Aimi Izumi hesitated as she glanced at Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi. Deep down, she didn’t really want the two of them to share the same bed. She’d much prefer it if Arisu Sakayanagi slept alone in Kotomi’s room while Kotomi stayed with her instead.

But Aimi quickly shook her head to dismiss the thought. Kotomi and Arisu Sakayanagi were just ordinary friends, and unlike Megumi Kato, Arisu didn’t seem to have ulterior motives regarding her sister. There was no need to be overly suspicious.

That’s right, Aimi thought to herself. I need to trust the people around my sister every now and then. After all, now that she’s in high school, it’s natural for her to make new friends.

Arisu Sakayanagi, having successfully arranged to stay at the Izumi house, no longer needed to continue her call with Atsuki. She casually wrapped it up: “Atsuki, there’s no need to rush. Have a good rest back home tonight, and just come back before tomorrow evening.”

“Understood, Miss! I’ll find a small inn near the airport for the night. I’ll catch the first available flight back to Chiba City tomorrow morning!” Atsuki replied with an exaggerated sense of urgency.

After hanging up, Atsuki let out a long sigh of relief. She felt like she might just be the most multi-talented maid in the world. Other maids only needed to handle household chores and take care of their masters’ daily needs, but she often found herself roped into Sakayanagi’s schemes.

Unwillingly, she had learned how to act, disguise herself, and even scale walls.

Sometimes, Atsuki couldn’t help but think: Am I really a maid? Or am I more like a secret agent? She imagined herself in a black dress, high heels, and a sleek pencil skirt that hugged her curves, with a miniature pistol strapped to her thigh. The epitome of a seductive yet deadly femme fatale spy.

“Maybe I could be a spy assassin,” she mused. “Raised from childhood to master the art of killing, carrying out my employer’s dirty work. Navigating the glitzy, glamorous world of high society, luring my targets into traps where danger and seduction intertwine. My fair skin would be marked with the blood of countless kills…”

Atsuki snapped herself out of it with a sigh. Am I reading too many spy manga these days?

She had indeed been engrossed in several spy-themed manga recently, and it was starting to influence her imagination.

But after glancing at her figure, which barely escaped being classified as an “A cup,” Atsuki resigned herself to the fact that she’d never be able to pull off the allure of a femme fatale assassin. Even if she wanted to play the role of a dangerous, seductive killer, her body simply didn’t have the qualifications.

Unless I had a figure like Kotomi Izumi’s… she thought, then quickly chastised herself. No, no, what am I even thinking?!

Still, despite the occasional frustrations, Atsuki reminded herself that her annual salary, year-end bonuses, and the chance to enjoy luxurious vacations from time to time were all perks worth the hard work.

Atsuki’s hometown was a small rural town. Every time she returned, she had to take a five-hour bus ride after landing at the nearest airport. Before she went to university, she had no idea how colorful and expansive the outside world could be.

It wasn’t until she became a maid for the Sakayanagi family that she realized how vast the world truly was—and how many dreams she could now pursue that once seemed unattainable.

Stretching lazily, Atsuki took another sip of her cocktail. She didn’t know what ingredients the bartender had used, but the drink was warm, smooth, and far from intoxicating—a perfect match for the atmosphere.

Setting her glass down, she picked up her copy of “The Dancing Girl of Izu” and continued reading, sighing contentedly.

“This is perfect. I’ve always dreamed of lounging on the beaches of Izu while reading The Dancing Girl of Izu. Next time the Miss lets me take a vacation while she’s chasing her ‘wife,’ I’d like to visit the Norwegian forests.”

At the Izumi Household

After dinner, Arisu Sakayanagi eagerly volunteered to help Akina Izumi clean up the dishes, but Akina quickly turned her down. There was no way she’d let Arisu handle the dishes while leaning on a cane for support.

Still, there were quite a few dishes to clean tonight, and doing it alone would take a while.

So Akina grabbed Aimi’s shirt collar just as the younger sister was about to slip away, ensuring her “voluntary” assistance with cleaning up.

Aimi’s face was a mixture of mild annoyance and forced joy.

After washing her hands in the bathroom, Arisu Sakayanagi walked back into the living room and spotted Kotomi Izumi sitting on the couch, nibbling on some taiyaki fish-shaped sweets.

With her hands clasped behind her back, Arisu lightened her steps, silently approaching Kotomi from behind. A sly smile curled at her lips as she softly asked, “Kotomi, still eating?”

Kotomi, who had half a taiyaki in her mouth, froze like a kitten caught stealing fish. She turned her head toward Arisu, her delicate face gradually flushing red.

There were times when even Kotomi Izumi felt embarrassed about being caught eating too much.

Slurp.

She quickly finished the remaining half of the taiyaki and, as if nothing had happened, tried to explain with a slightly pink face, “Cough, cough… I just wanted to try the flavor. Mm, this shop’s taiyaki is really tasty.”

“‘Just trying the flavor,’ you say?” Arisu teased, her gaze drifting to the table. The opened bag of snacks sat there, revealing that several taiyaki had already been devoured.

Arisu smiled knowingly but said nothing further.

After being caught eating so much, the thing Kotomi Izumi feared most was when the other person would silently laugh at her. Especially when it was someone like Arisu Sakayanagi, whose subtle, knowing smile conveyed so much unspoken meaning—it made her feel even more self-conscious.

Who knows what kind of jokes she’s making about my appetite in her head?!

“Y-you, stop smiling like that while staring at me without saying anything!” Kotomi stammered, her face turning red as she shifted her gaze to the side.

“I’m not smiling because of your appetite, I promise. I just remembered a classic metaphor,” Arisu said with an innocent expression.

“What metaphor?” Hearing that it wasn’t about her appetite, Kotomi let out a breath of relief and curiously asked.

“A little kitten sneaking fish.”

Kotomi froze for a moment. Once she processed the meaning, the blush on her cheeks deepened, making her look even more alluring. She pouted and muttered, “You are making fun of my appetite!”

You silly girl, Arisu thought to herself. If I wanted to tease you about your appetite, I would have done so ages ago.

Standing beside her, Arisu patiently waited for Kotomi to finish two more pieces of taiyaki before casually saying, “Kotomi, can I take a look at your room? After all, we’re going to be sleeping there tonight.”

It was only then that Kotomi realized she hadn’t shown Arisu her bedroom since they arrived home.

“Oh my, you’re right! Look at me—I nearly forgot. Come with me. Both my room and Aimi’s are on the second floor.”

Kotomi stood up and led Arisu upstairs.

“This one is my room, and the one next to it is Aimi’s,” she explained while gesturing at the doors.

As she opened the door to her own room, Arisu quietly murmured under her breath, “Your rooms are so close together… Looks like I’ll have to keep my voice down tonight.”

“Huh? Arisu, what did you just say?” Kotomi, though unsure of what she had just heard, caught a faint whisper and asked out of curiosity.

“Nothing important. Oh, by the way, Kotomi, does your house have good soundproofing?” Arisu deflected with a casual smile.

“Soundproofing? It’s okay, I guess. Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

The walls at home were reasonably soundproof, though nothing compared to the full soundproofing found in some mansions.

“It’s nothing,” Arisu replied, smoothly glossing over the question. She then pointed to Kotomi’s computer desk with a sly smile.

“This setup… I can’t tell much about the rest of the specs, but I’m pretty sure the graphics card is a 3090 Ti, right? That monitor on the back has the ‘Eye of Faith’ logo, so it must be a 4K display from that one brand.

“The mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse—despite already having a large mouse pad, you still bought a smaller one with specialized material optimized for FPS games. I think it’s called ‘Black Hole,’ right?

“This desk setup… doesn’t really match the aesthetic of a novelist or a manga artist. It looks much more suited for gaming.

“It’s clear you’re someone who loves gaming, Kotomi. Though you bought high-end headphones, you don’t wear them often, preferring to use them only for certain games. Most of the time, you just blast the sound on speakers. Given how often you stay up late playing games, your house’s soundproofing must be pretty decent.”

Kotomi’s mouth dropped open in shock, astonished that Arisu had accurately deduced so much.

“Arisu, I think you’d make a great detective,” Kotomi muttered, scratching her head in amazement.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Arisu replied with a soft laugh.

Kotomi sighed, not because of Arisu’s deductions but because she hadn’t expected Arisu to learn so quickly about her work as a novelist and manga artist.

Of course, the reason Arisu knew wasn’t just keen observation—it was because Kotomi had shown off a bit too much earlier at the café. In front of Merii Hizuki and Miyuki Aomori, Kotomi had gone overboard bragging and had completely forgotten that Arisu was sitting right next to her.

When she had casually revealed that she was the author “Izumi Ki” who worked for Dengeki Bunko and Shueisha, she hadn’t realized the implications until it was too late.

By the time she realized it, Arisu was already aware.

Not only did Arisu know about her work, but she also knew Kotomi’s pen name and the titles of her works.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Arisu seemed to read Kotomi’s mind. Resting her chin in her hand, she smiled warmly as she placed her cane to the side.

“I always thought I knew you well, but I never imagined my little Kotomi had such talent for writing novels and drawing manga,” Arisu teased.

“Uh… stop talking about it,” Kotomi murmured, her face reddening further.

“Teacher Izumi Ki~” Arisu playfully called out.

“Ahhh! Don’t call me that—it’s too embarrassing!”

Kotomi buried her burning face in her hands and shuffled over to her chair, shrinking into it. No matter how successful her novels or manga were, she couldn’t help feeling shy when someone she knew found out.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep