Conquering Villains and Capturing Targets Is Harder in Real Life than in Games

24: We're nothing like an old married couple!

The next morning Shizuka left for school in a groggy state because she had not been able to get a satisfying amount of sleep after she arrived home from filming.

The truth was, although Shizuka had asked her mother for permission to appear on the show, she had been deliberately vague about the details. This was because Shizuka had intended on keeping her relationship with Madoka a secret from her parents since it didn't feel right to formally introduce him when she was only dating him under pretense. 

However, to Shizuka's dismay, because Director Minami had been extremely forthcoming with information when he spoke with her mother over the phone, her mother ended up discovering everything.

Thus, the moment Shizuka stepped through the front entrance of her home, she was met with her mother's interrogative gaze and a barrage of questions concerning her so-called "boyfriend". This eventually led Shizuka to telling her mother about Madoka and showing her the photo Tegaru had taken for them. 

Contrary to Shizuka's expectations, instead of scolding her for having a secret relationship, her mother became extremely elated and praised her for "snatching up such a superior top-quality catch!"

"Shizuka, you might think that you'll meet plenty of good guys in the future but let me tell you something, most men do not age like fine wine. In reality, the selection of attractive and available men shrinks drastically as you get older, so when you find an ideal guy like this, smart, considerate, and good-looking, you have to keep a good hold on him!"

Thinking back to her mother's shameless advice made Shizuka cringe in embarrassment. Why is my mom like this? Shouldn't she have better words of wisdom for her teenage daughter?

Because she had been absorbed in her thoughts, Shizuka hadn't even realized that she had walked all the way to school until she was only a few meters away from the gates.

When Madoka noticed Shizuka from beyond the gates, he dashed over like an excited puppy. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," replied Shizuka with a yawn.

Madoka casually took Shizuka's school bag from her hands and began carrying it. "Are you tired? Did you not get a good night's rest?"

"Don't even mention it. Some troublesome stuff happened when I got home last night that prevented me from sleeping at my normal time," replied Shizuka as she stretched her arms languidly. "On top of that, the cat plushie you won for me fell on my face while I was sleeping so I was abruptly woken up at like 3 o'clock in morning." 

"Where did you put it for it to fall on your face?"

"On a shelf above my bed. I still don't know how it fell."

"Maybe you should keep it on your bed then, that way you don't have to worry about it falling."

"Yeah, I did that with the taiyaki but the cat's so small I was worried that I'd kick it off the bed in my sleep and lose sight-"

All of a sudden, four students jumped out in front of Madoka and Shizuka's path. The four of them greeted Shizuka and Madoka all at once.

On the left-hand side stood two female students that Shizuka recognized so she greeted them first. "Good morning, Aiko-chan and Rei-chan."

Beside her, Madoka greeted the two male students on the right-hand side. "Good morning, Jiro-kun and Aoi-kun."

Seeing the four eager faces in front of them, Shizuka revealed a perfunctory smile and asked, "Did you guys have some business with us?"

The two sets of students both responded at the same time.

"Yes, we had something to discuss with Shizuka-senpai!"