Chii and I spent quite a while checking on the plots while also flirting in between it. After that, I returned inside the clubhouse where Edel pulled me in to sit in between her and Reira-senpai. She clung to me like a koala again, her soft frame pressed tightly against my side as she nuzzled her cheek into my arm, trying to slot herself further within my arms.
Her silver hair tickled my neck and the soft hums she let out every few seconds kept bringing a warm smile on my face.
Reira-senpai sat on my other side. At first, her posture was stiff but she eventually relaxed during my absence. Her arms were no longer crossed, resting instead on her lap as she comfortably rested her back into the sofa. The fog on her glasses was already wiped away.
She'd been chatting with Edel, or rather, Edel had been chatting at her, about my supposed potato obsession and I caught the tail end of it as I settled in.
"…and then Ruki said we'd make fries out of them once they're ready! He's really serious about it, Nakanishi-san," Edel finished with a bright giggle, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at me for confirmation.
"Fries, huh?" Reira-senpai raised an eyebrow as she gave me a sidelong glance. "You dragged me all the way out here for fries? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of romantic, Ruki-kun."
I grinned as I shifted slightly, letting my arm brush against hers, "What's more romantic than growing food for the people you care about, Reira-senpai? Besides, it's not just fries. Think mashed potatoes, roasted wedges, maybe even some fancy potato soup. Don't you know? I'm a man of many talents."
She snorted, pushing her glasses up again which somehow highlighted her allure again, "Talents, sure. I'll believe it when I taste it. For now, it's just a patch of dirt."
"Give it time. You'll be begging for a taste once it's ready. I'll even personally feed it to you." I said with a smirk.
Reira-senpai huffed unhappily and turned her head away as she muttered under her breath, "Shameless as always…"
Edel giggled again, oblivious to the undercurrent between us, and squeezed my arm tighter.
"Ruki's right, Nakanishi-san! It'll be so good, and we'll all eat together here. Like a family!"
Reira-senpai softened at that, her expression shifting from indignation to something warmer. "A family, huh? You're all so… cozy with each other. It's almost enviable."
"Almost?" I teased, nudging her gently with my elbow. "Come on, senpai. Are we not close yet? You're my precious senior and I'm your precious junior."
She shot me a glare but she didn't deny it. "Any girl, if you keep showing them how you flirt with another girl, will not think highly of you, Ruki-kun. Besides, I'm still here out of curiosity, not devotion."
Well, she's not wrong. I was acting pretty brazen right now. She would've preferred if it was just the two of us like that time I had her accompany me during my patrol.
"Curiosity, huh? I'll take that for now. I don't want my precious senior to hate me for being so flirtatious. I should just be shameless, right?"
I met her gaze and winked, which made her face twitch a little.
It was only for a second before she regained her composure, fixing her glasses again with a huff.
"Ruki-kun, you're such a menace. Where was my considerate junior from before?"
"Hmm? I'm still that same considerate junior, you know? Ask Edel, they keep scolding because of it."
Edel tilted her head, her silver hair spilling over my arm as she blinked innocently between us. "Uhm… Nakanishi-san, he's right. Ruki keeps on getting an earful from us. He can't stop his overly considerate trait. But you know what? We still love him for it. He's warm and we feel really safe with him… like a big hug."
Reira-senpai's lips twitched, caught between amusement and exasperation. "A hug, huh? More like a shameless octopus with too many arms."
I laughed. The tone of it was probably light and unburdened.
I gave Edel a gentle squeeze and a kiss on her forehead before addressing Reira-senpai again, "Senpai, how can I stop you from being jealous? Should I… bring you somewhere? Just the two of us."
Before she could answer, Edel reacted first, "Ruki! What about me?"
"Let's go upstairs later, we can roll on the floor as much as you want."
"I like that." Edel's eyes sparkled in delight as she buried her face in my chest.
Reira-senpai, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes at me as if she had just heard the most shameless line in the world.
"Ridiculous junior," Reira-senpai sharply said, though I caught the faintest smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
She shifted slightly on the sofa, her arm pressing against mine as she slowly lowered her head on my shoulder. And then her soft, endearing voice entered my ear as she whispered in a volume only I could hear, "Ruki-kun, promise me."
Whatever she meant by that, I had no idea. And I didn't have the chance to ask her about it as Chii returned from outside, dusting her hands off of the dirt.
"Kii, the garden's fine. No weeds yet, but you might want to water it soon to keep the moisture–" She stopped mid-sentence as she saw our current situation, "Oh? What did I miss? Did you charm senpai already?"
"Not exactly but I guess she's tired?" I answered, pretending not to notice how Reira-senpai got stirred by Chii's sudden entrance. Check latest chapters at NoveI[F]ire.net
She hurriedly lifted her head and elbowed my side.
"Keep talking, Ruki-kun, and I'll walk out," She threatened, but neither Chii, Edel, nor I believed she would actually do it.
Just , Chii joined us again. She sat down on the floor, positioning herself between my legs and used my thigh as her pillow.
At first, I brought up the topic of the booth but it didn't take long before we exhausted every talking point about it so… we returned to talking about me.
So, I ended up sharing my day with them, at least those without any of my intimate moments with the girls.
When Misaki, Maaya and the two girls from the Game Club arrived, I ended up serving them all by picking up snacks that we stocked and making tea or a cold drink from the fridge.
Misaki and I rehearsed a part of our short play again, giving a show to them.
After that, it didn't take long before Miura-senpai and Sagara-senpai brought out their self-created board games, which they wanted to test with us.
Naturally, Maaya also brought hers out – now with more polished rules and details.
Apparently, their Game Club was going to present those in their booth. Beating them at their created game would win those who'd visit and pay for the challenge a prize.
Halfway through that, I fulfilled my promise with Edel, bringing her upstairs where I pampered her as much as I could while also keeping it quiet to prevent the other girls like Miura-senpai or Sagara-senpai from knowing what we were doing. I mean… I don't want to embarrass my Edel.
Unfortunately, the way they stared at us when we returned to rejoin them made it extremely obvious that they were aware.
Maybe we weren't quiet enough…