Chapter 12: The Maid’s Crisis

“Welcome home, Kiyomiya-kun.”

“I’m home.”

Sayaka always gets home earlier than I do.

There she stands, perfectly poised in her maid outfit, greeting me with the practiced grace of a true servant. It isn’t so bad at all.

“Living alone has its perks—simple, carefree. But coming home to someone saying ‘welcome home’? That hits different.”

“That’s my line!” Sayaka exclaims.

What’s with her all of a sudden?!

Is she so sharp she can read minds now? Or am I just that simple?

“No, hold on. Even if I’m rattling around this place alone, it’s way too early to be feeling lonely, right?”

It hasn’t even been a month since I settled into this old manor. Homesickness? That’s a stretch. Honestly, I might never feel it at all.

The Kiyomiya family’s main estate was always a whirlwind—endless visits from other noble families, each one leaving me feeling like an outsider in my own home.

Being free of that? This manor’s quiet suits me just fine. For now, I head into the living room, drop my bag, and aim for the sofa—

“Wait.”

Sayaka grabs my arm.

“Don’t move, okay?”

“H-Hey, what’s this about?!” I stammer. “I can change on my own!”

Out of nowhere, Sayaka starts tugging off my blazer and deftly unbuttoning my shirt.

“Just hold still,” she says calmly. “If you don’t fuss, I’ll be gentle.”

“What are you talking about?!” As we bicker, Sayaka’s nimble fingers make quick work of my shirt, each button slipping free with alarming speed.

“I know,” she says abruptly.

“Huh?”

“Kiyomiya-kun, you got dragged off by Iwakura and his goons, didn’t you? I wasn’t there, but the whole classroom was buzzing about it.”

“…” Sayaka, who sits right next to me, hadn’t breathed a word about it at school.

“Iwakura and his lackeys aren’t stupid enough to leave marks on your face,” she continues, her tone matter-of-fact. “But your stomach? That’s another story. I’m worried about what they might’ve done.”

“You could’ve said that before stripping me down…”

“I just wanted to take your clothes off as fast as possible.”

“Don’t phrase it like that! It’s misleading!”

“It’s not exactly misleading…” She pauses, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Oh?”

“Ugh.”

For reasons I can’t quite grasp, Sayaka runs her hand lightly across my stomach. “…Your body’s surprisingly toned, huh?”

“You’re not the only one who keeps in shape, Sayaka.”

“Harassing a maid is a crime, you know,” she retorts.

“It’s a crime either way, maid or not. Besides, I at least try to keep up appearances. Gotta hold some dignity for my father’s sake.”

“I wish you’d put half that effort into your grades,” she sighs. “Once I’m officially a maid, I’ll whip your studies into shape too.”

“Uh, hard pass on that.” Sayaka’s a perfectionist through and through—tutoring from her would probably feel like boot camp.

“Wait, wasn’t your whole point to check if my stomach was okay?”

“Oh, right.” Sayaka blinks, inspecting me briefly. “Huh, you seem fine?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I got lucky—no hits. A friend bailed me out.”

“Maki-san… I’ll have to thank her later. Tell her, ‘My master is in your debt.’”

“Master?!” I choke. “That’s the kind of phrasing that’ll spark misunderstandings!”

Won’t people think she means it in a spouse kind of way?!

“I hear there’s a trend lately saying it’s outdated to call a husband ‘master,’” Sayaka muses. “But policing old words with modern values? Pointless.”

“Forget word policing for a second.” Right, Sayaka’s a bit of a literature nerd, isn’t she? Her love for classic Japanese is all well and good, but I’m still standing here half-undressed.

“Anyway, I’m just glad you’re okay. We need to deal with Iwakura and whoever’s backing him soon. They’re underestimating you.”

“Can’t blame them. I’m a fake noble, half-baked at studies and sports, always grinning like an idiot.”

“I won’t let my master stay an idiot,” she declares firmly. “Once I’m a maid, I’ll whip your mental strength into shape too.”

“Saying that makes me less likely to hire you, you know.” The thought of Sayaka’s relentless training is downright terrifying. For now, I slip my shirt back on and sink into the sofa.

“Phew… You probably know this, but there’s something I want to check too.”

“Huh?”

Sayaka’s face flushes bright red.

“Whoa, hold on, I’m not saying I’m gonna strip you or anything!” I blurted, waving my hands to dispel the misunderstanding.

“O-Oh, okay,” Sayaka replied, her cheeks faintly flushed. “I thought you were suddenly making some bold demands.”

“You haven’t been reading weird maid manga or something, have you?”

“Even in novels, inappropriate relationships between masters and maids are pretty common.”

“Let’s keep fiction and reality separate. And if you want to be hired as a maid, you can’t keep secrets, right?”

“Don’t maids deserve some privacy?” Sayaka countered, her lips curling into a slight pout.

“Someone who gets called to the principal’s office is pretty suspicious. Even at the main residence, we thoroughly vet servants with ‘background checks.’”

Background checks, of course, weren’t about measuring height or weight. They involved digging into someone’s past, ensuring they had no ties to shady organizations. The Kiyomiya family, being a wealthy noble house, was meticulous about who we allowed into our inner circle. Since hiring servants for this old manor fell to me, the decision to investigate was mine to make.

“I’m not into gossip,” I said firmly. “Sōshūkan students have plenty of family and clan drama, but I make a point to stay out of it.”

“Being interested in gossip isn’t always bad,” Sayaka replied. “Sōshūkan isn’t your average school. You need to know the undercurrents of each family. You’re already caught up in the feuds between noble houses.”

“What am I, some kind of big shot?” I muttered, exasperated. I am just the son of the Kiyomiya family head, doing my best to steer clear of noble society, upper-class drama, and rivalries.

“You’ve even caught the eye of the Maritsuji family’s ojou-sama, haven’t you? She’d be a valuable ally. Even a refined lady like her is just a first-year high school girl. If you play your cards right, you could tame her, make her understand with her body.”

“You’re the one who needs to talk like a high school girl!” I snapped, feeling my face heat up. Taming? Making her understand with her body? That’s straight out of some sleazy old guy’s playbook.

“The Maritsuji family is exactly the kind of dangerous player you don’t want to mess with,” I continued, trying to regain my composure. “For the sake of my family, I need to keep a proper distance.”

“Maritsuji, huh…” Sayaka’s gaze sharpened, clearly catching that I’d dropped the honorific. Her suspicious look lingered, as if she were piecing together something I hadn’t meant to reveal.

“Fine, whatever,” Sayaka said, her tone laced with resignation. “If you really don’t want to get involved in school relationships or noble socializing, I can’t force you. But my business is something you don’t need to know, Kiyomiya-kun.”

“You got called out by the chairman, right?” I blurted, the words slipping out before I could stop them. I couldn’t keep quiet about the info I’d gotten through Maki.

“Maki-san, huh. No other students should know about that yet.”

“So, you admit it. The chairman getting involved is a big deal.”

Even someone like me, who prefers to stay out of the spotlight, knows about Sōshūkan’s chairman.

Toyohara Shuuichirou, a picture-perfect silver fox and a distinguished middle-aged man. His name carries weight, and so does his lineage. The Toyohara family, a noble house on par with the Kiyomiya and Maritsuji families, had played the leading role in founding Sōshūkan, despite contributions from other noble families.

“What did the chairman want to talk about?” I pressed, unable to resist.

“So even Maki-san doesn’t know the details. Well, it’s not like she could dig that up.”

“I have ways to find out,” I shot back. “After all, we’re living under the same roof.”

“I owe you a lot. If you press me, I won’t stay silent… But.”

“But?”

“If you let this go without asking anything, I’ll…” She hesitated, then leaned in slightly, her voice dropping. “I’ll take a bath with you and wash your back. No cheap tricks like wearing a swimsuit. I promise to dress appropriately for the bath.”

“Alright, I won’t ask anything,” I said quickly, feeling a pang of guilt for having Maki dig up the “meeting with the chairman” info in the first place. Let’s just drop it here, yeah.

“Kiyomiya-kun, you act all reasonable, but you’re just giving in to your desires…” Sayaka teased, her voice dripping with mock accusation.

“No, that was a joke! Call me out on it sooner!” I protested, flustered. “You’re making it sound like I was serious!”

“But, Kiyomiya-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“If you hire me as a maid, I’ll clean you up—your back, or anywhere else.”

“Honestly, I’d rather be the one cleaning every inch of you, Sayaka.”

“In your case, it’s your heart that seems dirtier than your body,” she retorted.

“By the time you’re in high school, you can’t stay pure and innocent,”

“You’re only half-clean, you know.”

For a moment, I was speechless, caught in the strange shift of Sayaka’s demeanor. That commanding aura, so like Fujikawa’s—something only those born to nobility seemed to carry—had radiated from her entire being. Yet, just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by her usual elusive charm.

“Oh, I’m sorry. How cheeky of me,” Sayaka said, her voice suddenly polite, almost deferential. “Of course, I’ll tell you what happened. I owe you, after all.”

“…What happened?” I asked, still trying to shake off the odd feeling. Was that aura just my imagination?

She was back to the familiar Hisaka Sayaka, her expression unreadable, but the lunchtime summons to the chairman weighed on my mind.

“As a maid, is it okay for me to share personal matters?”

“Just tell me,” I urged, impatience creeping in.

Sayaka nodded slightly, her gaze steady. “You know I’m a scholarship student at Sōshūkan, right?”

“Yeah, you’re the only one this year, right? Full tuition exemption or something.”

“They’re abolishing the scholarship program starting this year.”

“I mean, I guess it makes sense since hardly anyone’s used it, but—what?!” I blurted, stunned.

“I have to start paying tuition this year.”

“That’s way too sudden! And starting this year?!” Just because Sōshūkan was a private school didn’t mean they could pull something like this. Sure, it was no ordinary institution, and I’d heard the chairman wielded significant authority, but could they really push through a change so drastic?

“I think so too,” Sayaka said, her lips tightening. “But it’s already decided. Since it’s so sudden, they’re lowering the tuition for this year compared to the usual rate.”

“…How much is it?”

“Exactly one million yen.”

“…”

“By the way, my entire fortune is 3,250 yen.”