Before I knew it, a second glass of iced tea had been poured into my glass.
The maid, Mei-san, was standing right next to me. She was well behaved, but she was closer than before.
After that, once she realized that I didn't dislike her, she became very talkative and chatted with me.
"I also really liked maids, so when I was in my twenties, the Hoshimiya family was looking for a housekeeper, so I applied and became a maid."
"Twenty years old... Eight years ago, so that would be around the time Hime was born?"
"Yes, that's right. Even back then, her husband and wife were busy with work, so I always looked after her. That's why, even though she's unmarried, I think of her as my own daughter."
"That's true, if you've known her since she was a baby, she's like a daughter to you."
"Well, I went to an all-girls high school with an escalator system, so I've never dated a guy. So don't tease me too much, okay? I hate to say it myself, but I'm pretty easy to get fooled by guys, even if they're younger than me."
"Don't say that yourself. I'll be careful... Um, I see. As I've been looking after her for a long time, Hime does have a similar aura to Mei-san. But Hijiri-san doesn't look alike at all."
"I met Saint Lady when I was nine years old, so she's more like a sister to me than a daughter. She's very cheerful, just like your wife... and she calls me 'Mei-chan' just like your wife."
"Oh. Is Hime and Hijiri's mother a cheerful person?"
"Yes. She's cheerful and very selfish. We're both working overseas now, so I'll introduce her to you the next time we come back to Japan."
"Yes. I'm glad to meet you... but, won't you get angry? Sometimes I worry if an ordinary person like me is okay to be friends with Hime and Hijiri."
"You don't need to worry about trivial things like social status. Neither you nor your wife are that type, so you can rest assured. They look at character rather than origin."
"...If that's the case, I'm even less confident."
"It'll be fine. Yohei-sama is a wonderful person, so there's no need to worry. I guarantee it."
"I guess so... No, yes, I guess so. I'm glad to hear you say that, Mei. Thank you."
--And so, before they knew it, the two of them had become friendly with each other.
The awkwardness from earlier was long gone. They knew that they didn't dislike each other, and in fact they liked each other, so they weren't holding back much.
Rather, I think I was able to talk about a lot of things because I felt a sense of security knowing that I was being recognized.
We had been chatting like that for a while.
He was so engrossed in the conversation that he probably didn't pay attention to his surroundings.
I didn't notice them arriving until the door opened.
"Umm... I'm back. Sorry to interrupt you while you're having fun."
"Oh, welcome back. I've already gotten out of the bath."
"Yes. Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Welcome back, Lady Hime."
"Thank you, Mei, for keeping Youhei company."
Hime was acting as usual and spoke to me calmly.
However, the girl next to me was clearly upset.
"Wh, wh, wh, wh, what's going on?! Hime-chan, why are you so calm?!"
When Kiyoshi looked at me, he was so shocked he fainted.
He was sitting on his bottom next to Hime, his mouth agape and looking at me as if he had seen a ghost.
"Huh? What is it?"
"What do you mean? Look! Mei-chan is laughing!?"
"Yes. You're laughing."
"There's no way that Mei-chan, who is unsociable, grumpy, shy, always sulky, and strict, who always nags me every time I eat sweets, saying 'Don't drop them,' would be smiling in front of a boy she's just met! It's a fake... That's not the real Mei-chan. Where is the real Mei-chan!?"
It seems that Hijiri and Mei are surprised by their behavior.
It may seem like my reaction was a bit over the top, but...it just seems like Mei's smile was so rare.