Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

“I’m home.”

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“Welcome home, master.”
“Ehuh…M-Master?”

When I came home and announced my return as usual, Mashiro greeted me with an outrageous welcome.
In addition, she was moving his arms as if imitating a cat, with her cat ears twitching…No, well, she was a cat to begin with.

It’s true that we often see fictional girls with cat ears moving in cute poses like this, but I never thought I’d be able to see it from Mashiro.

“I-Is something the matter?”
“No, there’s no deeper meaning.”
“Yeah…?”

More question marks appeared on my head.
Mashiro was the type of person who doesn’t usually joke around, so it was hard to believe that she would say something like that without meaning to.
Perhaps noticing my feelings, Mashiro showed a slight pretense of thinking.

“Master, don’t you ever get a special feeling from this kind of thing?”
“H-Huh?”
“I heard that men are attracted to this kind of pose by girls.”
“Where did you get that from…”

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I hold my head in my hands.
I know where she gets it from, the only source of information she has is the television.
I thought she would never do something like that without knowing its meaning, but it seems that this is the only explanation.

“Am I wrong?”
“No, I can’t say that you’re wrong…”

I averted my gaze, slurring my words.
If I’m honest, as Mashiro said, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t gushing over her cat pose.
It would be strange not to be impressed by her appearance, which would be recognized as beautiful by anyone.

“So, Master is…”
“Yes.
Men feel happy when they are called that.”
“…”

I wonder what kind of uneducational programs are on that TV at noon.
I thought they were always working hard to pass the time for Mashiro, but they betrayed me in this way….

“Did you not like it…?

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“I-it’s not…like that.”

You may have guessed by now that I, as a man, was shaken by the call.
It’s not that I had such a desire, of course, but it’s a sad fact of life for the average man that when someone actually says it to him, he is taken back.

The assumption is that Mashiro, who is always cool and uses “san” or other similar polite Japanese, would never say something unrealistic like “master.”
Even if she didn’t have any special sexual proclivities, she was so destructive that it could be easily twisted.

“But it would be nice if you could stop.”
“Even if you don’t mind?”
“What can I say? It’s not good for the heart…”
“…What do you mean?”
“…Anyway, what’s no good is no good.”

Mashiro looked at me strangely and said, “I see…” She was disappointed.
I think she doesn’t realize just how good she looks.
I know she’s not the type to think that way, but I’d like her to have a little more of a sense of danger about men to some degree.

Of course, I’ve never thought about what to do with Mashiro.
I don’t want to ruin our current relationship because of my feelings or assumptions, and it would be outrageous to hurt her because of it.

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However, Mashiro and I are of the opposite gender, and of course I have the same feelings for her as any other human being.
I’m not talking about what I might do, I’m talking about if Mashiro gets involved with someone else.

“You need to have a little more sense of danger.”
“A sense of danger…?”
“You can’t do that to a man lightly.”
“…?”

Mashiro tilted her head in confusion.
She didn’t seem to understand the meaning of my words.

“I would never do this to anyone other than Satou-san.”

And then, with the same nonchalant look on her face, she said it plainly.
I almost took this to mean something strange, but no matter how I turned it, I don’t think it meant that.

Probably, Mashiro has a lot of trust in me.
That’s why she seemed to be so innocent when she said things like that.

“I think you’re being too kind, Satou-san.”
“No, I don’t think so.
It’s normal.
It’s normal.”

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“He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met, at least in my life.
He’s so kind that it’s almost uncomfortable.”
“S-So that’s what you think of me…”
“Fufu, I’m kidding.”

I think she said it in a tone of voice that could hardly be considered a joke, but was it my imagination?
I’m not a saintly, unconditionally kind person either.
There are times when I get angry at people, to a certain degree.
I’m trying to be kind, but I didn’t know how that would look to the people around me.
If what Mashiro said was true, I was sad to say that it was a bit of a turn off.

“Satou-san doesn’t seem to be interested in me as a woman.”
“…No, well.”
“So I trust you on that.”

It was a bit of a poke in the eye, but whatever the reason, it was nice to know that she trusted me.

I couldn’t help but slur my words, but it wasn’t that I had zero interest in Mashiro.
But before she was an attractive woman, I considered her to be my precious family.
I don’t know what she thought of me, but at least she thinks I’m harmless and kind.

“Then, dinner is ready.
Master.”
“Please give me a break.”

As usual, Mashiro had a slightly mischievous smile on her face, and I sighed, thinking that I was still no match for her.