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After a long while, Mahiru Shiina was totally out of energy.
She lay limply in Andrew's arms, gazing up at him with a mix of shyness, happiness, and just a tiny bit of resentment.
With her little fist, she gave him a soft punch.
"You're the worst!"
Andrew chuckled, catching that cute little fist and gently running his other hand through her silky golden hair.
"What did I do this time? Tell me! I'll change, I swear!"
"Hmph, I just hate you," Mahiru muttered as she buried her face into his chest, rubbing against him instinctively.
"I told you I couldn't take any more, and you still kept going..."
"If I can't get out of bed tomorrow, who's gonna cook for you?"
Andrew couldn't help but laugh at that. That's what she was worried about?
She's too cute.
"No big deal. If you can't get up, we'll just snack on something in the morning, then order delivery for lunch. It's the weekend anyway—we don't have school."
Only then did Mahiru remember that tomorrow was Saturday, and she immediately got a little embarrassed.
"Mmm... Delivery, huh... I've never had that before."
She mumbled that under her breath.
Andrew looked at her, surprised. "Wait, really? Not even once?"
"Yeah, my house... we have someone who cooks for us." She answered softly, hesitating a bit.
But her face showed a trace of sadness.
Andrew immediately realized she was thinking about her parents again—those two who never really cared about her.
Still, this was a rare moment. He wasn't about to let the chance to get closer to her heart slip by.
Smiling, he said, "Whoa, you've got your own chef? Must be a maid, right? You really are a rich girl, Mahiru. I'm seriously the luckiest guy in the world."
Mahiru rolled her eyes. "Sure, my family's well-off, but if you think I'll let you be a lazy bum living off me, you're dead wrong!"
She really didn't want to be associated with that house anymore.
Andrew gave her a helpless smile. "So in your eyes, I'm just some loser leeching off his girlfriend?"
Mahiru shook her head, though her cheeks turned pink.
In truth, she did want to keep him all to herself. If he was a good-for-nothing, maybe he'd never leave her side.
Watching her shy little expression, Andrew thought she was absolutely adorable.
He wrapped an arm around her slender waist. That sweet scent of hers instantly filled his senses.
Such a perfect girl... and she's all his.
And he only just got his memories back, too. Damn, he was proud of himself.
He leaned down and kissed Mahiru on the forehead, then said gently:
"Alright, time for bed. I'm not gonna be a loser, though. I promised I'd take care of you."
"Oh, and I forgot to tell you—my novel just got approved by the editor. I'm meeting them tomorrow to talk about a contract."
Mahiru's eyes went wide.
"For real?!"
"Totally! I told you I'm not just some useless shut-in—I'm a creative shut-in!"
"Oh." Mahiru pouted, acting all nonchalant like she didn't care.
Andrew immediately felt like a cat was scratching at his heart. "What's with that reaction? Are you secretly hoping I do become a loser?"
Mahiru avoided his gaze and muttered, "I am not... mmmph!"
Before she could finish, Andrew leaned down and kissed her again.
This little troublemaker was seriously asking for it.
Sure, he liked a chill life, but becoming a useless bum? No way.
If he was a bum, how was he supposed to gather more... companions?
Mahiru looked up at him with watery eyes. She was completely wiped out.
She started to doubt herself.
Could someone as weak as her really keep him all to herself?
Andrew didn't push it any further. That kiss was just his way of showing her how much he adored his little angel.
Then, holding her close, the two of them drifted off to sleep.
Of course, while cuddling with his angel, Andrew didn't forget to channel some of his magical power into her.
After all, once she awakened her abilities, his super regeneration could level up too.
A win-win situation.
Meanwhile...
Asada Shino was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Thinking about what Andrew had told her just made her feel worse.
For the longest time, she'd kept it a secret that she once shot and killed a robber.
But out of nowhere, that secret had gotten out—everyone at school knew. It was even posted on the campus intranet.
Her so-called best friends stopped talking to her. Her classmates—and even the teachers—started looking at her like she was some kind of murderer.
They iced her out, hard. Total cold shoulder.
Shino had no choice but to move out of the school dorms and rent her own place.
Nobody believed her. Nobody stood up for her.
So when she got bullied or extorted, she had no one to turn to.
She kept it all bottled up.
She couldn't figure out what she'd done wrong.
Back then, she was just a little girl trying to protect her mom. She picked up a gun that the robber had dropped... and in a panic, she fired.
She didn't do anything wrong. She protected herself. Protected everyone else in that bank.
So why was she being punished like this?
The pressure was eating her alive. She had constant nightmares where the robber's twisted face appeared, screaming at her: "Why did you kill me?"
And now, she'd just learned that the person who leaked her secret... was her only friend, Kyouji Shinkawa.
That realization hit her hard. He suddenly felt terrifying—and disgusting.
Clutching her chest, Shino let out a cold laugh.
She wasn't going to let snakes like that fool her or hurt her anymore.
Shaking her head, she shoved all thoughts of that scumbag out of her mind.
Instead, an image of Andrew's handsome face floated into her mind.
"Yeah... I've gotta find a way to properly thank him."
Just saying "thanks" didn't seem like enough.
Looks like she'd have to ask Mahiru what Andrew likes.
Shino wanted to prepare a special gift to show how grateful she was.
...Though, if Mahiru found out what Shino was planning, would she start getting suspicious?
After all, the old saying goes:
Watch out for fires, thieves... and your best friend.
"..."
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