Chapter 1353 Rumor Again?

With hundreds of students attending this school, the chance that a student could wander to this corner of the school wasn't zero. I mean, Satsuki and I also chanced upon this place when we just wanted to go somewhere private.

However, for that wandering student to knock on this clubhouse's door specifically, there's a huge possibility that it's someone I know.

Furthermore, this place should still look as dilapidated as every clubhouse on this side of the school. We only tidied up the interior, after all.

So, that nailed it.

Whoever it is, he or she knows that there's someone inside and most likely, it's either someone who knows me or Itou.

In any case, there's no reason to expose to them that I'm alone with her here. It's just out of the question. I have to drive whoever it is away.

This should be our sanctuary. A place where my girls and I could relax without caring about other people in this school.

That should remain the same even if our complex relationship eventually comes to light.

"Wait here. I'll go see who it is." I instructed the girl.

Itou stared at me in response. She looked like she was about to say something but perhaps noticing the concern plastered on my face, she reeled it in.

Understanding that, I leaned forward to kiss her once more before whispering, "We're going to play this today. No one can disturb us."

"Psh. I'm not worried about that, idiot. Just go. I'll wait here." Itou pushed my chest to send me away. However, she also chased my lips to get another kiss.

Although we're still in the early stages of our relationship, seeing her slowly becoming more straightforward was such a welcome surprise. She's also looking prettier whenever her cheeks turn pink. Her title as the number one beauty in our year was holding up.

And because I intentionally let myself get caught by her, I spent another couple of seconds tasting her sweet lips before standing up to finally go check downstairs.

Understanding that there was also another possibility that the person knocking on the door could also be someone unrelated to us, I waited for the second knock before going out through the backdoor and creeping through the side to check their identity first.

Making sure that I wouldn't step onto dried branches or leaves, I soon reached the corner.

Peeking from there, my eyes quickly zoomed in on the person waiting at the front door.

As it turns out, it's really someone I am acquainted with. Or rather, Itou and I knew her well.

Miura-senpai.

Furthermore, she's not alone. There's another girl behind her and if my memory serves me right, she's the second year from their club.

Well, I never paid too much attention to her before. Moreover, she's wearing a blue hoodie over her uniform. Her long brown hair was seemingly held by that hood behind her. Furthermore, she appeared to be wearing wireless headphones around her neck.

Yeah, she's not exactly using it at the moment. I guess that's part of her fashion.

In any case… the question remains. Why are the two of them here? Should I still come out and let them in?

To make sure that I didn't miss anything or anyone, my eyes also wandered to the road and to the direction that everyone would come from.

No one else was around apart from the two.

I was about to return to the backside of the clubhouse to think about my next step when I heard Miura-senpai's voice.

"Weird, why is there no one answering the door? Did that girl give us the wrong information?"

I could sense the frustration in her voice but upon hearing the content of what she said, it instantly got my curiosity.

Did they come here thanks to some girl's information? Then does that mean it's a coincidence that we know the two of them?

A second later, I also heard the second-year girl's voice, responding to Miura-senpai.

"Kotone-senpai, I don't think someone is here. This place looks abandoned. You heard that the Student Council doesn't even advertise this corner. But to be fair, this truly seems to be a perfect place for a haunted story. We should make a horror-themed board game sometimes. Or better yet an actual digital game."

I don't know if Itou could hear them from upstairs but with just that small exchange, it revealed that they came here based on some information. Not because of us. As for what kind of information, I had no idea yet…

Abandoning the thought to go back inside, I once again carefully went back to my previous position to peek and eavesdrop further on their conversation.

"You game freak. I asked you to accompany me in finding out if the rumor we heard is true, not to fuel your game developer brain. You've been harsh to Maaya-chan last time. See how she immediately overhauled that game she created. Give the girl a break next time."

"Uh… Ain't that better? She managed to perfect it in a short time. I had fun playing it yesterday."

"Even so, you should treat your juniors better. At least, those who are as passionate as you towards games."

"Is this conversation really fit for this place? You're getting sidetracked, Kotone-senpai. Let's go back. No one's here."

"I heard steps earlier. There can't be no one."

"You sure that came from a living being?"

"Girl, are you trying to scare yourself? Alright. Everyone must've been waiting for us. My sister is there too. That girl is a handful."

"I think it's a tie. You're also a handful, Kotone-senpai. It's making me wonder why the President wants to date you."

So, they're here to confirm a rumor… But what kind of rumor? And well, their conversation derailed almost instantly.

It's rather informative though. The second-year girl was just clueless about how to play nicely with her junior. Her intention was also rather pure.

For sure, if Itou could hear them, her mind would be at ease.

Should I continue eavesdropping? Well, I should make sure that they go away. Also, they already gave me no choice but to continue listening.

Miura-senpai's reply immediately arrived in retort to that last part. And yes, at this point, they had long drifted away from their main topic.

"I'm not a handful! He's been around me since middle school… He just thinks we're dating when he never actually confessed. And I only see him as a male best friend or something like that."

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"Huh? That's new, Kotone-senpai… Shouldn't you tell him? He seems very happy with the idea that he's close to you."

"I wish it was that easy. I already hinted about it to him a lot of times but he's not picking it up."

"Why not directly tell him about it?"

"You think he can accept the truth easily?"

"Ah… you're right. But that sounds like you're just stringing him along, Kotone-senpai. He's a little cute. Should I pick him up for you, Kotone-senpai?"

"Huh? Don't tell me you're going to treat him as some kind of a challenging game?"

"Teehee~I got caught. But why not?"

"You game freak! Did you hear that? You're pretty cruel yourself. Do it only if you're serious and forget about it if not. Nishimura and I are about to graduate this year. I won't be stringing him along any further after that." After rebuking the second-year girl, Miura-senpai's voice then became laced with concern and lament over Nishimura-senpai.

Most likely, she's also troubled about the current state of their relationship. She thought she had her hands tied.

Anyway, it's not like I could perfectly understand their situation from that conversation. It might just be Miura-senpai's side of the story for all we know.

A minute later, their topic never returned to the rumor and Miura-senpai finally decided to give up, making me sigh in relief.

When I heard their footsteps as they started walking away from the clubhouse, I quickly moved to the backside, hiding from their sight.

And before returning to Itou, I escorted them with my eyes until they disappeared at a distant corner.

What should I make of the information I heard? Uh. I'll think about that later. I have a girl waiting for my return.