Chapter 80: Caught Cheating
"Pull your collar up a bit higher, the marks haven't completely faded yet."
On Monday, Ren and the other two came to school. They had originally wanted to take another day off, but if Ren kept their daughter away for the entire weekend and didn't go to school on Monday, even the most understanding parents would have complaints.
So they came to school anyway, and Yuno walked behind Ren, helping him pull his collar up slightly. On the back of his neck were two or three faint red marks that didn't look like scratches or mosquito bites, but rather like they'd been made by human teeth.
"Thank you."
After whispering his thanks, Ren reached up to touch the back of his neck. After his mind had turned to mush, both Karen and Hitori had bitten him, so he wasn't sure who had left these particular marks.
"Try to show some restraint. Here's lunch—please accept it, Ren."
Yuno spoke with a melancholic expression as she produced the prepared lunch boxes—three full portions.
"You weren't watching the whole weekend, were you?"
Ren's expression became complicated when he saw the lunches. Although he had woken up last night, they had fallen back asleep soon after, and he hadn't had time to prepare lunch this morning. He hadn't expected Yuno to have prepared everything.
Ren knew that most of what he did couldn't be hidden from Yuno, but he hadn't expected her to actually watch the entire time and even prepare lunches for them.
This was no different from intensely stalking someone you like in an erotic novel, except she wasn't the female lead.
"I was watching."
As Yuno said this, her expression grew even more sorrowful.
Although the Future Diary she possessed was both a Cheating Detection Artifact and Stalking Artifact, those functions only worked properly when she was the main love interest.
Now that she had lost, the information she gained from observing Ren's ten-minute future felt more like torture than anything useful.
She could only watch but not participate, yet somehow still felt aroused, and ultimately couldn't resist practicing some self-relief.
It was quite embarrassing, but having fallen behind step by step, at least she could continue stalking Ren—unlike Satou, who had texted Ren only to find him making out with Karen.
However, this wasn't entirely a disadvantage. Rather than being crushed by this bitterness, Yuno found an opportunity to build better relationships with Ren and Hitori through it.
Having proper lunch was always better than just eating bread, so Ren accepted her kindness.
...
"Why didn't you tell me!?"
After witnessing all this, Satou waited until Yuno returned to her seat before complaining to her indignantly.
Weren't they supposed to be an unbreakable alliance? How could Yuno sneak ahead with making lunches? She could cook too.
"I forgot~"
Yuno said with a somewhat apologetic expression, though she had actually done it intentionally.
Sisters for life—we share troubles together, but I enjoy blessings alone.
"Hmph."
Naturally, Satou wasn't fooled by Yuno's excuse, but she couldn't be bothered to care about such a small matter. As long as Yuno didn't sneak ahead when they went to see Ren, it was fine.
But they wouldn't have any opportunities during this period anyway. Originally, when Hitori went to Kessoku Band, Ren would either stay home alone playing games or go out for drives by himself.
After Karen joined the fray, whenever Hitori was absent, she would accompany Ren. Sometimes they would return to their cozy little home where she'd watch Ren play games, other times they'd go out for drives—truly inseparable for even a moment.
Thus, Yuno found no opportunity to sneak in any mischief and could only continue waiting for the right timing.
But Anon possessed no ability to foresee the future. Though she had met Karen, she believed even couples in the honeymoon phase wouldn't cling together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Learning that Hitori had gone to Kessoku Band today, Anon—her resolve slightly wavering—decided to visit Ren's home.
"Ren, are you busy?"
She entered the main gate without ringing the doorbell, but before stepping into the room, Anon knocked and then walked in, giving Ren a chance to minimize his computer screen back to the desktop wallpaper.
"Wait!!"
Ren had just begun to ask Anon to hold on when she pushed the door open and entered the room.
The familiarity of childhood friends meant they respected each other's privacy yet didn't stand on excessive ceremony, so Anon walked straight into the room without hesitation.
There she found Ren playing Delta Force, though his attention seemed scattered. Another guest was present in the room—Karen crouched under the computer desk, both hands covering her mouth, her face flushed with embarrassment and confusion.
"?"
After taking two steps forward to clearly see the situation, Anon froze momentarily before her face turned crimson. Trembling, she raised a finger to point at Ren, shouted "Shameless!" and ran away.
"Ehehe~ Forgot to lock the door~"
Karen, who had struggled to swallow and climb out from under the computer desk, scratched her cheek sheepishly. Since Ren lived alone, she hadn't been particularly cautious while sneaking her indulgence, never expecting Anon to drop by.
"Go rinse your mouth first."
With desire having overridden rational thought, Ren didn't overanalyze the situation either, getting up to accompany Karen to the bathroom.
When he played games, Karen rarely disturbed him and never complained about being neglected.
But as time passed—it was already Thursday, another week nearly over—after being a good girl for four days to make up for last weekend's excesses, Karen had begun to lose her patience.
Though Ren intended to exercise restraint and save their physical needs for weekend dates, when Karen became unreasonable she couldn't be bothered with sensible arguments.
So while Ren played his game, she attended to her own needs—until Anon walked in on them.
The incident left Karen somewhat ashamed, though she only blamed herself for forgetting to lock the door. Otherwise, after finishing her covert indulgence, she could have pulled Ren into semi-reluctantly joining her in bed.
Women could not only affect Ren's reaction speed in shooting games, but also undermine his original intentions when gaming—truly a terrifying influence.
After that little incident, Karen didn't dwell on it much. After rinsing her mouth, she clung to Ren coquettishly, persuading him to make dinner and inviting Anon to join them.
Ren didn't hold out much hope about this—the awkwardness comparable to walking in on a childhood friend practicing "handcraft skills" could easily keep them tense around each other for days.
Still, he sent a message to Anon, and she came over as expected. Her face remained flushed with embarrassment, and after shooting Ren a fierce glare, she instead struck up an animated conversation with Karen.
The friendship between girls worked in mysterious ways. Seeing that Anon didn't seem too affected, Ren felt relieved and proceeded to make dinner for both his lover and his childhood friend.
After dinner, Karen headed home earlier than previous days, and she insisted that Ren not accompany her, deliberately creating space for him and Anon to talk.