Chapter 81: Maid ②

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Translator: Soafp

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Wait, why a maid outfit?

I still hadn't even caught up with the situation yet—

“Maid outfit!? I-I want to see it!!”

Kokoa-san's excitement shot up higher than anyone else's.

Before anyone could stop her, she had already pulled it out of the Don Quijote bag herself.

Yuzuki's cheeks flushed faintly red as she glanced at me.

“I brought it because I figured, if I'm going to be a maid, I should at least have the outfit…”

Come to think of it, Yuzuki was always the type to start with appearances first.

More importantly, that maid suggestion hadn't been metaphorical at all—it was literally meant as “maid.”

Airi snorted dismissively.

“You've never worn one before?”

“Well, I mean… obviously. Normal people don't exactly get chances to wear maid outfits.”

“Oh really? So you never wore one for your beloved otaku boyfriend?”

“Ugh…”

By “otaku boyfriend,” she meant me, right?

Airi was blatantly provoking her.

But Airi herself had been the one who suggested calling Yuzuki here in the first place, so what exactly was she thinking?

“We've worn ultra miniskirts, micro bikinis, and animal-ear cosplay outfits already. Right, Nodoka-san?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah… I mean, Ren does seem to like cosplay when it comes down to it.”

Yuzuki's hands trembled slightly.

But unable to find a comeback, she just tightly pressed her lips together.

Then Kokoa-san suddenly grabbed both of Yuzuki's hands.

“Hurry up and put it on! Yuzu-san, it'll definitely look amazing on you!”

“O-Okay…”

Pushed along by Kokoa-san, Yuzuki headed into another room to change.

Apparently Kokoa-san had sensed the tension again and intentionally stepped in to break it up.

“Seriously, you two! Just because you don't like Ren-sama's ex-girlfriend doesn't mean you should make the atmosphere this tense! At this rate I am going to become mentally unstable!”

“Sorry, Miyoko-san. You're right, I was being a little oversensitive.”

I didn't know whether Kokoa-san was technically the leader of Jirai-chan Syndrome or not.

But judging from the fan event before, she practically seemed to be the one leading the group.

Maybe because of that, she was strangely good at managing situations like this.

…Even though ironically, she herself was being isolated within the group.

“By the way, Ren-sama, why did you dump someone that cute? Was it because she wouldn't wear a maid outfit while you were dating?”

“No, nothing like that. There were… circumstances.”

“Ah, sorry! That's super private, isn't it?”

Kokoa-san bowed her head deeply.

“No, it's natural to be curious. It's just… if I explained it, you'd probably think I was insane.”

“Really? Honestly, I'm super curious, but I'll ask after I get even closer to you, Ren-sama!”

“You're planning on getting even closer to me?”

“Of course!”

She casually grabbed my upper arm and whispered softly.

“Because I need you to like me even more and support me way more!”

“Ahaha…”

This girl might seriously be aiming for a dome concert someday.

A white frilled headband.

A black puff-sleeve dress accented with a white collar and cuffs.

And over it, a pure white apron decorated with delicate frills.

The waist was tightly fitted.

Above that, her ample chest pushed against the apron so prominently that it naturally drew the eye.

“O-Ohhh! S-So cute! But wow!!”

The moment Yuzuki stepped out of the room, Kokoa-san shouted excitedly.

Yuzuki's cheeks were flushed red from embarrassment.

“W-What do you mean, wow?”

“Right there!”

Kokoa-san pointed directly at Yuzuki's ch*st.

“I'm jealous… If mine were that big, I'd definitely be way more popular than I am now.”

“It's not all good things, you know…?”

“Girls with big b00bs always say that! But if someone asked whether you'd rather have small b00bs instead, none of you would ever actually choose that!”

Apparently she'd built up a lot of frustration over the subject.

Kokoa-san started ranting nonstop about the hardships of being flat-chested, like she was finally unleashing years of resentment.

In the entertainment industry, where appearance comparisons were even more brutal than normal society, insecurities were probably amplified too.

For once, Kokoa-san visibly slumped her shoulders in defeat.

“Haa… Maybe they'll still grow more once I'm in high school. By the way, Yuzu-san, Secretary-san, when did yours get that big?”

“Hey, mine aren't even that small!?”

When Nodoka protested, Kokoa-san stared intently around her ch*st area.

“It's hard to tell through clothes. Can I touch them once?”

“N-No! It's embarrassing… Besides, Ren's the only one allowed to touch my ch*st.”

“You're flirting right here in front of me!? Ugh, Ren-sama seriously has incredible luck with women!”

“Ahaha…”

All I could do was laugh awkwardly.

Considering Nodoka and Airi, maybe I really wasn't unlucky with women.

But if not for my precognition, I might've stayed with Yuzuki and ended up facing an irreversible tragedy.

In that sense, maybe my precognition barely canceled out my terrible luck in romance.

“So then, when exactly did yours get that size?”

“Hmmm… probably middle school.”

“Same here.”

“Then there's no hope for me!? Am I doomed to a flat-chest life forever!?”

At Yuzuki and Airi's answers, Kokoa-san drooped dramatically.

Well, girls usually matured earlier than boys anyway.

Still, I carefully chose my words before speaking.

“Don't worry. It's not impossible they'll still grow once you get into high school.”

“R-Really? So I still have a chance?”

“Of course. Besides, um… there are lots of people who like small ch*sts too.”

“That doesn't comfort me at all!? Saying small b00bs are acceptable is one thing, but guys who actually prefer them over big b00bs aren't that common! And honestly it's kind of weird!!”

“People all have different tastes.”

“That still isn't comforting!! By the way, Ren-sama, do you prefer small b00bs or big b00bs?”

“Well, big bo— Ah, I don't judge girls just by their chest size.”

“Too late!!”

Kokoa-san frowned angrily and lightly punched my chest repeatedly with both fists.

Meanwhile, Yuzuki lowered her eyes toward her own chest and murmured quietly with a faint smile.

“So Ren really does like big b00bs…”

Watching this, Airi let out a quiet “Hmm…”

“So even though you knew Ren-kun liked big b00bs, you never once used them for him.”

“Ugh… H-How do you know that…?”

“Because Ren-kun himself said Nodoka-san was the first girl to ever do it with her ch*st. Right, Nodoka-san? Ren-kun really liked it, didn't he?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah… It was a little tight, but I licked it too, so he seemed even happier…”

At that instant, Yuzuki's expression stiffened.

She looked furious, but was desperately trying to endure it.

Seriously, Airi and Yuzuki mixed about as well as oil and water.

“Eeeeeh…!! I feel like I just heard some very adult conversation…!!”

Kokoa-san's face turned bright red as she pressed both hands against her cheeks.

Yeah, this definitely wasn't a conversation meant for a middle schooler.

Though technically, they were only one year apart in age.

“Alright, alright, enough chatting. Let's get back to homework.”

“Okaaay~”

“Um, Ren…”

Yuzuki asked timidly.

“What should I do…?”

“For now, can you help Nodoka and Kokoa-san with their homework today? You still remember the third-year middle school material, right?”

“Mostly.”

Even if she wasn't at my level, Yuzuki was still pretty good academically.

Honestly, trying to teach three people while finishing my own homework too had been getting exhausting.

This would make things a lot easier.

“And after that, there's something serious I want to talk about, so come to my house afterward for a bit.”

She needed to know about Kokoa-san's “nightmare,” after all.

Yuzuki's eyes widened in surprise.

“Huh? R-Really? It's okay for me to go to your house?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Yuzuki smiled with genuine happiness.

Back when we were dating, she used to come and go from my house all the time, so she never would've reacted like this.

For some reason, Yuzuki now felt more like a girlfriend than she had while we were actually dating.

For the time being, we finished all the summer homework planned for today.

From now on, we'd gather according to Kokoa-san's days off, and then we headed home.

Yuzuki came along too, of course.

Mom looked at Yuzuki and spoke gently.

“I heard most of the story from Ayumi-san. Sounds like you've had it rough too, Yuzuki-chan.”

“T-That's…”

“And even though I didn't know the full situation before, I'm sorry for being cold toward you the other day.”

“N-No…”

“Well then, relax and make yourself at home.”

Just as we started heading upstairs—

Click.

Anna-chan stepped out of the bathroom.

“Eh? W-Who?”

As expected, the moment Anna-chan saw Yuzuki, she took a step backward.

Yuzuki noticed her too and tilted her head slightly.

“This child is…?”

Nodoka moved beside Anna-chan and answered.

“She's my little sister.”

“Ah, right. I think you mentioned before that you had a younger sister.”

“Yeah. Anna, you should properly introduce yourself.”

Yuzuki crouched down to meet Anna-chan's eye level.

“I'm Yuzuki Kitayama. What's your name, little lady?”

“I-I'm Anna Komori … Um… are you someone who used to be Onee-san's friend?”

“Used to be,” huh.

Come to think of it, Anna-chan was surprisingly sharp, and brutally direct too.

Yuzuki gave an awkward laugh.

“I still think we're friends…”

At those words, Nodoka's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Honestly, I was surprised too.

Still, part of me wondered whether, like with Ito-san before, Yuzuki was just putting on another mask again.

“Anna-chaaan?”

At that moment, Mom's voice called out.

Anna-chan instantly jolted in fear.

“Finished using the bathroom? What should we do for fun next?”

“R-Reading separately…”

“Oh come on, that's boring! Auntie has a great idea, so come with me!”

“No…!!”

Mom grabbed Anna-chan by the hand and dragged her away toward another room.

Only Yuzuki seemed confused by the sight.

“Huh? What's going on?”

Meanwhile, Nodoka and Airi calmly headed upstairs like this was perfectly normal.

When we reached my room, Nodoka finally spoke.

“Y-Yuzuki. Can we talk? Just the two of us.”

Her expression was more serious than I'd ever seen before.

Considering Nodoka's personality, even saying those words must've taken enormous courage.

I intentionally stayed silent.

If I even gave Yuzuki a subtle signal here, she'd probably agree immediately.

But doing that would ruin the courage Nodoka had worked so hard to gather.

(Anyway, Nodoka and Yuzuki need to settle things between themselves at least once.)

Ever since that fight during gym class, the two of them probably hadn't properly faced each other at all.

Yuzuki glanced nervously between Nodoka and me.

Eventually, she tightly shut her eyes and gave a small nod.

“Okay.”

The moment she answered, Airi quietly wrapped herself around my arm.

“Well then, Ren-kun. No… Master. Shall we spend the time doing something naughty?”

…

She wasn't planning to deliberately let the people in the next room hear us, was she?