The next afternoon, school was over.
Since the weekend was coming up, the students were unusually lively.
Some were discussing plans to hang out together, while others were busy organizing club activities.
Tanaka Masao headed to the Service Club to begin his daily training.
"Yukinoshita, tomorrow is Saturday."
Hearing this, Yukinoshita Yukino looked up from her chair and asked,
"What's wrong, Tanaka-kun? Do you want to train more? Actually, I was planning to give you two days off to rest. But if you insist on extra training, it's not impossible."
"Uh, that's not it. I actually have something to do this weekend. I need to go to Tokyo, so I won't have time to train."
If Tanaka Masao had known that Yukinoshita was going to let him rest for the weekend, he wouldn't have brought it up at all.
"Go to Tokyo?"
Yukinoshita was a little puzzled, but she wasn't the type to press with questions.
"You don't have to train for the next two days, but pay attention to your diet.
You can have one indulgence meal—anything you want, but just one."
"Oh, there's actually such a thing? I didn't expect you to be so considerate, Yukinoshita."
Tanaka Masao's eyes lit up.
He hadn't eaten desserts or snacks in a long time. After enduring it for so long, his cravings had piled up.
Going to Tokyo was the perfect chance to treat himself.
Eriri's desserts were delicious. And if he had extra money, maybe he could even check out a maid café…
Thinking about it, Tanaka Masao actually started drooling.
Yukinoshita frowned in disgust at the sight.
"Tanaka, wipe the drool from your mouth and stop looking like such a pervert.
Staying near you like this makes me feel like my personal safety is in danger."
She crossed her arms and took a small step back.
Snapping out of his daydream, Tanaka Masao blurted out,
"Yukinoshita, do you… want to come with me this weekend—"
But halfway through, he realized the real reason for his trip to Tokyo was that book.
It was definitely not appropriate to invite Yukinoshita along.
"What about the weekend?"
Seeing him stop mid-sentence, Yukinoshita could guess what he had been about to say.
Most likely, he wanted to invite her to Tokyo.
Of course, she wouldn't agree, but why did he suddenly stop? That part piqued her curiosity.
Is it because he's shy and embarrassed? But… that doesn't seem like him.
Tanaka Masao avoided her eyes and stammered,
"No, it's nothing. I just… have something important to do this weekend."
Although she was still curious, Yukinoshita didn't press him further. She wasn't the type to pry into other people's secrets.
Not long after, their training session ended.
The two walked together until they reached the intersection where they usually parted.
"See you next week, Yukinoshita-san."
"Yes, see you next week."
…
The next morning, Tanaka Masao took an early bus to Tokyo.
After several transfers, he finally arrived at the Sawamura family villa around nine o'clock.
When he rang the doorbell, Sayuri Sawamura greeted him with a bright smile.
"Tanaka-kun, you're here so early. Come in, come in."
"Good morning, Sister Sayuri. Here, I brought a little gift for you."
He handed her some specialty snacks he'd picked up in Chiba. They weren't expensive, but they were thoughtful.
"Oh, Tanaka-kun even brought me a gift? How considerate. Then I'll accept it without hesitation."
Sayuri accepted the snacks cheerfully.
·······
Once they sat down in the living room, Tanaka Masao looked around and asked,
"Sayuri-neesan, isn't Eriri here?"
"You mean Eriri? She's a typical night owl. She stayed up late last night finishing her manuscript, so she hasn't gotten up yet."
Sayuri rolled her eyes playfully and teased,
"Why don't you go wake her up in her room, Tanaka-kun? You might get some unexpected benefits."
Before he could respond, a furious voice came from upstairs.
"Mom, what are you saying?!"
It was Eriri. Her face was flushed, her little tiger teeth showing as she glared.
She really had stayed up late last night, but she knew Tanaka Masao was coming today, so she had set an alarm.
There was no way she would sleep until noon.
But the moment she came downstairs, she heard her mother saying something outrageous.
How could a mother say such things?
Eriri glared at Tanaka Masao fiercely, as if warning him not to get any strange ideas.
He could only smile bitterly.
*I really did have the thought of going to your room to trigger some "lucky event."
But your mother was obviously joking.
She can tease like that, but if I actually agreed, I'd be doomed.*
Sayuri, completely unfazed by her daughter's anger, smiled and said,
"Since you're awake, Eriri, why don't you entertain Tanaka-kun? I'll go prepare tea."
She went off to the kitchen.
Eriri didn't object. She came down, sat on the sofa opposite Tanaka Masao, and looked at him stiffly, her expression slightly annoyed.
"You… you finally came."
Confused by her tone, Tanaka Masao asked,
"What's wrong, Eriri? Did I do something to make you angry?"
"How dare you ask that." Eriri's face turned red as she glared at him.
"Don't you know you're obsessed with trash?
You're a fat pervert with nothing but dirty thoughts in your head."
Even though both of them worked on manga, she couldn't help but say it.
After all, she had read through the whole book, and every time she remembered sitting with her mother looking at that sort of thing, she felt like she wanted to die of embarrassment.
Alone in her room at night, just thinking about those scenes made her burn with anger and shame.
And since it was all Tanaka Masao's fault, her resentment naturally focused on him.
Hearing this, his eyes wavered. If she meant that matter…
Then he really had nothing to say, because even he felt ashamed of it.
"This… a book is just a book. Everything in it is only fantasy."
Seeing him avoid her gaze, Eriri let out a cold snort and decided not to press further.