Chapter 47: Bonus Story: Lingering Moon - Chapter of Arihiko Inui

Shiki Tohno is a "broken" person, just like me, but the extent of his brokenness is far more deeply ingrained than mine.

The feeling of "life" for him weighs less than a feather; he's like a moving corpse. He's better now, but way back when we were little kids, he used to be enveloped in a dangerous aura that reeked of "death."

I don't know why he ended up that way, but one thing I can say for sure is that he's always been extremely physically weak. When we were just elementary school kids, there were times he was taken away in an ambulance after just a light exercise.

Come to think of it, simply living a so-called normal life was probably a life-or-death situation for him. The possibility of dying is constantly lurking in his daily life... so, well, it's only natural that he's "broken."

And the best friend of such a guy is me, Arihiko Inui. I'm also a "broken" person due to various circumstances, but fortunately, my body is perfectly healthy. Thanks to that, I've been able to enjoy a carefree life of flirting, doing whatever I like every day, and whispering sweet nothings until today.

However, it seems the tide has changed recently. My attempts at flirting keep failing, nothing's going right, and I'm just attracting bad luck.

In contrast, my buddy suddenly became glamorous after returning to the main family house, or whatever they call it. It's not just a case of "a dead tree adding life to the mountain"—recently, it's been overflowing with fully bloomed cherry blossoms!

Moreover, and what's more—

“Yumizuka, you were seriously working as a maid at Tohno's place...” “...............................................”

There was a maid. Satsuki Yumizuka was a maid.

It had been a while, but she looked more feminine and beautiful than before. I mean, her features were originally cute, and when silent, she was top-tier. I'm shocked.

I heard that she went missing for a while due to the murder case that people called the modern vampire incident, and after being safely protected, she started working at the Tohno mansion due to family circumstances...

But more than that, her hairstyle had changed—a ponytail! I quite prefer her straight hair, but the ponytail paired with the maid uniform isn't bad either! It's great that it's not a simple, "moe-moe" maid outfit, but one that balances practicality, functional beauty, and decorative beauty!

Maid outfit! Classmate! Ponytail... and a girl who uses a male pronoun (boku)! Now, I want to say out loud: It's a happy meal of fetishes!

Wait... calm down, me. My thought process is degenerating to Shiki's idiotic level. Summarize the situation in writing and calm down... Alright!

'My classmate and long-time close friend since middle school, Satsuki Yumizuka, was working as a maid at my best friend Shiki Tohno's house.'

...Damn it, translating it into a sentence makes it even more incomprehensible. This is selling out common sense and decency too much, right? This shouldn't happen in reality, should it?

This is the world of an erotic game, right? It's an 18-plus setting, right? Why is that ♪ Why is that ♪ Why is that ♪ Why is that ♪

No, what do I mean by "Why is that ♪?" Ugh, my brain can't keep up with the shock. Seriously, I never thought reality could be scarier than the occult...

Damn it, is this the abyss, you guys? If so, there's one thing I must ask—

“So, what is it, uhm... Does saying 'Shiki-sama' mean it's that kind of play? Could it be, no way, is she already disciplined?! Like night service—!!!”

“As if that's true—!!!?”

“Woah, ahhhh!!!”

She grabbed me by the chest, but... my feet are floating off the grounddddd!? Even if she's one of the stronger girls, she shouldn't have this much brute strength! Furthermore, even when I flailed my legs, Yumizuka was completely unaffected. How strong is she!?

“Ah... Ah-ah-ah—! S-sorry! Are you okay?”

Yumizuka, her face pale, hastily lowered me.

“Y-Yumizuka—”

It didn't hurt, but my legs felt weak. I was about to say that, but I withdrew my words after looking at Yumizuka's face.

—Why are you making a face like you're about to cry, hey?

“Hey, hey, my shirt got stretched out, hahahaha!” “.................................”

Yumizuka looked at me with a surprised expression. But she was still looking at me worriedly, fearfully.

“Don't worry. I might be a delinquent, but I'm a good delinquent who follows principles. No matter what happens to you, Yumizuka, you're my buddy, and there's no way I'd hate you.”

“...Pffft, hahahaha! 'Delinquent' (不良 - furyō) is the character for 'good' (良 - ryō) with the negation character 'not' (不 - fu) added! So a 'good delinquent' is the height of contradiction, Arihiko! But, yeah, your straightforwardness like that, Arihiko, is helpful... Thank you.”

Hearing my words, Yumizuka laughed heartily, then smiled. In that feminine gesture, I felt a difficult-to-describe sense of incongruity for a moment.

“Arihiko?”

“Nah, Yumizuka. It's nothing. Hehehe, you're welcome.”

I laughed at my own foolishness. How absurd. That feminine charm—it wasn't the charm of a woman, but the charm of a beautiful beast. Why did such poetic and occult words come to mind?

“Alright, you two, let's put the horsing around aside. Since the three of us have gotten together after so long, how about a toast?”

“Oh, yeah! Let's do that! Let's cheer up and drink Maid-chin's coffee!”

Accepting her grumble of "What's a Maid-chin?", the three of us, finally reunited since that atrocious series of bizarre murders, raised a long-awaited toast.

“—It's delicious! It tastes like coffee shop quality!”

The copper mug contained iced coffee with ice floating in it. In contrast, the coffee I knew was only 'kōhī' (basic coffee). I only knew the stuff from family restaurants, cans, or instant powders.

So, I can assert this: This is definitely the kind of truly delicious coffee you'd find at a coffee shop.

“It's good coffee made from beans I just roasted at the mansion this morning. I can't compete with Kohaku-san or Hisui-san when it comes to tea, but I can somehow hold my own with coffee.”

“Roasting at the mansion, huh... As expected of rich people. Wait, Yumizuka roasted it? That's amazing! Come to think of it, Yumizuka said she could drink coffee since elementary school.”

Yumizuka has always been able to drink coffee, preferred it, and made it herself. She saved up her allowance, bought coffee equipment, and went out of her way to buy beans. I feel like all her hobbies, tastes, and thoughts were three steps ahead of everyone else, not just one.

“The roasting equipment was my late dad's collection. ...Or rather, it was stuff he left lying around as junk that Satsuki repurposed. I barely remember his face, but since I can drink delicious coffee like this now, I'm grateful to my old man.”

Shiki deliberately offered a moment of silence. He's a guy who, despite his harmless face, spits out quite a bit of venomous commentary, even as a kid.

“Mm, but the mechanism is different from roasting over a wire mesh, and Akiha-sama... Akiha-san gives me various pointers about the taste, so I still have a lot to improve.”

“Hahaha, it's awkward for me, her brother, to say this, but Akiha has a Queen's temperament deep down, and her way of speaking is harsh. But, one way or another, everyone, including Kohaku-san and Hisui, is enjoying the coffee.”

Insider stories that only the two of them could truly appreciate. However, I could understand that Yumizuka had found her place in this mansion and was able to spend her time peacefully.

“I'm relieved you're doing well. But Yumizuka is amazing, working as a live-in maid, right? On top of that, going to night high school soon—I genuinely respect that.”

Unlike me, who runs recklessly on the delinquent road, Yumizuka fundamentally strives in her studies, and she has a proper family, too. Despite this, why did she have to end up imitating some kind of "maid"—really, what's with God?

“Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated. But I never imagined I'd become a maid. The future I envisioned was, at most, getting a job as a local civil servant after high school. Or maybe moving to Tokyo for university and getting a job there.”

“Getting a job, huh... Ugh, I hate that, I hate that. I want to remain a carefree student forever and ever—”

These were words that had almost become the concept of a curse or a hex. Moreover, according to public opinion, finding a job is tough even with a university degree, and just hearing concepts that are the opposite of my own—that all that matters is enjoying the present—is enough to make me depressed.

“Heh, that's a story that doesn't concern me. After all, even though it may not look like it, I'm the eldest son of the Tohno conglomerate.”

“Oh, really! Does food taste good when you don't work for it? Don't get cocky just because your surroundings have gotten glamorous recently!”

I bit back at the guy making that smug face.

“It is delicious, of course! Hisui wakes me up every morning, and Kohaku-san makes delicious meals every morning! Ah, I'm so glad I was born as a young master. Food tastes great when you don't have to work for it!”

“Damn you! Bourgeois! Perish! Just perish!”

It's easy to forget, but this guy was born into a wealthy family. Not new money, but a long-standing, prominent family in our hometown of Misaki Town.

That's why there were adults in the past who "warned" me about hanging out with Shiki, the delinquent. Well, that just ended up fueling my rebellious spirit even more!

“Ahahahahahaha!!”

Yumizuka, watching the two guys' stand-up routine, laughed wholeheartedly. It was a more masculine than feminine laugh, and I felt relieved seeing that she hadn't changed at all.

“This relationship is really good, yeah. ...I finally feel like I've returned to normalcy, that I've come back.”

Yumizuka murmured, laughing and sounding relieved.

“Hell yeah! Then let’s talk nonsense to the end today! I mean, those glorious student days pass in an instant! Every second, every moment is precious!”

At my words, Yumizuka, for some reason, made a stunned face,

“—Was it 'I don't desire eternity even for a moment,' I wonder?”

She spoke those words, almost like a phrase from somewhere. She was muttering, as if looking at some distant, nostalgic place that she could never return to.

“—Satsuki.”

“Ah... sorry, for making the atmosphere weird! Then, let's talk! I don't have any work left today, so let's talk a lot!”

Prompted by Shiki, Yumizuka came back to her senses. I somehow sensed that the two of them shared a common secret.

It was probably triggered by that series of murders. Something must have happened without my knowledge. They probably experienced something I couldn't be involved in. Most likely, there was nothing I could do to help.

“You bet! That's what I want, Sacchin!”

Well, even so, I'm still me. My identity as their friend hasn't changed, and the two of them must certainly want me to remain that way.

I am Arihiko Inui. The best friend of Shiki Tohno and Satsuki Yumizuka. Nothing more, nothing less.

That's all there is to it.