Chapter 175: Spanked on the Desk!

“I won’t charge for boarding, and I can give you a monthly allowance.”

After all, Nanami was looking for a part-time job, wasn’t she?

Himekoji didn’t have much savings himself, but his next book was almost ready. If he tightened his belt a bit, he could probably afford to hire a “little helper” for Mashiro.

Thinking about it—he was a “bestselling author,” yet here he was, counting every penny. Honestly…

Well.

Just wait until he had money!

…

“An allowance? From you?!”

Nanami took a deep breath, her chest heaving.

“Yeah, I’d give you every month…”

“Pervert!”

Nanami’s face flushed bright red. Angry and embarrassed, she cut him off. She glanced around, grabbed a notebook from the desk, and flung it at Himekoji.

Himekoji was completely confused. He was just trying to help! She’d been fine a moment ago—why was she suddenly furious?

He had no idea what he’d done to upset miss “high-and-mighty.”

He quickly raised his arms to shield himself.

“Hey, hey! What’s wrong with you? Can’t we talk this through?”

“What’s wrong with me? How about you ask yourself what you’re trying to pull? You pervert! Filthy pervert! Major pervert! Super, super, ultra pervert!”

She yelled, not stopping her assault for a second.

“Chill out! What’s gotten into you?!”

Himekoji grabbed her firmly, pinning the fuming Nanami down.

If he really let her do whatever she wanted, even if he didn’t mind, the System absolutely wouldn’t let her off easy!

[Ding!]

[Please choose!]

Great…

The System was always extra eager at times like this, never missing an opportunity—

[Option A: Fight Back! Tie Her Up! SM! Unleash Your Instincts!]

[Option B: Fight Back! Pin Her to the Desk and Spank Her!]

[Option A reward: Gain Skill – “Master of Ropes!”]

[Option B reward: Unlock Achievement – “I Love Learning♂!”]

[Failure penalty: Become a masochist.]

Himekoji glanced at the options, thinking it over. While he really wanted the “Master of Ropes” skill, in the end, he could only reluctantly choose B.

“…You forced me into this.”

To ease his guilty conscience a little, Himekoji blamed it on Nanami.

No, wait—was it really blame?

Honestly, this was Nanami’s fault, right?

Himekoji pretended to feel wronged.

…

In one swift motion, he pinned Aoyama Nanami face-down on the desk. Himekoji felt incredibly strong right now.

“Y-you! What are you doing? Couldn’t keep me with sugar daddy money so now force is your plan?!”

“S-sugar daddy? Wait! What are you talking about?!”

Himekoji was stunned for a moment, but then…

It suddenly made sense!

Inviting Nanami to live at his place… paying her monthly… combined with his notorious reputation as a pervert…

Is that what she thought he meant?

“Let me go! I-I actually thought you were my friend!”

F-Friends?

So Nanami considered him… a friend?

His raised hand paused slightly—

[Countdown begins!]

Hearing the prompt, Himekoji snapped back to reality with a bitter smile. He gave a tiny, almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of his mouth, then brought his palm down hard!

Whack!

It felt amazing. Truly the bottom of a young high school girl—firm and bouncy, full of youthful energy.

Even though Himekoji had felt quite a few before, he was genuinely pleased.

Wow, Nanami’s bottom really gives a satisfying spank…

Wait!

He actually… actually had that thought?

Didn’t that make him exactly like a pervert?

[Quest Completed!]

The instant he got the System’s feedback, Himekoji forced himself to pull his hand away from Nanami’s pert backside.

He was reluctant, but he moved as fast as someone touching a live wire.

“Y-you think you’re tough? Keep going!”

Still face-down on the desk, flushed with humiliation and anger, Nanami hissed through clenched teeth.

“Uh… that’s not it… let me explain… oh, never mind. I’m sorry.”

Himekoji started to say something, but after opening his mouth a couple of times, he gave up.

“I said—if you think you’re tough, keep going!”

Nanami seemed really mad.

Himekoji had already let go and wasn’t holding her down anymore, but she remained in that position, not moving an inch.

Only her shoulders trembled faintly.

“I’m sorry, I went too far… but you really shouldn’t have misunderstood me so badly.”

He knew apologizing was useless right now.

“Misunderstood what?”

To Himekoji’s surprise, though, Nanami seemed willing to listen to his explanation after all.

The girl was asking him.

“I never meant to support Aoyama financially… How could I say such lowly words to her?”

Since she was willing to listen, Himekoji braced himself and spoke.

“Aren’t you just that kind of pervert?”

Yet, after just one sentence, she cut him off.

Ah… wasn’t he exactly that kind of lowly pervert? Someone who could spout any terrible words easily.

He opened his mouth but found no words.

“Go on!”

Instead, the girl urged again, her tone still icy like before, tinged with lingering anger.

G-go on?

Wait… did Nana mean she wanted to believe him?

“What I really meant was hiring you to help take care of a girl. Sorry I wasn’t clear.”

“Take care of a girl? Your Imouto?”

“Just wake her up in the morning, help her dress, make bento, do laundry, bathe her, tidy her room, stuff like that…”

Himekoji avoided directly answering her second question.

“That’s all?”

“Mmh. I have a spare room in my place. Absolutely nothing you’re worried about will happen.”

Himekoji stated this seriously.

“Coming from a pervert like you, that’s not convincing at all!”

“…Not possible?”

Himekoji had thought this plan would help Nanami, help himself, and be good for Mashiro too – a win-win for all three.

But clearly, he’d oversimplified things.

“True, it doesn’t fit Aoyama’s image. People finding out could lead to gossip at school… plus the Sensei might scold us… Yeah, seems impossible.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Himekoji’s words elicited a hint of dissatisfaction from Nanami.

But he didn’t know why she was displeased. He only knew asking Nanami directly would make her angrier, yet staying silent would earn him a fierce glare.

“Why not?”

In the end, he asked.

“This… wouldn’t it be living together?”

“Rest assured! Like I told you earlier, nothing will happen! Even if Aoyama stays at my place, it’s meaningless! Utterly meaningless! I wouldn’t dare have those kinds of thoughts!”

He’d try his best to avoid whatever choices his System offered.

Probably safer than when it was just him and Mashiro living there.

As long as they weren’t totally alone, the System’s triggers weren’t unbearable – a lesson Himekoji had learned over the past year.

To his surprise, this statement caused Nanami’s expression to shift dramatically.

“You mean I have no charm?”

For some reason, Aoyama Nanami, who was still lying on the desk keeping her bottom stuck out position, suddenly turned her head to glare furiously at Himekoji Akito.

“N-no… how could I?”

Yet, as Himekoji spoke, the determination in Nanami’s eyes began wavering. Anxious, she lowered her gaze, drifting to the floor and then somewhere distant.

Still, she peeked at Himekoji from the corner of her eye.

“So… you don’t see me as a girl? Is that what you meant?”

“No, no! Not at all!”

Where was this sudden topic coming from?

“Then what do you think?”

The unease and expectation shining through Nanami’s frank, cute voice rattled Himekoji, making his heart stumble.

At a loss, he could only open and close his mouth dumbfoundedly.

“What do you think?”

Cornered by her questions, a flustered Himekoji’s voice faltered oddly as he answered—

“You are! Charming! Just now I was… just acting out of spite! Or maybe kind of shy! If Aoyama stayed… I’d probably have nosebleeds every day! I might bleed out and die!”

Himekoji hurriedly blurted out everything in one breath.

Nanami stared at him intently.

“Pfft!”

Suddenly, the body lying on the desk arched even more sharply. The girl desperately held back laughter.

“Uh, Miss Aoyama? Were you… pretending to be angry just now?”

Nanami sat up, wiping tears that escaped from laughing too much.

“Even though you’re clearly a huge pervert… Himekoji can sometimes seem really innocent.”

Innocent?

That was probably the first time he’d gotten that kind of review.

His feelings were indescribably complicated.

“Nanami you…”

“You’d best watch out. Girls can be very tricky.”

Nanami interrupted what Himekoji was going to say.

“I-is that so? Nanami’s acting was spot on… You really looked furious back there.”

“Thank you. That’s the greatest compliment.”

Her dream was to become a Seiyuu (voice actress).

Praising her acting ability was naturally seen as praising her potential as a Seiyuu too.

Saying that, Nanami suddenly lifted her gaze as if noticing something above Himekoji… or rather behind him.

Confused, Himekoji instinctively turned around—

He saw Mashiro standing at the Classroom door.

Mashiro tipped her head slightly. She stared at Himekoji for two seconds, glanced at Nanami, then looked back at Himekoji.

“What were you two doing?”

“Just now…?”

Had she seen him smacking Nanami’s bottom?

Despite asking, the girl didn’t seem concerned about the answer.

Mashiro walked straight up to Himekoji.

“Today, I found Akito’s classroom twice. Akito can praise me.”

…