Stealing Spree

Chapter 2881: Request Change (2)

Mei’s grin turned positively feral as she leaned in, close enough that her breath tickled my ear. ”Hmm... I want to brag about you more in my feed but... I get that you don’t like so much attention. So, I want to be there when you cosplay again.”

Upon hearing that, I kinda heaved a sigh of relief. I thought she’d ask something ridiculous like taking her on a date. But knowing that this girl is just fascinated by my appearance, this request isn’t that unreasonable. However, the problem is. I don’t even have plans to cosplay again anytime soon. Or rather, Ririka hasn’t thought of a new costume yet.

Although she already prepared one -- the one I’d be using for when I accompany Hiyori to a cosplay convention or the upcoming comiket -- I doubt Ririka would allow Mei-chan to see it beforehand. After all, she always likes to surprise people with her creations. So, it’s likely that she’ll refuse if Mei-chan asks her directly. She has to prepare another costume for photoshoots.

Thinking about it, even though it hadn’t been long since they posted my latest cosplay photos, the followers of that account were already asking when the next set would come out.

My girls loved seeing my cosplay account become popular so... Ririka was working hard coming up with the next concept as she filtered through numerous anime and game characters that would suit me.

”Alright, if that’s what you want,” I conceded, watching Mei’s eyes sparkle like fireworks. ”But you’ll have to wait until Ririka finishes designing the next costume. No peeking at unfinished work.”

Mei gasped dramatically, clutching her chest. ”Handsome-senpai, you wound me! I’d never spy on Ririka-senpai. Besides, I can also help, you know? I can brag about it better than anyone else.”

I arched a brow. ”Oh? You really think you can hype it better than Ririka?”

”Uh-huh!” She nodded fiercely.

”Too bad. If you do that, they’ll figure out where I am. That account has to be anonymous. No one has to know that it’s me cosplaying.”

”Eh... those with keen eyes will be able to tell it’s you eventually, Handsome-senpai~” Mei grinned, swinging our linked arms with the enthusiasm of someone who’d already won the lottery. ”Like me! I knew immediately when I saw that first post. Your posture is too distinctive.”

I snorted at her absurd confidence. ”Posture? Seriously?”

”Un! The way you hold yourself. Like you’re restraining something powerful.” Mei’s fingers tapped my forearm as if proving a point. ”Even in costume, you can’t hide that predator vibe.”

”Pfft. Predator? You mean that alien?”

Mei stuck her tongue out at my teasing. ”Not just any alien! Like... a wolf pretending to be a golden retriever. Everyone sees the fluffy smile but misses the fangs.” Her fingers mimicked claws near my face before dissolving into giggles. ”Handsome-senpai, you’re really bad at acting harmless.”

I flicked her forehead lightly. ”And you’re bad at metaphors. Stick to photo captions.”

The bus’s headlights cut through the darkness as it rounded the corner, and Mei’s grip on my sleeve tightened abruptly. ”Wait! One more thing!” She rummaged in her sweater pocket with her free hand, producing a crumpled flyer. ”Apart from your school, there’s another cultural festival happening this week! Accompany me there!”

The flyer fluttered between Mei’s fingers, its bright colors stark against the dim streetlight. I plucked it from her grasp, scanning the bold text announcing some neighboring school’s festival. Mei practically vibrated beside me, her knee bouncing against mine. ”Well?” she demanded. ”You owe me a favor, remember?”

I folded the flyer neatly and tucked it into my pocket, ignoring her pout. ”You realize I’m already drowning in festival prep, right?”

The bus hissed to a stop in front of us, its doors sliding open. Mei seized my wrist before I could stand.

”... Then at our school’s cultural festival in November! You must accompany me there!” Mei blurted as the bus driver raised an eyebrow at our delay.

I let out an exaggerated sigh. If it’s in November and it’s going to be their school’s cultural festival then... I’ll naturally be there. Sumire and Umi would naturally invite me. And Nina would probably make an elaborate plan just to ’coincidentally’ bump into her Night Prince there. Or maybe she’ll just directly drag me away, who knows?

Nevertheless, I pretended to consider Mei’s request carefully, rubbing my chin while watching her eyes grow rounder with anticipation.

”Handsome-senpai pleeeeease?” Mei drew out the word, clinging to my arm with both hands now.

”Alright. I promise. Now go home before your brother thinks you ran away.” I said as I finally freed my arm to board the bus.

”Got it! Have a safe trip, handsome-senpai!” The girl waved enthusiastically as the bus doors closed, bouncing on her toes until the taillights disappeared around the corner. Mei lingered for exactly three seconds before spinning on her heel and disappearing back into their street.

As I settled on the bus, I immediately took my phone out, checking my messages as a past time while I wait for it to arrive at my stop.

There were several unread messages, mostly from the girls, but I checked Sumire’s first, considering she sent me three texts in quick succession.

”Shameless-senpai, do you really want to?”

”Really?”

”Like, I’ll bring it tomorrow for you to see but... you must not tell anyone!”

Reading all that, I couldn’t help but smirk.

That girl, although I tried teasing her about wanting to see the swimsuit personally, I never thought she’d truly think about bringing it when they come to our school again tomorrow.

I mean, Saki did a swimsuit showcase earlier which led to that intimate time we shared. That girl probably bragged about it to them. Not explicitly, of course.

I quickly typed back: ”Of course, I won’t tell a soul. It’s for my eyes only.”

As though she had been waiting for my reply since forever, Sumire’s response arrived immediately—a lone exclamation mark followed by a flurry of furious typing bubbles. Then, abruptly, the bubbles stopped. I could practically envision her flustered hesitation through the screen.

A minute later, my phone buzzed again. This time, an image loaded. It was Sumire making a face while hugging a pillow, clearly covering what she’s wearing but the swimsuit strap on her shoulder sold her away.

The accompanying text read: ”PREVIEW ONLY. NO SCREENSHOTS. DELETE AFTER SEEING.”

I chuckled, typing back: ”Deleting? Never. This is going in my private collection.”

The bubbles appeared and vanished three times before her final message: ”PERVERT. SEE YOU TOMORROW.”

A grin tugged at my lips as I imagined the girl hurriedly covering her face with her pillow again, flustered beyond belief.

After that, I went through all the messages one by one, making my chest feel warm at how thoughtful all of them were.

Not long after, I arrived home, and as always, the first thing that greeted me was my lovely wife, Akane.

”Welcome home, husband! Chisato-nee’s package had arrived. I didn’t peek inside. Probably.” The girl whistled innocently while tiptoeing to get her kiss and taking my bag.

She didn’t peek, huh? What a bad liar. Now that’s making me curious about what Chisato-nee-san sent. She even asked Kaoru-san to deliver it.