Chapter 268: Shishio"s Feminine Appeal is High
As the break came, Nana, Mea, and Maiko took out a mysterious box that they had kept hidden inside the bags before they stared at each other. Somehow, their gazes caused a spark that couldn"t be hidden, and from their eyes, they knew that they were about to fight to show who was the strongest among them.
Mea stared at Nana and Mea and said, "It"s time to settle the best among us."
"That"s true." Nana nodded. "Let me show you the difference between us."
"Nana, you might have beaten us by getting a boyfriend, but this battle... I won"t lose no matter what!" Mea showed confidence that she had never shown before.
"Oh-ho? Interesting, are you going to challenge me?" Nana asked arrogantly.
"If I don"t challenge you, then I can"t beat the s.h.i.t out of you!" Mea said with vigor.
Shishio, who was on the side, could see "Go! Go! Go!" words behind them and the intense fighting spirit that told him that they couldn"t lose to this battle no matter what!
"...."
Shishio could only roll his eyes, and he ignored them for now and talked with Nanami since he knew they were busy with their confrontation.
"Shishio-kun, I have received the script in my email," Nanami said with a bright expression.
"Have you read it?" Shishio asked.
"Um." Nanami nodded and said, "After I received it last night, I read it from until late at night." She had to admit that the script of Misaki"s anime was interesting, so she couldn"t help but read it until late.
"Was that why you were late before?" Shishio asked.
Nanami blushed, but she nodded. "But the script is amazing! I didn"t expect that Kamiigusa-senpai is also an amazing scriptwriter."
Shishio didn"t fix Nanami"s misunderstanding and said, "I"m happy that you like the script, but you should take care of your health. You live alone, right? If you get sick, isn"t it quite inconvenient to you?"
"Thank you for your concern, Shishio-kun, but I - I know my own body..." Nanami said after a moment of hesitation since she needed to prove her ability to her father, and she couldn"t afford to take it easy.
Shishio could see that Nanami was quite stubborn and said, "I see... then I won"t force you, then what about our talk before? Have you thought about it?" He had invited her to live in Sakurasou before, so he was wondering what her decision was.
Nanami also wanted to live in Sakurasou since it was easier for her to talk about an anime, and she also didn"t mind living together with Shishio, or rather she would be more than happy. Still, at the same time, she was wondering whether it was alright.
If Shishio knew what Nanami was thinking, he thought this girl was really stubborn in a strange place.
"Is... Is it alright for me to move to Sakurasou?" Nanami asked hesitantly.
"Are you afraid that someone might think of you as a weirdo?" Shishio asked.
"No, no, I don"t care about that!" Nanami didn"t care much about those kinds of things as long as Shishio was with her.
"So what"s the problem? You know, if you don"t want to move, then I won"t force you." If Nanami didn"t want to move, then that"s it. Shishio would give up asking her since there was no point in forcing someone. He just wanted to help her, but she thought his help was a burden, so he wouldn"t do it.
"Um..." Nanami looked at Shishio and asked, "Shishio-kun, can I ask why you help me so much?"
Shishio raised his eyebrow and asked in doubt, "Did I help you?"
"You have helped me a lot." Nanami was speechless when she heard Shishio"s words, but at the same time, she sighed and thought that it might be part of his charm.
"Really? I never thought of it." Shishio didn"t think too much and asked, "Was it unnecessary?"
"No, I"m happy, but..."
"But?"
"I"m not sure whether it is alright for me to receive your kindness all the time," Nanami said truthfully. She knew that she was troublesome, but she just couldn"t understand why Shishio was so gentle toward her, and it was also because of this reason that she just couldn"t give him up. Watching him so close with Nana every day, she just wanted to be in Nana"s place and stay with him all the time, but with how close both of them were, she was wondering whether it was possible.
Nanami had to admit that she might have fallen for Shishio, but she knew that this feeling was unrequited, which was why, if possible, she just wanted to maintain this distance neither too close nor too far.
Nanami also knew that if she was too close to Shishio, she might not be able to control her feelings anymore and might confess to him directly. That time, she would be rejected, and their relationship would turn awkward, so they might not maintain this relationship.
Nanami loved the feeling when she sat right in front of him and talked about many silly things together. It might sound a bit stupid for some people, but for her, this might be the light that she had found after she lost it before. She was on a difficult time, and she just needed someone to become her spiritual support, which was why she didn"t want to lose it again.
"If you are not comfortable with receiving my help, then how about thinking of it as my way to repay you?" Shishio asked.
"Huh? When did I help you?" Nanami was dumbfounded and confused, wondering when she had helped him.
"You have helped me a lot."
"When?"
"Everyday." Shishio looked at Nanami and said, "You have helped me by covering me from the teacher"s vision, so they won"t see me reading a book during the lesson."
"..."
Nanami was lost for words and then pouted. "I"m not joking, Shishio-kun!"
Shishio thought for a moment, and when he wanted to say something...
"Shishio! We should go!"
Shishio turned and saw Nana, Mea, and Maiko had ended their conversation, but he couldn"t say anything since he saw that their ill.u.s.tration arts had changed, and somehow there was a feeling that they had become a Jojo character.
"...."
"Let"s talk about this later. See you later, Nanami." Shishio then took out his bento box left with Nana, Mea, and Maiko.
"...See you later." Nanami showed a bitter smile, but at the same time, she was just wondering why Shishio was so gentle toward her. "If this continues..." Looking at his back, she let out a long sigh as she wondered what she had to do about this feeling.
As for Nana, Mea, and Maiko, they forgot about their fights before and looked at the huge bento box on Shishio"s hands and thought that even if they lost to other girls, they definitely wouldn"t be defeated by this guy!
---
As they arrived at the literature club, everyone was also inside, and they also brought their bento box, except for Ritsu and Shiina.
Yesterday, they talked about bringing each other"s Bentos and ate them together during lunch.
Shishio had never thought too much about this promise, but for the girls, they knew that it was a battle to show their female appeal!
It was a time to show their skill that they were the best girls among everyone in the literature club by showing their cooking skills.
Except for Shiina, the rest of the girls on the literature club had an experience with cooking.
Even Ritsu, who had always read a book, could also cook, but compared to Shishio, she knew that her skill was only so-so, and in the end, she gave up, and it was better to enjoy Shishio"s food since she knew how good it was.
Shiina and Ritsu might forfeit this match, but it was different from Saki, Miu, Nana, Mea, and Maiko since they would show their cooking skills to Shishio to show that they were the best girl among them!
Well, compared to Nana, Mea, and Maiko, Saki and Miu didn"t think too much, and they didn"t have much intention to compete. The two of them were just happy that they could eat with Shishio, that"s all.
However, Nana, Mea, and Maiko were burning with fighting spirit!
Mea was good with household ch.o.r.es since she usually took care of her younger siblings, and even though it might sound arrogant, she didn"t think she would lose to Maiko and Nana.
Maiko might not seem interested in cooking, but she had received spartan training from her mother, and there was also a saying, "the way to a young boy"s heart is through his stomach," which was why she believed that she was the best.
As for Nana, she might have the potential to be the best among them. She was the smartest among all the girls, except for Shiina since Shiina was practically a genius. She also received training from the most motherly figure in this novel from her childhood since she was the little sister of Ayaka Sunohara. Therefore, it could be said that she had the potential to be the best among everyone.
"Alright, let"s start our female appeal battle!" Nana shouted.
"OOOOOOHHH!!!!" 2x
"..." Saki, Miu, Shishio, Ritsu, and Shiina.
While Nana, Maiko, and Mea showed their best dishes on their bento, Saki and Ritsu could only shake her head.
"What"s wrong, Saki, Ritsu?" Miu asked with a confused expression.
"No, I just want to know what kind of reaction they get when they know that Shishio"s bento," Saki said with a sigh, and feeling a bit dejected when she thought that Shishio was even better than her in the household ch.o.r.es.
"Huh?" Miu was quite surprised and asked, "Shishio-kun, are you good at cooking?"
"Well, I"m not that bad at it," Shishio said in a perfunctory manner.
"Liar." Ritsu rolled her eyes.
"Shishio, even though I love you, I won"t lose this battle no matter what!" Nana said without hesitation.
"...What?" Ritsu was dumbfounded when she heard Nana"s words, but she didn"t have a chance to ask this question since the female appeal battle was about to start.
"Show me your bento!" Nana didn"t care much and asked Shishio to show his bento.
Shishio didn"t say much and opened the bento box slowly and caused a golden light to envelop the entire room.
"Wha --?!"
"His female appeal is better than ours!"
"This... Is he really a boy?!"
Mea, Maiko, and Nana were shocked!
"....." Shishio stared at the three girls blankly, wondering whether he should show his p.e.n.i.s to prove that he was a boy to Maiko since this girl"s question was too rude, right?
"Wait, it might just be an appearance. The taste might not be good!" Maiko quickly said.
Nana and Mea nodded, and without hesitation, they started to taste Shishio"s bento, and when they ate it, they showed a blissful expression.
Looking at their reaction, Miu was quite surprised and asked, "Shishio-kun, can I taste it too?"
"Sure." Shishio nodded and asked, "Should I feed you, Senpai?"
"Shishio-kun!" Miu blushed and didn"t expect that she was being teased so suddenly. Of course, if they were alone, then she might not mind, but there were many people here!
"I was joking. You should try it, or else, you might not get a chance to eat them," Haru said since Saki, Ritsu, and Shiina also joined the banquet.
Miu was a bit overwhelmed when they saw everyone"s reaction, which made her even curious, but when she tasted Shishio"s food, she understood everyone"s reaction now.
---
As they finished their lunches, they realized that Shishio"s female appeal was stronger than they thought, making them slightly depressed. Still, it made them happy when they saw him eating the bento they cooked with relish since they had eaten all of his bento without leaving anything.
Shishio helped Shiina to eat since she was so sleepy at that moment and sighed inwardly, but he didn"t say much and thought that he should let her rest later.
"Mashiro-chan, why are you so sleepy?" Maiko asked curiously.
"She was drawing manga last night," Shishio said.
"I see..." Maiko nodded and didn"t say much, but she thought being a mangaka while being a student must be hard. "You work so hard, Mashiro-chan."
Shiina opened her eyes slightly and rolled her eyes, but she didn"t say much. She somehow understood why girls often rolled their eyes at him since this guy was so shameless. However, she had to admit that it felt so good, and his room had become soundproof, making it even more enjoyable since she didn"t need to hold back her voice.
"...."
Miu, Nana, and Saki, who were sensitive to this matter, looked at Shishio and Shiina and knew what they were doing, which somehow made them quite jealous of Shiina. Still, unlike them, Shiina lived together with Shishio after all, which made their relationship closer.
By living on the same roof together, a lot of things could happen, including Cough! Cough!
Anyway, Nana had made up her mind to live alone, so she knew that there should be a lot of chances to do it in the future.
As for Miu and Saki, they wanted to ask Shiina about her experience, and at the same time, they also wanted to do it too, which made them wonder when they would have that chance.
"Still, where did you learn cooking, Shishio?" Mea asked.
"I learned it in Kyoto," Shishio said naturally as if he was saying that it was natural to learn how to fly an airplane in Hawaii.
"....."
"Well, since we have eaten, there"s something that I want to ask all of you here," Shishio suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"What"s wrong?"
When Shishio suddenly said those words, everyone also focused on him, wondering what he wanted to ask.
"Have you heard about a community forum?"
It might be possible for him to popularize his community forum on his own, but he needed to do it fast, which was why he needed everyone"s help at this moment.