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

And Himeno accepted herself as she was, and affirmed everything about herself in a gentle tone, which made Shinnosuke continue to tell her about his feelings with sobs.

*

He closed his eyes, feeling as if his consciousness had been awakened from the abyss of sleep. This was one of those moments.

His head felt light and his vision was dark. He couldn't immediately determine where he was or what he was doing. But gradually, he began to hear the sounds around him and slowly regained consciousness.

Shinnosuke is in this state.

It seemed as if I had fallen asleep without realizing it, my upper body, which had been sitting on the sofa, had already fallen back down, with something soft and warm pressed against my face.

(What's this?)

He tried to open his eyes slightly, and then he saw the black skirt and the snow-white thighs sticking out from it.

(This shouldn’t be…)

My head rested on something that felt like a pillow, but it felt soft and warm. Adding to the information I saw, I could deduce that it was—

(I'm lying on the legs of Nishikawa, who's wearing a maid outfit?)

Shinnosuke almost wanted to yell, but he held it back because if he woke up and was found by her, his time lying on her lap would be over.

He didn't remember what had happened to him, so he didn't know.

I only remember being overwhelmed with emotion, saying many things to Jinai with tears streaming down my face. Then I felt extremely tired, my head was dizzy, and I dozed off...

(By the way, I fell down towards the Inji River and accidentally fell asleep.)

Was that why Himeno let Shinnosuke rest his head on her lap? Or did Shinnosuke just fall directly onto Himeno's lap? He had no recollection.

Whatever the case, it was a fact that his cheek was now pressed against the legs of the beautiful high school girl that everyone admired. He was already in such a lucky position, but humans were truly greedy creatures.

Shinnosuke suddenly thought so.

My face was now facing Jino's legs. All I could see was her skirt, her snow-white thighs, and her knees.

(If I turn the other way, I'll see a black and white maid outfit, and if I look up, I'll be able to see the shape of her breasts from the bottom up, right? Ah, damn, what a pity...)

After thinking subconsciously, he thought again:

(No, wait a minute. Just being able to lie on the lap of a beautiful maid like this would make her the envy of all the high school boys in the country.)

Shinnosuke was a person who could think objectively, so he no longer expected any further benefits.

The more important question is──should I let Himeno know that I'm awake?

(Shouldn't it be better to let her know that you're awake as soon as possible?)

Even though he thought so, the warm and soft touch on his cheek was too blissful, making him unable to make up his mind. While he was hesitating, Jino's gentle whisper came from above him.

"At first I thought you were a useless, unmotivated guy."

Himeno was undoubtedly talking to herself. She seemed to think Shinnosuke was still fast asleep.

(No, isn't that too harsh?)

Shinnosuke was immediately shocked. However, Shinnosuke had indeed lived that kind of life before, so it was understandable that others would think that way.

"But that's not the case. After hearing what you said about your family situation, it's normal to think you'd lose motivation."

(Huh? Is she sympathizing with me?)

"Despite all that, you managed to pull yourself together and survive. You're even more reliable than I am, and you've been so considerate and caring towards me in every way. Thank you."

(No, you're flattering me too much. I'm so embarrassed...)

"You've had a hard time, Azuma-san. This is the first time you've shown your vulnerable side in front of me. But you can be vulnerable with me sometimes, like today."

(Huh?)

He had not expected Jinai to say this and immediately suspected that he had misheard. However, he was not mistaken.

Shinnosuke felt a hand gently caressing his head. It was Himeno who was gently caressing his head.

Not only that, her tone also switched to that of a gentle and respectful maid who was dedicated to serving.

"Because healing the master is my job as a maid."

It's inexplicably touching to have someone say this to you with such dedication.

His chest gradually grew warm, and then a strange tingle welled up inside him. Shinnosuke felt an incredible feeling, both itchy and sweet, enveloped in a wave of joy.

And Shinnosuke's head was resting on Himeno's lap. It would be strange if he didn't feel happy.

(By the way…when should I confess to her that I’m awake?)

After all, it's impossible to keep pretending to be asleep like this.

Shinnosuke was well aware of this, but if he pretended to wake up at an odd time, he might be discovered to have been pretending to sleep, and the atmosphere would become awkward.

(I have to act as if I woke up naturally as possible...)

When he was looking for the opportunity, Jinai suddenly shouted "Wow".

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shinnosuke pretended to be woken by the noise and opened his eyes. He then rubbed his eyes with his fingers and sat up.

"Hmm...? Weird? What happened?"

"Oh, sorry, I woke you up. Look at that, it's so cute, I couldn't help but scream."

Jinai looked apologetic and kept looking out the window.

Shinnosuke followed her gaze and saw that it was the cat he had seen before.

"Isn't it cute?"

Speaking of which, Shinnosuke remembered that Himeno had said she liked cats when she was drawing with ketchup.

"Um, I... don't really like cats."

"Is that so? Cats are so cute, after all."

"Ahaha. Because I've had some bad experiences."

It would be too embarrassing to say that he was afraid of cats, and he really couldn't say it.

"Oh, by the way, Nishikawa. I fell asleep without realizing it. Sorry."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. You must be tired."

"That's true, but you're not going to... let me rest my head on your lap, are you?"

"Ah... no, no... No, that's right... uh... yes."

Perhaps because she felt embarrassed after being asked, Himeno's attitude became a little strange.

"I see. Thank you. I slept well thanks to you."

"Really? That's good."

Jino nodded contentedly.

"It's not just that. I'm always grateful to you."

"Eh, why are you saying that all of a sudden? You don't have to be so dramatic. It's my job after all."

Himeno mistakenly thought that Shinnosuke's "thank you" meant thank you for helping him with housework.

But Himeno never expected what Shinnosuke said next.

"That's not what I meant. It's that since you came here, I've gained energy."

"vitality……?"

"Well, thank you for bringing me energy."

Himeno had never expected Shinnosuke to say that, so she was at a loss for a moment.

"Ah, no, well, uh... I'm also very grateful to Azuma-san."

"Huh? Why? I didn't do anything for you."

"No, that's not it."

"Ah, because I paid for the part-time job. But it wasn't me who paid, it was my grandfather who paid for it."

"I did not mean that."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, no, this is... a secret."

Thank you for your kindness in helping me with something I don't know how to do.

Although at first glance he seems uninterested in doing anything, he always watches over me tenderly and takes care of me.

Jino was very grateful for all of this.

But it was too embarrassing to speak out these things specifically, and she couldn't answer frankly.

"why?"

"It's a secret."

"Yeah?"

"It's a secret."

"You don't have to say it so many times...it seems like you really don't want to say it."

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it, it's just that I'm too embarrassed to say it. So please stop scolding me."

"Okay... I understand."

"Feel sorry."

Jinai bowed her head and apologized with great guilt.

Shinnosuke had always thought that she was arrogant and cold, but her attitude no longer gave people that feeling.

(Nishikawa is gentle and modest by nature... but she's probably not good at expressing these feelings. She's just a bit clumsy.)

Shinnosuke thought so in his heart.

Volume 1, Chapter 6: When it rains, the ground becomes hard

The class has been talking about the field trip in a week.

During lunch break, many people were talking about what they would do for off-campus teaching next week.

This off-campus teaching trip was, to put it bluntly, just an excursion, but there was a reason why the students were so excited.

One of the reasons was that the place they were going to was located in Kyoto city.

Shinnosuke and his friends attended Kosei-en Gakuin High School, located in Kobe. Kyoto wasn't a destination for graduation trips for schools in the Kinki region, but rather an option for excursions. While Kyoto wasn't a frequent destination for them, its popularity, coupled with its popularity, made it a truly exciting destination for the students.

Another reason why students are excited is that they have free time in the local area and can walk around Kyoto with their good friends.

In other words, the "Kyoto Graduation Trip" that junior and high school students all over Japan are excitedly looking forward to can actually be experienced during their usual hiking trips. This activity is really worth it.

Furthermore, this school generally requires students to wear casual clothes during field trips. There really isn't a more exciting option than this, but—

"Hey, my wife, wake up."

“…I’m so sleepy.”

While many people in the class were happily chatting about what they were going to do during their field trip, Shinnosuke was just lying on the table.

A boy passing by expressed his concern for him, but he showed no intention of getting up. The boy looked embarrassed and said to Shinnosuke who was still lying on the table:

"What are you going to do with your free time in Kyoto?"

"I have no idea."

His classmates were quite dumbfounded by his lack of motivation, and they shrugged and left.

At this moment, Haruru, who had been eating her lunch at her friend's table, came back and spoke to Shinnosuke from the seat next to her.

"Alas, Azuma-san."

"Um……"

He originally wanted to just say "I'm so sleepy" like before and get it over with, but then he thought it was not a good idea to deal with a girl so casually.

Shinnosuke raised his head and looked at the seat next to him. The cutest girl in the whole grade smiled and asked him:

"Who are you going to go out with during your free time in Kyoto, Azuma-san?"