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...
Both Badr and Mai noticed Nodoka Toyohama's hesitation but chose not to comment. Mai said casually,
"As for me, it looks like I'll have a tough time until I get used to the songs and dance routines."
"Ah! That's right... the stage performance..."
Nodoka suddenly remembered something, her face paling.
She had a major stage performance coming up soon. It was precisely for this performance that the members of their idol group, [Sweet Bullet], had been rehearsing tirelessly after school every day, often until late at night.
Not only that, they also had small commercial performances every weekend. In this situation, Mai would be under immense pressure, as she had so much to learn in a short amount of time.
Badr raised an eyebrow and asked softly,
"Can Mai dance?"
Mai didn't answer. Whether she could dance or not, she had to face this challenge head-on.
"Nodoka, do you have a practice video?"
"Yes... it's this one..."
Nodoka quickly took out a disc from her bag and handed it to Mai respectfully with both hands.
Mai got up and loaded it into the projector. A three-hour countdown appeared on the screen, the video almost entirely consisting of singing and dancing lessons.
Mai stood in front of the TV and started imitating the movements in the video.
Badr and Nodoka watched as Mai began to dance with light, energetic steps, her body swaying with wide movements.
Since Mai was learning the moves on the spot, she was a beat behind compared to the video. However, from Badr's perspective as an average layman, just like most of the general public, he couldn't find any faults in her performance.
Soon, Mai finished singing and dancing to a song, reaching a level that Badr considered exceptionally high.
Her forehead was slightly damp with sweat, her chest heaving. The singing and dancing had clearly taken a toll on her, and her breathing was a bit rapid.
Nevertheless, she turned to Badr, her eyes filled with pride.
She had responded to Badr's concern with her actions.
"I'm starting to think there's nothing Mai can't do."
Badr offered a compliment without hesitation, earning a pleased smile from Mai.
"Heh, were you surprised?"
"If Mai were to dance for me in her own form, I'd probably be very surprised," Badr replied with a light laugh.
In reality, with his calm demeanor even in the face of life-threatening situations, it would be difficult for anything to truly surprise him...
Of course, he was still somewhat taken aback. After all, Mai had always presented herself as mature and composed, even overly calm, just like him. She was the type who wouldn't rush even if she was about to miss her train.
Seeing her dance so energetically was a stark contrast to the usual Mai Sakurajima.
"I was part of a theatre troupe, you know. My talents go beyond just acting."
Mai flashed a confident smile, radiating an air of undeniable pride.
Badr smiled gently at Mai.
"As expected, this is the Mai I love. Hmm, even though your appearance has changed, this just proves that my love for you goes beyond the physical, deep into your soul."
"So you're saying you don't like my appearance?" Mai shot him a sharp look.
"Of course, I love your body too. To be honest, I love everything about Mai. Even if you were Nodoka Toyohama right now, I wouldn't mind."
Badr, disregarding Nodoka's feelings, showered Mai with compliments.
Nodoka bristled. "What do you mean 'even if you were my form, I wouldn't mind'?"
Was she that undesirable?
Mai sighed. "Well, even though it's just a hypothetical..."
She didn't finish her sentence, her gaze shifting uneasily.
Badr, however, instantly understood Mai's unspoken words, as if their hearts were connected. He smiled reassuringly and said,
"Didn't I just say that I love Mai for who you are? Even if you remained in this form forever, I would still love you."
"Nodoka is a cute, active idol. Don't say it like it's a hardship."
Mai laughed, the anxiety fading from her face.
...
Having received the answer she desired, Mai seemed happy, though she tried to maintain her composure.
"Speaking of which, I absolutely won't let you touch a single hair on Nodoka's body."
Nodoka, who was standing beside them, blinked, thinking to herself how strange that sounded...
Badr was speechless. "Eh?"
"So you'll endure it forever, right?"
Mai flashed a mischievous smile, the same composed expression she wore when teasing Badr in the past.
Badr adopted a serious look and straightened his posture.
"It seems I need to seriously address this troublesome matter."
After all, this concerned his future "happiness"...
Mai smiled with satisfaction. It was good that Badr was taking it seriously.
"Nodoka, it's getting late. We should get ready for school."
She addressed Nodoka, reminding her that they had been caught up in the morning's events for quite some time.
"O-Okay."
"Wait, let's buy breakfast first," Badr interjected, looking at Mai. "Shall we go out and buy some?"
Mai, noticing Badr's gaze, quickly nodded in understanding. "Alright, Nodoka, wait for us for a bit."
They went downstairs and headed to a breakfast shop. While waiting for their food, Badr spoke frankly.
"To be honest, I think something will go wrong with Nodoka."
"But there's nothing we can do about it now."
Mai agreed, recognizing the potential for complications.
"Badr, I have a request."
She stood there, looking up at Badr. Since Nodoka was shorter, Mai's demeanor seemed slightly different.
Mai Sakurajima was 165 cm tall. Usually, she only needed to raise her gaze slightly to look at Badr, which undoubtedly enhanced her aura. However, with Nodoka Toyohama's height of less than 160 cm, she had to look up at him.
Though Mai's aura was still prominent, it felt somewhat different...
"It's rare for Mai to ask me for something. I wish you were in your original form."
"It's still Mai Sakurajima, you idiot."
"That's true."
"Regarding Nodoka, I want to ask you to take her seriously. I want you to find out what happened to her."
"Considering her situation, since she ran away from home and came to her sister's, she probably had a fight with her parents, right?"
Human abilities were influenced by subjective emotions. Badr filtered through what he knew about Nodoka Toyohama, and the only clue he could think of was her running away from home.
However, Mai hesitated.
"...Although I also considered that, I think the main issue lies with me."
"Is she under a lot of pressure because she has a famous and successful older sister? After all, Mai is so outstanding. As her younger sister, being compared to you must be very disheartening."
Badr hit the nail on the head, identifying the key information in Mai's words.
Mai remained silent, acknowledging the truth in Badr's statement...
"In short, it's probably her mother... a woman's pride has become a burden for Nodoka."
"Why?"
"Didn't I mention it before? We have the same father but different mothers. My mother made me debut as a child actress to taunt my father, who had left her for another woman."
Badr blinked, chuckling softly. "A woman's revenge can be truly terrifying."
"..."
Mai glared at him. After all, the person Badr was teasing was her mother, even though their relationship wasn't particularly good...
"She used to be part of a theatre troupe too. And when we were younger... we even met at the same troupe..."
Mai's words made Badr facepalm...
He could only imagine how tragic it must have been for Nodoka to encounter Mai Sakurajima at that time...
And their mothers, needless to say, must have been secretly competing with each other, both overtly and covertly.
Badr understood Mai's point.
When Mai Sakurajima appeared on TV as a glamorous star, one could only imagine the complex emotions of her estranged father. This was probably Mai's mother's way of getting back at him.
And this situation undoubtedly affected Nodoka's mother, leading her to push Nodoka into the idol industry, which resulted in their encounter at the theatre troupe.
Poor Mai and Nodoka, becoming victims of their parents' conflicts.
"So you think this is the key to today's incident?"
"If it were you, you could definitely resolve it, right?" Mai said calmly.
"You have that much faith in me?"
"After all, you're very capable."
Badr was speechless. How come he didn't even know he was that capable?
"Since it's your request, Mai, I'll definitely give it some serious thought. Besides, I've also formed a contract with her. You don't have to worry; I'll help her regardless."
"Oh, right, I forgot about your contract with her."
Mai smiled with relief. It was evident that Badr's presence had eased her worries considerably. "Then we just need to play our roles well, right?"
Badr remained expressionless, speaking in a monotone voice, "Please, do, your, best."
After having breakfast together, Badr escorted the two sisters to school. Although he could have flown them there, he couldn't do it every day. Who knew how long this situation would last?
To help them adjust to their switched lives quickly, Badr could only accompany them and familiarize them with the situation.
He couldn't help but feel exhausted. Due to renovations at Kuoh Academy, he had a rare three-day break. He had intended to spend quality time with his girlfriend, but their honeymoon had ended after just one day...
Only one day...
He had finally had the chance to be alone with Mai, and then this happened.
Badr pursed his lips. At least he had gained a new contract partner. He could consider it as working overtime...
They arrived at the train station, which was packed with people during rush hour.
Badr shielded the two sisters as they made their way through the crowd. However, they had to take different trains.
"Will you be alright on your own?" Badr asked Mai with concern as they parted ways.
"I can handle it." Mai always exuded a strong sense of confidence.
Badr nodded. "Call me if anything happens. I'll be there immediately."
Mai smiled. "It's reassuring to have a boyfriend who's on call like this."
"So, how about a reward?"
"Not now. I'm in Nodoka's form."
"...I don't mind."
...
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