After leaving the Martial Arts Arena, Shin felt that the smile on his face had grown stiff. Keeping a gentle smile on all the time was exhausting work.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of Aizen from Bleach. It seemed that when Aizen had been a Soul Reaper, he had often visited the True Spirit Academy to give students pointers, building up his reputation in the process.
He shook his head, banishing the thought, and headed home. When he arrived, the maid had indeed already prepared dinner and was waiting for him to return.
Seeing Shin come back, the maid knelt demurely by the door and bowed respectfully. In her clear, cheerful voice, she said, "Welcome home, Master Shin!"
Shin set Heaven Cloud aside, washed his hands, and sat down at the table. He took the food the maid served him and began to eat. He had grown quite used to being waited on at home. Sometimes he wondered if he could manage living alone again, having to do everything himself. Probably not.
As he ate, the maid kept staring at Shin's face. She seemed to want to say something, but hesitated, not daring to speak.
"Master Shin... are you unhappy?" At last, she gathered her courage and asked timidly.
"Hm?" Shin put down his chopsticks and touched his face, puzzled. "I thought I was hiding it well. How could you tell?"
He was sure he'd kept a smile on his face the whole time, and he'd acted no differently than usual. How had his own maid seen through him?
The maid quickly lowered her head and murmured, "Your expression is the same as usual, Master, but your steps are usually light when you come in. Today they were twice as heavy. Normally, once you get home, you let me help you change into your loose sleeping robe before washing up and eating. Today, you sat down at the table right after washing your hands. And you tossed your sword aside without a thought. You always take such good care of your ninja tools and never throw them around..."
Shin stared at Chiyo Hotaru in surprise. He hadn't expected her to notice his mood from such small details, some of which even he himself rarely paid attention to.
"M-Master!" The maid felt uncomfortable under Shin's gaze and lowered her head even further.
"Stop lowering your head, or you'll turn into an ostrich. Calling me 'Master' sounds too distant. I don't like it. Call me something else." Shin chuckled softly, feeling a little better.
"Oh!" The maid raised her head as told, then furrowed her delicate brows. "If I shouldn't call you Master, what should I call you?"
"How about 'Big Brother Shin'?" Shin said with a smile, pointedly ignoring the fact that Chiyo Hotaru was a year older than the body he was in.
The maid shook her head like a rattle drum, refusing no matter what he said.
Shin suggested two other forms of address, but the maid refused both.
At last, Shin glared at her and pretended to be angry. "This one won't do, and that one won't do. Come up with something yourself."
The maid looked like she was about to cry. You're the one who told me not to call you Master, and now you want me to think of something else. That's not fair at all.
Still, she only felt aggrieved in silence and didn't dare say it aloud. After thinking for a long while, she whispered, "I-I'll call you 'Master'!"
"Good enough. Call me whatever you like."
"Master!"
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Master!"
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
The maid seemed to really like the title and kept saying it, delightedly repeating it over and over. Only after Shin sternly scolded her a couple of times did she stop, though she was still beaming.
Shin didn't know what to do with her. He casually pulled a pouch from inside his robe and tossed it in front of her. The maid picked it up and opened it, then gasped. "Master, there's so much money!"
Shin said casually, "You can manage it. From now on, you'll be in charge of all the money in the house. If I need anything, I'll ask you for it."
The maid's eyes lit up. She hugged the pouch to her chest, looking anxious. "Really? I'm young, so you can't trick me."
Shin couldn't help laughing. How had he never realized his maid was such a money-lover?
After gaining control of the household finances, the maid became even more attentive. She bustled around, and even washing up and heating water seemed to fill her with enthusiasm. Watching her busy figure lifted Shin's spirits a little more.
After bathing, Shin felt refreshed. He lay on his bed in a thin sleeping robe. It was still early, and he wasn't sleepy, so he called out, "Hotaru, come in for a moment!"
A little while later, the maid opened the door to his bedroom and walked in with her head lowered. It looked as though she had just bathed too. She wore only a thin garment, and droplets of water still clung to her jade-white arms. Her cheeks were flushed, and her dark hair fell over her shoulders. A faint scent of cherry blossoms mingled with a milky fragrance and drifted into his nose.
Shin turned over and lay on his stomach on the bed. "I'm a little tired. Give me a massage."
The maid answered and came over, gently kneading him with her hands. They were very slender, and the massage felt quite pleasant. The only flaw was that she wasn't using enough pressure.
"Harder."
The maid nodded and pressed a little harder, but to Shin, it still felt almost the same as before.
He frowned slightly. "Get on my back and step on me. Your hands aren't strong enough."
The maid turned deathly pale and shook her head again and again, refusing no matter what.
Only after Shin put on a stern expression and scolded her a couple of times did she climb onto his back, her face set with grim determination. Shin realized that sometimes he had to be a little firm with the maid.
Feeling her little feet moving back and forth across his back, with the maid's full weight pressing down just right, Shin thought, Now this is the life. He quietly closed his eyes.
He silently called up the system, and its interface appeared in his mind. Looking at his points, he wondered what he should exchange them for this time.
Before you continue