She paused without turning my way, but I could tell from the slight glance she gave that she was listening.
"My little sister's sick."
She finally looked over. "Huh? Sister?" she muttered, confused.
"Saki. She's younger than me. I live with her. It's just the two of us. And… she caught something. Nothing major, I think anyways, but she's not doing great. Which is why… I might not come on the trip."
Yuki's gaze lingered on me.
"You didn't tell anyone you had a sister," she said, slowly crossing her arms.
"Well, I think I mentioned it, but either way, it didn't seem important."
She didn't say anything, so I kept going.
"I've been thinking about it all day. I know Wilhelm will be sad, and the girls are hyped for it, but I dunno. Leaving her behind… Even for a couple of days… Doesn't sit right with me. Especially when something bad could happen, and there's no one to look after her." I expected some kind of jab, maybe a 'Wow, how noble' in her usual sarcastic tone.
But instead…
"You're an idiot," she muttered, turning away to face the view. "But… not a bad one."
My brows raised. "Another compliment?"
Yuki rolled her eyes, but there was the tiniest smile threatening her lips.
"She must be important to you," she replied, her gaze lowering slightly.
"She is. Without her… I have nothing left. My grandparents maybe, but even then, they live far away from me," I said, my voice cracking with a wave of sorrow that threatened to drown me.
"Then tell them," Yuki said. My eyes widened slightly; I was fully expecting her to tell me to just be quiet or something more Yuki-like, but for once, that wasn't the worst idea.
"...Yeah," I replied, letting off a small smile.
We stood there a little longer, both gazing out at the distant view of the city, both quiet, both feeling like this was for the best. After a while, Yuki finally broke the not-so-awkward silence as she turned around to head back inside. "Come back inside. Before Nao paints something on your apron again."
"Yeah, sure," I replied, letting out a soft chuckle.
And she left, leaving me by myself as the gentle wind hit my face. I stayed a moment longer, as the air was cooler and the light caught the clean streaks on the glass.vYeah, she's right. I'll tell them tonight; it's the least they deserve, especially considering I'm their maid.
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly.
Too quietly.
I feel like this has been a weird theme today.
I finished my chores, windows crystal clear, floor spotless, laundry folded with borderline military precision, and joined the girls in the kitchen, where dinner was already underway. Well… "underway" in the sense that Nao had started boiling water and immediately gotten distracted trying to make bubble sculptures in the sink.
"Look, look, Souta! It's a dragon!"
"That's definitely just foam with a spoon in it."
"Don't ruin the art!"
Yuki was sitting at the table, scrolling through her phone, probably judging all of us. Arisa was slicing vegetables with theatrical flair, clearly overcompensating for the egg incident earlier. Reina sat on the edge of the table quietly reading something, but her eyes kept drifting to Arisa and Nao, like she wanted to be part of the fun but didn't know how. Eventually, somehow, dinner came together. We sat down. Arisa was already chatting about something dumb she saw online.
"I mean, who tries to propose to someone using onions? Like actual onions? People are wild."
Nao giggled. "Maybe it was symbolic, like, 'our love has layers!'"
"That's actually the smartest thing Nao's said," I whispered.
"I would have thrown the ring at him," Yuki muttered, stabbing her rice like it owed her money. I looked up, fork in hand, and caught Yuki's eyes across the table, a rare moment of direct eye contact. She tilted her head slightly, then mouthed: "Tell them… jerk."
Just like that, I felt the weight drop into my stomach.
I put my fork down.
Cleared my throat.
"Uh… guys. Before we start planning who gets to push me off a mountain during this trip-"
"No promises!" Arisa called out with a grin.
"Let me talk, damn it."
They stopped.
I exhaled.
"Listen. I didn't say anything before because it didn't seem important (and also probably the fact you all wouldn't care, but...). But I've got a little sister. Her name's Saki. She's been sick since this morning, really sick. Fever, coughing, the whole thing. And…" I looked down at the table, suddenly very aware of how serious my voice had gotten.
"I don't know if I can go on the trip."
Silence.
Arisa blinked. "Wait… you have a sister?"
"You never told us that," Nao added, eyes wide. "Wait, wait, are you sure she didn't catch something from you?"
Yuki rolled her eyes. "Souta isn't patient zero, Nao."
I smiled weakly. "I'm sorry… But if my little sister is ill, then I have to stay and look after her. She's going to be by herself, and who knows what could happen when I'm away? Don't get me wrong, the trip is cool and all, and I know I'm asking a lot considering this is… well…"
The words trailed off, my resolve wavering as I sat surrounded by friends who didn't fully understand the weight of my decision.
But before I knew it, one of them answered.
"If you're not going, then I'm not going either."
I looked up slightly and saw the person whose voice that belonged to.
Reina.
It was a soft voice, and I was met with a steady gaze.
Everyone turned to her as if she'd just thrown a chair.
"I mean it," she said again, setting her chopsticks down. "It wouldn't feel right." She continued as a small smile crept onto her face. "Without our maid, we're useless."
"Same," Arisa said next, folding her arms with her usual drama. "I can't flirt with you properly if you're not there!"
Nao stood up suddenly, hand in the air like she was declaring war. "Come on! Who's gonna carry my bags if you're not there?"
"Guys…" I muttered in disbelief, slowly lifting my head up to the last sister.
Yuki sighed.
The room turned to her, the final verdict.
She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed.
"Don't get me wrong, this whole thing sounds dumb. I was kind of looking forward to peace and quiet without you idiots."
Then she looked at me.
"But if they're not going... Then I'm not either."
I blinked.
"That... Sounded suspiciously like you care."
"Don't make me change my mind."
Arisa grinned. "Aww, look at big sis Yuki caring for our little housemaid."
Yuki threw a napkin at her face.
But underneath the usual bickering and chaos, there was something else, a shared understanding. A shift.
In their own weird, chaotic, emotionally dysfunctional way…
They cared.
And I, well, I was stunned.
"Thanks, guys. Really."
"Don't get all sappy now," Yuki muttered, stabbing her tofu.
"Yeah, yeah!" Nao chimed in. "We're only doing this because Reina said it first."
"I still think onions are a bad idea," Arisa said, circling back for no reason.
I sat back down and leaned back, watching the four of them argue, bicker, and laugh. For the first time since starting this job not so long ago,
I didn't feel like I was just their maid.
I felt like I belonged here… It sounds weird considering my recent employment, but yeah, it felt like I was one of them… After we finished eating, I tidied up the minor chaos before preparing one little rice omelette dish just in case they got hungry before heading home.
But.
After I left, it seemed there was a small meeting taking place at the dinner table, a meeting including the four sisters. And a meeting that clearly I wasn't invited to or going to be part of.
"Hey Arisa, Sout- I mean, the jerk felt pretty bummed out, didn't he?" Yuki asked as she slightly stammered her words.
"Hmm, yeah, he did. It felt like he wanted to go, but why, wait, don't tell me you're feeling sorry for him, Yuki!!" Arisa said, slowly touching Yuki's hair.
"Shut up! OF COURSE I DON'T CARE, HE COULD GO DIE SOMEWHERE FOR ALL I CARE!" She breathed in, sighing. "It's just I feel sorry for his sister, that's all, she's not a weirdo like him."
"Hmm, I dunno, Souta's not weird, hehe," Nao replied, sitting on the chair with the back support facing forward.
"Yeah… He can be strange, I guess, but not weird," Reina added.
They all looked at each other before giggling a bit.
"Let's help our poor maid-chan!" Nao shouted.
They all nodded their heads before Yuki picked up her phone and began dialing...