Chapter 159: My Cohabitation Life Couldn’t Be This Chaotic

“I’m going to the supermarket.”

With a new tenant in the house, they couldn’t just make do with instant noodles for dinner tonight. Himekoji planned to buy some fruits, vegetables, and stock up on snacks.

“Oh.”

Mashiro gave a soft response.

“Will you be alright alone at home?”

Having put on his shoes at the Genkan, Himekoji turned back and asked worriedly before heading out.

Hmm, his worry turned out to be unnecessary.

Because Mashiro had no intention of staying alone.

The girl trailed behind him like a little tail, silently following Himekoji.

When Himekoji looked back, the first thing he saw was Shiina Mashiro holding an adult doujinshi, head bowed deep into the book, while a small hand firmly grasped the back of his hemline.

“I told you, you’re not allowed to read this, hey!”

Hadn’t he hidden it properly just now? How did she find it again?

Himekoji felt extremely exasperated. He snatched the R18-rated booklet from her hand.

“Ayano said she recommends including intense scenes in my manga.”

“Huh?”

Was that the reason?

So she wanted to learn from his collection?

If you really want to include intense scenes, wouldn’t it be better to ask Eriri for advice…

Although, is it alright to draw that kind of thing in a shoujo manga?

Himekoji had no idea, so he didn’t really have a say.

“If you’re heading out too, make sure you put all those books away properly.”

Seeing that Mashiro, after having the first one confiscated, was about to pull out a second one from her sling bag to continue, Himekoji hurriedly warned her.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mashiro obediently opened her bag wide and turned it upside down.

Yellow books promptly thud thud thud down onto the floor.

“One, two, three, four… Wait, just how many did you put in there?! Are you trying to empty out my entire treasure trove?!”

Himekoji was utterly stunned!

“Treasure trove?”

Mashiro tilted her head, looking utterly confused.

This cute motion rendered Himekoji speechless for a moment.

Giving up on asking further, he shook his head and spoke.

“Alright, let’s go, let’s go.”

Any later, and it would be the peak crowd time at the supermarket.

…

“Well, the peak crowd time is clearly already here…”

Himekoji looked at the long line at the checkout counter and immediately lost his desire to shop.

“Forget it, how about we just grab something quick tonight?”

Himekoji asked his companion.

Mashiro blinked. No reaction.

“How about it?”

Himekoji had to ask again.

“Is Akito asking me?”

“Is there a third person here?”

“Akito is so troublesome. Even a question like this requires asking others.”

“That’s not something you should say! Besides, asking for your opinion is respecting you, hey!”

Asking for Mashiro’s opinion? He’d been foolish to try…

“Convenience store it is then.”

Himekoji made the decision himself.

…

As it turned out, Mashiro caused trouble again at the convenience store.

She started eating a store item before paying.

Because she took the Baumkuchen off the shelf so naturally, opened it so openly, and ate it with such obvious relish, Himekoji froze, unable to grasp the situation for a moment.

“Um, Shiina? What are you doing?”

“Eating Baumkuchen.”

“Why?”

“Because I like Baumkuchen.”

“If liking something was enough to make it allowed, we wouldn’t need the police!”

“There are many more still.”

“But it’s merchandise! It’s meant to be sold!”

Shiina tilted her head slightly, looking adorably puzzled.

Himekoji was done. He sighed.

“Shiina, what kind of life have you been living all this time?”

“Drawing.”

“What else?”

“Drawing.”

Himekoji: “…”

He suddenly didn’t know what to say.

“Drawing.”

“I heard that! I’m waiting for you to say something else!”

When the shop owner heard the commotion and spotted the situation, Himekoji felt incredibly embarrassed. He could only bow repeatedly and apologize.

During this, Mashiro finished the Baumkuchen and reached out for a second one.

“Shiina! Just what are you trying to do to me? Are you against me?”

“Do you want some?”

Mashiro completely ignored Himekoji’s complaint. Instead, with an adorable expression, she broke off a small piece of the cake and, as if wanting Akito to open his mouth and say “ah~”, held it out towards him.

So cute. Himekoji felt the strong urge to open his mouth. But—

“No way!”

Were they making a fool out of him?!

“It’s really tasty.”

“No matter how tasty, you have to pay first!”

In the end, Himekoji had no choice but to take the empty packaging plastic bag and the half-eaten one to the cash register for payment.

Luckily, the store manager didn’t mind such a thing; he just thought Shiina Mashiro was a strange girl and laughed loudly.

…

When they got home.

Himekoji put down the big and small bags and turned to Mashiro, who was looking for a notebook, and said:

“If you really decide to stay and live together, then we should make it clear ahead of time about how we’ll share cooking and other housework.”

“Cooking and chores go to Akito?”

Mashiro thought for a bit and said this.

“What kind of sharing is that? It’s all thrown on me! So tell me, what will you be in charge of?”

“I’m in charge of drawing.”

Mashiro nodded her head very firmly.

Though her look was really cute,—

“Rejected!”

“Today I’ll cook first, tomorrow it’s your turn.”

When Himekoji spoke again, he secretly tried to pull a trick.

There was only one meal left for today!

Hahaha, that was a win!

…

During the meal, Himekoji found another bad habit of Shiina Mashiro—

Picky eating! Super picky eating!

Her pickiness got so bad, it was hard to watch!

Himekoji put down his chopsticks without words.

Mashiro, sitting opposite him, didn’t even notice. She skillfully peeled all the batter off a fried shrimp with her chopsticks. Then in a smooth, easy move, she placed the peeled batter onto Himekoji’s plate.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s peeled.”

“Is now the time for jokes?”

“It wasn’t even funny.”

“No need to say that! And that’s not for you to say!”

By the time Himekoji finished saying this, Mashiro had already ignored him.

The girl tilted her head a little and shifted her fun to the peeling job, stripping the second fried shrimp completely bare.

Then the peeled batter was moved to Himekoji’s plate again. Mashiro popped the bare shrimp into her mouth in one gulp, squinting her eyes happily.

“Why are you purposely throwing the leftover shells onto my plate? Also, fried shrimp doesn’t need peeling, right?”

Himekoji twitched his mouth, lines of frustration on his forehead.

“Not needed?”

Mashiro looked a bit confused.

“Of course not! For steamed shrimp, boiled shrimp, roasted shrimp, white-cooked shrimp, dry-cooked shrimp—peel; for fried shrimp, stir-fried shrimp, pan-fried shrimp, oil-simmered shrimp, oil-exploded shrimp—no peeling.”

Himekoji explained this seriously from his own experience.

“Does Akito like eating shrimp a lot?”

“No, I like crab better. So, could you please stop tossing the leftover shells into my bowl?”

“Shrimp shells aren’t tasty.”

Okay, so this was part of Mashiro’s picky eating too!

…