Chapter 349: My Family Had Maids Too

"Mm..."

"Feel good?"

"...Yeah."

Rinji lay with his head on Hayasaka's lap, enjoying her gentle ear-cleaning.

There wasn't much earwax, but he still closed his eyes in comfort.

For him, this kind of experience was extremely rare.

"Never thought I'd be the one being taken care of by you," Rinji said with a smile. "Is this how you usually treat Shinomiya?"

"No, definitely not."

"Really? If Shinomiya got this treatment every day, I'd be jealous."

"So, is this your first time lying on a girl's lap, Rinji?"

"It is."

Rinji chuckled.

"When I was little, I used to sit on my mom's lap and watch TV, but that was a long time ago… Right now, I just feel really at peace."

"Then just stay like that a bit longer."

Hayasaka smiled. After finishing with the ear pick, she started gently stroking his hair.

The atmosphere in the living room instantly became soft and warm.

"Wait a second!"

Rinji suddenly opened his eyes.

"I'm lying on your lap, Hayasaka. Doesn't this kind of count as—"

Smack.

Before he could finish, Hayasaka clamped a hand over his mouth.

"It doesn't."

"Mm?"

"If you're trying to ask whether this counts as cheating, then obviously, it doesn't."

Hayasaka calmly said, holding his mouth shut while pressing his head firmly onto her lap.

"Mmmph?"

"This is part of a maid's duties. Perfectly normal."

"...Mmm?"

"A maid's job isn't just chores. Of course, it includes pleasing the master and helping them relax," Hayasaka said. "It's perfectly standard."

"…"

Still silenced, Rinji didn't say another word, though his eyes were filled with doubt.

Hayasaka wasn't exactly lying. There were certain maids with that kind of job… though that definitely wasn't part of any official description. More like… an unspoken role.

Still, Rinji shut his eyes again. It was relaxing, after all.

As for Hayasaka, she let go of his mouth and continued gently stroking his hair.

For the ten years she'd worked under the Shinomiya household, Hayasaka had been under constant pressure, which only grew worse with time. The weight she carried was far greater than anyone her age.

But in this moment, not only was Rinji relaxing—Hayasaka herself felt something she hadn't in a long time: comfort.

It was kind of like petting a cat.

After resting on her lap for quite a while, Rinji slowly sat up and rubbed his temples.

"Maids have this many duties?"

"Of course."

"My family used to have a maid too. She's now the head maid and lives with my grandparents. But I never saw her do any chores."

"Then what did she do?"

"Recon, mine-laying, assassinations, and bodyguard work."

"...Was she really a maid? Didn't she do anything less... dangerous?"

"Of course she was a maid. She wore a maid outfit every day," Rinji said. "As for less dangerous tasks—sure, things like maintaining firearms."

"…"

Hayasaka didn't really know much about Rinji's family.

She'd only met his mother and heard his father's voice over the phone.

Rinji's mother had left a strong impression—she was like the ideal model of a perfect woman in Hayasaka's mind.

As for his father… though she hadn't seen him, the lively and slightly dumb-sounding voice from the phone left its own kind of impression.

Rinji stretched his back after sitting up, then pulled out his phone to check the time.

It was exactly 7 PM.

"I'm heading out to buy some snacks. Do you want anything, Hayasaka?"

"Just coffee."

"Coffee at night? All right."

Rinji changed shoes and opened the door, turning back to ask, "Do you want to come with me?"

"I'll stay in tonight," Hayasaka said with a smile. "I came to work as a maid, so I need to be mindful of my role and responsibilities. I want to take a little time to get familiar with the layout of the house."

"Don't overdo it. I can handle some things on my own."

"Don't worry. I just don't want all the work to be taken from me," Hayasaka replied. "By the way, Rinji, I might need to check your room as part of familiarizing myself with the house. Is that okay?"

"Go ahead."

"Understood."

After Rinji left and the door closed, Hayasaka turned and looked toward his room.

She had said she wanted to get familiar with the layout for work, but honestly, Rinji's place wasn't that big—less than 200 square meters in total.

Compared to the Shinomiya mansion with its gardens, it would only take a few minutes to understand the space here.

Her real goal was to check Rinji's room—to learn more about his interests.

This kind of knowledge would help her pick the right birthday gift for him in the future.

Click.

She opened the door to Rinji's room. It was dark, but her hand found the light switch near the wall and flicked it on.

The room was plain and tidy. There was a bed in the center, a desk by the window, and a very slim laptop on the desk.

The only eye-catching thing was the large LCD screen near the bed, with a pile of games and console controllers underneath.

Rinji usually played games with Ishigami sitting on that bed.

"Hmm… doesn't seem like the type who hides dirty magazines under his bed…"

Hayasaka muttered to herself as she scanned the room.

Like many otakus, Rinji had a cabinet with all kinds of models—some from tokusatsu series, others were mechas from various robot anime.

There weren't any anime girl figures, though.

"…I see."

Hayasaka pulled a small notebook from her pocket and jotted something down with a pen.

"He's a gandum guy."

After putting the notebook away, Hayasaka walked over to Rinji's bed.

"This is where Rinji usually sleeps?"

No doubt about it.

She stared at the bed for a moment, then fell back onto it and buried her face into the pillow.