Gulp.
Ryo felt like her brain was starting to go haywire too.
She figured she must've been influenced by the two people in front of her—her breathing had become so quick and shallow.
Inside the tent, all three of them were, in a sense, enduring quite a bit of discomfort.
Ryo's original plan had been simple: after coming here, she would offer some help to Hitori and then leave.
But now that she had witnessed this scene, why was she suddenly feeling reluctant to leave?
And besides, in the spot under the blanket that Bocchi-chan hadn't noticed, her own hand was still tightly clasped with Chisato's.
She had initially assumed that Chisato wanted her to assist in some unspeakable fetish, but now it seemed like… that wasn't the case at all.
From halfway through, he had kept holding her hand, either tightening his grip slightly or gently shaking it.
No matter how you looked at it, it felt like… like he was flirting.
So it really is like that… Even though the president had denied it repeatedly before, in the end, he really is…
"Um… Chisa—"
Just as Ryo's thoughts were drifting, Hitori slowly lifted her head and spoke.
"Chisato's heart is beating really fast… I-Is that okay?"
In this kind of situation, it would be strange if that wasn't happening.
"It's fine. That's probably normal."
"Really?"
"More or less. Bocchi-chan, you can go on to the next step…"
Ryo's gaze drifted toward Chisato's lower body.
She didn't want to admit it, but she really didn't dislike or resist what was happening. In fact, it seemed to excite her even more than being the one actually in a relationship with him.
She felt Chisato squeeze her hand so hard that it began to ache faintly. He was suddenly gripping with much more strength.
Was the president feeling the same way she was right now?
What a pervert…
No, wait—she was being dragged into this. He's the only pervert here.
"Bocchi-chan, hang in there. You've got this."
Ryo gave words of encouragement to Hitori.
"You said before that you wanted to get closer to the president, right? This is the perfect opportunity."
"..."
Hitori trembled all over, her hands shaking as she reached toward Chisato's crotch.
Chisato felt Hitori's warm, small hands brush across his stomach, slowly sliding down to his groin, gently grasping the sides of his shorts.
This couldn't go on any longer.
Hitori had clearly lost her senses by now. And Ryo—that girl had completely ignored all his subtle cues to get her to leave, choosing instead to stay and enjoy the show.
If this really went through, then after tonight, the relationship between the three of them would definitely become something twisted.
That was a future Chisato absolutely didn't want to see.
So in the next moment, he stopped suppressing his ragged breathing, opened his eyes, glared fiercely at Ryo, and then suddenly sat up and grabbed Hitori's hand just as she had grasped his shorts.
Hitori stared at him blankly, unable to comprehend that he had suddenly come back to his senses.
"You two…"
Just as Chisato was about to launch into a lecture, his ears twitched—he faintly heard something outside the tent.
He quickly made a shushing gesture to the other two, then grabbed the phone that had been shining its flashlight and stuffed it under the pillow.
In the suddenly darkened tent, their heavy breathing was incredibly loud.
But at the same time, the sounds outside the tent became clearer.
Zzzip…
Shuffle, shuffle…
First came the sound of the tent zipper opening, then footsteps crunching in the snow.
Someone had left their tent, just like the three of them here.
Chisato quickly came to a conclusion.
But this late at night—who could it be?
"…What a pain. If she needed to use the bathroom, why didn't she go with Yamada earlier?"
"She probably didn't want to disturb us. I didn't hear a thing when she left—otherwise I wouldn't have called you."
"Hehe… But still, I can't believe you, Eriri, are afraid of the dark. You had to drag me along just to go to the bathroom at night."
"I'm not afraid of the dark. I just think it's a bit dangerous for a girl to go out alone this late. It's basic self-protection."
"Ah, yes yes…"
It was Eriri and Utaha.
Judging from their conversation, it was obvious they were up at night to go to the bathroom.
Not seeing Ryo when they woke up, they must've assumed she had gotten up earlier and left quietly so as not to disturb them.
Chisato let out a quiet sigh of relief.
If it was just a bathroom break, then it was fine.
As long as they didn't come over to his side, it was still salvageable.
If someone were to catch him now, shirtless and sandwiched between Hitori on his left and Ryo on his right, no amount of explanation would save him.
But this was precisely when Murphy's Law decided to make an appearance.
The things you hope won't happen, often do.
"You're not in a hurry, right? Wait a bit, I'm gonna check on Chisato."
"Hey, what's wrong with you? If you do that in the tent... people will hear!"
"I never said I was going to do anything. I'm just going to check on him. Your thoughts are seriously as perverted as your hair color—truly fitting for a doujin artist."
"..."
Utaha and Eriri's conversation carried clearly into the tent in the quiet of the night.
Chisato's alarm bells rang loudly.
And the first to react was Ryo.
She swiftly flipped the blanket flat and dove under it in a motion strikingly similar to how she had jumped into the closet the other night.
Her reflex to hide was so smooth it made one wonder if she'd once had a job that required this sort of behavior.
Chisato felt her hugging him tightly—there was no helping it.
It was just a single-person blanket and barely covered them. Without pressing close, she would be sticking out in the open.
Having also heard the voices outside, Hitori, without much thought, mimicked Ryo and slipped under the covers from the other side.
And so, Chisato found himself tightly sandwiched between two beautiful girls—though what he felt now could hardly be called pleasant.
After crawling in, both of them kept trying to press further inward, completely ignoring the fact that Chisato, stuck between them, was beginning to struggle for air.
Not to mention, both of them had turned sideways and placed a leg over him one after another.
"You two—this isn't going to work. The blanket's bulging up unnaturally. It's not like they're blind!"
Chisato hissed in a low voice, but it was no use.
Ryo and Hitori were fully embodying the ostrich mentality—if I can't see them, they can't see me.
The two remained frozen beside him while footsteps from outside approached.
What now? Just give up and accept fate?
Chisato racked his brain, trying to figure out a way out.
"Hitori... Hitori..."
Outside, Utaha was just about to reach for the zipper of the tent when she heard a voice from within—muffled and mixed with ragged breathing.
Eriri heard it too. Like Utaha, she quickly grew serious and leaned in to listen closely.
"Mm... Chisato... ah..."
"..."
"..."
The two girls outside stood silently for a moment.
Utaha lowered her half-raised hand, took a deep breath with a grim expression.
Eriri shook her head slightly at her, and the two of them left quietly, fully understanding what was going on without a single word spoken.
Inside the tent, Chisato listened intently as the sound of movement outside faded away completely. Only then did he let go of Hitori in his arms.
And without the restraint of his arm, Hitori immediately collapsed weakly, gasping for breath, her legs tightly pressed together, body trembling all over like someone suffering from a seizure.
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Somehow I felt like Ryo's interaction kinda looks forced and this constant misunderstanding from her is getting annoying for me ngl.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!