Chapter 264: Even a Whiff of a Scent is a Connection #2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 264: Even a Whiff of a Scent is a Connection #2
“One Chocochip Frappuccino, one strawberry latte, one grapefruit juice, and...”
Hiyori ordered without a moment's hesitation, looking like a cheerful person who was always in a good mood.
But when she gets close to people, she becomes incredibly playful.
To the point of being mischievous, even.
She also tends to get into a bit of trouble, which is why she often clashed with the student council, where Miyuki was a member.
It wasn't like she was a delinquent causing real harm, but she was definitely going to be a headache for the student council this year.
“And finally, one cafe latte... that’s everything.”
After taking Hiyori’s full order, I gave a gentle smile to the girl, whose eyes were sparkling so brightly it was almost overwhelming.
“Got it. I’ll take your payment first. Do you have one of our cafe’s coupons?”
“Nope. Can I have one?”
“Just a moment.”
I rummaged under the counter, pulled out a coupon card, and stamped it six times in addition to the one pre-stamped spot.
A special seven stamps just for her. Come back often, if only for the free drink.
Handing the stamped coupon to Hiyori, I said, “That’ll be 1840 yen.”
“Okay~”
When Hiyori is in a good mood, her voice lilts at the end of her sentences like that.
She seems to be in high spirits today.
With a beaming smile, Hiyori took out her phone and tapped it on the payment terminal next to the POS machine.
After paying, she picked up the vibrating pager and glanced at the coupon, tilting her head.
“Huh?”
She seemed puzzled by the extra stamp.
Just as she turned to come back toward me, Renka, having neatly tied her apron, walked over and asked, “Is it a big order? Need help?”
“Yeah. Could you blend some grapefruit for me? It should be at the bottom of the fridge.”
“Got it.”
Renka agreed readily and glanced over at Hiyori.
Then, as if embarrassed for staring, she smiled and added, “We’ll have your drinks ready in just a moment. Please wait a little longer.”
Renka scurried away.
Hiyori’s eyes widened as she watched her go, her expression suddenly filled with interest.
“Hmm... Aha.”
Aha?
Why the sudden exclamation?
It’s not like Renka gave her a weird look or anything.
I didn’t know the exact reason, but Hiyori was incredibly perceptive about these things... She might have picked up on something.
A woman’s intuition, perhaps.
I looked at Hiyori, who now wore an amused expression, and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Ah, I only ordered six drinks, but you gave me seven stamps on the coupon.”
This wasn't the time to try and hit on her with some weird line.
There was no need to make a huge impact.
We’d be seeing each other often at the academy anyway.
For now, a small gesture of goodwill was enough. Just enough to be memorable.
“I stamped an extra one on purpose. As a little encouragement to come back often.”
I answered casually, as if there were no ulterior motives. Hiyori hummed in understanding, then broke into a wide smile.
“Is this some kind of sales strategy?”
“You could say that. Once you get ten stamps, you can get any regular-sized drink you want.”
“Really? Anything?”
“That’s right. Anything.”
“Thank you. I’ll come by often.”
“Please do.”
Seeming even more cheerful, Hiyori hummed a barely audible tune as she returned to the table where her friends were waiting.
She kept glancing my way while talking to them, and though I wanted to hear what they were saying, they were sitting in a corner and their voices were too low for me to make out anything.
Shrugging it off, I walked over to Renka, who had started blending the grapefruit.
“Captain.”
“What.”
“No choker on your wrist today?”
“What? I can’t hear you over the blender.”
It was funny how she was playing dumb when I knew she could hear me perfectly well.
I scoffed and chided Renka in a somewhat stern tone.
“You’ll be in trouble if you lie.”
“...We only agreed I’d wear it yesterday...”
“I don’t recall making such a promise.”
“.....”
“You seem to be asking for punishment. Keep your evening free tomorrow.”
“T-Tomorrow...?”
Her reaction was quite dramatic for a simple date proposal.
The mention of "evening" probably made her think we were going to a hotel.
She must have also remembered her conversation with MK yesterday, making her feel embarrassed.
“Yes. Tomorrow. I can’t today because I have to hang out with Nanase-senpai.”
“With Chinami? Just the two of you...?”
“That’s right.”
“No, you can’t...? Chinami promised to hang out with me today...”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She never said anything like that.”
“How would you know?”
“Because I was on the phone with her.”
“.....”
She clammed up, her lips pressed into a tight line.
I furrowed my brow and said, “Are you going to keep lying like this? Can you handle the consequences?”
“C-Consequences...? Let’s talk about this later and make the drinks first...”
“Fine.”
As we made the drinks, Renka’s eyes kept darting toward me.
Was she already imagining what would happen tomorrow?
Still, she looked pretty sneaking glances at me. Like a squirrel facing a predator.
At the same time, I could feel eyes on me from the corner table.
I checked discreetly while preparing the drinks and saw Hiyori’s female friends looking at me.
It was hard to tell from this distance, but they seemed interested.
Did Hiyori say something to them?
Or was it just a simple attraction to my face?
I couldn’t be sure, but it was sad that Hiyori herself didn’t seem interested in me.
The guys, on the other hand, were showing immense interest in Hiyori.
And Hiyori, with a constant smile, was playing along with everything they said.
It wasn’t because she was interested in one of them, but because her personality was just naturally bubbly.
Those bastards. I’m going to make their lives hell when they get to our academy.
As I shot a glare full of jealousy at the losers, I suddenly remembered the official guide I’d read before playing DokiAka for the first time.
The words displayed right next to Hiyori: [Conquest Difficulty: Highest].
That’s what I remembered most.
But that was the difficulty from Tetsuya’s perspective, not mine.
Of course, it would still be difficult, but I could do it.
Steeling my resolve, I quietly continued making the drinks.
* * *
“Goodbye!”
“Have a good day!”
Hiyori’s group left the cafe with cheerful goodbyes.
I returned their farewell with a polite smile, already looking forward to our next meeting as I moved to clean the table where she had been sitting.
It was torture trying to suppress the urge to sneak glances at her.
I wonder if Hiyori had any idea about my budding feelings?
Maybe next time she comes, I’ll try to make some small talk instead of just giving a normal greeting.
After wiping the damp table with a dry cloth, I looked over at Renka, who was silently washing dishes.
As much as I liked the energetic Hiyori, I also liked the prickly Renka.
The same went for Chinami and Miyuki. I really liked all four of them.
Picturing a future with them, I stood directly behind Renka and subtly placed a hand on the small of her back.
“Don’t do that.”
I expected her to jolt her hips away with a little “Eek!”, but her reaction was surprisingly calm.
Was she tired? We did get quite a few customers after Hiyori arrived, so she might be exhausted.
Pressing my five fingertips into her hip, I said, “Captain, you can go have lunch first.”
“Okay. But...”
“But?”
“What are you planning for tomorrow...?”
Had she been thinking about that this whole time?
To think she was stewing over it instead of just asking me directly... so unlike Renka.
Still, it was cute.
“This and that.”
“What’s ‘this and that’?”
“I was thinking of deciding as we go.”
“...You’re not planning on going to a hotel, are you...?”
“I appreciate you bringing it up first. Well, I am thinking about it.”
“A-Are you crazy...? Why do you get to decide that on your own...?”
“I haven’t decided yet. It all depends on how you behave, Captain.”
“What do you mean, ‘how I behave’...?”
“If you lie like you did earlier, or don’t listen to what I say, my thoughts might lean in a direction you won’t like.”
“Don’t talk as if I don’t have a choice in the matter...?”
“And that includes talking so harshly.”
“You’re really...!”
“Hurry up and eat your lunch.”
I cut her off with a pat on her bottom. Unlike before, she flinched at my touch this time and bit her lower lip.
She didn’t seem to hate it. She was just a little anxious because we weren’t near the changing room where there were no cameras.
It was nice to see her getting used to this kind of skinship.
A satisfied smile spread across my face at Renka’s more or less obedient reaction, and I continued, “Chew your food properly so you don’t get indigestion.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid... unless you want to get hit...”
“There you go with the harsh words again.”
“No... you say harsh things too, so why only me... You curse all the time...”
“Not recently. And I’ve never once said anything like that to you, Captain.”
“Don’t be ridiculous... You’ve always been so selfish and bossy...”
“That’s my attitude, not my words.”
“Words, attitude, what’s the difference...”
“Are you talking back to me?”
“.....”
Renka just glared at me, her face full of dissatisfaction.
She was probably wondering when she had become such a pushover.
Even so, she likely had no intention of rebelling.
Why? Because she had already adapted to our reversed roles and had even come to enjoy it.
“Just go eat lunch first. You must be hungry.”
After placating Renka with a gentle voice, I chuckled as she grumbled and left through the cafe’s back door.
The gap between Renka’s timid side and her feisty side is huge, but both suit her.
I’ll have to dote on her a lot tomorrow.
* * *
When it was time to close up, I had more or less forced Renka into agreeing to our plans. I dropped her off at home and then went to meet Chinami.
“Fufufu... It’s been a while since I’ve gone out with you, Junior.”
She let out a cute laugh the moment she got in the car.
I played along and asked, “Did you have fun with Inoo-senpai yesterday?”
“Yes. We took lots of very pretty sticker photos.”
“Can you show me, too?”
“Oh, but I’ve already stuck them all over my desk.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to see them when I visit your house, Master?”
As I hinted at a visit, Chinami’s face instantly flushed.
How long had it been since I’d seen that shy, peach-colored blush... I’d really missed it.
Tucking her hands between her thighs and squirming, she answered, “Yes... I suppose you will...”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“So, what are we doing today...?”
“Hmm. I haven’t really thought about it... Shall we check out the Momo-nim merch shop to see if there’s anything new?”
“Oh, there’s nothing new... The new Momo-nim keyring comes out in two weeks.”
She’s not some die-hard fan following an idol’s schedule, is she? She’s so up-to-date on all things Momo-nim. Amazing, truly amazing.
I let out a disbelieving chuckle internally and said, “Then how about we finish what we left undone and think about it after?”
“What we left undone...? What might that be...?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Shall we get going?”
“Huh...? Where to...?”
“Anywhere.”
“Okay...”