Chapter 242: Hayasa-nyan and the Struggle of Hayasaka Ai
The result of the democratic vote for the school trip was exactly as Chika predicted: Kyoto won by a small margin.
Therefore, this time the school trip destination for Shuchiin was set as Kyoto, lasting for three days. The second-years would go first, followed by the first-years and third-years.
Sakurai Saki actually wasn't very interested in Kyoto. His home was right there, and over the years he had already visited all the places worth seeing. Who would want to go on a trip right in front of their own house? Probably no one.
...
At night, Hayasaka Ai had just left Shinomiya Kaguya's room.
Today she had been very busy — or rather, there had never been a single day in Hayasaka Ai's life that was easy.
Shinomiya Kaguya's schedule was always packed, dragging along with it the maids in the mansion, keeping them endlessly busy.
Hayasaka Ai had never once questioned this kind of life. From childhood, she had worked as a maid — from childhood, day after day, month after month, year after year.
Every second, every minute, every day, she had never relaxed.
But none of that mattered. No matter how exhausting, she could endure it.
Returning to her room, Hayasaka Ai took out her phone and called the Shinomiya family to report the situation.
"…Today after school, Kaguya-sama went to the student council room. At dinner time, the wife from the Yamanote transport family came to the mansion, and Kaguya-sama had dinner with her."
Hayasaka Ai reported every word and every action of Shinomiya Kaguya, without leaving out a single detail.
A long while later, she put down the phone.
A few seconds of silence.
Hayasaka Ai softly began to cry.
Anything else she could endure — only this was what made her unable to eat or sleep in peace.
For nearly ten years of looking after Kaguya, she had always been haunted by guilt, to the point of collapse.
Wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes, Hayasaka Ai went to the bath, showered, dried her hair, and then watched a few videos to relieve stress before drifting into sleep.
...
A world of pure white.
Hayasaka Ai slowly opened her eyes.
"If you don't want to, wouldn't it be better to let go early, nyan? Anyway, with that much savings, you could travel the world for years and still not spend it all, nyan."
Following the voice, Hayasaka Ai looked to the side.
The scenery around her instantly shifted from white to a grassy plain. Not far away, a white-haired girl was drinking tea, with a pair of cat ears growing on her head.
"Oya, so you came, nyan?" The white cat tilted her head, the ears on top twitching slightly.
At that moment, in Cat Onee-san's mind, memories of stealing Hayasaka Ai's man kept flashing by.
The same went for Hayasaka Ai.
"..."
"..."
The two glared at each other.
"Who are you?" Hayasaka Ai had never experienced a dream this real.
She walked toward the large umbrella under which the other was sitting.
"I am you." The white cat explained.
"A second personality?"
"The cat you buried in the garden was actually my former form." The white cat explained her origin.
"…So those things weren't dreams." Hayasaka Ai muttered.
Her second personality had slept with her boyfriend — did that count as being NTR'ed? Hmmm, this was something worth pondering, full of philosophy.
"Oh come on, things like that don't matter." The white cat immediately changed the subject.
"They matter very much."
"Though our body is one, it's not completely the same." The white cat explained: "If you want, I can help you restore your body, so you too can experience the pain of losing virginity — as many times as you like."
At this moment, Hayasaka Ai didn't want to admit that this being was her second personality.
"Alright, your silence means you agree."
The white cat handed her a teacup from the table, and at the same time invited her to sit down.
This was Hayasaka Ai's mental space. Because the pressure within her had been relieved so much, this place was very safe.
"Really, I can't understand your thinking, nyan. Kaguya-sama has long since stopped being the weak little girl she once was. Even if you leave her, nothing will happen."
"I want to tell her the truth." Hayasaka Ai said firmly.
"If you tell her that every day you've been betraying her, reporting all her information to the main family, she will definitely hate you."
"..." Hayasaka Ai, though she very much wished Kaguya could be generous and forgive her, knew clearly that it was impossible.
Shinomiya Kaguya hated traitors. She had never befriended anyone who leaked her information.
She was close to Fujiwara Chika because Fujiwara Chika would never talk behind her back.
"Don't you want more time with your boyfriend, nyan? You two have been dating for half a year now, haven't you?" The white cat patiently coaxed.
"It's already been half a year, yet you can only eat lunch with him during breaks. Even after school, you still have to help Kaguya-sama with her affairs, not a single moment to rest. Are you really fine with that? If this continues, by the time you graduate high school, nothing will have changed."
Hayasaka Ai: "..."
"Speaking of which, about Chika-chan going on dates with him, you can't not know, right? In the student council room, how many opportunities do they have to be close? Surely not few?"
"I know."
She knew it very well.
"Don't tell me you believe Sakurai-chan won't like someone else. Even you don't believe that, right?" The white cat sneered. "Men are easily tempted, having mistresses is perfectly normal. But if you can't even keep the position of the main girlfriend, that's truly disgraceful."
Seeing her silence, the white cat dropped the subject.
Their memories were shared. The white cat only wanted Hayasaka Ai to make a decision quickly. Whether about quitting her job or about her boyfriend, she wanted Ai-chan to be decisive soon.
If she kept following Shinomiya Kaguya's every demand, and one day Kaguya truly realized she liked Sakurai Saki, then what would Hayasaka Ai do?
"Quit your job. If you want to become a normal friend of Kaguya-sama, this is the only way."
"…Mm."
Hayasaka Ai tried to convince herself.
...
Morning.
In Kaguya's room.
Shinomiya Kaguya looked at Hayasaka, her voice excited: "The school trip starts today!"
Kaguya: ₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾
"I've never looked forward to a trip as much as this one! Hayasaka, are you all packed and ready?"
After speaking, Kaguya noticed that Hayasaka Ai didn't answer right away.
She seemed a little tired.
"Hayasaka, you've been a bit worn out lately, haven't you? Take this trip as a chance to relax and enjoy yourself."
Hayasaka Ai was silent for a few seconds.
"Kaguya-sama, I have something important I want to tell you."
"What is it? No matter what, I can accept it, even if it were the stars in the sky…"
"After this trip ends, I will resign as your maid."
"…Huh?" Shinomiya Kaguya froze in panic. "You're joking, right?"
She smiled, stepped closer to Hayasaka Ai, and lightly patted her shoulder: "Hayasaka, even you are joking with me now? Honestly…"
"I'm serious." Hayasaka Ai repeated once more: "I'm not joking."
Shinomiya Kaguya stood frozen in place like a robot.
She couldn't say a word for a long time.