'Her situation is this serious?'
Shishio didn't expect Mai's situation to be so serious that Shiina didn't even realize that Mai was right standing beside him.
"Shishio-sama."
"Shishio."
Shishio then looked at Roberta and Nanami, who also came and greeted him. Roberta showed a warm smile under that cold expression, and Nanami showed a shy smile since she remembered what they were doing in his room before.
Shishio should have been happy when he met the three of them, but his feelings were mixed, especially when Mai, who was right beside him, hadn't been noticed by the three women in front of him. "Roberta, Nanami, can you see someone besides me?"
"Eh?" Nanami was confused.
Roberta was also confused, but she quickly asked Shishio worriedly, "Is there something wrong, Shishio-sama?"
"Are you alright, Shishio?" Shiina asked as she held Shishio's hand.
Shishio didn't answer their questions for a moment and looked at Mai, who lowered her head. He sighed inwardly and shook his head. "It's alright. I might be a bit tired."
"Then you should rest, Shishio-sama," Roberta said quickly while observing Shishio whether there was something wrong with his body, and at the same time, she stared at the space right beside Shishio, but she couldn't see anything there which made her confused.
"Thank you." Shishio showed a light smile on his face, which caused Shiina, Nanami, and Roberta to want to pamper him somehow since, under that smile, there was this indescribable feeling that awakened their maternal instinct. "Is there something to eat?"
"What do you want to eat? I'll cook for you," Nanami said without hesitation. Even if Shishio came back quite late and everyone had eaten their dinner, she didn't hesitate to cook him something since she felt she wanted to take care of him now.
"You don't need to be so exaggerated. Is there a leftover dinner?" Shishio asked.
"There's." Nanami nodded. "I'll warm them up for you."
"I'll help," Shiina said while looking at Nanami.
"...." Shishio, Nanami, and Roberta stared at Shiina in silence, but they didn't say much. They just hoped that Shiina wouldn't cause a mess somehow.
"I'll change my clothes first then." Shishio held Mai's hand and wanted to bring her to his room, but then he remembered something. "By the way, this is strawberry daifuku. You can eat them together."
"Strawberry daifuku?"
They looked at the huge packaging of the strawberry daifuku on Shishio's hands and only realized that Shishio had brought a souvenir.
Shishio gave the strawberry daifuku to Roberta and wanted to go back, but Nanami suddenly stopped him. "What's wrong, Nanami?"
Nanami's face was so red, and she was so shy at that moment, but then she said, "Um... Shishio-kun, I have placed your collection on the table in your room..." Leaving such words, she then ran away to the kitchen to warm up Shishio's dinner, but at the same time, she also understood why he loved a maid.
Roberta and Shiina also followed Nanami since they were also going to help (or cause a mess?).
"........" Shishio.
"What's wrong?" Mai asked with some confusion when she saw Shishio's stunned expression. She was still quite depressed, but even so, Shishio's expression was so amusing that she couldn't help but ask, which made her feel slightly better somehow.
Shishio felt a bit dizzy and rubbed his temple awkwardly. "Nothing. Let's go to my room first."
"Um." Mai nodded and didn't say anything even if Shishio held her hand since right now, the warmth of his palm was something that she sought after, especially when no one could see her beside him. She was desperate, and the only one that she could depend on right now was the young man in front of her.
As they walked, Shishio looked at Mai and asked, "Mai-san, has this happened so often?"
"Yes." Mai nodded. "Usually, it is in the morning and at night. I'm not sure how long, but it gets worse somehow." She took a deep breath and said, "By the way, I have decided to return to the show biz."
"...Is that alright?" Shishio asked.
Mai smiled softly and asked, "Why? You're worried about something?"
"I have heard the reason why you have decided to take a hiatus after all," Shishio said.
"I see..." Mai wasn't sure what to say, and her feelings were mixed.
"Even though I have apologized before, let me apologize again since I didn't realize what kind of trouble that you have faced before you have decided to take a hiatus," Shishio said.
"...How did you know?" Mai asked softly while staring at Shishio. She might have taken a hiatus, but the reason why she took it had never been published to the public.
"I asked my parents' connection after all the reason why you have taken a hiatus was an open secret among the people in the industry," Shishio said.
"Hmm..." Mai looked at Shishio for a moment and asked unhappily, "Your parents have a connection with the show-biz industry, yet you ask my help to help you to enter the industry?" There was a hint of grudge in her voice, thinking that Shishio had played her.
Shishio looked at Mai and said, "It was just I was curious at why you have decided to take a hiatus, and after hearing the reason, I wasn't so surprised why you have decided to take one, but right now, are you ready to come back?" He felt that it was quite wrong if Mai decided to return to the show biz industry because her situation forced her.
Shishio hoped that her decision to return to the show-biz industry was because of her own wishes, not because she was forced to.
After all, even if Mai didn't return to show-biz, Shishio could make her be remembered by everyone again.
Mai showed a gentle smile while looking at Shishio and said, "You know, you might be right. I like acting for dramas and movies and feel like I can keep doing it forever. Maybe it's because I keep lying to those feeling that I get into this weird Adolescence Syndrome situation. You know, I came here so I could tell you this, not because I'm hungry or something, alright?" Her cheeks were tinted with a light blush, showing how embarrassed she was when her stomach growled. Still, looking at him and giving her a gentle smile might also be part of the reason why she blushed. "By the way, Oga-kun."
"Shishio."
"Hmm?"
"Just call me, Shishio, Mai."
Mai blinked her eyes, but then she shyly smiled, but then she quickly showed a haughty expression and nodded. "Well, even if you're younger than me, I'll give you permission to call my name directly, Shishio."
Shishio also smiled when he heard Mai call his name directly.
Japanese people were known for being polite, but Shishio didn't really like this since being too polite would lead to indifference. Even if someone was a friend, family, lover, or even a married couple, they would call each other by using the honorific suffix, which made him sometimes wonder whether they were families or a stranger.
It was also why Shishio had never used a suffix that much except for someone he wasn't close with. If he was close with that person, he wouldn't use suffixes since it made their relationship seem distant.
"By the way."
"Hmm?"
"Can you skip school tomorrow?" Mai asked.
"Skip the school?" Shishio was surprised by her sudden request.
"I might not have time to play around after I return to the show biz industry, so can you accompany me to play around tomorrow?" Mai asked.
Shishio didn't answer Mai's question for a moment until he nodded. "Alright." He felt that there was one more reason why she asked him to skip school tomorrow, but it was alright.
"Thank you," Mai said gratefully since Shishio listened to her selfishness. She knew that they needed to go to the school tomorrow, and on Wednesday, there was a Monthly Exam. Their school was strict with the score, so she also understood why Shishio couldn't answer her question after a moment of hesitation. "But is this okay? There's a Monthly Exam this week, right?" Even so, she decided to ask.
"You don't need to worry. An exam is an easy thing for me," Shishio said calmly.
Mai looked at Shishio and wasn't sure what she thought at that moment.
"Still, there is a big problem here," Shishio suddenly said.
"What?" Mai asked curiously.
"The girls can't see you now. I can't ask them to let you sleep with them," Shishio said with a long sigh.
"....." Mai didn't say anything and kept staring at Shishio as if she had realized that his scumbag act had reached an unpredicted level. She quickly covered her chest, but she didn't expect that...
"So, do you want to go back or stay?" Shishio asked.
Mai was surprised and asked, "You want me to go back?"
"You don't want to go back?" Shishio asked back.
"..." Mai was in silence, but then she asked, "If I stay, then where will I sleep?"
"My room," Shishio said, but then when he saw Mai's expression started to change, he quickly said, "You'll sleep in my room, but I'll sleep in the living room there." He knew that this girl had misunderstood him. He was a gentleman, and even though he wanted to sleep with Mai, he wouldn't force someone and only did it when he got permission. He was a scumbag, but he wasn't trash.
Mai looked at Shishio for a moment, and after a moment of thought, she asked, "Isn't it weird if you suddenly sleep in the living room?"
"Well, do you want to sleep together?" Shishio asked unnaturally.
Mai looked at Shishio for a moment, and her face turned red, feeling complicated for a moment. She knew that she didn't mind sleeping with Shishio, or rather, she wanted to sleep with him since she was worried that she might go unnoticed and be forgotten again.
Staying by his side gave her peace of mind.
"O - Okay..." Mai was a bit nervous, but she quickly showed a haughty expression since if she got nervous, she felt that she would lose. "Be grateful that you can sleep on the same bed as me tonight."
"I mean, I'm going to sleep on the futon. You can have my bed," Shishio said with a teasing smile.
"..." Looking at this smile, even though Mai had to admit that he was so handsome, she felt annoyed!
"...You're teasing me?"
"Of course not. I'm just afraid that you might misunderstand," Shishio said calmly, even if Mai kept staring at him. "Anyway, let's go to my room and stay there until I come back. If I stay here for a long time, they might get worried."
"Um." Mai nodded since she knew that Shiina, Nanami, and Roberta were waiting for Shishio. Still, when she thought about the three girls, she couldn't help but sigh. 'If only he wasn't a scumbag.'
Shishio didn't know what Mai was thinking, and if he knew that she thought that she was a scumbag, he could only smile since that was the truth. He opened the door of his room and was about to enter, but then he stopped, and his lips twitched when he saw a lot of books were stacked neatly on the table.
"What's wrong?" Mai was confused why Shishio suddenly stopped, but suddenly her reaction speed increased several times, and she read one of the titles of books that were stacked on the table. "The most beautiful senior in the school is my maid, huh?" Then, she looked at Shishio and said, "You sure read an interesting book." Her expression was as if a mother showed an understanding toward her son's fetish while telling him, 'It's alright. You don't need to worry. I understand.'
"........"
Shishio realized that he might need to educate Nanami more.