[174] Acts So Scummy Even "White Album" Can't Compare

Chapter 174: Acts So Scummy Even "White Album" Can't Compare

When Mashiro suddenly appeared, Rita's expression initially showed panic, but it quickly turned into a mischievous smirk. She took two steps forward and tightly wrapped Shunsuke's arm around her own, even deliberately pressing her chest against him. "Shunsuke was very gentle with me last night," she said with a teasing tone.

"Rita..."

Seeing Mashiro's usually expressionless face darken slightly, Shunsuke wanted to facepalm. This kind of deliberately misleading talk—was it something Rita learned from Mashiro, or was it the other way around?

Noticing Shunsuke's expression, Rita pouted unhappily. "What? Weren't you having fun just a moment ago? Why are you acting like you did nothing now?"

Shunsuke gave Rita a helpless look, his eyes conveying: *Weren't you the one most afraid of Mashiro finding out earlier?*

Rita tilted her head smugly: *So what if I was? I bet you're scared too. Go ahead, try explaining.*

Seeing the two of them suddenly start communicating silently, excluding her, Mashiro pouted unhappily. She took a bold step forward and grabbed both of them, trying to pull them apart. "Rita, let go of Shunsuke."

When she realized she couldn't pull Rita away, Mashiro turned to look directly into Rita's eyes and repeated, word by word, "Rita, let go of Shunsuke."

Rita clung tightly to Shunsuke's arm, even pressing her body against his, and replied with a triumphant smile, "Why? What's wrong with me wanting to be with my darling?"

"...Shunsuke has to bathe me."

Mashiro's face twitched slightly, and after a moment, she continued expressionlessly.

"In the morning, Shunsuke's... *bad thing* is always swollen. I have to use my hair, feet, and hands to help him calm it down. After that, I wash my hair to clean off the dirt."

Rita's sharp, upward gaze, like a knife, made Shunsuke turn his head away.

*Heaven and earth, I swear I never did such things during school!*

"Mashiro, let me help you bathe instead. It's been a while, and I'm afraid my skills might have gotten rusty."

With a stiff smile, Rita reluctantly let go of Shunsuke's arm and took Mashiro's hand, preparing to lead her out of the room.

Mashiro's expression softened slightly. Whether it was Shunsuke or Rita helping her bathe, as long as the two of them were separated, her goal was achieved.

As long as it wasn't *Plan C*—both of them helping her bathe together—she wouldn't lose!

Shunsuke, hiding behind, gently tugged on the towel Rita had wrapped around her neck.

Rita's movements froze.

"...Rita?"

Feeling Rita's hesitation, Mashiro turned her head in confusion.

"Ha, haha, Mashiro, why don't you go bathe with darling instead?"

Glaring fiercely at Shunsuke, Rita stiffly placed Mashiro's small hand into Shunsuke's larger one, her heart filled with reluctance.

Shunsuke shot Rita a triumphant look and led Mashiro out of the room.

"Shunsuke... is an idiot."

From afar, Mashiro's muttering could be heard. Rita smiled bitterly, unconsciously touching her neck, and let out a soft sigh.

"Wait, you're going out alone today?"

Hearing Shunsuke's words, Rita widened her eyes in surprise.

"I don't have a choice. I made plans with someone earlier."

"Is it a guy or a girl?"

Rita narrowed her eyes.

"...A girl."

Mashiro, who had been nibbling on a Baumkuchen like a little hamster, silently raised her head.

"Originally, I was thinking of asking Eriri to come over and take care of Mashiro, but since you're here now, I'll leave Mashiro in your hands today."

The idea of having Eriri cover for him while he went to Kasumigaoka Utaha's place to relax made Shunsuke feel like he was some kind of scoundrel for even thinking of it.

"Eri?" Rita's ears perked up. "The Eriri you're talking about—is her full name Eriri Spencer?"

"You know Eriri too?"

"Yeah, our families, the Ainsworth and the Spencers, are old friends. Every year when Eriri comes to the UK for vacation, we always meet up. My grandfather even once asked her if she wanted to learn painting from him, but she turned him down."

At the end of her explanation, Rita's expression turned complicated.

Compared to eromanga, even regular manga is considered a higher form of art, right?

Eriri clearly has talent in oil painting and art, yet she chose to draw eromanga instead. It's just absurd!

I heard she inherited this from her mother. Though it feels a bit wrong to think this way about Mrs. Spencer, Rita really couldn't understand how a mother could encourage something so outrageous.

At this point, Shunsuke finally understood why Eriri had so easily accepted Mashiro and even semi-passively started taking care of her. There was a shared history between them.

"Anyway, I'm heading out now. See you later."

Without giving them a chance to refuse, Shunsuke left the house. After sending a text to Kasumigaoka Utaha, he made his way to the train station.

Kasumigaoka Utaha lived in a different area from Shunsuke, Sakurajima Mai, and the others. Since she lived with her parents, her place wasn't very close to Sobu High.

Come to think of it, isn't it normal for high schoolers to live with their parents? Why does it feel so rare in my case?

Thinking about Sakurajima Mai, Azusagawa Sakuta and Azusagawa Kaede, Kitagawa Marin, Koizumi-san, Yukinoshita Yukino—all of whom live alone—and then Yuigahama Yui, little Sagiri, and the muse members, who come from single-parent families...

In the world of anime, living with your parents seems to be the rare exception, huh?

Including walking and transfer time, it took Shunsuke about half an hour to arrive at an ordinary apartment complex similar to the one he lived in. It seemed that Utaha's parents, who had never made an appearance, were just ordinary office workers like his own father.

*Ding dong.*

Shunsuke found the door with the Kasumigaoka nameplate and pressed the doorbell. The door suddenly opened, revealing the curvaceous figure behind it.

Even at home, Utaha was wearing black stockings, her long black hair casually draped over her shoulders. She was dressed in a simple set of home clothes and a pair of cute cotton slippers.

"Trash-kun, welcome."

With a slight tilt of her body, Utaha, without makeup, smiled as she welcomed Shunsuke inside.

"Ah, sorry for intruding."

Seeing that Utaha wasn't wearing any makeup, Shunsuke was momentarily stunned before responding.

Unlike in other countries, in Japan, it's considered proper etiquette for women to wear makeup, especially when receiving guests. Not wearing makeup when welcoming someone could be seen as impolite—unless the two people were very close, close enough to disregard such formalities.

Noticing Shunsuke's stunned expression, Utaha tilted her head slightly, a hint of pride in her smile.

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