Chapter 165: The Warrior on the Front Lines of Dating

To briefly summarize Mashiro taking a bath alone—

Well, it basically meant she just dipped into the water and was done in a flash…

She didn’t even use the soap!

Not only that, Mashiro had also made a huge mess of the bathroom again.

And this whole thing only took about ten seconds!

Seriously, when was this airhead ever going to learn to turn off the tap…

After her bath, and under Himekoji’s strict watch, Mashiro put on her clothes.

Just the simple fact that she needed to wear pants over her pajamas had to be repeated by Himekoji more than three times before Mashiro finally, slowly, got herself fully dressed.

He finally managed to get Her Highness back into her bedroom, but not long after, Mashiro was back, swinging her phone around.

“Akito, you.”

“Why is your phone call for me? Is it your cousin?”

That was the only possibility Himekoji could think of. Honestly, he’d expected some angry questioning over the phone sooner or later.

After all, he had kind of “kidnapped” Mashiro for a whole day.

“Yes… no.”

“So which is it? Yes or no?”

Thankfully, Himekoji was getting a bit used to these kinds of answers from Mashiro. Rolling his eyes, he took the phone.

……

“Listen up, you little brat on the other end! If anything happens to Mashiro, you’re finished!”

The incredibly loud threatening yell made Himekoji quickly jerk the phone away from his ear. Too loud!

Wait… that voice sounded somewhat familiar?

“Hiratsuka-sensei?”

Himekoji asked tentatively.

“Himekoji?”

The voice on the other end seemed equally surprised.

Then, after about three seconds—

“Aha! I wondered who it could be! Who else but a pervert like you would be shameless enough to lure away an underage girl! Hahaha…”

“You’re Shiina-san’s irresponsible cousin?! And seriously, after losing track of your cousin for a whole day, is laughing your head off really the right reaction?!”

So many things wrong with this.

“Sadly, you’re mistaken,” Hiratsuka Shizuka corrected him over the phone.

“I was entrusted by a colleague to look after little Mashiro. Mashiro’s cousin finally seems close to succeeding after a year of serious matchmaking and has taken leave for a honeymoon trip abroad…”

Near the end, Hiratsuka-sensei’s voice suddenly took on a strange tone.

Sour, or perhaps… defeated.

Well, it was understandable. As fellow warriors fighting on the front lines of the dating battlefield, seeing a comrade-in-arms escape while your own victory day remained distant and uncertain would naturally stir up these feelings.

“Sensei, don’t lose heart. You’ll definitely find your match someday too,” Himekoji offered some encouragement.

“Thanks, you really know how to say the right thing…”

“Believe in yourself! Someday, you’ll definitely meet a blind one!”

He said it with absolute sincerity.

“You’re asking for death!”

Himekoji quickly hung up the phone.

With that, he could finally breathe easier. It looked like the whole living together situation wouldn’t cause any sudden problems.

At least he didn’t have to worry anymore about Mashiro’s family suddenly storming in to take her away, and him facing the System’s punishment, becoming a permanently naked idiot who’d lost all ability to take care of himself…

While Himekoji was on the phone, Mashiro sat quietly on a nearby chair. Seemingly bored, she absentmindedly sketched something in her drawing pad.

Himekoji leaned over for a quick look. The moment he saw the drawing, goosebumps shot all over his body. An indescribable sensation crawled up his spine and prickled his brain.

The drawing on the pad was of Hikari, the white cat Nanami had asked Himekoji to adopt a year ago.

The “Hikari” on the page seemed almost ready to leap out, looking more real than the real thing.

What kind of insane drawing skill was this?

……

Mashiro’s transfer to Toyonoshi Academy was processed quickly thanks to Hiratsuka-sensei’s help.

“I heard your sister will be transferring here too.”

Hiratsuka-sensei’s offhand remark stuck in Himekoji’s mind.

If it was Akiko, after transferring, she’d surely be placed in the same international school class as Yukinoshita, Class 2-J.

……

Ever since Mashiro, this “eat-and-lounge-around” tenant, joined the household, Himekoji’s mornings started exceptionally early every day.

The days of sleeping in were gone forever… he missed them dearly.

Today, just like every day, he was forcibly awakened by the alarm before 6:30 AM.

He washed his face first thing after getting up, then headed to the dining area with the white cat, Hikari, rubbing against his ankles demanding food.

After he put out the cat food, Hikari would dig in ferociously.

Meanwhile, Himekoji munched on toast and gulped down his milk.

These were his extremely ordinary daily routines.

On top of that, he also had to make Bentos for himself and Mashiro.

Before, he’d always just muddled through with whatever edible stuff he could call a Bento. But with a picky eater like Mashiro around, his old methods were completely useless.

Well, to be precise, up until yesterday, Himekoji had usually solved his lunch problem by eating at the school cafeteria or the co-op store. That meant he could sleep in for an extra thirty minutes every morning.

The reason he now got up early to make Bentos was Mashiro.

Yesterday was Mashiro’s first day at Toyonoshi Academy.

Worried about the airhead, during the lunch break, Himekoji sneaked over to check on her. He found her alone in the Classroom, just sitting there.

Left with no choice, he invited her to eat at the cafeteria together. And as expected, it drew a lot of attention.

Mashiro was super picky; she dumped everything she didn’t like onto Himekoji’s plate.

Thanks to her, weird rumors started flying again, and he just couldn’t eat peacefully.

“He’s going after the new transfer student on her very first day?”

“The new transfer student must not know yet what that Pervert is really like!”

“She must be getting threatened by that Pervert, just like Eriri, and that’s why she has to eat with him!”

Hey, how long ago was the Eriri incident? Why were they still dredging that up?

Anyway, that’s just how it was at this school. Any interaction Himekoji had with a girl, no matter how insignificant, would inevitably spawn a heap of rumors, true or false, making life hell.

“The Cult Leader is mighty! Our Lolita Cult has gained another Sacred Saintess!”

Hey, was that weird club still not disbanded?

They hadn’t shown up in such a long time; he thought the school had cracked down on them already…

That was pretty much the scene during lunch yesterday.

So, making homemade Bentos for Mashiro was definitely the better choice.

Today’s bento featured fried tuna, a cold dish of spinach and ham, and soy sauce-flavored stir-fried carrots.

The menu depended heavily on what groceries he’d bought the night before.

Mashiro had agreed to eat this stuff. Based on some unknown rule, it seemed Mashiro didn’t reject anything fried – if it was fried, it was fine.