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n“Yes, I’ll go back tomorrow… I might not come to the school tomorrow… Yes, yes, I know…”

nMai was sitting next to Shishio, who was on the phone, but she didn’t bother him since she knew that she was being selfish and had caused him trouble.

nMai looked at her phone and browsed the internet about where they were about to go. Still, she was in a daze, looking at him curiously since he had a way with words.

nShishio needed to talk with many girls and women since he knew that he would skip school again tomorrow. Still, as expected, Chihiro was furious at him, but it was normal since he would skip school twice. Luckily, he was a good student, or else Chihiro might call his parents directly.

nShishio spent quite a while calling his girlfriends one by one before he hung up his phone. Letting out a sigh of relief, he put his phone in his pocket then looked at Mai. “Sorry to make you wait.”

n“It’s alright.” Mai shook her head and said, “I’m the one who should be the one who apologizes. Did I cause you trouble?”

nAfter their date and meeting with Mai’s mother, they didn’t go back immediately but went somewhere on a train together.

nShishio didn’t mind following Mai’s selfishness since he was worried about leaving her alone. Her mother had forgotten about her, and all the people they had met also had forgotten her. He couldn’t imagine how frightening the terror that she felt at that moment, but one thing for sure, he knew that he couldn’t leave her alone.

nStill, Shishio also knew that he was being unfair toward his girlfriends since he was together with a girl other than his girlfriends.

nEven though Shishio didn’t say anything, Mai could tell that she had brought him trouble, and when she was about to say something…

n“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who wants to help you, after all,” Shishio said. “Also, isn’t this mood quite strange? We’re on the trip, after all. We should be happier. By the way, where are we going?” He didn’t know where they were going since Mai was the one who bought the ticket while he was coaxing his girlfriends on his phone.

nIn truth, Mai also didn’t really want to talk about Shishio’s girlfriends since it put her in a bad mood, so hearing his words, she also didn’t mention this matter anymore and said, “We’re going to Ibaraki.”

n“Ibaraki prefecture?” Shishio looked at Mai weirdly since he didn’t understand why this girl brought him to such a place.

n“Well, it’s Ooarai town, to be exact,” Mai said.

n“Why did we go there?” Shishio was confused.

n“I have heard that there’s one of the oldest Torii Gates there. I want to see it, or do you want to go somewhere?” Mai asked.

n“Well, if you want to go there, I don’t mind.” Shishio shrugged his shoulders and didn’t overthink where they would go. Still, hearing about Torii Gates, he was also a bit curious about it.

nMai nodded, but then she asked, “Shishio, can I ask?”

n“What do you want to ask?” Shishio asked curiously and only realized that their faces were so close to each other, and if he moved forward, their lips might touch each other. He wondered whether this girl had subconsciously moved closer to him, but he wasn’t going to mention it since he was a gentleman, and he would be lying if he didn’t love it.

nInside the train, Shishio and Mai were sitting next to each other. The distance between the two was so close that they could feel each other’s breath, which somehow made Mai’s face slightly reddened, but she quickly calmed herself.

nStill, Mai felt a bit annoyed at this guy since he was so calm even though he was sitting next to a beautiful girl like her, which somehow damaged her pride as a beautiful girl.

nHowever, Mai didn’t flinch and asked the question that she wanted to ask. “Why did you become a scumbag?”

nWhen this question fell, Shishio wondered why it felt like Mai asking a climber why they climbed a mountain. He had heard why a famous climber was asked why he climbed a mountain, and his answer was because the mountain was there, so in his case, he became a scumbag because a girl was there.

nStill, Shishio had his common sense, and he was sure that Mai would slap him if he answered her question with such an absurd answer.

nShishio didn’t answer Mai’s question as soon as possible. Instead, he started to ponder that question. When he confessed to Saki, confessed to Nana, and confessed to Miu, he knew that he didn’t love them at that time. He decided to confess to them so they wouldn’t be sad, and it wasn’t until Shiina had helped him and made him move on that he was able to love Shiina.

nShishio knew that, unlike Shiina, who he loved dearly, his feelings toward Saki, Nana, and Miu were something else. It was something selfish. He confessed to them because he didn’t want them to become the girlfriend of someone else. He wanted them to be his even though he couldn’t move on.

nShishio knew his feelings were selfish, but even so, right now, it was different since he loved them now.

nStill, the fact that he was a scumbag didn’t change, and the reason why he became a scumbag was…

n“Because I’m selfish.”

n“Selfish?” Mai was surprised by Shishio’s answer.

nShishio nodded and continued to talk, ignoring Mai’s reaction. “I want them to be mine. I know that it might be wrong in the eyes of people, but I don’t want to give them to other men.” He looked at Mai and showed a slight smile on his mouth toward her dumbfounded expression.

n“I’m a scumbag, right?”

nShishio wanted Mai, which was why he wasn’t going to hide that he was a scumbag.

n“Selfish…” Mai murmured as she fell into deep thought.

nShishio knew that this might be a good time to directly confess, but in the end, he didn’t say anything since he felt that it was unfair to confess to her in this situation. Mai was under pressure because of her condition. If he confessed to her right now, he felt that he was using that condition as a convenience for him to get her heart.

nIt might sound stupid, but as a scumbag, Shishio also had his pride.

nShishio thought that Mai was in deep thought, so he didn’t think too much, but then, she asked, “Still, how long are you going to hold my hand?”

nShishio looked at Mai and said as he intertwined their fingers together, intimately holding her hand. “As long as I can.”

n“…” Mau pursued her lips with a blush on her face before lowering her head slightly. “What a cheeky junior.”

nShishio only smiled and didn’t say much. He turned his head toward the window, staring at the starless sky. The outside was dark, but strangely enough, this scenery gave him a serene feeling as if no matter how dark it was, he knew that he would be alright since right now, he was different from the past.

nMai, on the other hand, was thinking about Shishio’s answer.

n‘Selfish.’

nIt was only one word, and it was written in the dictionary, but for the people in this country who put forward the needs of a group instead of one, this word sounded quite strange.

nWe could be selfish as much as we wanted during our childhood time. If we wanted to drink milk or take a **, we just cried without caring whether we were in the middle of night or dawn, and our parents had never scolded us even though they lacked sleep and were awoken in the middle of the night even if they were sleepy.

nHowever, as we grow up, society, our environment, and other factors force us to read something which is known as an atmosphere.

nEven though this atmosphere was weird and made us uncomfortable, we were forced to follow because everyone also did the same, so everyone also expected you would do the same thing even though you didn’t want to.

nIt was also why Mai didn’t do anything when she was isolated and only stayed silent without talking to anyone or asking someone for help since everyone expected her to do so.

nBeing selfish would be condemned, but Shishio didn’t care about any of that and told Mai that being selfish was alright.

n‘He’s like a child…’ Mai thought inwardly as she looked at Shishio, but… she felt a bit jealous of his straightforward nature since she couldn’t do the same. However, when she was with him, she could also be selfish, which was why…

nMai hugged Shishio’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder. The warmth on his body made her restless heart become serene, and she just wanted the time to stop right now. Still, even with all of this, there was something that she was worried about.

n“Shishio.”

n“Hmm?”

n“Can you see me?”

nShishio looked at Mai straight into her eyes and said with confidence, “I can see you.”

nMai slightly blushed, but she didn’t dodge his stare and asked, “Can you hear my voice?”

n“Clearly.”

n“Do you remember who I am?”

n“Sakurajima Mai.” Shishio smiled softly and said, “She’s a second-year student at Suimei High School and also a popular child actress. She’s also an awkward girl who isn’t honest with her feelings.”

n“Who is an awkward girl?!” Mai couldn’t accept Shishio’s image of her. “Also, I’m pretty honest with my feelings.”

nShishio looked at Mai, who hugged his arm, smiled, and didn’t say much.

nMai also didn’t say much and hugged him while telling about Oorai town that they would go along with the Ibaraki prefecture in case that they might go on a trip tomorrow.

n“…” It was Shishio’s first time hearing that they were going on a trip when they were about to have an exam on Wednesday, but looking at her smile, he decided to shut his mouth, following her selfishness until her condition was solved.

nWhile they talked to each other, it didn’t take long before they arrived at Oorai.

nOorai was a small city, so when they arrived at night, they couldn’t see any people, and the sound of trains and waves was the only thing they could hear.

nIf Mai was alone, she might be scared to go to this place. Luckily, Shishio was right beside her.

n“Let’s stop at the convenience store to buy something before we search for an inn,” Shishio said.

nMai nodded and agreed, after all. Even though she didn’t mind wearing the same clothes, she didn’t want to wear the same underwear, so she needed to buy it at the convenience store. After she bought it, she asked, “Where are we going to stay?”

n“Let’s just walk, and we might find an inn nearby since we’re right beside the sea after all,” Shishio said as she squinted his eyes to see the Torii Gate that stood in a faraway place. Even though it was dark and there was no light around the Torii Gate, he could see it with his “Enhanced Vision.”

n“Ok.” Mai nodded, but she felt slightly cold since they were right next to the sea, and it was already night, so the temperature was quite low.

nShishio took off his jacket naturally and draped it on Mai’s shoulders.

nMai looked at Shishio and smiled. “Thanks.”

n“No problem.” Shishio shook his head then saw an inn. “Let’s stay there.”

n“Um.” Mai nodded, but then she suddenly thought of one question. ‘Where should I sleep?’ She wasn’t sure whether the inn employee could see her, but she decided to sleep with Shishio tonight if she couldn’t be seen.

nHer heart was restless, but Shishio didn’t notice it since he also wanted to enter the hotel since he felt quite cold too.

nThe inn was quite ordinary, it was just an ordinary house from the outside, but there was an inn sign on the outside.

nThey didn’t enter the inn immediately but pressed the bell outside.

n“Wait a moment.”

nHearing the voice from the inside, Shishio could tell that the voice should be a woman in their late 30s or early 40s, which made him slightly giddy. A lonely man and a lonely woman in the middle of nowhere. If Mai wasn’t here, there were many things that he could discuss with the woman.

nStill, Shishio maintained his usual expression, but Mai still noticed that he was thinking something weird.

n“Wait a moment~~~.”

nAs this voice fell, the sliding door opened, and they saw a woman in her 30s with black hair tied behind and huge boobs that almost spilled up from her clothes. The woman didn’t notice Mai, but her gaze stagnated when she saw Shishio. Luckily, it was dark, so Mai didn’t notice that she was blushing.

nShishio also stagnated when he noticed the woman, thinking that he might find the aunt of Nana and Ayaka, considering her size, but he quickly awoke since someone stepped on his feet. Turning his gaze to the side, he could see Mai, whose face was frosty.

n“Do you like them big?” Mai asked with a smile.

n“……”

nShishio thought that question was worth thinking over.

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