Takanashi Rikka and Shirase didn't know each other, so after proudly basking in the children's praise, she quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere.
Nakano Itsuki, having been stunned into silence for quite some time, suddenly exclaimed, "Now I remember!"
"What is it?" Shirase instinctively turned his head.
Itsuki stared intently at Takanashi Rikka, who had become the children's hero, and whispered seriously, "There's a very strange first-year student at Ginkgo Private Academy. Nino mentioned her to me before—supposedly she's an extremely chuunibyou girl who even wears an eyepatch to school. Because of that, she's considered a total weirdo by her classmates."
"Clearly, she's exactly that weirdo," Shirase said simply.
Itsuki mumbled, "At this age, people should have already outgrown their chuunibyou phase, right? How exactly does she manage to keep it up?"
"That's not necessarily true," Shirase countered. Seeing Itsuki glance at him curiously, he explained, "Chuunibyou is something that, as long as it brings you joy, you can carry with you at any age. But in her case, it's obviously exaggerated—maybe even enough to affect her classmates."
There was a saying that went: "A man remains a boy until death."
In other words, even if a man lay dead in his coffin, he'd still climb out to continue his chuunibyou antics.
As long as joy lives, chuunibyou will never die.
"Nonsense." Itsuki bluntly gave her verdict.
Shirase smiled faintly and said nothing more.
When he first arrived in this world and discovered Kamen Rider actually existed here, he'd been equally excited.
As for reciting lines and posing—he'd occasionally seen classmates quietly do it in private at school.
But this was the first time he'd witnessed someone like Takanashi Rikka, loudly and shamelessly announcing herself in public.
"Well, I'll be heading back then."
Realizing she'd never get a straight answer out of him, Itsuki finally prepared to leave.
Shirase nodded. Itsuki was wise to head back now.
Because if she continued a little further down this road, she'd soon arrive at an area occupied by young women wearing revealing outfits, shivering in the cold night breeze as they waited for men to offer their care and comfort.
Due to Shirase's handsome appearance, he'd even been approached before while passing through that area. Those young women were enthusiastic toward him, but he could only politely refuse.
After all, as the old saying goes: "An inch of time is worth an inch of gold—but an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time."
"What are you two doing here?"
Before Itsuki had taken more than two steps away, a familiar voice sounded behind Shirase.
Both turned simultaneously to see Nakano Nino approaching them suspiciously, carrying a shopping bag.
"Nino, you finally came back," Itsuki happily said. "Everyone's waiting for you to eat. If you took any longer, we would have starved to death."
Nino was even more puzzled. "Eat? You ordered takeout?"
"Shirase-kun cooked," Itsuki answered honestly.
Nino's lovely eyes instantly turned to Shirase. "You specifically came over to our place…to cook?"
"There was a minor misunderstanding. I cooked as a form of apology," Shirase explained.
"Really now?"
Nino didn't inquire further, figuring she could ask more once they were home. Right now, what she was most concerned about was—why were these two walking together on the street?
Surely they hadn't specifically come out together just to take a stroll?
An inexplicable tension rose within Nino, though she maintained an outwardly calm appearance. "Anyway, why are you two here?"
Shirase knew her too well. With just one look at her subtly shifting expression, he knew she was overthinking. Smiling, he replied, "I was heading home, and Itsuki politely saw me off. If you're curious why she walked with me this far, feel free to ask her once you're home."
Nino laughed lightly. "I was just casually asking. Honestly, I'm not that interested."
"No, I think you're actually very interested," Shirase suddenly stepped closer, gazing directly into her beautiful eyes.
Thump-thump.
Nino's maiden heart immediately raced.
Too close, idiot!
We're still out on the street!
Forcing herself to resist the instinctive urge to push him away and thus admit defeat, Nino slowly averted her eyes. Biting her lip slightly, she said, "All right, move aside already. I need to get home and eat."
Shirase obediently stepped aside.
Nino secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But as she passed by Shirase, she noticed the amused look in his eyes, causing her pale cheeks to heat up uncontrollably.
Stupid Shirase!
She cursed inwardly, quickening her steps and pulling Itsuki along.
Watching the two lovely, youthful figures walk away, Shirase smiled softly to himself. Sure enough, Nino really is the cutest.
Before leaving, he glanced once more toward Takanashi Rikka, who was still enthusiastically entertaining the kids. Thankfully, she attended a different school—otherwise, as a hardcore tokusatsu fan, it was only a matter of time before he caught her attention.
...
Returning home, the moment he stepped inside, Shirase saw Kojima Kana lying on the sofa.
The beautiful older girl had fallen asleep, her eyes gently shut and breathing soft and regular.
On the TV screen, a prime-time romance drama was playing. The actors were handsome, the actresses beautiful. Shirase had watched a few episodes with Kana before, but it wasn't really his thing.
"And you always say, 'Nee-san's an adult'—yet you don't even take care of your own health," Shirase muttered quietly, lowering his footsteps as he picked up the remote to turn down the volume. The beauty on the sofa remained sound asleep.
Kana lying quietly on her side like this, compared to her usual self, actually seemed even more charming. Her gently flushed cheeks lent a captivating allure to her sleeping expression. Though her posture was casual, her thin business suit did little to hide her full and curvy figure.
Shirase went to the bedroom, retrieved a blanket, and covered her carefully. Glancing at her long legs hanging casually over the sofa armrest, he sighed helplessly and took off her shoes for her.
She wasn't wearing stockings now, and her feet felt warm to the touch, her ankles delicate and soft. The familiar fragrance mixed with a faintly refreshing scent of shampoo teased at his senses. Freed from the restraints of stockings, her feet revealed themselves fully, small toes neatly aligned like pearls, her smooth, shapely legs extending upward beneath her skirt to her soft, rounded thighs.
After covering her with the blanket, Shirase entered the kitchen and opened the insulated container. Just as he expected, Kana had saved dinner for him.
Reaching in, he found the food still slightly warm, so he didn't bother reheating it.
After dinner, Shirase returned to his room and began carefully stretching and testing his body.
He hadn't forgotten the system's earlier notification after finishing the [Wheel-of-Fortune Lottery]: "All physical attributes slightly improved."
Yet despite seriously testing himself, he hardly felt any noticeable difference.
Only his lateral movement speed seemed slightly faster than before.
Or more precisely, he felt somewhat more agile.
"Sure enough, it's just a minor boost—not really noticeable at all…"
With that, Shirase activated [Fixed Hosting] mode, making use of the remaining time on his Triple-Experience Card to start tackling math problems once more.