Chapter 122: Lunch in the Clubroom ②

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Translator: Soafp

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Despite everything that had happened, we finally started eating lunch ourselves.

Since there were other people around today, I figured Nodoka and Airi would show a little restraint—

“”Aaah.””

As usual, the two of them simultaneously picked up pieces of food and held them out in front of my mouth.

The Club president and Takagi both stared with their eyes wide open.

“S-So amazing… Is this what a harem looks like…?”

“Damn…! I’m not jealous, but I’m jealous…!!”

Perhaps because she felt a little embarrassed, Nodoka’s cheeks were unusually red.

Airi, on the other hand, was completely unfazed as always, carrying herself with enough confidence to make it impossible for anyone to intimidate her.

Takagi stood up.

“I think I’ll go buy a yakisoba bread.”

Right, he usually bought lunch from the school store.

Maybe I should’ve stopped by there before coming to the clubroom.

Thinking that, I felt a little bad for him.

“I figured you’d say that. Here, have one of these.”

The club president pulled two sandwiches identical to the one she was eating out of a plastic bag and tossed them to Takagi.

“Huh…? Are you telling me I should go on a diet too?”

“It’s not like that. They’re just really good, so eat them.”

“Seriously? I can have these? I thought you were planning to eat all of them yourself.”

“How am I supposed to eat three sandwiches by myself!?”

“I mean… it looks like you could.”

“Takagi, do you want me to punch you before you eat, or after?”

“Sorry. I’ll just eat.”

Takagi sat back down.

Watching the president, a thought crossed my mind.

…And Airi immediately voiced the exact same thought.

“Could it be you brought extra because you planned for Tanaka-kun to have some?”

“Huh? N-No! I-I really was planning to eat them all myself!”

Why had the president suddenly switched into full tsundere mode?

I instinctively looked over at Nodoka, only for her to glare at me.

“What? Got something to say?”

Takagi chuckled.

“So you really were planning to eat them all. Oh, and Sugawara-senpai, I’m Takagi. You’ve gotten at least a tiny bit closer to remembering my name.”

Closer?

Well, whatever.

Takagi really was dense.

Not that I was in any position to say that.

He tore open the wrapper and took a big bite of the sandwich.

“Oh, wow. It’s way better than it looks.”

“Right? …Though I realized afterward it’s actually higher in calories than I expected.”

“So it’s not exactly diet food after all.”

“Shut up!”

The president lightly smacked Takagi on the back.

Those two really did seem unusually close.

Well, that’s probably why they could casually joke about things like girls’ armpits.

Even so, it didn’t seem like they’d crossed the line beyond being upperclassman and underclassman.

“So, what was it you wanted to seriously talk to me about?”

The president looked back and forth between Takagi and me.

Takagi glanced at me once, waited for me to nod, then answered.

“President, do you own a pair of spats?”

“Spats? That’s a bit random.”

“Yeah. Could you wear them during the cultural festival performance?”

The president narrowed her eyes and shot Takagi a cold look.

“Takagi… don’t tell me you’ve developed a spats fetish…”

“N-No, that’s not it! I just prefer regular panties!”

“What are you saying so proudly!?”

Smack!

This time she hit him harder than before.

…Well, naturally.

If he skipped all the important context, there was no way she wouldn’t misunderstand.

I deliberately cleared my throat and cut in.

“President, Takagi’s actually been pretty worried.”

“Huh? Worried?”

“Yeah. The mini dress we’re wearing on stage is really short, right? He was worried that… well… your underwear might accidentally be visible during the performance.”

“Huh? Takagi was actually worried about something like that?”

The president’s eyes widened as she stared at him.

Well, it was a lie that Takagi had been the one worrying first.

I just figured maybe the two of them would get a little closer if I said it that way.

Maybe it was none of my business, though.

“H-Hmm… I thought all you ever thought about was looking at girls’ panties. Didn’t expect this from you, Takagi.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“I’m complimenting you.”

“How is that a compliment!?”

The president giggled while Takagi sighed in exasperation.

Were they always like this?

“You don’t have to worry. I was already planning to wear spats.”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”

“Besides, even if my panties did show, it wouldn’t really be a big deal!”

No… We were trying to prevent exactly that because it had once pushed her all the way to dropping out.

Takagi laughed.

“Well, I guess that’s true! Though with you, President, I bet your underwear’s super plain anyway.”

“That’s not true! I own some really daring underwear too!”

“Ehhh? I seriously don’t believe that.”

…Takagi.

She’s actually telling the truth.

I’d like to say that, but obviously I couldn’t.

As I listened to them banter, my thoughts were elsewhere.

(This still isn’t enough to say we’ve avoided it.)

At the very least, from what she’d just said, she’d originally intended to wear spats.

So why hadn’t she been wearing them that day?

And why, of all days, had she happened to be wearing such revealing underwear?

None of it added up.

(Something happened that day and forced her not to.)

The problem was that I had absolutely no idea what that “something” was.

She probably didn’t know yet either.

If she did, she would’ve prepared for it beforehand.

Takagi smiled brightly.

“So basically, we don’t have to worry about your plain panties being exposed to the world!”

“I told you already! And stop calling them plain!”

The president lightly smacked him on the back one more time.

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On the way home from school, as we walked toward the station, Nodoka spoke up.

“You’re still not convinced, are you?”

“Hm?”

“I mean, you’ve had that look on your face ever since lunch ended.”

“What, were you staring at me through every class?”

Nodoka’s face immediately turned bright red, and her voice rose.

“O-Of course I was! Who else am I supposed to look at besides you!?”

“I don’t know… maybe the teacher? Since you’re in class?”

“B-But I’m sleepy! Especially during math!”

“Yeah… that teacher does have a way of putting people to sleep.”

Maybe because retirement was just around the corner, you could practically feel how little motivation he had left for teaching.

“A-Anyway! You’re still worried about the president, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I just can’t shake the feeling that this doesn’t completely solve the problem.”

After I explained what I was thinking, Nodoka nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. It is a little strange. It’s not like the president secretly gets off on the thrill of that kind of thing.”

“Oh? Considering the two of you, I’d say it’s entirely possible.”

“Why are you including me too, Senpai!? A-At the very least, I’m not some exhibitionist!”

“Then if Ren-kun asked to do it with everyone watching outside, would you refuse?”

“Huh? W-Well, that’s…”

Nodoka couldn’t answer Airi’s question right away.

In the end, I couldn’t hold back anymore and cut in.

“No, you should refuse.”

“B-But… if it’s what Ren wants, I don’t think I could say no…”

“And then you’d use that as an excuse because you wanted to enjoy it too, wouldn’t you?”

“Ugh…”

Lately, it felt like Nodoka’s tsundere side had been fading more and more.

Well, I guess it was more accurate to say she no longer had any reason to act cold toward me.

I liked this honest version of her too, but every now and then, I found myself missing the prickly girl she used to be.

“U-Um…”

Yui, who had been quietly walking right behind the three of us, timidly spoke up.

“About the president… what if, on the day of the festival, we bring a spare set of underwear and a pair of spats with us…?”

“Oh, that’s actually a good idea.”

That would certainly be more reliable than leaving it up to the president herself.

…Of course, we’d have to come up with an excuse for why we just happened to have women’s underwear and spats on hand.

Airi nodded.

“Then let’s do that.”

Would that settle everything?

I just hoped this so-called law of causality wouldn’t interfere any further…

That was what I was thinking when—

Brrring…

My phone vibrated inside my pocket.

The instant I pulled it out and looked at the screen, tension shot through my entire body.

Noticing my expression, Nodoka asked,

“Who is it?”

“…The detective.”

Swallowing hard, wondering what could possibly have happened, I tapped the answer button.