Chapter 20: The Maid and a Win-Win Relationship
After enduring classes through fourth period, the long-awaited halftime finally arrived.
Lunch break—a blissful stretch of freedom where students could recharge their batteries before suffering through the rest of the day’s lessons and earning their path to paradise.
Today’s lunch break, however, was shaping up to be a little different from the ordinary.
Normally, this was the time I’d spend with Shogo, heading to the cafeteria, eating food that wasn’t exactly delicious, and wasting time doing absolutely nothing productive.
But today, I’d been summoned by the student council president.
My conversation with Shogo that morning had done its job. He’d sent me off with a casual, “See ya,” without asking any questions.
I already had a pretty good idea what this meeting was about.
Most likely, she was going to tell me she was quitting as my personal maid.
Honestly, it made sense.
She’d never collapsed before, but after declaring herself my personal maid, she’d ended up working herself into the ground. If she was going to reevaluate her lifestyle, that arrangement was probably the first thing that needed to go.
The only reason she’d become my personal maid in the first place was because I’d learned her secret. In exchange for my promise not to reveal it, she’d taken care of me.
But I’d said it countless times already—I had absolutely no intention of exposing her secret.
So if she’d finally had enough and wanted out, that was perfectly fine.
If anything, I’d only be grateful. She cleaned my apartment, cooked for me, and helped me more than I deserved. If she wanted to stop, I’d gladly accept it.
When I arrived at the student council room on the fourth floor, the door was already unlocked.
Still, I knocked out of courtesy.
“Come in.”
Her voice reached me through the door, slightly muffled.
I stepped inside and found the same scene I’d seen before.
The desks were arranged in a triangular formation, and beyond them stood an expensive-looking executive desk. Nobody was seated there.
Instead, Yuki Ohira sat on one of the sofas, gracefully lifting a teacup to her lips.
The sight alone felt like a work of art.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Ah, sure.”
Her demeanor was completely different from when she was in maid mode.
Rather than the attentive maid I knew, she radiated the refined elegance of a capable adult.
The Student Council President.
Without thinking, I answered politely and sat down across from her.
“Would you like some tea?”
“Yes, please.”
The moment I answered, she rose from her seat.
Walking over to a glass cabinet along the wall, she retrieved another teacup, set it in front of me, and poured tea from the teapot resting on the coffee table.
I took a sip.
Even without sugar, the tea carried a subtle sweetness mixed with a gentle bitterness as it flowed through me.
“It’s good.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
A pleased smile spread across her face.
It wasn’t hard to tell she genuinely liked this tea.
Of course, I wasn’t just saying it to flatter her. It was honestly delicious.
“The other council members aren’t here?”
“They won’t be coming. Outside of official activity days, the room is rarely used. Besides, I’m the only one who has a key.”
“I see.”
Perfect place for a secret conversation.
Then again, this was also where she’d dragged me right after summer vacation ended.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
I set my teacup down on the coffee table with a soft clink and got straight to the point.
I already thought I knew the answer, but I’d rather hear it from her.
“Right.”
She nodded crisply before continuing.
“I gave it a lot of thought yesterday, and I believe you were right. I’ve been working too much. If I keep pushing myself until I collapse, I’ll only cause trouble for the student council, the maid café, and for you as well. So I considered your advice and came to a conclusion.”
I swallowed nervously, waiting for the words I’d already prepared myself to hear.
“I’ve decided to reduce my hours at the maid café.”
“…Huh?”
A sound escaped my mouth that was so stupid, so utterly brainless, it might have been the dumbest noise I’d ever made in my life.
“W-Wait a second. You’re not quitting as my personal maid?”
“Hm? Why would I?”
“Because… if we’re talking about things to cut, isn’t that the obvious choice?”
“Not at all. Being your personal maid barely adds any burden. The student council and my maid café job are far more demanding.”
Then she added,
“Besides, the manager at the café has been telling me for a while that I work too much and should reduce my shifts.”
“Ah…”
That actually made sense.
Nobody wanted an employee collapsing from overwork.
And since she really had collapsed, reevaluating her schedule naturally meant cutting back on part-time work.
“I see.”
“However, doing that will naturally reduce my income. It won’t leave me struggling financially, but lowering my current standard of living would be difficult.”
“Yeah. Once you’re used to a certain lifestyle, it’s hard to go backward.”
Take smartphones, for example.
These days, living without one felt almost impossible. Society’s standard of living had risen alongside technology.
If someone suddenly told people to abandon smartphones and live like they had decades ago, most wouldn’t be able to do it.
Once your quality of life goes up, lowering it is never easy.
“Which brings me to my proposal.”
She clapped her hands lightly.
Then she smiled.
An angelic smile.
“I’d like to split food expenses with you, Master.”
“…Split food expenses?”
“Yes♪”
The cheerful tone caught me completely off guard.
I’d never heard her sound quite so excited before.
“You spend a lot on convenience store meals, don’t you, Morigami-kun?”
“Well, yeah. It adds up.”
She’d pointed that out before.
If I relied entirely on convenience store food, I was spending around thirty thousand yen a month on food alone.
Sure, I could probably save money if I tried harder.
But someone as hopeless at housework as me wasn’t exactly capable of that.
“So,” she continued, “if we split our food expenses, I’ll cook meals for you. Our food costs are cut in half, and all you have to do is eat. What do you think?”
“That’s… pretty win-win.”
Actually, if I thought about it carefully, it felt like I was benefiting far more than she was.
Which made me slightly suspicious.
“Cooking every day… are you sure that’s okay?”
“I already cook for myself regularly. Making food for one person or two doesn’t really change the effort involved. If my food expenses are cut in half, I might even be able to save more money than before despite reducing my café shifts.”
“Won’t it be exhausting?”
“It’s easier than breathing.”
I nearly pointed out how ridiculous that sounded.
But considering I’d witnessed her household skills firsthand, I had no grounds to argue.
“Well… if you’re okay with it, then I guess it’s fine. But seriously, are you sure?”
“I am. In fact, if anything, I’m the one asking a favor. More importantly, are you okay with this, Morigami-kun?”
“If my food expenses get cut in half, I have zero complaints.”
“Then it’s settled.”
With that, she smiled like a gambler who had just won a huge bet and elegantly sipped her tea with all the grace of a noble young lady.
“Let’s work out the details as we go. This feels like the sort of arrangement that’s easier to adjust in practice than on paper.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Ah, and as I mentioned earlier, I have work today. So unfortunately, we’ll have to start tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
And just like that, my personal maid wasn’t quitting.
If anything, it felt like she’d somehow become even more my personal maid than before.
…Well, if she was happy with it, then I supposed that was all that mattered.
