Chapter 94: ~Chapter 32~ Part 1

I stifled a small yawn, which was still more out of habit than actual sleepiness, and then I silently stretched my back as well for good measure while sitting in front of my PC. It was a little after seven in the morning, so it was still quite dark outside my window, with the only source of lighting in my room being the harsh blue light of the computer screen. I made sure to move my joints, which were understandably stiff after sitting still for hours, as quietly as possible before I returned to the task at hand.

At the moment I was organizing my older notes about my closest associates, plus making some changes every here and there in light of the recent events. Actually, there were quite a lot of those that needed to be done. For example, the class rep has turned into a totally different kind of character after the incident, though I can probably chalk the change in her behavior up to stress. It showed that the people surrounding me weren't static, and while that was somewhat reassuring to know (lest I would once again have to get into existential ponderings about narrative influences, consciousnesses, and other cheerful stuff like that), I would've honestly preferred if she didn't become so snarky. I also didn't know why she seemed to have a bone to pick with me in particular, but for the time being I decided to humor her.

Once I finished annotating Ammy's parts, my eyes scanned through the pages again and stopped at Angie's entry. She… didn't change much, did she? Her behavior was more or less exactly the same as before, and not even her house arrest and parole put a damper on her enthusiasm. Maybe she was a natural airhead like that? I mean, in a good way, not in a dumb way.

That aside, another entry that immediately caught my interest was Elly's. When I read through my old description of her, from even before we learned about the supernatural and her being a dragon-girl and whatnot, I couldn't help but softly chuckle in reminiscence. She used to freak out a lot, didn't she?

I kept reading, inserting addendums every here and there until I stopped at a very specific word. Near the end of her entry, there was a bolded 'Tsundere?' written there, with a question mark included. That was also a nostalgic word if there was any, and for a moment it made me think. She used to be very tense around me, with occasional outbursts of either aggression or affection, but lately all I was getting was the latter. That sounded somewhat familiar, so I minimized the text file and opened my browser instead, and after a quick search I found exactly what I was looking for exactly where I expected it to be.

According to the trusty old site about tropes I have been frequenting since day one, a 'tsundere' was an archetype where someone usually starts out aloof and irritable because of either a conflict of interest or being unable to deal with their attraction to another person, but then once those are weathered out, they become sweet and affectionate. … Is it just me, or does that description fit Elly to a T? According to the site, it would mean she is currently in her 'deredere' phase?

"Deredere? Really?" I whispered almost silently as I shook my head in profound disapproval. Just who made up this terminology? Why can't these things have simple names for once?

Anyways, that once again made me think in meta-terms, much to my chagrin. Long story short, the change in her behavior more or less coincided with what a 'tsundere's' character arc looked like, at least according to my sources. So… did she mellow out because she was 'designed' by something or someone to be a 'tsundere', or is it that she had a prideful and tomboyish personality that led her to follow the arc of the archetype on her own?

I mean, I don't think I've ever heard her being… what was it again? 'Tsuntsun', I think? The irritable part. Anyhow, the point I was trying to make was that she was fairly 'deredere' towards Josh from the get-go, and only showed her thorny side to me. If I look at it from that direction, could it be that she wasn't supposed to be one, but I made her into a tsundere by my unwitting interference? That's kind of a scary thought.

Still, it was a distinct possibility, so I went back to the text file, and I was about to write in my newest insights when I reflexively glanced up to the previous entries and my brows involuntarily furrowed in response. At first I tried to ignore the idea that just reared its ugly head, but I couldn't, so I quickly read through the class rep's entry one more time, and by the end I had cold sweat trickling down my back.

It couldn't be that she also turned into a tsundere, right? I mean, sure, she's been pretty snarky with me lately, and so subsequently she was talking to me way more than usual to deliver her barbs, but that didn't mean she was hiding her 'dere' with that… right? Oh damn, I really hoped she wasn't, or Judy would probably make my life into an embarrassing mess with her anti-harem counter-measures. I mean, even more than she already did.

Right at this moment, as if somehow detecting I was thinking about her, a certain deadpan girl made a small sound as she turned under the blankets. I held my breath for a moment, only exhaling after I was sure her breathing was slow and steady once again, and then it came out as a slightly tired sigh. Yes, that's right: Judy wasn't kidding about staying over. Furthermore, once she was tired out by our traditional discussion about the day's events, the world we lived in and random trivia about shellfish biology (don't ask why, we were random like that), she declared that, since I wasn't using my bed anyway, she will sleep there. Furthermore, she was doing so in just her underwear! Well, that plus one of my unused shirts, a la Snowy, but really, it's almost the same. In fact, in some circles that kind of getup would be considered even more erotic, so I really had to wonder if she was trying to tempt me.

No, scratch that; I was about ninety-five percent sure she was, with all the weird sighs she made when she tucked herself into my bed. Ultimately nothing happened between us, partially because we already promised Elly there would be no 'lewding' yet, and mostly because Snowy was in the next room, and knowing our luck, she would've interrupted us once again. Since, according to Judy, even being seen during our chaste tussling was considered supremely embarrassing by her standards, she really didn't want to get seen doing something considerably less chaste, and as such she settled for a good night kiss.

Anyway, once I was sure she was still sleeping soundly, I turned back towards my PC, only to immediately stop and listen. Since I was already paying attention to Judy's breathing before, my ears were still perked. Without that, I doubt I would've noticed the barely audible shuffling sounds coming from downstairs. I listened even closer, and after a while I could even make out some strange sweeping noises. That was mildly distressing, to say the least.

Following this realization I immediately used the radar mode of my Far Sight, only to realize that Snowy wasn't in the room next door, but downstairs. Now, I was sure there could have been many reasonable explanations as to why she would be causing weird sounds so early in the morning, and I didn't really want to overreact or anything, but I still quickly stood up and used my teleportation ability to immediately move to the stairs with a quick hop.

Once there, I carefully inched forwards, and once I got a clear view of the living room, I almost fell over in shock and surprise, nearly exclaiming 'There are ninja maids!' in the process. Fortunately (for my dignity), I managed to avoid doing both, as once my eyes adjusted to the lighting I finally realized what, or rather who I was looking at.

"Snowy?" I asked incredulously, prompting the previously contently humming girl to twirl around in surprise.

"Oh? Good morning, Leo!" she greeted me with unusual enthusiasm as she waved at me with a duster.

I gave her a nod in greeting and I quickly walked down the stairs so that I could take a better look at her. Let's not beat around the bush though; even from the top of the stairs, I could tell that Snowy was wearing a full, black and white french-maid outfit, complete with a frilly headpiece, a half-apron, white stockings, and even a stereotypical feather duster. As I finally got next to her, I looked her over one more time and I couldn't help but ask the single most obvious question in the history of ever.

"So… what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning," she answered me proudly, as if she was stating the obvious.

"I can see that, but…" I began, but then I was interrupted by the sound of my door opening upstairs and a certain straight-faced girl walking towards the stairwell while rubbing one of her eyes with the hem of my half-open shirt.

Judy came to an abrupt halt at the top of the stairs, pretty much exactly where I was standing a few seconds ago, then she rubbed her eye again with a weird expression.

"Fetish?" she asked with an infuriatingly innocent tone, prompting me to immediately facepalm.

"No! Also, please put on some clothes!"

My assistant glanced down at her quite exposed appearance, and a moment later she hurriedly turned around and disappeared into my room again. I let out a small sigh as I turned back towards the other girl complicating my life at the moment, and I actually found her quite flushed. I was pretty sure she had some kind of weird misunderstanding running through her head at the moment, so I simply gestured for her to sit down.

"Take a seat. I'll make some tea and—"

"Wait, let me!" she interrupted me, and before I could say anything else, she rushed into the kitchen.

Eventually, I couldn't help but sigh again as I took a seat on my usual comfy chair and waited. The first to come back was Judy, who walked down the stairs wearing her clothes from the day before. She apparently hasn't been to the bathroom yet, as her hair was still slightly disheveled. Once she arrived downstairs, she glanced around the living room and then quickly made her way over to my side.

"What was that about?" she asked with a somewhat skeptical look in her eyes, and at the moment all I could do was to shrug in return

"I don't know either."

I was just about to add 'Let's ask her when she's back', but then Snowy showed up with a tray, making my words redundant. Walking gracefully yet ramrod straight, she came over to us and placed it onto the coffee table in front of me, revealing not only the expected mugs, but also an honest-to-goodness porcelain teapot I didn't even know I had in the house. Even more curiously though, there were only two mugs beside it.

"Where's yours?" I asked reflexively, but Snowy only shook her head.

"I'm not supposed to drink at the same time you do," she responded once again like she was sharing common knowledge. I awarded her my most skeptical looks, but she didn't appear to notice, so after a small groan I stood up and wordlessly walked into the kitchen and brought her mug over.

"Now sit down," I told her while placing hers next to the rest of the mugs, and even though she appeared hesitant at first, in the end she followed my instructions and took a seat on the couch. Judy also followed suit, sitting down beside her while showing obvious interest in her costume. Speaking of which, I lightly cleared my throat to get her attention, and then asked, "So, why are you acting like a maid?"

The Abyssal girl tilted her head to the side in a very familiar fashion (so familiar, in fact, that for a moment it made me wonder if she learned it from Brang or the other way around).

"I… I wasn't supposed to?" she inquired innocuously. "But… I thought I was supposed to serve as one to pay my rent."

"What? No! Also, didn't we already discuss this rent-business to death?"

"But… But then why did you give me all those maid outfits?" she asked as if I was somehow betraying her expectations.

"When did I ever do that?"

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"You said everything in the room is mine," Snowy responded with a slight pout.

"So?" I asked back.

"The wardrobe was full of maid outfits."

"… It was?!" I exclaimed as my brows rose with apprehension, and after a moment of thinking I quickly told the girls, "Give me a second," following which I jumped to my feet and hurriedly walked up the stairs, only to return a few seconds later with a confused frown, sit back down and simply state. "Well, I'll be damned. It really is full of maid outfits."

"Is it really your secret fetish?" Judy interjected a question that would've undoubtedly earned her a quick forehead-flick if she was within arm's reach, but since she wasn't, I could only give her a harrowing look, which she naturally ignored as usual.

"No, it's not," I voiced my denial aloud before her imagination would run wild. In the meantime I also gave the mystery of the wardrobe some thought, and I decided to venture a guess. "Say, Judy? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you say Melinda was staying over to take care of Elly while I was unconscious?"

"Yes," she responded with an affirmative nod while sneakily filling her mug with tea.

"And she was staying in Snowy's current room, right?"

"I believe so, yes," she readily agreed.

"So what conclusion can we draw from that?"

Judy raised a thoughtful finger to her lips, then stated, "You asked her to leave her uniform behind so that you can indulge in your fetish?"

"Stop that!" I reprimanded her. "Also, come closer."

"Why?"

"So that I can flick your forehead."

"I graciously refuse your invitation," she answered before taking a sip from her mug.

I shook my head at her reaction and then grabbed my own mug, after which I directed my attention at the quietly fidgeting Abyssal girl beside her.

"Now that we established where the maid uniforms likely came from, could you tell me why you are wearing one?"

At first Snowy gave me a blank stare, but then she began to speak in a reserved voice.

"I… I thought you gave them to me because you wanted me to work here. You said you didn't want me to find a job to pay for the rent, so I thought you meant this."

"… Just how did you come to that conclusion?" came my next incredulous question. "And why did you just put on these clothes without asking?"

Snowy fell silent for a short time, but then she grabbed hold of the hem of her frilly skirt and said, "I… I actually like cleaning."

"… You do?"

"Yes," she nodded with the same kind of adorably misplaced determination as when we discussed apple pies in the past. "I liked to help the servants back home ever since I was little. They were nice, and they gave me sweets when no one was looking."

"Really?"

"Yes," she answered with a huge nod. "Brother didn't like when I did it though, so it was a secret."

"So let me see if I get this straight," I began as I massaged my temple. "You liked to help the maids at home, so now that you had a chance, you conveniently misunderstood my gestures so that you can dress up like one?"

"I… always thought maid uniforms are cute," Snowy mumbled in response with downcast eyes.

I took a deep breath and decided to tell her, "I grant you that this maid outfit suits you so well it's kind of disconcerting. However, as we've already established, I didn't know it was in your room, and it probably belongs to Elly's chambermaid to begin with. As such, I think we should ask her whether she wants them back before you get too attached to them."

"Okay," Snowy agreed after some thinking, though based on her expression, she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the idea.

"Now, I'm not saying you are not allowed to wear one, or to clean up in the living room, or to pretend to be a maid in general if that's what you want. This is going to be your home as much as mine for the foreseeable future, so it's perfectly fine to indulge in your hobbies here."

"It's not really a hobby," she protested ineffectually, made all the more comical by the care with which she was straightening her apron while saying so. "I just don't want to be a freeloader, so I thought I would help in any way I can."

"That's commendable, and I have no problem with that, but you don't have to constantly worry about earning your rent like that. Just do what you want, right, Judy?" I finished by throwing the ball into my assistant's court, hoping she could help me convince her.

"The Chief is right," she readily agreed with me while habitually extending a hand to ruffle her hair whilst making sure she wouldn't disturb her headdress. "You should do what you like. If you want to dress up as a maid, the chief will definitely support you for the sake of his—"

"If you dare to say 'fetish' one more time, I swear to god I will cancel today's cuddling quota!" I interrupted her with a raised voice and an exasperated glare.

"… I was going to say 'peace of mind'," my girlfriend corrected herself while acting suspiciously innocent once again.

I shook my head at her and faced Snowy again, saying, "In short, if you really want to help out around the house, I'm definitely not going to stop you, you just don't have to be all subservient about it. Unless you really want to roleplay as a maid. As I said, I'm not going to judge." With that said, I filled my mug again and told her, with a knowing smile, "Also, after breakfast, we are going on a little trip."

"We are?" Judy asked on the side, and I responded with a big old nod.

"Yeah. We are going to look at some real estate," I began, then I flashed another smile at Snowy and then added, in my best effort to sound mysterious, "Plus there will be a nice surprise for you."

"Surprise?" Snowy asked with another Brang-esque tilt of the head. "What kind of surprise?"

"It wouldn't be one if I told you," I told her jokingly, already trying to imagine how she will react once I reunite her with a certain someone...

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