Ren returned to her seat opened her own coffee and checked through the paperwork
The setting sun dyed the room While she calmly fulfilled her duties in the red light the girl appeared inhumanely beautiful
The way she readily sipped at the bitter coffee made her look like an adult woman so Mutsuki felt a stir in his chest
He felt his feelings from half a year ago ripen anew
Oh right Your class
Class 2-1 still hasn’t sent us their role for the play Have they still not decided on
someone
Umno Not yet Sorry
He recalled how he had asked about the play’s lead caused the nearly-complete decision to fall apart and caused his classmates a lot of trouble
He also recalled how he had caused Lucia to drop out The deadline was approaching fast so Class Rep Sakae had looked fairly troubled
This was Mutsuki’s responsibility even if only indirectly And that put him in a bad mood
Ren tilted her head seeming to have notice his expression
He tried to shake his head and pretend it was nothing but he was not skilled enough to completely change his expression so quickly
Instead he caused his perceptive upperclassman to worry needlessly
Fujita Mutsuki Are you free after this
I would like for you to come with me for a bit
She took him to the tennis court
This was a memorable location for them Just before the previous year’s game tournament they had used the court to practice without permission They had not known each other back then so it had been their one connection The tennis team is off today so we won’t be in their way
Just like that day Ren changed into her tennis wear and beckoned him onto the court
Since the team was not practicing the fence had been locked but she opened it with a mysterious thread – a FeTUS Springloaded – she pulled from somewhere
They were entering without permission Mutsuki smiled bitterly as he followed her in
Oh we have no rackets Just a moment
She reached for a nearby pile of old nets
Another gold thread shined and the net changed shape A mesh shaped like a water drop formed in the center and rubber tightened around the head portion
It was a little misshapen but it was a tennis racket
That’s convenient
Hee hee Overuse of Springloaded is frowned upon Don’t tell Miss C or Miss E
She handed him one of the two she had created and raised her index finger in front of her nose
It was a cute gesture for the normally cool girl That Student Council President could seem quite straitlaced but she was surprisingly unconventional when no one was looking
Now let’s play Everyone needs a break sometimes
There were a few balls still lying around so they grabbed one and moved to alternate ends of the court
She held her racket out toward him
The ball flew gently upwards Mutsuki narrowed his eyes at the fantastical scene in the setting sun
When the ball flew his way it was moving at a decent speed but she had held
back enough to make it easy to return He had not played tennis for a year but a light swing of the racket sent the ball back to her side of the court
It was about half an hour until they had to leave school
They were playing tennis for fun instead of as a competition so they simply tried to keep a rally going
It was the same sort of game they had played in the name of practicing his receiving on that day
oops Oh sorry
Don’t worry aboutit
Mutsuki’s instincts had yet to return so he hit the ball back in an odd direction
Ren seemed to have trouble chasing after it
That forced her to swing her racket wide The egg-shaped bust beautifully pushing out on her tennis wear gave a nice jiggle And yet
The ball she sent back his way was still quite gentle
Since she gave him an easy ball to return the feeling gradually returned to his body He stopped missing the ball and the rally was able to continue
This takes me back
They could even spare enough focus to talk
It reminds me of that day Do you remember Y’know before last year’s game tournament
I do remember That was the only time I was able to talk with you Senpai
Hm Oh that’s right That was the only time we spoke directly like that
Hee hee It’s weird thinking that other than that one time these past ten days are the only time we’ve had a real conversation Ren sounded emotional I’ve been watching you for so long that I felt quite close to you What we’re doing here feels like playing with a little brotherbut I guess it’s different for you His heart leapt a bit when she said she felt close to him
He had had feelings for this Student Council President and she had actually had some sort of feelings for him He could not help but blush after hearing that
That day was actually something of a disaster When I got back my teacherMiss A was angry that I had played with you
I wasn’t supposed to interact with you unless the Serpent’s Eye awoke I had broken the rules
He did recall her saying something about breaking the rules back then
Had she been willing to take that kind of risk to spend some time with him He felt a heat in his chest He was too embarrassed to say anything