Seeing that their plan had failed, Sayuri and the others simply began to enjoy the hot spring. They walked together toward Tsushima Kagami, who was soaking near the door, and sat down beside him.
"What? Finally gave up?" Tsushima Kagami asked with a smile, looking at Sayuri and the others sitting beside him.
"Oh my, it wasn't a prank. We were just joking with you a little," Machida Sonoko also laughed.
"Oh my god, Kagami-kun, you actually have abs!"
Hearing Sayuri's exclamation, Machida Sonoko and Kosaka Akane also noticed that while Tsushima Kagami usually looked tall and thin, he was actually the type who looked slim in clothes but had muscle underneath. This was their first time seeing Tsushima Kagami's bare upper body.
As soon as Sayuri finished speaking, she planned to reach out and touch, but her hand was slapped away by Tsushima Kagami.
"Don't touch randomly!"
"So stingy. I just wanted to touch to see if they're real."
"Of course they're real."
"Then let me touch."
"No."
Tsushima Kagami swatted Sayuri's hand away again, and Machida Sonoko laughed from the side.
"Is Kagami-kun shy?"
"How could I be shy!"
"Ahahahaha!"
Just as he finished speaking, Tsushima Kagami was caught off guard when Kosaka Akane slid her finger directly across his abdominal muscles. His body jolted, and he trembled involuntarily.
Sayuri and Machida Sonoko looked at Tsushima Kagami's reaction in surprise, then burst into laughter again.
"So Kagami-kun is the type who's ticklish!"
After saying this, all three reached out to scratch at Tsushima Kagami. Tsushima Kagami seized the opportunity to scoop up spring water and splash it at the three of them, eliciting a burst of girlish squeals. He then hurriedly ran away, only to be chased from behind by the three of them.
After quite a bit of frolicking, the four of them sat back in their original soaking spots, panting heavily.
"Does Kagami-kun have a girlfriend?"
Kosaka Akane's unexpected topic caused both Sayuri and Machida Sonoko to look at her in surprise, and then stare at Tsushima Kagami.
Tsushima Kagami turned around comfortably, lying prone on a flat hot spring rock nearby.
"What's this? Isn't the romance talk segment supposed to be before bed at night? Why start now?"
"I just suddenly thought of the manga Kagami-kun draws. I feel the portrayal of feelings between men and women in them is too good."
"I feel like someone who hasn't experienced love shouldn't be able to come up with that."
"Yeah, yeah."
Sayuri and Machida Sonoko chimed in agreement.
Tsushima Kagami smiled.
"I'll tell you a secret!"
Sayuri and Machida Sonoko hurriedly leaned in to listen.
"Only virgins can conceive of sweet love!"
Hearing this, all three covered their mouths and looked at Tsushima Kagami with disbelief.
"Don't look at me like that. I am innocent and pure!"
"Really? I don't believe it."
"I see that Kagami-kun is not only popular among girls but also handles them with ease."
Tsushima Kagami looked at Machida Sonoko, who had said this.
"Popular?"
"Well, I'm certainly popular in the Manga Research Club. But aside from staying with you guys every day, I just pick up Shizuku after school. Where would I go to date?"
"Logically speaking, the most likely candidates would be you guys."
"So, are we?"
The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads.
Tsushima Kagami spread his hands. "Doesn't that prove I'm innocent?"
"Ah, I heard that writers like to have underground romances!" Sayuri suddenly said.
Tsushima Kagami delivered a direct chop to her head with his hand.
"Ouch... I didn't say Kagami-kun would do that..."
Watching Sayuri rub her head, Kosaka Akane asked again.
"So, has Kagami-kun never thought about falling in love, or is there someone you like?"
"Do female characters in ACG works count?"
"There are a lot of those."
"Oh come on, of course not."
"Then there's no one."
"As for falling in love..."
Tsushima Kagami thought for a moment. Sayuri and the others looked at him expectantly.
He was an 'invincible person' who had gone from high school to university to grad school, then straight back to high school employment via campus recruitment. He had rejected high school classmates, university classmates, school colleagues, and matchmaking by leaders. For thirty years, he had been consistent, maintaining a forever young, forever otaku mindset.
As the saying goes, the wise do not fall in love. He hadn't actively stepped into it in his past life, so why would he want to make things hard for himself in this life?
So he spoke slowly.
"Love is sweet. Unfortunately, sweetness cannot last forever. Following it comes all sorts of problems and worries."
"It might drain your energy, make you lose your appetite, prevent you from working properly, and even cause you to never recover."
"So love is a troublesome thing. If you don't touch it, you can save yourself a lot of trouble."
"As the saying goes: 'Everlasting yearning, everlasting memory; brief yearning, yet without end. If I had known it would fetter my heart so, better to have never met from the start!'"
"Tch, you speak as if you've dated before," Sayuri said disdainfully from the side.
"I haven't dated, but I've seen others date!" Tsushima Kagami smiled and looked at Sayuri.
"But Kagami-kun's view on love is really pessimistic," Kosaka Akane lamented from the side.
"No matter what, I feel one should still try it at least once," Machida Sonoko also said with a smile.
"Exactly, exactly," Sayuri agreed.
Tsushima Kagami looked at the three, raised his hand, wagged his index finger, and smiled.
"Do not get close to love; you will become unhappy~"
After speaking, Tsushima Kagami stood up and walked out of the hot spring, looking back at the three.
"We've soaked and we've chatted. It's time to go back and continue working."
"Okay."
The three girls followed closely behind Tsushima Kagami back to the changing room.
When the four of them had changed into yukata and sat back in Tsushima Kagami's room.
Sayuri looked at Kosaka Akane, Kosaka Akane looked at Machida Sonoko, and Machida Sonoko looked at Tsushima Kagami, who had already picked up his pen.
Tsushima Kagami also looked up at the three.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and start rushing the manuscripts!"
Machida Sonoko laughed awkwardly. "How about we play for a little while longer?"
Tsushima Kagami frowned.
Why are you all so troublesome today? You were the ones shouting about rushing manuscripts, but now none of you are anxious, and I'm the only one anxious here?
Is this a case of the eunuch being more worried than the Emperor?
Finally, Tsushima Kagami looked at Kosaka Akane.
"President Akane, what's going on? Time is tight and the task is heavy, yet the club members still want to play?"
"Is this the soldier you brought up?"
Kosaka Akane turned her head away directly and spoke weakly.
"That... I just finished soaking in the hot spring, I feel like I haven't recovered yet."
Tsushima Kagami had intended to let Kosaka Akane persuade them, but now even the President was shouting to play.
"Yeah, maybe after playing for a while, everyone will have energy."
Seeing Sayuri also looking at him expectantly, Tsushima Kagami could only sigh, put down the pen in his hand, and look at them.
"Fine then."
"Tell me, what do you want to play?"
Hearing Tsushima Kagami agree, Kosaka Akane immediately turned back to look at Machida Sonoko.
Sayuri also cast her gaze there.
Tsushima Kagami, seeing everyone looking at Machida Sonoko, also looked at her.
Machida Sonoko then spoke.
"How about we play Yakyuken!"
____
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