"No, Shiro, please take this back. I still have some savings."
"I can find a job later."
Shiina Mahiru did not accept the money and instead returned the card to Shiro.
Shiro was not surprised by her reaction at all, but he truly had no problems with money.
"Emm, I understand the way you think, but the same saying still applies: money isn't everything, but without money, absolutely nothing is possible."
"And besides, you're living here. Or rather, don't forget that you're my person now."
"So you should accept what you ought to accept. As for getting a job, I have nothing against it, but I think it's just a waste of time. If you don't have the means to live and you need money, then working is perfectly understandable."
"Of course, that applies when you genuinely need money or don't have enough of it. But the situation is different now. Under these circumstances, what exactly is going through that little head of yours if you're still thinking about going to work?"
"You'd be better off doing what you truly love."
Shiina Mahiru knew he was telling the truth, but now everything was different.
"Shiro, you saved me and gave me a place to live. I'm already endlessly grateful to you."
"How can I continue accepting your generosity?"
Shiina Mahiru felt that she had already received too much and that it wasn't right to keep accepting even more.
Shiro could only let out a helpless sigh. This girl still hadn't realized her current position.
He placed both hands on her cheeks and gently turned her face toward him, looking straight into her eyes.
When their gazes met, a trace of shy light flickered in Shiina Mahiru's eyes.
"Mahiru-chan~"
"You have to understand one thing. The current you is no longer the same as before."
"Besides being Shiina Mahiru, you now have another identity. You are my person. You can think of yourself as my wife, my beloved, or however you like, but you must understand that you belong to me."
"So you can use these things with complete peace of mind and consider them perfectly natural, understand?"
"If you see yourself as my wife, then it's only natural for your husband to take care of you. If you see yourself as my beloved, then simply think of it as me supporting you."
"No matter what you call it, there's one thing you must remember—you can only be mine."
"No matter what the past was like, you've already died once, and your family has already abandoned you once. Leave behind all your old identities and remember only who you are now."
As he spoke, Shiro continued holding her face, their foreheads resting against each other. He spoke with complete seriousness.
Shiina Mahiru felt the seriousness in his voice and remembered why they had ended up in this situation in the first place.
She knew very well what had happened back then. She had been abandoned. If it hadn't been for the person standing before her, she would have already lost her life.
More precisely, he was the one who had given her a new life, and since her family had cast her aside, she truly belonged only to him now.
Feeling the warmth of his forehead, she quietly nodded.
"Shiro, I understand."
Hearing that, Shiro released her face with satisfaction. It was enough for him to know that she had truly understood.
He hadn't relied solely on her words but had carefully observed her gaze and expression to make sure she was speaking sincerely.
Taking advantage of the moment, while she wasn't paying attention, he stole another kiss from her.
Shiina Mahiru hadn't expected such a sudden move. Even though it was their first kiss under normal circumstances, because of everything that had happened before, she didn't panic as much as she thought she would.
When they separated, she still hadn't completely gotten used to it.
Shiro looked at her blushing face and smiled.
"I have to admit, you're truly attractive. Seriously, your birthday is in two days, and I'm already looking forward to it."
Shiina Mahiru immediately understood what he meant. She wasn't inexperienced in that regard, which only made her even more embarrassed.
Shiro looked at her flushed face and couldn't resist kissing her once more before leaving the room, while she immediately hid beneath the blanket.
At that moment, her delicate, pale face was as red as a tomato. Thinking back on everything that had just happened, she felt as though her head was about to boil over and her thoughts would completely stop. Even though nothing had gone beyond that, she had still allowed herself to be thoroughly caught off guard, and it was an entirely new experience for her.
"Shiro is such a pervert."
She couldn't help but mutter it from underneath the blanket.
Shiro paid no attention to her complaint. More precisely, even if he had heard it after leaving the room, he simply wouldn't have cared.
He returned to his own room. At first, he considered surprising one violent teacher because he still couldn't shake the excitement that lingered within him, but after thinking it over for a while, he gave up. She had drunk too much alcohol and smelled entirely of it; if he went to see her now, he would only cause trouble for himself, so he saw no reason to do so.
Simply put, Shiro was picky and couldn't bring himself to do something like that under such circumstances.
He had barely lain down on the bed and begun thinking about life—or rather, trying to calm his thoughts—when someone entered the room.
Since he was always completely relaxed at home, he assumed it was Lala again and immediately sighed to himself, "Here comes another headache."
However, he never expected to see a completely different person. When he saw who was standing at the door, he was utterly stunned.
"Mikan, what are you doing here? Did you come to offer yourself to me?"
He looked at her with genuine surprise. He would be lying if he said he wasn't speechless.
So he took the opportunity to tease her a little and hide his own astonishment.
Mikan paid no attention to his teasing. On the contrary, a meaningful smile appeared on her face.
"I really did come to offer myself to you. The only question is whether you'll accept."
Hearing that, Shiro felt slightly uneasy. She knew him far too well, and that wasn't always a good thing.
If she hadn't understood him so thoroughly, she certainly wouldn't have had the courage to tease him like this.
After all, someone who knowingly walks into his room while being fully aware of what kind of person he is either has complete trust or is completely insane. And faced with someone as fearless as Mikan, even Shiro felt that he had found himself in an awkward situation.