Chapter 75: Volume 10 - CH 1

Today is the 21st of November. It still feels like the middle of fall…or so I’d like to think, but the seasons pass awfully quickly. Even though the sky was clear, once night rolled around, it became awfully cold. A rampant cold assaulted the city.

Winter—that’s the name of the season currently approaching us. And on the 21st of November, I felt the cold air make my skin feel numb. At the same time, it was a special day for her—Usami Masamune. Back in September, a calamity caused the Sakamachi Family house to burn down, which is why I had lost a place to stay. Thankfully, she offered to let me live in her apartment for the time being.

She’s a fierceful girl that had the fitting twintails to back it up. And, she’s somewhat of a nasty rabbit. When I first met her, she gave off a thorny atmosphere that wouldn’t let anybody approach her, and that’s around the time I called her that. And today, the 21st of November, is her birthday; the birthday when Usami Masamune turns 17. And today is another special day, as she mustered up her courage to confess to me—Sakamachi Kinjirou.

“Masamune, I’m coming in.”

Right now, it was around 7pm in the evening. I knocked on her room’s door, and slowly opened it.

“You alright?” I asked, to which a faint “M-Mmm…” came back from the bed.

On her forehead, she had a cooling patch typically used for colds. Getting a closer look at her, she had reddened cheeks as well. This happened after the confession at dawn. Masamune suddenly collapsed. At first, I thought it was simply out of embarrassment because of her confession, but it clearly wasn’t some romcom kind of development, and she actually had collapsed because of a cold.

Yeah, the nights sure had gotten cold lately, but it wasn’t that drastic of a change. The season had already progressed towards winter. And, with the seasons changing, it was quite easy for people to suffer from a cold like this.

“…Sorry about this, stupid chicken.”

“No need to apologize. If anything, I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t even realize.”

Masamune gave me an awkward apology, as she covered herself with the blanket. Maybe it was because of her cold, but her nasty rabbit attitude had wandered off elsewhere. Instead, she simply looked up at me with a worried expression. She’s as docile as the rabbits in the rabbit cafe.

“……”

Ahh, right. We went on a date today. Not to mention a double date of all dates. The members consisted of Masamune and me as one couple, as well as Konoe and Suzutsuki as the other. I really don’t want to dive into the details as to why this mess even happened, but we basically walked around the town in groups of two. But…

“For today, just get some good rest, okay.”

I may have wanted to forget all of that, as I spoke up to Masamune. After that confession incident, I carried her back to her apartment. According to her, she’s been feeling off the entire morning. She could have cancelled the date as well, but she instead decided to act fine. I don’t blame her, she was clearly looking forward to the date.

Going on a date in town might be something normal for a high school student, but Masamune is different. She was never able to put trust in others. Having been raised in a somewhat peculiar family environment, she ended up distrustful towards others. Naturally, that resulted in her having zero friends. Until she met us, she never had anybody even close enough to call a friend. That’s why…I bet she must have been looking forward to it. Going on a date with all of us, that is.

As a result of that, she kept her bad health hidden. Well, she probably didn’t expect herself to end up bedridden either.

“Has your fever gone down?”

“Yeah, it’s 38.3°C.”

“That’s still pretty damn high!”

“Ahaha…I’m feeling a bit sluggish as well, but to think it’d end up this messed up…” She said, and showed a weak smile.

…Dang it, forcing herself again. If today wasn’t a Sunday, I would have definitely taken her to the hospital. Oh yeah, she would probably say no because it would be a waste of money.

“More importantly…what is this?”

“Eh? You can’t tell? It’s rice porridge.” I told her, and revealed a small pot beneath the larger lid.

Inside of it was rice porridge, the average sick person’s delicacy.

“You made that?”

“Yeah…or so I’d like to stay, but it’s the instant type. I bought it at a nearby convenience store.”

It pains me to admit it, but I most definitely suck at cooking. After all, Masamune or my little sister Kureha take care of it. So, I had no other choice but to rely on the nearby convenience store.

“But, it’s at least better than having my homemade version, right?”

“Probably. Her cooking was awful as well.”

“Her?”

“Your sister. Sheesh, to think you’d let her take care of the Sakamachi Family’s cooking.”

“Not like it wasn’t edible.”

“Her choice in ingredients was weird to say the least! Why is it always red stuff every single time…!” Masamune screamed, only to cough violently.

Not good, I can’t have her retort to stuff like normal. When I was down with a cold, and forced to retort all the time, I remember my body not handling that very well. Well, not like I was actually being nursed back to health back then.

“That reminds me.” For now, I decided to change the topic. “This is the first time I actually entered your room, right?”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah. We’ve been living together for a month now, but I never really had any reason to.”

“I…I see. Now I’m feeling a bit nervous. It might be a bit messy, but don’t worry about it.”

“………” I couldn’t help but grow silent.

Rather than being messy, there was a much bigger problem with this room. I faintly looked around…and only saw rabbits. Or rather, rabbit goods everywhere. The most prominent object in this entire room must be the rabbit plush toys. It looked like a shrine built out of rabbit plush toys, filling the entire room. Then, the bed sheets, the pillow, pens, posters, even drawings and pictures, the place was filled to the brim with rabbit goods. It’s like a rabbit paradise of sorts.

“Cute, right? Makes it seem so lively.”

“Rather than lively, everything just feels off…”

“What do you mean by that!?”

“Well…”

Simply looking at this room, it is cute for sure. However, seeing such a mass of rabbits is more eerie than anything. Rather than Biohazard, it’s more like Rabbithazard. I feel like I’m surrounded by a flock of zombies.

“Still, gathering all of this must have been pretty tough, right?”

“It was a lot of work for sure. Since I don’t have any money, I had to get a lot of this stuff for free, or online during auctions.”

“Why are you working that hard for it…”

“Also, I got a lot of these from the vice prez.”

“Oh yeah, Schrö-senpai’s family is a toy manufacturer, right.”

Of course, with Schrö-senpai, I’m talking about the megane junkie Nakuru’s older sister, Narumi Schrödinger. Her family is known for having created the Silent Sheep, but they’re also focusing on some more…orthodox goods. At the very least, I didn’t see any dangerous rabbit goods in there.

“Also, you’ve got a pretty feminine interest, huh.”

“What…they’re cute, so what does it matter?”

She seemed to have been embarrassed about having her interests called feminine, as she pouted like a young child, visibly sulking. Well, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have feminine tastes. Even though she’s a girl like my own little sister, she’s entirely different from her. Oh yeah, Kureha’s room was full of messy plush toys, which she used as punching bags for her wrestling moves.

“S-So, since you finished what you wanted, maybe you should get out now? I don’t want you to catch my cold.”

“No need to worry about that. My body is built so that I rarely catch any colds.”

“What kind of body do you have!?”

“I’ve been trained to overcome most status ailments, so to speak.”

Then again, I did catch a cold during last Golden Week, but that was mostly related to me doing all-nighters and generally being exhausted. That’s why, this is no problem.

“So, let me take care of you.”

“Eh? Take care of…Are you going to make me take off my clothes so that you can wipe off my sweat…”

“No.”

“T-Then…are you going to use onions to…No! How messed up of a person can you be!?”

“You’re the one getting weird ideas, so I’m clearly not as messed up as you!”

Her fantasies are all over the place again. It’s like her head is a pink mess. Maybe that’s only worse now because of her fever. Still, taking care of her while she’s sick…Thinking about it, I don’t have much experience with that. Both Mom and Kureha never were sick. The only weak guy in our family was Dad, and I wasn’t at an age where I could actively take care of him. Talking about nursing someone back to health reminds me of what happened during Golden Week, with Konoe taking care of me…

“……”

…Not good. Now I’m suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“What’s wrong?”

It must have shown on my face, because Masamune showed me a dubious gaze. Seeing her, I spoke up with a quivering voice.

“…Should I feed you?”

“——!” Masamune audibly swallowed her breath, and closely inspected the rice porridge I was carrying.

“D…D…Don’t be ridiculous! Why would I have to be fed by you!?”

“Y-You don’t have to get so angry, alright.”

“I-I-I’m not angry! I’m totally calm! I couldn’t care less about any of this! “

“…Alright, if you’re against it, I won’t…”

“Ah…”

I put down the rice porridge on the table, about to leave the room, when Masamune frantically stopped me with a ‘W-Wait!’. Turning around, she had pushed up half of her body, looking at me with a bashful expression.

“T-That reminds me…during today’s date, I fed you some omurice, right?”

“Yeah, that did happen…”

Today at the rabbit cafe, she forcefully fed me the omurice I ordered…Though, was it really that kind of action? I feel like she rather stuffed my mouth full with it instead.

“That’s why, to make up for that, maybe you should be feeding me now. But…”

“But?”

“Well…I was never nursed back to health by anybody, so I’m a bit embarrassed…” She fidgeted with her fingers, explaining with a voice that sounded like it was about to disappear.

…Ahh, I see. Considering her family environment, I can see why she wouldn’t have much experience with that. But…

“——”

Isn’t that just far too depressing? Normally, you would be thankful to have someone with you when you’re sick. That’s why…

“—Come on.”

I slowly scooped up some rice porridge with the spoon I brought with me, and carefully pushed it towards her.

“If you don’t hurry up and eat it, it’ll get cold.”

“Y-Yeah…Um, stupid chicken…”

“What?”

“Well…uh…Thank you.” She bashfully said, her face beet red.

“…It’s fine, so just eat up.”

“Ah, don’t suddenly…Mhm, hoff.”

“Ah, sorry, was that too hot? I’ll blow on it next time.”

“You…you don’t have to do that! Also, I’m shocked you can do something so embarrassing this easily!”

“Really? I did this a lot for Kureha.”

“…For Sakamachi? What? Were you that close?”

“Hell no.”

“Feeding her even though you aren’t close at all…Don’t tell me, were you doing some weird roleplay where you tie her up, and go ‘Now, Kureha, eat up’…!?”

“Maybe you really should go to the hospital, huh!”

No matter how I look at it, this definitely is a bad fever. Or, do I look like the kind of guy who would do that kind of thing to his little sister?

“I mean, she likes wrestling moves and all that, remember? Because of that, she’s always hurt her arms, and was unable to properly eat food.”

“………I know it sounds weird coming from me, but your family environment is pretty twisted…” Masamune held her head in disbelief.

Is she okay? She might just need medicine against a headache rather than the cold.

“But, she’s called you [Onii-chan] despite that, right?”

“Yeah. She’s kept that until she enrolled at high school.”

“…Hmmm.” Masamune chomped on the rice porridge, and showed a somewhat jealous reaction. “How nice…”

“…Masamune. Let’s go to the hospital after all.”

“Why!?”

“I think we really should get your head checked out. While we’re there, let’s get you a CT scan—”

“Can you stop indirectly insulting me!? Why would you even think about that?!”

“I mean, you’re definitely off, right now. Why would you be jealous about something like that?”

“W-What’s the big problem? Since I’m an only-child, I always wanted a younger sibling.”

“Wanted…”

“Just once, I wanted somebody to say ‘Onee-chan, let’s play together~’, okay.”

“………”

Let me think about that. If Kureha said ‘Nii-san, let’s play together~’…yeah, I would run away. Until the end of the world, even. Those words are like a declaration of death for me. It’s like you heard a loud gong above you, declaring the beginning of the match.

“Well, leaving that aside, we really should take you to a hospital tomorrow.”

“Urk…do I really have to?”

After she finished eating the rice porridge, Masamune showed a painful expression.

“Do you not want to pay money that badly?”

“T-That’s one thing, but…”

“…Do you hate needles?”

“O-O-O-Of course not!? Why would I be afraid of that!?”

“Nobody said anything about you being scared…”

“~~~! I mean, they stab them right into your arm right…Seeing that, and feeling the pain is just…”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

I feel like Kureha said something similar before. When I argued that ‘No no! You’re much more terrifying than any needle!’, she countered with ‘Nii-san, you dummy!’, and slammed me into the ground with a pile driver move. See, she’s way scarier than some needles.

“Mm…”

There, as I was reminiscing in my flashback, Masamune suddenly started shaking ever so slightly. Maybe she’s cold?

“You alright? Did your fever go up?”

“…Yeah, might have. I’m feeling a bit cold now.”

“Alright, just wait a second, I’ll get another blanket—” I tried to stand up, but Masamune immediately denied that with a fierce ‘N-No!’.

“Hm? You don’t have to worry about me, another blanket isn’t that big of a deal.”

If anything, that’s more than enough for a bed. At least compared to living on the balcony. I feel like I built up some resistance to the cold now. If I continued living like that, I might have turned into a Yeti.

“B-But, using the blanket you were using…that’s a bit too embarrassing…and I don’t think I can sleep like that…” She started mumbling towards the end, making it hard for me to understand her, as she blushed furiously.

Hmmm, what to do about this…

“…Stupid chicken.” Masamune called out my name, almost like she was afraid. “You just said that you rarely catch a cold, right?”

“Huh? Yeah. As long as I’m not particularly exhausted, I don’t think I would catch your cold.”

“……”

For some reason, Masamune grew silent, and started thinking. And then, the silence dispersed.

“Then, let’s do it like this.” She seemed a bit hesitant, as she beckoned me over.

“……?” I tilted my head, and sat down next to her on the bed.

With my back to her—

“…!? H-Hey!” I subconsciously screamed.

As expected, I might add. After all, Masamune suddenly embraced me from behind.

“…Um, Masamune-san?”

“W-What, huh!? Do you have a problem with this!?”

“No, rather than that…”

I was still confused as to what she was even doing.

“Don’t give me such a dubious face. Your job is…to be a hot-water bottle.”

“…A hot-water bottle?”

“I mean, that’s how you warm up your bodies if you end up stranded in the mountains, right? And since you don’t catch a cold, there’s no problem.”

“N-No problem…!?”

I mean, I get where she’s coming from, but that method is all over the place. Remember? I have gynophobia, because I was constantly used as a punching bag by Mom and my little sister for more than ten years, so any kind of physical contact with a girl gives me a nosebleed, and eventually makes me pass out. Of course, Masamune should know about that, but…

“Also, this is a treatment for your gynophobia. With this, you’ll get used to being close to a girl, right?”

“Y-You might be right about that, but…”

Why is there any need to do a treatment right now, right this moment. If anything, we should focus on her recovering quickly. Now you don’t even know who the sick person is.

“…Or, do you not want this?” She asked, sounding anxious. “If you don’t want me doing this, I’ll stop right away…”

“……”

“…Stupid chicken?”

“…Alright. I get it already, so don’t give me such a teary voice.”

“Wha…I wasn’t teary or anything! Definitely not!”

“Yeah yeah, then stop screaming. Your fever will get worse again.”

“Urk…Stupid…stupid chicken…” Masamune grit her teeth, as she clung to me even stronger, like she sought out more body warmth of mine.

“Ugh!?”

“Ah…stupid chicken? Are you…okay?”

“…Y-Yeah, somewhat…” I responded, but my head was already feeling dizzy, with a cold sweat running down my forehead.

Waahhh…I feel like I’ve gotten used to girls a lot more over this half of a year, but this still is pretty tough. I’m trying really hard to not get a nosebleed right now.

“W-Well, I’m still fine, so don’t worry about me.”

“………Okay, thanks.” She sounded relieved, as she gave me her thanks.

…Yeah, over this past month, we’ve been living together. We’re basically like a family now. That’s why, I want to give the best I can.

“…Mm.” With a faint breath, Masamune gently hugged my body.

You are reading story Mayo Chiki! at novel35.com

On my back, I felt her warmth, as well as the beat of her heart. Then, silence followed. We both just stayed quiet, but I don’t know how much time passed. Finally—

“—Hey, stupid chicken.” Masamune still hugged me, and spoke up. “I really like you.”

Ba-dump, my heart shook. I completely forgot about my gynophobia for a moment. She must have been nervous, as her heart started racing faster…Yeah, that’s right. Today, Masamune confessed to me.

‘I—want to become your real family!’

Amidst the orange-colored scenery, that’s what she said with a quivering voice. And then, she kissed me. She called it her birthday present, asking for the one thing she wanted from me the most.

“………”

I couldn’t say anything. My consciousness felt like it was spinning. Maybe it’s because of my gynophobia, but it felt like there was something else. What should I do? How should I respond to her confession…

“…It’s fine.”

However, these words pulled me out of my thoughts.

“…It’s not like I want to hear your answer right now.”

“……”

“Well…how do I say this. I’m sure that this must have come out of nowhere, and I wouldn’t want to hear your response immediately…That’s why, just like I did, I want you to properly think about your feelings…and then give me your answer.”

“…Masamune.”

When I called out her name, the warm sensation on my back disappeared. In a daze, I touched my face, but there were no traces of any nosebleed. It seems like I barely managed to hold it in. That’s something unbelievable on my end. Being fine after feeling a girl’s touch like that, the me half a year ago would have never imagined something like that.

Time flows, and just as the season is turning to winter, a long time has passed since the treatment for my gynophobia began. And just like that, our relationships begin to change. This noisy and chaotic daily life is something I had thought would continue forever. And yet…

“Stupid chicken.” Masamune called out to me, pulling me back to reality.

I slowly stood up, and turned around, to which I found Masamune giving me a serious expression.

“There’s one request I have of you…Can I?”

“A request…?”

“Yeah. The thing is…it’s about Suzutsuki Kanade. Could you maybe check up on her?” She said, sounding anxious. “You remember, right? What I said to her at the cafe.”

“…Yeah.”

How could I forget about that? After all, that was the first time I’ve ever seen Suzutsuki like that, since we became partners in crime back in April.

‘You and I are the same.’

That’s what Masamune said at the rabbit cafe. Basically, she was saying that Suzutsuki is unable to put trust in others. Before, Masamune had been a lone wolf, not getting too close to anybody, not approaching anybody. And she said that she and Suzutsuki are the same. At school, Suzutsuki acts like the perfect honor student. That is because she can’t put trust in others like Masamune. What they’re doing is the opposite, but deep down it’s the same. That’s why Masamune said the following to Suzutsuki.

‘But…that’s exactly why I wanted us to be friends…because I want to save you! I want you to be with me, who always was alone at school!’

“…Honestly speaking, I regret it.” Masamune spoke like she was confessing her sins. “I clearly said too much. I didn’t have to be that forceful.”

“……”

“But, how do I say this…Looking at Suzutsuki Kanade, I just couldn’t leave things the way they were…So everything I kept inside of me, I just let it all out…”

“……”

“Not to mention…she’s been acting weird as of late. Like she’s desperately trying to act normal…but on the inside, she must have been panicking. She seemed so insatiable…That’s why I just…”

“……”

Masamune tried to explain herself with a wimpy voice. Ahh, I see. She probably couldn’t keep watching Suzutsuki like that. It’s almost like she saw herself in Suzutsuki, I bet. That’s why she said something like that to her.

“—Don’t worry.” I wanted to give her some piece of mind, which is why I calmly spoke up. “I’m going over there right now, checking up on her.”

She lived right next to us, together with her butler Konoe. During the date, Suzutsuki practically ran away, but I bet she must have returned now. That’s why…I need to do what I can. I’m partially to blame why things ended up this way. At the very least, the distance between me and Suzutsuki—as well as Konoe—seems so distant compared to before. It’s all because of my confession. Just like Masamune did towards me, I confessed to Konoe. I was rejected without any room to argue, which is why I was depressed for a short period of time, but now I’m reaping what I sowed. It even influenced the relationship we had.

“………”

Oh yeah, what about Konoe? Because Masamune collapsed on that stop, everything turned messy, but just like I took Masamune with me to our apartment, she should have gone back to her room. Suzutsuki Kanade and Konoe Subaru are master and butler. They aren’t on bad terms, but Suzutsuki said to ‘Leave me alone’, so I just hope nothing bad happened.

“……”

And then, there’s one more thing that happened because of that incident with Masamune. It was related to my relationship with Konoe…

“Sorry. I know I should be the one to go, but…”

“No, you’re sick, so you stay here.” I said, and headed for the door.

Having Masamune act while she’s sick is one thing, and I don’t think that Suzutsuki will even meet her. That’s why I have to go.

“…Stupid chicken.”

Right as I put my hand on the door knob, Masamune stopped me.

“What?” I turned around, but Masamune shook her head with a ‘…No, it’s nothing’, and laid back down again.

Seeing that, I carefully opened the door.

×

Best friends—that is my current relationship with Konoe Subaru. During summer break, we went on a trip, and Konoe said that she wanted to become best friends with me. Ever since then, our relationship has been great. However, at the amusement park…That’s when I confessed to her. I was foolish to say the least. I ruined the relationship we had, and we felt more distant than before, creating an awkward atmosphere.

On top of that, she even said that she started dating Suzutsuki, last month to be precise, which led to Masamune announcing that the two of us are dating. That’s why we went on the double date, but…

“——”

Remembering all of that, I grit my teeth. I now stood in the hallway of our flat, in front of the apartment that Konoe and Suzutsuki were using. I simply stood in front of it, my head full with bad thoughts, as I let out a sigh. Pull yourself together, me. Right now, I need to think about Suzutsuki. That’s why I should only press the doorbell. But…

“Damn it.”

A certain scenery filled my head.

‘Maybe we should—stop being best friends for a while.’

In front of the flat, that’s what I said. I went and said it. I simply wanted to keep some distance from Konoe Subaru. It’s clear that she’s hiding something from me. Because of that, it felt like the more I approached her, the more I ended up hurting her—and I couldn’t keep watching. That’s why I told her that, I bet. I just wanted some more time to think.

“……”

But, Konoe was crying. Hearing my words, she shed large grains of tears. I still can’t forget that scenery. Maybe I did something irreversible. Thinking about it that way, the finger approaching the doorbell suddenly started feeling so heavy.

“……”

No, I can’t. No matter the result, if I don’t do anything now, nothing will ever change. I promised Masamune that I’d look after Suzutsuki. And, she’s insanely unstable right now. Someone has to look after her.

“—Alright.”

I made up my mind, and pressed the doorbell. Ding-dong, a sound rang out, and I heard someone walking behind the door. Yeah, I won’t be able to back out now. Is it Konoe, or is it Suzutsuki? Either way, I can’t run away. And with these thoughts in mind, the door opened. My heart skipped a beat. Who is it?

“—Eh?”

However my expectations had been betrayed.

“Good evening.” A robotic voice greeted me.

The person who opened the door wore a frilly maid dress with long, wine red hair. On top of that, she had a distinct point that made her stand out from any other maid—An eye patch, covering her left eye. This mismatched and misplaced fashion style was all too familiar to me.

“…Ichigo-san?”

“YES. It’s been a while, Odd Jobs-san.”

She called me by the same name as before, showing no expression whatsoever on her face.

“W-Why are you here?” I asked.

Suzutsuki only brought Konoe as her butler with her. That’s why Ichigo-san should be back at the Suzutsuki Residence, taking care of things.

“It’s not anything weird. I am the Suzutsuki Family’s servant, and Kanade-ojousama’s maid. If she orders me to, I shall come running.”

“So, Suzutsuki called you here?”

“YES.” Ichigo-san showed a satisfied expression.

What is going on? Why did Suzutsuki call her over? No, more importantly…

“Ichigo-san, is Suzutsuki present right now?”

“Naturally. If not, I wouldn’t be here. She called me to this apartment.”

“Is that so…”

Knowing that Suzutsuki was back, I could sigh in relief. At the very least, she didn’t run away from home like Kureha did. Not like she could seek refuge at Nakuru’s place.

“More importantly.” Ichigo-san looked at me. “Odd Jobs-san, why are you here?”

“Eh?” I was taken by surprise.

……Did she not hear the circumstances from Suzutsuki? If so, then maybe I should hurry up and explain the—

“!?”

There, a metallic object appeared in front of me—A chainsaw. No clue where she took it out from, but it looked like one you’d see in a gorey horror movie, used as a killing weapon. Naturally, that very blade was aimed at my throat.

“……”

I forgot…this person is clinically in LOVE with Suzutsuki.

“Tell me, Odd Jobs-san.” Her expression showed no change, as she asked. “Why have you come to Kanade-ojousama?”

“U-Um…that’s…”

“Not to mention this late at night.”

“It’s barely 8pm though!?”

“Oh, right. This isn’t the time for you to attack her in her sleep.”

“What are you even saying…!?”

“So, are you a stalker?”

“Don’t frame me for that kind of stuff!”

“Stalking Kanade-ojousama…I’m so jealous!”

“That’s the part where you should have said ‘I won’t forgive you!’, you know!?”

“Hmpf, I’m not in the wrong.”

“Don’t just play it off like that!”

Ahhh, I can’t deal with her. Also, hasn’t her LOVE for Kanade-ojousama escalated even more? Maybe she’s gone crazy after being left behind in the Suzutsuki residence? It’s like she is running low on Suzutsuki energy.

“Didn’t you move to Masamune’s home?”

“Eh…? You didn’t know?”

“…About what?”

“Masamune’s place. It’s right next-door.”

“……” Ichigo-san ended up silent for a moment. “Odd Jobs-san, liars deserve to die.”

“…Are you alright in the head?”

“I’m perfectly fine. So, have you written your testament?”

“You’ve gone mad!”

Her entire thought process is all over the place! What answer is the correct one here!?

“You lied.”

“H-Hold on, I wasn’t lying—”

“Now then, let’s proceed with the execution.”

“So quickly!?”

“Don’t worry. When I say execution, it will be in society’s eyes.”

“…In society’s eyes?”

“I will scream right now. That will alarm all the residents. And then I just have to declare something that will get you arrested…”

“You plan to get me arrested!?”

“‘Urk…I said I didn’t want this…but he forced himself onto me…’, you know.”

“Stop with the solid acting now of all times!”

“‘He made me wear maid clothes, forcing me into some weird roleplay…’, as well.”

“You’ve been wearing these clothes from the very beginning, right!? Also, there’s a bigger problem than that!”

After all, she still has the chainsaw aimed at my throat. If anybody saw this, they’d clearly judge me as the victim of this situation. Well, I actually am.

“It’s fine, I can explain the chainsaw.”

“And how?”

“‘Urk…I said I didn’t want this…but he forced it onto me…’, maybe?”

“In what world would anybody believe that kind of nonsense!?”

I mean, the world is a big place, somebody might have that kind of fetish out there, but I don’t want to believe in that. I prefer it much softer.

“As I said, I’m not lying. Masamune lives in this flat. Would you like to meet her then?”

“…But, this is weird. I thought she was supposed to be poor?”

“Did you really not hear anything from Masamune?”

Even though they’re in the same club…Oh yeah, Ichigo-san barely shows up at the club. Guess they didn’t talk as much.

“There’s actually a reason for this.”

“…Reason?”

“To be perfectly honest, a lot of…things happened in her apartment, which is why it’s so cheap.”

That being said, that ghost possessing her apartment…Sakamoto-san…had already been exorcised by my little sister with a German suplex…I mean, it still is hard to believe, but I can’t change the facts.

“A-A lot of things…?”

Unexpectedly enough, Ichigo-san’s expression froze up, after hearing the circumstances…Don’t tell me…

“Are you…scared?”

“…Of what?”

“Ghosts?”

“…O-O-Of course not. W-Why would a maid like me…” She said, but she was shaking despite that.

Woah, I didn’t expect that…I can’t believe that yandere maid is actually scared of ghosts. She was terrified of the rabbit as well before, so she might have a lot of unexpected weaknesses. Well, not like anybody is perfect.

“—Leaving that aside.” Ichigo-san smoothly cut off the conversation, and continued. “Why are you here, Odd Jobs-san?”

“That’s…” I grew silent.

I came here to meet Suzutsuki, talk about the date.

“Oh yeah, you reek of Kanade-ojousama for some reason.”

“!”

“Did you meet her today?”

“……”

“You’re not going to tell me that you went on a date, right?” She glared at me.

I-Is she a dog or something? To think she’d figure it out by just the smell alone. I feel like Konoe said something similar during last summer break, but are all servants of the Suzutsuki Family like that? Are they like some drug-smelling dogs used at airports?

“Tell me. Depending on it…” She said, and pointed her gaze at my throat.

Not good, I’ll be turned into tuna served at the local convenience store. This high-class flat will be turned into a murder scene. After she dismembered me, she might put me out on a scavenger hunt. I really don’t want such a gross auction. I need to resolve everything while I can—

“—Ichigo? What are you doing?”

Suddenly, a dignified voice rang out. Ichigo twitched in shock, and turned towards that voice, responding with a meek ‘M-My dearest apologies’, lowering her head. The person who stood behind her was—

“Oh my, Jirou-kun. What brings you here?”

Suzutsuki Kanade, the rich lady with her black hair tied up into twin side tails, gave me a calm smile. Her expression seemed the exact same as always.

×

“S-Suzutsuki? You…you’re okay?” I reflexively asked.

“…? What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean…”

Don’t give me that…Have you forgotten about everything that happened today? There’s no way you could just forget about Masamune’s words.

“…Fufu.” Suzutsuki saw me getting silent, and showed a grin. “Don’t worry, Jirou-kun. I’m the same as always.”

“…But, you went home alone, right? Both Konoe and Masamune were worried…And same goes for me, of course.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize for going home alone. I was just not feeling well.”

“……”

She’s making up nonsense. This has to be a lie. The reason she went home alone is because she wanted to run away from us.

“That’s why—I’m fine.”

“Eh…?”

Suzutsuki said, almost too nonchalantly.

“I’m fine.”

“……”

“Things were a bit messy today, but starting tomorrow, I’ll be back to normal. Same old Suzutsuki Kanade. Tell Usami-san I’m okay. I’m not bothered by what she said. After all…”

“…After all?”

Suzutsuki stayed quiet for a moment, as silence filled the hallway. And then, she slowly moved her lips.

“After all, I’m Suzutsuki Kanade.” She said, and smiled.

It was a perfect smile that would make everybody entranced. But, that only made it seem more fake, as it was too perfect.

“See you, Jirou-kun.” She left these words behind, and turned around. “Tomorrow at school.”

You can find story with these keywords: Mayo Chiki!, Read Mayo Chiki!, Mayo Chiki! novel, Mayo Chiki! book, Mayo Chiki! story, Mayo Chiki! full, Mayo Chiki! Latest Chapter