Chapter 25: Maid Becomes Mama

“Haa…”

“You look exhausted again, Keiji-kun.”

“Whoa!”

After finishing dinner and a bath, I returned to my room— The moment I plopped onto my bed, Sayaka appeared right in front of me out of nowhere.

“S-Sayaka, when did you—?!”

“I’ve got the master key, you know. I can waltz into your room whenever I please.”

“That’s not why I gave it to you!”

The key was for cleaning or tidying any room as needed, not for her to barge in unannounced. Even if she could come and go freely, wasn’t it basic courtesy to knock?

“Haa… That Maki, she’s seriously planning to live in this manor, isn’t she?”

“Yup, she’s staying over like it’s no big deal tonight, and tomorrow she’s apparently bringing clothes and stuff.”

“For real? I’m already in hot water living with a female classmate—people could get the wrong idea. But Maki’s not even a servant, so it’s not just a misunderstanding anymore, is it?”

“Hmm, on the flip side, Maki-san might actually be fine.”

“Huh?”

Sayaka gave a small nod and plopped down on my bed. My pulse quickened—having a girl so casually sit on my bed was… well, nerve-wracking.

“Keiji-kun and Maki-san, you two really only look like friends. I doubt anyone would think there’s anything romantic going on.”

“…You think so?”

Her words stung a little. Does that mean I’m being underestimated as a guy?

“So, what’s Maki up to?”

“She’s in the bath. I lent her my shampoo and body wash, but she didn’t seem thrilled. They’re the cheapest ones from the drugstore, so maybe they’re not fancy enough for an ojou-sama.”

“Ojou-sama, huh… I heard the Sogano family isn’t even that big of a deal.”

“Probably a lie.”

“Eh?”

“That girl’s no ordinary person, right? I don’t think the Sogano family is ordinary either.”

“I’ll admit Maki’s not your average person, but even an ordinary family can produce someone exceptional, can’t they?”

A prestigious lineage didn’t guarantee brilliance. Sure, wealth could buy a top-tier education, often breeding excellence, but… exceptions existed.

“True, how you raise someone matters most. From now on, I’ll have to work hard to raise you, Keiji-kun.”

“You’re not my maid—you’re starting to sound like my mom.”

“How about the concept of a motherly maid?”

“That’d completely ruin the basic concept of a professional relationship, wouldn’t it?”

I had no interest in calling a girl my age “Mama”—do I?

“Anyway, Sayaka, why are you even here?”

“Taking care of you is my job,” she replied smoothly. “Obviously, I came to look after you, Keiji-kun.”

“Look after me? I don’t need anything done. I’m just gonna study and sleep.”

Ever since I swore off slacking, I couldn’t just lounge around and doze off, no matter how tired I felt.

“You can rest now too, Sayaka. Maki’s fine on her own—huh!?”

“Alright, stay still.”

“S-Sayaka!?”

Before I could react, Sayaka gently grabbed my shoulders and pulled me toward her. Caught off guard, I toppled easily, my head landing on her knees—no, her thighs. The soft, warm cushion of her thighs pressed against me through her skirt.

“This is called a lap pillow. My maid-mama thighs feel nice, don’t they?”

“Stop calling yourself Mama! I know what a lap pillow is!”

“Rest for a bit, Keiji-kun. You’ve been fighting unfamiliar battles and dragging Maki-san into this—you must be exhausted.”

“I’m not that exhausted…”

“Your environment’s changed drastically, hasn’t it? There’s no way you’re not building up fatigue. My top priority is always to help you relax.”

“Well, thanks for that… But your environment’s changed too, hasn’t it, Sayaka?”

“I’m a maid. I’m trained for this. Pampering you is a piece of cake.”

Sayaka’s fingers began to gently stroke my head as it rested on her thighs. She was seriously starting to feel like a mom. I lost my mother when I was young, so memories of lap pillows were nonexistent. My mother’s face existed only in photos, her name a faint echo in my mind.

A lap pillow might just be treating me like a kid… but still, it felt oddly comforting.

“Crap… I’m getting sleepy…”

“It’s fine if you sleep. I’ll let you skip studying today.”

“Oh, really? Then… wait, hold on!”

I bolted upright, shaking off the daze. “I just decided to stop being a slacker—I can’t skip studying already!”

That lap pillow nearly had me. Without memories of my mom, its warmth hit harder than I expected. I had to stay sharp. Pushing away from the bed, I settled at my study desk. No way was I letting a beautiful maid with mama vibes derail my resolve to study hard.

“It’s great that you’re motivated. I’ll go check on Maki-san. Gotta make sure she’s not setting up cameras or bugs or anything.”

“That’s straight-up spy territory, Sayaka.”

“Oh, and Keiji-kun, you should tidy up your room a bit more. Organize your notebooks, workbooks, and reference books properly so you can study efficiently.”

“Your room’s a mess too, Sayaka.”

“I may have a messy room, but I know exactly where everything is.”

“…Fair enough.”

Doubting Sayaka, who’d already proven her skill, would be foolish. The gap between her, ranked number one, and me, stuck at 100, was still glaring.

“I’ll bring you some tea later.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Sayaka slipped out of the room without a sound. Come to think of it, she’d been flawless in her maid duties since the day I hired her. A lap pillow definitely wasn’t in the job description, but it wasn’t exactly a problem either.

“She’s even keeping my room spotless,” I muttered, glancing around. Every day, my notebooks and workbooks shifted just slightly, always neater. My English dictionary, once abandoned on the desk, now sat perfectly aligned on the shelf. “Ever since I gave her the master key, she’s been doing this daily. Talk about dedicated.”

I didn’t even mind her coming in to clean unannounced. Then I noticed something else. “Wait, now that I look closer—she’s even rearranged the books on my bookshelf. That’s some attention to detail, Sayaka.”

Rising from my desk, I stepped over to the bookshelf against the wall. It held children’s books from my younger days and novels I’d picked up in middle school. Among the upper class, avid reading was common, and I’d been taught to at least know the famous works. Now, the children’s books, domestic and foreign literary classics, mysteries, and historical novels were meticulously sorted by genre and author in alphabetical order.

“…”

I stood there, the old hardcover children’s book cradled in my hands—a tale of a boy searching for his lost mother, my favorite from childhood. It was the only thing I’d insisted on carrying myself during the move, not trusting it to the movers. Flipping through its worn pages, I paused as my fingers brushed against the photograph tucked inside.

“No need to hide it, I guess. This isn’t the Kiyomiya Family Main Residence anymore.”

It was a picture of my mother, Wakura Honoka—a young woman with long brown hair woven into a braid. She stood beside a two- or three-year-old me, seated in a chair, her hand resting gently on my shoulder.

“That said, I’m not exactly at an age where I’d display my mom’s photo. What should I do with it?”

In the Kiyomiya family, my mother was a forbidden topic. Even as a child, I’d known better than to show her picture openly. For now, I figured I’d keep it tucked safely in the book, same as always.

“Hm?”

Something caught my eye, jarring me from my thoughts. Wait—what’s this?