WFASPSBMEM 19

Chapter 19 — The Maid Is Fully Recovered

The day after Yuki Ōhira collapsed.

As usual, I headed to school and walked into the classroom.

And sitting in the seat behind mine, as though nothing had happened, was Yuki Ōhira.

She was looking through her planner again. The difference from yesterday was that she kept writing something with a friction pen, erasing it, writing again, then erasing it once more.

I was a little worried she might have forced herself to come to school before she had fully recovered.

But then—

“Cutting it close as always, I see. It must be nice being the master.”

The moment I sat down, she opened with a sharp jab.

Yeah. She seemed perfectly fine.

“Looks like you’re back to full health.”

I dropped into my seat and hung my school bag on the hook beside my desk.

“Thanks to you.”

Just from that brief exchange, I could tell she was doing much better.

Still, I hadn’t actually looked at her face yet. I turned around, intending to check how she was doing.

“Thank you for yesterday.”

Before our eyes could even meet, she bowed her head.

The unexpected gesture caught me completely off guard.

“Don’t do that. You’re attracting attention.”

Yuki Ōhira was already one of the most noticeable people in school—the beautiful student council president. If she suddenly bowed to a guy sitting in front of her first thing in the morning, of course people would stare.

Not everyone had noticed, but I could see several classmates glancing over, silently wondering what was going on.

“I have to properly thank someone who helped me.”

She lifted her head as she spoke.

“Didn’t you tell me not to act so familiar with you at school?”

“That and this are separate issues. Besides, the reason I said that back then was because I couldn’t stand that stupid grin on your face.”

Was I really grinning that much?

Well, to be fair, a cute girl from my class had sat in my chair that day. Maybe I had been a little too happy about the indirect butt-contact.

“More importantly, thank you for everything yesterday. I truly appreciate it.”

Being thanked so sincerely a second time made me strangely self-conscious.

“You’re really serious about this stuff.”

As I spoke, I glanced around.

The class had already lost interest and returned to their own conversations.

Well—

Everyone except one person.

“Yo, Akira. What’s this? What’s this? Did something happen yesterday?”

A handsome guy with the build of a large dog came bounding over with an eager grin.

Apparently, he’d overheard us.

I exchanged a glance with Yuki. A silent conversation passed between us as we tried to decide what to do.

I spoke first.

“I helped out with some student council work yesterday. That’s why she’s thanking me. Right, Ōhira?”

The lie came out instantly.

Yuki’s eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

“Yes. He helped me with a number of things.”

“Huh. Is that so?”

Shōgo leaned close and whispered into my ear.

“Is that because you’re stuck helping Fairy Queen Titania now that you’re sitting right in front of her?”

“Exactly. So you should be grateful for your current seat and quietly attend class.”

“O-Oh. Yeah, when you put it that way, my seat sounds a lot better.”

“Excuse me. I can hear you.”

Yuki fixed him with an icy stare.

“Whoops.”

Shōgo immediately raised both hands.

“Better review for next period.”

With that flimsy excuse, he practically fled back to his own seat.

Watching him retreat, Yuki spoke.

“You lie to your best friend as naturally as breathing. Do you possess anything resembling a human heart?”

“Should I have told him the truth? ‘Yeah, I spent yesterday nursing Ōhira back to health.’”

She paused for a few seconds, considering it.

“Just this once, I’m grateful that you don’t have a human heart.”

“See? I told you. I do have one. I’ve got downtown spirit.”

“You lose all credibility when you say that yourself. And what exactly is ‘downtown spirit’?”

“Isn’t human warmth what downtown neighborhoods are famous for?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

She sighed in exasperation.

Then she looked at me again, as though trying to shift away from the completely pointless conversation we’d been having.

“Hm?”

“Ah, no.”

For a second, I wondered if she was annoyed because the conversation was so boring.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you. Would you mind coming to the student council room during lunch break?”

“The classic place for a confession is behind the gym, you know.”

“It’s honestly frightening that someone who’s never popular knows the standard confession spots.”

“Hey. Hold on a second. Who are you calling unpopular?”

“Are you popular?”

“Damn it… I can’t even argue with that.”

Unable to come up with a comeback, I fell silent.

Yuki let out a small laugh.

“So? If it isn’t a confession, what do you want to talk about?”

“I’d like to discuss that matter we talked about before.”

That matter.

Something about the way she said it immediately made me think of the exclusive maid arrangement.

“It would attract attention if we discussed it here. We could talk at our apartment building, but unfortunately I have work today. So if possible, could you come during lunch break? It doesn’t have to be today, of course.”

That final addition made it clear the matter wasn’t urgent.

Still, if she’d brought it up today, then she probably wanted me to hear her out today.

“Got it.”

I wasn’t involved in any clubs or committees.

Lunch break was usually free time for me anyway, so I nodded.

“Thank you. Then I’ll be waiting for you at lunch.”

A faint smile touched her lips as she returned her attention to her planner, the friction pen once again moving across the page before stopping, erasing, and starting over. Somehow, that hesitant motion made it feel as though she was far more nervous about the upcoming conversation than she wanted anyone to know.