"Why are you still standing at the door?" Yukinoshita, who was preparing for bed, noticed Uchiha Ryo still standing at the bedroom door.
Uchiha Ryo turned his head stiffly. "Uh... hahaha, if I said the door was locked, would you believe me?"
Yukinoshita frowned, while Fujiwara Chika got out of bed directly. "Well, Uchiha-kun, even if you're going to make up an excuse, you should think of a better one. The door being locked or something..."
Fujiwara Chika pushed hard on the main door, then fell silent.
Yukinoshita: "What's wrong, Fujiwara-san?"
Fujiwara Chika turned her head. "The bedroom door... is indeed locked!"
"What? What about that butler Herthaka? Has he already gone to bed? Should we give him a call..."
Fujiwara Chika lowered her head. "Um... I don't have Butler-kun's number. Kaguya can definitely contact him, but the current Kaguya..."
Looking at Shinomiya Kaguya, who was already lying in bed in a deep sleep, Yukinoshita and Fujiwara Chika said no more.
Uchiha Ryo scratched his head. "Regarding this situation, I have a brilliant plan."
The two looked over, and Uchiha Ryo said seriously, "It's getting late. Why don't we just go to sleep first? We can deal with it tomorrow."
Yukinoshita: "...."
Fujiwara Chika: "...Then you can sleep on the floor."
Uchiha Ryo pointed at the floor. "Me, sleep on the floor? What if my frail little body catches a cold on the floor?!"
Yukinoshita snorted lightly. "You defeated three sports club aces in basketball, and your body is still frail?"
.....
The night passed without incident. Uchiha Ryo quietly made a bed for himself on the floor, while the three girls slept on Kaguya's large bed.
At five in the morning, Uchiha Ryo opened his eyes. Perhaps because he was a ninja, Uchiha Ryo's usual sleep time was very short, yet it was enough to guarantee his energy for the day.
Looking at the dawn breaking outside the window, Uchiha Ryo turned his head to look at the sleeping faces of the three beautiful girls.
He never expected Shinomiya Kaguya to be so cute when she was asleep. Yukino was also like a sleeping beauty. As for Fujiwara Chika... she was big. Really big.
He slowly walked to the bedside, then took out... his phone and took a picture of each of them. What were you thinking? Of course, the first thing to do is take pictures as a memento. They could also be used as leverage at a critical moment.
Putting down his phone, Uchiha Ryo noticed that the corner of Fujiwara Chika's mouth twitched. Then her hands suddenly shot up and hugged Uchiha Ryo's head.
"Pes~ you've grown again. Let me hug you!"
Hmm? Is she talking in her sleep? Uchiha Ryo remembered. Fujiwara Chika's family had a golden retriever named Pain... oh no, Pes.
Holy crap! Stop hugging, you'll suffocate me! This kind of 'death by boobs' can't happen in Lady Kaguya's room. After all, Lady Kaguya herself doesn't have such things.
Fujiwara Chika had clearly mistaken Uchiha Ryo's head for her golden retriever Pes in her dream and was pulling it into her embrace with all her might.
This Fujiwara Chika's strength was really not small. And Uchiha Ryo didn't dare to use force to break free. What if she woke up? It would be hard to explain.
"No, wait, the Chika hug is a pure grab, isn't it? It doesn't even allow for a substitute?"
Uchiha Ryo moved a little. Fujiwara Chika actually moved with him, as if she were taming the disobedient little dog Pes in her dream.
After a full three minutes of escaping from her chest, Uchiha Ryo finally pulled his head out.
Returning to his spot on the floor to play with his phone, finally, at six in the morning, a sound was heard from outside Kaguya's bedroom door.
Hayasaka Ai—!
Uchiha Ryo stood up. The moment she unlocked the door, he was the first to walk out.
And Hayasaka Ai (as the butler Herthaka), holding two locks, was also stunned for a moment when she saw Uchiha Ryo come out first.
"Uh... Young Master Ryo, you're up early."
Uchiha Ryo smiled and closed the bedroom door behind him.
"Hayasaka, as expected of Lady Kaguya's good maid, to lock others in with your own master."
Hayasaka Ai subconsciously took a step back, her eyes darted around, and then she also smiled and said.
"I was just afraid that Lady Kaguya (myself) would be in danger. With Young Master Ryo around, the three young ladies will definitely be very safe."
"Oh... so you locked me inside."
Uchiha Ryo took a step forward, and Hayasaka Ai took a step back. But as Uchiha Ryo pressed forward, Hayasaka Ai was finally backed into a corner.
"Speaking of which, you're supposed to be my maid today, right?"
Uchiha Ryo pressed his palm flat against the wall, preventing this agile maid from trying to escape.
Hayasaka Ai turned her head, not daring to look into Uchiha Ryo's eyes. "Well... yes."
"Then you should know what price you have to pay for offending your master, right? For now, go and pour me a cup of tea!"
In the hallway, a young maid walked nearby carrying a tray, and then... what did she see!
A male classmate invited by Lady Kaguya was teasing their male butler?!
"Mr... Herthaka?"
That's right. To prevent the risk of Hayasaka Ai's disguise being exposed, in the perception of the maids, chefs, and other staff of the Shinomiya family, the butler Herthaka and the maid Hayasaka Ai were two different people.
"Who's there?!"
Uchiha Ryo turned his head sharply. The young maid, who was already in shock, was then startled by Uchiha Ryo's sharp gaze.
Her hand loosened, and the tray she was holding fell to the ground.
The sound of shattering porcelain echoed. Fortunately, he had just closed Kaguya's bedroom door, otherwise they would have been woken up.
The butler Herthaka adjusted his glasses, then immediately walked over.
"I'm very sorry! Mr. Herthaka, I... I will go pack my things myself." The maid's expression visibly fell.
Uchiha Ryo stepped forward. "Pack your things? What do you mean?"
The butler Herthaka said with a serious expression, "In the Shinomiya family, making such a small mistake makes one unqualified to stay. After all, if you make a mistake once, it's easy to make it a second time."
Uchiha Ryo glanced at the young maid.
"Well, it seems she was scared by me just now, which is why she accidentally dropped the plate. Herthaka, do me a favor and let this go."
Hayasaka Ai fell silent, then sighed.
"You, I remember you're the maid who came last month. Your name is... Shirosaki Haruka, right? I have an impression of the documents you submitted. Since you're a single mother, you should be more serious in your work, if only for your child."
Shirosaki Haruka nodded desperately, then looked at Uchiha Ryo with gratitude. To be able to persuade the butler with just one sentence, it seems the two of them really are...
The maid cleaned up the fragments on the floor and quickly left, leaving only Hayasaka Ai and Uchiha Ryo behind.
"Hey, you didn't just let her stay because she's pretty, did you? She's a single mother, with a ten-year-old daughter named Hana."
Ah?! An unexpected gain. Uchiha Ryo suddenly thought of the little girl he had run into at the mall last month when he was helping Yukino buy cat food.
Uchiha Ryo: "I'm not interested in your maid... and what's with that tone? I'm your master! Hurry up and pour two cups of tea for your master."