Shinji Matou at Your Service

"Don't be mad, don't be mad," Touko said, trying to suppress her laughter while adding fuel to the fire.

"At least someone brought us back, saving us from sleeping on the streets or even being sold."

"But, but he shouldn't have done that!!!"

Aoko was practically gnashing her teeth.

"What should he have done? Let you sleep in clothes splattered with vomit? And it looks like he only changed our clothes and did nothing else. Thinking about it that way, it's not so bad. My friend looks pretty good, you know. I even joked before about introducing you to him. You really ought to get married."

"How dare you talk about me? If I remember correctly, someone here is two years older than me... Wait, introduce him to me? But your clothes were also—"

At this point, Aoko finally caught on.

"Alright, you tricked me again. What exactly happened?"

Having been caught, Touko couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, letting out a series of chuckles.

"Hehe, you caught on pretty quickly this time. Seems like you've grown quite a bit, even physically."

"Touko!!!"

"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing. The owner of this house is a man, but it was a woman who brought us back and changed our clothes. Maybe..."

Touko leaned over, peeking through the gap in the curtains toward the balcony.

"Sure enough, they've been washed."

"Really?"

Aoko turned to look out the window, seeing her clothes hanging out to dry.

"Wow, they are there."

"Now do you believe me?"

"I believe you."

In Japan, a man doing laundry at home was a rare sight.

"Where's your friend? I want to thank her."

"Given the amount of time, she might have gone out," Touko said, wobbling as she left the bed.

"Ugh, I need to get something to drink, my throat is so dry."

"And something to eat, my stomach feels awful."

The sisters each leaned against a wall, moving with difficulty. At this moment, they weren't legendary magicians or Grand Puppeteers, just two ordinary women suffering from the effects of alcohol.

As they opened the door, they both paused and sniffed the air simultaneously.

"Sniff, sniff."

"Smells so good..."

"Is someone cooking?"

They exchanged glances. Then, the younger sister, facing the door, reached behind her older sister to take a note from the door.

"There's a note. Let me see—there's brewed tea on the coffee table, porridge in the rice cooker, and more food in the fridge if needed. Just heat it in the microwave."

At the bottom was a cheeky doodle of a smiley face.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Glug glug."

"Slurp slurp."

"Burp~"

"Ah~"

"That's much better."

"Alive again."

"Hey, Touko."

"What?"

"Your friend is considerate, huh? Changing our clothes, brewing tea, making porridge... How did you make such a friend?"

The warm porridge soothed their stomachs, and the hot tea cleared their minds. Feeling somewhat better, Aoko began to gossip.

Touko gently picked up the casually written note, her eyes warm.

"He just showed up, and before I knew it..."

"Why don't I have friends like that? But the handwriting on this note doesn't look like a woman's—"

"It wasn't written by a woman."

"Huh?"

"The note, the cooking, and the tea were all done by the man who owns this place, but it was a woman who changed our clothes."

"Oh, I forgot the owner here is a man. He doesn't seem to be around either."

"At this time—"

Touko glanced at the clock on the wall, "—he should be at the shop preparing."

"The shop?"

Recalling previous events, Aoko had a vague guess.

"That Grievance Pavilion?"

"Yes," Touko nodded lightly.

"That explains it."

No wonder the food tasted just right for her.

No wonder he said so much last night.

No wonder Touko looked at him so oddly.

So that's how it is.

But, for a man to prepare so much for a woman—

"Touko, does he... like you?"

Touko didn't respond, staring blankly at the note in her hand.

"Touko?"

"TOUKO!"

"Huh, what's up?"

"I asked if he likes you. Your reaction—could it be that you like him too?"

"I don't know."

Touko rested her chin on the dining table, her whole demeanor exuding a sense of defeat.

"I thought so, how could you possibly—hey hey hey?"

Aoko intended to tease her sister, expecting her to dismiss it with a "How could that be." Instead, she got a completely unexpected response, rendering her speechless.

"You, you, you, you, you..."

"What about me?"

"You, you really—?"

"I'm a woman too, you know. Many times I just put on an act, just like you said."

"Ha~ah..."

Aoko's mouth hung open, her face full of disbelief.

"I, I must be dreaming."

Saying that, Aoko pinched herself hard, then gasped in pain.

"It's not a dream, it's real? That shop owner must be someone special to make you like this."

"Just a little rascal."

"Ordinary rascals don't have such charm... I'm starting to get curious."

"Of course, he's not an ordinary rascal. He's a special rascal who made me owe a huge debt the first time we met, one I can't repay in decades."

"Debt? You could easily escape that unless you don't want to."

"It's not just money. More things are hard to repay—he helped me lift the Sealing Designation."

"!!!"

Aoko felt today's shocks were the second most in her life, only surpassed by being designated as the heir.

"Really? I've never heard of anyone managing that."

"It's true. It was confirmed by the Lord of the Department of Law and Politics."

"When did this happen?"

"1999. I haven't seen an Executor since."

"So you fell for him. If it were me, I'd find it hard to refuse too... Then why haven't you accepted him? Is there something wrong with him—ah!"

Looking up, Aoko saw the clothes drying on the balcony, and a sudden realization struck her.

"A woman! There's another woman here! Yes, that must be it. He's a playboy!"

Touko looked at her sister, torn between amusement and exasperation.

"Aoko, do you think I'd stay around him for so long if I cared about that? If I did, I'd have left long ago."

"Then what do you want?"

"..."

Touko didn't answer, just lay there. If she knew, she wouldn't be in this state.

At that moment, a pair of hands reached over from across the table, grabbed Touko by the collar, and lifted her.

"Get yourself together, Aozaki Touko! This isn't like you!"