The arrogant young lady in the class works as a maid in my house

"I'm serious. Isn't that what I've always said?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"If you understand, please repeat it."

"Do you want to repeat it?"

"I need to repeat myself."

Shinnosuke thought to himself...it was quite troublesome, but what Himeno said made sense. He felt there was no need to stubbornly refuse childishly.

"Yoshida-sensei said to put it on the deepest front shelf, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

After responding in a cold tone, this time it was Himeno who laughed out loud.

"What are you doing?"

"I didn't expect you to repeat yourself right away. Agatsuma-san is surprisingly obedient."

"That's a bit long-winded. Nothing surprising there. I'm just very obedient."

"Are you serious?"

Himeno, who had always spoken in a cold and ladylike tone, suddenly imitated Shinnosuke's tone and spoke.

Shinnosuke was also startled by this, but that male tone that didn't suit a young lady...

(What was that just now? It was so cute. Nishikawa is so cunning.)

So, Shinnosuke also answered in the same tone as Himeno.

"I'm serious."

Perhaps it was Shinnosuke's feminine tone of voice that tickled Himeno's funny bone.

“Hehehe, hehehe…”

Jinai covered her mouth and couldn't stop laughing.

"Hehehe... (Azuma-san is so cute)"

Later, Himeno seemed to whisper something, but Shinnosuke couldn't hear it clearly.

"What did you say?"

"It's okay, I didn't say anything."

"You clearly said that, didn't you?"

"I didn't say that."

Shinnosuke thought that she must have said something, but seeing that Himeno firmly denied it, she must not tell him the truth.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about this for now and finish the work quickly."

"Right."

So the inexplicably happy Himeno and the slightly dissatisfied Shinnosuke both carried cardboard boxes to the deepest part of the data room.

They looked at the steel racks at the front of the deepest part. Every layer was filled with things. There were large rolled sheets of mold paper and geometric models used in some unknown class.

With some careful tidying, there should be room for the cartons they brought.

Shinnosuke and Himeno decided to put the cardboard boxes on the floor and organize the shelves first.

They took the items off the shelves, rearranged them, and made room for two more cartons.

At this moment, Jino was taking things in and out of the shelves and sorting them. Her body bumped into another shelf against the wall. Perhaps because the items on the shelf were not placed evenly, the shelf suddenly staggered and fell towards Jino.

"Nishigawa, danger—!"

Shinnosuke quickly slid his body between Himeno and the falling steel frame. Then he opened his arms as if to cover Himeno and prevent her from being crushed by the frame.

The falling steel frame hit Shinnosuke's back hard, causing him to suffer the shock.

“Uhu…”

Shinnosuke felt a sharp pain in his back, causing him to hold his breath and scream.

But if he relaxed, all his weight would fall on Jinai and hurt her, so he couldn't cry out in pain. To support the weight of the rack, he pressed his legs firmly.

The things on the shelf slipped due to the tilt, and some of them hit Shinnosuke's back.

"Ah, Agatsuma-san! Are you okay?"

When I came to, Jino's face was right in front of me. Their chests were pressed tightly together, and I could feel the girl's soft touch and body temperature from beneath me. Their lips were almost touching.

Shinnosuke used all his strength to push the rack back to its original position with his back. Then he separated his body from Himeno, creating some distance between them.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you? Did you get bumped anywhere?"

"I-I'm fine. Thanks to your help, I wasn't hit at all."

Himeno said this coldly, looking away from Shinnosuke. Her cheeks and earlobes were already flushed.

"Is that so? That's good."

Shinnosuke pretended to be calm on the surface, but in his heart he was──

(Oh no! I almost kissed her just now! If I had, she would have killed me. Uwaa ...

In fact, he was muttering something like this in his heart.

"Yes, thank you."

Himeno also pretended to be calm on the surface, but in her heart she was actually──

(Slow down, wait a minute, that was a close call! We almost had a kissing accident! I'm still so nervous!)

She was chattering like this in her mind.

"Okay, okay, let's put the box that Yoshida-sensei asked us to put on the shelf in front."

"Right, right. Let's put the box Yoshida-sensei asked us to put on the shelf in front."

They both spoke stiffly as they put the items on the shelves. Finally, they finished their work and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's all. Let's go back."

"it is good."

As the two walked towards the exit, Jino received a call on her phone.

"Ah, wait a minute...it's Maid Style Company calling."

It was the company where she worked as a domestic helper.

"Hello, I'm Nishikawa. Yes... yes... Eh? Did you find someone to take my place at Azuma's?"

Receiving the sudden news, Shinnosuke felt as if he had been hit on the head.

But that was something Himeno asked her dispatch company to find, and Shinnosuke already knew that someone else would be replaced sooner or later.

Moreover, Shinnosuke had many concerns about letting his unattainable classmate work as a maid in his house, and he should have hoped to replace her as soon as possible.

"No, it's okay. I'll continue to serve at Azuma's house. Huh...? Why? If I don't, I'll be in trouble."

“Eh…?”

Shinnosuke was stunned when he heard Himeno's unexpected reply.

"Ah, are you okay? Thank you."

Himeno asked Shinnosuke after pressing the end button on her phone.

"Will Jinshichuan continue to serve at my house?"

"That's what I planned. Wouldn't you like me to go?"

"Ah, no. I, that's not what I meant."

His mood was different from the beginning. He was not opposed to Jino coming to his house at all. But it was too embarrassing for him to say directly, "I hope you come."

"Really? That's good."

"That's what I wanted to ask you. You clearly wanted to be replaced as soon as possible, so what's going on here?"

"Ah... I, I don't have to be your maid. Don't misunderstand me."

It was a textbook example of tsundere behavior. But he, who didn't understand women's hearts, simply believed it.

"How could I have misunderstood?"

"That's good. Um... because they said that if they hand over the client to someone else, they won't know when I'll get the next one. That would extend my period of being unable to work, which would be very stressful. That's why I asked them to let me continue to work at your place."

"Oh, I see."

Shinnosuke accepted Himeno's explanation, but her true feelings were not like that.

Himeno was determined to "become a perfect maid for Shinnosuke" and didn't want to quit her job at the Azuma family without finishing it.

"By the way, why are you so keen on part-time jobs? It's really unexpected."

“Hmm… well…”

When Himeno first came to Agatsuma's house, Shinnosuke asked her why she was working part-time, but Himeno simply said, "It has nothing to do with you," and coldly refused to explain.

She never thought about telling others the reason why she worked.

But now... she felt that it was okay to tell Shinnosuke. No, not just okay, now that Himeno understood his gentleness, she actually hoped that he would listen to her.

"Azuma-san, let me tell you something. After graduating from high school, I want to live on my own. That's why I'm working part-time to earn money."

"You want to... live alone? Earn money?"

Why would a wealthy woman want to live alone? Even if she really wanted to, why would she need to earn money?

Shinnosuke didn't have time to figure these things out, and a lot of questions popped up in his mind.

"Although my father was a member of parliament, he was very strict and disciplined me. My words and sentences had to be elegant, and if I didn't get first place in studies and sports, it was meaningless. Dating was forbidden, curfew was after 5 pm, and the only TV station I could watch was NHK. I was not allowed to play games. I had to listen to my parents' opinions on what was good and what was bad."

She seemed quite dissatisfied with her father. Usually speaking in a cool and calm manner, Jinai spoke rapidly and non-stop.

Furthermore, Himeno's father often said, "Don't trust others easily." From his perspective, many people approach him for money or power, and it seems he can't help but raise Himeno this way. However, Shinnosuke believes that this kind of upbringing may have caused Himeno to keep her distance from others and develop a cold personality.

"Ohhh... That must be painful."

Shinnosuke has no idea what kind of person Himeno's father is. However, he knows that he is a troublesome person who is behind the times.

"My father planned to marry me off to a powerful young congressman or entrepreneur. He wanted to prepare me for the future and make me a 'marketable woman.' So he said he would send me to a women's university that trained good wives and mothers, and after graduation, I would be his secretary. He didn't want me to have any opinions about what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be."

"Does he think you're a puppet..."

"exactly."

Himeno's situation was even more miserable than he had imagined, and Shinnosuke felt nothing but sympathy.

"But I want to see and learn all kinds of things firsthand, and I want to try things that make me happy. I haven't decided what I want to do in the future yet, but I hope to find something I want to do and live my own life. Is that too willful?"

"No, I don't think that's willful. It's a perfectly normal wish."

"Really? That's great..."

"So that's why you want to live alone."

"Yes. I have to prepare to leave my parents first, otherwise it will be difficult to do something that goes against my father's wishes. That's my reason, so of course I can't use my father's money. So I decided to save money now."

He originally thought that she was a rich lady who lived a free life, but after learning that she was actually living in a repressive environment with her hands and feet tied up, Shinnosuke's view of Himeno changed.

Working as a domestic servant is not just a pastime for rich ladies, there are actually earnest reasons behind it.

The reason why Himeno is so serious is related to her father's education method. So Shinnosuke feels even more sorry for Himeno.

"But since my house is locked up, I can't work part-time on weekdays. So, if I want to find a job that allows me to earn money efficiently by working only on Sundays, I can only go to a maid-style company that pays high hourly wages."

Because the employees wear maid outfits and help with housework, they receive many commissions despite the higher fees. Thanks to this, the hourly wage is also quite good.

"Besides, housework is different from the general service industry. You won't be in front of many people. So I don't think I need to worry about being discovered. I'm so stupid."

Even though the probability should be very low, he still accidentally went to his classmate's house, which made Himeno smile bitterly at himself.

"I see. But you're really okay with working in a maid outfit."

Shinnosuke originally wanted to say, "You are such a proud and arrogant young lady," but that would have seemed like picking a fight with her, so he didn't say it.

"Rather than saying I can accept it... I chose this part-time job because I wanted to wear a cute maid outfit."