The storage room fell silent after thirty minutes had passed, leaving only soft breaths and lingering warmth in the air. The sunlight streaming through small cracks in the walls illuminated the room, now filled with an atmosphere different from before.
After pulling up her skirt and putting her panties back on, Masha made a new request to Ren.
"Ren-kun, accompany me shopping after I finish my student council work."
"Shopping for what?" Ren asked as he tightened his belt.
Her fingers smoothing her slightly disheveled hair, Masha spoke with a hint of shyness.
"Underwear. It seems the size doesn't fit anymore. My breast size has increased... I think it's because you massage them too often."
"Cough...!"
Ren choked on air, not expecting such a straightforward answer to come from Masha's lips. He was about to open his mouth to defend himself when the girl continued with a slightly complaining tone.
"You know, Ren-kun... something else has changed too."
"What do you mean?"
"The color of my areolas has started to fade. They used to be pink, but now they're a bit brown. This isn't the areola color a high school girl should have... It's more like that of a housewife."
"Ha Ha Ha... Sorry, I can't help myself when I see your beautiful breasts, Masha."
Seeing his awkward expression, Masha smiled softly. She knew from the start that Ren would react like this, and it amused her.
"Don't think too much about it, Ren-kun. I'm not blaming you. On the contrary, I consider this proof that you love me very much."
After straightening her wrinkled uniform, Masha looked at him with a concerned expression. "Ren-kun, how are you going to respond to the rumors going around?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Rumors?"
"You don't know?" Masha looked slightly surprised.
Ren just shrugged casually. "Well, I skipped school today. So, I don't know about any rumors about me."
His indifference made Masha sigh deeply. The person at the center of the issue was acting so relaxed, while she, who wasn't involved, was more worried.
"There's a bad rumor about you, Ren-kun. They say you're a scumbag who threatens female students to submit to you."
"Oh."
Hearing Masha's explanation, Ren narrowed his eyes, his expression beginning to change.
"Obviously, it's just a rumor without concrete evidence. But, you know how gossip works. The rumor is spreading like wildfire. Almost all second-year students are talking about it, and even first and third-year students are starting to join in." Masha said helplessly.
'So that's the reason for their stares earlier? Disgust, disdain... Boring people.' Ren mocked in his heart.
Masha continued with a concerned tone, "Actually, they don't care whether it's true or not. As long as the person being slandered isn't them, they don't care. In fact, some are happy to see others suffer more than themselves."
His expression darkened. Ren didn't care about what people said, but...
"I admit I am a scumbag. I won't deny if I've done something unethical or against norms. However, I won't admit to something I didn't even do."
He already had a suspicion about who was behind this rumor. But to confirm, he looked at Masha and asked, "Who was the first person to spread this rumor?"
Hesitating for a moment, Masha finally answered, "Tobe-kun. Our classmate."
Hearing that name, Ren wasn't surprised. His speculation was correct.
'Tobe, huh... Just a clown. A sycophant who constantly flatters Hayama Hayato, as if by doing so he could climb to the top of the school's social hierarchy.'
'Does he think he's really on top just because he hangs out with popular people? Does he think I'm afraid of him just because I didn't bother dealing with him yesterday?'
Ren didn't respond to Tobe's antics earlier because he was too lazy to waste time on someone useless. But now, that clown wasn't just playing with fire—he was pouring gasoline on it.
'Fine. Since his life doesn't have much impact on the world anyway, let him become nutrients for the fish in Tokyo Bay.'
As a result, Ren had already decided Tobe's fate.
Unaware of Ren's fish conservation plan in Tokyo Bay, Masha looked at him worriedly.
"Ren-kun...?"
Realizing that his expression might be a bit scary, Ren smiled and gently patted her head.
"Don't worry. Rumors like this won't last long. People will forget about it soon."
"But—"
"Trust me. Compared to talking about me, people will be more interested in discussing Heaven's Flare."
Masha fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. Ren was right. A major event like that was far more interesting to people than some cheap rumor about a high school boy.
Though there was still a bit of worry in her heart, she chose to believe in Ren. After all, she cared about this man—just as she cared about her younger sister, Alya.
"Alright. But if something bothers you, tell me, okay? After all, I'm a member of the student council, I still have some authority at school."
"Geez, since when did the kind-hearted Masha abuse her authority?"
"It's only for Ren-kun."
Before leaving, Masha reminded Ren to wait for her to finish her student council work.
"I'll message you when I'm done, okay?"
Ren just smiled, saying nothing. As an answer, he pulled her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Masha returned it before finally breaking away and leaving with light steps.
After her departure, Ren sighed. Now, he had to deal with the mess caused by their passionate actions. The storage room still bore traces of their intimacy, from the lingering scent in the air to the mat that could no longer be called dry.
Suddenly, he spoke into the air.
"How does it feel to watch live compared to just reading magazines or watching videos? I want to hear your thoughts."
"..."
Silence.
No one answered, but he knew someone was there. His perception as a Campione was extraordinary. After using his Heavenly Eye to check for a third party, he didn't do anything after confirming the other person wasn't secretly recording with their phone, just watching quietly while masturbating.
"Suou-san, peeping isn't a praiseworthy hobby."
His gaze shifted to a stack of boxes in the corner of the room. A few seconds later, a soft sigh was heard, and from behind the boxes emerged a girl with an elegant aura, unshaken even after being caught peeping.
Suou Yuki.
Holding the position of Public Relations in the student council.
A girl with a perfect image in front of everyone, including Ren.
With a calm demeanor, Yuki clasped her hands in front of her chest, then looked at him with a sad expression.
"You misunderstood, Rokuhara-kun, I wasn't peeping. I was checking the newly arrived items. Suddenly, Rokuhara-kun and Maria-san came in. Before I could greet you, I saw you kissing."
She let out a soft sigh, adding in a tone as if she truly regretted the situation, "Feeling like I missed the right timing, I chose to hide... but who would have thought you two would do something immoral in a school environment?"
"So, you stayed out of curiosity?" Ren smirked.
"Technically, this isn't my fault. I just happened to be here first. Besides, if anyone's at fault here, it's you, Rokuhara-kun." Yuki's voice sounded confident.