Chapter 24: The Maid’s Hospitality

The next day, Hisaka Sayaka walked into the classroom and took her seat as if nothing had changed. With her usual cool expression, she completely ignored the world around her, determined, it seemed, to act as if she hadn’t broken down in tears right here in this very room.

“Hisaka really has some thick skin, don’t you think?”

“…When it comes to thick skin, I think you give her a run for her money, Fujikawa.”

For some reason, Fujikawa had planted himself in the seat directly in front of mine, twisted around to face me. A large, painful-looking piece of gauze was taped to his left cheek. I say painful-looking, but I’m the one who put it there.

“Hey, have you already forgotten what happened yesterday?” I asked. “Did getting punched so much knock your memory loose?”

“I only took one to the face,” he countered, a bitter smile on his lips. “Of course, I remember it clearly. A memory that happy, that humiliating… there’s no way I could forget. Kiyomiya, I swear I’ll kill you one day.”

“I don’t mind at all if you come to kill me.”

We exchanged superficial smiles, a sight that must have been incredibly creepy to anyone watching. After all, the entire class knew that Fujikawa used to treat me like trash, and I would just laugh it off.

“Fujikawa.”

“Whoa!”

Suddenly, Sayaka was standing beside my desk, her sharp gaze fixed on him. “Fujikawa, move. That’s my seat.”

“It’s not your seat either, Sayaka.” He was right; the seat belonged to a boy named Shimazaki.

“Hmph, how chummy. A commoner and a half-commoner piece of scum,” Fujikawa spat hatefully as he stood up. “Still, Hisaka, my group would welcome you. We can’t make you an official member, of course, but how about you work for us in a maid outfit? Hahaha.”

“Being your maid is out of the question,” Sayaka replied, and then, in a rare display, she offered him a sweet, almost angelic smile.

 

“I am Kiyomi—Keiji-kun’s maid.”

 

“…Haha. Hisaka, you could never become a maid for the Kiyomiya family,” Fujikawa scoffed, though he seemed a bit thrown off. “The heir may be like this, but the Kiyomiya are a prestigious family on par with the Toyohara and Maritsuji.”

“I’m well aware,” she answered, her smile never wavering. Intimidated, Fujikawa finally turned and walked away.

“H-Hey, that was a dangerous thing to say,” I whispered once he was gone.

“He wouldn’t think it’s actually true.”

Sayaka, are you enjoying this a little?

“But still,” she mused, her smile fading, “it seems I’m not even worthy of being a Kiyomiya maid.”

“W-Well… I wonder about that.”

It was true that prestigious families often employed maids, and many were particular about their servants’ backgrounds. Some still had “servant families” who had served their house for generations, and if not, they typically hired relatives. It was rare to bring in a complete stranger.

I wonder if I should reveal that Sayaka is the daughter of a former Kiyomiya servant.

“You’re right, that doesn’t matter,” I said, changing the subject. “You’ve officially made an enemy of that pervert—I mean, Fujikawa. What will you do?”

“Making an enemy of Fujikawa himself isn’t actually a huge problem.” In the buzzing classroom, I was pretty sure I’d just said something that would be game over if anyone else heard. “The problem is that I came out as not being the person I was before. At this rate, I won’t be able to make it at Sōshūkan…”

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. If I didn’t want to get hammered, I needed a backbone strong enough to make anyone wielding a hammer flinch. The influence of the Kiyomiya family name wasn’t insignificant, but it was a well-known fact that I wasn’t officially recognized as the heir, so I couldn’t rely on it.

“Fujikawa will likely retaliate,” Sayaka noted. “How foolish, even after his group of five got beaten up.”

“Beating him up doesn’t mean much,” I said firmly. “Neither of us can speak about a violent incident like that. If the school found out, I’d be punished, and for them, it’s just an embarrassing story. If I’m going to take Fujikawa down, I have to do it openly, not with violence in the shadows.”

“At school, there are plenty of chances to compete, with tests and events.”

“Exactly. And to do that, I need more allies.” Tests were an individual battle, but school-wide events—like the sports festival or cultural festival—were opportunities I couldn’t miss if they gave me a chance to get one over on Fujikawa and his cronies. I had to be prepared for whenever that time came.

“I am your ally, Keiji-kun,” Sayaka declared softly.

“Yes, and the presence of Hisaka Sayaka is significant.” There was no doubt about that. She was an honor student who had maintained the top rank at Sōshūkan Academy for a year, and its only scholarship student. Even after having that status forcibly revoked, she remained, paying the not-so-cheap tuition fees. Having her by my side would surely act as a deterrent against the lesser bullies. “However, I need more numbers. Maritsuji is neither an enemy nor an ally.”

“She seems to be an enemy to me.”

So, the tense relationship between Sayaka and Maritsuji Anri continued. I had a feeling I was going to get caught in the middle and get burned.

“In that case, the current Kiyomiya group is just me, Sayaka, and Maki… the three of us.”

“I’m being dragged into this too!?” a sudden voice shrieked. Maki, who had apparently been eavesdropping, strode over to my desk.

“Maki, how much did you hear?” I asked.

“Something about a maid, the Kiyomiya group… You guys mumble too much. You’re young, speak up more.”

“Don’t act so high and mighty after eavesdropping,” I shot back. “Anyway, Maki. Are you free after school today?”

“Hmm, my date plans… I wonder?” she teased.

“There is no way you have a boyfriend, Maki.”

“Did you stop being scum just to become tactless!?” Maki slammed her hand down on my desk.

“Even if you have a date, cancel it. Come to my house after school.”

“You were so reluctant before, and now you’re inviting me over?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course. I’m still a Kiyomiya. I’ll be sure to entertain my guests properly.”

“Alright, fine,” she conceded with a nod. “I’ll look forward to your hospitality.” With that, she turned and walked away.

“Sayaka,” I said quietly. She leaned in, bringing her ear close to my mouth. “You heard her. We have a guest today.”

“Understood.” As expected of an honor student, she immediately grasped my intent. A maid, after all, cannot do her job if she cannot read her master’s mind.

 

“Welcome, Sogano Maki-sama.”

“…Keiji, what is this?” Maki stood dumbfounded in the entrance hall of the Kiyomiya Family’s Old Manor, staring at Sayaka, who had greeted her in a perfect maid’s uniform. Of course, she was surprised.

“Ah, Sayaka. You don’t need to use such excessive honorifics with my friends. Especially not with this one. You can just call her by her name.”

“Hmph. You may be at ease, Maki,” Sayaka said, a playful haughtiness in her tone.

“You sound like a feudal lord, Hisaka-san!”

“I’m kidding, Maki-san,” Sayaka laughed, her demeanor softening. “Let me introduce myself again. I am Hisaka Sayaka, a maid serving Keiji-kun at the Kiyomiya Family’s Old Manor.” She gracefully pinched the fabric of her above-the-knee skirt and gave a small, practiced bow. She was getting quite good at that.

“The drawing room should be fine for today. Sayaka, please bring us some tea.”

“As you wish.”

“…You’ve trained her well,” Maki murmured, watching Sayaka head toward the kitchen with a complicated expression. I suppose that’s the face anyone would make upon discovering their classmate working as a maid. “Could it be, she was here when I came over before? I thought I smelled a woman’s presence.”

“Smelled? Is your nose that good?”

“The ‘smell’ is a figure of speech,” she clarified. “It’s just that, for someone living alone, the place was too tidy. I felt a woman’s touch in the way it was cleaned.”

“……”

Not only were her communication skills top-notch, but her intuition was terrifyingly sharp. I had tried to fake living alone by messing up the living room, but my clumsy attempt had probably just made her more suspicious. Either way, hiding Sayaka’s existence from this girl would have been impossible.

We moved to the drawing room and sat on opposite sofas across a low table.

“I was surprised enough that you left the Kiyomiya main residence to move into this huge old mansion,” Maki began. “But to think you’d hired a beautiful girl as a maid… Keiji, who do you think you are?”

“You’d already investigated my move, hadn’t you? Did you not know I hired a maid?”

“There’s no way I’d know that unless I planted a surveillance camera,” she said smoothly, then her tone shifted to something deceptively sweet. “Oh, Keiji-san, may I borrow your restroom?”

“What’s with that lady-like tone! Are you planning to plant a camera!”

“Tch, you figured me out.” Maki started to get up, then sank back into the sofa. “This mansion seems like a place where amusing things happen every day… planting cameras or mics is a matter of pride as an info broker.”

“We do have a security system, you know?” If we found any devices, I would seriously press charges, even against a classmate.

“But still, this is a big deal,” she said, her expression turning serious. “Having a classmate as a maid. Are you sure it’s okay to tell me this? In a way, I’m the last person you should be telling, right?”

“You’re my friend before you’re an info broker,” I declared firmly. “We haven’t known each other for just a day or two.” Maki was a girl shrouded in mystery, but I knew her character. She would never do anything to intentionally disadvantage her friends.

“Keiji, you know…”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for waiting, Keiji-san, Maki-san.”

Just as Maki was about to say something important, Sayaka entered the drawing room carrying tea.

“Oh, was I interrupting?” Sayaka asked.

“No, it’s fine. It’s tea time. I was thirsty,” Maki said, though her expression told a different story. It seemed she’d swallowed whatever words she was about to say. “Huh, Hisaka-san. Are there only two cups and cakes?”

“I am a maid. I will have mine later,” Sayaka replied primly.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I want to drink tea while gazing at a beautiful maid.”

“The guest has spoken,” I instructed. “Sayaka, please sit.”

“Honestly, this gyaru…” Sayaka muttered under her breath before gracefully taking a seat next to me. Having a beautiful maid sitting beside me felt… surprisingly intense.

“For now, let’s talk about the events of the last few days,” I began. “Sayaka, is it alright if I talk about your situation too?”

“Go ahead. If you trust her, then I will trust her too?”

“Wasn’t that a question just now?” Maki quipped.

“You’re imagining things, Maki-san,” Sayaka retorted, having completely switched back to her sharp classroom tone. This girl changed her way of speaking so fluidly.

“Come to think of it, you’re calling me by my first name now, Hisaka-san.”

“Ah, my apologies. It’s because Keiji-kun is always saying ‘Maki, Maki,’ like you’re his woman or something.”

“You make it sound bad to casually call a friend by her name…” I grumbled. Even as a maid, she still took these little jabs at me.

“Yeah, you can just call me Maki,” Maki laughed.

“Thank you, Maki-san. In return, you can call me Sayaka-sama.”

“So, Sa-chan,” Maki said, completely ignoring her, “are you for real serving Keiji?”

“I am for real serving Keiji-kun,” Sayaka confirmed. “Not as cosplay or at a maid cafe, but as a genuine maid.”

Am I watching some kind of probing battle between girls?

“A genuine maid, huh…” Maki mused. “Even in upper-class families, ‘professional’ ones are rare these days. There aren’t many live-in maids anymore, are there?”

“Maki, you’re knowledgeable about the circumstances of upper-class families. There was a professional maid with the school chairman.”

“Ah… Kino, you mean,” Maki’s eyes sharpened. “She ended up working for Toyohara, who used to be her enemy.”

“What, you know Kino-san, Maki?”

“Of course, I’m an info broker. I also know very well how scary Toyohara is.”

“It’s surprising you know so much about Toyohara,” I warned. “Be careful not to stick your hand in a dangerous hornet’s nest…” Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

“Well, because it’s you, I feel I can tell you our situation,” I continued, deciding to trust her completely. “You know the value of information better than anyone. Precisely because it’s important, you won’t go blabbing about it, right?” There was always the risk she could sell the information, but I trusted Maki to handle it with care. Besides, getting an info broker on our side was worth a few risks.

“Then, let me tell you our story. Though I feel like showing you this mansion has already revealed most of it.”

I explained everything: the revocation of Sayaka’s scholarship, my decision to hire her as a maid, our conflict with Fujikawa, and our subsequent decision to enter the school’s factional strife.

“Hmm, a faction war at Sōshūkan, huh?” Maki said after I finished. “To be frank, it’s hell, you know?”

“Eh, is that so? It doesn’t feel like anyone is maneuvering in the shadows.”

“It doesn’t happen in the open. There were rumors that there was a scramble for Sa-chan behind the scenes.”

“For me?” Sayaka looked bewildered.

“Well, you are the top student in our year. In fact, more than one or two people approached the school about paying for Sa-chan’s tuition.”

“What…!?” I exclaimed. “Wait, is that story for real!” That was a little—no, quite surprising. While many students at Sōshūkan could probably dish out a million yen without relying on their parents, it was by no means a small amount. They wouldn’t offer to pay it without a very good reason.

“There are people who want to get their hands on Sayaka that badly…”

“And she’s beautiful, to boot,” Maki added. “If they could get Sa-chan on their side, they’d gladly pay her tuition.”

“Trying to buy a person with money,” Sayaka sniffed. “What unbelievably arrogant people.”

“……”

Is this maid dissing me without realizing it?

“So,” Maki continued, “if Keiji and Sa-chan form a group, the impact on the school might be bigger than you think. ‘Sōshūkan in major shock!’ It might turn into something like that, don’t you think?”

“And if the info broker Maki joins, it’ll be even more so…” I prompted.

“I haven’t said I’ll join yet, you know?”

Oh yes, you will. I’m not letting you get away now. Not after telling you this much.

“To protect my and Sayaka’s safety along with our school life, we can’t always be on the defensive,” I argued. “Suppressing the other groups will lead to our own safety, right?”

“You have a surprisingly aggressive way of thinking, Keiji. Not that I dislike it,” Maki hummed, stroking her cheek thoughtfully. “It certainly sounds interesting… and I was feeling the limits of working alone, too… Hmm, with the Kiyomiya name and Hisaka Sayaka’s abilities… I see…”

“……”

She was clearly making some shrewd calculations in her head, but the conclusion was obvious. Background aside, I knew Maki well.

“Alright, Keiji, Sa-chan,” she finally declared. “I’m in.”

“As expected of Maki, you’re quick on the uptake.”

“However,” she added, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she stood up, “there’s a condition, of course.”

She gestured around the spacious room. “This mansion is huge, isn’t it?”

“Huh? What is it now?”

“Give me one of the rooms here,” she announced. “Starting today, I’m living here too!”

“Huh!?”