Being the Quintuplets' Dad Is No Easy Job

Shuya figured she was deliberately taking advantage of him.

But for the sake of the money, he put up with it.

Besides, Blaise had taken decent care of herself. She didn't look that old, so he could just barely accept it.

Blaise said, deeply moved, "It's rare to hear such good English in Japan. Ms. Hanazawa, I imagine you've always placed great importance on education."

Hanazawa Sakura smiled modestly. "It's nothing special. He worked hard on his own, too."

In truth, her mind was full of questions.

She had no idea Shuya could speak English.

Fortunately, she was used to Shuya being a genius, so she could play along without batting an eye and let him show off.

After complaining about Japanese English for a while, Blaise added, "Actually, I've studied languages quite a bit myself. I even know a little Great Hua Language."

"That's amazing, Ms. Blaise."

Hanazawa Sakura offered her some praise.

Blaise proudly boasted, "Hahaha! I even know how people in Great Hua Language describe a situation like mine... Hmm, let me think."

Shuya watched her curiously, wanting to see if she really knew the language.

Blaise pondered for a while, then proudly said in a bizarre accent, "It's... jiǔ, jiǔ... féng... Yes! 'After a long drought, one encounters sweet dew!'"

Holy crap! I think you're making a dirty joke! Stop! I'm just a kid!

Shuya cursed inwardly. His smile faltered, and he stiffened for a moment.

"After a long drought, one encounters sweet dew?"

The woman who had come with Blaise repeated the phrase, savoring it thoughtfully. She praised Blaise, "Ms. Blaise is amazing. She even knows Great Hua Language!"

"Hahaha!" Blaise said smugly. "I also know how people in Japanese praise someone in this situation. 'You're really good at Great Hua Language,' right?"

"Exactly! You're really good at Great Hua Language!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hehehehe!"

The two women laughed.

Shuya: "..."

These two women were something else.

Too bad they were the ones paying him, so he couldn't complain... As Shuya thought this, he noticed Hanazawa Sakura's pink lips move. She was about to repeat the phrase too. "After a long—"

"Mom, shall we get started?"

Shuya interrupted her with a smile. He really didn't want his own mother to embarrass herself.

"Oh, right. Ms. Lin, Ms. Blaise, shall we...?"

"Ah... Sorry, we've been chatting too much. Let's get started."

And so, the four of them began their discussion in earnest.

Shuya didn't say much. It wasn't as if he could make the decisions anyway.

Hanazawa Sakura had helped with the family agency's affairs since she was young, and had some experience and ability when it came to business. Shuya trusted her.

Besides, it was their own company, so Shuya didn't need to worry too much about getting cheated.

Entertainment agencies in Japan took a huge cut. If Shuya weren't with his family's company, he'd definitely be getting squeezed dry. He wouldn't have been able to live so leisurely, taking several months off work just because he wanted a break.

After discussing things for a while, the three adults reached an agreement and settled on the endorsement fee. Shuya had earned himself another sizeable sum.

Even if he knew his spendthrift parents would take most of it, he should still get to keep a decent amount... right?

Blaise liked Shuya so much that she didn't haggle much over the price. They quickly settled everything and agreed to take promotional photos after the recording session the next day. The photos would appear on the Children's Dream website for Japan and in department stores across the country.

Listening to them discuss the promotion, Shuya figured they planned to make a pretty big splash.

They'd also shoot a TV commercial later.

After the contract was finalized, Ms. Lin brought up another matter. "By the way, I imagine you and Shu-chan have heard the rumors, Ms. Hanazawa. Our company plans to ask Shu-chan for his opinion on which young actress to choose."

"Yes, I've heard about it."

Hanazawa Sakura nodded.

"So we brought the profiles. Shu-chan, take a look and see if any of the girls catch your eye."

Ms. Lin took out a thick stack of profiles, placed it in front of Shuya, and left the choice to him.

"Okay, I'll take a look."

Shuya reached out with his little hands and flipped through the profiles carefully.

Since he'd be taking photos with the girl, he wanted to pick someone he liked the look of.

Judging by the thickness of the stack, it was clear how many agencies had their eyes on this prize.

It wasn't just about the money. Being chosen by Children's Dream would give the girl a track record of working with a major company from another region, which would be a great help in the future.

Shuya flipped through the profiles. Every girl was above average in looks, but his eyes had been spoiled by the quintuplets, so none of them really stood out to him.

Until he came across a girl with long, straight black hair...

Shuya flipped through the pages quickly, then suddenly stopped and turned back a few pages.

"This girl..."

Her name was Sakurajima... Mai?

Among all the adorable girls, her exceptional beauty stood out at a glance.

Shuya's expression gradually turned strange.

There it was again—that familiar feeling...

He stared blankly at the girl in the photo, smiling at the camera.

It wasn't love at first sight. Shuya was devoted to Rena.

It was just that... he'd felt this way before when he'd seen the quintuplets.

Déjà vu.

The strange feeling that he'd met someone before, even though he never had.

"..."

...That settled it.

This wasn't just an ordinary parallel world. Something from the world of anime had somehow crossed over into it.

Shuya was certain of one thing.

The suspicion had first occurred to him when he saw the quintuplets and Rena, with their beautiful pink hair.

Normal people didn't have hair that color, especially not when they were so beautiful.

Today, when that strange sense of familiarity washed over him again, he became one hundred percent certain.

His memories...

Were missing.

Section 12: It's Not Easy Being the Quintuplets' Dad

Judging by the familiar feeling in his body, Shuya believed he knew these people.

Combined with their unusual hair colors and beauty, it was easy to guess they were characters from anime.

But Shuya hadn't dared to be sure back then. He'd only met the quintuplets, and he hadn't felt that sense of familiarity as strongly with Rena, so he'd kept wondering if it was just his imagination.

After seeing this little girl's profile, Shuya could finally confirm that his guess was right.

Shuya was surprisingly calm about his missing memories. He'd accepted being reincarnated in another world, so how could he not handle something this minor?

Perhaps this world didn't want Shuya to know their fates, so it had erased his memories.

But the memories it had taken weren't everything. Plenty of anime memories were still lying around in his mind.

Things like xxx, lolicon, bestiality, incest, NTR...

Huh? Why were those the first things I thought of?

...Never mind. That wasn't important.

Anyway, Shuya still had quite a few memories of anime, comics, and games.

Unfortunately, his memory hadn't been nearly as good in his previous life as it was now. He couldn't remember the details, only the general outlines, so those memories weren't much use.

He did remember the melodies and lyrics of plenty of songs, but he didn't know anything about music.

The only instrument he'd ever touched in his previous life was the recorder in music class. He'd never even touched a piano key.

But that was fine. He was only five; he could learn.

Shuya believed that with the body and brain he'd been gifted in this life, he could master all sorts of things quickly.

He hadn't studied in his previous life because he knew he wasn't cut out for it and didn't have the time.

Now that he had the talent and all the right conditions, Shuya couldn't find an excuse to slack off.

"Shu-chan?"

Seeing Shuya pause and stare at the profile, Hanazawa Sakura leaned over to look.

She read the name aloud. "Sakurajima... Mai? Oh my, what a cute girl. Do you like her, Shu-chan?"

"Cough. I wouldn't say I like her. I just think she looks nice. Let's pick her."

Shuya corrected his mother, then replied.

"Hmm... Mai-chan, is it? Shu-chan has a good eye. She's probably the prettiest girl here. We actually like her, too."

After saying that, she reported Shuya's choice to Blaise.

Blaise made the decision on the spot. "Okay! We'll pick her! Contact her right away."

"Understood. Well then, Ms. Hanazawa, we'll take our leave. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Shu-chan."

Before they left, they pinched Shuya a few more times.

Hanazawa Sakura and Shuya saw them out of the company, then watched as the two women got into a car and drove away.

Shuya suddenly looked up with a troubled expression. "Mother."

"What is it?"

"Does this... count as pillow service?"

"Pfft!"

Hanazawa Sakura laughed and flicked Shuya lightly on the forehead. "What are you thinking, silly boy? Come on, let's go back."

She took Shuya's little hand and led him back inside the company to find Inoue Hikoo.

Now that everything had been settled, it was time to head home.

That day, Shuya rode home early in Saori's car again.

He'd spent almost all his pocket money, so he could only buy the quintuplets a pile of cheap snacks.

To make it up to them, Shuya—their self-proclaimed dad—took them out to play at a nearby park.

There were plenty of mothers with their children at the park, so there was no need to worry about their safety.

It wasn't the first time Shuya had taken the quintuplets to this park. He was familiar with the mothers there, and quite a few of them were his fans.

They played all afternoon. Shuya was fine, but the quintuplets managed to get themselves covered in dirt and sand, looking perfectly ready for their mothers to give them a beating.