"Hime-chan... she's so, so cute. So cute."
"Wha-. D-don't pull me...!"
The Hoshimiya sisters are playing around on the bed.
Hime fell down after being pulled by Kiyoshi's hand, and he embraced her and stroked her head.
"There there. Himecha, no matter what you say, you still love your big sister, right?"
"...I never said I didn't like it."
"Oh, is that so? So you love me then? I love you too, Hime-chan. Hug me tight."
"B-But it hurts to be hugged like that... Ugh, Yohei-kun, help me!"
They're asking for help, but it seems there's nothing they can do.
Hime's face was buried in Kiyoshi's arms as he held her close to his chest. If she put out her hand, she would probably touch parts of Kiyoshi that she shouldn't touch, so she couldn't put her hand out.
Hime, do your best!
He decided to just send his support in his heart and turn a blind eye to the request for help.
However, there was a knock on the door as if to save Hime.
Thanks to this, Sei's doting attacks are temporarily halted.
"Yes, please."
The moment Kiyoshi-san raised his voice, Hime slipped out of my embrace and came towards me. With the same momentum, she grabbed onto my arm as if clinging to me.
"...Phew."
Just as Hime was finally able to catch her breath, the door to the room opened.
The person who appeared was Mei, the maid who was supposed to be preparing dinner.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you while you're busy, but I'll excuse myself."
As she said this, she entered the room, carrying a tray with glasses and teacups on it. Seeing it, Kiyoshi exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh? It's dinner time now, why are you having tea?"
I was also curious about it, so I'm glad you asked.
It feels a bit strange to have tea at this time.
"Sorry. It's actually taking a while to prepare dinner... I'll probably be about an hour late. In the meantime, I thought you might get hungry, so how about some tea?"
I see. It's almost 7pm now.
An hour's delay won't be a big deal.
"Huh? It's rare for Mei-chan to take so much time. I'm hungry."
"It wasn't my mistake... but that's just an excuse. As a servant, I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. An hour or so won't be a problem. Besides, Mei's tea is delicious, so I'd love for Youhei to try it too."
"...Lady Hime is very kind. Even the strict Saint Lady thinks so, right?"
"Ugh. I, I'm not blaming you or anything."
"Haha, I know. I was just kidding."
While they were having this intimate exchange, Mei was skillfully preparing the tea. She lined up three cups on a round table inside the room, poured the tea from the teacups, and added ice. I see, she was making iced tea. It was a hot season, so a cold one would be appreciated.
"Yohei-kun, please drink."
Hime got off the bed and pulled my hand, so I also stood up.
I sat down in the chair at the same time as Hime, and reached for the cup to drink...and then it happened.
"...a"
Suddenly, Mei-san spoke up.
I reflexively looked in that direction and saw Mei's hand touch the cup in front of Hime and knock it over.
"a"
A beat later, Hime also speaks up, but by that time it's too late, the tea in her cup has spilled onto her uniform.
"Whoa! Hime-chan, are you okay?!"
So Kiyoshi rushes over in a panic. However, since it was only iced tea that had gotten on his clothes... it's unlikely anything serious will happen.
However, there was one thing that bothered me a little.
The thing was that Mei wasn't in a hurry at all.
If he was a servant, wouldn't he have been more anxious?
Is he just being calm?
Or maybe there's another reason... That's what I was wondering...