"A collar...?"
Togawa Sakiko's expression finally broke.
A collar, he must mean the kind pets wear, right?
Eh? What does he mean? Being a maid isn't enough, Tetsuya-kun even wants me to be his "pet"?
At this thought, a tingling thrill instantly spread from the depths of her heart, causing it to pound uncontrollably.
Her mind was already starting to unconsciously picture a scene of Tetsuya holding a leash, looking down on her with the same cool, detached expression he had now...
(It's certainly shameful... but, I don't hate it at all...)
For someone who already adored his cool expression, being treated that way by him wouldn't make her feel resistant in the slightest. Rather, it would stimulate that unknown masochistic tendency within her, a side that existed only for Chihaya Tetsuya.
"Is this... a hobby of yours, Master?"
"I don't know. I've never actually seen a girl wear a collar before."
In response to her ambiguous and expectant question, Tetsuya, his mind completely preoccupied with design, failed to discern the nuance in her tone and state, and answered calmly.
"But if it matches the feel of the outfit, I think I'd like it very much."
As he spoke, Tetsuya got up, walked to his wardrobe, and took out a white silk scarf.
He planned to temporarily modify the scarf into a choker and have Sakiko act as his model to test the effect.
"...I understand."
Hearing his reply, Sakiko nodded with a shy expression.
"As long as it is Master's request... I will do my best to fulfill it."
At this point, she was utterly convinced that Tetsuya wanted to try out "pet play" with her.
Meanwhile, after getting her consent, Tetsuya simply gave a light nod.
"Mhm, that's a big help."
Because his mind was still brainstorming designs that could incorporate a "choker," his mental CPU was completely occupied. He didn't realize that the word he had spoken was "collar," which was still just a concept in his head. Furthermore, he failed to notice that the blush on Sakiko's face had already spread to the tips of her ears.
And so, when he quickly stitched the silk scarf into a tie-on choker with the needle and thread he had on hand and turned to look at Sakiko, the expression on his face froze for a moment.
"...Sakiko?"
"Yes, Master?"
"Why are you kneeling on the floor?"
"B-because... this position is more convenient for Master to put the collar on me..."
Having spent the entire time Tetsuya was sewing fantasizing about various scenarios, Sakiko was now so embarrassed she couldn't even meet his gaze.
"I see... that makes sense."
Hearing this, Tetsuya didn't think much of it. He simply turned his chair to face her and, holding the choker, wrapped his hands around her neck—
(Uwah, this is really bad!)
Because she was kneeling while he was sitting on the chair, their current position was incredibly suggestive.
If, at this moment, Tetsuya-kun were to press her head down slightly in his direction——
Sakiko felt like her brain was about to boil over from the scorching hot fantasy.
"Mhm, it's tied."
Unfortunately, a fantasy was just a fantasy. There was no way Tetsuya would actually do something so rough to her.
After tying the ribbon into a bow, he immediately released his hands and pulled back. Sakiko, however, remained in her kneeling position, awaiting his next command...
...
...
"Eh?" x2.
After a short wait, they both let out a sound of confusion.
"It's tied, Sakiko."
Tetsuya said.
"You can stand up now."
"Eh? I was supposed to stand up?"
Sakiko blinked, then slowly rose to her feet and continued to wait for his command.
After she stood up, Tetsuya began to sketch on his notepad.
"A ribbon-tie would probably suit a lighter dress. For an autumn or winter outfit, maybe button fasteners or a wider ribbon would work..."
Meanwhile, watching Tetsuya enter his serious work mode, Sakiko stood frozen for a good while before she finally realized what was going on—
(Could it be that Tetsuya-kun wasn't trying to play with me, but simply asked me to wear this for inspiration?!)
Realizing this, Sakiko rushed to his side and looked at the notepad in his hand.
And sure enough, he was currently drawing sketches based on the theme of "chokers" and "dresses"—
(I-I'm such an idiot!)
The realization that she had completely misunderstood him from the very beginning caused a bomb of shame to detonate in her mind.
Thinking back, from the moment she had stepped into his house, she had been harboring lewd expectations for the word "punishment," so she had basically been imagining all sorts of shameless things.
But in reality, Tetsuya-kun had no such intentions at all. From the start, he had only wanted to use the one-day maid job to achieve an effect similar to corporal punishment. As for the master-servant relationship and pet play she had been thinking about, that was all just her own desire!
For a moment, the clear recognition of her own lewd nature plunged Sakiko into an unprecedented state of shame.
Her only relief was that she hadn't actually said anything too dirty during her misunderstanding. If she had, she probably wouldn't have the face to stay by his side any longer.
"Sakiko, do you think I should use a pleated skirt here to add a sense of layering... hm? Why is your face so red?"
At that moment, Tetsuya, who was about to ask for her opinion, noticed her unusual complexion.
"Are you not feeling well?"
"Eh? Not at all!"
Sakiko quickly waved her hands.
"It's just a little warm in here..."
"Really?"
Tetsuya stood up and placed a hand on her forehead.
"Mhm... you don't have a fever."
He let out a small sigh of relief before returning to his seat.
Meanwhile, feeling his concern and gentleness, Sakiko felt a tinge of disappointment, while at the same time berating herself for being so lewd and shameless.
(Stop fantasizing! He's a fortress that even a girl on Hoshino Ai's level can't easily breach!)
Although he himself had admitted to being lecherous, in reality, he had done almost nothing to fit that description.
So, stop looking at him like that, and stop having such unrealistic delusions.
Tetsuya-kun would absolutely never make such a lewd request of me!
"Well then, next... this might be a little difficult to ask, but there's one more thing I need from you."
"What is it?"
Having just extinguished the distracting thoughts in her mind, Sakiko asked, feigning calmness.
But Tetsuya's next request threw her into complete disarray—
"Could I trouble you to... assume a pose where you're lifting your skirt?"
This time, his expression was no longer as calm as before. Even his tone of voice had become somewhat hesitant.
"It needs to be... lifted a little high..."
"Ugh... What is going on?!"
Just when she had convinced herself he wouldn't do something like that, he immediately shattered her understanding once again.
Completely unable to decipher his intentions anymore, Sakiko could no longer contain her inner turmoil and asked in a frayed voice:
"You just gave one misleading order, and now here's another! What on earth are you planning to do to me, Tetsuya-kun!"
She approached him as she spoke, her face filled with a mix of shame and anger that he couldn't comprehend.
"If you really want to do those kinds of shameful things to me, please be more direct! I'll accept it whether I'm the one initiating or you are! So... stop playing with my heart in this unpredictable way!"
"Eh? Unpredictable? Wait, Sakiko, what are you talking about?"
"In any case, if you have any other requests besides lifting my skirt, just say them all at once!"
Sakiko lifted her skirt and climbed directly onto Tetsuya's lap.
"Come on, Tetsuya-kun. Do what you want!"
This time, the rekindled flames could not be so easily extinguished.
Until she received some basic emotional compensation, she had no intention of letting him off the hook.
Meanwhile, Tetsuya, completely baffled as to why she had suddenly exploded, was at a loss for a good while before he asked cautiously.
"Sakiko... are you angry?"
"...Not really angry."
Sakiko pouted, a rare expression for her.
"I just think you're being a little mean, Tetsuya-kun."
Hearing this, he asked in confusion.
"Eh? Did I do something?"
"Mhm. You just played with my maidenly heart."
Sakiko pointed aggrievedly at the choker around her neck.
"You put a 'collar' on me, but then you did nothing. And just when I had accepted that it was all just my own wishful thinking, you suddenly ask me to strike a lewd pose... What do you want from me?"
"Collar... ah."
At that, Tetsuya instantly understood why she was reacting so strongly.
"S-sorry, Sakiko. My mind was full of designs just now, so my wording wasn't very precise."
He hurriedly tried to remedy the situation.
"That's not actually a collar, it's a decorative choker. Because it was born from the concept of a collar, I accidentally misspoke..."
"..."
She had already figured out from his sketch that he wanted her to wear it for inspiration.
The problem was that the request had been so sudden that she had mistaken it for a pre-planned part of the "punishment."
"So, why did Tetsuya-kun suddenly think of a collar?"
To completely clear up the doubts in her heart, Sakiko pressed on relentlessly.
"Was this a theme you had already thought of?"
"No, it just suddenly came to me after seeing you in the maid outfit."
Tetsuya guiltily averted his gaze.
"Because your portrayal of a maid was so excellent, I subconsciously made a somewhat lewd association..."
"A lewd association because of me..."
Hearing this, Sakiko stared intently at his face for a long moment before asking.
"Then, if it were someone else... like Soyo, for instance. Would you have her wear this?"
"No."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"It's because it was you, Sakiko... that's why I had that thought."
"..."
Chihaya Tetsuya didn't lie, which meant that what he had just said was the absolute truth from his heart.
So, only she could make him have this kind of unique association...
If that's the case, well... even though he didn't actually do anything to me, just being able to make him think that way isn't a complete failure...
A strange sense of relief and joy welled up in Sakiko's heart.
But that alone wasn't enough to explain everything that had just happened!
"Then, what was that pose about?"
Sakiko continued to press.
"Why did you suddenly ask me to lift my skirt?"
"That..."
Tetsuya's eyes began to dart around uncontrollably.
"Actually, it was to stimulate my creative inspiration."
"...Huh?"
Sakiko frowned.
"How would a pose of me lifting my skirt stimulate your inspiration, Tetsuya-kun?"
"I don't know either..."
Tetsuya lowered his head, looking quite embarrassed.
"It's something I've only discovered recently. My creative state... seems to be very closely linked to that kind of desire. The moment I receive that kind of stimulation, I immediately come up with a corresponding design idea based on the nature of the stimulus..."
"There's such a thing..."
Come to think of it, she had heard before that the more gifted a designer, the more likely they were to have eccentricities that others couldn't understand, which stimulated their creative desires.
So, Tetsuya-kun's creative fetish is his own male instinct?
...
Hm? Doesn't that mean?
"So you're saying, the pose of me lifting my skirt... can get you excited?"
Having connected the dots, Sakiko asked.
And Tetsuya gave a slight nod.
"Or rather... from the first moment I saw you when I woke up, I was already starting to be affected."
"I see..."
This unexpected information and affirmation caused the dissatisfaction in Sakiko's heart to dissipate almost entirely.
At the same time, seeing the way he couldn't meet her eyes, she completely made up her mind-
"I understand. In that case, Tetsuya-kun... no, Master, please continue your work."
As she spoke, Sakiko once again lifted her skirt just as he had asked.
Only this time, she chose not to simply stand aside as a model, but to press their bodies together once more..