When those words fell from Mai's mother, there were a lot of emotions that came out from Shishio's heart, but more importantly, he was angry at this moment, especially when he saw Mai's disappointed and sad face. However, he also knew that this wasn't Mai's mother's fault, and at the same time, he was also angry at himself since he took this matter too lightly. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself since he was afraid that he might raise his voice, showing his frustration. Still, part of him wanted to believe that Mai's mother would remember her daughter. "I'm Shishio Oga. I'm your daughter's underclassman. Sakurajima Mai."
As for the system, Shishio decided to ignore it since this wasn't the time to think about the system.
Mai's mother frowned and said, "What are you talking about? I don't have a daughter."
Hearing those words, Mai stared at her mother in disbelief.
Shishio had expected this, but he was just somehow disappointed, and it didn't stop him from asking again. "Mai Sakurajima, haven't you heard that name before?" He just hoped that hearing Mai's name would trigger Mai's mother's memory, but...
"Mai Sakurajima?" Mai's mother was confused and asked, "Who is that?"
"If you don't remember Sakurajima Mai, then why are you here?" Shishio asked.
"Now that you mention it." Mai's mother took her cellphone then showed the text that she had received. "I remember forcing myself to take some time for this appointment, but I can't figure out who the sender is."
Shishio also looked at Mai's mother's phone, and he couldn't help but frown when he saw Mai's number was erased and somehow couldn't be seen as if there was something that had censored it. 'Dammit, what the hell?' He felt frightened with something that couldn't be seen, trying to hinder Mai's existence from being noticed.
"So, how is it? Do you want to join my agency?" Mai's mother then asked.
"Who cares about your agency? Do you not remember your daughter? Are you even her mother?" Even Shishio couldn't bear it when this woman asked him to join her agency again when she even forgot her daughter. He raised his voice and lost his calm, but Mai quickly hugged him to stop him.
"That's enough!"
Hearing those words, Shishio wanted to say something, but he couldn't since he knew that Mai's mother was already helpless. After all, it wasn't uncommon for parents of child celebrities to treat their children as a golden goose. They would make their children work hard to get a lot of money.
Shishio also remembered that there was once a mother of a famous actress in this country who told her daughter to take a nude photo to earn more money.
Mai's mother might not treat Mai that bad, but Shishio knew that it wasn't that much different, and in the eyes of this woman, Mai might not be seen as a daughter. Instead, she was seen as money, so Mai's mother could forget her daughter easily.
Shishio understood this, but he just couldn't help but feel disappointed and sad. Looking at Mai, whose body trembled as she closed her eyes, hugging him tightly, showing how painful she was, he could only hug her back and say, "Sorry."
Shishio then parted, held Mai's hand, and said, "Let's go, Mai."
Mai looked at Shishio for a moment, then nodded, holding his hand tightly since it was the only thing that could reassure her right now.
Mai's mother looked at Shishio, who left so suddenly and showed an inexplicable expression before sighing, wondering what was happening, but then she looked at the screen of her phone again, wondering why she might have forgotten something important.
Shishio looked at Mai's pale complexion as she lowered her head. "Mai."
Mai lifted her head slowly, looking at Shishio.
"I will remember you, and I won't forget you. You don't need to worry," Shishio said as he held Mai's hand.
Mai's eyes reddened as she stared at Shishio. "But what if everyone forgets about me?" She wanted to ask what if Shishio forgot about her too, but she didn't dare to ask this question since there was such a possibility.
"Let's ask them," Shishio said without hesitation. "There's a lot of people in Odaiba. I'm sure that some of them will remember you." He had a feeling that everyone might forget about Mai, but he was afraid that she might get even sadder if he said those facts. Also, it was just some of his selfishness, hoping that someone really could see her, even though he knew that possibility was almost zero.
"Um." Mai nodded and agreed.
Shishio didn't waste his time and started to walk to the crowd as he asked them whether they knew about Sakurijama Mai.
"Hello, do you know about Sakurajima Mai?"
"Sakurajima Mai? Who is that?"
Shishio frowned, but he didn't stop and kept asking one person after another. Whether it was a man, a woman, or any person that he saw on the street, he asked them one by one whether they knew about Sakurajima Mai. He even used his connection to see whether the people in the entertainment industry remembered her name or not.
However, no one seemed to remember Mai.
Shishio could write Sakurajima Mai on the internet, but then, the information, photos, and any other things that were related to Mai seemed to be covered by something which made them unable to be seen.
Shishio was wondering what Mai had done that she could receive this kind of punishment, and at the same time, he realized how horrible her situation was. He kept asking his subordinates and asking them about everything related to Sakurajima Mai until...
"Let's stop. Also, thank you for what you have done."
Mai didn't want to believe the reality before her, and she just hoped that everything was just a nightmare, but she knew that it wasn't. However, she wasn't in the mood to do this anymore and wanted to go back, but as she was about to go, the hand that had been holding her hand grasped her hand tightly, making her unable to walk away.
"Wait, don't go. Don't give up so easily," Shishio said and really quickly hoped that his plan could work, but if it didn't work, then he could only...
"Give up?" Mai's eyes were already full of tears as she stared at Shishio and said, "I don't want to give up either, but all of them have forgotten about me! I have been forgotten!" She had lost her calm. She felt afraid of the thought that all the people in this world would forget her. Including Shishio, if this continued.
"It is just the people in Odaiba. It is just a small part of the Tokyo area." Shishio tried to calm Mai.
"Can you 100% sure of that?" Mai asked while staring at Shishio's eyes.
"I..." Shishio couldn't answer since he knew that besides him and probably the original protagonist, Sakuta Azusagawa was the only person who could remember Mai, and it was also the reason why he couldn't let her go. He knew that he was being a scumbag, but it didn't feel good when he just gave up Mai and gave her back to the original protagonist. He would get her... no, he would help her.
Shishio sometimes felt that he was a hypocrite, but that hypocrite part of him had died.
Watching Shishio's reaction, Mai's eyes turned red, and she wanted to run away from this place, but Shishio hugged her. She tried to break away and scream, telling him that she wanted to be alone, but before she could say all of those words, her head was blank when she heard the words that came out of his mouth.
"I'll confess to you!" Shishio said without hesitation.
"....."
Shishio saw Mai, who was stunned, but he didn't stop and said, "On Wednesday, we will have a Monthly Exam. That time, everyone in the school will be present, and when the exam is about to end, I'll make an excuse to the teacher and run to the field, then confess to you in front of everyone, shouting loudly, "Mai, I love you!"."
Mai was too stunned to say anything, and she looked at Shishio with her mouth wide open. However, her cheeks were so red, staring at Shishio in disbelief.
Shishio smiled softly, looking at Mai in his arms, and said, "That way, no one will ignore you again, you'll be remembered again, and you'll date me. Happy ending, right?"
"I think there are some mistakes in your words." Mai smiled as she hummed softly.
"Some mistakes?" Shishio raised his eyebrow.
"Do you think that I'll accept your confession after you have confessed to me?"
"....." Shishio's lips twitched as he stared at Mai, whose face was like a child who was happy that her prank was successful, which made him a bit helpless, but then he snorted and said, "Then I won't confess to you."
"Huh?" Mai was dumbfounded and complained. "You're going to take back your confession?"
"You're going to reject me anyway." Shishio sighed and said, "What's the point of confessing to you?"
"How can you give up so easily?!" Mai was mad.
"Well, because I have girlfriends," Shishio said calmly.
"....."
Mai opened her eyes wide, but then she remembered that the young man in front of her wasn't single and he had a girlfriend. Her mouth pouted and asked, "If... if I agree to your confession, will you break up with them?"
"No," Shishio said without hesitation.
Mai's mouth trembled, and she wanted to say something, but she couldn't. Her emotions were mixed, but then, she asked the question that she wanted to ask him. "Do you love me?"
Shishio could lie to Mai and tell her that he loved her, but he didn't really like to lie, so he told her the truth after a moment of hesitation. "I think that you're a charming girl and it'll be great if I can date you, but if you ask me, who is more important, whether it is you or my girlfriends in my heart, then I'll answer that it is my girlfriends."
Even a child could understand that four was bigger than one.
Shishio knew that he was a scumbag, so instead of choosing one girl, he chose four girls, especially when the four of them had accompanied him during his hardest time. He should include Roberta, but he felt that it might be a bit too much, so he kept quiet for now.
"Scumbag," Mai said, but she didn't look at him, lowering her head as she pressed her forehead against his chest.
"Yes, I'm a scumbag, so you don't need to worry, and I'll make sure that you'll be alright," Shishio said as he caressed her smooth and beautiful black hair. Still, her hair smelled so lovely, and it was so comfortable being touched that he felt slightly addicted. "Let's go back. It's already late." He held her hand and was about to walk, but then his hand was pulled, which caused his movement to stop. "What's wrong?" He looked at Mai with some confusion when he asked that question.
"I don't want to go home," Mai said.
"Then?"
"Let's go somewhere."
"Where?"
"Anywhere is fine." Mai looked at Shishio and said with a hint of a plea, "Accompany me, alright?"
Shishio looked at Mai and sighed. "What a troublesome girl."
Mai smiled and asked, "Didn't you like a troublesome girl?"
"...."
Shishio wondered whether he could take his words back right now, but looking at her legs that were wrapped in translucent black tights, he decided to forgive this girl's selfish desire.