Chapter 163: The Adorable (Sharp-tongued) Maid Kaguya-chan
Afternoon.
Inside the Student Council room, everyone had arrived early.
Except… Shinomiya Kaguya.
"Maid uniform! Maid uniform~ Kaguya-san is wearing a maid outfit! This is absolutely amazing!"
♪(๑>◡<๑)♪
Fujiwara Chika held the neatly folded maid uniform in her hands, spinning around in place while gleefully shouting.
Among all the Student Council members, there was no doubt that Chika was the one looking forward to seeing Kaguya in a maid outfit the most. She had never seen the latter wear such attire — even during their last sleepover, Kaguya only wore a very plain set of pajamas.
The animal-themed pajamas Chika had suggested before — Kaguya didn't wear those either.
Chika herself loved wearing fuzzy animal pajamas, but she had stopped recently — summer had arrived, and the weather was too hot.
Wearing a furry outfit in her room, covered with a blanket, and with the air conditioner on — of course her dad would scold her for that.
The Fujiwara family was a political household, and the education was extremely strict.
"Kaguya-san isn't going to run away at the last minute, right?" Sakurai Saki hadn't even prepared any coffee today.
Because he was waiting for a cup of black tea made by Shinomiya Kaguya — the maid — for the Master.
The terms of the bet clearly stated — the loser must address the winner as "Master", and that clause was added by Sakurai himself. As for wearing a maid outfit… that was completely Shinomiya Kaguya digging her own grave.
A few minutes later.
Ojou-sama Kaguya entered.
( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡ )
She maintained her usual haughty posture, scanning the room like she was patrolling her domain, but when her eyes landed on the maid outfit in Fujiwara Chika's hands, her expression shifted slightly.
Calmly, she walked over to Chika.
"All male students, please step outside," she said.
Sakurai Saki and the other two boys, who had been eavesdropping, immediately walked out.
"Hm hm~" Sakurai Saki hummed softly.
"...Tch."
Shinomiya Kaguya shot him a glare, but since she was currently holding the maid uniform in her hands, that action carried zero intimidation.
Before the door closed, the last thing Sakurai Saki saw was Fujiwara Chika's face — looking like a complete pervert.
Chika: (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)~
'Why does it feel like Chika's even more excited than I am?'
Probably not just his imagination.
Considering how Chika had managed to tolerate Kaguya all these years, the bond between those two might not be any shallower than the one between him and Chika.
After all, according to what Chika once said, back in middle school, it was Chika who had approached Shinomiya Kaguya first — just like how last year, Shirogane Miyuki had been the one to approach him.
"Do you guys have anything you want to ask Kaguya-san to do later?" Sakurai Saki asked.
Ojou-sama Kaguya had been tyrannizing the Student Council for so long, surely grudges had been building up — the people couldn't live like this anymore. It was time to rise up!
"Well… Sakurai, Shinomiya doesn't exactly have the best temper, you know. Don't push it too far or it might backfire…"
Shirogane Miyuki gave a word of warning in advance.
Wouldn't want another body floating in Tokyo Bay tomorrow.
"It's fine, don't worry. This time she lost the bet. As long as she still has some shame, she won't take revenge on us." Sakurai Saki was full of confidence.
"Even if she chops me to pieces, the blood won't splatter on you guys."
Shirogane Miyuki glanced at the firmly shut Student Council room door and said softly, "The blood might not splatter on me, but we'll still die separately. You'll die first, I'll die later."
Sakurai Saki then turned to Ishigami Yuu, "Ishigami, what about you?"
"Sakurai-senpai, I think Shinomiya-senpai treats me very kindly. I don't have anything I want to ask her to do," Ishigami Yuu said seriously.
If only his legs weren't trembling at that moment, his words might have been more convincing.
Ishigami Yuu was deeply afraid of Shinomiya Kaguya. Even though she no longer operated in "Ice Kaguya" mode and had become much gentler, the fear embedded in Ishigami's DNA wasn't something easily erased.
Ishigami: (っ,,>﹏<,,ς)
"You two are such cowards," Sakurai Saki sighed.
This country has fallen to such a pitiful state because it lacks a guiding flame.
Even someone like Shinomiya Kaguya, who's been oppressing everyone in the Student Council all this time—no one dares to overthrow her. How pathetic!
"Saki-kun, come iiiin!!!" Fujiwara Chika's voice rang out from inside.
Judging from her tone, she sounded absolutely ecstatic.
Hearing that, Sakurai Saki pushed open the Student Council room door.
And then, he froze.
Ishigami Yuu and Shirogane Miyuki also stepped in.
A moment later, they too froze.
All three in unison: "Who the hell are you?"
...
Inside the door—
Shinomiya Kaguya was dressed in a frilly, lace-trimmed maid outfit, with a classic maid headband on her head, her movements perfectly proper — but most of all, it was her expression. Her face at the moment was incredibly gentle.
Kaguya: ❀.(*´◡`*)❀
So gentle it terrified every boy in the room.
"This maid outfit… looks like Akihabara style…" Ishigami Yuu came to his senses. Earlier, when the outfit was still folded, he thought it was just a typical proper maid uniform. Who would've guessed it'd be this 'moe-moe-kyun' type!
"These white stockings, super cute, right? They've even got bows on them — they're garter stockings~" Chika bent down, seemingly about to touch Kaguya's thighs — but was gracefully sidestepped with a smile by Kaguya.
"Fujiwara-san, that's not allowed."
A chill ran down Chika's spine.
At this point, Shirogane Miyuki had also come back to his senses.
"Shinomiya, this outfit of yours is... uh, kinda… cute." Shirogane said, and immediately sat down on the sofa.
He rubbed his temple and fell into deep thought.
It really feels like Shinomiya's been getting weirder and weirder lately.
Sure, Shirogane Miyuki did want Shinomiya Kaguya to break free of the Shinomiya household — that prison disguised as a family — but wasn't this method of escape… a bit too bizarre?
"Master~ is there anything you wish to order me to do?" Shinomiya Kaguya lifted her skirt slightly and bowed before Sakurai Saki, voice respectful to the extreme.
Kaguya: (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)⁾⁾
Sakurai: Σ(°ロ°)
"Can you please act normal?" Sakurai Saki's face was as dark as a thundercloud.
He could say with certainty: Kaguya was doing this deliberately to make him nauseous.
"Master, Kaguya has always been like this~ why are you asking me to act normal?" Shinomiya Kaguya tilted her head cutely.
It's hopeless — this damn girl had figured out the most disgusting way to torment him.
In Sakurai Saki's original vision, Shinomiya Kaguya would wear a look of absolute disdain but begrudgingly obey him due to losing the bet.
But this result — this wasn't what he wanted at all!
This version of Shinomiya Kaguya — aside from making people feel sick, served no purpose whatsoever.
[Something's off.] Yes, that was it exactly.
Everyone here could feel that something was seriously off.
"Make us some tea," Sakurai Saki sighed and sat down on the sofa.
The next few minutes, the Student Council room fell into silence.
"Master~ please enjoy your tea," Shinomiya Kaguya smiled and placed a teacup on the table.
And then—
She sat down beside Sakurai Saki.
She then picked up another cup, gently blew on it a few times, and brought it close to Sakurai Saki's mouth.
"Master, the tea's still a bit hot, so please be careful while drinking. If you get burned, Kaguya will be so worried."
Sakurai Saki didn't reach out to take the cup.
He was starting to feel like he wanted to escape the Student Council room altogether.
"Do you want me to blow on it a bit more? Mou~ honestly, I just don't know what to do with Master~" Kaguya said, and kept blowing a few more times.
Then, she pressed the cup right up to Sakurai Saki's lips.
"Drink it right now, you bastard, this lady demands it!!"
Kaguya said coldly.
"You slipped up, Kaguya-san." Sakurai Saki took the cup.
"Please, just act normal."
"If I listen to you, you won't be satisfied either. You really are such a demanding guy," Shinomiya Kaguya shot him a glare.
The other three people in the room collectively let out a breath of relief.
This version of Kaguya was much more reassuring.
Just now, they must've crossed over into some weird Lostbelt or something — Ishigami Yuu thought to himself.