Kushida Kikyou listened to Shikime Natsu's words, then looked at Horikita Suzune's expression.
This woman, Horikita Suzune, definitely had something held over her by Shikime Natsu.
If she herself had said such things to Horikita Suzune, she would have been given the cold shoulder long ago. What kind of leverage did Shikime Natsu actually possess against Horikita Suzune?
Kushida Kikyou was desperate to know.
Of course, now was not the right time. No matter how much Horikita Suzune disliked her, she still had to put on an approachable appearance—the kind that strove to make friends with her no matter how many times she was rejected.
Honestly speaking, this facade made Kushida Kikyou feel quite nauseous herself. Why did she absolutely have to make friends with this hateful fellow?
Horikita Suzune listened to Shikime Natsu's words, and her small face couldn't help but stiffen somewhat. This guy... did he really want her to lose face in front of Kushida Kikyou?
Changing into a maid outfit wasn't the humiliating part; massaging Shikime Natsu's shoulders was. Even if Horikita Suzune didn't care about others' opinions of her.
However... that was the atmosphere Horikita Suzune had deliberately created: high and cold, inaccessible, hard to get along with. Horikita Suzune didn't care about these labels.
But if it turned into 'Horikita Suzune is someone who likes wearing a maid outfit to serve others,' then Horikita Suzune would find that completely unacceptable.
But... Shikime Natsu. If she refused today, heaven knows what kind of even more excessive things this guy with such a terrible personality would do.
By now, Horikita Suzune basically understood. Shikime Natsu simply heard her say she didn't like Kushida Kikyou, so he was forcibly thinking of pulling the relationship between the two of them closer.
Twisted melons aren't sweet; does this guy not know at all that forced relationships don't bear good fruit?
Horikita Suzune wanted to pry open Shikime Natsu's head to see exactly what was inside it. Was it nothing but cheap tricks?
"You are not allowed to speak of what happens today!"
Horikita Suzune glanced at Kushida Kikyou. Her speaking attitude was still quite terrible, even though they were classmates, and moreover, a future member of her own harem.
Shikime Natsu shook his head slightly, turned to look at Kushida Kikyou, and revealed a kindly smile.
"Kikyou will keep this a secret, right?"
Being looked at by Shikime Natsu like this, Kushida Kikyou knew that if she said no, her outcome would not be good. This guy, Shikime Natsu, had leverage not only over Horikita Suzune but also over her.
"Mn-hm, I won't say anything. I promise."
Kushida Kikyou nodded repeatedly, looking just like someone who would abide by an agreement.
After receiving Kushida Kikyou's affirmation, Horikita Suzune quickly walked to the bathroom and changed into that maid outfit.
Seeing Horikita Suzune looking somewhat cute in the maid outfit, Kushida Kikyou became unhappy again. To think this guy would also use her appearance to attract men; it was truly pathetic.
By now, Kushida Kikyou basically believed Shikime Natsu's rhetoric. Horikita Suzune's past exam questions were really obtained by selling... cough, no, by providing maid services in exchange.
Shikime Natsu sat back in the chair. Horikita Suzune walked quite naturally behind Shikime Natsu and began the massage.
Watching Horikita Suzune looking completely reluctant but still massaging Shikime Natsu's shoulders, Kushida Kikyou's mood couldn't help but improve significantly.
Just like that. Let this woman suffer a crushing defeat!
It was a pity. If only she could be the one to fiercely teach Horikita Suzune a lesson. If it were her, she definitely wouldn't just have Horikita Suzune massage shoulders and pound backs.
Horikita Suzune chose to directly ignore Kushida Kikyou behind her. At this moment, this fellow just needed to shut her mouth properly and say nothing.
Kamuro Masumi's gaze sized up Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou. It was clearly just a simple massage service, yet Kushida Kikyou seemed very interested.
Was she happy seeing Horikita Suzune being treated like this by Shikime Natsu, or did she also want to go up and massage Shikime Natsu's shoulders?
However, based solely on the impression Kushida Kikyou gave her, the former was impossible, so it could only be the latter.
Once she thought of this, Kamuro Masumi's eyes also became somewhat dangerous. So this fellow also wanted to touch Shikime Natsu.
Clearly, she herself hadn't touched him much, so why did all these latecomers get to touch him before she did?
The last time she touched Shikime Natsu was when she massaged him, which was already a long, long time ago.
After that, the young girl wanted to offer to help Shikime Natsu with a massage several times, but the words got stuck in her throat, and she had no way to say them out loud.
Plus, Sakayanagi Arisu's physical condition had suddenly become very good for some reason, and her strength when massaging Shikime Natsu had increased quite a bit. There was completely no place where she could be of use.
"Alright, next, you tidy up the table."
After about ten minutes, Shikime Natsu spoke to Horikita Suzune, then stood up and turned towards Kushida Kikyou and Kamuro Masumi behind him.
Kushida Kikyou maintained her standing posture, while Kamuro Masumi sat on his bed as usual.
"Kikyou, tell me. If she were a maid at a maid cafe, would Horikita be considered qualified?"
These words sounded quite piercing in Horikita Suzune's ears. What exactly did this guy intend to do? Why was he finding an outsider to evaluate her?
What 'maid qualified' or not? She didn't want to be a maid; she was completely forced!
Thinking of the culprit, Horikita Suzune ground her teeth in anger. That guy harmed her into this state, and hasn't appeared for the past few days. Did he not dare to face her?
However... Horikita Suzune could somewhat appreciate Sakayanagi Arisu's feelings from back then. At that time, after Sakayanagi Arisu sold her out, she was then forced by Shikime Natsu to change into a maid outfit and serve right in front of her.
Now she was in the same position, and having this scene witnessed by the unpleasant Kushida Kikyou made Horikita Suzune super annoyed.
However... Horikita Suzune's mentality had already received quite a lot of training from Shikime Natsu. She could completely withstand it now.
Even if it were in front of her own brother, her changing into a maid outfit to serve Shikime Natsu would be no problem... Yeah, right. If such a thing really happened, she would truly be better off dead.
"Mn..."
After listening to Shikime Natsu's words, Kushida Kikyou hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to tactfully put in a good word for Horikita Suzune. But in reality, this brief hesitation was the answer.
"Speak freely. Horikita won't blame you. Rather, if the suggestions you give can help Horikita improve her ability as a maid, she will be happy too."
Shikime Natsu smiled. Regarding maids, Shikime Natsu really didn't know much.
He only knew of the maid cafes in Akihabara, but he had never been to one himself. All his understanding came from movies and TV. The 'Love Omurice' had left a deep impression on Shikime Natsu.
Shikime Natsu attempted to visualize the scene of Horikita Suzune casting love magic on omurice in his mind.
"Fluffy-fluffy! Pure-pure! Miracle! Kyun! Mr. Omurice! Become delicious!"
(Horikita Suzune using Kita Ikuyo's signature move)
This image was a bit too beautiful; Shikime Natsu almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
But he endured it. After all, even if Horikita Suzune had no merit, she had put in hard work. He couldn't treat a maid full of hard work like this; it would be too rude.
If one day Shikime Natsu really saw this scene, he would definitely be dreaming. It wouldn't be fake.
"Is that so?"
Kushida Kikyou spoke up. Her voice wasn't loud, but Horikita Suzune could definitely hear it. Regarding this, Horikita Suzune chose to ignore it.
Mn, silence means that it's correct.
"I personally feel that if one is a maid, a smile should be the most important thing, right? If you maintain a smile, the customers will also be happy when they see it."
Kushida Kikyou brought up something quite difficult for Horikita Suzune right off the bat. Shikime Natsu had made Horikita Suzune attempt it quite a few times, but... basically, all attempts ended in failure.
Thus, Shikime Natsu didn't plan to let Horikita Suzune continue wasting time on this matter and chose to start with dialogue. Here, the results were remarkable; after all, no matter what, Horikita Suzune wasn't a mute.
"Is there anything else?"
Hearing Shikime Natsu's words, Horikita Suzune also knew Shikime Natsu's subtext: she couldn't do it.
Of course, Horikita Suzune also chose not to pay attention, concentrating on washing the plate that she didn't know how many times had already been wiped.
If she paid attention to the two of them at this time, perhaps this guy Shikime Natsu would become even more interested.
Having gotten along with Shikime Natsu for a month, Horikita Suzune could be considered to have slightly figured out this terrible guy's terrible personality.
Mn, even using 'terrible' twice was no way to express Horikita Suzune's evaluation of Shikime Natsu.
"Also... if it's a maid, she should be able to use magic that makes omurice become delicious."
Kushida Kikyou smiled while gently pressing her index finger against her tender little face.
Good grief, Shikime Natsu hadn't expected that he and Kushida Kikyou could actually achieve thought synchronization.
A smile was already impossible; magic to make omurice become delicious... that was truly worse than just killing Horikita Suzune directly.
As for Kamuro Masumi, she sat somewhat blankly to the side. What magic to make omurice delicious? She had never even heard of it.
Mn, even regarding maids, the first one Kamuro Masumi had seen was Sakayanagi Arisu. Her other understanding of maids was basically hearsay.
However... they were all a bit erotic.
That was why Kamuro Masumi had that kind of reaction when Shikime Natsu made Sakayanagi Arisu change into a maid outfit at the start.
Fortunately, in the end, Shikime Natsu didn't do anything terrible to Sakayanagi Arisu; he just had Sakayanagi Arisu give a massage, that was all.
"Horikita, that plate has already been washed more than ten times, you know~ Although we don't need to pay dorm fees or utility fees, there's no need to be this wasteful, right? When can you learn the magic to make omurice delicious?"
Shikime Natsu looked at Horikita Suzune, who was still at the sink, and smiled as he spoke.
Still no response.
"Chi..."
"I can't do it!"
Just as Shikime Natsu was about to shout out that word, Horikita Suzune hurriedly answered. What exactly was this guy thinking?
How much time had passed since that title was used, yet he actually still remembered it?
"So you can hear me. I thought you couldn't hear me, Horikita."
She wanted to tear Shikime Natsu's mouth apart. Horikita Suzune wanted to very much!
"It doesn't matter. I have always been very lenient. Even if you can't do this or can't do that, Horikita, I won't despise you."
Saying this made Horikita Suzune's movements forceful again. She felt that if she used any more force, she was going to crush the plate.
If she crushed it, who knew what excessive thing this guy would make her do again.
Endure. Endure. Horikita Suzune was a person with a quite powerful heart. To become strong, the mini-boss Shikime Natsu was someone she had to defeat!
"Wait until later; I'll go check what skills a maid should learn. I believe there will always be something suitable for you, Horikita."
These words weren't false. Shikime Natsu really intended to learn a bit about maid-related things.
Otherwise, just simply having her massage his shoulders, pound his back, and wash dishes was truly too uninteresting.
As for letting Horikita Suzune wash his feet, he couldn't do that for the time being. After all, Horikita Suzune wasn't like Sakayanagi Arisu, who provoked him.
After discovering she couldn't out-talk him, Horikita Suzune would choose to maintain silence, just like now.
Shikime Natsu planned to pick out some more gameplay that was fun but not too excessive.
Horikita Suzune didn't know how many times she had cursed Shikime Natsu in her heart. When Sakayanagi Arisu was a maid, she didn't see Shikime Natsu understanding it this much. She had only been a maid for a few days, and this guy planned to learn new gameplay?
Wasn't this just bullying her?
By the fifteenth of next month, she would be liberated. Horikita Suzune endured humiliation for the sake of a greater mission.
However... before that, Horikita Suzune planned to extract more useful information from Shikime Natsu's mouth. In the confrontation between the two, she couldn't always be in a disadvantaged state!
One day, she would sound the horn of the counterattack!
At that time... you're finished!
Horikita Suzune had unknowingly taught herself the method of self-comfort. This could also be counted as a kind of progress.
"By the way, there is one more thing I want to tell you, Horikita."
Suddenly, Shikime Natsu's tone became a few degrees more serious.
A few traces of confusion appeared in Horikita Suzune's eyes. What was going on? Why did he suddenly change from maids to serious business?
"What is it?"
"Starting tomorrow, you have a new colleague."
A new colleague?
Horikita Suzune's gaze fell upon Kamuro Masumi and Kushida Kikyou. Finally, her gaze fixed on Kushida Kikyou.
It couldn't be her, right?
"Mn. I didn't expect that I could get along with Horikita-san in a place outside of Class D. Please treat me well from now on."
A quite gentle smile appeared on Kushida Kikyou's face.
This expression didn't look like she had been caught by the handle by Shikime Natsu and then threatened.
Was this guy voluntary?
Did this guy have something wrong with her brain? Just because she wanted to make friends with her, she came over to be her colleague?
She really was sick!
"I said it very clearly. I will not become friends with you!"
Horikita Suzune spoke coldly, attempting to make Kushida Kikyou retreat in the face of difficulties.
"I also know that wanting to become friends with Horikita-san is very difficult. But rest assured, I came over this time mainly for everyone in Class D. Previously asking Natsu to teach me how to help tutor others... this is my return gift~"
Return gift my foot!
She's simply an idiot!
Horikita Suzune was already speechless. Becoming a maid for this kind of thing? Clearly, things like remedial lessons were all more or less the same; to have to specifically ask for advice... this guy definitely had issues!
Of course, even though Kushida Kikyou said so, her target definitely included her. This was a young girl's intuition!
"Alright, so, that's the situation. Let's end it here for today."
Shikime Natsu looked at the time, then looked at the expressions on Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou's faces and smiled. He had truly done a good deed, letting two frenemies gather together.
After sending the several young girls away, Shikime Natsu washed up simply, then returned to bed. It still had Kamuro Masumi's fragrance. But that was normal; after all, she had been sitting here the whole time. It was just... this pillow, and the quilt folded aside... Mn...
This quilt had obviously been opened by someone and then folded. It was different from Shikime Natsu's memory, and there was a faint fragrance.
Connecting this with the little look Kamuro Masumi had when he returned, she was unexpectedly quite bold.
____
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