"I just asked Ms. Touma Youko out to get some advice on a music problem… how did it end up like this?"
Hara Kei looked at the three of them, crowded together and laughing, and lightly pressed his hand to his forehead.
After that day, Kei had added Touma Youko as a friend so he could consult her about music.
In terms of skill levels, both Touma and Kei were technically at Lv. 3. But Touma had been immersed in music for many years. While their technical skill might have been comparable, her experience far exceeded his. She knew countless little tricks that only years of practice could teach.
Interacting with her was immensely beneficial. On his system panel, it translated to a noticeable increase in speed for his Piano skill—basically, a +1 to efficiency.
Today's meeting, however, was supposed to be simple: Touma was handling some business near Saint Eden Academy and decided to drop by, to answer questions that were awkward to discuss online. Kei hadn't expected it to turn into a full-blown scene like this.
"They're not strangers, so it's fine for them to listen, right?" Touma said with a smile, still holding both girls close.
Kei thought: wow… this is only our second or third meeting, and she's already saying they're "not strangers"? Is this what being a practiced adult is like?
Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Touma's eyes suddenly glinted, and she said, "But before that… hmm," she cleared her throat, "I'm a little thirsty."
The implication in her tone was unmistakable.
"…." Kei had no choice but to comply.
Of course, he didn't dislike Touma. In fact, he rather liked her.
Not in a romantic sense—just as a matter of personal inclination.
Touma had a knack for gauging distance. In just a few interactions, she already had an understanding of how Kei approached people and how to handle him.
Not in the "neither too close nor too distant" sense—But in the "close when necessary, distant when necessary" sense.
And she wasn't blindly accommodating him. Even in online conversations, she peppered her words with harmless jokes or playful mischief to keep the conversation flexible and make clear she wasn't just a cold, robotic responder.
Mature, huh?
Kei naturally understood the hint. In this café, if someone wanted to quench their thirst, coffee was the obvious choice.
He stood, went to the booth's small bar, poured the dark, fragrant liquid into a ceramic cup, and added ice cubes.
"Sugar or cream?" he asked.
"No, I like it black," Touma said.
"Alright, enjoy." Kei set the cup in front of her and started to return to his seat.
"Wait!" It wasn't Touma who spoke, but Fujisawa Chika, holding a café menu and pointing at something. "You haven't cast the spell to make the food delicious yet!"
"…."
Kei glanced at the menu and saw the words: "Delicious magic from the maids, dedicated to the master & mistress who order drinks (<ゝω)☆"
This café had that kind of service? Kei had no idea. Was this a special feature you had to unlock with a prepayment or something?
Chika's expression screamed: "This one, this is it! I want this!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Even the usually composed Yukinoshita Yukino peeked over, her dark eyes glittering with interest.
"Fujisawa Chika," Kei said.
"Yes, yes," she replied eagerly.
"Setting aside whether I'm a server or not," Kei pointed to his face, "even if I were, I'm male. Are you imagining me as a cross-dressing maid pervert?"
"To me, seeing Kei serve is worth it," Chika said earnestly, nodding.
Kei thought: Go get your eyes checked.
Even Touma seemed excited, as if Kei were a "maid-costume pervert" she was eager to observe.
"If you don't want to chant the spell, that's fine too," Touma said after a pause, pretending to consider. "A little 'hoo~ hoo~' service for the drink works as well."
Hey… it's iced coffee…
In the end, Kei had to expend a lot of extra energy just to achieve his original goal. Curse it—all this could have been done over the phone.
"Hayasaka, Hayasaka?"
Hayasaka Ai looked up and was met with her mistress's icy, almost paralyzing glare.
Though outwardly unreadable, as her lifelong personal attendant, Ai could sense a flicker of concern beneath those eyes.
"You seem distracted lately. Are you too tired? Do you want me to give you a few days off?"
"No, Mistress," Ai replied, striving to keep her tone calm and composed, hiding the faint weakness in her voice.
Her mistress's observational skills were sharp. Ai hadn't been resting properly these past few days, but she couldn't reveal the real reason. Because…
It was too embarrassing.
Being sleep-deprived from watching tokusatsu shows was ridiculously childish! Was she a little kid?
The Shinomiya household demanded near-bone-crushing dedication from its servants. Ai herself had to wake up at 5 a.m., work until midnight, and unwind only with short, stress-relieving videos before bed.
But recently, thanks to a certain man, she had started watching tokusatsu shows before sleep.
It started with short highlights or "3-minute Kamen Rider summaries."
Then she wanted to understand the jokes, so she tracked down full episodes.
Finally…
The sun would rise.
Ai had to get up in a rush to prepare for a full day's work.
In short, it was all that man's fault.
Next time she saw him, she swore: he was totally doomed.