A world only known by the God of Lost Love

"ZZZzzzz..."

"Don't fall asleep?! Didn't you just get up!"

"...No!"

After hearing Suzuki Ren's exclamation, Shiina Mashiro, who had closed her eyes at some point, woke up with a start.

"...No, I felt so at ease that I accidentally fell asleep."

"Didn't you just say that my bed is very uncomfortable!?"

"However, after smelling the scent of lotus, I always feel as if lotus and I are covered with a quilt."

As Shiina Mashiro said this, she lifted the quilt off her body and looked at Ren Suzuki with extremely pure and flawless eyes——

"Would Lian want to come in and give it a try?"

"I won't try! Also, Shiina-san, please get up quickly! Please!"

"Eh……"

"Don't look so reluctant! It's almost lunch time, don't fall asleep again!"

"Then, can I go to eat wrapped in a quilt?"

"no!"

"...Okay. Then I will stay here until dinner begins."

If Ichiri Goto is an "ascetic" who is accustomed to patience and restraint, then Mashiro Shiina is a "wild animal" who is completely loyal to his desires.

Facing Shiina Mashiro's posture like a kitten protecting its food, Ren Suzuki was ashamed, but she still nodded with a patient look on her face.

"I understand... Then I'm going to prepare lunch. Before that, you can do whatever you like here."

"It doesn't matter if you take your time to prepare."

"Gu! It will definitely be done at the speed of light!"

After saying such words "viciously", Ren Suzuki hurriedly walked out of her room as if running away...

........................

"...Although he looked shy, he still didn't drive me away."

After Suzuki Ren left, Shiina Mashiro's expression changed from the relaxed and sleepy look to a much more sober look.

She really liked the smell of Ren Suzuki, and she really didn't want to leave his bed, but the way she pretended to be sleepy and messy just now was just her disguise.

As for her purpose, it was naturally to test Suzuki Ren's tolerance for herself.

And the test results were just as he had just shown. Even if he got into his bed without his consent, he still did not reject him.

If you want to analyze this unusual tolerance, then... you should start from his experience, right?

So, should we start the investigation from the known "Miss Hiiragi" first, or should we start the investigation from his "senior" who left without saying goodbye?

Holding the quilt tightly in her arms, Shiina Mashiro couldn't help but fall into long thoughts.

Chapter 37: Shiina Mashiro’s “search”

Although Suzuki Ren had just experienced a violent "bedding battle" in the morning, by lunch time, the atmosphere finally returned to its usual tranquility.

Shiina Mashiro, who had left her bed, acted as quiet and well-behaved as usual during the meal, and her face was calm as if nothing happened in the morning.

In addition, on this day, Misaki Kamiigusa and Jin Mitaka behaved differently from usual.

They were usually noisy and uncharacteristically quiet today. Apart from staring at Ren Suzuki from time to time and then whispering to each other, they didn't do anything too outrageous.

As for Qianshi Qianxun, she naturally went to another social gathering on this wonderful weekend.

Just when Ren Suzuki thought that this peaceful weekend would return to normal, Mashiro Shiina suddenly spoke and broke the peace at the dinner table:

"When did Lian learn to cook?"

"secondary."

Regarding this perfectly normal question, Ren Suzuki answered without hesitation:

"I started learning it before my mother went abroad, but... I actually completed it after they went abroad."

"..."*3

After hearing Suzuki Ren's "corner" from the past, the eyes of the three people present had a subtle change.

Afterwards, it was Misaki Kamikusa who took the lead to continue asking:

"Then... what did Suzuki-kun eat during the period when you didn't learn it at the beginning?"

"Then it depends on how far my failed work has failed."

Having said this, Ren Suzuki smiled sheepishly.

"If it is still within the edible range, then I will bite the bullet and eat it. If it is really no longer possible, then I will have to buy takeout from a convenience store."

After hearing this, Mitaka Jin couldn't help but be stunned:

"You know you have failed... but you still eat it?"

"Yes, after all, I was still saving pocket money at that time. It would be too wasteful to just throw it away if it tastes a little bit unpleasant."

Ren Suzuki said with a normal expression:

"And after experiencing failed work, I can understand more clearly where the problem lies, and then avoid making the same mistakes in the future... Well, it sounds amazing, but in fact it is just constant trial and error."

"I see……"

After listening to Suzuki Ren's words, Mitaka Jin suddenly lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

"It doesn't matter even if you fail... just continue to learn from experience..."

After saying that, he first glanced in the direction of Misaki Kamikusa without leaving any trace, and then fell into silence again.

On the other side, Misaki Kamiigusa continued to ask:

"So after you learned how to cook, apart from cooking for yourself, have you ever let others taste your cooking?"

"...Well, I have."

When he was in junior high school, in order to show off his progress to his first girlfriend, Ren Suzuki took advantage of his status to show off his own cooking more than once, hoping to get praise from her.

In high school, in order to take care of the senior sister who lacked the ability to take care of herself like Mashiro Shiina, Ren Suzuki naturally took on the task of preparing lunches. It was precisely for this reason that Ren Suzuki prepared lunches for Mashiro Shiina. Handy.

And after that, it was the time when he prepared fried chicken nuggets for Goto Ichiri during the last strategy——

"So, that Gotou Kazuri has also eaten the food made by Ren?"

As if he had read Suzuki Ren's thoughts, Mashiro Shiina suddenly said the name he was thinking of.

Although Suzuki Ren, who has an adult state of mind, did not appear too shaken by this, she was still a little panicked by this sudden question.

"Um...Shiina-san? Why did you suddenly mention Miss Goto?"

"Just curious."

Shiina Mashiro's eyes were staring straight at Ren Suzuki's side face, as if she didn't intend to let go of any change in his expression.

"After all, you two seem to have a good relationship."

"........."

Last night's Livehouse tour inevitably exposed something after all.

But think about it, after all, he not only walked on the stage and put a band-aid on Goto Kazuri himself, but even said so many meaningful words to her after that, even Shiina Mashiro was enough to learn from the two of them. Some clues can be seen in the interaction...

"So, Ms. Goto, have you ever eaten the food you cooked?"

Faced with Suzuki Ren's silence, Shiina Mashiro chose to continue questioning.

The two people watching on the other side also looked at each other in surprise and began to wait curiously for Suzuki Ren's answer:

"...I did eat it once."

Ren Suzuki, who had no room for escape, could only answer truthfully:

"But it was only once. After that, she never asked me to do it again."

"Hmm...just once?"

After hearing this answer, Shiina Mashiro frowned slightly at first, but after pondering for a moment, she finally nodded.

"Well, in that case, I still win."

So what exactly are we fighting for...

From the anatomy atlas just now to the current topic of cooking, Mashiro Shiina seems to have been deliberately comparing herself to Ichiri Goto.

And the content of the comparison seems to be all related to him...

……

Ah, is it possible that this is what happened?

Suddenly, Suzuki Ren realized a possibility that he had always ignored.

Because he had always regarded Shiina Mashiro as a child with a lack of emotional function, he naturally did not consider it in that direction. However, considering her words and deeds today, it seemed that... there was only this A possibility——

Mashiro Shiina...is jealous of him and Ichiri Goto.

After realizing this, Ren Suzuki couldn't help but cast his eyes on Shiina Mashiro. After much hesitation, he tentatively said:

"Although we did have some connections before, but now... I am Shiina-san's assistant. In the next time, I will definitely spend more time with you than with her. So for now, Shiina-san is the most important person to me."

"!!!"*2

The words that were filled with ambiguity after careful reading made the senior melon eaters on the other side show extremely surprised expressions.

For both of them, Suzuki Ren's statement can even be equated with a confession.

however--

"Well, I know."

To Suzuki Ren's surprise, Shiina Mashiro did not appear happy or shaken by his statement.

No matter the expression, eyes, or the action of picking up food, there is no change at all from just now.

Just when Ren Suzuki thought he had made a mistake in his judgment, Mashiro Shiina's next words caused a huge wave in his heart again:

"So, how does it compare with 'Miss Hiiragi' and that 'senpai'?"

"………………Eh?"

Chapter 38: Like an onion

If you want to truly understand a person, the first thing you have to do is understand his past.

In the same way, if you want to understand Suzuki Ren's unusual tenderness and the "dark red" color that appears on his face from time to time, you must start your investigation from the experiences related to it.

Although Shiina Mashiro does lack common sense in some aspects, this does not mean that she is really a fool who does not understand anything.

It's just that she hasn't encountered anything that interests her other than painting so far, so she behaves like a weirdo who only knows how to paint.

Now, as her curiosity and desire to discover Suzuki Ren continued to rise, she finally began to focus on Suzuki Ren, which was originally focused on painting.

It was precisely because of this that she could ask so many questions so accurately that left Suzuki Ren at a loss in less than half a day.

As for why Shiina Mashiro directly chose "Hiiragi" and "that senior" as the focus...

Here I can only use "women's intuition" to explain it.

But no matter what, just seeing Suzuki Ren's unconcealed wavering, Shiina Mashiro immediately confirmed that he had found the correct way to solve the problem——

"Where did you...know the name 'Hiiragi'?"

After lunch time, Ren Suzuki immediately took Mashiro Shiina back to her room.

After all, it involves a past that he has always regarded as a secret, so Ren Suzuki is still prepared to talk about this matter with Mashiro Shiina in a relatively private space.

"I should have never mentioned her to you, right?"

"...I saw it on the Internet."

After returning to Suzuki Ren's room, Shiina Mashiro climbed into Suzuki Ren's bed almost immediately.