Checking Out at 5:15 PM Chapter 43: A Drive to Hell Valley (Patreon)

“I-I am so sorry for troubling you.”

Yui bowed nervously as she climbed into the passenger seat of the massive bookmobile van. She had just registered herself as an official community volunteer at the front desk with my help.

“I should be the one thanking you for helping me, Amami-san.”

I welcomed her with a gentle smile as I settled into the driver's seat. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel lucky to have her by my side. Doing the driving route alone was perfectly fine, but having an attractive woman accompany me definitely turned a boring task into a fun afternoon.

Honestly, it was completely unexpected. I had never imagined a severe introvert like Yui would have the slightest interest in volunteering for the bookmobile, especially not with the loud, eager way she had agreed to my sudden invitation.

I need to make this trip worthwhile for her, I thought to myself.

“Please, make yourself comfortable.”

“Y-Yes!”

Yui was visibly nervous. She sat rigidly beside me and pulled the heavy door shut with a loud clunk.

“Make sure to wear your seatbelt, Amami-san. The coastal roads are tight.”

“Yes, right.”

She reached up and pulled the dark nylon strap across her body, clicking it securely into the buckle.

I shouldn't have looked. I knew I shouldn't have looked. But the physical reality of the movement simply drew my eyes like a magnet. The diagonal strap violently divided her massive chest, pressing tight against the soft fabric of her clothes and making the sheer volume of her F-cup bosoms appear undeniably prominent.

It was just a seatbelt, yet the visual impact was staggering.

I had read online theories that women with massive chests avoided wearing crossbody sling bags. I always thought it was an exaggerated internet myth. Yet, watching the undeniable physics of Yui putting on a seatbelt, I completely understood the reason.

“Are you ready, Amami-san?”

I cleared my throat, forcing my voice to remain calm and professional as I violently tore my eyes away from her chest and stared directly out the windshield.

“Y-Yes. You can start whenever you’re ready, Motoi-san.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Um!”

I shifted the heavy gears, and the massive, brightly painted Ratamaru-kun bookmobile slowly rolled out of the library parking lot, heading toward the first stop on our route.

While I tried to focus on the road and physically restrain myself from acting like a hormone-fueled teenager in heat, Yui kept glancing shyly in my direction. I completely ignored her gaze, terrified she would realize I had been caught staring at her chest just a moment ago.

“I know it might be a bit too late to ask this, but... are you actually sure it’s okay for you to tag along, Amami-san?” I asked, desperate to break the heavy, awkward silence filling the cabin.

“Ah, yes! Please don’t worry about me, Motoi-san.”

Yui nodded quickly. Her thoughts instantly shifted away from her worries. Honestly, she was secretly thrilled. She had definitely noticed his eyes lingering on her chest. While her rational mind knew she should feel embarrassed, a dark, perverse part of her felt a sudden, massive surge of happiness knowing that he was physically attracted to her body.

“Still,” she added softly, leaning slightly toward the center console. “This is my first time knowing you can actually drive a huge vehicle like this, Motoi-san.”

“Is it really that surprising?”

I kept my eyes firmly on the street. We were cruising down the coastal highway. The brilliant, sparkling blue ocean of Sagami Bay stretched out to our left. While it was an undeniably breathtaking, romantic view, the sun's blinding reflection off the water made it difficult for me to see the road.

“Well... not really,” Yui murmured, tracing the edge of her seatbelt. “I just feel like... you can perfectly do everything.”

“Everything?” I glanced at Yui with an amused smile. “Do you think I’m some kind of super-driver?”

“P-Probably?”

Seeing his handsome, relaxed smile, Yui instantly started stammering, her cheeks flushing red.

“Well, it’s always better to be capable, right? Having more practical skills makes life easier.”

Even though my current lifestyle allowed me to walk to work in exactly ten minutes, there was absolutely no harm in acquiring extra certifications. To live a truly peaceful life, you needed to possess the knowledge and skills to handle sudden emergencies.

“Honestly, having this license is the exact reason I got stuck with this emergency shift, though,” I sighed lightly, turning the heavy steering wheel.

I felt a bit helpless. I could have just stayed in the cool, air-conditioned library doing mindless paperwork. Frankly, while the bookmobile route sounded easy because there were zero annoying patrons to deal with, physically driving a massive, top-heavy commercial van through the ancient, narrow streets of Kamakura was stressful.

It wasn't a problem for my skill level, but it had been a long time since I drove a vehicle this large. I had to rely on my gut instinct to judge the spatial distance between my mirrors and the ancient stone walls bordering the roads. If I accidentally scraped the paint, or worse, crashed the library van into a citizen's historic home, it would be an absolute nightmare.

Damaging a municipal vehicle was one thing. Damaging an angry Kamakura local's property?

Yeah... that would be so troublesome.

Still, I was glad Yui was sitting next to me. Having her here forced me to be extra cautious; I absolutely refused to let her have a terrifying experience on her first volunteer trip.

“But... isn’t it nice to have a change of pace?” Yui asked, offering a soft, genuine smile.

“Yeah. Especially when I have a beautiful woman to accompany me.”

The words slipped out casually, without much thought. I wasn't lying—I preferred her company to driving alone in silence.

“B-Beautiful?!” Yui squeaked, her face instantly turning the color of a ripe tomato.

“Aren't you?” I chuckled before shifting back into professional mode. “Still, be prepared when we reach the stops, okay? Our first spot is a quiet neighborhood, but when we hit the elementary school later, it will be chaotic. Let’s make sure you wear your official volunteer apron.”

“Okay?”

Yui wasn't exactly sure why an apron was necessary, but she obediently agreed to follow his instructions. She was completely new to the bookmobile process.

However, from my perspective, the apron was necessary protection. Yui was currently wearing an oversized cardigan to hide her prominent curves. But given how massive she was, I knew a flimsy sweater wouldn't offer much protection if an entitled patron decided to stare or make an inappropriate comment. The thick canvas apron would completely obscure her figure. Since she was just an unpaid volunteer, she absolutely shouldn't have to deal with harassment or shame from the locals.

“Still, where exactly are we going first, Motoi-san?”

Yui looked around curiously. The scenery outside the windows had drastically changed. The bright, sparkling beach was gone. Instead, the van was climbing upward, heading deep into the heavily forested, northern hills of Kamakura. If her mental map was correct, they were heading toward the famous Kencho-ji temple district.

“Kita-Kamakura,” I answered, downshifting the gears.

“Eh?” Yui gasped in shock. “Is that actually okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. But as we get closer, I’m going to need absolute silence so I can concentrate.”

“Y-Yes.”

Yui had a valid reason to panic. The ancient roads near Kita-Kamakura were notoriously terrifying. Many of the streets were originally built for horse carts centuries ago; they were barely wide enough for a single compact car. Worse, the roads were bordered on one side by mossy stone walls and on the other by sheer, steep drops down into the valley.

Scraping the van against the wall was bad enough. But if the heavy tires slipped over the sheer drop on the other side? It wouldn't just be an accident; it would be fatal.

Yet, against all logic, my driving was perfectly smooth. I cranked the steering wheel, slipping the massive bookmobile into a tight, parallel parking spot completely wedged between an ancient stone wall and a terrifying sheer drop just steps away from Kencho-ji.

“Oh... amazing!”

Yui stared out the window in absolute awe. Motoi had parked the massive truck in a spot she wouldn't even dare attempt in her car.

“Don’t praise me too much or I’ll get a massive ego,” I joked, pulling the parking brake with a satisfying click.

Yui giggled softly. “But it’s true! If it were me, I would have a full-blown panic attack trying to park this beast here.”

“Well, fortunately, it’s a Tuesday afternoon, so the tourist traffic is non-existent. If this was a weekend or a national holiday... hmm...”

I stopped talking. Navigating a massive van through these narrow roads while dodging thousands of oblivious tourists taking selfies sounded like literal hell.

“Anyway, let’s get prepared, Amami-san.”

“Yes!”

Yui nodded eagerly, following me to the back of the van. Our first stop was specifically designed for the wealthy, elderly residents who lived in the massive, traditional wooden estates in Kita-Kamakura. Because of the steep hills, they physically couldn't walk down into the city center to visit the main library.

“Here is your volunteer apron, Amami-san.”

“Y-Yes!”

I handed her the heavy green canvas apron from the storage locker. As she tied the thick strings behind her back, securely hiding her curves, she looked out the open back doors at the surrounding scenery. It was incredibly quiet, the silence broken only by the rustling of bamboo leaves. It felt refined.

Is it because we’re so close to Kencho-ji? she wondered.

She knew the dark history of this area. This narrow, deeply forested valley was historically known as Jigoku-dani (Hell Valley). Centuries ago, it had been a brutal execution ground. The nearby Kencho-ji temple, specifically the towering statue of Jizo Bodhisattva (the savior of souls in the afterlife), was deliberately built here to purify the land and transform a place of death into a beacon of enlightenment.

A beacon of enlightenment, huh?

Yui closed her eyes and took a deep, grounding breath of the crisp, cedar-scented air. A sense of calm washed over her. The ugly, suffocating, despair-like jealousy that had been choking her since yesterday completely vanished. In its place, her mind was crystal clear.

Yeah. I love him.

The absolute certainty of the thought slammed into her heart. She was undeniably, completely in love with Motoi.

Shizuki...

She desperately wanted to call him by his first name. Calling him "Motoi-san" felt so painfully polite and distant. Reaching that level of casual intimacy was her primary goal for this trip.

If anyone else knew what I was thinking, they would roll their eyes, she thought miserably.

She was a twenty-three-year-old woman, not a blushing middle school student. Instead of daydreaming about innocent, hand-holding confessions, her mind was aggressively flooding with intense, adult desires. She wanted Motoi to grab her, pin her body tightly against the wall of the van, ravage her lips, and physically mark her as his own because he simply couldn't contain his carnal desire for her anymore.

During the drive up the mountain, she hadn't been looking out the window. Her eyes had been completely glued to his strong hands tightly gripping the steering wheel, tracing the veins that popped along his forearms from his workouts. And whenever he shifted gears, her gaze had inevitably dropped to the heavy, noticeable bulge straining against the fabric of his trousers.

Everything about him made her crave incredibly dirty, inappropriate things.

Why am I such an absolute pervert?! she screamed internally. Am I even fit to stand by his side when my desires are this incredibly impure?!

If Motoi was actually a ruthless scumbag straight out of a popular adult video, and he forcefully made a move on her right now in the back of the empty van... she honestly knew she would eagerly welcome it.

“..................”

Motoi-san...

He knew absolutely nothing of the dark, erotic storm raging inside her head. And there was absolutely no way she could ever express those thoughts out loud. She desperately wanted him to view her as pure, demure, and innocent.

But was that even possible?

She thought back to their very first interaction at the library—how he had offered her a gentle smile and handed her a cheap Black Thunder chocolate bar. That tiny moment had sparked an obsession that had only grown stronger every day. The memory of the chocolate melting on her tongue was still vividly intertwined with his handsome face in her mind.

Motoi-san...

She opened her eyes and stared intensely at his broad back as he arranged the book crates. She was completely mesmerized. Her gaze slowly started to trail lower, dropping past his belt toward—

“Excuse me.”

“Y-YES?!”

Yui shrieked in absolute panic, practically jumping out of her skin. A patron had suddenly appeared at the open back doors of the van.

Her face exploded in a guilty blush. At the same time, she also realized instantly that standing next to a sacred, purifying Buddhist temple while actively fantasizing about having wild sex with the local librarian in the back of a truck was probably the absolute height of sacrilege.