"I saw your car parked downstairs earlier and knew you were back. I came specifically to ask if you could look after Tearju."
"You want me to look after Professor Lunatique? Professor Mikado, don't you live here?"
Kirisu Mafuyu looked at Mikado Ryoko with some confusion.
"I don't live here. I have some business outside, it's not really convenient to live here," Mikado Ryoko shook her head in denial.
"Plus, Tearju also has a daughter. I thought it would be better for her to live in the apartment with you and the Sobu High students."
"Originally, the newly renovated school building behind Sobu High was pretty nice, but there are more young ladies and demihumans living over there. This place is more suitable."
Tearju's daughter, Yami, is a galaxy-renowned assassin. If she lived with her, injured guests coming to her for treatment would all be scared away, and then where would her business be?
She just wanted to help her good friend Tearju find a man to marry, not ruin her own life.
"I see... May I ask, how old is Professor Lunatique's... daughter?"
Hearing Mikado only mention Tearju's daughter, with no mention of a husband or the daughter's father, Kirisu immediately understood that Tearju was a single mother.
No wonder she asked her to help look after her; being a single mother really must be more stressful.
"She's already in middle school. You can rest assured, Kirisu-sensei. Tearju's daughter is quite mature and sensible, she won't require too much effort from you. It's just that the relationship between mother and daughter isn't particularly good, plus Tearju isn't very good at housework, so sometimes I'm asking you to help look after them both."
"Uh... I will. I'll do my best..."
Hearing that Tearju also wasn't skilled in housework, Kirisu really felt this request was terribly difficult. She couldn't even take care of herself, and now she had to look after Tearju and her daughter? How was she supposed to do that?
But she had no choice; she couldn't refuse at this point. She could only brace herself and accept.
"Thank you. I won't let you look after Tearju and her daughter for nothing."
"Please don't mention it. Um... Professor Mikado, do you know where they sell maid outfits?"
Looking at Mikado's mature and composed demeanor, Kirisu's heart stirred, and she suddenly asked.
"Maid outfit? Are you planning to play some special games with your boyfriend, Kirisu-sensei?", Mikado was taken aback, her expression turning odd as she stared at Kirisu.
"No! Professor Mikado, please don't misunderstand! I don't have a boyfriend. I'm just asking for a friend... asking where to buy a maid outfit? She needs to wear one for certain reasons."
Seeing Mikado's misunderstanding, Kirisu's face flushed crimson, and she explained in a low voice, filled with embarrassment.
"A friend... You mean Ebihara-sensei, who's working as a maid? She should have a work uniform. But since you're asking me, I'll recommend some to you."
Staring at the barely concealed awkwardness on Kirisu's face, Mikado Ryoko smiled meaningfully, not exposing her.
"We should have added each other on contacts before. I'll send them to you in a bit. If you buy through that app, it can be delivered within half an hour."
"Then I'll trouble you..."
Seeing that Mikado wasn't pressing further, Kirisu breathed a sigh of relief, thanked her, and returned to her room.
However, not long after she got back, when she saw the links to various maid outfits Mikado had sent her, she immediately realized Mikado had still misunderstood.
Spaghetti strap ones, mesh ones, backless ones, ones without a skirt.
'I an going to wear this for a student to see! How can I possibly wear this kind of maid outfit?'
Realizing she had been misunderstood by Mikado Ryoko, Kirisu Mafuyu, with a dark expression, closed that incredibly suspicious shopping website and began reconsidering how to fulfill her promise.
Not wearing a maid outfit while teaching housework skills probably wouldn't work; Hachiman would definitely not acknowledge it.
If she couldn't lead by example and properly accept her punishment for the promise, she'd have no standing or face to discipline Hachiman in the future.
Maybe she should have Hachiman buy the maid outfit for her?
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she immediately dismissed it.
'No way. Wouldn't that mean telling Hachiman my body measurements?'
Although these weren't particularly private matters, and it wouldn't matter if he knew, it was still strange to tell a student and have him buy a maid outfit suitable for her to wear.
But if she bought it herself, she didn't know where to buy one right away. Online shopping wouldn't be fast enough, and even if she bought it, it wouldn't be washed.
Oh, right. Professor Mikado just mentioned that Ebihara-sensei is working as a maid, and her work uniform is a maid outfit.
Although Kirisu was also a bit puzzled why Ebihara Urara, someone about to get married, was working as a maid, maybe it was to save money for marriage and having children, preparing to be a housewife.
Anyway, her own body shape wasn't too different from Ebihara-sensei's. Since Ebihara-sensei had a part-time maid job, she probably wouldn't have only one maid outfit. Maybe she had a clean spare one she'd be willing to lend her.
'Ebihara-sensei's work uniform maid outfit has to be better than those outfits Mikado just recommended, right?'
Thinking this, Kirisu immediately resolved to pick up her phone, open the chat app, and try asking Ebihara Urara. If that didn't work, she'd go out and buy one later or ask Hachiman to come later, after she was prepared.
She and Ebihara Urara weren't friends on the app; in fact, she hadn't added many teachers as friends.
But because of tomorrow's welcome party, the teachers participating had been pulled into a group by Hoshinomiya Chie.
Kirisu found Ebihara Urara in the group chat and clicked to send a friend request.
Maybe because exams were over and it was after school, her friend request was quickly approved.
[Kirisu Mafuyu: Hello, Ebihara-sensei. This is Kirisu.]
[Ebihara Urara: Hello, Kirisu-sensei.]
[Kirisu Mafuyu: To be honest, I have a very presumptuous request. Could you possibly lend me a maid outfit now? I need it quite urgently.]
Seeing the friend request approved, Kirisu quickly typed out her purpose.
Although explaining over the phone would be faster, she was also worried that Ebihara Urara might still be in the large teachers' office. If SETO Nanami, who had made the bet with Hachiman along with her, heard her secretly asking to borrow a maid outfit, she'd definitely guess what she was planning.
[Ebihara Urara: Maid outfit? I do have one. But what do you need it for, Kirisu? And how did you know I have one?]
[Kirisu Mafuyu: No, it's not for me. It's for a friend of mine. A friend of mine suddenly needs to wear a maid outfit for certain reasons. I heard from Professor Mikado that you seem to be working as a maid, so I thought I'd ask if I could borrow one from you.]
[Ebihara Urara: A friend of yours, Kirisu-sensei? Professor Mikado? This 'friend' you're talking about...]
[Kirisu Mafuyu: Please forgive me, but I cannot reveal this friend's name!]
[Ebihara Urara: I do have an extra maid outfit I could lend you. But, that maid outfit is a work uniform, so it might not be suitable for your friend to wear.]
[Kirisu Mafuyu: Please, Ebihara-sensei, you must lend it to my friend! Regardless, I will thank you on my friend's behalf!]
If even Ebihara Urara-sensei, who was like a Yamato Nadeshiko about to marry her fiance, could wear it as a work uniform, how could it possibly be unsuitable for her?
It's not like she was going to wear it on the street or to school, just at home, for Hachiman to see briefly.
This maid outfit didn't need to be pretty; in fact, the uglier, the better. All she promised was to wear a maid outfit while teaching housework skills; she didn't specify what kind of maid outfit.
[Ebihara Urara: Did you leave school early today, Kirisu-sensei? If you're at the apartment outside school now, maybe you could come get the maid outfit from Kushida-san.]
[Kirisu Mafuyu: Kushida-san? She also has a part-time maid job?]
Seeing Ebihara tell her to get the maid outfit from Kushida-san, Kirisu was startled.
What did Kushida-san have to do with this?
She naturally knew Kushida Kikyo. This girl was extremely sociable, able to chat with anyone.
Even when Kirisu kept a stern face and didn't intend to engage with her, Kushida would still come over as if she hadn't noticed.
In a way, she was just as annoying as Hoshinomiya Chie-sensei, forcing Kirisu to focus all her attention to prevent Kushida from suddenly barging into her room and seeing the mess.
[Ebihara Urara: Mm, Kushida-san and I both work as maids, serving the same master. Recently, she's been helping the master recruit maids. She has quite a few maid outfits over there. If you're in a hurry, it might be more convenient to get one from her.]
[Ebihara Urara: Of course, if you want to become a maid yourself, I can also help introduce you. Are you interested in maid work, Kirisu-sensei?]
[Kirisu Mafuyu: It really isn't me who wants to borrow a maid outfit! I'm borrowing it for my friend! Sorry to bother you, Ebihara-sensei! I'll go ask Kushida-san first.]
Seeing Ebihara seriously offering to introduce her to maid work, Kirisu quickly ended that topic.
Since Kushida Kikyo, who lived in the same building, had maid outfits, she wouldn't trouble Ebihara to make a trip to deliver one. If Ebihara delivered the maid outfit and then didn't leave, wanting to meet her so-called 'friend,' that would also be troublesome.
Kirisu was just about to open her door when she immediately heard a commotion in the hallway outside. Peeking through the peephole at the students passing by, she saw Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, Hasebe Haruka, and Sakura Airi returning from school.
After thinking for a moment, Kirisu didn't go out immediately. She waited until Hasebe Haruka, Sakura Airi, and the others had all returned to their respective rooms and the hallway outside was quiet. After waiting a little longer, she quietly opened her door, grabbed a large bag, stepped out, closed her door, and quickly headed to another floor to find Kushida Kikyo.
Since some had returned, the others should probably be back by now too.
If they weren't back at the apartment now, they were probably at club activities or out shopping with friends, so they wouldn't be back soon.
However, to avoid being seen borrowing a maid outfit, she still had to be careful.
Exiting the elevator and seeing no one around, Kirisu immediately went to Kushida's door and pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong~
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
Kirisu wasn't particularly anxious at first, but after pressing the bell for a while with no response from Kushida's room, she couldn't help but press it twice more.
Was Kushida-san in the shower? Or not back yet?
They finished exams today, results are announced tomorrow, and home visits start this afternoon.
So it was normal for them to go out shopping and relax tonight, and not be back yet. Very normal.
Mistake! She should have just stopped Hasebe-san and the others earlier and asked clearly! She was a teacher; she wouldn't need to explain anything for asking to see Kushida-san.
"Hello, Kirisu-sensei. I heard you were looking for me—"
Just as Kirisu was regretting her decision, Kushida Kikyo's door suddenly opened a crack, and a head peeked out, blinking at the changing expression on Kirisu's face outside.
"Kushida-san, could we talk inside first? I'll just stay in the entryway."
Seeing Kushida open the door from inside, Kirisu's face lit up. Not wanting other students to see her coming to Kushida to borrow a maid outfit, she quickly stepped forward to push the door open and go inside.
"Huh?"
Kushida Kikyo hadn't expected Kirisu to do that, and Kirisu pushed the door open and entered.
However, as soon as she entered, Kirisu noticed something was off.
"You, Kushida-san, why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
Kirisu quickly turned around to close the door, facing it to avoid looking at Kushida, her pretty face flushing red and hot.
She never imagined Kushida Kikyo would come to the door without even getting dressed.
"I just got back not long ago and was changing clothes in the living room. I only opened the door because you were ringing so urgently, Kirisu-sensei."
Kushida Kikyo hugged the black-and-white maid outfit she hadn't had time to put on yet against her chest, looking down at her snow-white shoulders and delicate collarbone that the maid outfit couldn't cover, rolling her eyes as she explained speechlessly.
She also hadn't expected Kirisu Mafuyu, who never let anyone into her room, to just barge into hers.
Didn't she always have all sorts of reasons to refuse when she and Hoshinomiya Chie wanted to visit her room before?
"And you just came to the door like that, Kushida-san? What if you ran into a male student or some other man barging in? You'd easily be seen!"
Staring at the door in front of her, Kirisu was still incredulous at the boldness of the Kushida behind her.
She thought a normal person would get dressed first before opening the door for her. How could they sacrifice wearing clothes to save a little time?
"There are no male students in this building. Don't worry, Kirisu-sensei, I only opened the door because I saw it was you."
Seeing Kirisu still had her back to her, too embarrassed to look over, Kushida couldn't help but roll her eyes again. It was all because you were ringing the bell so urgently, you might have called everyone else out.
"Kirisu-sensei, what urgent matter did you have with me? You were ringing the bell so insistently?"
She decided not to dwell on this issue and directly asked Kirisu her purpose.
"Uh... Well, Ebihara-sensei said you're recruiting maids here and have quite a few maid outfits on hand. A friend of mine is interested in this sort of thing, so I wanted to borrow a maid outfit from you first for her to try. Do you have a spare one, Kushida-san?"
Kirisu hesitated. Although she felt the timing wasn't great, she immediately stated her request.
If Kushida Kikyo and the others were back from school, Hachiman would probably be here soon. If she wasn't back by then, he might think she was breaking her promise. That wouldn't be good.
"Borrow a maid outfit? Your friend, Kirisu-sensei? This 'friend' you're talking about, could it be..."
Kushida Kikyo looked at Kirisu with disbelief.
The always stern-faced, icy beauty teacher Kirisu Mafuyu, who had no warm expressions even for good students, who was always severe no matter the time, who left no room for imagination...
She was secretly interested in maid outfits?
"...", Kirisu Mafuyu.
'Why wouldn't anyone believe I have a friend?'
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