Chapter 19: The Maid’s Misstep
“Keiji-kun, you barely touched your food today, did you?”
“Yeah, I just wasn’t feeling it.”
The main course for tonight’s dinner was salmon meunière—light, perfectly seasoned, with crisp, fragrant skin. Truly delicious. But even so…
“My stomach’s been acting up. I should be fine soon, though.”
“Oh, no,” Sayaka murmured, a trace of regret in her voice as she began clearing the dishes. “I should’ve made something easier on your stomach.”
I’d managed to finish what was on my plate, but I didn’t go for seconds on rice or soup.
“I’m gonna head to my room and lie down for a bit,” I said. “I’ll be fine, so, Sayaka, could you handle the cleanup?”
“…”
“Sayaka? Something wrong?”
She was giving me a strange, weighted look—almost like she was sizing me up.
“Oh, nothing,” she replied lightly. “Go rest. If you need stomach medicine or a drink, just call me anytime.”
“Got it.”
This mansion was massive, every room equipped with an intercom. Living room, dining room, kitchen—you name it. I could even buzz those rooms from my own. Not that I’d ever used it. Even if they were staff, barking orders like some high-and-mighty lord felt… off. Maybe it was my half-commoner blood, but I couldn’t bring myself to act like nobility.
“No need for that,” I muttered under my breath, slipping back to my room and closing the door behind me.
With a heavy thud, I flopped onto the bed.
Just when I thought I’d settled into having Sayaka as the maid, the Maritsuji family’s ojou-sama had come barreling into my life. Maritsuji Anri, of all people. I wasn’t some big shot who could brush off the tension and exhaustion that came with her presence.
And for reasons beyond me, she and Sayaka had been at each other’s throats from the start.
My stomach churned, a dull ache gnawing at me. To think, at my age, stress was already tearing up my gut. Maybe a carefree slacker’s life would’ve suited me better… “Nah, some meds… or maybe just hot tea,” I mumbled, dragging myself out of bed and shuffling out of the room.
I could’ve buzzed Sayaka on the intercom, but calling her over for something as trivial as tea felt pathetic. Raised in a mansion crawling with staff, yet here I was, stuck with this commoner’s mindset. Go figure.
“Has Sayaka finished cleaning up already?” I wondered aloud. I’d been zoning out on the bed for a good thirty minutes, so she might’ve wrapped up and retreated to her room. If so, I’d just brew the tea myself.
“…Hm?” I froze mid-step in the hallway, halfway to the kitchen. Voices drifted from the dining room, faint but unmistakable.
“I mean, now that I’m a maid, it’s gotta be master-first, right? Keiji-kun’s the one who deserves my hospitality—not some scheming noble girl.”
Scheming noble girl? Who’s that? Maki, maybe?
“But would this even work? Keiji-kun might just get weirded out. Guys are so hard to figure out… Like, what even are guys?”
She was full-on dissing the entire male species now. What was she scheming? Eavesdropping wasn’t my thing, so I pushed open the dining room door. “Sayaka, what are you—”
“M-Master, sorry to keep you waiting, nya!”
“What the heck are you doing!?”
“Ah!?”
There, beyond the door, stood Sayaka—a cat-eared maid. Yes, a cat-eared maid.
“K-K-K-K-Keiji… kun!”
“Sayaka… that’s you, right?” I asked, unable to hide my disbelief. The cat-eared maid before me was so far removed from her usual self that I had to confirm.
Her light brown, semi-long hair hung loose as always, but now it was crowned with a cat-ear headband. Gone was her standard maid outfit, replaced by one with a plunging neckline and a skirt so short it barely covered her thighs. A tail—somehow attached—peeked out from beneath, swaying with an almost polite charm.
“…Hey, Sayaka. Can I take a picture?”
“If you take one, my soul’s gonna leave my body… from the shock!” she squeaked.
“It’s that shocking!?” I shot back, though honestly, I was the one reeling.
She’d transformed into a cat-eared maid, striking a pose with her hands curled like a beckoning cat, one leg raised, radiating an absurd, chaotic energy. In a way, she was the perfect cat-eared maid. My opening the door had apparently caught her mid-pose—perfect timing for me, but probably the worst for her.
“Th-This!” she blurted, scrambling for an explanation. “I was just trying to cheer you up, Keiji-kun! I bought this cosplay outfit on a whim at a store once, and I thought I’d try it on!”
“You really lost your mind, huh?” She thought this outfit would cheer me up?
“That pose was flawless, though. Don’t tell me this isn’t your first time wearing it?”
“W-Well, I tried it on once before. I definitely didn’t scour the internet for pose ideas or anything!”
“You researched it…” No wonder her pose was cute—too cute, even.
I seriously wanted to snap a photo.
“H-Hey, how long are you gonna stare!? I won’t forgive you, Master!”
“The Master’s the one committing a crime here!?” I retorted. If anything, I was the one wondering what I’d been forced to witness.
“Also, why are you still holding that pose…?”
“Huh? Oh, kyaa… ahn!”
“Whoa!”
Sayaka finally noticed she was still frozen in her cat pose and scrambled to stand normally—only to trip in her panic and crash to the floor. Moving that fast in a frenzy… not her best move.
“H-Hey, Sayaka!”
“Nngh… my butt hurts…” she groaned, sprawled out on the floor. Her skirt had flipped up, revealing soft, plump thighs and—embarrassingly enough—cute pink panties in full view. “Hey, where are you looking!?” she yelped, her face burning as she tugged at her skirt.
“E-enough!” Sayaka snapped, swiftly shifting into a prim, lady-like sitting position, her hands pressing down her skirt.
Ugh, I barely got ten seconds to look. The adorable cat-eared maid’s panties vanished in a flash.
“…Keiji-kun, I’m not doing that kind of service yet,” she huffed, her cheeks faintly flushed. “No matter how much you pay me, I won’t…”
“I-I get it, okay?”
Hiring a female classmate as a maid was already questionable enough. Asking for “services” beyond her duties? That’d make me a complete scumbag. But wait—did she just say “not yet”? I couldn’t let that slide. Did it mean something more?
“Ugh… my butt hurts.”
“Yeah, my stomach’s still acting up, too.”
“And my heart’s wounded,” she added, pouting.
“R-Right,” I stammered, though this whole fiasco, from start to finish, was clearly her own spectacular self-destruct.
Sayaka rose, clutching the hem of her mini-skirt maid outfit. “S-So, what did you come here for, Keiji-kun?”
“Oh, right. I was thinking of getting some hot tea.”
“G-Got it. Head to the living room. I’ll bring it over.”
“Cool, thanks.” I preferred it lukewarm and weak, but knowing Sayaka, she’d probably nail it.
As I turned to leave the dining room, I caught her still blushing, hands pressing down her skirt. “You can change first if you want.”
“…No, I’ll bring the tea as a cat-eared maid, just for you.”
“Hell yeah, that’s the best!”
“You’re still a sleaze, huh…”
“…Guess so,” I admitted, nodding sheepishly.
“Ugh, pervert!” she huffed.
“Pervert!?” I shot back. A maid who was about to “serve” in a cat-eared outfit, and a master who got an eyeful of her panties after she accidentally flashed him—who was the real pervert here? I’d love a third party to settle that one.
Hiring a girl as a servant meant accidents like this were inevitable, especially with just the two of us in this sprawling old manor. I had to keep my composure as a master, no matter what.
