"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"We are sorry, dear Sensei, it won't happen again."
In response to Hiratsuka's scolding, Shido and Mayuri bowed humbly.
The one making the phone call earlier was the same nosy teacher, but she was genuinely concerned for her students. Out of respect for her, the two decided to show up for the last period of the day.
Or rather, Marina encouraged them to, just like what Rinne suggested before.
The two class-skippers sat down at their seats, their shy actions made some students wonder about their relationship. You know, it was Shiori who showed up for class earlier, but now she had gone home, and was replaced by Shido. Despite that, Mayuri was familiar with both of them.
....five minutes ago.....
"Ren just got beat up so badly, and her mental trauma being even worse, no way in hell could she recover and come back for more that fast!"
This was Marina's reasoning for making them go back to school.
Shido was not so optimistic, given how quickly that bad girl acted up again after him and Mukuro royally besting her. So Marina elaborated: "Also, it's better to show that you are continuing with your daily lives."
As her reasoning stated, this would hide the fact that they were taking actions against Ren or her behind-the-scenes bosses. It would make them think that they were just a bunch of fools who still wouldn't take training sessions for self-defense.
"Plus, this will be 'your' last day at school, so enjoy it while you can."
She specifically emphasized the pronoun "your", making Shido more confused.
But before he could ask why, Marina pushed him out of the household. Mayuri followed suit a second later.
"Merccccccccccccccy!!!!"
And then, he heard a beautiful high-pitch squeal from inside. As expected, that was from Miku...
RIP.
Shido gave condolences in his heart.
Maybe that was her real reason for kicking him out.
...back to the present...
Shido noticed a few gazes at him.
From his right, he could feel Nino Nakano, or more precisely, Miku Nakano in disguise, staring at him with adoring eyes; from his left, he could feel Yumiko Miura, the Queen Bee of the class, looking at him intently without emitting any sense of defeat.
In addition, Umaru Doma and Megumi Kato were secretly glancing at him while taking notes.
Why are they still interested, even with Mayuri around?
Shido thought to himself.
But compared to that, there was something bothering him more:
What if Ren goes after these girls?
Villains have no moral. Ren would definitely take hostages from civilians to force him to submit, and as a hero, he couldn't just let those innocent girls suffer, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Now that he thought about it, there was still no clear explanation of co-existence of characters who were supposed be in different universes in this mysterious Neighboring World. Was Mio Takamiya responsible for this, or was it Ren? Or maybe, it was the undercover agent from the DEM?
So many maybes, so little answers.
Feeling a little headache, Shido shook his head to clear his thoughts. He could only test his hypothesis one step at a time.
"Ding ding ding..."
The school was over, and people started getting out of their seats.
"...Shido..."
As soon as the students were dismissed, "Nino" walked toward Shido and Mayuri with a somewhat nervous look.
"What is it?"
Shido asked curiously.
"...well, we talked about..."
"Nino" Fidgeted, her cheeks flushing red.
"Are you alright, Nino?"
He asked.
"...yeah, I'm—"
"—Are you guys ready for the pick up?"
Yumiko stepped in and interrupted the shy quintuplet in disguise.
At this time, Shido suddenly remembered that they were supposed to pick up the modified versions of the maid outfits that they ordered yesterday.
Damn, it totally slipped my mind...
Shido couldn't help but admire Marina's sense of precautions. Staying in the virtual world for a few days really made him forget about some details of his school days.
"Yeah, let's go!"
Under the jealous gazes of every male student present, Shido held Mayuri's refined hand and walked out of the classroom with "Nino" and Yumiko following behind.
...
"Shido, I have a question."
While the four were heading toward the maid-outfit store, Mayuri tugged Shido's shirt lightly.
"What is it?"
Shido asked.
Mayuri leaned in closer to him, almost making his heart skip a beat, and she whispered:
"Is Nino-san alright? She's not like her usual self."
Despite only knowing Nino for one day and a half, she knew that this tsundere girl was always assertive and energetic. It was odd for her to be so quiet and timid. What's more, Shido didn't say anything, almost like he was fine with it.
"Yep, because she's not Nino, but actually Miku."
Shido whispered back, feeling a bit proud that he didn't forget such an important fact.
He saw through her disguise, yet he acted like he was unaware of it. Therefore, she would be disappointed in his skills of perception and hopefully give up on him...
"Miku!?"
Mayuri turned around in surprise and looked at the Nakano sister in disguise.
"Yaaa!"
The third sister jumped up and let out a whimper cutely like a frightened bunny.
The jig is up...
Shido almost deadpanned himself. He forgot that Mayuri had never seen the anime called Quintessential Quintuplets. Also, she was probably surprised that the name of this girl was Miku as well.
"Who is Miku?"
Yumiko asked dumbly, and stared at the girl in question.
Mayuri looked at Shido in confusion, not understanding the situation at all.
Shido sighed in defeat. At this point, there was no point in hiding anymore.
"Well, Miku is Nino's little sister. Since they are quintuplets, they can disguise as one another with a little change of hairstyles and accessories."
"What?"
With Shido's explanation, Mayuri and Yumiko gasped.
Miku Nakano, the girl in question, lowered her head in embarrassment. But when looked upon closely, it could be seen that she was blushing deeply and smiling happily, almost letting out a squeal of joy.
Clearly, she was very pleased that Shido could see through her quintuplets disguise. When there was love, one could tell them apart.
"So, mind telling us why you pretended to be Nino, Miku?"
Shido asked.
"...Well, Nino said that she was a bit under the weather, yet she wanted a perfect attendance ..."
Miku answered quietly, almost like a whisper.
This morning, Nino told her sisters that she wasn't feeling well, hoping to stay at home for the day. But Miku, curious about what Shido was like in class, volunteered to attend school in her place.
To keep her updated, Nino told her about the maid outfits order, and the little sister was ecstatic upon hearing it. For her, this technically meant going on a date with Shido!
Therefore, Miku Nakano asked for a leave of absence for herself, and attended school as Nino Nakano.
"Is Nino alright? If I remember correctly, your father is a doctor..."
The moment Shido said those words, he regretted it instantly.
"...yes, he said it's just a fever...is there any advice you can give...?"
Miku's lips curled up in a joyful manner. She couldn't believe that he cared this much about her and her sister.
"That's good, just make sure to stay hydrated and rest..."
As for Shido, he was practically dead inside. How could he screw up one way after another? This made her fall for him even more, for he had raised all the flags for himself!
Am I getting rusty about dealing with girls this fast? I rather forget how I messed up with Tohka in that classroom and Yoshino in that shopping mall.
"We are here!"
Yumiko's clear voice interrupted them.
Shido thanked her briefly before going to the sales clerk, asking for the orders that he made yesterday.
According to his request, all 12 maid outfits were modified properly, adding more fabrics to the skirts that would cover up more portions of the thighs. If the boys in class heard about this, they would probably want to murder him, in the manner of FFF Inquisition. Death to the traitor!
Yumiko giggled happily, since she didn't want hundreds of guys to stare at her overly-exposed thighs. She would only permit such privileges to the guy she liked.
"Shido..."
A shy voice cut off her thoughts.
"Can you wait... for a minute? I will make it quick..."
Miku took the maid outfit designated for her older sister and entered the dressing room. Since they had the same figures, it would fit her nonetheless.
"I will change too!"
Yumiko took her maid outfit and entered the room next to Miku's, not caring if she had already tried it yesterday. She probably wanted to show her who was superior.
"...alright."
Shido gave a wry smile.
"Shido..."
At this time, Mayuri leaned in and lowered her head apologetically.
"Did I cause you any trouble?"
"No, it's not your fault."
Seeing Mayuri sad, Shido quickly waved his hand and smiled. He could not blame her for not knowing this matter, after all, he never discussed it with her.
"Really?"
"Really!"
Mayuri asked intently, to which he replied with affirmation.
"Really really?"
"Really really! Multiply by Tohka's appetite!"
Knowing where this conversation was heading, he quickly put a stop to it.
"Hihi~"
Mayuri giggled happily, grabbing Shido's arm and hugging it tightly.
Feeling her soft breasts sandwiching his arm, Shido held back a gulp, but his eyes remained fixated on her.
He leaned in closer toward her, and she did the same.
When their lips were about to touch...
"Darling!"
A beautiful cry interrupted the sweet mood.
...
A/N:
Thank you for your support.