Seiji was racking his brains on how to deal with s.h.i.+ka Kagura acting so spoiled.

Even though this was merely a corner of the school garden, for a high school boy to be seen hugging a middle school girl was still…

Hey hey, there was something wrong about the important part!

He should have been thinking of how to refuse her; why was he thinking about dealing with the aftermath!?

His self-commentary helped him to regain his senses.

That was dangerous. He was almost seduced by her cuteness.

Seiji firmed his resolve and was about to strictly reject the amnesiac girl’s request to hug, but at this moment she already had her arms opened to him, with a face filled with expectation as her eyes sparkled in an innocent and cute manner.

‘…Hugging her wouldn’t be that big of a deal, would it?’

"Seiji," Chiaki’s started, "although I don’t want to say this, but…"

Seiji looked at the tomboy and saw that she was smiling like a convenience store clerk.

"A minimum of three years, a maximum of the death penalty~"

Seiji’s face twitched.

 ‘Hey, don’t say something so terrifying in such a fake tone of voice! It sounds like you’re in the service industry!’

"I… I won’t be like that!"

"Eh, you knew what I was talking about?"

‘Shouldn’t you have been commenting about what I meant first?’ was what Chiaki’s grin seemed to say.

Seiji broke out into a cold sweat.

"I… of course I know! I’ve seen this on the internet!"

"Which website did you see it on?"

"I don’t remember! At any rate, I’ve seen it. Does it really matter where!?"

Seiji forcefully injected spirit into his answer, but he averted his gaze from Chiaki.

"Brother~" s.h.i.+ka was still waiting expectantly for him.

Chiaki was watching this while grinning widely.

Mika… her aura seemed a little terrifying!

As Seiji looked around everywhere in search of a solution, he finally reached out his large hand… and patted s.h.i.+ka Kagura’s head.

"I just hugged you earlier. Hold on for a little longer."

Pat~ Pat~~

"Mmm… Mew…"

s.h.i.+ka didn’t get the hug she wanted, but the head pats were effective as well. She was content like a kitten.

Chiaki’s smile seemed to lose some darkness.

Mika’s aura also softened somewhat.

Peace returned to this scene for the time being.

The bell signaling the beginning of cla.s.s finally rang.

"You two should go back to cla.s.s. I need to accompany her today, so I won’t be going," Seiji informed the duo.

Chiaki nodded.

"During lunch break… will you come by?" Mika asked.

"I’ll have lunch together with her at the president’s home… could it be that you’ve prepared a lunchbox for me?"

Mika nodded.

Seiji felt a twinge of guilt.

To be honest, he wanted to eat lunch together with Mika and Chiaki. But s.h.i.+ka was sticking so closely to him, and she was the ‘Reaper’s Curse…’

Just a short meeting should be fine, but if they ate lunch together, he didn’t know whether calamities would befall Chiaki and Mika.

Seiji didn’t want them to undergo mysterious catastrophes.

For the first time, he felt what s.h.i.+ka Kagura must have felt in the past when she rejected other people.

He was forced to reject other peoples’ kindness and good intentions and remain distant from them.

"Thank you… during lunch break, I’ll come over and take it."

"But I thought you needed to accompany her…"

Seiji grinned. "The president’s residence is quite close to school, so it won’t take much time."

Mika blinked in surprise as she also smiled and nodded.

And so, the four of them separated.

Mika and Chiaki walked back to the school building. After walking a few steps, they couldn’t help looking back at Seiji and s.h.i.+ka.

What they saw was the tall boy holding on to the pet.i.te girl’s hand as they walked off into the distance.

Seiji stayed by s.h.i.+ka’s side for the entire morning.

They watched TV together, surfed the internet, played hide-and-seek, read manga, played Monopoly, and played some other card games…

The maid Mai Houjou brought everything they watched, read, and played to them, including laptops, manga, cards, and so on.

Yes, the maid-senpai was also unable to attend cla.s.ses.

According to her, serving her lady’s guests was much more important than attending cla.s.s.

‘Senpai, you’re a third-year high schooler; is this really alright?’

She didn’t seem to mind, so… it was fine?

Seiji found it easy to forget about his senpai’s presence while he was having fun with s.h.i.+ka, but whenever he needed something, he noticed her immediately.

Her skills as a maid were extraordinary.

Seiji came to the conclusion that she was definitely not an ordinary person!

She said she was here to serve him and s.h.i.+ka, but perhaps… she was actually putting them under surveillance?

Well, either way, it didn’t matter.

Seiji was merely accompanying a girl… who’d developed amnesia which caused her mental age to regress. They were only playing normally.

Dusk.

The tall boy was sitting in the hallway and observing the scenery in the backyard.

The pet.i.te girl used his lap as a pillow, and her head was resting on his thighs. She had fallen asleep while clutching onto one of his large hands.

The maid appeared at the end of the hallway with a tray in her hand as she silently walked over.

Walking next to the boy, she crouched, placed down the tray, arranged the teacups, and slowly began pouring tea.

None of her movements created any sound, and there was an indescribable elegance to her actions!

Considering the fact that she accomplished all this in black-and-white maid attire, it further increased the difficulty of soundlessly performing everything.

Seiji’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

The maid-senpai didn’t say anything as she smiled gently and placed one cup of tea by his hand. She then took another cup of tea for herself.

And so, they quietly sipped tea together.

s.h.i.+ka’s body moved slightly as she seemed to mutter something. There was a light smile on her sleeping face.

Seiji observed her for a few moments and also smiled faintly.

He finished his tea and placed down the teacup.

"Thank you for your efforts today, Harano… Haruta-san," Mai said in a soft voice while refilling Seiji’s empty teacup.

Seiji blinked in surprise at this.

"It wasn’t all that much of a big deal… Senpai, I thought you would constantly remain silent."

The maid threw him a sidelong glance. "I’m not mute. Everyone has times when they want to communicate."

Since she was still smiling as she done this, this sidelong glance actually seemed rather cute.

Seiji almost chuckled out loud at the sight.

"Okay then, just that Senpai… you seem so professional… too professional."

"I’m being paid a salary to do this job. Of course I need to be serious about it."

"What about what you’re doing right now?’

"Even when working seriously, there are times when people need to relax a little~"

"Mmm… you seem to be right about that."

"Of course I am."

They exchanged glances as they both laughed soundlessly.

"I’ve been constantly watching you today." Mai’s tone of voice suddenly turned more serious as she continued, "I’ve been observing you, to see what type of person you are.

"And now, I understand… why it was that Milady was willing to invite you into her home, as well as why… this amnesiac girl relies on you so much."

Seiji scratched his face awkwardly. "Er… should I interpret that as praise?"

"It is praise. I haven’t praised many boys before, so you should be proud of yourself."

"Heh, you’re just a maid~"

"I have another ident.i.ty, and it’ll scare you upon hearing it~"

"I already know about it: you’re the former student council president, right?" Seiji looked at her with a mock disdain. "But now you’re nothing more than a maid."

Mai puffed out her cheeks slightly. "Hmph… you need to fix your att.i.tude, junior!"

"Since you view me as your junior, then there’s no need for honorifics. Don’t call me something like Harano or Haruta-san; it sounds quite strange."

Mai paused for a moment at hearing this, before she broke out into laughter. The pout from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay then, you… you win, junior Haruta."

"What did I win? Is there a prize, Houjou-senpai?" Seiji blinked his eyes innocently.

"I’m just a maid; what prize would I even have to give you?" Mai grinned as she sipped her tea.

 "But," Seiji started, "according to legend, maids can provide some ‘special’ services…"

Seeing Mai smile as she mockingly raised the tea kettle to chuck at him, Seiji hurriedly put a stop to his clown act.

"Of course they’re all fake! Please forget I said anything!"

That smile was still plastered on Mai’s face as she tilted the tea kettle… and poured more tea for herself.

Seiji also lowered his head and sipped some more tea.

"By the way, Senpai…"

"Hmm?"

"If… If I didn’t pa.s.s your inspection… er, observation, what would have happened?"

Mai slowly revealed the most brilliant smile she had ever shown him.

"Did you know, junior Haruta? The most important job of a maid isn’t to take care of her master’s basic living needs. It’s to exterminate all pests around her master~"

Seiji was rendered speechless by this.