"I had thought the other day that… there definitely won't be a next time…"
In front of a certain mansion, Haruto muttered to himself without addressing anyone in particular.
The other day, he had confidently declared in front of the Akagi siblings that he wouldn't be called to the Toujou family's house for housekeeping again. He had also believed that he himself wouldn't return to the Toujou family as a housekeeper.
Given his thoughts, standing before the grand mansion of the Toujou family now, various anxieties began to well up within Haruto.
(Perhaps they called me to complain about the last housekeeping job... Maybe the hamburg steaks went bad and caused food poisoning...)
Various thoughts swirled in Haruto's mind. All of them were negative thoughts, making him feel even more anxious as he pressed the intercom button with slightly trembling fingers.
Ding dong, the chime sounded. The moment that followed seemed endlessly long to Haruto.
[Hello~? Who might they be?]
Contrary to his tension, the voice that came through the intercom was extremely cheerful.
"Oh, I'm from the housekeeping service."
[Ara! I've been waiting for you. I'll open the front door, so please wait!]
Listening to the intercom, Haruto tilted his head.
(Sounds like Toujou-san's voice, but with really high energy. Could this be Toujou-san's mother?)
In Haruto's mind, Toujou was more associated with gentleness than liveliness. When he had visited their house last time, Toujou-san had been quiet and attentive, taking good care of her little brother. That's the impression he had. While pondering over this, the entrance door swung open with a clatter, revealing a woman.
She was probably in her late twenties. She had a very beautiful face, and her resemblance to Toujou made it clear that she was likely Toujou's older sister.
"Oh, you must be Ootsuki-kun! Come on in, come in!"
"Ah, yes. Um, thank you very much."
Invited with high spirits, Haruto entered the house and wore the provided slippers. As he did so, the living room door swung open loudly.
"Onii-chan!"
With a delighted shout from the hallway, Toujou's little brother, Ryouta, came charging towards Haruto.
"Onii-chan! Listen to this! The hamburg steak you made was amazing! The moment I tasted it, the juice went squ~ish and it was sooo delicious!!!"
As Ryouta stretched out his arms, passionately describing the deliciousness of the hamburger, Haruto forgot about his nervousness and smiled.
"I'm really glad you enjoyed it, Ryouta-kun."
Haruto squatted down to pat Ryouta's head.
"Ufufufu, Ryouta has already become attached to you, I see."
Smiling fondly at this scene, Toujou's older sister remarked.
"Mom enjoyed the hamburg steak Onii-chan made too, right? It was delicious, right?"
"Yes, it was very delicious."
Hearing this conversation, Haruto was taken aback.
(What!? This person is Toujou-san's mother!? Huh!? …She looks so young!)
The woman who smiled at Ryouta was so youthful that it was hard to believe she was a mother of two.
Unaware of Haruto's shock, Ryouta innocently asked a question.
"Hey, hey, what are you going to make today?"
"Now now, Ryouta. First, let's invite Ootsuki-kun into the living room."
"Yeah! This way, Onii-chan!"
With a gentle tone, Ryouta obediently nodded and pulled Haruto by the hand into the living room. As Ryouta led Haruto, they entered the living room.
"Sorry to bother you, Ootsuki-kun. Ryouta has been eagerly asking 'When will Onii-chan come?' since this morning."
"Oh no, it's perfectly fine."
While feeling somewhat flustered about the fact that the woman he thought was Toujou's sister was, in fact, her mother, Haruto managed to maintain a composed smile as he responded.
"Now then, let me reintroduce myself. Thank you very much for using our housekeeping service. I'm your assigned agent, Ootsuki. This time, Toujou-sama requested a 3-hour package for cleaning and cooking dinner. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Confirming in a business-like tone, Haruto saw a slightly dissatisfied expression on Toujou's mother's face.
"Ayaka mentioned it, but Ootsuki-kun and Ayaka are classmates, right?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
"In that case, you don't have to be so formal, you know? Please feel more at ease and call me Ikue instead of 'Toujou-sama,' okay?"
In response to Toujou's mother's request, Haruto showed a slight hesitation.
"Although that may be the case, Toujou-sama is still technically a client to me..."
"Don't say such lonely things. Could you speak in a more casual manner, please?"
"But... that's..."
"Come on? Please?"
As Toujou's mother clasped her hands together, tilted her head slightly, and looked up with pleading eyes, Haruto involuntarily averted his gaze. Toujou's mother was a woman who could rightfully be called a beautiful mature woman, as if she had added a touch of adult charm to the already stunning high school beauty that was Toujou Ayaka. Faced with the words "Please?" from such a woman, Haruto's adolescent heart wavered considerably.
"...Alright, Ikue-san."
"I'm glad! Thank you, Ootsuki-kun!"
"N-no problem."
Blushing slightly, Haruto bowed his head. Just then, Toujou entered the living room.
"Ah, Ootsuki-kun. You're here. Welcome."
"Pardon for my intrusion, Toujou-sama... Toujou-san."
The moment he said "Toujou-sama," Haruto felt Ikue's gaze and hastily rephrased.
"Thank you for using our services again."
"Yeah. Last time, I talked to my parents about the cleaning and the hamburg steak cooking being done by the housekeeping service. When I mentioned that the housekeeper was a classmate, Ootsuki-kun, both my parents wanted to meet you. And Ryouta was really persistent about wanting to eat 'Onii-chan's food.'"
Seeing Toujou speak with a slightly embarrassed look, Haruto lowered his head.
"I'm glad you were satisfied with the previous service. I'll do my best again this time to meet your expectations."
"Ah, yes. Please do so."
Swayed by Haruto's manner, Toujou nodded her head in response. Observing the interaction between the two, Ikue added an "Ara ara~" while touching her cheek.
"You're both classmates, right? How about being more friendly?"
In response to her mother's words, Toujou displayed a slightly troubled expression.
"But I've never really talked to Ootsuki-kun at school before..."
"Oh, well, why not take this opportunity to become friends? Right, Ootsuki-kun?"
"Huh?! Ah, yes. Um, well... I guess so."
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Haruto hesitated briefly about how to respond. However, considering the context, he judged that it would be problematic to object, so he hesitatingly affirmed, despite his uncertainty. Satisfied with Haruto's response, Ikue nodded and turned to her daughter.
"Ayaka, you don't have any male friends, do you? Ootsuki-kun seems like a good boy, so this could be a good opportunity."
"H-hey, Mom! It's not like I called Ootsuki-kun over for reasons like that."
"Huh? Ayaka, don't you want to be friends with Ootsuki-kun?"
"That's... it's not like I don't want to..."
"So you want to be friends then! Sorry, Ootsuki-kun, this girl has never been straightforward."
"Wai–, Mooom... Uuu..."
Seeing Toujou blush and lower her head, Haruto chuckled and passed it off with a "Ahahaha," before quickly changing the topic to work-related matters.
"Um, then, I'd like to start cleaning right away. Do you have any requests beforehand?"
"Requests... well~"
After a brief moment of thought, Ikue turned her gaze towards the window.
"Come to think of it, I've been bothered by the dirt on the windows lately. Could you also clean the windows over there?"
"Yes, of course."
After bowing, Haruto immediately went towards the window to inspect the glass up close.
"Indeed, it's certainly a bit dirty."
"I know, right? The yellow sand and rain from the other day messed it up."
"Understood. I'll start cleaning right away."
Haruto took out the necessary items for window cleaning from his bag and began wiping the windows. For larger items like vacuum cleaners, he mostly used what was available in the house. However, for smaller items like cleaning cloths used for wiping, he brought his own. Some items were provided by the company, but Haruto also had items he prepared himself. When he mentioned his part-time housekeeping job to his grandmother, she gave him various useful items that seemed handy.
To clean the inside of the window, Haruto dampened a newspaper with water. At that moment, Ryouta approached with a curious expression.
"Onii-chan, what are you doing with the newspaper?"
"If you use this, you can clean the windows, see. The ink from the newspaper helps remove the dirt."
"Heeh~! That's amazing! I want to try wiping too!"
Ryouta had been by Haruto's side since a while ago, asking questions from time to time.
"Wanna give it a try? Here, you can wipe that spot."
"Okay!"
Haruto handed a dampened newspaper to Ryouta and pointed to an area within his reach.
"I'm sorry that Ryouta is bothering with your work, Ootsuki-kun."
After requesting Haruto for cleaning, Ikue, who had been working with her pc on the living room desk, called out.
"Oh, no, it's actually helpful that Ryouta-kun is helping."
"That's right, Mom! I'm helping Onii-chan!"
In response to her mother's comment about him being a "bother," Ryouta pouted and refuted.
"Thanks to Ryouta-kun, it looks like the window cleaning will be done quickly."
"Hehehe."
As Haruto gently stroked Ryouta's head, Ryouta also had a shy smile on his face.
"Oh my, you two seem just like real siblings. Right, Ayaka?"
"Huh? ...Ah, yeah. That's right."
Sitting next to her mother with her chin resting on her hand, Toujou, who had been absentmindedly watching Haruto clean the windows, was suddenly addressed and snapped back to reality. Seeing her reaction, Ikue couldn't help but smile mischievously.
"Ayaka, you seem lost in thought. Are you bothered that Ryouta is being taken away by Ootsuki-kun? Or were you..."
With a mischievous grin, Ayaka's mother asked her.
"Were you captivated by Ootsuki-kun?"
"W-what are you even talking about, Mom!?"
Almost instinctively, Toujou stood up abruptly from her seat and glared at her mother.
"Your face is so red, you know? That's youth for you~"
"T-that's not it, okay!? It's not like that at all!"
Toujou vehemently denied, her voice loud. Puzzled by her sister's outburst, Ryouta, who had been cleaning the window with Haruto, looked at her curiously.
"Onee-chan, why is your face so red? Did you catch a cold?"
"No, it's not red! And I don't have a cold! Geez, I don't care anymore!"
Shouting like that, Toujou quickly left the living room.
"Mom, what happened to Onee-chan?"
Unable to comprehend his sister's behavior, Ryouta looked at the living room door with a bewildered expression after she left. With a smile, Ikue said, "Ufufufu."
"Your Onee-chan is enjoying her life right now."
"But Onee-chan didn't seem to be happy just a moment ago, you know?"
"Fufu, it's a bit too early for Ryouta to understand."
With a smile that never faded, Ryouta's mother turned her gaze to Haruto, who was diligently wiping the window together with Ryouta.
"I wonder if spring is finally coming for my daughter."
The quiet murmur, almost inaudible to anyone else, was a murmured expression filled with motherly affection — as well as a mix of slight loneliness and happiness.
Ara ara~
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