Chapter 498: New Tenant, Old Tenant

Someone’s home?

Himekoji instinctively looked down, spotting a pair of small women’s sandals placed neatly at the genkan entrance.

Judging by the shoe size…

Mashiro?!

Had Mashiro come?

He should’ve been happy, but the instant he remembered something, his heart skipped a beat.

Panicked, he glanced back at Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, guilt flooding him.

“Mr. Himekoji, what’s wrong?”

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye looked thoroughly puzzled.

He seemed super shaken up! She thought.

Plus, he didn’t use a key when opening the door…

Wait—was Mr. Himekoji’s home being robbed?!

That must be why he seemed so flustered.

An actual break-in right before her eyes!

If it was just a petty thief, she could help Mr. Himekoji handle this!

Feeling deeply indebted to him, Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye had longed for a chance to repay him. Seizing this opportunity, she dashed past Himekoji and burst into the living room.

Inside, the “thief” stood beside an enormous suitcase.

Bingo—the suitcase must be stuffed with stolen goods!

Caught red-handed!

Though the thief turned out to be a girl her age—and ridiculously cute—that didn’t matter!

A cute thief was still a thief!

“Freeze! Put down Mr. Himekoji’s belongings!”

……

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye moved too fast. Himekoji stood frozen in the genkan until he heard commotion from the living room. Alarmed, he rushed in.

There he saw it—

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye gripping Mashiro fiercely, while Mashiro ignored her, eyes fixed on the doorway.

Only when Himekoji hurried in did Mashiro finally glance at the other girl. Then, Mashiro spoke calmly:

“Freeze. Put down Akito’s belongings.”

She echoed Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye word-for-word.

“Huh? What are you talking about? You’re the one who should put things down! I haven’t touched Mr. Himekoji’s stuff!”

The girl stared in utter confusion, convinced this was just criminal bravado.

“You’re touching now,” Mashiro replied matter-of-factly.

She poked Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s hands, which were tightly clutching her sleeves.

“Hurry up and let go.”

“Touching now…? Touching what?”

The naive Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye got completely tangled in Mashiro’s logic.

“The only thing I’m touching is you!”

This thief was twisting everything! She definitely wasn’t messing with Mr. Himekoji’s things!

“I am Akito’s.”

Having set the stage perfectly, Mashiro beamed proudly up at Himekoji.

His cheeks flushed instantly.

Seriously? Why say something so embarrassing in front of Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye…

Yet strangely, after days apart—filled with coldness, arguments, and his shameless “I like both” mess—seeing Mashiro melted most of his anxiety away.

Sure, nervousness lingered, but mostly… all he felt was a secret, flustered joy.

“Mashiro…”

Words jammed in his throat. First, he needed to confirm one thing:

“Those things in your suitcase… they’re not…”

“Correct.”

Mashiro nodded proudly.

“Honestly, I was hoping I was wrong!”

And seriously? Why look so smug about it?

Ignoring his eye-roll and Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s stunned gaping, Mashiro unzipped her suitcase.

Freed, colorful clothes erupted like a fountain—pants, tops, plus piles of underwear tangling through them all.

There were so many. How had she stuffed everything inside?

“You haven’t even moved out for that long, right?”

How’d the laundry even pile up this high?!

“No clean clothes left.”

Mashiro sighed, troubled.

Well, now he was troubled too!

He remembered Editor Iida saying moving out would teach Mashiro independence. But…

This changed nothing at all!

“So that’s why you wore your school uniform even on weekends?”

His offhand remark seemed to spark an idea. Mashiro immediately began unbuttoning her uniform—

“It needs Akito’s help too.”

“W-Wait! Stop!”

Himekoji lunged forward frantically.

“Are you wearing anything underneath?!”

“Nothing clean.”

He knew it!

Then she was totally bare under there?!

Taking it off now was mega-risky! Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye was standing right here!

Speaking of her… the would-be crime-stopper now looked utterly lost. From Mashiro’s bizarre claim, to this clothing explosion, she’d become a silent spectator, totally sidelined.

Himekoji tried explaining the situation to her, but Mashiro spoke first:

“Akito hasn’t grown at all.”

Her criticism derailed his thoughts. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Hey, Mashiro… what makes you think you’ve grown?”

“All this time, you never came to the hotel to wash my clothes.”

“All this time, you never washed your own clothes?”

“Akito’s job.”

“When will you learn this is your responsibility?!”

And so it began again…

Their signature mind-numbingly silly back-and-forth!

Yet what felt truly stupid was how… nostalgic it all felt.

He wasn’t annoyed by this nonsense. Pathetically, he enjoyed it.

“U-um, Mr. Himekoji…?”

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye timidly raised her hand, unable to stay silent any longer.

“Sorry if this is rude, but… what’s your relationship with this… young lady?”