Chapter 9: Maid’s Break Time

Maki savored her cake and tea, roaming the manor with her camera in hand, snapping photos.

She then left with a contented smile, seemingly pleased with her visit.

“She went back surprisingly easily…” I muttered.

I’d half-expected Maki to be scheming something, given her nature.

Sayaka-san nodded. “Yes, she didn’t seem to be prying for anything specific either.”

We’d just finished dinner and were now settled in the living room. For Maki’s visit, the space had been carefully staged to exude a “lived-in” charm—scattered clothes and bags artfully placed. Those props had since been tidied away, restoring the room’s usual order.

“Shouldn’t we keep an eye on SNS for a while?” I asked.

“It’ll be fine.”

A few photos of my house hardly seemed like scandalous material. Maki, for all her quirks, wouldn’t waste her time on something so pointless.

“Besides, Sayaka-san, you stayed completely out of sight,” I added.

“I’m not exactly thrilled about feeling like some secret mistress, though.”

“…Just bear with it.”

Truth be told, I’d had the same fleeting thought. Maki wasn’t my girlfriend, and there was nothing remotely strange between Sayaka-san and me.

“If you want to check for bugs, I’ll search every nook and cranny thoroughly.”

“You’re pretty paranoid!”

“I don’t know much about Maki-san,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s only natural to be cautious around someone unfamiliar, right?”

I couldn’t help but retort, “I don’t know all that much about you either, Sayaka-san.”

She breezed past my comment. “This house may look classic, but its security is top-notch. There’s probably even a device to detect bugging signals.”

So she just ignored my jab, huh? Still, she wasn’t wrong. As a property of the Kiyomiya family, the manor’s security was impeccable—likely equipped with every countermeasure imaginable.

“If you want to check for bugs, I’ll really do it,” Sayaka-san pressed. “Just leave it to me—I’m tenacious about everything.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell.”

Her relentless campaign to be hired as a maid—despite being firmly told we weren’t hiring—proved that much.

“No, seriously, you don’t need to check,” I insisted. “Maki wouldn’t go that far, and besides, searching this entire manor would be way too much work.”

“I see…” Sayaka-san’s voice carried a hint of disappointment.

Why did she look let down? Cleaning this sprawling manor was already a daunting task—hunting for tiny bugs would be utterly mind-numbing.

“Still, Maki-san was looking around the manor pretty carefully,” Sayaka-san remarked. “Maybe she was checking out what kind of staff you have.”

“No way…”

The Kiyomiya Family Old Manor, a rare vintage Western-style mansion even among the elite, was bound to draw curious gazes. It wasn’t odd for someone like Maki to want to explore every corner—or so I told myself.

Sayaka-san’s voice cut through my thoughts. “I made my room look like an empty guest room and sprayed deodorizer everywhere, so there shouldn’t be any trace of me.”

“You’re kinda scary for going that far.”

“I don’t cut corners when it comes to work,” she said, unfazed. “Maki-san seems sharp, so I had to be thorough.”

“Thanks for the effort, I guess. But honestly, it wouldn’t be a big deal if Maki found out.”

Sayaka-san tilted her head slightly. “She’s your friend, after all. You must trust your judgment of people.”

I gave a wry smile. “Well, I’ve had a complicated upbringing. Since I was a kid, I’ve had to figure out who’s an enemy and who’s an ally.” I paused, then added, “Anyway, you can take the rest of the day off.”

Sayaka-san had been relentless, donning her maid outfit and working tirelessly to prove she could handle round-the-clock service. After a chaotic day like today, she deserved a break.

“That said, dinner’s already done, so there’s not much left to do anyway,” I noted.

“Even just having a break now is appreciated,” she said with a relieved sigh. “Phew…”

“Y-yeah.”

With a soft shrrk, Sayaka-san untied the ribbon at her collar, slipped off her headband, and headed out of the living room.

That caught me off guard—I froze for a split second, half-expecting her to start stripping right there.

“As if that’d happen,” I muttered to myself, shaking my head.

Still, she’d accepted the break without protest. Was dodging Maki all day really that exhausting? Maybe I’d put Sayaka-san through more than I realized…

“Sorry for the wait.”

“You’re back already!?”

“I’m not the trial maid Sayaka-san right now. Just a freeloader.”

I averted my gaze. “…You could’ve just relaxed in your room.”

The Sayaka-san who returned was almost unrecognizable: black-rimmed glasses, hair loosely tied back, a navy hoodie, and white shorts. Casual didn’t even begin to cover it.

“So that’s your casual look, Sayaka-san…” I muttered. Come to think of it, I’d only ever seen her in her maid outfit or school uniform.

“Top and bottom, two thousand yen total,” she said with a shrug. “It’s less ‘loungewear’ and more ‘everyday clothes.’ I go out like this too.”

“Couldn’t you add a bit more flair?”

To think Hisaka Sayaka, the girl admired by so many at school, wandered around in such a laid-back outfit. And yet, even in this simple getup, her figure was striking—her curves undeniable, her long, slender legs captivating. Even with glasses, her face was almost unfairly cute. Having a girl like her casually lounging in my house felt surreal when I stopped to think about it.

“Hey, these are my everyday clothes, so don’t stare too much,” she said, her cheeks faintly flushed as she shot me a glare.

“That’s what you get embarrassed about?”

I couldn’t wrap my head around her sense of shame. Parading around in a maid outfit seemed far more mortifying…

“If you’re gonna stare, I’ll charge you,” she huffed.

“That’s not very charming,” I retorted, noticing how she was clearly masking her embarrassment. It was kind of endearing.

“Seriously, why’d you come back? You could’ve stayed in your room.”

“I’ve always wanted to chill in this living room at least once,” she replied, plopping down beside me with a soft thud.

The plush sofa dipped under her weight, and for a fleeting moment, her shoulder brushed against mine. Wait, wasn’t she being a bit too defenseless for a girl her age? Her shoulder felt soft, and her scent—subtle yet intoxicating—hit me like a wave.

“Wow… this sofa really is the comfiest.”

“You’ve sat on it a few times already, haven’t you?”

“Never let my guard down here, though.” She glanced over. “Oh, grab that cushion for me.”

“Sure,” I said, reaching for the cushion in the corner of the sofa and handing it to her.

“This is so plush too. Haa…” Sayaka-san sighed, clutching the cushion tightly to her chest, her hoodie doing little to conceal her figure as she pressed against it.

“…If you wanna relax, feel free to do it anytime.”

“If we were hosting actual guests, it’d be way tougher. I still have a lot to learn.”

“Nah, Maki’s a special case. For normal guests, we just greet them in the reception room and serve tea. That’s it.”

With anyone but Maki, we wouldn’t need to go to such lengths—hiding traces of a maid or dodging around to avoid detection.

“Are you okay, Kiyomiya-kun?”

“Huh? Me? What about me?”

“You were trying hard to make sure Maki-san didn’t find out about me, right? Was it tough?”

“Oh, that?” I waved it off. “Nah, it wasn’t a big deal. Honestly, I meant it when I said it wouldn’t matter if Maki found out.”

“Hmm, you two sure are close…” Her eyes narrowed, a cold, piercing glint in them.

Did I say something to upset her?

“Well, she’s one of your few friends, right?” Sayaka-san continued. “If I successfully become a maid, I’ll make sure to treat your friends with the utmost hospitality as your loyal servant.”

I grimaced. “That’d just give Maki prime teasing material… Though, ‘few’ friends? More like my only friend.”

“Your only one?” She raised an eyebrow. “I did my research on you, Kiyomiya-kun. I didn’t just show up at this old manor without knowing anything.”

“Huh? Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense…”

I hadn’t given it much thought, but it wasn’t surprising that Sayaka-san had looked into me before arriving.

“Don’t you have one other friend?” she pressed. “And a pretty famous one at that.”

“Huh? A famous friend…?”

My mind went blank, and I zoned out for a good thirty seconds, racking my brain—

“Oh, wait, are you talking about that ojou-sama!?”

The one Maki calls a “Yamato Nadeshiko,” one of the two most beautiful girls in school, right up there with Sayaka-san herself.

“No, no, that ojou-sama isn’t exactly a friend or anything—”

I glanced beside me and froze mid-sentence.

“Zzz… zzz…”

In the thirty seconds I’d been lost in thought, Sayaka-san had closed her eyes, still clutching the cushion, and was now softly snoring.

She’d fallen asleep way too fast. And to think she was letting her guard down like this, sleeping so defenselessly with me right here…

“Mmm… nnh…” Sayaka-san mumbled, rolling onto her side on the sofa.

“Whoa!” I caught myself, quickly reaching out to gently slip the black-rimmed glasses off her face. Sleeping with those on? She’d break them for sure.

“…”

Without her glasses, Sayaka-san’s face was transformed. Gone was the usual “aloof honor student” air—replaced by a soft, almost childish innocence.

That’s right—

It reminded me of that spring… exactly one year ago.

At Sōshūkan Academy, cherry blossom trees line the path from the school gate to the main building, bursting into full bloom every spring.

That day, I saw a girl standing there.

She wore an unfamiliar sailor uniform, likely from another school. Thinking back, she might’ve been there for transfer procedures.

She stood beneath the cherry blossoms, lost in thought, then suddenly removed her large black-rimmed glasses. A single petal clung to the lens. Holding the glasses near her lips, she blew softly—puff—and the petal drifted away.

In that fleeting moment, I fell head over heels for her.

God, how careless and foolish was I? Falling for a girl under cherry blossom trees? What was this, some clichéd romance manga? An outdated trope, at that.

At Sōshūkan, where everyone seemed plucked from a modeling agency, I was no stranger to beauty. So why did she, that girl with the glasses, feel so extraordinary? I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

It was as if I’d known her before, as if I’d been yearning for her forever—a strange, unshakable illusion.

A whole year passed, and I still couldn’t untangle my feelings.

And now, that same girl lay before me, sleeping unguarded on the sofa, her soft snores filling the quiet.

Things had only grown more confusing…

“…Carry me.”

“Huh?”

“To the bedroom. Carry me.”

The beautiful girl from that cherry blossom moment, eyes still closed, spoke out of nowhere.

Apparently, while I was lost in nostalgic flashbacks, she’d woken up.

“That’s an order, huh? Who’s the servant here?” I slipped one arm under Sayaka-san’s back and the other beneath her legs.

“Whoa, you’re heavy!”

“How rude,” she huffed.

“My bad, my bad.”

Even bracing myself, I wobbled slightly as I lifted her. She was slender, but a high school girl wasn’t exactly featherlight.

“Seriously, at this rate, you’re the ojou-sama, Sayaka-san.”

“…Maybe sometimes,” she murmured.

“So I’m the butler today?”

“I’m surrounded by ojou-sama types every day,” she said, her voice soft. “Sometimes, I want to be the ojou-sama too.”

One moment we’re talking about the ultimate ojou-sama, and now I’m supposed to treat Sayaka-san like one, with the utmost care.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot, so just stay still, okay?”

“Do as you see fit.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll serve you today, ojou-sama.”