The Stand User Of The Daily World

Chapter 147: Eriri Kicks into Action

Eriri's gaze was sharp enough to devour someone alive.

"Eriri is so hard to understand. This is completely pointless."

Mashiro shook her head as she looked at Eriri, muttering something incomprehensible.

She casually tossed the clothes she had just taken off onto the floor and walked into the bathroom without closing the door.

That expression, that gaze—everything about her made Eriri feel as if she was the one in the wrong.

Eriri blinked her large, bright eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering in confusion. She was completely stunned.

Shunsuke picked up the clothes Mashiro had discarded and explained, "Mashiro didn't mean anything by it. But taking a bath means taking off your clothes, right? And really, there's no deeper meaning to it. If you do something almost every day, it just becomes a habit. Eriri, you're reacting so strongly—of course Mashiro wouldn't understand why."

Eriri shot Shunsuke a look as if she were staring at a perverted scumbag, but he remained perfectly composed.

"You know Mashiro better than anyone, Eriri. If I told you I had never helped her bathe before, would you honestly believe it? And it's just taking care of her while she bathes. I thought you'd already come to terms with this, just like Izumi's mom. If you can't accept it, then it only proves that your mind is in the gutter, imagining things that aren't even there."

Shunsuke shamelessly turned the tables on her. Eriri's eyes widened in shock, her sharp little canine teeth showing. But did she have mental preparation for this? Of course, she did! In fact, she'd thought of far more!

Did they think her identity as a doujin master was just for show?

So even though she wanted to refute him, facing Shunsuke's confident and righteous tone, Eriri found herself utterly speechless.

At that moment, Mashiro, who was openly showering with the bathroom door wide open, chimed in, "Shunsuke is right. Eriri just doesn't understand."

Watching these two, who clearly saw bathing together as nothing out of the ordinary, Eriri took a deep breath.

As expected, the greatest enemy of a childhood friend was always the fated newcomer. These two shameless conspirators—yf!

Realizing that he might have teased Eriri a little too much, Shunsuke took a step back and said, "Alright, alright. I'll leave Mashiro's bath to you today. That way, you can fully experience her charm for yourself."

"Mashiro's charm?"

"That feeling of casually playing with a beautiful doll—the sense of control," Shunsuke explained. "Didn't you enjoy using Mashiro as a clothes hanger in the mall? It's the same feeling. Like you want to shape Mashiro completely into something of your own."

"Don't think I don't know that this kind of thing is called 'meat puppet' in doujins—"

"Ah, here we go again," Shunsuke waved his hand dismissively. "Eriri, you really need to cut down on reading doujins. And stop using 'research for a new work' as an excuse to make me bring you ero books."

He then gestured toward the bathroom. "Alright, Mashiro is all yours. You should hurry up and wash too—after all, I can't shower until you're done. And for the record, I got soaked in the rain too."

"Huh? You're not even going to insist on joining us?"

After all that talk, Eriri had fully expected Shunsuke to shamelessly push his way in. She had already imagined the scene in her head, though she hadn't quite decided how she would deal with it. And yet, he was just… giving up?

"If I really insisted on joining, you'd probably freak out and take forever to bathe," Shunsuke replied matter-of-factly. "If you caught a cold because of that, wouldn't it be a problem? So just go already."

With that, he flicked Eriri's forehead lightly, flashing her a warm smile.

Of course, the real reason was that Eriri wasn't the type to get carried away in the heat of the moment, like Marin. If pushed too hard, she'd more likely bolt like a startled rabbit.

Feeling oddly satisfied, Eriri went off to help Mashiro with her bath.

Listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom, Shunsuke shook his head and chuckled.

"Classic Eriri..."

So easy to fool.

...

Lying on the bed in nothing but his boxer briefs, Shunsuke scrolled through his phone after drying himself off.

Suddenly, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted into his nose. Looking up, he saw Mashiro standing quietly beside him, wrapped in a bath towel.

Mashiro always walked like a cat, and now, barefoot on the plush high-end carpet, she made absolutely no sound.

Shunsuke thought she could probably form a stealth duo with Kato Megumi at this rate.

"What's wrong, Mashiro? You seem a little upset."

Shunsuke immediately noticed something was off. He reached out, gently pulling Mashiro onto the bed and holding her in his arms as he asked softly.

Mashiro hesitated for a moment, then nodded—only to shake her head right after.

"I... I don't know. It feels a little sad here," she murmured, pressing a hand to her chest. "But I'm also happy. Our date today was supposed to be a happy thing, so why do I still feel sad? Sometimes, it just hurts here."

Her expression was confused, clearly unable to grasp her own emotions.

Shunsuke stroked her soft, golden hair—still slightly damp despite Eriri's efforts to dry it. Then, he picked her up and carried her over to the desk, smiling.

"If you don't understand, then try drawing how you feel. Draw everything from our date today—that's what Iida-sensei has been trying to help you understand, right?"

"Okay."

Mashiro pulled out a sketchpad and pencils from the small bag she always carried. Without a care for her slightly loose towel, she immediately began drawing.

Watching from behind, Shunsuke quickly noticed something odd.

"Mashiro, where's Eriri?"

"... "

Mashiro pretended not to hear.

Eriri? Never heard of her. In my manga, it's just me and Shunsuke.

Shunsuke chuckled, amused by her little act. With one hand resting on her shoulder, he affectionately ruffled her hair with the other.

"Ahh! You pervert, what are you doing?!"

And then—BAM!—Eriri, freshly showered, came flying in with a kick.

"Eriri, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"The real question is—what the hell is wrong with you, Shunsuke?! Why are you just wearing underwear?!"

"Eriri, your mind is seriously filthy. My clothes got soaked, am I supposed to just sit around in wet clothes and wait to catch a cold?"

From Eriri's perspective, however, all she saw was Shunsuke in nothing but his boxers, pressing Mashiro down at the desk—one hand on her head, the other on her shoulder. Her face instantly turned red, and before she even realized it, she had already kicked him.

Of course, the moment after her foot connected, she realized she had completely misunderstood the situation. But was she about to admit that out loud? Absolutely not!

When it came to being stubborn, Eriri was top-tier. Just a minor argument could send her into a years-long cold war with Aki Tomoya, after all. So when Shunsuke saw her doubling down on her misplaced anger, he simply took the hit in silence and let it go.

Then, as revenge, he turned to her and pretended to pull down his underwear right in front of her. The sight made Eriri yelp in horror, jumping back in shock—only for Shunsuke to smirk and leisurely stroll into the bathroom.

...

That night, the three of them ended up sleeping together.

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