"Knock, knock!"
When Hiratsuka Shizuka first heard the knock on the door, she thought it was that troublesome guy trying to sneak in again in the middle of the night. But after a brief moment of thought, she realized that if Shiro were really planning something like that, he certainly wouldn't be polite enough to knock first.
So she simply opened the door.
When she saw Mikan standing there with a set of clothes in her hands, she immediately understood what it was about.
"Teacher Shizuka, I brought you some clothes."
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at the pajamas, then asked with a somewhat suspicious expression,
"Hm, Mikan, there's something I want to ask. Where did these come from?"
The confusion on her face was obvious. After all, she hadn't left any clothes here, so how could the other side possibly have them? Moreover, they were completely new. Would they even fit her?
Mikan felt a slight headache from that question. How was she supposed to answer? After thinking for a moment, she decided to tell the truth. In a situation like this, it would be difficult to come up with a convincing lie, so it was better to be honest. In any case, someone else would bear the consequences.
Mikan had no intention of taking the blame for one big idiot. After all, he was the one who had produced these clothes, so he could deal with it himself.
"Shiro gave them to me."
"More precisely, Shiro somehow managed to get them."
The moment she heard that name, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt her teeth ache from irritation. Another one of his tricks. What had he done this time? She had no idea, but she still thanked Mikan and accepted the clothes.
After Mikan left and closed the door, she changed into them.
At first, everything felt a little strange, but once she put on the pajamas, she discovered that they fit her unbelievably well. However, when she was completely dressed, the expression on her face became extremely peculiar. Looking at the clothes that fit her perfectly inside and out, from top to bottom, without the slightest mistake, she became so furious that she nearly cracked her teeth from clenching them.
She thought to herself that damn Shiro had somehow managed to make clothes that fit her this perfectly. And as for how he had done it, those who knew, knew.
Only because he had personally seen everything, measured everything, and remembered it precisely could he have made something like this. Otherwise, it would have been nothing short of a miracle.
Hiratsuka Shizuka felt that she was completely finished. It seemed as though that man had truly seen her from head to toe, inside and out.
Damn it! It was so infuriating!
Downstairs, Shiro sat calmly, feeling someone's resentment pouring over him.
Meanwhile, everyone else had already taken their seats.
Shiro looked around and noticed that someone was missing.
He looked left, then right, checked for that person's presence, and found that she wasn't there.
"Where's Utaha?"
Shiro realized she had disappeared. What had happened? He had planned to have a little chat with her tonight, and she had simply left?
He was a little confused because he had already planned the evening, but without her, the whole thing made no sense.
Of course, the others had no idea what he was thinking and simply assumed he was wondering where she had gone.
"Senpai Utaha already went home. She still has to finish an urgent manuscript. She only came to eat something so she could save more time to work on it."
After hearing that, Shiro scratched the back of his head.
"No, no~"
"If she only came to eat so she could finish her manuscript, then how do you explain the fact that eating and bathing took so long? That doesn't make any sense to me."
Shiro made the comment completely sincerely, like someone who genuinely didn't understand hidden meanings. Usually, people noticed things like that but didn't say them out loud, yet he happened to be the very person who benefited from it.
At that moment, a voice came from upstairs, more precisely from the staircase.
"Why is that? Don't you really know? When you prepare food of this quality, do you think she wouldn't spend a long time enjoying it?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka walked down the stairs in her pajamas without saying another word, and Shiro looked at her clothes and nodded with satisfaction.
"It seems I really do have good taste. That pink girly style suits you perfectly."
"And as for what you just said... am I to blame? Who can blame me for cooking so well?"
At that moment, Shiro looked extremely proud and didn't show the slightest trace of guilt. Naturally, he didn't believe he had done anything wrong. After all, he had merely provided excellent food and first-class service.
Hiratsuka Shizuka firmly ignored his last words, but the first ones made her want to punch someone.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Shiro immediately started pretending to be innocent.
"On purpose? On purpose about what?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka pointed at the clothes she was wearing.
"You deliberately gave me this exact outfit, didn't you? And you even say this style suits me? If I didn't need my eyes anymore, I'd donate them to someone who actually does."
The others kept looking her up and down in her current outfit. It had to be admitted that she looked like a dependable older sister, yet these pajamas gave her a completely unexpected and adorable charm.
"I never expected Teacher Shizuka to have such a cute side."
Yui looked at her with an expression full of admiration, like a girl whose heart was about to leap out from excitement.
Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.
"Actually, you could take a few pictures and share them."
At that moment, Shiro started making suggestions like a true strategist.
"Get lost. I refuse that ridiculous request."
Hiratsuka Shizuka rejected Shiro's proposal without even thinking. It would have been a miracle if she had agreed to something like that. If those pictures ever became public, what dignity would she have left?
Shiro paid little attention to her refusal.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that!"
"Beautiful things should be shared with everyone."
"Absolutely not! Don't even think about it!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka firmly repeated,
"I refuse that ridiculous request!"
She knew that her reputation would completely fall apart if something like this spread around.
Shiro then continued teasing her by calling her stingy, nearly pushing her over the edge.
Hiratsuka Shizuka kept repeating to herself that she mustn't get angry, mustn't get angry, and absolutely mustn't let this scoundrel provoke her.
Then she sat down and naturally reached out her hand toward Shiro.
Shiro immediately understood what she wanted, and a huge pile of beer instantly appeared on the table.
As everyone watched the two of them, Lala couldn't hold herself back and spoke up.
"Shiro and Shizuka get along really well!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka nearly spat out her beer when she heard that, but somehow managed to hold it in, coughed several times, and then made a face as though every single one of her teeth hurt.
"Lala, this man and I do not get along at all. Don't talk nonsense."
Hiratsuka Shizuka rejected the idea without the slightest hesitation. After all, getting along well with this guy? What kind of joke was that?