If I can't do this, then I'm not a man

Having calmed Mai's heart, Shishio joined everyone having dinner at the hotel.

Still, instead of calming her down, he wondered whether he lit up the fire of love in her heart.

However, Shishio quickly threw the matter of Mai aside and joined everyone to have dinner at the hotel together.

They gathered in the dining room, eating various seafood specialties around this area. Whether it was sea bream, tuna, abalone, lobster, shrimp, sea urchin, or many other kinds of seafood were served to their tables.

There was also an A5 wagyu beef marbled with beautiful fat that gave tenderness, juiciness, and flavor that couldn't be compared to all.

Still, somehow they felt that Shishio's home-cooking tasted better than the foods in front of them. However, since it was a luxurious dinner, it gave them the illusion that it tasted better, especially for Mayumi and Sayaka.

Hiratsuka, who drank a beer, couldn't help but look at Shishio and ask, "Oga, is it alright for you to treat all of us?" Even though Shishio had deliberately told the restaurant's server not to show everyone the menu, so no one could know the price of the food, she knew this dinner wasn't cheap. Instead, it was very expensive.

Hiratsuka knew that Shishio might be quite wealthy, but she wondered whether it was alright to use it on them.

"It's alright. If I don't use it now, when can I use it?" Shishio drank an apple juice and said, "Money might be important, but I think that money will be more meaningful if I can use it to make the people I care about live better."

Hiratsuka was stunned and looked away with a blush when Shishio looked in her direction when he said, "the people that I care about."

However, Hiratsuka quickly snorted and felt that her dignity as a teacher was challenged if she kept getting embarrassed after being teased by Shishio from time to time. Still, when she looked at him, he looked at her with a gentle smile, which made her head blank, and couldn't the words of complaint that she wanted to utter to him.

'It's not fair...'

Hiratsuka felt that Shishio was unfair for teasing her all the time, yet he never clarified what he wanted to do with her!

Still, Hiratsuka let out a long depressive sigh when she thought that they were a student and a teacher.

"By - by the way, Oga."

'Dammit, why did I stutter?!'

Hiratsuka's mind was in a mess.

"What's wrong, Sensei?"

"...."

Hiratsuka felt quite depressed when the word "Sensei" came out from Shishio's mouth, but she shook her head and asked, "Did you know about the result of your Monthly Exam?"

"Oh? Has it come out?" Shishio asked, and he glanced in Chihiro's direction.

Chihiro, who ate the sashimi, stopped all of a sudden. Her entire body froze, and her face flushed red.

"What's wrong, Chihiro-sensei?" Misaki asked.

"No-Nothing!" Chihiro took a glass of beer and gulped it down without hesitation.

Shishio looked at Chihiro and thought her reaction was quite cute since he tried to hide her embarrassment by drinking alcohol. There was no need to wait for Hiratsuka's answer, and he could already guess the result of his Monthly Exam after seeing Chihiro's reaction. "Let me guess."

"Oh? Then try to guess it." Chihiro looked at Shishio with a smile.

"I'm ranked 1st in the entire grade," Shishio said flatly.

"....."

Everyone was speechless after they saw how confident Shishio was.

"Yeah. You're ranked 1st in your entire grade," Hiratsuka said with a sigh. Even though this guy was a problem student, without a doubt, this guy was the smartest among his entire grade. If not the entire school.

"....." Everyone.

While everyone's reaction was interesting, Shishio was more interested in Chihiro's reaction since she had promised him that she would reward him. He wasn't sure what kind of reward she would give him, but he hoped this reward would surprise him.

"Shishio."

Shishio felt the sleeve of his yukata was tucked, so he turned and looked at Shiina. "Sorry, sorry. Which one do you want to eat next?"

"This one." Shiina pointed at the tuna.

"Open your mouth." Shishio took the piece of tuna and fed Shiina.

"Ahh..." Shiina opened her mouth and ate the tuna, chewing it slowly. She wasn't sure why, but the foods that Shishio fed tasted better, so she kept asking him to feed her. However, she also knew that to ask him to pamper her, she also needed to give an appropriate price.

"Don't overeat. You'll eat something later, right?"

Shiina's face flushed, and her body trembled as she gave the nod. She would eat something later in Shishio's room later that night.

As for what she would eat, who could guess?

"Shishio, why did you feed Mashiro?" Mayumi asked.

"Is it a problem?" Shishio asked.

"Of course, it is a big problem!" Mayumi said without hesitation. "You two might be a distant family, but you two can still get married. Also, don't you have a girlfriend? Have you two-timed your girlfriend?" She just couldn't handle it anymore and felt jealous -- Cough! Cough!

Wrong!

Mayumi felt that there was something wrong with the relationship between Shishio and Shiina. She felt that they were too close, especially when Shishio already had a girlfriend at that time. Her memory was still vivid, and it was still fresh when she recalled the time when Saki came to the Sakurasou.

When Saki came to Sakurasou, she told everyone that they were free to seduce Shishio confidently as if she didn't think that he wouldn't cheat on her no matter what.

Mayumi was annoyed, but at the same time, she wondered how Saki could believe in Shishio so much that Saki wouldn't think that he would cheat when so many beautiful girls surrounded him.

It was hard to ask this question on Sakurasou, but this time, Mayumi couldn't handle it anymore and decided to ask Shishio, asking him whether he had two-timed his girlfriend.

The tables suddenly turned in silence when Mayumi asked that question.

Even Ryuunosuke, who gave an aura "don't talk with me," also glanced at Shishio curiously.

No one was an idiot.

They could see how close Shishio and Shiina were, so they wondered whether Shishio had two-timed his girlfriend by dating Shiina.

Still, Nanami and Roberta, who knew the truth, wondered what Shishio would say.

Shiina didn't say anything, only looked at Shishio in a daze.

Shishio glanced at Mayumi and said, "Mayumi-san."

"What?" Mayumi lifted her chest, causing it to jiggle slightly.

"Do you want to pay for the accommodation yourself?" Shishio asked flatly.

"....."

"Shishio! No, Shishio-sama, please forgive me!" Mayumi, without hesitation, hugged Shishio tightly with tears!

Mayumi's income might not be bad, and it was quite alright for a single woman like her. However, it didn't mean that she could use all of that money unscrupulously. She wasn't stupid, and even if she didn't see the price of the hotel or the cost of the dinner, she could tell that it was expensive!

If Shishio told her to pay for the accommodation with her own money, Mayumi was sure that she might need to eat instant noodles until next month!

Mayumi didn't want that!

"...." Everyone.

Shishio was satisfied with Mayumi's reaction, but he still showed a troubled expression and patted her head tenderly. "Can you be a good girl without causing trouble now?"

"...."

Mayumi was in a daze when a young man who was younger than her gently caressed her head.

'Dammit, why does it feel so good?'

Mayumi wanted to complain, but she showed a sweet smile and nodded. "Okay~~!"

"..." Everyone.

Mayumi returned to her seat and continued to eat. Still, she wanted to cause trouble again, but she decided to shut her mouth when she looked at the delicious food and alcohol.

After Mayumi stopped her mouth, no one said anything, but it didn't mean that they didn't feel curious. Their minds wondered what kind of relationship Shishio and Shiina shared, and they also wondered whether Shishio was a scumbag who two-timed on his girlfriend.

However, could they ask?

No.

Mayumi had been defeated easily by Shishio, and this atmosphere made it hard for them to ask.

Still, if Shishio had to answer Mayumi's question, he would say that he didn't two-time his girlfriends. Instead, he was five-time his girlfriends.

It was worse.

Still, while it might not be related, somehow, the taste of the food didn't feel good anymore.

"I'll go back to my room," Shishio said and left.

Shiina wanted to follow, but Shishio stopped her.

"Stay here for a moment."

Shiina didn't know why Shishio told her to stay, but she nodded obediently and stayed with everyone to eat.

When Shishio left, somehow the atmosphere became even more awkward, and they didn't know what to say.

"How about we rest early?" Chihiro said.

No one rejected Chihiro's words, and they decided to return to their rooms. But, of course, some of them also brought some alcohol and snacks to be consumed in their room later.

---

Shishio didn't return to his room. Instead, he walked around the inn randomly. It was his first time to be in this inn after he had gotten this reward in the past.

After walking for a while, Shishio saw a vending machine and got a Pepsi before sitting on the outdoor area chair.

He opened the can and drank the Pepsi in a gulp as he watched the sea absentmindedly.

Somehow instead of feeling conflicted by Mayumi's question, Shishio felt that he was guilty.

Shishio wasn't surprised by Mayumi's question since he knew that no matter how good he kept his secret, it would be known in the future, especially by the people who lived together with him or the people with whom he had a close relationship.

It was impossible to keep everything a secret, which was why he had always prepared himself when the time came.

However, this happened so suddenly, and he wasn't prepared to tell them the truth.

Still, this wasn't the problem.

The problem was that he felt that he was trash since he didn't dare to declare out loud that Shiina was his woman in public. He was afraid the status quo on the Sakurasou would change and felt that he should cut his phallus for not being a man.

Shishio crushed the empty can in his hand, but at the same time, he felt that it was too stupid of him to think about this problem. After all, he didn't have an obligation to tell them.

'If they're strangers, it'll be easier.'

If they were all just strangers with whom he didn't have a relationship, Shishio felt that everything was easier.

However, Shishio knew very well that they weren't strangers, and since he had this uneasy feeling, he didn't want to hide the truth from them and told them that he had dated more than one girl.

Also...

'If I can't acknowledge my relationship, how can I marry all of them?'

His goal in this world had changed, and that was to allow polygamy in this country so he could marry all of his women.

Shishio made up his mind and thought there was no need to fear and be confident with what he was doing.

However...

"Shishio-kun?"

Shishio turned his head and saw Ritsu was there.

"Can we talk?" Ritsu asked as she stared at Shishio.

"..."

Shishio wondered how many times he was going to hear this sentence.