"We can proceed with the battle plan." Kaguya said calmly, holding a can of Coke. "Copy and paste all of your outlaw abilities and Chika's to Umi. She can handle the evil spirits on her own."
This cohabitation situation needs to end.
Go home already. A girl shouldn't be living in a boy's house!
"That sounds perfect." Umi placed her right hand on her hip, nodded in agreement, and stretched out her hand eagerly. "Amamiya-kun, let's give it a try."
"Alright."
Amamiya once again grasped Umi's hand.
A moment passed.
"No, it's not possible," Amamiya said, opening his eyes and shaking his head. "For some reason, I can only paste one ability at a time. If I try to paste another, it will overwrite the previous one."
"Eh~ What a pity." Umi sounded disappointed, but her smile remained bright and unbothered. "Looks like I'll be relying on you a bit longer, Amamiya-kun."
"…"
Kaguya clenched her teeth silently.
No. I need to find a way to end this quickly and send her home!
"Amamiya-kun!" Chika interrupted with an excited look. "Let's flip a coin! I've decided—I'm going to test my luck and open the blind box!"
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Umi's eyes lit up. "I want to flip a coin too."
Even Kaguya felt her heart race a little.
Though she wasn't fond of these luck-based games, the potential to boost her fortune was just too tempting.
Compared to that, the risk of a bad-luck streak seemed tolerable.
"Here you go." Amamiya handed her the coin and said meaningfully, "Give it your best shot."
The luck the coin accumulated had already been spent.
For the foreseeable future, no matter what, they could only act as a source to recharge it.
As the cooldown ended, Chika set down her phone, took the silver coin Amamiya handed her, and blew on it with a serious expression.
"This is something I read online," she explained. "Blowing on the coin increases the chances of landing heads."
Are you really going to trust something you found online?
Blowing on a paper airplane might help, but a coin? There's no way!
The result was as expected.
Tails.
The "bad luck" curse struck again, reminding everyone what it meant to be so unlucky that even a simple coin toss goes wrong.
Moments later.
"I'm back, miss," Hayasaka announced, returning from her shopping trip.
"Thank you for your hard work." Kaguya nodded slightly. "You can start preparing lunch now."
Before they knew it, it was already 11 AM—definitely time to start cooking.
"Leave it to me."
Hayasaka bowed slightly, accepted the task, gathered the ingredients she had bought, and headed into the kitchen.
As a maid, she took pride in completing all tasks assigned to her by her young lady, and cooking was just another skill she excelled at.
In a way, Hayasaka was truly a genius.
Amamiya looked at the three girls in the living room, sighed, and made his way to the kitchen.
Needless to say, Kaguya had probably never set foot in a kitchen in her entire life.
Umi's squid ink pasta from the day before had been edible, but when she volunteered to cook dinner, her complete inexperience became glaringly obvious.
As for Chika... with her streak of bad luck, any attempt at cooking would certainly end in disaster, regardless of her actual skill.
"Need a hand?" Amamiya asked as he entered the kitchen.
Although the girl before him was technically a maid, she was also a guest. As the host, Amamiya was, strictly speaking, the one responsible for preparing the meal.
Hayasaka stood with a straight back and an elegant posture. Her appearance and figure were flawless, and it was clear, with just one glance, that she was far more professional than the part-time maids often found in maid cafes.
"Please don't worry about it. I'll handle the cooking," Hayasaka said coolly, her gaze calm as she glanced at Amamiya. "Natsuki-san, you should go back and continue chatting."
Seeing her firm stance and lack of hesitation, Amamiya could only agree.
She really is a professional maid.
This is what you call professionalism!
"Alright then, I'll head back," Amamiya nodded, turning to leave. "Let me know if you need anything."
But then—
"Wait a moment."
A voice called out from behind Amamiya.
"Hm?"
Amamiya turned around, puzzled, and noticed a fleeting, complicated expression on Hayasaka's face—like she was enduring something.
"Hah..." Hayasaka exhaled softly, then said, her gaze fixed straight ahead, "If possible, could you help me wash the cucumbers?"
Amamiya: "…"
Didn't you just say you didn't need help?
You went back on that awfully quick!
"Alright, got it."
With a subtle expression, Amamiya walked back into the kitchen to help wash the ingredients.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it…!"
Hayasaka was cursing internally, feeling incredibly frustrated.
Washing cucumbers? She could easily do that on her own! But her real problem lay elsewhere—
Her gaze subtly shifted downward, and there, beneath the sink, was a grotesque, transparent tentacle-like tongue emerging into her view.
An evil spirit was lurking.
It resembled a dwarf with a vaguely male face, its limbs shriveled and degenerate. Its mouth hung open, and its tongue, coated in slime, stretched out, inching toward her.
Disgusting!
Utterly revolting!
This vile spirit… it's trying to lick me, isn't it?
Hayasaka clenched her teeth, wanting to kick the creature to pieces. But unfortunately, she couldn't touch it.
She had two choices.
Either endure the harassment and continue cooking, or...
Of course, the second option was better: make the thing disappear!
If she let it touch her, she'd be too nauseated to eat for days.
"I'm done." Amamiya quickly washed the cucumbers. "Do you want them sliced?"
"Yes, please."
Amamiya skillfully picked up the knife and sliced the cucumbers with precision.
Seeing that Amamiya hadn't noticed the evil spirit under the sink, Hayasaka hesitated for a moment before speaking up again.
"Could you wash a few more tomatoes?"
"Sure."
"…"
Hayasaka quietly lowered her gaze to the space beneath the sink.
Damn it, it's hiding and won't come out.
You're going to be reduced to ashes—I swear, not even Buddha could save you now!
She narrowed her eyes slightly, glancing sideways at Amamiya.
When Amamiya finished washing the tomatoes, she subtly loosened her right hand, and the prawns she'd been holding slipped from her grasp, falling to the floor with a soft 'plop'.
Upon seeing the prawns on the ground, Amamiya naturally bent down to pick them up, and, without a word, chose the same solution as Hayasaka.
This disgusting spirit had to be turned to ash.
As the transparent flames consumed the evil creature, Hayasaka finally let out a quiet sigh of relief, her gaze resting on Amamiya's face.
"Evil spirits should just disappear already..." she muttered. "I really wish they would."
She clicked her tongue in annoyance, watching him closely.
"We really need to find a way to win this guy over."