Mai's True Intentions

Mai didn't know what to say, so she could only remain silent.

Just then, the elevator arrived, and the two went inside.

As the elevator went down, she asked, "What about this afternoon? Should we all go home?"

"Going home would be letting down Ms. Maeda's help, wouldn't it?"

Shuya smiled.

"Ms. Maeda has always been like this, there's nothing to apologize for."

Maeda Saori's attitude was too obvious; Mai couldn't possibly have missed it.

After exchanging a few words, the elevator arrived at the first floor.

The two slowly walked out of the building.

Once outside on the street, Shuya jokingly asked, "Want to hold hands?"

"No need. We're not dating anymore, let's just continue as before."

"Sure, I knew you were this stubborn."

Shuya shrugged. "But will it really go that smoothly? Some things, once said, can't be undone."

"... I don't deny that either."

Mai didn't lie or try to hide anything, saying directly, "I'm a little unsure how to face other people, especially Yukino..."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of; everyone knows the truth."

"Although, even so..."

Mai muttered to herself.

"But you don't need to worry about Yukino at all."

The two walked away from the building, aimlessly strolling around.

Shuya said to Mai, "Yukino and I kissed, it wasn't you who kissed first."

"This..."

Mai paused for a moment, then said, "Is that really how it is?"

Shuya somewhat surprised. "She told you?"

"No, not really. Or rather, I'd say there is."

Mai replied, "Yukino sometimes brings you up hesitantly, as if she wants to tell me something, but she often stops halfway through. But even if she doesn't finish her sentence, it's enough for me to understand the gist of it... There's probably nothing else that would make her so hesitant."

"That's true."

Shuya agreed; Yukino's interpersonal relationships were simple, and no one could cause her so much trouble.

Mai rubbed her forehead. "So, what exactly is your relationship?"

"It's nothing. She's like you; she has no intention of dating me right now, and you're thinking pretty much the same thing."

Shuya said it directly.

I knew it.

Yukino's actions were exactly what Mai had expected; she understood her perfectly.

Mai then asked, "So, the only people you're currently dating are Haruno and Tsuruko?"

"I guess so?"

Shuya replied.

Mai asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'approximately'? Can this even be a question?"

Shuya said, "I always felt that Tsuruko and Haruno weren't like normal girlfriends. Tsuruko stays at home teaching swordsmanship, Haruno doesn't really contact me much. Can they really be called girlfriends...?"

The two of them were completely unenthusiastic, and there was none of the sweet, clingy feeling that often exists between couples.

"Haruno used to be really proactive in flirting with me. It was Tsuruko who took the initiative that made things work between Tsuruko, but now those two are even more laid-back than me... Hmm?"

Shuya suddenly stopped; he had discovered a startling fact.

Mai asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm shocked! Did they just lust after my body, wanting to use me and then get bored? How despicable! I never imagined they were such scumbags! I'm so angry and cold! When will we men ever be able to stand up for ourselves?!"

Shuya found it hard to believe, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

Mai sighed, "Your amazing imagination really leaves me speechless. But... I think I can understand their thinking."

"?"

Shuya expressed his doubts.

"Haruno and Tsuruko are both very opinionated women. You need to understand that their lives don't revolve around you. Leaving you behind to focus on their work is simply their personal choice."

Mai said, "I'm the same as Hyakka; at least for now, work is more important than you. Yukino, Kirino, and Ayase are the same; their lives don't revolve around you either."

She pointed at Shuya and laughed:

"We may like you, but don't get one thing wrong—we are not your vassals!"

Mai spoke powerfully, her smile strong and confident.

She is more charming than ever now.

"... I never thought that way. I'm a champion of gender equality."

Shuya shook his head.

He certainly didn't mean to interfere with them.

Tsuruko wanted to teach in Kyoto, so he let her do what she wanted and didn't force her to come with him.

If he wants to see Tsuruko, he will go to see her himself; if she wants to see him, she will come to him herself.

There's no need to force either side to compromise.

A woman who is petite and dependent can give a man psychological satisfaction, but Shuya also wants a partner who can move forward together with him, rather than a puppet who obeys his every command.

Besides, making such an independent and strong woman fall in love with him would give Shuya a greater sense of accomplishment—okay, this sounds a bit like talking about fetishes, let's stop here.

In short, Shuya's gaze was full of admiration when he heard Mai's words.

Section 589 The True Meaning of Mai

Shuya wasn't surprised by Mai's words.

She's always been like this; she's never been a weak girl, but she's very opinionated.

The other girls are pretty much the same, especially Haruno, who's a total pleasure-seeker and the kind of person who'd die if she didn't cause trouble. Many times, Shuya couldn't handle her and could only seduce her.

He had no complaints about it; in fact, he found this way of getting along quite comfortable.

"Anyway, back to the main topic, what do you plan to do about Yukino? Are you going to confront her?"

Shuya asked with great interest, imagining what it would be like for Mai and Yukino to face off.

In terms of combat strength, Yukino is definitely stronger, but Mai's power gained from the Puberty Syndrome should not be underestimated. It's really hard to say who will win in the end.

"What kind of tone is that? I'm not going to argue with Yukino."

Mai calmly replied, "My relationship with you will not affect my relationship with her."

"Oh."

Shuya nodded. "And what else? What do you plan to do now that you know who I'm dating?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to know how you are doing. After all, you confessed to me, so it's not unreasonable to ask."

Mai said this.

"Confessed? Did you?"

Shuya, and realized that he didn't seem to have said anything like "I like you" or "I love you" to her.

Mai was taken aback, then her face darkened. "... It really is like that!"

She glared at Shuya: "I can't continue this conversation, I'm leaving!"

She turned and walked away quickly.

"No, no, no, don't be impulsive."

Shuya caught up with him and laughed, "As for our relationship, it doesn't matter whether we confess or not, right?"

"It's different. My girlish heart tells me I can't let it be like this."

"I get it, you need a sense of ceremony, right? I'll confess now, I like you."

"There's no atmosphere here at all; I wasn't moved at all. That's all."

Mai snorted twice, but did not give in.

"Hey, you're really stubborn."

Shuya sighed.

But Mai is also cute when she's being stubborn.

... At least she's better than Yukino's sharp tongue. If it were her, she would have said countless things to Shuya by now.

You're still thinking about other women!

Mai noticed that Shuya was lost in thought, and even more surprisingly, she guessed that he was thinking about another girl.

"Ahem, no, I wasn't thinking about Yukino- chan at all."

Shuya followed Mai, saying, "Hey, stop thinking about that. Where are we going to eat now?"

"You're always a master at changing the subject. Oh well, whatever. I can't argue with you anyway."

Mai gave up arguing with Shuya; he had too many fallacies, and she couldn't argue with him.

She said, "Let's just find somewhere to eat."

"Um."

Shuya nodded, and he and Mai casually found a restaurant with few customers.

The two sat in a corner and ordered their food.

Shuya took out his phone to look at it, and Mai did the same.

"Oh, look."

Mai saw that Shuya's name was trending again as soon as she logged onto Twitter.

The reason is that the actors posted the album signed by Shuya on Twitter, and then Aoki Shin used the hype to promote his own drama.

"It's nothing, I expected this to happen."

There's no need to worry about the authenticity of the Shuya.

Seeing the many envious comments, he said, "Perhaps holding a book signing event would be a good form of publicity, though it would be a bit of a hassle."

I bet you can't drive.

"Really."

Just as Mai said, Shuya was only thinking about it casually.

That's too tiring; running around for shows is much more convenient and faster.

These messages had no effect on them.

Shuya opened the LINE group to check the messages and saw that Haruno and the others had tagged him, asking what he was doing. He then posted a photo of himself with Mai and told them that he was having dinner with Mai.

Ayase said, "I was going to ask if you were going home for dinner, but Kirino said you'd probably be eating with Mai- senpai, so I didn't want to bother you. I was right."

... So you guys came to my house to practice today too.