Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

The curry that Mashiro made for me was delicious and I had no complaints about it.
The roux was perfectly spicy and thickened, and I ate it like a child.

Before preparing the rice, Mashiro asked me a lot of questions using her phone, which I didn’t understand; but, it may not have been in vain.

“Gochisōsama. It was so good.”
“Gochisōsama. Thank you very much.” [EDN: like Itadakimasu but said at the end of meal]

I was embarrassed to admit that it was a very satisfying dinner because it was so good that I had to have a second serving.
But there was still some curry roux left over, and she said we could still have it tomorrow.
I had no problem eating curry two days in a row, but Mashiro said she was going to use it to make curry udon tomorrow.

“I didn’t know you could make such an authentic curry at home.”
“It’s not a big deal. It’s not too difficult.”

At least, the curry she made tasted better than any curry I’ve ever had.
But I can’t get over the fact that Mashiro can just say it’s no big deal.

“The words of a full-time housewife carry a different weight after all.”
“H-Housewife…”

When I said this in a slightly amused way, Mashiro turned her face away in embarrassment.
To be honest, Mashiro’s level of housekeeping, which was so perfect, has somewhat of a skilled housewife way to it.
…Well, I can’t say that about a girl of her age, as expected.

I took a clean plate with not a single grain of rice left to the sink and washed it along with Mashiro’s.
In the meantime, she was putting away the laundry that had been hung out to dry during the day and carefully folding it one by one.

I took the initiative to do the dishes, because I wanted to share the household chores with Mashiro as much as possible.
However, she ended up doing other chores in her spare time.
It may have sounded like a first world problem, but it was a concern for me.

As I was thinking about this while watching Mashiro folding the laundry, I suddenly remembered something when I saw the clothes she was carrying.
It was a while ago, when I had gone to the mall to buy some clothes for her.
By chance, I met Ayano-san, Sakakibara’s girlfriend, and she asked me about meeting Mashiro.

If the timing had been sooner, I might have agreed, but by that time Mashiro was already in human form.
It’s not that I am planning to keep this a secret from Sakakibara and the landlord, but I’m not quite ready to take the plunge.

However, I’m just hesitant to let them see Mashiro in her human state, otherwise there would be no problem. The only thing I needed was Mashiro’s approval on the matter.
I’m sure I’m a little closer to Mashiro now than I was then. It would be worth it, and it won’t hurt to ask her.

“Mashiro, can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, what is it?”

Mashiro stopped folding the clothes, looked up, and turned to me.

“Mashiro may be surprised by the suddenness of the…but I have an acquaintance who wants to meet you.
“M-Me? You don’t mean someone who knows me, right…?
“It’s not like that…Well, you know. In simple’s terms, a serious cat lover…”

When I averted my gaze a little and told her that, Mashiro seemed to be satisfied with that, and said, “Ah, I see…”, but made a somewhat subtle face.
I guess it was a natural reaction. If the reason for meeting her was simply that she was a cat lover, she would have made such an expression.

“By the way…is that person a woman?”
“Hmm? Yeah, she is.”

I was suddenly asked such a question, and a question mark appeared in my head for a moment, but it soon made sense.
It was not surprising, but Mashiro is also a girl, and she would probably have some resistance to being touched by a strange man.

“That person is a friend of Satou-san’s, isn’t it…”
“Ah, no. Maybe not. I have a colleague named Sakakibara, and his girlfriend is a cat lover.
“I-I see.”

Mashiro breathed a sigh of relief.
Mashiro acted normally to me, but maybe she was not so good with the opposite sex.
If Ayano-san is coming to the house, she will certainly be with Sakakibara…

“If there’s something wrong with it, Mashiro, I’ll say no right away, okay?”
“No, not really. I’m fine.”
“Really? That’s fine then…”

The only thing that bothered me was that she looked a little anxious, but I was relieved to see that she quickly returned to her usual calm self.

“Those people are aware that there’s a normal cat in Satou-san’s house.”
“Yeah. So, you know, it’s hard to say…”
“So you want me to be a cat while they’re here?”
“Thank you for understanding so quickly.”

Really, my girl understood too fast for my liking.
It was not a bad idea to call Sakakibara and his girlfriend and then have Mashiro in human form at home.

“So, if that day comes. Can I ask for your help…?”
“Of course. This is Satou-san’s house, so you can always tell me.”

Mashiro gave me a gentle smile as she said that.
It also bothered me that I was always taking advantage of her in this way.
I should be grateful to her for not only doing the housework, but also for always letting me go along with my schedule.

“Thank you, Mashiro.

I bit down on the warmth in my heart, and smiled back at her as well.