Chapter 88: Going to KTV with Three Hot Girls

The hidden path.

The beautiful landlady.

The story begins.

For a very long time afterward, you and Mrs. Kamihara remained in that relationship, even though you both knew it was wrong.

A wall of paper cannot keep out the fire forever. And then, one day, in the bathroom of the Kamihara household, your affair with the landlady was discovered by her daughter, Mika. In an instant, it felt as though the whole world had collapsed.

The story continues.

Seeing that scene in the bathroom, Mika was unable to accept it at first, while you could only begin awkwardly dressing yourself.

Faced with the choice between love and family, Mrs. Kamihara fell into agonizing turmoil. As for you, you too felt a trace of regret—not for what had happened with her mother, but for why, back then, you had not spent more time building a bond with Mika. If you had established a good relationship with her, would she not be unable to accept this now?

A life shared by three people had been a happy one as well.

Watching Mika cry and make a scene, you searched your memory for every joyful moment you had spent with her, wondering whether you could still patch things up. Sadly, whenever Mika appeared in any of those recollections, her mother was always there too—in the kitchen, in the supermarket, in the bathroom, at the checkout counter.

In the beginning, you had been too busy playing with Mrs. Kamihara and had neglected to cultivate a relationship with Mika.

Looking at the newly refreshed exclusive-path storyline, Haruhide Orino drew in a sharp breath.

Now he was somewhat reluctant to bathe at Mrs. Kamihara’s house.

Facing the alluring Madam Kamihara before him, Haruhide swallowed and, still forcing himself to be brave, refused.

“It’s too late now. I should head back.”

After speaking, he looked up once more toward the upper floor, then walked over to Mrs. Kamihara, lowered his head to her ear, and whispered, “If I take a bath tonight, I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave at all. I’ll come bathe another day, when Mika isn’t home.”

As he spoke, he bent down and kissed the pale nape of her neck.

That made Mrs. Kamihara’s small face flush a delicate red, all tingling and shy.

“What are you thinking? I was just telling you to take a simple bath!”

Mrs. Kamihara shot the boy before her a glance. She had no idea what this little troublemaker spent all day imagining.

Though she said it like that, she did not stop Haruhide from leaving. Then she’d simply let him bathe some other day.

Tut, tut, tut.

Just thinking of that scene made Mrs. Kamihara’s face burn hotly. She silently cursed herself for being utterly shameless. Haruhide was still such a righteous, kind, and spirited young man—so why, when she was already this old, did she still have so little self-control?

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

At that moment, Mika looked down from the top of the stairs on the second floor.

From where she stood, her mother had been frozen on the staircase for quite some time, at one moment patting her own cheeks, at another staring blankly toward the front door.

What could she possibly be thinking? It was strange.

Mother never usually acted like this.

“Huh? Mika? I’m fine.”

Mrs. Kamihara came back to herself with a start when she heard her daughter’s voice, suddenly feeling a little guilty.

“Oh, okay. Did Mr. Orino leave?”

With a finger resting against her rosy lips, Mika asked curiously.

“Yes, Haruhide has already gone. Hurry back to your room and study a little longer.”

Mrs. Kamihara urged her daughter to leave quickly.

“Yay!”

After receiving her mother’s confirmation, Mika cried out happily. Only God knew how painful that tutoring session had been just now.

Though Mr. Orino was very handsome, being handsome was still less important than playing games and having fun.

Recently, she had taken a teacher in the game whose ID was Tokyo's Number One Beauty, Little U.M.A.!

Her master had said today she would take her to grind dungeons. She absolutely could not miss it.

As for Mrs. Kamihara’s later instruction that she go study, the little girl automatically ignored it, her short legs spinning furiously as she rushed back to her room.

With a bang, the door shut.

Mrs. Kamihara was left alone, frozen in place as she stared at the empty house.

Ah... she could not help but sigh inwardly. If only there were one more person at home to talk with her...

Then she would not be so bored...

Haruhide Orino’s face drifted unconsciously into her mind, and the flushed color on her cheeks, just now fading, returned once more.

Her slender fingers, wearing a diamond ring, gently stroked her face. Her skin was so smooth that not a trace of age could be seen. Along the marks Haruhide usually left behind...

“Haruhide...”

Much later, the bored Madam Kamihara found something to do and wiped down the staircase, especially the few steps where she had been standing earlier; those were scrubbed again and again with particular care.

No one knew what kind of thoughts were occupying her mind. As she wiped the floor with a cloth, Madam Kamihara’s cheeks were flushed pink, as though faintly intoxicated, and exceedingly seductive.

A sin, a sin...

Haruhide Orino, sitting on the train, knew nothing of what had happened after he left.

Leaning by the window, he thought about the events of the past few days.

The moon in the night sky was truly round tonight.

Swoosh!

The arrow shot out at extreme speed, carrying the hiss of cutting wind. It drew a straight line through the air before striking dead center in the bull's-eye.

The nano-tipped arrow pierced the wooden target by one to two centimeters. The shaft, driven by the tremendous force behind it, trembled in place for several turns before finally settling.

The tail of the arrow still quivered distinctly. That trembling was not because the force had been too great and the arrow had lost control, but because of the arrow’s own formidable mass.

It was a beautiful shot, one that made every archery club member at the outdoor range hold their breath without realizing it.

“Hmph.”

Dressed in full archery attire, Ryuko Kiyobane gave a disdainful snort, flicked her golden hair, and put away her longbow.

She took another arrow from the quiver on the ground beside her. Her slender fingers nimbly nocked it, drew the bow, and set the string.

The bowstring, made of advanced material, slid across the chest guard before her. There was no helping it; she had to wear that thing to restrain things a little, otherwise archery would be impossible to play at all.

Watching from the side, Haruhide felt a little pained for her. Could it really shrink...?

It couldn’t... could it...?

Swoosh!

The arrow flew again and hit the target precisely.

As the young lady Kiyobane practiced her archery, Haruhide, sitting nearby, was somewhat listless.

Although there were many beautiful girls in the archery club dressed in their uniforms, because Ryuko Kiyobane was present, not one of those normally bold archery girls dared come up to greet him.

Let alone ask for his contact information.

And so, from the very beginning, Haruhide had ended up sitting alone in a corner with the bag containing the lady’s changed clothes, basking in the sunlight all by himself. The girls only dared hide at a distance, peeking at him secretly from the side, occasionally whispering among themselves.

Even the shy ones, when they accidentally met Haruhide’s gaze, would blush and quickly look away.

While practicing, Ryuko Kiyobane had also heard those murmurs, but she did not care. In fact, there was even a faint sense of pride in her heart.

This was Haruhide’s first time coming to the club, though only to accompany the next archery captain, Miss Kiyobane.

Indeed, aside from being renowned at school for her beauty, the young lady Kiyobane’s archery was also the finest in the school.

It was said that she had long since been confirmed as the next captain of the archery club.

Haruhide had once had the wicked thought that perhaps the title of young lady had been bought.

But now that he had come to see for himself, it was indeed well deserved.

“Hey, Haruhide Orino.”

A bright voice rang beside his ear, interrupting his thoughts.

Turning his head, he saw a girl with shoulder-length short hair standing sweetly before him.

Someone actually dared speak to him? He was a little dazed, then quickly realized it was Kiyobane’s close friend and bestie, Kanae Terashima.

He did not see the other beautiful girl from the trio behind her. It seemed Mai Hanai had gone off to attend club activities.

Kanae Terashima was also dressed in archery club attire, her bright eyes full of cunning and curiosity.

She did not have any particular club she especially liked, so she had simply come along with Ryuko Kiyobane to the archery club and become a lazy little freeloader who lounged in the back with someone powerful behind her.

“Hmm? What is it, Terashima?”

Haruhide had a bad feeling about this. This girl was not easy to fool.

“Here’s the thing.” Kanae Terashima plopped down beside him in the shade. “Ever since you spirited away our little Kiyobane, the three of us girls haven’t eaten together once.”

“Didn’t the three of you just have lunch together today?”

These days, Ryuko Kiyobane did not eat lunch with Haruhide every day. Now and then she would also go with those two close friends of hers.

“Uh... not lunch. I mean the three of us haven’t had dinner together or gone to karaoke in ages, you know what I mean?”

Kanae Terashima’s eyes darted quickly as she grinned and revealed her purpose.

“Of course, if you can come with us, that would be even better. Kiyobane already agreed to go!”

So that was what she had been waiting for. Haruhide could only smile helplessly. Indeed, he ought to build some rapport with Kiyobane’s friends.

Going to karaoke, was it?

Haruhide glanced at his virtual panel.

Godlike Singing Experience Ticket: x5

After going to karaoke, would you still keep your mouth shut because you sing terribly? When your friend hands you the microphone, would you still shyly wave it away? Tone-deaf by nature? Can’t sing? No! You just haven’t turned the cheat up high enough!

Godlike Singing Experience Ticket: For one hour, the King of Songs possesses you; move the crowd with your beautiful voice. Even Zhou Dong said it was good after trying it!

At last, something that had been gathering dust and serving as a table leg wedge would have its long-awaited chance to shine!

“Sure, I’m fine with it.”

Haruhide shrugged indifferently.

“Great!” Kanae Terashima was delighted as well; she had not expected things to go so smoothly.

Having accomplished her goal for the day, Kanae Terashima began scheming again. She scooted her little bottom a bit closer to Haruhide, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and whispered, “Hey, how exactly did you and Kiyobane get together? How did you pursue her back then?”

The girl was very close. A slight sniff was enough to catch a pleasant fragrance.

Before he could even answer, a breathtaking figure blocked the sunlight and interrupted Haruhide’s sunbathing.

Who was that? No sense at all.

Haruhide looked up unhappily, not noticing at all the expression on Kanae Terashima’s face, though she had been sitting not far from him.

Her delicate little face carried a trace of evasiveness and embarrassment.

Looking up, he saw—

Mm, the legs were probably quite nice. Though hidden beneath the archery uniform, Haruhide could still tell that the owner of those legs possessed beautiful, slender ones.

Perhaps he should forgive her a little first, for the sake of those long legs. Mm... the chest guard—was it the same as Kiyobane’s?

Golden hair was tied high at the back of her head. Her flawless little face looked down on him from above, her gaze carrying a hint of disdain and coldness.

Ki... Kiyobane...

Haruhide’s previously displeased expression instantly transformed into a smiling one.

“Aren’t you practicing anymore, Kiyobane?”

Ryuko Kiyobane did not answer. She merely glanced lightly at Kanae Terashima sitting beside him.

Kanae Terashima immediately understood and hastily stood up and ran off, clearing the seat.

Many pairs of eyes were already fixed on this side of the field. There was nothing to be done about it; wherever these two went, they were the center of attention, let alone when they were together.

Ryuko Kiyobane had no scruples either. She sat down directly in the spot Kanae Terashima had just vacated, only a little closer to Haruhide.

“Tired? How did practice go?”

Haruhide wiped the sweat from the girl’s forehead. It was smooth, soft, and tender. A few strands of hair clung together, and when paired with that invincible youthful face, her charm seemed to double instantly.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?”

Ryuko Kiyobane enjoyed Haruhide’s service with abandon and asked casually.

“Didn’t Terashima tell you? We’re eating out tonight. She just came over and said she wanted to have dinner with us, then go to karaoke afterward.”

Haruhide’s large hand had already settled on the girl’s soft shoulder, pressing gently to help the young lady relieve her fatigue and pressure.

“Hmm, I think she did mention it to me at noon, but I didn’t really take it to heart...”

Ryuko Kiyobane said carelessly.

Poor Kanae Terashima had thought the young lady had already agreed, only to find that she had not taken it to heart at all.

“Then let’s go. I can get to know your friends too.”

Haruhide said with a smile.

“What do you need to know them for?”

Women were always able to seize the particular words and meanings they wanted from a sentence.

Ryuko Kiyobane was just like that. Her eyes grew a little resentful, and her little face began to puff up again.

Seeing this, Haruhide nearly laughed aloud. He pinched her smooth little cheek and said with a smile, “Kiyobane, you’re not jealous, are you?”

“Who’s jealous of you!” Ryuko Kiyobane immediately flared up, cheeks red. She turned around and landed a heavy punch on Haruhide’s arm with her small fist.

To others, however, the scene was maddeningly enviable.

In their eyes, unable to hear the conversation, Haruhide Orino was plainly flirting sweetly with Ryuko Kiyobane!

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End of chapter.