Chapter Twenty-Two: Jealousy

After spending about ten minutes, Anhe returned to his apartment.

Standing in front of his own door, Anhe had just taken the key from his pocket and hadn't yet inserted it into the lock when the door opened automatically before him.

Surprised, Anhe looked up to see Sayu Amamiya standing gracefully in front of him.

She was still dressed in her JK uniform, hands resting in front of her, holding an open manga. The red scarf covered half her delicate face, leaving only her bright eyes fixed on Anhe.

Seeing her fully prepared, as if ready to head out at any moment, Anhe raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Have you been waiting at the entrance all this time?"

Sayu Amamiya nodded, then remembered Anhe's earlier warning not to open the door for strangers and added, "I was reading manga in the foyer. When I heard footsteps and the sound of keys, I checked through the peephole and saw it was you before opening the door."

As she finished, Sayu shook the manga in her hand as if to prove she wasn't lying.

Seeing her like this, Anhe couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry, I'm just concerned for your safety. I wasn't upset at all."

He reached out and gently tucked a lock of hair behind Sayu's ear. As he came closer, Sayu didn't shy away; instead, she set her manga aside on the cabinet, took off her scarf, and wrapped half of it around Anhe's neck.

Once everything was settled, Anhe pinched Sayu's soft, smooth cheek and smiled, "Let's go to the café."

"Okay."

Sayu responded softly, stepping to Anhe's side, their hands naturally intertwining.

Fingers interlaced.

...

Half an hour later.

Café.

Inside the changing room.

Sayu Amamiya was now wearing the familiar cat-ear maid outfit, but this time it was on her.

"Absolutely beautiful," Anhe said, genuinely praising her.

Haruki Sato, standing nearby, proudly lifted her chin and declared, "Of course! From the moment I first saw Sayu-chan, I knew she was perfect for this outfit."

Seeing Haruki's smug expression, Anhe wanted to retort, but looking at Sayu Amamiya dressed in a blue-and-white maid dress, with white cat-ear hair clips and a fluffy white cat tail, he decided to keep silent.

She was simply too adorable.

He watched for a while longer, and as the time approached, Haruki Sato clapped her hands to draw their attention and said, "It's almost time for your shift to start. Sayu-chan, since today is your first day, just wander around the hall and observe how the other maids serve guests. For today, you’ll just help out with small tasks, and you’ll officially start work tomorrow. The pay is the same as the others, fifteen hundred yen per hour. Is that acceptable?"

Sayu Amamiya didn't answer immediately; instead, she looked at Anhe.

He nodded in response, and only then did Sayu agree.

Thus began Sayu Amamiya's first day of part-time work.

She was like a diligent little bee, constantly moving through every corner of the hall.

Although she only handled chores like clearing tables, she didn't need to interact with guests, which relieved Anhe.

Though he didn't want to admit it, if Sayu Amamiya actually called someone else "Master," it would make him uncomfortable.

"No, tomorrow I need to talk to Haruki Sato and see if Sayu can do something else. All this running around is exhausting."

Retracting his gaze from Sayu, Anhe pondered how to convince Haruki Sato to agree to his unreasonable request, while placing his fingers on the black and white keys before him.

He had to work too.

After five consecutive hours of playing, the time quickly reached ten o'clock.

After collecting his wages, Anhe took Sayu's small hand and walked out of the café together.

Tonight's five hours netted Anhe thirty-two thousand yen, and even Sayu earned seventy-five hundred yen.

Calculating his savings, Anhe felt it was necessary to look at motorcycles this weekend.

He couldn't afford anything too expensive, but a standard bike was within reach.

As for the license, Anhe had already sorted that out back home right after his sixteenth birthday.

"I wonder if there are any motorcycle shops nearby. Should I ask Reina Serizawa? No, she doesn't seem like the type to go out. Keiko Kitajima? That could work, but she’ll definitely tease me..."

Lost in thought, Anhe suddenly felt a chill on his nose. Looking up, he saw white snowflakes drifting down.

"It's snowing."

Sayu Amamiya said softly, her head tilted upward, gaze bright against the night sky. Her delicate face was flushed from the cold, and a snowflake clung to her long eyelashes.

"Yes, it's snowing," Anhe echoed, then, as if struck by inspiration, turned to Sayu and suggested, "Shall we walk home?"

She met his gaze for a moment, then nodded.

Together, they strolled through Tokyo's snowy midnight streets.

After over an hour of walking, they arrived at the apartment building where they lived.

The snow was still falling, seemingly growing heavier.

Anhe estimated that if it continued like this, by morning the entire city would likely be blanketed in white.

He shook off the snow that had accumulated on his clothes, brushed the snowflakes from Sayu's hair, and together they entered their home.

Turning on the lights and changing shoes at the entrance, Anhe placed the food he had bought along the way into the fridge, then said to Sayu, who was about to enter the kitchen, "Go take a hot bath first. You don’t want to catch a cold."

Sayu looked at the kitchen, then at herself, didn’t refuse, and nodded, carrying a small cloth bag toward the bedroom.

Inside the bag was the maid outfit she had worn today, complete with tail and cat ears.

The café offered fairly good staff benefits, so once you were officially hired, you were given a uniform. Even Anhe had a professional tailcoat, though he didn’t like wearing anything so formal, so he left it in the changing room.

Watching Sayu enter the bedroom, Anhe withdrew his gaze and began to imagine.

If, in the future, he could see Sayu wearing that maid outfit, pinned beneath him, whispering softly, "Master, please be gentle..."

No, no, he had to stop thinking about that.

Anhe quickly shook his head, banishing those criminal thoughts from his mind.

Glancing at his watch, it was already eleven at night, prompting him to head to the kitchen.

He hadn’t eaten yet.

Arriving in the kitchen, Anhe started cooking rice, then took ingredients from the fridge to whip up a few simple dishes.

During this time, Sayu emerged from the bedroom, wearing the white T-shirt Anhe had given her, bare-legged, and entered the bathroom.

Soon, water began to flow inside, signaling