Chapter 125: Shinomiya Kaguya Wants to Become Cute
Sunday.
By the time Hayasaka Ai returned to the Shinomiya residence, it was already midday.
The moment she got home, before she could even rest, Shinomiya Kaguya had already called her into the room.
After changing into her maid outfit, Hayasaka Ai reverted to her perfect, composed maid appearance.
Hayasaka: (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ
She pushed the door open and entered.
Shinomiya Kaguya glanced at her and then spoke:
"I'm thirsty."
"Kaguya-sama, what would you like to drink?"
"Hayasaka, you only know how to make coffee, right?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked back.
The other party's tea-making skills were not as good as hers.
A few minutes later.
"Where did you two sleep last night? Was the bed big?" Shinomiya Kaguya began to change the subject.
She was very curious but didn't dare to ask directly.
"Kaguya-sama, if you want to ask something, just ask directly. No need to beat around the bush with me." Hayasaka Ai brought the coffee to the desk where Kaguya was sitting, her golden ponytail gently swaying by her ear, her face expressionless.
Shinomiya Kaguya was silent for a few seconds, then cautiously probed—
"...Did it feel good?"
Kaguya: (//Ò///Ó//)
"I didn't do those kinds of things with him," Ai-chan replied bluntly.
"Huh?" Shinomiya Kaguya's expression shifted from expectation to speechlessness, "Hayasaka, you slept with him for one night, and you're telling me nothing happened?"
Kaguya rubbed her temples, then suddenly looked as if she had an epiphany:
"Don't tell me General Affairs Sakurai has a problem down there!?"
( ˶Ò_Ó˶)!!
"...Kaguya-sama, he's my boyfriend."
(ᓀ‸ᓂ)
"I know, I was just curious, after all..." Kaguya lifted the coffee cup, took a sip, then softly said:
"Hayasaka, you're really pretty."
"Thank you for the compliment." Ai-chan accepted the compliment without hesitation.
She had never been modest about her appearance.
"Then why?" Shinomiya Kaguya said in confusion.
"Did you two really just sleep together and do nothing else?"
No way? Were they really that innocent?
Seeing Kaguya's disappointed face, Hayasaka Ai said helplessly:
"Kaguya-sama, do you really want me and him to have sex that badly?"
"Of course... not." Shinomiya Kaguya looked away.
(,,Ծ‸Ծ,, )
Lately, she had been watching quite a few "study materials" and was very interested in these matters, but as a noble lady, she couldn't admit it.
"Alright then, let's just say nothing happened." Hayasaka Ai sighed.
Last night, she had done things far more outrageous than what this innocent lady could imagine.
Things that normal couples would never do—Ai-chan had already done them for Sakurai Saki.
"Really nothing happened. I hate perverted stuff the most." Shinomiya Kaguya said without blushing or skipping a beat.
"By the way, yesterday during your date there was a robbery, Hayasaka, did you see it?"
Hayasaka Ai recalled for a few seconds, then replied: "No, some passersby were talking about it, but since no one was hurt, people didn't seem too concerned."
Society in Japan is very indifferent; every morning there are quite a few people who throw themselves in front of trains. Even if several people died yesterday, it would still just be small talk over dinner.
Next, they moved on to talk about the movie the two had watched—
"Was the movie good?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked like she was investigating.
"...A romance film." Hayasaka Ai replied: "The plot was cliché, you could basically predict everything that was going to happen."
Yesterday, while watching the movie, she was busy being affectionate with her boyfriend—who would pay attention to the plot? However, Sakurai Saki had unexpectedly been moved, which surprised Hayasaka Ai. It seemed like he quite liked romantic films, or more accurately, maybe he didn't watch movies often?
And Hayasaka Ai's guess wasn't wrong—normally Sakurai Saki hardly watched movies. If he did, he'd never watch romance films. He preferred documentaries about killer whales or bloody, violent zombie movies.
"After the movie... you went to dinner?" Shinomiya Kaguya guessed.
"Right, who paid?"
"I did," Ai-chan answered.
"Why did you pay for the meal?" Kaguya was flustered.
If she remembered correctly, Hayasaka Ai had also paid for the movie tickets.
"It's fine."
"Weren't you angry?"
"He paid for the hotel room."
Hayasaka: (∗´ര ᎑ ര`∗)
Kaguya: (¬_¬)
Shinomiya Kaguya, who had never even held a boy's hand, took a critical hit.
Was this bragging? This was totally bragging, wasn't it?!
Seeing the sulky expression on Ojou-sama's face, Ai-chan gently smiled.
"Right, Kaguya-sama, this is for you." Hayasaka Ai spoke as she took a red-and-black hair tie out from the pocket of her maid uniform.
"This is?"
"Kaguya-sama said before that you wanted to change your image, so..." Hayasaka Ai circled behind her mistress and gently lifted her long, jet-black hair: "Let's start with your hairstyle. I think it's not a bad choice."
Every girl wants to be cute—even Kaguya Ojou-sama was no exception.
She was still keeping the same hairstyle from her "Ice Kaguya" phase. Not that long, straight black hair was bad, but if she wanted to change her image and become more adorable, then her hairstyle really did need a slight adjustment.
Time to begin the makeover.
Hayasaka Ai pushed her over to the wardrobe nearby.
"How is it?"
"..." Kaguya blinked, tilted her head slightly, and glanced sideways.
"It feels completely different."
(❀❛▿❛ )~
But when did she even buy this hair accessory?
Kaguya looked in the mirror and glanced at Hayasaka Ai's own hair tie—the blue one she was wearing was a gift from Kaguya herself, and it seemed she liked it a lot, as she'd been wearing it all this time.
"After the movie yesterday, I stopped by an accessory shop." Ai-chan explained.
She had also bought a matching set of phone charms with Sakurai Saki there.
Buying a hair accessory for Shinomiya Kaguya wasn't a sudden impulse; it was something she had been thinking about for a while—this time, she just happened to find a suitable one.
"Thank you. I'll use it with care." Shinomiya Kaguya turned around completely and glanced behind her.
Her maid hadn't forgotten her even while dating her boyfriend. She still thought about her.
'Kaguya-sama has become much more gentle now,' Hayasaka Ai thought to herself.
And it was all thanks to the student council.
Just who was it that had changed her? Was it President Shirogane, or was it Sakurai…?
A sharp exterior might fend off gossip and criticism from others, but it also blocks care and affection. Hayasaka Ai felt it was a good thing for Shinomiya Kaguya to come out of her "prickly hedgehog" state, even if she now seemed a bit more airheaded than before.
Mommy Hayasaka looked at Kaguya: ❀.(*´◡`*)❀
After letting Kaguya admire herself for a while, Hayasaka Ai brought up another matter—
"Kaguya-sama, I want to rent a place to live outside."
"Why?"
"Yesterday, he wanted to take me home, so he asked where I lived..." Hayasaka Ai said with a blank expression.
Kaguya: "You could just tell him. Say that you work at the Shinomiya household."
"I was going to say that, but last time I disguised myself as Herthaka-kun and went to karaoke..."
Actually, that wasn't the real problem. The main issue was that the confession that day had caused Sakurai Saki to misunderstand.
Shinomiya Kaguya thought for a moment, and realized that just saying it outright really wasn't a good idea.
"I'll rent on my own. Kaguya-sama doesn't need to worry about it."
"Umu." Kaguya could more or less guess her maid's thoughts.
Hayasaka didn't want to involve Sakurai with the Shinomiya household.
Of course, Kaguya understood her own position in the Shinomiya family better than anyone—as someone directly involved, she understood it even better than Hayasaka Ai. She had no influence, no assets; the only thing she had was a practically worthless inheritance right.
Although her father's health was no longer strong, he could probably hold out for a few more years.
Shinomiya Kaguya let go of all the thoughts in her mind.
In the end, she agreed to Hayasaka Ai's request.
She was only renting a place outside—it's not like she said she was moving out completely. No matter how attached Shinomiya Kaguya was to Hayasaka Ai, there was no reason to stop her.