Chisato walked toward his own room.
To keep things convenient—and considering that the Kesshoku Band had gained a certain amount of fame and needed to be careful—they had booked a total of five rooms, including Chisato's.
Seika had one room, Chisato another, and the remaining band members were paired up into two rooms. Utaha and Eriri shared one.
They had agreed earlier to rest early tonight and regroup the next morning to continue their plans.
As for Eriri and Utaha, it was likely they would come over to his room a bit later, just like they did the previous night.
So, for a brief moment, Chisato would be alone.
Which was just what he needed, as he had a few things to sort out in his head.
Chisato opened his room door, left the lights off, and flopped face-down onto the soft bed.
After lying there silently for a while, he slowly sat up, scratched his head lightly, a still-puzzled look on his face.
He turned on the bedside lamp and took out his phone, debating whether to text Ryo and ask to meet in secret to clear things up—when a knock came at the door.
Chisato let out a sigh.
Eriri and Utaha were earlier than he'd expected. It seemed he'd have to wait until tomorrow to talk things through with her.
He tossed the phone aside and went to open the door.
The moment the door opened, he didn't even see who it was.
The door was pushed open, and the person outside quickly slipped in sideways and immediately shut the door behind her.
It was only then that Chisato saw the visitor wasn't Eriri or Utaha—it was Ryo.
The very person he'd just been debating whether to contact had shown up unannounced.
But… her behavior was a little too suggestive.
"President, why did you do something like that?"
Ryo looked up and asked flatly.
But before the stunned Chisato could respond, she answered her own question:
"So you really do want to start a secret relationship with me."
Her own words made her flustered. As she said that, she averted her gaze and her cheeks flushed pink.
At this moment, she looked every bit the shy, innocent girl.
"…"
Chisato was briefly thrown off by her, but he quickly composed himself and shook his head to focus.
For some reason, this Ryo, who usually came across as unreliable and all over the place, suddenly seemed… kind of attractive to him.
"First, I want to apologize."
"Apologize?"
Ryo looked at him, puzzled.
"Yes. Back during dinner… I thought you were Utaha. That's why I did what I did."
Chisato explained.
"…"
Ryo went quiet, her gaze drifting elsewhere. It was hard to tell what she was thinking.
Chisato didn't mind and continued,
"But still, you were the weird one. Why did you suddenly stretch your leg over to tease—no, to deliberately touch me?"
Realizing that his wording was off, he quickly corrected himself to sound more serious.
Ryo took a shallow breath, puffing out her cheeks slightly for some unknown reason.
"I didn't."
"You totally did."
"That was an accident."
"But then…"
"Then I tried to pull back, but you reacted super fast and pinned my foot down.
Not only did you start doing all sorts of things to my foot, but you even went so far as to take off my sock."
"…"
Hearing her side of the story, Chisato was stunned again.
Now that she said it that way… it really did seem like that was how it happened.
Seeing that he was silent, Ryo continued,
"My mom told me, a girl's feet are a very important part of her body. Unless it's a doctor or a massage therapist, any man who tries to touch a girl's feet is just a pervert."
"…"
A pervert, huh…
Getting labeled like that out of nowhere, Chisato had no way to refute it. After all, he had done that to her first—even if it was under a misunderstanding, the fact remained.
"I'm really sorry… but once I realized it was you, I was going to pull back. So why did you…"
"You thought you could just take advantage of me and leave? Not that easy."
Ryo crossed her arms, saying that as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"..."
Well… she kind of had a point.
That kind of thinking really did fit Ryo's personality.
Chisato went silent again for quite a while, until Ryo's intense gaze made him a bit uncomfortable. Finally, he opened his mouth slowly.
"Once again, I apologize. It was my fault, and I'm willing to make it up to you—as long as it's something within my capabilities."
"Oh."
Ryo gave only that vague response—neither a confirmation nor a rejection.
Chisato couldn't read her at all.
Just as he was about to ask her something more, the door was knocked again.
Both Ryo and Chisato tensed up.
"It's probably Eriri and the others."
Hearing that, Ryo quickly pushed past him and hurried into the room, glancing around in a panic before diving straight into the wardrobe and pulling the door tightly shut behind her.
Chisato followed, gently tapping on the wardrobe door and whispering anxiously, "Why are you hiding? There's nothing going on between us. Come out!"
"..."
But silence was his only answer.
No matter what he said, it seemed Ryo was dead set on not being seen by Eriri and Utaha inside his room.
It was late at night—if they found her hiding in the wardrobe, it would be like a pot of mud spilled down his pants. No matter how innocent it was, it wouldn't look innocent.
But not opening the door wasn't an option either. They knew he had come straight back to his room.
Think, think…
In this situation, the only option was to open the door normally and try to find a way later for Ryo to slip out unnoticed.
Having made up his mind, Chisato took a deep breath and went to open the door.
The moment the door opened, a sweet fragrance drifted in as Utaha's warm and soft body fell straight into his arms.
Right behind her, Eriri quickly entered and closed the door.
"Mmm… heehee… Chisato~ Chisato~…"
Utaha murmured with a silly smile, her fingers gently tracing Chisato's cheek.
"What's wrong with her?"
Chisato wrapped an arm around Utaha's slim waist and used the other to support her bottom—otherwise, she'd probably collapse right to the floor.
"She's finally feeling the effects of the alcohol from earlier," Eriri said irritably.
"Stupid woman who always overestimates herself. Can't hold her liquor and still drinks so much."
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To be fair, if he just told the truth to Eriri and pointed at Ryo's hiding place, this won't be a continued drama…
Why so forced…
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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