Chapter 158: Kaguya's Way to School
Early morning, Hayasaka Ai woke up in her bedroom.
She was still a bit groggy, her long golden hair flowing down her snow-white shoulders—thick and lustrous enough to make others jealous.
Even though her daily life was busy and stressful, Hayasaka Ai didn't suffer from hair loss. She normally used the most expensive skincare and haircare products.
Her blonde hair was natural—she had never dyed it, hardly ever stayed up late, and always made sure to go to bed before midnight.
Last night, she had even gone to sleep a little after ten.
Recently, Kaguya-sama hadn't been calling her for late-night talks anymore. The last time, she mentioned having made a bet with Sakurai—whoever lost had to wear a maid outfit—and she had even brought a full maid uniform from the mansion to the student council room.
If justice-driven Miko-chan found out, she would definitely scold the student council's eccentric behavior at the top of her lungs.
["You dare wear a maid outfit in the sacred student council room!? Unbelievable!"]
The image of Iino Miko's expression had already been vividly imagined in Hayasaka Ai's mind.
"Huh?" Hayasaka Ai rubbed her thigh.
She felt a slight soreness—had she slept on it weirdly last night?
Lately, Hayasaka Ai had been in very good physical health, thanks to Cat-onee-san going out every night to Shibuya and beating up thugs to relieve stress. As a result, Hayasaka Ai had been under less pressure and in much better spirits.
She undressed in the bathroom of her room, turned on the shower, and stepped inside.
Warm water streamed down from above.
She used her morning shower as a way to wake herself up and get into work mode.
In the evenings, Ai-chan would go to the large bathhouse designated for staff in the mansion, hang a sign reading [In Use] on the door, and enjoy a brief moment of solitude. The other female staff in the mansion had complaints about this, but it didn't matter.
...
"What? Kaguya-sama, you want to walk to school?"
At the mansion gate, beside the black car, Hayasaka Ai once again felt her blood pressure rising.
There was still nearly an hour left before school started, so walking would be on time—even without taking the train.
"Hayasaka, the president and Sakurai-san both go to school on their own, so..."
"Kaguya-sama, only children imitate others," Hayasaka Ai replied.
Since the start of this semester, Kaguya-sama had been acting… a little off.
It might sound too harsh when talking about one's mistress, but in Hayasaka Ai's eyes, she was undeniably acting strange.
"I'm not a child." Shinomiya Kaguya just wanted to try something new.
Kaguya: ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)
She had never walked to school before.
That's right—never.
As an Ojou-sama raised in a secluded room surrounded by layer upon layer of protection, Shinomiya Kaguya's modes of transportation had almost always been cars—or private jets for longer distances.
"Alright, Kaguya-sama, could you tell me why exactly you want to walk to school yourself? It's not just because you want to imitate the president and my boyfriend, is it?" Hayasaka Ai, in her graceful and composed maid mode, asked with a serious demeanor.
"I simply want to try it. But Hayasaka, for you to show such a serious face while referring to 'my boyfriend' instead of Sakurai-san… that really opened my eyes."
Kaguya had barely finished speaking—
She noticed a faint blush appear on Hayasaka Ai's otherwise expressionless face.
Hayasaka: (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
'Acting all serious while getting flustered, huh?'
Her maid was unexpectedly pure. Kaguya still didn't understand how she'd even managed to successfully confess back then.
Kaguya honestly hadn't expected Hayasaka to succeed that day.
And truthfully, that probably would've been the case—if it hadn't been for Fujiwara Chika's help, Hayasaka Ai surely would have given up.
"In that case, Kaguya-sama, if you really want to walk to school that much, then let's head out right now!" Hayasaka Ai composed herself and smiled.
Shinomiya Kaguya felt like Hayasaka was definitely up to something, but she didn't really mind.
Surely she wouldn't sell her out, right?
...
Ten minutes later.
"Hayasaka, this is the right way, right? Why does it feel more and more deserted?" Shinomiya Kaguya pointed at a recently demolished building up ahead.
Kaguya: (°⌓ °;)
Now she really felt like she'd been sold out.
"Please don't worry, Kaguya-sama."
...
Another ten minutes passed.
Shinomiya Kaguya stopped in place: "Hayasaka, are you mad or something? I was just teasing you a little!"
"What are you saying? Aren't we mistress and maid, like close sisters? How could I ever be mad at you?"
...
Thirty minutes later.
The two of them arrived at Shuchiin's gate just in time before classes started.
Shinomiya Kaguya was panting heavily.
Her stamina wasn't bad, but after being dragged up several steep slopes, she really couldn't take it anymore.
Kaguya glanced at Hayasaka Ai beside her—also a high school girl—yet the difference in stamina was staggering.
"Hayasaka, are you really not mad?"
Hayasaka Ai: "Kaguya-sama, you should try training your stamina a bit. You always lose to my boyfriend in sports activities—this must be the reason."
Shinomiya Kaguya had figured it out.
This girl had dragged her around this massive detour purely because of that "my boyfriend" line earlier.
If it weren't for the fact that she wasn't familiar with the area and couldn't exactly ditch Hayasaka Ai, Kaguya would've slipped away long ago.
"Let's do it again tomorrow, Kaguya-sama," Hayasaka Ai said gently.
"…Refuse," Shinomiya Kaguya huffed.
Even if she decided to walk to school again next time, she would definitely check the map beforehand. She couldn't let Hayasaka lead her around by the nose like that again—it was too embarrassing!
That Shiba Inu they saw earlier on the road was kinda cute though.
...
By the time Sakurai Saki saw Hayasaka Ai, it was almost time for morning homeroom.
Seeing her enter through the front door, Sakurai Saki smiled and greeted her.
"Good morning, Ai-chan."
He always felt a little guilty around her—after all, last night he had spent the night with another woman and did it several times behind her back.
That said, Sakurai Saki didn't reject physical intimacy. To him, love shouldn't be about the physical, but about the emotional connection.
"We didn't play games together last night. What were you doing?"
"Filming." Sakurai Saki answered.
Nearby, a few students looked over with curious expressions.
Then, Hayasaka Ai asked the exact thing they were all wondering——
"What kind of film?"
"Secret." As soon as Sakurai Saki said that, he noticed his girlfriend didn't look too pleased with that answer, so he quickly added, "Just a small supporting role, not many scenes."
"And what about you, Ai-chan? What did you do last night?"
Right after asking this—
In Sakurai Saki's field of vision——
[Scumbag!]
[⁽⁽(੭ꐦ •̀Д•́ )੭*⁾⁾]
Today's superpower had been sending him strange messages at random intervals.
All Sakurai Saki could do now was hope the people from that "other world" wouldn't get too fired up, but this power was basically a spiritual projection of his own subconscious, which made it really hard to accept.
"I worked until nearly 10, then went home, showered, and went straight to sleep." Hayasaka Ai didn't lie to him.
Being a maid was indeed her job, and she earned a solid salary of 500,000 yen per month—not a small sum. Plus, she had savings of up to 40 million yen.
If not for that, Hayasaka Ai wouldn't have seriously considered the idea of running away with Sakurai Saki back then.
...
Morning homeroom began.
Their homeroom teacher, Masaki-sensei, didn't say anything important—just mentioned the upcoming midterms.
A few students with poor grades were called out by name, since not all the scores were in yet. After all, they had only just finished two subjects yesterday.
As for Shinomiya Kaguya's maid outfit—looks like it won't be seen until next Monday.