To destroy the evidence and keep Rena from deducting points from him, Shuya took the Quintuplets back to their house and sent them off to bathe.
He went in with them, too.
It wasn't because he had any bold ideas. He had to go in; the Quintuplets were too rowdy. Sending them off to bathe by themselves would be like letting them tear the bathroom apart.
In Shuya's mind, the Quintuplets were no different from a pack of huskies.
Helpless, Shuya helped them out. First he rinsed the Quintuplets clean, then lathered them with body wash and rinsed them off, before washing their hair.
After one round of work, Shuya's arms were already limp.
Seeing this, Ichika cheered, "I'll help Shu-chan wash up!"
"I want to help, too!"
"I'll help, too!"
The other four little girls chimed in as well.
"Ahhh—calm down! Yotsuba, stop that! You can't touch there—ah!"
Five pairs of little hands pinned Shuya to the floor and mercilessly mauled him. The scene was horrific.
At long last, Shu-chan was done being tortured. Once he and the Quintuplets soaked in the hot water, he finally felt at ease.
"Oh~"
Shuya let out a groan.
"""""Oh~"""""
The Quintuplets copied him.
After soaking for a while, they couldn't sit still and started fidgeting.
Then Ichika led the way in splashing around, and Shuya was soon overwhelmed by the water, completely at a loss.
Good grief, these little brats...
Shuya sighed inwardly.
Being your dad is no easy task!
Shuya hurriedly got the Quintuplets out. After finally drying them off, he changed them into fresh clothes.
The Quintuplets were already fast asleep, snoring contentedly. They'd been playing all afternoon and were exhausted.
"Whew, taking care of kids really isn't easy."
Shuya wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was tired, too.
Even with his body strengthened, he was still only a five-year-old kid.
"No, I need to figure out a way to train my body."
Shuya wondered when he could find a seasoned martial arts instructor and learn some skills. For some reason, there were lots of martial arts schools in the Japan Administrative District. He'd heard it was because of the influence of the Great Hua Administrative District?
He didn't really know.
But right now, the most urgent thing was to find a way out of the bankruptcy crisis.
Seeing that the Quintuplets were all asleep, Shuya headed home. He didn't mooch a meal at Rena's house today.
Her family had plenty on their plate, too. Shuya wouldn't eat at her place all the time.
There wasn't much to say about the rest of his time at home. He had to endure Inoue Hikoo and Hanazawa Sakura's lovey-dovey antics, then went to bed early so he wouldn't be kept awake by strange noises.
Once recording began, Shuya's days became quite fulfilling. He went to his company on schedule every other day, and recording officially started at ten in the morning.
The third episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan finally got the story underway. Uesugi Yuichi raised a baby while having a hilarious romantic comedy with Yuzuki Sasaki.
Shuya had plenty of ability and experience, so he completed his voice acting with ease.
Inoue Hikoo wasn't quite as good, but with Hanazawa Sakura's help, he improved quickly.
Overall, recording went very smoothly. The husband-and-wife duo of Inoue Hikoo and Hanazawa Sakura were a great fit for their roles.
The story was also leaning toward lighthearted romance. The sweet moments were sugary without being cloying, and Shuya, a lifelong bachelor in both his lives, enjoyed them all the same.
Once the episode's recording was done, Hanazawa Sakura took Shuya to a photo shoot.
Riding in Saori's car, Shuya was looking forward to it.
It wasn't often he got to meet another two-dimensional girl... Looking at Sakurajima Mai's photo, Shuya thought a girl that cute had to be a heroine, right?
Come to think of it, what kind of story did the Quintuplets have?
Was it Rena's everyday life raising children?
Shuya shook his head. Probably not. The Quintuplets were such an unusual setup that Rena probably wasn't the heroine.
Shuya thought the Quintuplets were the main characters, which meant it was probably a harem series—or maybe even an eroge.
So was Rena just a background character? Someone people would spam with "I love you, ma'am!" before promptly forgetting about her?
As he was mulling it over,
"Boss, Shu-chan, we're here."
Saori brought the car to a slow stop and spoke to Hanazawa Sakura and Shuya.
"Mm."
Shuya put those thoughts aside and went into the photography studio.
Section 13: 13 The Future Superstar Sakurajima Mai
Hanazawa Sakura, Shuya, and Maeda Saori walked into the studio.
"Huh? Isn't that Uncle Hirai?"
"Shu-chan, I'm only twenty-eight... All right, I guess that is old in your eyes."
Shuya noticed that he knew the photographer and the crew working today.
Hirai Ryuji was a man with medium-long hair and a bit of stubble. He looked rather mature, so Shuya had always called him Uncle Hirai.
He was well-known in the industry, especially for photographing people. Plenty of celebrities hired him for their photo shoots.
Of course, being so famous meant his rates were high, and he was busy, too. Shuya hadn't expected him to have time to come shoot children's clothes.
Shuya asked bluntly, "Uncle Hirai, have you fallen off lately? Is that why you're free to come take pictures of kids?"
"Hahaha!"
"Fallen off... hahahaha!"
The moment Shuya said it, the whole place burst into laughter.
If an adult had said that, Hirai Ryuji would certainly have gotten angry. But Shuya was only five, so he didn't take a child's words too seriously. In fact, he laughed along.
"You brat, you don't know a good thing when you see it! I only took this job because I heard you'd be here."
"Really? I thought you came to take pictures because of Mai-chan. I saw her photo. She's really cute."
"She really is cute. Kids these days are something else!"
Hirai Ryuji replied casually.
"Are you a lolicon? I'm calling the police."
Shuya raised an eyebrow and took a step back.
"Hey, are you seriously stepping away from me? And didn't you say the same thing? Why can you say it, but I can't?"
"Because I'm five," Shuya said solemnly with a nod. "I'm at the perfect legal age to be a lolicon. You're not—you're too old!"
"You, I... Miss Hanazawa!" Hirai Ryuji turned to Hanazawa Sakura, who was trying not to laugh, and pleaded with a woeful expression. "I'm begging you, please discipline this kid. Save us adults!"
"Sorry... pfft! Ahem, Shu-chan, you're being so rude... hahaha, I can't hold it in!"
Hanazawa Sakura patted Shuya's hair, but in the end she couldn't help laughing out loud.
That set off another round of laughter from the whole room. Even Hirai Ryuji finally joined in.
Laughing, he pointed at Shuya and said to everyone, "I just love Shu-chan's personality. Working with him is never dull! He's right up my alley!"
The rest of the crew nodded without thinking. Kids were always full of energy, and Shuya was exactly the kind of adorable child people imagined.
Shuya gave an embarrassed smile. "You flatter me. Uncle Hirai is pretty funny, too. The way you react when I tease you is so satisfying."
Hirai Ryuji shook his head with a wry smile. "You really don't hold back. If you're already like this, what'll you be like when you grow up?"
"No, no, I pick my targets. I only say things like that to a good person like you, Uncle Hirai."
Shuya tossed him a compliment.
Hirai Ryuji smiled. "What a smooth talker. You'll probably have girls swooning over you when you grow up."
"I think Shu-chan already has plenty of women swooning over him."
"Hahaha!"
A photography assistant chimed in, and the studio was instantly filled with cheerful laughter.
In this relaxed atmosphere, the crew found their work much more enjoyable.
There was no doubt Shuya was doing it on purpose. It was part of building good relations.
But he wasn't doing it all on purpose. He sincerely wanted the work environment to be more relaxed.
That was one of the things people liked about him. He could always lift the mood, making everyone more efficient.
Plenty of people were happy to work with him again. Hirai Ryuji was a perfect example.
He'd had other jobs to choose from today, and those would've paid a little more, but he'd still chosen to work with Inoue Shuya.
Over the past few years, Shuya had gradually built up connections by taking advantage of his age.
Shuya was on familiar terms with the whole crew, and his memory was good enough to remember what he'd talked about with them last time. After chatting with him, everyone liked him even more.
Shuya knew he couldn't overlook even the little things. They added up over time and would help him succeed in the future, so he never skimped on a kind word.
Shuya chatted briefly with everyone, and then someone else walked in.
A beautiful woman and a little girl.
They were, of course, Sakurajima Mai, whom Shuya had just mentioned, and her mother and manager.
"Good afternoon. Please take good care of Mai-chan today."
Mai's mother bowed, and the tiny Sakurajima Mai followed suit with a graceful bow of her own. In a clear voice, she said, "I look forward to working with you."
"Hahaha."
"She really is an adorable little girl."
Remembering what had just happened, the crew all smiled warmly.
"Um... what...?"
This made Sakurajima Mai feel uneasy. She had no experience handling a situation like this.
"Sorry, sorry. It's all my fault."
Inoue Shuya couldn't just leave her hanging. After all, he was the one who'd caused this.
He stepped forward and gave her a little bow. "Um... can I call you Mai-chan? Please don't worry about everyone laughing just now. Uncle Hirai and I were just joking around."
He briefly explained what had happened.
He looked a little guilty as he faced the adorable little girl with long, straight black hair.
As cute as she was, she was still a child. Who knew what kind of trouble she might cause? Taking care of the Quintuplets had already given him a thorough taste of the destructive power of huskies.
"Ah, so that means..."
Mai-chan considered this, then said, "Shu-chan-senpai... has a thing for me?"
"Huh?"
Before you continue