’t it only fair that you answer honestly when I ask you something?”
Renka argued as if she’d been wronged.
Seeing her act a little obsessive was incredibly endearing.
“Feeling wronged?”
“Not really, but it’s unfair.”
“Isn’t that what feeling wronged is?”
“I don’t feel wronged...? It’s really pathetic how you just assume things.”
“Pathetic?”
“Yeah. Super pathetic.”
“There you go, saying hurtful things again.”
“Whatever.”
She gets so flustered at the slightest touch, yet she still insists on challenging me like this.
Still, this bickering is far more entertaining than her being obedient all the time.
As I pondered how I should toy with Renka, who seemed to have even less tolerance for my touch than Miyuki or even Chinami...
Swoosh.
The cafe door opened and a male customer walked in. I turned toward the door with a bright smile.
“Welcome to Cafe 24.”
“Hello. One iced coffee...”
The man, who had been placing his simple order, turned his gaze toward Renka.
It seemed her looks had naturally drawn his eye.
This happened almost every day, and I was getting tired of even cursing them out anymore. I just had to get him to pay and send him on his way.
With that in mind, I was about to state the price on the POS machine when the man spoke to Renka, making me pause.
“Uh... Inoo?”
Renka paused as well. She had been about to prepare the espresso, but upon hearing her last name, she looked at the man with wide, round eyes.
“Who are you...?”
“It is you...? You don’t remember me?”
“Well... I’m not sure... Ah...!”
Tilting her head, Renka scrutinized the man’s face before suddenly letting out a high-pitched gasp of recognition.
“Yoshida...? Yoshida Kenichi from Oike Middle School?”
At Renka’s words, the man’s face lit up.
“That’s right! You remember me?”
“It’s been so long...! How have you been?”
“I’ve been great. You?”
“Me too... I’m doing well. It’s really good to see you.”
The flow of the conversation was quite familiar.
A similar event had occurred in DokiAka.
It wasn’t exactly the same, but a jealousy-inducing cliché is a jealousy-inducing cliché.
If Renka couldn’t recall his name at first, they clearly weren’t close.
So I could just let it slide, but experiencing it in person was surprisingly annoying.
So this is why so many people use this worn-out cliché. Now I think I get it.
But wait, isn’t DokiAka a game for a male audience?
In that case, the jealousy event should normally be initiated by me to make the heroine jealous... Just like the crappy game it is, it’s happening in reverse.
I could let Renka and this guy continue their conversation, but I didn’t want to.
Just standing there blankly and getting anxious like Tetsuya wasn’t my style.
Making a quick decision, I cut in just as Renka was about to say something to the man.
“I can help you with your iced coffee. Is that for takeout?”
The man flinched slightly before taking out his money.
“Ah, yes.”
I didn’t care if he thought I had no tact.
Getting rid of this guy who was acting all friendly with my slave was more important.
I wasn’t going to give him a coupon, either. Don’t come back.
If you do, I’ll not only netorare every single woman around you, but I’ll also instill a netorase fetish in you so you’ll voluntarily offer up your girlfriend.
Though I had no idea if he even had a girlfriend.
* * *
“Why the sour face?” Renka asked after sending her old classmate off with a simple goodbye.
I turned only my head to look at her and retorted, “You think my face is sour?”
“Yeah.”
I wasn’t happy that this ridiculous cliché had happened, but I might as well play along.
I’ll use this as a chance for some skinship and to properly educate Renka that she is my property.
“Captain.”
“What.”
“Come here.”
I grabbed Renka’s wrist and pulled her into the changing room.
Then, before she could say anything, I got right in her face and stared at her seriously.
“Wh-what...? Why are you doing this again...?”
Looking up at me with a face full of tension, Renka was met with my steady gaze as I asked, “Were you close with that guy?”
“...Why are you asking that?”
“Just answer me. Don’t piss me off.”
“I don’t want to...?”
I expected that answer.
But does she look vaguely pleased? Or am I imagining it?
I scoffed and took the hand of Renka, who was pouting.
“Gah!?”
Then, while she was startled, I interlocked our fingers and pressed the back of her hand firmly against a locker.
“W-w-w-what do you think you’re doing right now...!?”
She was stuttering badly.
Seeing her get progressively more freaked out, she must not have expected my actions at all.
Fully feeling the slight coolness of Renka’s hand, I touched my forehead to hers, just like yesterday.
Furthermore, I placed my other hand gently on her hip and lowered my voice as much as possible.
“Were you close?”
“H-He was just a classmate...! We barely even talked...!” she finally confessed honestly.
I furrowed my brow as if I wasn’t satisfied and said, “And I’m supposed to believe that?”
“I don’t know why I have to explain this to you... but he was just a classmate, we were nothing to each other...! Really...!”
Renka’s ears had turned red as she gave her hurried explanation. The hand that was interlocked with mine fidgeted intensely.
It seemed she wanted to escape somehow but was struggling due to the difference in our strength.
Renka was probably familiar with this kind of action.
Why? Because it’s one of the most common scenes in romance-comedy manga for women.
Simply put, from Renka’s perspective, this was also a common cliché.
How was she taking this situation right now?
Judging by the color of her face, she wasn’t capable of thinking at all.
“Hic...! S-Stop...! Stop it...!”
When I applied pressure with the hand on her hip, she let out a moan tinged with a hint of sweetness and squirmed.
She looked like she couldn’t adjust to the unfamiliar touch of a man.
I should try being a little more forceful.
As Renka’s struggling intensified, I looked down at her silently before speaking in a half-declarative tone.
“From now on, watch how you act.”
“Wh-what...? How I act...?”
“Yes.”
“Are you crazy...? What is there for me to watch or not watch...!? F-First, let go of this...! Get your hand off me...!”
“I’ll let go if you say you understand.”
“You selfish bastard...! You piece of trash...!”
The fact that she called me selfish meant she understood perfectly.
As expected, Renka is a natural-born slave.
Let’s raise the stakes a little from yesterday.
“An accurate assessment.”
Shrugging off her insults, I brought my lips extremely close to hers.
“Hup!”
Renka sucked in a sharp breath, pressed her lips tightly together, and froze completely.
She had realized that the slightest movement would cause our lips to touch.
Looking at her, I made another attempt at her education.
“If you understand, just blink twice.”
“.....”
“If you don’t want to, we can just stay like this. We won’t be able to serve any customers, though.”
At those words, Renka’s eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Feeling the temperature of our clasped hands gradually rising, I silently waited for her answer.
“.....”
Did she decide she had to escape this situation first?
Renka’s eyes, which had been wide open as if they would never close, slowly shut.
Blink, and blink again.
Confirming that her eyelids had closed and opened twice, I let her go and smiled in satisfaction.
“Puha...!”
As she exhaled the breath she had been holding, I wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with my hand and said, “Good girl.”
Despite my tone, which was like that of someone disciplining a small child, Renka couldn’t retort and could only pant.
Seeing Renka’s legs, which looked like they were about to give out and send her collapsing to the floor, I grabbed my coat hanging in the changing room and draped it around her.
“Rest for a bit before you come out. I’ll handle things by myself.”
My voice was completely different from a moment ago—kind and gentle.
Stunned by the change, Renka’s mouth hung open. I watched her for a moment before leaving the changing room and nonchalantly getting back to work.