Chapter 89 89: Night Talk

Late at night, one corner of the shrine was still lit.

Tap, tap, tap.

The kitchen knife made a steady sound on the cutting board as Mikoto stood in the kitchen preparing a late night meal for the two of them.

Because of the executive committee work, Miku, and the later conquest meeting, the two of them still had not eaten dinner.

They could have filled their stomachs in Fraxinus's dining hall like Tohka and the others. But Mikoto chose to return home and cook by herself.

On the other side, Shido—or rather, Shiori—was sitting in the living room, flipping through the books Mikoto had bought while waiting for dinner.

"I see. There are this many things to pay attention to when doing makeup."

The book Shido was reading was [Basic Makeup Techniques That Won't Damage the Skin]. (TL: That title seem familiar~)

Although Mikoto had said she would teach him personally later, doing some preparation in advance was not a bad thing.

After some time, the rich aroma of bonito broth began to spread through the room.

"Senpai, what are you making?"

"Oden. Wait a little longer, and it will be ready."

Mikoto, wearing an apron, walked over from the kitchen and placed the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

"Um… let me help."

"No need. Out of all of Shido's girl knowledge, cooking is the only part that gets full marks. Please work harder in the other areas."

Mikoto glanced at the makeup book in Shido's hand and winked with a teasing smile.

"Uu…"

And so, Shiori-chan's face turned red with embarrassment.

Before long, the oden was placed on the table.

Daikon, eggs, chikuwa, and all kinds of ingredients had been simmered in bonito broth.

"Uu, it's delicious."

Every ingredient had absorbed the flavor perfectly.

The way she had added each item into the pot in separate batches depending on how long it needed to cook was also flawless. Each ingredient showed its own taste while carrying the delicious flavor of the bonito broth.

"Yakumo-senpai will definitely become a good wife in the future." (TL: Smooth 1~)

Shido could not help saying.

"Mm. I do like making miso soup for Shido every day." (TL: Smooth 2~)

Hearing Shido's words, Mikoto rested her chin on both hands and answered with a smiling face.

"Pfft!"

That unexpected straight ball made Shido spit out the soup he had just put in his mouth.

______________

"Speaking of which, is it really okay for me to dress up as Shiori?"

After dinner, while washing dishes together with Mikoto, Shido suddenly said that.

"What do you mean?"

Mikoto tilted her head.

"First, during the summer festival, my… cross dressed appearance was seen by the third-year senpai, right?"

Just remembering what happened back then made Shido shiver.

"Ah, there's no need to worry about that. At the time, it seems… I hit them a little too hard. Their memories of that night are somewhat… blurry."

The talismans wrapped in spirit power had struck the back of their heads directly, resulting in confusion in their memories. Mikoto showed a bitter smile filled with apology.

"I-is that so? Then I'm saved."

Shido let out a long breath.

Although he felt sorry for the senpai, no matter how he looked at it, he had indeed been saved because of that.

"That's right. Otherwise, Shido would have had to take responsibility."

Mikoto looked at Shido with cute half-lidded eyes.

"Take responsibility?"

Shido asked.

"Because Shido exposed the fact that we slept together back then, didn't you? Have you thought about what would happen if that matter spread through the school?"

In order to explain what had happened that day, Shido had told Mikoto all the details, including the part about "ordinary sleeping".

"Uu…"

In the next moment, cold sweat soaked Shido's back.

Just as Mikoto said, if that matter spread, even if nothing had actually happened, rumors would immediately fill the whole school.

At that point, Shido would have no choice but to "take responsibility".

"To be honest, at the time, I was hesitating over whether I should ask Kotori to perform a more professional memory wipe on them."

Mikoto sighed.

Luckily, she had somehow managed to use amnesia magic, physical version, by accident. Otherwise, the matter would have been quite troublesome.

"Eh? I thought Senpai would say something like, 'Actually, I wish they hadn't lost their memories, so I could make Shido take responsibility.'"

Since her answer was different from her usual straight ball style, Shido found it a bit strange. So he smiled wickedly and teased her while imitating Mikoto's tone.

"In that case, it would only be responsibility forced by outside reputation, right? Compared to that, I'd rather Shido say, by his own will, something like, 'I want to take responsibility for Yakumo-senpai.'"

[!!!]

Facing Mikoto, who was a little shy but completely serious, Shido's heart sped up.

He asked himself: even though the girl herself had not thrown a straight ball this time, why did he have to go and provoke one?

"Shido, you said 'first' earlier, right? Are there other problems?"

Fortunately, Mikoto did not choose to continue attacking with more straight balls. Instead, she returned the topic to Shido's earlier question.

"Mm. The other thing is… even if I conquer Miku in Shiori's form, what happens once she learns the truth later?"

[!!!]

Shido's words made Mikoto widen her eyes.

That was right.

Izayoi Miku hated men to an extreme degree.

In other words, once she learned that this whole thing had been a lie from beginning to end, the situation would definitely become uncontrollable.

After a long silence, Mikoto held Shido's hand and spoke with deep feeling.

"It's okay. Even if Shido chooses to have surgery and become a real girl, I will understand and support you." (TL:yes, me and my good 'friend' over the other novel will love that)

"I'm not getting surgery!"

And so, Shido's shout rang through the kitchen.

After dinner, Mikoto and Shido practiced conversation inside the house.

Although it was only daily conversation, it was also part of the training.

After all, in Japanese, men and women had many differences even in word choice.

"…Shido, the way you said that just now was also very masculine."

"Uu, sorry. Speaking of which, Yakumo-senpai, how did you get used to feminine wording?"

After being corrected by Mikoto countless times, Shido wanted to get some advice from the girl.

"In my case, first of all, unlike Shido, who has been speaking in a masculine way for more than ten years, Japanese is not my native language. Second, I spent a long time living together with Tsukuyomi, so I gradually changed without noticing. Sorry, I'm afraid it won't be much help to Shido."

Mikoto showed an apologetic expression.

The first required a foreigner's background. The second required accumulated time.

For Shido, who was taking a crash course in feminine power, neither could serve as a useful reference.

"Ah, but if it really doesn't work, how about simply talking to Miku in a masculine tone?"

"Would that be okay?"

"At most, you'll be treated as a girl with a strange way of speaking. It'll be fine."

Mikoto said firmly.

Looking at Shiori's cute appearance, she believed no one would think he was cross-dressing just because his tone was masculine.

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