Volume 6 - CH 9

“A-Arisa..! What in the world is this…?”

“Please come in.”

Arisa said with a smile.

It was a customer service style smile…, a little different from her usual smile, which she had trained at her part-time job.

Although he had seen this “smile” many times at work, this was the first time it was directed at Yuzuru himself.

(C-cute…)

The sheer destructive power of the smile made Yuzuru feel lightheaded.

Though Yuzuru liked Arisa’s natural smile, this kind of fake smile… wasn’t bad either.

“I’ll take care of your coat.”

“A-ah… yes.”

Yuzuru found himself being stripped of his coat and school bag by Arisa.

After carefully folding them, Arisa led Yuzuru into the living room.

The living room was…

(Oh, so nothing special has changed here.)

There were no special decorations.

As one would expect in the time of a movie, she probably didn’t have time to do that much.

“Please have a seat.”

“Yes.”

Yuzuru did as he was told and sat down on the cushion.

“I shall bring you something to drink.”

Arisa then disappeared into the kitchen and brought a bottle of drink and a glass.

She placed the glass on the table and poured the drink.

Naturally, Yuzuru’s gaze turned not to the drink…

Instead, it went to Arisa’s chest.

He couldn’t help but notice the white cleavage that was peeking out from the collar of the maid’s uniform.

“This is champagne… style juice… Let me bring you your meal.”

After she finished pouring, Arisa quickly got up and brought the food from the kitchen.

“This is marinated smoked salmon.”

“T-thank you…”

A small amount of the marinade was served in a small stylish glass.

It looked beautiful and the green sauce looked elaborate.

“…Itadakimasu.“

Yuzuru used a fork to bring the marinade to his mouth.

Arisa stared at Yuzuru with her emerald green eyes.

“How is it?”

“Yes, it’s delicious… as expected from you.”

When Yuzuru praised her, Arisa smiled happily.

(Still… could this be an amuse-bouche?)

If this was a household dish, this alone could be touted as a main course…

But in terms of quantity, it doesn’t look like a main course.

But it would make sense to think of it as an amuse-bouche.

“…The next one is an hors d’oeuvre appetizer?”

Yuzuru asked her to test it out.

Then Arisa smiled.

“Yes, of course.”

“I-I see…”

Apparently, the dinner that day was going to be a course menu.

Yuzuru was surprised at this.

“By the way, Arisa, why don’t you eat with me?”

“Today, I was thinking of concentrating on servicing Yu-Master…”

Service.

Yuzuru asked, momentarily dazed by the word.

“Have you prepared enough for yourself?”

“I have, but… um, would you be happier if I joined you?”

“I’m happier to be with you in any way I can.”

Yuzuru, as expected, felt a slight sense of ‘loss‘ for having to eat it all by himself after such an elaborate preparation.

Of course, he recognized that this was Arisa’s way of hospitality and also a kind of ’Maid and Master‘ play…

As for Yuzuru, he preferred to share his happy time with Arisa.

“…honestly speaking, I thought you would say that.”

With that, Arisa stood up and brought what appeared to be an appetizer from the kitchen.

This time, it was not for one person, but for two.

She also brought a glass for herself and the amuse-bouche she had brought earlier.

“I’ll pour the drinks.”

“Eh? Ah, no…”

At the moment, Arisa was the maid and Yuzuru was the master.

Considering this, it wouldn’t be appropriate from a role-playing perspective to have Yuzuru pour it for her.

But being too bound by the rules was no fun either.

“… are you going to turn down the favor of your Master?” 

“N- no… No way… thank you very much.”

Yuzuru’s words brought a look of surprise to Arisa’s face, and she obediently accepted the drink from Yuzuru.

After confirming that Arisa had taken the drink, Yuzuru gently raised the glass.

“Then… cheers.”

“… Cheers.”

The two lightly clinked glasses together.

Now, following the amuse-bouche and appetizers…

Soup, fish poisson, sorbet to cleanse the palate, and meat entrees…  Arisa brought the dishes one after another.

Needless to say, all the dishes were carefully prepared one by one.

Yuzuru had expected a course meal at first, but he did not expect a ‘full course‘.

He was simply amazed.

“…wasn’t it a lot of work to make all this?”

Yuzuru asked Arisa after finishing the meat dish.

Arisa gave a small nod.

“Well, in its own way… but I didn’t really intend to go with it this far …at first.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Um… while I was making it, it became fun, or rather, I was thinking about making this and that, and then…”

“I-I see…”

Apparently, Arisa enjoyed herself to a certain extent.

Yuzuru was a little relieved.

Because it would indeed be a shame to have her go to such lengths just for him.

“Then… I guess it’s time to bring the real main item of the day, the dessert, isn’t it?”

Yuzuru nodded at Arisa’s words.

Yes, today was Yuzuru’s birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, it would be…

“Happy birthday… Master!”

Right, a birthday cake.