So Many Geniuses in Omni-Anime! What's One More?

"But whether I can afford the loss and whether you can bear what it means are two entirely different things... You want to use this to prove yourself, don't you?"

"If so, you need to be prepared to face reality. I'll ask you again: what will you do if it fails?"

Toyokawa Shoko struggled to answer. She had nothing right now. What could she do?

She couldn't offer to pay him back, could she? She needed to name something she actually had.

"...What do you mean, Asahi?"

Ogura Asahi snapped his fingers and smiled. "Of course, there's no such thing as investing without risking a loss. I won't put all the responsibility on you."

Toyokawa Shoko relaxed a little.

"But there has to be some price..."

His gaze traveled up and down her body. A chill ran down Miyako Shizuka's spine. Surely Little Asahi wasn't thinking of doing that to Little Shoko too... Absolutely not!

"No!"

"If you fail, you can work as my maid long-term to pay off the debt. And if you fail because of something within your control, you'll owe me an additional price."

They had spoken almost at the same time, but his answer was longer. Before he finished, he noticed Miyako Shizuka.

"Shizuka, what were you trying to say? What's not okay?"

"Uh..." Realizing she might have misunderstood, Miyako Shizuka bowed her head under their gazes. "N-nothing..."

Toyokawa Shoko looked away from her, her cheeks turning pink. "A m-maid?"

All her life, maids had served her. She had never been one herself, not even at a maid café.

But as a proper young lady, she saw nothing dirty or degrading about the profession. Evidently, she hadn't read enough of certain kinds of stories.

To her, a maid was no different from a chef, a driver,