Forcibly shooing away Eriri, who was finally starting to grow a brain, Ren didn't hog the entire bench. Instead, he moved a bit toward the edge.
"Have you heard enough? Come on out."
Ren spoke indifferently after popping a candy into his own mouth to soothe the headache Eriri had given him.
There was no movement from behind, as if Ren were talking to thin air. The scene turned cold for a moment.
"If you don't come out, I'm leaving." Ren didn't mind speaking up again.
"Kohai-kun, you really are sharp."
From behind a cherry blossom tree near the bench, Utaha Kasumigaoka brushed a strand of hair falling by her ear and spoke with a smile to Ren, who was sitting in front without even turning his head.
After the falling out between Tomoya and Eriri in the clubroom, Utaha had been conflicted for a moment about who she should go after.
After Eriri had said those things to Tomoya, if she had gone to comfort him, it would have undoubtedly been a perfect opportunity to win him over. If it had been the old Utaha, perhaps she would have done just that.
However, after her chat with Ren on the rooftop and Tomoya's refusal to look at her second volume draft in the club, Utaha's mindset had begun to change.
After her internal struggle, Utaha chose to find Eriri. She really wanted to see how Eriri had changed; after all, in the past, whenever Tomoya mentioned their childhood, Eriri's attitude would soften instantly.
The change in Eriri's personality might even be helpful for the second volume of Metronome in Love. Professionally or personally, seeking out her "arch-rival" Eriri was Utaha's best option.
Yet, even Utaha hadn't expected that by the time she found the emo-ing Eriri, Ren was already a step ahead of her, actively engaging Eriri in conversation.
In Utaha's eyes, Ren and Eriri shouldn't have had much of a connection. If she had rushed in to join their talk, and if Ren had wanted to make a move on both of them, they wouldn't have had any chance to resist.
To ensure Eriri's safety—and also to satisfy her own curiosity—Utaha had quietly hidden behind the tree to eavesdrop on their conversation.
As she listened, Utaha's impression of Ren grew even stronger.
She had initially thought Ren approached Eriri to take advantage of her vulnerability and win her over before Tomoya could. She didn't expect him to be giving Eriri a lesson—a lesson to make her see her own position clearly.
Noticing that Ren had left a space for her, just as he had on the rooftop that afternoon, Utaha pressed down the hem of her skirt and sat down quite like a lady.
"Kohai-kun, do you hate Tomoya-kun that much?"
Seeing that Ren had no intention of starting the conversation, Utaha took the initiative to find a topic.
Ren clearly didn't know Tomoya before transferring to Sobu High, so why had he been targeting him since the start of school? If the first day was because Tomoya interrupted Ren's speech—resulting in Ren hanging him from a tree to lose face in front of the students—there was a clear cause.
But the subsequent actions of seeking out Eriri and reverse-brainwashing her... Utaha couldn't understand it.
Given the cold attitude Ren showed when he refused to pretend to be her boyfriend on the rooftop, he shouldn't have gone out of his way to advise Eriri, even if Eriri was a genuine beauty.
There were too many pretty girls at Sobu High School., and a "tsundere" like Eriri was clearly even less likeable than herself. Perhaps some people loved a tsundere blonde loli like Eriri, but Utaha didn't believe Ren would be one of them.
"Does Senpai also think that your club's dissolution was caused by me?"
The rays of sunlight shining through the dense leaves brought a unique warmth to Ren. He narrowed his eyes in enjoyment.
"The club's dissolution has nothing to do with Kohai-kun. Even without that incident with you, the dissolution of Tomoya's club was only a matter of time."
Utaha shook her head in denial.
Taking the club funds approved by the school but not doing any real work—having produced nothing useful from the second half of the first year until now—the school couldn't keep supporting this "bloodsucker" of a club forever. The only reason it hadn't been dissolved was that the school hadn't gotten around to it yet.
Now that Tomoya's reckless behavior had caught the school's attention, no one else could be blamed.
It was only a matter of time before the club was dissolved.
"Then what do you mean, Senpai?"
Ren was somewhat surprised by Utaha's answer. He thought she, like Eriri, would have been guided by Tomoya to pin the blame on him, but he hadn't expected her to be so "sensible."
"Eriri. I'm talking about Eriri."
"Kohai-kun actively sought out Eriri and said so much to her. Isn't it because you want to continue retaliating against Tomoya for interrupting your speech on the opening day?"
Ren, who had no relation to Eriri, had approached her and said so much. The only thing Utaha could think of was that Ren wanted to suppress Tomoya through Eriri.
"Senpai, would you care about an ant scurrying around beneath your feet?"
An ant...
Utaha understood Ren's meaning. For Ren, crushing Tomoya was as simple as crushing an ant. If Ren really wanted revenge against Tomoya, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble, let alone free Eriri from Tomoya's control first. That would be entirely redundant.
"Then why did Kohai-kun..."
Utaha turned her head to look at Ren, wanting to see what he was really up to. At the same time, she shifted a bit closer to him.
"Since Senpai wants to know the answer, are you willing to pay the corresponding price?"
Ren's "addiction" acted up, and he began to cast the bait.
"Price?"
Utaha was surprised, not understanding what kind of price Ren was talking about.
"Yes. Senpai only needs to pay a very small price."
Ren gestured a "fingertip universe" (tiny) gap, a smile appearing on his face.
...
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Utaha couldn't resist the temptation of knowing the answer and accepted Ren's proposal.
And the price was that Ren had to pet her like a cat for a while.
"Kohai-kun, is that enough?"
Straightening out her long hair that had been ruffled by Ren's rubbing, Utaha spoke with a touch of wordlessness.
Having satisfied his urge to pet, Ren began to provide the answer for Utaha.
"Senpai, your starting point is wrong. It's not that I want revenge against Tomoya; it's that Eriri wants revenge against Tomoya."
"The debt Tomoya owed me, I've already collected. Now, it's Eriri's turn to collect the debt Tomoya owes her."
"Eriri isn't a Golden Retriever; she was meant to be a proud lion."
Now that it's clear to her that someone was trying to "tame" her, how do you think she will act?