Chapter 5: The Maid at School

At Sōshūkan Academy, tests were a near-constant presence, held almost every month. The school adhered to a traditional trimester system, which meant a total of five regular exams: two midterms, two finals, and a final year-end assessment. In the months without these regular evaluations, we had aptitude tests instead.

While the aptitude tests didn’t officially count toward our grades, the academy had a tradition of posting the results of all exams in the first-floor hallway for everyone to see. Only the top one hundred names made it onto the list. With about two hundred students in each grade, that meant only half of us earned a spot.

“Wouldn’t the top 50 be enough?” I muttered to myself, staring at the crowded board. “Posting names up to a hundredth place is just harassment.”

The aptitude test had been held right after the start of the new school year, and now, after classes had ended, a crowd of students had gathered to find their names and see how they ranked.

“Yo, Kiyomiya!” a voice called out from behind me.

“Fujikawa…”

I turned to see a tall male student with neatly styled brown hair. It was Fujikawa Koutarou, a classmate I’d known since elementary school. Then again, in a private school like ours where everyone moved up together, most of us had known each other for ages.

“Let’s see here… Kiyomiya Keiji, 100th place,” he announced with a smirk. “Haha, smack-dab in the middle again. How splendidly average.”

“Of course,” I replied with a nod. “I don’t want to deal with remedial classes, but I have no intention of studying my butt off to reach the top, either. It’s a perfect balance, wouldn’t you say?”

“Kiyomiya, are you deliberately aiming for the middle?”

“I just know my limits. No matter how hard I try, I’m middle-upper at best. So I aim for the middle of the road without overdoing it.”

“You know,” Fujikawa said, his eyes filled with exasperation, “it’d be more respectable if you actually tried your best and ended up at the bottom.”

While aptitude tests didn’t come with remedial classes, my philosophy on academics remained the same. I was well aware that most people thought I was just fooling around.

“Hahaha, well, I am a ‘Kiyomiya,’ after all. It’d be a pain if I got scolded, so I put in just enough effort.”

“Just enough? The Kiyomiya name is weeping. What are you grinning about, you piece of trash?”

Trash, huh… No matter what anyone said to me, I just kept grinning, exactly as Fujikawa pointed out.

“If you’re a Kiyomiya, you should at least make it into the top 50,” he continued, his tone dripping with condescension. “It’s not you who gets laughed at, it’s your father.”

“My father has already given up on his good-for-nothing son. As long as my grades aren’t at the very bottom, he doesn’t complain. So, I do what I want.” In truth, my father had never once scolded me about my performance at school.

“I landed 2nd place this time. Not to brag or anything,” Fujikawa declared, puffing out his chest.

He had the looks, the grades, and had been the ace of the basketball team since middle school. Naturally, his family background was just as impeccable, securing him a high position in the school’s social hierarchy. He was somewhat arrogant—no, quite arrogant—but that wasn’t exactly an unusual trait at this school.

“The Fujikawa family, if you go back far enough, is just a branch of the Kiyomiya line,” he said with a scoff. “Honestly, having someone like you as a direct descendant of the main family makes even me feel pathetic.”

“If you trace family lines that far back, most of the students here would be relatives. Don’t worry about it.”

It was true that the Fujikawa family had branched off from the Kiyomiya family ages ago. However, prestigious families often formed alliances through marriage or sent adopted children to other houses, connecting different clans long before they branched off. At Sōshūkan Academy, it wasn’t rare to find that students were distant relatives if you bothered to trace their bloodlines.

“Hmph. A distant branch family member like me is in 2nd place, while you, from the main family, are in 100th. What pathetic trash.”

“Hahaha.” Even when he insulted me so harshly, I just laughed it off. He wasn’t wrong about me being trash, anyway.

“What are you laughing at?” he snapped. “Come here, Kiyomiya. I’ll beat some backbone into you.”

“I’ve had enough of your basketball challenges. You made me play with you for thirty minutes last time.” I’d only ever played basketball in P.E. class, so I wasn’t even sure I knew all the rules. In other words, Fujikawa just wanted to push me around on his home turf.

“If you want to play, go find your friends.”

“Hey, hey, is 100th place defying 2nd place?”

“Do test rankings determine social status now? In that case, let’s decide by family lineage.”

“Don’t mess with me!” Fujikawa’s face twisted in anger. “Kiyomiya, don’t you have any shame?!”

“I’d rather be shameless than get dragged into some troublesome competition.”

“You bastard… For a Kiyomiya, you’re nothing but──”

“Kiyomiya-kun, what are you doing?”

“…”

A calm voice cut through the tension. Casually walking by was Hisaka Sayaka. Her eyes, framed by black-rimmed glasses, seemed sharper than usual.

“H-Hisaka…” Fujikawa stammered, slightly flustered. Even someone as thick-skinned as him couldn’t remain composed in front of her extraordinary beauty.

“Ah, the aptitude test results,” she said, her gaze landing on the list. “Kiyomiya-kun, 100th place… You should hurry up and rise to my level.”

“You want me to pass ninety-nine people?”

Sōshūkan Academy was filled with children from privileged families who, naturally, took their studies seriously. Many of them were gifted and worked hard on top of that. Overtaking them was next to impossible.

“Hisaka, don’t interrupt our conversation── actually, never mind Kiyomiya,” Fujikawa said, turning his attention to her. “Looks like I lost to you again this time.”

“Lost?”

“I hate to admit it, but I’m in 2nd place. Hisaka is 1st.”

“I see,” she replied coolly. “So that means I get to order you around, right?”

“Ugh…!”

Fujikawa flinched as if he’d been struck.

“Hey, Sayaka,” I interjected. “You were listening the whole time, weren’t you?” Asking “what are you doing?” with such an innocent expression when she knew exactly what was happening.

“Fujikawa, will you quietly back down?” she said, ignoring my question. “We have somewhere to be.”

“What…?”

“Let’s go, Kiyomiya-kun. Follow me.”

“Does 1st place get to order 100th place around, too?”

“If you ever manage to beat me, you can order me to do anything you want,” she declared. “And by the way, I never joke around”

A stir rippled through the onlookers, especially the male students. Hisaka Sayaka was renowned for her exceptional beauty, even among the many pretty girls at our school. The thought of being able to order her around was enough to make any boy’s heart race.

“Hey, Kiyomiya… don’t get too carried away,” Fujikawa muttered, his pride wounded.

“I’m not really doing anything, am I?” I replied before turning to follow Sayaka, who had already started to walk away. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but if it meant escaping Fujikawa, I was fine with anything.

 

Once we were out of the school building, Sayaka walked ahead while I trailed behind her.

“Sayaka, you were a lifesaver back there. That bastard Fujikawa has been picking on me for ages.”

“He really seems to dislike you, Kiyomiya-kun.”

“Fujikawa’s family may be well-off, but they’re still a rank below the Kiyomiya family. Not that I care about that sort of thing.”

“For some people, it’s important. Is he displeased because, despite being a Kiyomiya’s son, you hold an ambiguous position?”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” I admitted without hesitation. “After all, I’m what you’d call an ‘illegitimate child.’”

It was true. I was the only child of the head of the Kiyomiya family, but I was not the family heir. Some might call me a bastard or a love child, but none of those were pleasant terms, so they were rarely used in public. The simple fact was that my biological father and mother were never officially married. The reason was hardly a secret—my mother was a so-called “commoner,” and their social statuses didn’t align.

Even in this day and age, social barriers still seemed to exist. My father couldn’t get the Kiyomiya clan to approve his marriage to my mother. The most he could do was officially acknowledge the child that was born from their union. In the world of the upper class, stories like this were difficult to keep completely hidden. It was a well-known tale among the Kiyomiya clan, and from there, it spread to the branch families and their relatives. Now, any student attending Sōshūkan Academy knew my story.

“In the end, everyone loves a good scandal.”

“Gossip magazines sell well, and online articles about scandals get a lot of views, apparently,” Sayaka commented.

“What, so you’re quite knowledgeable about that too, Sayaka.”

She showed no surprise at my confession. As cool as she was, she couldn’t have maintained such a composed attitude if she had just learned the secret of my birth.

“I didn’t hear about it from school rumors,” she explained. “I’ve been taught the basics about the Kiyomiya family.”

“Right, that makes sense.” The fact that I was an illegitimate child of the Kiyomiya family wasn’t hard to uncover if one was motivated. For the daughter of a former Kiyomiya servant, not knowing would have been unnatural.

“It has nothing to do with me,” she stated. “From a commoner’s perspective, who your mother is doesn’t matter.”

“This might be the first time I’ve heard a commoner’s perspective.”

“Your mother was an ordinary person, right?”

“Apparently, she wasn’t rich or from a prominent family. Why? are you interested?”

“Not particularly,” Sayaka said flatly.

 

Even if she were interested, my mother had died before I was old enough to remember her, so I knew almost nothing about her.

“As I see it, Kiyomiya-kun, you’re just a rich, pampered, and lazy young master who’s never known a day of hardship.”

“Huh? I think I’d rather be ridiculed for being illegitimate.”

Could it be that Sayaka dislikes me? Being served by a maid who dislikes you… That might be a little exciting.

“You’re making a stupid face.”

“Huh!?”

“If you keep thinking stupid things, you’ll stay stupid. And you getting 100th place would be a problem for me.”

“…You said something like that earlier. Whether I get 100th or 200th place, what’s it to you?”

“It just is. That’s because── Ah, this place looks good.”

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Sayaka stopped and pointed at a building along the road. It was the supermarket closest to the old Kiyomiya manor.

“Wait, you were serious about having somewhere to go together?”

“It wasn’t just an excuse to get you away from him. Could you keep me company for a bit?”

“Yeah, sure.” So, she just wanted me to come shopping with her. If Sayaka was going to start her housekeeping duties in earnest, a trip to the supermarket was a necessary first step.

“Teijou Imai… a famous high-end supermarket.”

“It’s the only one close to our house. The others are a bit of a walk. You can buy ingredients at a convenience store, but for proper shopping, this is the place.”

The old Kiyomiya Manor was located in what you’d call a high-end residential area, which meant there were few shops catering to the general public.

“…”

“Hm? Sayaka, aren’t you going in?”

“Kiyomiya-kun, you go in first. If a commoner like me goes in first, I might get kicked out.”

“What kind of discriminatory supermarket do you think this is?!” They’d be immediately exposed on social media and torn to shreds.

“I haven’t been in this supermarket yet, either. Until today, I’ve done all my shopping at convenience stores.”

“So rich people shop at convenience stores too, huh?”

“That’s quite a prejudice. Even the kids at our school go to convenience stores, not to mention chain cafes and fast-food places.”

“If rich people only use cheap places, the economy would collapse── Wha!?”

Suddenly, Sayaka, who was standing behind me, grabbed my shoulder firmly.

“Wh-What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“You don’t have money? D-Don’t tell me you can’t afford to pay me… You tricked me!?”

“Wait, wait!” I yelped, noticing a refined-looking lady who was about to enter the supermarket glaring at us. “Don’t say things people can misunderstand! Of course I have enough money to hire servants. The maintenance costs for that huge mansion are covered by the Kiyomiya family. Paying for personnel is well within my budget.”

“Phew… For a second, I was worried I was being played with,” she said, finally releasing her grip. “You’d better pay me properly.”

“It’s the way you say it that’s the problem!” That lady from before was now taking out her smartphone. Was she reporting me!? “A-Anyway, let’s go, Sayaka!”

“Oh, right. We were going shopping.”

We walked side by side, passing the suspicious lady as we entered the store. We should be fine, right?

“I see, the inside isn’t much different from a regular supermarket,” Sayaka whispered. I wish she had whispered her earlier accusations, too.

She grabbed a shopping basket and headed for the aisles.

“Ah, I’ll carry that,” I said, snatching the basket from her. She’d probably insist on carrying it because she was a ‘maid,’ so I had to be a bit forceful.

“I always thought Teijou Imai stores were small, but this one is surprisingly spacious,” I remarked.

“Ah, I can see why you’d think that.” There was a Teijou Imai in the building near my family’s main residence, and I recalled it not being very big.

“The selection is good, and the products look high-quality. The prices are quite steep, though,” Sayaka noted.

“Rich people need to keep the economy moving, right? Well, I won’t be stingy about the cost of food. Not that I’m wasteful, either.”

“C-Can I buy whatever I want?”

“Huh? Oh, sure, go ahead.” It wasn’t like it was money I had earned myself, so I couldn’t act all high and mighty.

For some reason, Sayaka’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked at the products on display. At school, she always had the gaze of an ice queen…

“Kiyomiya-kun, do you prefer meat or fish?”

“Huh? Ah, umm… I don’t dislike either.”

“Then, let’s make both a meat and a fish dish.”

“W-Wait! T-Today I’m in the mood for meat!” This girl really didn’t know restraint. Making her cook two main dishes was too much to ask. Besides──

“Are you really going to cook for me, Sayaka?”

“This is just a demonstration for my potential employment, so I won’t be asking for payment.”

“That’s not the issue. It’s just, having a female classmate cook for me…”

“Think of it as my thanks for letting me stay with you. After you see how I work, you can decide on a salary.”

“We’ve already skipped past the hiring process and are negotiating your employment conditions!” If I wasn’t careful, she’d steer the entire conversation without my input.

“Meat, huh… This is all high-end meat I’ve never seen before,” she murmured, her eyes wide.

“It’s certainly expensive. At a regular supermarket, you’d probably find meat for a third of this price.”

“Well, it’s fine. I get to shop as much as I want in a store like this today, so it would be a waste not to enjoy it.”

“E-Enjoying it?” Was it really that fun for a high school girl to shop at a supermarket?

And so, I followed the obviously cheerful Sayaka as we took our time going around the store.

“S-So heavy…!” I grunted as we left, carrying two eco-bags stuffed to the brim with groceries.

“That’s why I told you I’d carry one, right?”

“N-No, I can’t let a girl carry this.”

Apparently, Sayaka always carried two foldable eco-bags with her. It seemed she had calculated the amount of groceries to buy so they would just barely fit inside them.

“I guess you could call this being a smart shopper…”

“Kiyomiya-kun, I’m a maid before I’m a girl.”

“Eh? Whoa!”

Sayaka grabbed one of the handles of the eco-bag in my left hand and lifted it with me. The load instantly became much easier to manage.

“This way, a boy’s pride isn’t hurt, right? Having such a considerate maid? What a bargain!”

“…I’ll take it into consideration.”

“Thank you,” she said coolly, a faint smile gracing her lips.

How rare, seeing Sayaka smile— or was I just imagining it?

“But still,” I started.

“What is it?”

“You know, the two of us shopping for groceries together like this… doesn’t it feel less like a master and a maid and more like a married couple?”

“…”

Sayaka stared at me intensely, and I could almost hear her unspoken words: ‘For someone like you to imagine being a couple with a beauty like me, you sure don’t know your place.’ I couldn’t help but feel that’s what she was thinking, though I’ll admit there was a good deal of paranoia mixed in.

“From now on, I’ll do the shopping by myself,” she declared. “Believe it or not, I’m skilled in both academics and sports. I can handle heavy bags with ease.”

“That’s right, you’re good at sports too.” I’d heard that Hisaka Sayaka not only topped our grade academically but had also outscored the athletic students on the physical fitness test. She could probably carry these eco-bags by herself without breaking a sweat.

“Being told we look like a married couple… it’s embarrassing, so don’t say such stupid things.”

“Hm…?” Just when I thought she was glaring at me again, I noticed her cheeks were flushed red, and she quickly looked away. Maybe she was surprisingly unaccustomed to talk about relationships.

“Let’s hurry home,” she said, her voice a little strained. “I have to do my best to cook a meal. I’ll feed you until you’re about to burst.”

“This isn’t just for one meal, is it!?”

Still holding onto the eco-bag handle, Sayaka quickened her pace. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to hide her embarrassment or if she was serious, but I could definitely expect a large portion for tonight’s dish.

Although— just being able to eat Hisaka Sayaka’s home cooking was enough to make me happy.

 

The truth is, I’ve been in love with Hisaka Sayaka for a while now.

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