Chapter 17: Sagiri Izumi, What an Easy Girl to Deal With
"Welcome, welcome, Mashiro-chan! You must be tired, but don't worry, the welcome dinner is all ready!"
The moment the door was unlocked, Mrs. Izumi greeted them enthusiastically, popping a party cracker at the entrance. She was clearly in high spirits, though it was unclear how long she'd been waiting by the door.
"Wow, what an adorable child! Let me give her a hug!"
Her eyes lit up when she saw Mashiro, who looked like a perfect doll, and she couldn't help but want to reach out and touch her.
"..."
Mashiro, who had maintained a calm and indifferent demeanor throughout the day, took a step back.
"Mrs. Izumi, please mind your manners," Shunsuke stepped forward, shielding Mashiro behind him and asked knowingly, "Where's Sagiri?"
"The moment she heard the door open, she ran upstairs," Mrs. Izumi sighed. "I really don't know where that girl gets it from."
"..."
Shunsuke cast a sidelong glance at her, wordlessly implying the obvious.
Mrs. Izumi, annoyed, snapped, "Why are you looking at me like that, Shun-kun? It's all because you spoil Sagiri too much!"
"Maybe you should take a good look in the mirror," Shunsuke replied bluntly.
"Excuse me, are you Eromanga-sensei?" Mashiro suddenly stepped out from behind Shunsuke and asked.
"Uh, well... Mashiro-chan, where did you hear that? No, I'm not," Mrs. Izumi scratched her head awkwardly. She wasn't about to claim that title anymore.
Back in the day, when she was Sagiri's age, she had been passionate and free-spirited, even picking such a bold name. But now...
Like any adult cringing at their past embarrassing behavior, Mrs. Izumi couldn't help but want to hide under the covers whenever she remembered those times.
Hearing her denial, Mashiro didn't press further. Instead, she simply turned her head and looked at Shunsuke with a calm yet pointed expression, saying nothing.
This silent disapproval was more difficult for Shunsuke to handle than any direct accusation. The cool, composed persona he usually maintained didn't seem to work in front of Mashiro.
—Could this be it? My first love, a love at first sight?
Shunsuke unconsciously clutched his chest, unable to believe what he was feeling.
"Shun-kun?"
Seeing Shunsuke's strange expression, Mrs. Izumi suddenly felt a pang of unease in her heart.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered something else," Shunsuke snapped out of it and, leading Mashiro inside, revealed, "She really is Eromanga-sensei, but now that she's older and more self-conscious, she's too embarrassed to admit it."
"Shun-kun! Who are you calling old?!" Mrs. Izumi pouted, clearly displeased.
In both appearance and temperament, Mrs. Izumi, who had been a recluse for years, wasn't much different from a typical high school student. When out with Chihiro, who dressed in a teacher's uniform, they were often mistaken for students.
Shunsuke ignored Mrs. Izumi's attempts at being cute and pushed Mashiro towards her. "Mashiro wants to learn how to draw manga from you, so I'm leaving it to Eromanga-sensei to take on a new disciple."
"Huh?! Chihiro never mentioned anything about this!"
"Yeah, that's because we just decided on it during the taxi ride."
"This is too random! With Mashiro's talent, it's already amazing she's even considering drawing manga. To take her on as my apprentice? No way! I don't want the art world to crucify me for this!"
"Objection overruled. At worst, Mashiro can be your anonymous student. No one needs to know."
With the authority of a household head, Shunsuke squashed all of Mrs. Izumi's objections, and she reluctantly agreed to take Mashiro as her apprentice, despite her complaints.
"Master, I'll be in your care from now on," Mashiro said, as instructed by Shunsuke.
"No need to be so formal... Wait, 'from now on'?"
"Yes, Mashiro wants to live here from now on."
"I didn't hear anything about that from Chihiro either!"
"Like I said, we just decided this in the taxi."
"It's not really a problem for me. Mashiro is so cute, and the house is pretty big. But Sagiri…"
At the mention of Sagiri, Mrs. Izumi sighed. Her daughter was too much of a recluse and way too shy. Having a new person suddenly move in might be too much for Sagiri to handle.
Shunsuke smirked, knowing the original story. Sagiri wasn't anywhere near as difficult as people thought right now.
As for the theoretical guardian, Chihiro's opinion?
Having known Chihiro for over a decade, Mrs. Izumi wasn't worried at all. She knew full well that Chihiro wasn't the type to take care of children.
Even though she'd only raised a shut-in herself, Mrs. Izumi was oddly confident in her parenting skills.
Sagiri was the little princess of the house, and without her approval, Mashiro couldn't stay. Shunsuke suggested, "Why don't you ask Sagiri about it?"
Mrs. Izumi fell for it.
She went upstairs full of confidence... and came back defeated.
"Sob... Shun-kun, Sagiri was so mean! She actually said, 'I hate Mom the most!'"
Mrs. Izumi had gone up smiling and came down crying.
"It's fine, this was all expected. I sent you up there just to let Sagiri vent a little," Shunsuke said, adjusting his nonexistent glasses. "Now when I go up, she should be more willing to listen to me."
"Shun-kun, you're so cruel!"
Mrs. Izumi pounded her small fists on Shunsuke's chest in frustration, but he ignored her completely.
He walked up to the second floor, stopping in front of Sagiri's door and knocked gently. "Sagiri, it's me."
Creak
Sagiri opened the door just a sliver, showing only half of her face, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster guarding its food. "Onii-chan, do you also want that woman to stay here?"
"Of course not. That would just get in the way of our special time together, wouldn't it?"
Sagiri's face visibly turned red.
"But Sagiri has me and mom. Meanwhile, Mashiro came back all alone from England, with no one by her side. Such a kind-hearted girl like you, Sagiri, don't you think she's a bit pitiful?"
"... Maybe a little," she mumbled.
Even though she wanted to stubbornly deny it, being called a kind-hearted child by her brother made it impossible for Sagiri to refuse.
The earlier angry and irrational tsundere attacks had all been absorbed by her mother, and now Sagiri was in her more manageable, softer mode.
Shunsuke seized the opportunity and continued, telling story after story about Mashiro's hardships, painting her in a pitiful light.
All of it was true, though to Mashiro herself, it probably didn't seem that way. But to anyone else, her life sounded tragic, and combined with her genius reputation, it was easy to feel sympathy for her.
Sagiri, being a genuinely kind child, finally gave in after hearing it all. "If Nii-chan really insists... I guess it's okay if she stays for a little while."
"But when she finds a friend, she has to move out right away!"
With that typical tsundere declaration, Sagiri fully opened the door.
"You don't need to worry about that, Sagiri."
Shunsuke nodded, thinking to himself, Don't worry, when the time comes, I'll make sure Mashiro moves to my place anyway.
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