Yukino Yukinoshita's faintly shy admission lit a fire under Hozuki Nozomi's ribs.
He stared at her with burning eyes, dragging his gaze from the crown of her head down to the toes of her boots, scrutiny so thorough it made her squirm in her seat.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just marveling at how Yukino keeps getting cuter and cuter. Who taught you to say something so provocative just now?"
"I feel like my heart's about to leap out of my chest."
"Pfft. Nobody taught me."
Yukino Yukinoshita huffed at him, her small face flushed pink.
Hozuki Nozomi smiled and said nothing more. He'd long since finished his own ramen and was now enjoying the view of her and Mahiru working through theirs.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Shiina Mahiru exchanged a glance, then, with wordless understanding, each took hold of one of his arms.
They turned him around completely, so his back was facing them.
"Don't stare at us while we're eating, it's embarrassing."
Hozuki Nozomi kept his head forward, but pouted.
"It's obviously very cute. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"Me — I want to burn every one of Mahiru and Yukino's cute expressions into my memory."
The two girls ignored him and focused only on their bowls.
Not long after, the noodles were gone.
A final sip of broth warmed them from the throat down.
Once the two girls dabbed at their small mouths with tissues, Hozuki Nozomi slipped an arm around each slender waist and slowly led them away from the ramen stall.
"Let's go. It's still early — we'll wander the shops and pick up a few things on the way."
Since they were already out, it would be rude not to bring back some gifts for the family.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Shiina Mahiru both blushed, but neither pulled away from his hold.
They leaned into him naturally as they walked.
From the envious, jealous, and outright resentful gazes drilling into them from all sides, the two girls surely understood.
This was probably that boy's vanity showing itself again.
Embracing two absolute beauties at the same time — of course the passersby would look at him with envy, jealousy, and hate.
He was showing off.
Still, it wasn't worth making a fuss about.
If he liked to show off, then let him have his moment.
The three of them walked at a leisurely pace, stopping often, and whenever they came across a pretty view they paused to take photos together.
Another way of stitching beautiful memories into the day.
Once they arrived at the mall, Yukino Yukinoshita and Shiina Mahiru led Hozuki Nozomi into the clothing section.
Yukino Yukinoshita plucked up a red scarf and held it against him.
She then wound it around his neck herself, tilting her head left and right to judge the effect, decided she was quite satisfied, and bought it on the spot.
At checkout, Hozuki Nozomi felt the sales clerk's gaze slide over him thick with disdain.
Right.
They were pegging him as a gigolo living off women.
Yukino had chosen a red scarf for Hozuki Nozomi.
Shiina Mahiru, meanwhile, picked out a blue jacket for him.
A rather thick one at that.
Apparently, she was worried he'd get cold in winter, so she'd deliberately chosen something heavy.
Hozuki Nozomi felt a little helpless.
But Mahiru's thoughtfulness was something precious beyond measure.
He accepted it gladly — he'd wear it all winter.
At checkout it was Shiina Mahiru who paid.
The sales clerk's gaze at Hozuki Nozomi turned even more contemptuous, and she'd already filed him firmly under gigolo and scumbag.
Since Yukino and Mahiru had both been so attentive in choosing gifts for him, Hozuki Nozomi naturally couldn't just think of himself.
So he began picking out clothes for the two girls in turn.
Yukino Yukinoshita hardly wanted for clothes.
Her wardrobe at home was crammed full, dresses and coats and blouses of every conceivable style.
As for Shiina Mahiru, she was also the daughter of a wealthy family, so she certainly wasn't lacking either.
Even so, what Hozuki Nozomi chose was worth every yen.
He didn't hesitate.
First, he picked out matching cute pajamas for Yukino and Shiina Mahiru.
Shiina Mahiru's was fox-themed, even complete with a hood shaped into little fox ears.
Yukino Yukinoshita's, meanwhile, was cat-themed.
Yukino Yukinoshita adored all cats.
So if you wanted to please her, choosing something with a cat pattern was always the safest bet.
After the pajamas, he led the two girls onward — to a maid café.
Because here, they could try on maid outfits themselves.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Shiina Mahiru both looked at him with unmistakable disdain, their small mouths pursing in unison.
Together, they let out a single word.
"Hentai.~"
Hozuki Nozomi rubbed the tip of his nose, not the least bit embarrassed.
He just wanted to see his fiancée and his girlfriend wearing maid outfits. So what?
And besides, they'd only ever wear them for him.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Shiina Mahiru didn't actually refuse, and walked in with him.
...
After a bit of negotiation with the kind proprietress, they secured the chance to try the outfits on.
The proprietress felt it was a genuine pity.
If such elegant, beautiful young ladies were to come work at her café, business would explode overnight.
But there was nothing she could do — they were only there to experience the outfits and had no intention of working.
...
A short while later, Shiina Mahiru and Yukino Yukinoshita appeared before him in maid uniform.
Shiina Mahiru's was a pink, showily frilled maid outfit, lace ornaments perched in her ash-blonde hair, the tight bodice hugging the full curve of her chest and cinching her waist before the skirt flared over her hips. Her ample figure and that sweet, careful smile —
Explosively cute.
She held a small tray in both hands and glanced at him with a shy tilt of her head.
"Master, do you have any commands?"
Hozuki Nozomi rubbed his nose, checked his fingertip to confirm he wasn't actually bleeding, and shot her a thumbs-up.
"Mahiru, that's incredible!"
Then came Yukino Yukinoshita.
She was on another level entirely.
A black-and-white maid outfit, her pale shoulders slightly bared, thin black ribbons threaded across her delicate collarbones like careful stitching. Paired with that impossibly cute face, her slender, graceful figure, and a pair of long legs sheathed in black over-the-knee stockings — the strip of thigh visible above the fabric pale as porcelain — she looked more graceful and breathtaking still.
The most incredible part of it all —
It was clearly a maid outfit, and yet she somehow wore it as if she were a princess.
Her cool composure, layered with those cold blue eyes, went straight through Hozuki Nozomi's chest like a needle.
"Yukino, I can't bear to blink. What do I do?"
Yukino Yukinoshita snorted, a flicker of disdain crossing her eyes, and gave the top of his head a light tap with the tray.
"Pervert.~ Behave yourself."
"There. As you wished, I've put these clothes on. Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied. Extremely satisfied."
"Why don't we just buy them and bring them home?"
"But the proprietress said they weren't for sale."
"No problem. I'll talk her into it."
There was no problem money couldn't solve.
If there was —
Then throw more money at it.
...
Under Hozuki Nozomi's yen-heavy offensive, the proprietress reluctantly agreed to sell him the two maid outfits.
She did, however, make him swear not to use them for any kind of business, and even had him sign a contract.
The outfits were her own designs, and if a competitor got hold of them for commercial use, she'd be crushed.
Hozuki Nozomi assured her it was no problem at all.
He wasn't insane — why on earth would he want to open a maid café and put his own girls to work in them?
He just wanted to see Yukino and the others wear maid outfits in private.
That was called private enjoyment.
...
Watching Yukino, poised like a noble princess, and Mahiru, painfully sweet in her frills, Hozuki Nozomi found himself suddenly, urgently eager to get home.
After all — pulling both of them into his lap, sliding his hands up under those skirts, wasn't exactly appropriate in public.