Chapter 8: Hospitality Without a Maid

Sunday morning──

“I’m here, Keiji ♡”

“…Ah, welcome, Maki.”

Honestly, I’d have preferred if she hadn’t come. But I’m not heartless enough to turn away a friend who came all this way. I’m just weak like that.

Maki was waiting for me at the front door, dressed in a white off-the-shoulder knit top and a denim miniskirt. With her shoulders and legs exposed, it was a surprisingly revealing outfit for the lingering chill of April.

“So, what do you think? Cute, right?” she asked, striking a pose. “Maki-chan’s pretty busty, so I went with something tight.”

“My thanks for providing such a spectacle for a guy with no girlfriend,” I replied dryly.

“Ehh, it feels weird when you thank me so formally,” she pouted. “I was hoping you’d get a little more flustered.”

I deliberately avoided giving her the reaction she was looking for.

“Well, whatever,” she said, already moving on. “Can I take pictures of your house?”

“Pictures are fine, but don’t you dare post them on social media.”

“You know, there are already a bunch of photos of this place online. Since it’s such an old Western-style mansion, some sites treat it like a spiritual spot.”

“Can I sue them for that?”

A spiritual spot… so basically, a haunted house. How rude, talking about a person’s home like that.

“Alright, that’s enough pictures of the outside for now,” she declared.

“Well then, I’m coming in~”

“You really make yourself at home, don’t you, Maki?” I sighed, finally inviting her inside. I never thought I’d be letting a girl from my class into my house… This makes it two now.

“Ah, Keiji,” she said, stopping me. “You’re not planning to take me to the reception room, are you?”

“Huh? Isn’t that where you’re supposed to take guests?”

“I want to see how you really live, Keiji. A stuffy reception room is no fun~”

“You’re not even trying to hide your motives, are you?” I grumbled. “Fine, my room, then──”

“I’d prefer the living room.”

“…………”

I was going to let her in anyway, so I figured I’d lead her to my room, which is still mostly empty since I just moved in. Damn her, she saw right through me.

Reluctantly, I led Maki to the living room.

“Oh, so this is the living room of the old Kiyomiya Manor,” she mused, her eyes scanning the space. “It’s big. Big, but…” Maki immediately started looking around without a hint of restraint. “It’s a mess, isn’t it? Whoa, your school bag is just dumped on the floor.”

“What about it?” I challenged. Yes, my living room is messy. It’d be weirder if it was tidy, considering a high school boy lives here alone. “Going all the way upstairs is a hassle. When I get home, I just come in here to take a break.”

“Wow, how lazy,” Maki said, giving me an exasperated look.

The room wasn’t just cluttered with my school bag; portable game consoles and magazines were scattered about, and clothes I’d changed out of were draped over various chairs.

“Keiji, are you basically living in your living room?”

“I wasn’t expecting guests, especially not one who’d brazenly invite herself in here.”

“That’s what you get for letting your guard down,” she laughed cheerfully. It seemed my living space was exactly what she had expected—or perhaps hoped—to see. “But still,” she added, her tone softening, “I’m a little moved that I finally got to come to your house, Keiji.”

“What’s so moving about it? And you never said you wanted to come over.”

“Hey, even I’d be a little intimidated by the main Kiyomiya residence, you know.”

“I don’t remember ever intimidating you.”

“I’m not saying you’re scary,” she clarified. “You’re fine, Keiji. You’re frank and easy to talk to.”

“…Well, I am half-commoner, after all.”

“I don’t care about that at all,” she laughed, dismissing it with a wave. She seems serious. Maki really doesn’t care one bit about my mixed blood. “More importantly, Keiji,” she continued, “aren’t you going to serve your guest some tea?”

“My apologies for not being a proper host.”

“That’s what you say when a guest is leaving. Here, a souvenir,” she said, holding out a small box she’d been carrying. “I bet a guy living alone doesn’t have any sweets, right?”

I took the box from her, left the living room, and walked down the hall into the kitchen.

“Phew…”

“How did it go?”

“Whoa, you were here?” I jumped as Sayaka, in her full maid uniform, spoke from the side.

“I am not one for sneaking around. The fact that I am hiding my presence is already a significant compromise.”

“The fewer people who know the secret, the better, right?”

“I believe your friends are trustworthy, Kiyomiya-kun.”

“Hmm… I wonder how much I should trust someone who calls herself an ‘information broker.’ Maki isn’t a bad person, but she has a big mouth and can be pretty tactless.”

“So you’re two of a kind.” Sayaka added.

“…………”

Two of a kind… who’s she talking about?

“Ah, if we talk too long, Sogano-san might come looking,” Sayaka said, changing the subject. “I do not mind, but you wish to avoid that, do you not, Kiyomiya-kun? I shall do as my Master wishes.”

“I’m not your Master,” I muttered, placing the box from Maki on the kitchen table. “Anyway, this is… a cake, I think. Probably an opera cake and a rare cheesecake.”

“How do you know?”

“I know Maki’s preferences well enough. And she knows mine.” Opera is a type of chocolate cake. Maki prefers cakes that are slightly bitter rather than overly sweet ones.

With delicate movements, Sayaka carefully opened the box. “I see. It is indeed an opera cake and a rare cheesecake. And also a strawberry shortcake.”

“Hm?” I peered into the box. Sure enough, there was the dark-colored opera, the light brown cheesecake, and a shortcake topped with a large strawberry. “Why are there three?”

“Well,” Sayaka began, “perhaps one is for you to eat later, Kiyomiya-kun, or perhaps…?”

Maki’s flashy blonde hair makes people assume she’s an idiot, but she’s actually quite sharp. That’s how she manages to work as an information broker and get along with everyone in a school full of honor students, despite being such an oddball.

“Hey, Keiji,” Maki’s voice called out from the hallway. “I need to powder my nose. Where’s the bathroom?”

“………..!”

I spun around just as Maki stepped into the kitchen entryway.

“Ah, there you were. This mansion really is huge.”

“…Don’t just go wandering around someone else’s house,” I scolded.

In that split second, Sayaka had vanished. There was a pantry right next to the kitchen, a storage room for food and dishes, and she had probably slipped inside there.

“Maki, why are there three cakes?” I asked, trying to act casual.

“I told you I saw pictures of the old Kiyomiya manor online, right?” she explained. “There’s no way you’re living alone in a huge mansion like this. I figured you must have servants. But the cakes from that place are expensive, so three was my limit.”

“You’re pretty frugal for a rich girl…” Cheapskate. For a second, I was worried she knew about Sayaka, but it seems I was just overthinking it. “Ah, the bathroom, right.”

After I gave her directions, Maki left the kitchen and walked briskly down the hall.

Phew, that was close. If she found out I have a maid, even if it didn’t get around school… Maki would never let me live it down.

“Alright, you can come out now,” I said, opening the sliding door to the pantry. “It’s cramped in there, right? I’ll make the tea, so hurry back to your room──”

“………..!”

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me into the pantry. The sliding door slammed shut behind me with a bang.

“S-Sayaka?”

“I did not know much about Sogano-san before,” she whispered, her voice close in the darkness. “Only that she was a strange girl with flashy blonde hair.”

“W-Well, you’re not wrong about that.”

The pantry was so narrow that we couldn’t even pass each other. With two high school students squeezed inside, it was incredibly tight. Sayaka’s ample chest was pressed firmly against mine, and the momentum from being pulled in had caused my leg to hitch up her above-the-knee skirt, exposing her white thighs──

“Where are you looking?”

“I’m innocent! I’m not a pervert!”

“I did not call you a pervert. Are you thinking any wicked thoughts?”

“No,” I managed to say, my mind racing. This feels like being on a packed train, which is why that weird excuse just flew out of my mouth.

“Good,” she said softly. “By the way, that Maki-san says some rather nice things, does she not?”

“…Like what?”

“She said this large mansion needs servants, did she not? I wish she would say more things like that.”

“It doesn’t matter what Maki says. I’m not changing my mind.” Besides, I can’t think straight being this close to Sayaka.

“What a shame,” she sighed. “Oh, I shall prepare the tea. Do not worry, I will be careful not to be seen. If I am serious, I can easily evade the eyes of a mere information broker.”

“…Please do.”

Sayaka is smart, athletic, and incredibly perceptive. She’s far more than just an honor student. The thought that she could so easily outsmart Maki is actually a little scary.

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