"Of course."
Shiki Natsu replied with a soft laugh, those pale-gold eyes of his brimming with warmth.
Then he parted his lips slightly and called out, gently:
"Maya."
The instant those two syllables reached her ears, Satou Maya felt a jolt of electricity shoot straight from her eardrums to the top of her head.
Her face flushed crimson in an instant, and she felt dizzy — like happiness itself had just tackled her to the ground.
It was such a simple change, really — from "Satou-san" to "Maya."
But...
The distance between them felt like it had closed by a mile in a single heartbeat.
That sense of intimacy made her heart race so fast she could barely breathe.
Thank goodness... thank goodness it turned out the way she'd hoped.
If Shiki Natsu had shown even the slightest hesitation — or politely turned her down — it would have been social death on the spot. She'd have wanted to lt into the floor from sheer embarrassnt.
After all, what she'd blurted out earlier had been entirely on impulse. It was just that Matsushita Chiaki and Karuizawa Kei both seed to share so kind of special connection with Shiki Natsu, and she'd felt like she was the only one being left behind — even though she was the one who'd fallen for him first.
Satou Maya had had good feelings for Shiki Natsu from the very mont she t him. Well... admittedly, at first it was mostly because he was ridiculously good-looking, and then because he'd helped the injured Karuizawa Kei — that gentle, caring side of him had been impossible to forget. But after getting to know him a little better, Maya was sure of it: she'd fallen for him. He was kind, he had a beautiful singing voice, and he'd even helped her with her studies.
Satou Maya didn't have so dramatic past or deep-seated emotional baggage. She was just an ordinary girl who'd t soone exceptional and, quite naturally, found her heart fluttering. That was all there was to it — no grand reason required.
So when she'd said what she said, she genuinely hadn't spared a single thought for what she'd do if he turned her down.
But it was fine...
Not only had Shiki Natsu agreed — he'd said her na so naturally, so effortlessly, and it sounded so good.
Just as Satou Maya was basking in that bliss.
Shiki Natsu turned his head and looked over at the other two girls with his usual warm gaze:
"From now on..."
"I'll call Matsushita-san 'Chiaki,' and Karuizawa-san 'Kei' — if that's alright?"
Hearing this.
Matsushita Chiaki and Karuizawa Kei, who had been frozen in a mixture of surprise and envy, both felt a spark of delight flash across their eyes.
"S-Sure, of course!"
Karuizawa Kei nodded eagerly, her cheeks flushing pink, a quiet, involuntary happiness blooming in her chest.
She'd only been ntioned in passing, but being called by her first na directly — that was still a huge step forward.
Matsushita Chiaki gave a small nod as well, doing her best to maintain an air of composure on the surface — but the corners of her lips, curling upward, had already betrayed just how good her mood was right now:
"Mm... I don't mind at all."
"Chiaki..."
She repeated the na silently to herself, and sohow, the faint sense of distance and defeat that the "online dream" incident had left lingering inside her seed to dissolve, just a little.
Even such a small change was enough to make a girl's heart feel brighter.
After that.
The four of them chatted casually for a little while longer in the karaoke room. The atmosphere stayed warm and easy, and Matsushita Chiaki, with the other two there, found herself relaxing the tension she'd been carrying.
When dinnerti rolled around, Shiki Natsu invited the three of them to head to the school cafeteria together. Naturally, he took on the role of treating everyone — as he always did when sharing a al with cute girls. It wasn't like he had to worry about points. He had so many of them they were practically overflowing, and he had no idea what to do with the surplus.
The whole "keep twenty million private points in reserve so you don't get expelled" thing that people stressed over? Shiki Natsu couldn't care less. He had cheats. If he still needed a twenty-million-point safety net, he figured he might as well restart from scratch.
These days, his private points existed mainly to pay for als out. As for clothes and food — those two things he genuinely no longer needed to worry about at all. The cheat system had those covered in unlimited supply.
By the ti they finished dinner, night had fully settled over the campus. The four of them said their goodbyes at the cafeteria entrance.
"Well then, I'll head back first."
Shiki Natsu checked the ti and figured it was about right — he had other things to take care of.
"Okay, see you tomorrow — Na-Natsu!"
"I'll be heading off too."
The three girls said their goodbyes in turn.
However.
Just as Shiki Natsu had walked a short distance away and was about to turn the corner.
A flurry of hurried footsteps ca rushing up from behind.
"Wait! Natsu!"
Shiki Natsu stopped and turned around.
Satou Maya ca jogging up, slightly out of breath — she had clearly doubled back on purpose.
She was alone.
Matsushita Chiaki and Karuizawa Kei hadn't followed. Maya had probably found so excuse to send them on ahead.
"What's up, Maya?"
Shiki Natsu looked at her, smiling as he asked:
"Did you forget to say sothing?"
Satou Maya stood before him and drew in a few deep breaths to calm herself.
Beneath the amber glow of the streetlights.
A charming flush blood across the girl's cheeks. Her hands were clasped nervously behind her back, her body tilted ever so slightly forward — the picture of soone trying to be bold while still being hopelessly shy.
She lifted her gaze, those bright, expressive eyes fixed unwaveringly on Shiki Natsu, and gathered her courage to ask:
"Um..."
"Does Natsu... already have two girlfriends right now?"
Shiki Natsu didn't dodge the question. He nodded.
"Yeah, that's right."
Hearing the confirmation, the light in Satou Maya's eyes dimd for just a mont — but it ca back just as quickly.
She bit her lip and pressed on:
"Then..."
"How does Natsu see ?"
"I haven't... done anything that would make you dislike , right?"
There was a faint, barely perceptible tremor in her voice as she asked.
This was probably the boldest probe she was capable of pulling off right now.
Shiki Natsu looked at her careful, tentative expression, and said in a gentle tone:
"How could I dislike you?"
"Maya is a wonderful girl."
"Warm, cheerful — being around you is easy and fun."
Hearing those words.
Satou Maya felt her heart turn to mush.
That rush of being truly affird flooded her chest all at once.
She nodded enthusiastically, a brilliant smile breaking across her face:
"Well then... in that case..."
"Can we still hang out together soti?"
Shiki Natsu answered without a mont's hesitation:
"Of course."
"Whenever I have ti, I'm always happy to go out with Maya."
So it wasn't a confession after all. Shiki Natsu had half-expected Satou Maya to co running back specifically to confess — but apparently not.
Then again... that made sense. Their ti together hadn't been all that long. Just working up the nerve to ask him to use her first na was already quite a bold move for a girl like her.
Actually confessing would probably be a monuntally difficult thing for Satou Maya to do.
"Really? That's amazing!"
Satou Maya pumped her fist, the weight that had been sitting on her chest finally lifting.
"So then..."
"It's a promise!"
"Next ti... I'll invite Natsu out again!"
"And you absolutely cannot refuse!"
Shiki Natsu laughed and nodded:
"Alright, it's a deal."
With that satisfying answer in hand, Satou Maya turned and headed off, heart full.
However.
The mont she turned around and stepped into the shadows.
The smile on her face collapsed imdiately, replaced by pure, undisguised frustration.
She silently gave herself the most scathing internal lecture.
"Ughhh! Satou Maya, you are absolutely useless!"
"That was the perfect mont to just go for it!"
"Why didn't you just ask him straight out — 'can I be your third girlfriend?'!"
"You had the guts to double back and find him alone... so why did you chicken out the second the words were right there?!"
Seriously...
She was so disappointed in herself it hurt.
But...
She quietly talked herself down.
It's fine. It's not that big of a deal, really.
After all, Shiki Natsu already had two girlfriends. The coveted "number one spot" was long gone.
If she couldn't be first, then third or fourth didn't make much of a difference.
If he were still single, she'd have been sprinting, watching her back every second.
But now...
He already had two. She didn't need to be so anxious.
All she had to do was slowly build up his affection for her. She'd get her chance eventually.
Still...
"Ugh, but affection isn't sothing you can see or asure..."
Satou Maya let out a troubled sigh.
Just how high had Shiki Natsu's rating of her as "a wonderful girl" actually been, anyway?
Was it just a Friend Card — sothing purely platonic? Or was it one of those "you're great, but I think of you as a little sister" brush-offs?
"Forget it!"
"Next ti!"
Satou Maya balled her fist, giving herself a silent pep talk.
"Next ti I invite him out, I'm going to ask him directly!"
"...If I can work up the nerve by then."
She tacked that last part on quietly in her head, then quickened her pace to catch up with her friends ahead.
...
After parting ways with Satou Maya.
Shiki Natsu didn't head straight back to the dorm. He wandered around the campus for a bit.
By the ti he made his way back to his dorm room door, the night had gone completely dark.
The motion-sensor lights in the hallway cast a faint, dim glow.
And yet — standing in front of his familiar door was a small, slender figure who had clearly been waiting there for so ti.
Sakayanagi Arisu.
This girl had actually shown up and was already waiting at his door.
And by the look of it, she'd been there for a while.
Yet there wasn't a trace of impatience on her face. She stood with the sa elegance that seed etched into her very bones, as composed as ever.
In her hand was a small, neatly presented bag.
In all likelihood... that bag contained the maid outfit that was a source of considerable humiliation for its wearer.
When she noticed Shiki Natsu approaching.
Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her chin slightly, wearing that signature smile of hers — restrained, a touch imperious — and said in a soft voice:
"Good evening, Shiki-san."
The utter composure of it was striking — as though the humiliation she'd been put through hadn't happened at all.
Shiki Natsu returned the greeting politely:
"Good evening."
Internally, though, he was quietly amused.
As expected of Sakayanagi Arisu — her recovery speed was genuinely impressive. He had put her through a thoroughly comprehensive humiliation not long ago, hamring away especially at the "genius" title she valued above all else. And yet, after just a few days of not making her co fulfill her end of their agreent, she had returned completely stone-faced — even managing to recapture that signature smug brat energy in her tone. The psychological fortitude was sothing else.
Shiki Natsu didn't think too much of it, and had no idea how long she'd been waiting out here — though it probably wasn't long. If it had been, then given Sakayanagi Arisu's physical condition, she wouldn't have still been standing so elegantly outside his door when he spotted her.
Still... she'd co all the way to his dorm and hadn't even sent him a ssage. Was she prepared to turn right back around at any mont?
"Co in."
Shiki Natsu glanced over at Sakayanagi Arisu and slowly pushed the door open.
Tonight was maid service ti. Kamuro Masumi and Sakura Airi had both indicated they weren't planning to co over.
The mont they stepped inside.
Sakayanagi Arisu placed the bag she was carrying on the table with practiced ease, then turned to face Shiki Natsu.
The mask of serene composure seed to slip by the tiniest fraction, and a lightly teasing expression crept onto her face.
"Speaking of which..."
"What has Shiki-san been so busy with these past few days?"
"To be so 'generous' as to give several consecutive days off?"
This really didn't seem like Shiki-san's style — the type who liked cornering his prey with no way out.
The barb in her words was unmistakable, a deliberate attempt to seize the conversational high ground.
However.
Shiki Natsu wasn't about to take the bait.
He shrugged off his jacket and hung it up, then turned his head and fixed Sakayanagi Arisu with an amused, half-smiling look:
"Oh?"
"The way Sakayanagi-san says that..."
"Don't tell you're actually a closet masochist?"
"That eager to play maid for ? You can't go a single day without waiting on hand and foot?"
"Or rather..."
He stepped a little closer, gazing down at her from above:
"Has Sakayanagi-san already developed a 'maid addiction'?"
"...!"
At that.
The bright, composed expression Sakayanagi Arisu had been maintaining on her face clouded over in an instant.
Just as she'd thought...
There was absolutely no winning in a battle of words with this man.
Before she could fire back.
Shiki Natsu pressed on, his tone carrying a faint edge of mockery:
"Not that it's surprising."
"After all, what I've been busy with lately... is the kind of business that only real adults deal with."
"For soone like you — soone who spends her days playing make-believe and calls herself a 'genius'... it's a little hard to explain."
"That kind of thing would be way over Sakayanagi-san's head at this stage."
As he said it.
He gave Sakayanagi Arisu a deliberate once-over, passing her a look that was pure provocation.
The unspoken ssage couldn't have been clearer: What would a little kid like you know about any of this?
"You — you..."
Sakayanagi Arisu's grip on her cane tightened slightly, her knuckles going faintly white.
Being looked down on as a child — being dismissed that way — was even more infuriating than being outright insulted. Especially since she had been the one to start this exchange, trying to tease him through his connection to Kamuro Masumi.
But she hadn't expected Shiki Natsu to co right back with "you're a child." That was the one thing Sakayanagi Arisu hated most — and when paired with her petite, underdeveloped figure, his words landed with devastating effect.
They'd barely even entered his room, and he was already making her this angry?
She had thrown the first punch, sure — but what Shiki Natsu had said was genuinely going too far.
Shiki Natsu paid her indignation no mind. He nodded toward the bag on the table, with a quiet smile:
"Since Sakayanagi-san's maid addiction is acting up, let's not waste any ti."
"Now — put on the maid outfit."
"Then do a proper job of rubbing my shoulders. I just got back from outside and they're feeling a bit sore."
Seeing Sakayanagi Arisu rooted to the spot — clearly turning over how to counter what he'd just said, or formulating so new attack — Shiki Natsu raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a teasing lilt:
"What's wrong?"
"A whole month without playing maid — have you gotten rusty? Forgotten how it's done?"
"Don't worry, though..."
"We've got plenty of ti ahead. I can walk you through it step by step... help you rember."
The naked threat made Sakayanagi Arisu's breath hitch.
Her mood was absolutely catastrophic.
She had co here intending to take a jab at Shiki Natsu — to claw back just a little ground.
Instead...
She'd been shot down before she'd even gotten started.
Not only had her jab failed to land — he had counter-jabbed her from every possible angle.
Especially that line trampling all over her "genius" title.
Even she knew that after losing to Kamuro Masumi, a seed of doubt had taken root inside her — a quiet, nagging suspicion that perhaps she didn't quite deserve that label after all.
But...
Hearing it from Shiki Natsu's mouth, in that condescending, you're-just-a-kid tone of his.
It made her blood boil.
Sakayanagi Arisu bit down on her frustration, picked up the bag from the table, and turned to walk into the bathroom to change.
She had anticipated that Shiki Natsu would fire back after she poked at him — but she'd still underestimated the sheer lethality of his tongue. He could effortlessly stir her emotions and leave her genuinely furious.
Once inside Shiki Natsu's bathroom, Sakayanagi Arisu glanced around. It looked more or less the sa as the last ti she'd been here. Well — it hadn't been that long. How much could a bathroom possibly change?
She took a slow, steadying breath and began to change into the outfit. Once she was dressed, she stood before the mirror, regarding her reflection with those violet eyes, and thodically rebuilt her expression.
Poker face at all tis. She could not let Shiki Natsu get to her emotions so easily. Once she had coaxed her face back into that poised, imperious look she always wore, Sakayanagi Arisu finally pushed open the bathroom door and stepped out.
"Shiki-san, you said I'm not a born genius — so then... who in this school do you think is?"
____
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