Chapter 350: Don’t Look It Up on the Wiki

With her face still buried in the pillow, Ai Hayasaka took a deep breath, lying still on the bed.

After a long moment, she sat up and looked around the rest of Rinji's room.

Walking over to the desk, Hayasaka was tempted to open the laptop in front of her, curious about what might be inside, but decided against it, realizing it would be an invasion of privacy.

Just as she sat down at the desk, a magazine fell off the edge as she pulled out the chair.

"Hm?"

Curious, Ai picked up the magazine. It was a military magazine from four years ago, used internally by IW. The IW logo in the bottom-right corner of the cover made that clear.

She vaguely knew Rinji had some connection to IW, though the exact relationship was unclear. She flipped it open at random.

In the middle section, there was a feature introducing an aircraft carrier that had been in service for over a decade. The magazine detailed some basic specs of the ship.

Notably, someone had circled part of the ship with a marker and written in English: "Buy it" followed by "3y."

Rinji had indeed planned to buy the ship within three years.

In the illustration, two stick figures holding hands were drawn at the bow of the ship—one with a smiling face, the other with a side ponytail.

"..."

Ai could guess the meaning.

It was a doodle Rinji had drawn four years ago, picturing them traveling together on a ship.

Though touring around on an aircraft carrier made no sense, it was a whimsical idea—normal for a kid in elementary school back then.

"Travel the seas together, huh? Not bad."

She smiled, brushing her hand over the sketch Rinji had made in the magazine.

Rustle!

As she flipped the page, several photographs fell out.

"Hm."

Quickly picking them up, she glanced through them.

The first photo was a group shot on a coastline. Everyone in the picture was fully armed and smiling at the camera. The shortest person in the center was Rinji—the youngest among them.

The photo was dated four years ago.

The second photo was also a group picture at the same location, but now everyone's faces were smudged with dirt, their smiles more strained. A few people from the first photo were missing.

The third photo had even fewer people.

The fourth, even less.

In the last photo, only Rinji and two soldiers remained. None of them smiled—only a chilling aura remained, visible even through the photo.

The time gap between photos was one year and two months.

"...So this is what your life was like after leaving Japan… Did you leave… because of me?"

Her hands trembled as she held the photos.

---

"Hmm~ hmmm~"

Rinji hummed a tune, carrying snacks he'd just bought from the convenience store as he returned home.

He unlocked the door with his key and entered, only to see Hayasaka sitting blankly in the living room chair.

"Hayasaka, I bought the snacks."

"Ah, thank you."

He set the bag down on the table and handed her the canned coffee she'd requested, then took out some cookies.

"So, what are you doing just sitting in the living room? Want to watch TV? The remote's there."

"No need. I was just checking out how the place is arranged, planning how to work tomorrow."

"Even if the house is a mess, I can clean it all in two or three hours." Rinji smiled as he opened a can of cola. "Besides, I normally clean, so there's not much work to do tomorrow."

"There are always things a maid needs to do."

Hayasaka gave a mischievous smile.

"Or do you need me to sleep with you too?"

"Don't joke like that. Is that really part of a maid's job?"

"It is."

"..."

"Put the phone down. I know you were about to check Wikipedia. I was joking."

"You scared me."

Rinji put his phone back in his pocket.

Hayasaka sipped her coffee, her gaze fixed on his face.

She rarely said it, but she knew Rinji hadn't had an easy life outside Japan.

And it was because of her...

"It's already 8 PM," Rinji said after glancing at the clock.

"Hayasaka, what would you usually be doing at this hour?"

"Working—cleaning dishes or serving guests. As maids, we're not allowed in front of guests unless summoned, so usually, we eat after Kaguya-sama finishes her meal, back in the kitchen. Sometimes, when there are guests visiting the Shinomiya family in Tokyo, Kaguya-sama handles the reception. That means more dishes... evenings are busier than mornings."

"And after that?"

"Wrapping up. If guests are around, we also prepare parting gifts."

"Then?"

"Chatting with Kaguya-sama."

"...What time do you normally finish work?"

"11:30 PM."

"I see..."

"I wake up at 5:00 AM."

"Isn't that against labor laws? You're only seventeen."

"That's just how it's set."

Rinji paused, setting his cola aside and looking at her.

"Hey... Why not just quit?"

"I've thought about it, but at least for now..."

Buzz~

Just then, Hayasaka's phone rang.

When she saw the caller ID, her expression faltered for a moment, but she still answered.

"...Hello?"

"Hey, Hayasaka. Heard you were sick today?" A man's voice came through.

"...Yes."

"Can you show me a doctor's note?"

"..."

There was no such note. It was a lie Kaguya had told to get her a day off.

"What's wrong? If you were really sick, the hospital would've given you a diagnosis. I even know what you supposedly have."

"I…"

Just as she steadied herself to reply, Rinji stood up, grabbed her phone, and put it to his ear.

"Hello? Are you a relative of Hayasaka? I'm her classmate. I'm with her at the hospital right now. She's not feeling well enough to talk. Is there something you need me to pass on?"

The other end of the call went silent.

"Hello? Are you there? May I ask who you are to Hayasaka?"

"I… I'm her uncle."

"Oh, her uncle." Rinji chuckled. "Please don't worry. Hayasaka is doing just fine."

"Ah, that's good to hear…"

"Oh, right, Uncle Hayasaka. One more thing."

"Go ahead."

"If you dare lie to me again, I'll rip your throat out and stuff it full of shit."

"..."

"I'll ask one more time. Who the hell are you?"