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

Although Jino frowned, she put her palm to her chest to calm herself down before speaking:

"Me too. My father was very strict with me, and I felt very depressed every day. I always felt that high school life was boring and wanted to graduate quickly. But since I started working part-time at my classmate's house, I've entered a completely different world and I'm very happy."

"Nishikawa..."

"Azuma-san has taught me so much with such kindness. You are a trustworthy person. Thank you. I am also grateful to you from the bottom of my heart."

"So that's how you see me."

"Yeah. But sometimes it still makes me feel a little unhappy."

"What……?"

They are grateful to each other and sometimes annoy each other.

After learning that they both had the same feeling, they both laughed out loud, finding it funny.

"Then I'll go prepare some easy-to-eat food."

Jinai went to the kitchen to prepare porridge suitable for her weak body.

Unlike at the beginning, Himeno's cooking skills have improved a lot. Even if it's a dish she hasn't made before, now she can easily make similar dishes by just looking up recipes on the Internet.

Shinnosuke scooped up the hot porridge with a spoon and blew on it a few times before eating. He felt that it was full of Himeno's care for him and tasted very delicious.

"I'm full. It was really delicious and warmed me up."

"Is that so? That's good, Master."

Ji No was not wearing a maid outfit today, but she suddenly said such words and bowed respectfully.

(Wow, what happened just now? That's not good.)

Even though she was wearing casual clothes, Himeno looked really cute because she showed a reliable attitude.

Did the meal preparations cause her to naturally switch into maid mode? Or was she deliberately pretending to be a maid as a joke? Shinnosuke didn't know.

"Oh, by the way, Azuma-san. I brought a gift."

Himeno said as she took out a small paper bag from her bag and handed it to Shinnosuke.

"What's this?"

"It's a thank you for protecting my wallet yesterday, even at the risk of getting hurt."

Inside the paper bag was a felt mascot doll. It looked like the same Shinsengumi doll Himeno had bought at a souvenir shop in Kyoto, but the design was a little different.

"This...isn't the doll you bought?"

"No, I made this in your image."

"Is this... me? Thank you."

"Yes. I did it."

"Huh? Does Jinshigawa also make something like this?"

"Yeah. But the method of making it isn't difficult."

"By the way, there's a girl's mascot doll hanging on your backpack. Did you make that yourself, too?"

"Yeah. That doll was made by me."

"Is that so?"

Jino did say she liked this kind of thing, but I never expected she could actually make it herself. And the finished product was surprisingly good.

(Isn't this kind of thing usually done by a girlfriend for her boyfriend after they become lovers?)

Shinnosuke's heartbeat quickened and his body became hot when he thought of this.

(No, Nishikawa clearly told me this was my thank you for protecting her wallet, so why am I so nervous? Idiot.)

"Then I'll go clean it up."

After saying this, Jinai went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Left alone, Shinnosuke sat on the sofa and breathed a sigh of relief. His body, exhausted from the cold, warmed from the inside out after eating. Thanks to this, he suddenly felt sleepy.

“Wow… I’m so sleepy…”

He lay down on the sofa and dozed off.

*

Shinnosuke had a dream—

His mother passed away. But he always believed that boys shouldn't say they were lonely in front of others. So since his mother's death, he had no desire to rely on anyone and always felt that he should do his own things.

Although there are almost no disliked friends among my school friends, there are also no people I have good relationships with.

He was afraid that his good friends would suddenly disappear one day, so he decided to deliberately not make good friends.

Shinnosuke had a dream—

Despite being such a person, he recently made a friend that he cares about. Although he may feel unhappy sometimes, the other person is a serious yet gentle and lovely person.

Shinnosuke had a dream—

The man's voice came from a distance.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't be so stubborn."

For some reason, that person had two voices speaking. The previous two-person conversation was all that person's voice.

Shinnosuke suddenly woke up and realized that he had dozed off on the sofa.

Then he realized that the person he had just talked to was Jino who was sitting next to him.

Then he slowly opened his eyes.

Jine was holding a felt mascot doll in each of her left and right hands, acting out a situational drama.

One of them is the doll Shinnosuke received, which is a doll made in Shinnosuke's image. The other is the doll that is usually hung on Himeno's school bag, which is also a doll made in Himeno's image.

Himeno didn't know why she was holding them, and seemed to be playing a game, acting out the conversation between Shinnosuke and Himeno.

"I'm not trying to be brave."

"Really?"

"real."

"You're lying."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're just trying to be strong. Please stop being so stubborn and take better care of yourself."

"I see. Okay, thank you."

Jino was having a conversation for two people.

In other words, Himeno always felt that Shinnosuke was showing off.

She was also very worried about Shinnosuke and hoped that he could take better care of himself.

(I didn't expect Himeno to think so much about me.)

Shinnosuke's gratitude towards Himeno becomes even stronger.

And his unspeakable feelings for Jinai became even stronger.

Shinnosuke felt a warmth well up deep inside him, and it felt like tears were about to burst out. But he was embarrassed to be seen with this expression, so he kept pretending to be asleep, pressing his face against the sofa.

Not long after, I lost consciousness and fell asleep.

*

After performing a situational drama with a wool felt doll, Himeno stared at Shinnosuke's sleeping face for a long time as if she never got tired of it.

Suddenly, she remembered that she liked cats.

Jino likes cats for several reasons. The first is because cats are cute.

She also felt that cats' appearance and their tendency to keep a distance from others were a bit like her.

Another reason is that she really liked the children's animation "Cat People" when she was a child, which also influenced her preferences.

The main character in "Cat Man" is a two-headed cat, a justice companion. Other characters include a dog man and a bunny rabbit. It's a popular anime that almost every child watches.

The cat-man has a strong sense of justice and protects everyone equally from bad guys. He is a reliable guy.

When watching the animation, Himeno put herself in the shoes of Usagi, a girl who gets along well with cat people.

She looked at Shinnosuke's sleeping face and thought of the cat character after a long time.

The two images overlap. Shinnosuke is as gentle and reliable as the cat man, and does his best to protect himself.

Suddenly, a scene of the cat-man donning a cape and flying into the sky flashed through his mind. For some reason, that face had become Shinnosuke's.

“Hehe… hehe.”

It was so interesting and funny that she couldn't help laughing out loud.

I even laughed to tears.

Tears that were not sad slid warmly down her cheeks.

Himeno squinted her eyes and looked at Shinnosuke's sleeping face as if she was looking at her beloved baby.

So far, she had been helping Shinnosuke as a maid, and that made her happy.

"Azuma-san, thank you for everything. And please continue to take care of me."

Jinai suddenly looked towards the window facing the courtyard. It was already dark.

"Well then, Shinnosuke-san. Himeno will be leaving."

In order not to wake up the sleeping Shinnosuke, Himeno spoke to him in a gentle maid-like tone before standing up quietly and leaving Shinnosuke's house quietly.

(Illustration 015)

Final Chapter of Volume 1

In mid-July, all subjects returned the first semester final exam papers.

In Chinese, the average score was 62. "Rin Shichuan scored 95, the highest in the class."

English: Her average score was 53. "Nishikawa scored 93. It was a very difficult test, but she still performed very well."

History, average score: 68. "Ninshichuan scored 100, congratulations!"

──The following results are almost the same, so they are omitted.

Almost all of Shinnosuke's grades were below average, and some were so bad that he needed summer classes.

No, for Shinnosuke's reputation, let me make it clear that his only score was significantly above average in math.

The average score in mathematics was 58, and Shinnosuke scored 72.

*

On Sunday after all examination papers are returned.

Shinnosuke asked Himeno, who had just finished her maid duties that day:

"Hey, Nishikawa, I have something to ask you."

"What's up?"

"I'm studying for the exam. But there's something about English that I just can't understand."

“Eh…?”

"Hey, Nishigawa. Don't give me that face, like, 'Azuma-san is actually reading, is he crazy? Or is the world going to end?'"

"What is that?"

Jinai covered her mouth and burst out laughing as if she found it funny.

"I didn't think that. It's just that you've always said you can't muster the motivation to study, so I do think there's something wrong with you."

"Hmm...it's just the final exam results. Seeing you give your all in everything, I feel like I should try a little harder too."