Even after two days had passed, Kaoru Mitoma occasionally found himself reflecting on Asahina Nazuna's question.
The reason he had discussed these topics with her might have been due to some emotional resonance.
Of course, more importantly, he wanted to know Asahina Nazuna's views on Nagumo Miyabi.
It was obvious that the other party had considered Nagumo Miyabi's behavior issues but found it hard to accept, otherwise, the two might have ended up together.
However, other reasons couldn't be ruled out either.
"How rude. You promised to have coffee with me, yet you've been spacing out the whole time."
A sudden sharp pain shot through Kaoru Mitoma's calf, snapping him back to reality.
Sitting across from him, Kushida Kikyo was glaring at him in clear dissatisfaction—she must have kicked him under the table while no one was looking.
"I was thinking about how to answer you."
"Hmph, figured it out yet?" Kushida Kikyo counted off on her fingers one by one,
"Horikita, Sakayanagi, Kamuro, Sakura, Ichinose, Hasebe, Karuizawa… Tell me, you're not planning to take all of them, are you?"
"You can add one more—Kikyo-chan," Kaoru reminded her.
Kushida Kikyo shot him a sidelong glance and retorted irritably, "I never said I'd be with you. Our relationship has always been nothing more than a cold, distant master-servant dynamic."
Kaoru gave her a strange look.
How could there possibly be such a thing as a "cold, distant master-servant relationship" in this world?
"Still, I'm curious—how exactly did you pull this off?" Kushida couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Horikita makes sense, but surely the others weren't all threatened by you too?"
Kaoru took a sip of his coffee.
This again—how was he supposed to answer?
"Is this what you wanted to ask?"
"What do you mean, what I wanted to ask?" Kushida puffed up her cheeks, glaring at him.
"A master should tell their slave everything. A slave has the right to know everything about their master."
"I'm a pervert," Kaoru Mitoma answered succinctly.
Kushida kicked him under the table again, completely devoid of the angelic demeanor she was supposed to have.
Seeing Kaoru wince slightly seemed to lift her mood.
Her expression brightened, and she leaned in, whispering, "You did something dirty with Horikita again, didn't you?"
"We do it every week," Kaoru replied calmly.
He had known from the start that Kushida hadn't invited him to the café just for idle chatter.
"Disgusting." Kushida's face flushed, though her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"The sports festival is about to start, and I still haven't seen her in a gym uniform. Can you take me along?"
"Are you sure you're not a lesbian?" Kaoru asked skeptically.
"Say that again and I'll bite you to death!" Kushida snapped back without hesitation.
"The point isn't her wearing a gym uniform—it's watching her put one on and then get played with by a man until she's a complete mess."
"Pervert," Kaoru shot back, a rare counterattack from him.
For her to say something like that in public—this little angel was beyond saving.
"You're the pervert, not me. I'm not the one doing it," Kushida retorted, her face burning red.
But realizing she was getting a little too worked up, she lowered her voice.
"I've thought of a brilliant plan. Didn't you say she'd never accept being humiliated in front of others?"
"I did say that. What about it?" Kaoru felt a flicker of curiosity.
Judging by her expression, she seemed to be brewing some outrageous scheme.
"Ahem, what do you think would happen if she had a companion?" Kushida knew her cheeks were burning, but she had to continue.
"It's embarrassing in front of outsiders, but when you think about having a companion who's equally humiliated, doesn't that make it easier to accept?"
Kaoru fully understood her meaning and remained silent for a long time.
"N-no, I'm not asking you to actually discipline me. I just want to watch from the sidelines... or maybe let me discipline Horikita too. I'd be happy with that."
"Is that your request?"
"Is it strange?"
"Not strange, I'm just a bit curious about your history with Suzune."
"There's no history between us—nothing compared to you. You're already calling her 'Suzune' now." Kushida took a sip of coffee, the bitterness lingering on her tongue.
"It's just irritation, that's all."
Kaoru studied her for a moment before speaking.
"I can agree to that. In return, you should tell me about your past."
"What's this? Does my attitude toward Horikita bother you that much?" Kushida replied stiffly.
"I want to know about Kikyo-chan's past, that's all." Kaoru paused.
"Consider it me taking back what I said earlier. I'm interested in your little friendship game."
Kushida pursed her lips, but deep down, she knew this was precisely what had brought them together.
Back on the rooftop that day, Kaoru had keenly noticed how obsessively she cared about her image and had outright blackmailed her.
Unlike back then, she now felt it wouldn't matter even if she told Kaoru everything.
After a semester of interaction, she had come to understand him well enough.
There was no doubt—this man was indeed a lecher.
Yet he had an innate sense of boundaries, making things feel more like playful teasing than actual humiliation or degradation.
In other words, Kushida sometimes felt like they were flirting.
What astonished her even more was that despite having every opportunity to make a move, Kaoru had never pushed things further.
Every time she thought about it, her feelings became indescribably complicated.
Honestly, even a boyfriend wouldn't show this much restraint—to the point where she'd started questioning her own appeal.
Fortunately, Kaoru had recently proven himself otherwise.
Just as Kushida was about to speak, she suddenly spotted a figure in the distance and immediately shifted her expression, flashing a pleasantly surprised smile as she greeted them.
"Oh! What a coincidence, Hasebe-san! Fancy running into you here!"
At her voice, Kaoru instinctively turned and saw Hasebe Haruka standing not far behind them.
"What a coincidence! Are you and Mitoma-kun on a date?" Hasebe Haruka clearly seemed just as surprised.
"Ahaha, it's so crowded right now—why don't you join us, Hasebe-san?"
Though Kushida had no intention of competing for any man, she also wouldn't deny her relationship with Kaoru.
After all, they were master and slave.
"Eh, is that really okay? I wouldn't be interrupting anything?" Hasebe tilted her head.
"Not at all! If it's just you, it's fine." Kushida maintained her smile.
She wanted to test Hasebe a little.
And so, before Kaoru could even interject, the two girls had already settled the matter between themselves.
Although it was a shared table, Hasebe naturally wouldn't sit next to him, instead taking a seat beside Kushida.
The coffee she had been holding was now placed on the table, faint wisps of steam rising from it.
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