"No need, this is my job!"
However, compared to the "Wood-head" Mutsumi, Sakiko's attitude was far more complex.
Back when they were childhood friends, both she and Mutsumi were young ladies of high standing; if anything, Sakiko was the one in the superior position, both emotionally and socially.
Even after she fell from grace and became "Customer Service Saki," Mutsumi remained the Young Lady of Tsukinomori.
But now, she had completely regressed into the standard subordinate role of a maid, while Mutsumi was essentially her mistress.
Given Sakiko-sensei's personality, she wouldn't harbor feelings like petty jealousy. Yet, this massive gap in status between her and her childhood friend stung her fragile pride.
This was exactly why she would "overheat" so easily whenever she faced Mutsumi in the anime—it wasn't just because Mutsumi was a top-tier Fiora player.
At this moment, that feeling had undoubtedly reached its limit.
"..."
Being rejected made Mutsumi feel a bit hurt; she truly just wanted to help.
"Since Saki-chan values her status as a maid so much, how about you warm my bed tonight?"
Right then, Kamijou Mutsuki suddenly spoke up from the side with a smile.
"Don't take things too far!"
Sakiko-sensei looked truly angry. No matter how strong her pride was, she wasn't about to sell herself over it.
"If it's a no, then it's a no. No need to make a face like that~"
Watching the boy before her maintain that same smiling attitude regardless of the situation, the girl suddenly felt a wave of powerlessness.
"I'm going to go cook!"
With that, Maid Saki turned around and headed for the kitchen.
"That's just how Sakiko is."
Watching Sakiko-sensei's retreating back, Kamijou Mutsuki patted Mutsumi's head and handed her a small cucumber to snack on.
'Bullying my Mutsumi-chan, are we? No dessert for you tonight after dinner.'
With Sakiko-sensei handling the cooking, Mutsumi's workload was lightened considerably, giving her time to watch TV with Mutsuki.
Sakiko-sensei proved her mettle as a member of the working class; her culinary skills were every bit as good as Mutsumi's, who had been studying hard lately.
However, since it was Sakiko's first day—and even though the three were far from strangers—the situation was different than before.
A slight air of awkwardness lingered between them. Consequently, once dinner was finished, they all retreated to their respective rooms to rest.
Sakiko-sensei had already taken off the maid uniform and changed into her pajamas. She surveyed the familiar yet slightly foreign room, her gaze turning a bit dazed.
Her room was, naturally, the very one she used to have. Since leaving the Togawa household, she never imagined there would come a day when she would live here again. Moreover, the layout was exactly the same as the day she left.
'Was it... Kamijou Mutsuki?'
The boy's silhouette flashed through her mind. She wondered what would happen next... and with that uncertainty about the future, the girl drifted off into sleep.
-----------------------------------
On the other side, Kamijou Mutsuki wasn't heading to bed just yet. He turned on his computer and clicked over to Niconico.
Thanks to the traffic drawn in by MyGO!!!!!, Niconico was no longer the half-dead site it had been at the start, though it wasn't exactly "hot" yet. Mutsuki hadn't logged on for a pre-sleep scroll; he went straight to the MyGO!!!!! related pages.
Displayed there was the news of the upcoming MyGO!!!!! Live, along with the ticket sales page.
One had to admit, Myaamori's efficiency was top-notch—no wonder Mutsuki held her in such high regard. However, the ticket sales status caught Mutsuki a bit off guard. Even though the page had only been live for a short time, the tickets were already completely sold out.
In the comment section below, a crowd of people who failed to snag a ticket were wailing in despair.
[Dammit! I blinked for one second and the tickets were gone. Are you guys all octopuses?]
[Is anyone selling? Buying at a high price.]
[Speaking of which, this concert feels a bit strange.]
[Isn't it just one of those seiyuu (voice actor) live events?]
[But it's actually being held at RiNG.]
[Did anyone notice? The seiyuu names and the character names are exactly the same!]
[Marketing tactics, obviously. They really know how to play the game.]
[It's not like the characters from the anime actually exist, right? If they're real, I'll eat my phone!]
[Another guy looking for a free meal.]
[I can't believe they're holding a concert before the anime even finishes airing. I'm so excited!]
Most of the comments were complaints about the limited tickets or requests to buy them at scalp prices.
Kamijou Mutsuki realized he had still underestimated the popularity of MyGO!!!!!. Granted, the anime hadn't even reached its peak emotional payoff yet.
However, the people of this world had been starved of good music anime for a long time; after K-On!, a phenomenal work had finally appeared, and the heat it generated was predictable.
Most people—aside from the girls' classmates—still thought this was just a standard seiyuu live event. And that was exactly Mutsuki's plan. The identity of the band girls would be most shocking if revealed only when they stepped onto the stage!
To ensure this, Mutsuki had put significant effort into information management. He had even replaced the original CRYCHIC web pages with anime illustrations.
As for their classmates, as long as there were no photos, no one would believe them. Even casual passersby were handled by the female bodyguards stationed around the girls.
Of course, the main factor was Mutsuki using some "miraculous props" from the System, all for that single moment of shock on stage! However, after this Live, the girls would be in the public eye.
From then on, they'd likely receive the treatment of true superstars. Consequently, their security would need to be tightened...
While Mutsuki was deep in thought, a message suddenly popped up on LINE. It was from Soyo.
'Wait, what does she want with me this late at night?'
Mutsuki clicked the message and found a photo—it was a shot of him and Sakiko-sensei standing there, staring at each other after being kicked out of the house.
"..."
'Seriously, sister...'
So much had happened today that Mutsuki couldn't help but rub his temples.
How exactly did Soyo manage to take this photo?
Kamijou Mutsuki pulled out his phone, and sure enough, there was the message from a certain "Tsukinomori Secret Agent."
'Still playing the stalking game, are we?'
Mutsuki hadn't expected that he would actually be successfully tailed by Soyo.
While he usually had bodyguards following him, they only reported urgent matters directly to him; otherwise, he'd be answering the phone all day and night. If it had been a stranger, they would have intervened, but since it was Soyo...
She actually had female bodyguards assigned to her by Mutsuki himself, and he had explicitly instructed them not to interfere in the band girls' private affairs. So, in a way, he had dug his own grave this time.
In truth, being followed wasn't a huge deal for him, but who could have guessed that Soyo would manage to bag "Sakiko-sensei" on her very first stakeout?
Soyo definitely wasn't as level-headed as someone like Miss Uika.
.......................