Because in every way she was a negative example, her extremely unreliable mother had gotten herself a boyfriend drowning in debt, and then went and told the creditors their home address.
She, an ordinary and mundane high school student, had no choice but to go on the run with her to escape the debt.
No, not together, just her alone.
"What parent would bring their kid along when they're on the run?"
Her mother said that, then packed up with her boyfriend and bolted, leaving her to go live with a grandmother she'd never even met.
To be honest, Matsumae Ohana didn't feel angry or disappointed at her mother's decision. Because ever since she was little, her mother had never been reliable, she'd been forced to cook for herself since kindergarten. So she had no expectations of her mother whatsoever.
No expectations meant no disappointment, and no easy tears.
The dramatic turn of suddenly being on the run over debt actually seemed kind of exciting. She was even a little hopeful about living at the hot spring inn her grandmother ran, looking forward to the changes her new life would bring.
However, life was full of drama. She'd thought shaking off her unreliable mother was her chance to change herself, but the moment she arrived at her grandmother's hot spring inn, Kissuisou, she found out it had been bought out by the tourism industry giant, Kijou Group.
She didn't get to become the future landlady of a hot spring inn, nor did she even get to become a part-time worker there. Now she didn't even have a place to sleep.
Matsumae Ohana was lost, wondering if she'd have to drop out of school and focus on working a few part-time jobs just to support herself.
Luckily, she was only lost for a little while before she realized she could still work at Kissuisou.
The person in charge of the acquisition and consolidation of the hot spring inns, Kijou Group's young lady, Kijou Suzuka, didn't plan on laying off all the staff.
But because the as-yet-unnamed hot spring inn would only serve female guests from now on, and was actually an exclusive in-house benefit for some club, all the male employees were still let go, leaving behind the young female staff.
And she'd even chosen Ohana, a newcomer with zero experience, to be the front-of-house hostess for Kissuisou.
But even though she was called a hostess, she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
Matsumae Ohana absentmindedly touched the black collar around her neck as she wandered aimlessly through the central hot spring inn. Thinking about how she couldn't do anything, her mood couldn't help but sink a little.
The other girls who'd stayed on at Kissuisou with her were Tsurugi Minko and Oshimizu Nako.
One was stern and cold, the other shy and timid. Both were quiet, and no one told her what to do.
After all, why did Kijou Suzuka-sama pick her as the hostess? Minko and Nako were clearly more suited.
Mm... well, thinking it over seriously, Ohana felt that maybe the two seniors weren't that suited to be hostesses either.
While a hostess didn't manage the staff like a landlady, she was the face that attracted customers. But Nako was too introverted, and Minko had a permanent cold face. They were fine as waitresses or working in the kitchen, but as hostesses they'd probably be even worse than her.
According to Kijou Group's young lady, Kijou Suzuka, from now on, not just Kissuisou but all the hot spring inns would be serving only girls and women.
But there seemed to be one exception... the most honored guest of the entire Kijou Group was a boy.
When Kijou Suzuka-sama talked with people, she didn't bother to keep it from them at all, hinting at one thing in every word, no matter what request this boy had, it had to be fulfilled with everything they had.
They called him a guest, but they called him "Master," which meant this boy's status was even higher than Kijou Suzuka-sama, the head of the Kijou Group that had bought up and consolidated so many hot spring inns?
And if they didn't serve him well, all the remaining employees of their Kissuisou would be fired?
Thinking that, Ohana felt even more pressure. She honestly didn't know how to serve him well.
While Ohana was spacing out, a girl in a kimono walked toward her, her long black hair pinned up, revealing her pale nape.
Seeing Ohana walk past, the black-haired girl instinctively smiled and nodded. But noticing the tracksuit Ohana was wearing while doing chores, her expression immediately changed. Forgetting to keep up her smile, she quickly urged her.
"Miss Matsumae, why haven't you changed into a kimono yet? The guest, no, the Master, will be here soon! Where's your room? I'll help you change!"
Everyone else was fine, but how could the hostess be wearing such practical work clothes too?
They weren't just a regular inn anymore, they were a hot spring inn dedicated to serving the Master. Not even wearing kimonos didn't look like a hot spring inn at all.
Given how much Kijou Suzuka-sama valued the Master, if he was displeased, it would be trouble when they were held accountable.
"Huh? I don't have a kimono, though..."
Matsumae Ohana was stunned by her words, staring blankly at the black-haired girl.
So hostesses needed kimonos too? She should've turned it down.
Kimonos were expensive. She'd never owned one her whole life. When she came to live with her grandmother, she'd only brought one suitcase and a small backpack.
If you don't have one, what about the inn?
Didn't Kissuisou originally have no hostess or kimonos either?
The black-haired girl wanted to say how unreliable Kissuisou was, no wonder they'd chosen to sell it off completely. But seeing Ohana's blank expression, she opened her mouth and held back her complaints.
Forget it, she hadn't thought it through either. Miss Matsumae had only just arrived.
Even if she was the granddaughter of Kissuisou's owner, it was only natural she didn't know anything.
"I have a clean spare kimono over there. Miss Matsumae, come to my place and change."
"Mao, come help me for a second, help me get Miss Matsumae into the kimono."
"Changing kimonos at this hour? We won't make it in time, will we?"
The black-haired girl pulled Matsumae Ohana through the boundary between the central inn and the other inns, back to their own Kinhou-rou. On the way, she spotted a girl with twin-tails and quickly called her over.
The twin-tailed girl grumbled a little but followed them into the room to help Ohana put on the kimono.
"Thank you... um, Miss Yukino, can I call you Chitose? Since we're all hostesses for our respective inns from now on, no need to be so formal, right?"
Matsumae Ohana hadn't expected Yukino Chitose to go out of her way to help her change into a kimono at such a busy time and felt a little embarrassed.
The black-haired girl who'd pulled her to change was the hostess of another hot spring inn, Kinhou-rou's Yukino Chitose.
Unlike Ohana, who'd been thrown into the role without knowing anything, Yukino Chitose, around the same age as her, had been trained as a hostess since she was little. She was no longer just an apprentice observing from the sidelines, she could already shoulder the responsibility of attracting guests.
Although Kinhou-rou, like Kissuisou, had been poorly managed, Yukino Chitose didn't seem to have given up on it. Even after being bought out by the Kijou Group, she still hoped to redeem Kinhou-rou one day.
The Kijou Group's acquisition terms seemed very favorable, not only was the purchase price high, but if they performed well, they'd have the chance to redeem the hot spring inn through their contributions in the future.
Those terms were practically giving away money. If you did poorly, you had the acquisition payout as a safety net; if you did well, you could redeem the inn. So all the hostesses and employees who weren't laid off continued working at the hot spring inns.
However, her grandmother didn't seem to have any intention of continuing to run Kissuisou and waiting to redeem it later. She'd simply chosen to sell it at a high price.
Of course, her grandmother, who'd seemed stern and hadn't wanted her to eat and live for free without working, didn't abandon her when she had nowhere else to go.
She could stay at her grandmother's house until she found a job, and her grandmother would help her find places where she could work while studying.
But after some hesitation, Ohana decided it was better not to trouble her grandmother if she could help it.
The places her grandmother found wouldn't be much different from where she was now anyway. A life built on her own efforts would probably be more interesting too.
A hot spring inn hostess... if she did well, maybe she really could become a true hostess of Kissuisou.
If she could become a gentle and considerate hostess like Chitose, maybe she could shine too.
"Then I'll call you Ohana. You can call me Chitose or Chi-chan. This is Kamihoshi Mao, you can call her Mao."
"Don't worry about this little thing. Anyone else would've done the same."
Layer by layer, the two of them smoothed out the kimono until it was neat and orderly. Yukino Chitose looked up and caught Ohana staring at her without blinking. She smiled faintly, not minding the small trouble Ohana had caused.
Though Kijou Suzuka-sama seemed to want them divided by inn into camps, competing in performance, service quality, and so on, but to knowingly ignore that Ohana wasn't wearing a kimono and would be blamed, possibly losing her job and ending up homeless, she couldn't bring herself to do that.
Rather than watching others suffer for not knowing any better, she'd rather compete with everyone to provide the best service. That way, the guests would experience top-quality service, and no one would be punished. And if everyone served well enough, maybe Kijou Suzuka-sama would even give everyone bonuses.
"Tch..."
Kamihoshi Mao shot a glance at the amiable-looking Yukino Chitose. Even though she'd come to help, she didn't give Chitose any pleasant looks.
Just as Yukino Chitose was about to say something, the black collar around her neck suddenly tightened.
"The Master is coming!"
Sensing the notification from the black collar, Matsumae Ohana and Yukino Chitose stopped chatting and quickly left the room to hurry to the center connecting all the hot spring inns.
Kamihoshi Mao blinked at the sight and followed along.
She wasn't an employee of Kinhou-rou, but she often stayed there to soak in the hot springs. This time when Kinhou-rou was bought out, all the other guests left, but no one kicked her out, so she stayed to see what Yukino Chitose and the others were up to.
———
At the center of the hot spring inn complex, a wide and open entrance hall...
"Welcome, Master-sama."
"Preisdent Hachiman, this is the central hot spring inn that connects all the others. From here you can reach any of the other inns and enjoy the scenery around the different hot springs. You can also have the staff from each inn come here to serve you."
"These girls are Matsumae Ohana, Yukino Chitose, they're the hostesses of their respective inns. Besides them, many former staff members still work here. Whichever girl you like, you can have her come serve you at dinner."
"Oh, and Preisdent Hachiman, do you want to give the inn a name now? The central inn still doesn't have one."
Hurrying to the central inn's entrance hall and kneeling on the floor alongside Yukino Chitose to blend into the crowd, Matsumae Ohana cautiously sneaked a peek at the man being intimately embraced by Kijou Group's young lady, Kijou Suzuka.
No, a boy? He didn't seem much older than her.
And it wasn't just Kijou Suzuka, there were so many other girls around him.
Before Ohana could recover from the shock of those girls' beauty, she suddenly noticed the boy's gaze land on her.
"Keep it simple. Let's call it Service Inn. With so many hot spring inns connected here, I won't even have to travel to soak in hot springs anymore."
"As for who'll serve me... Matsumae Ohana, is it? I'll go with her."
Watching the furtively peeking, wide-eyed, curly-haired brown-haired girl, Hachiman didn't overthink it and picked her straight away.
"Huh? Me... me?"
Matsumae Ohana looked up blankly at Hachiman, pointing at herself in disbelief.
They wanted her to serve him? Did that mean drinking with this boy? She didn't know how?
"Um... Chitose..."
After Hachiman made his choice and left, Matsumae Ohana, who had zero work experience and didn't know how to handle this kind of situation, instinctively looked at Yukino Chitose beside her, who had just helped her.
"..."
Yukino Chitose pressed her lips together, not knowing what to say.
What was she looking at her for at a time like this? She didn't have any say in the matter anyway.
"Miss Yukino, right? Would you mind coming along with Miss Matsumae to serve the Master?"
Kijou Suzuka, the young lady of the Kijou clan, had left to accompany Hachiman. The exclusive personal maid with blonde hair, Hayasaka Ai, stopped in her tracks. With a quick glance, she could tell the difference between the two hostesses, Matsumae Ohana and Yukino Chitose. But she knew Hachiman didn't care about that, he was just looking for the simple experience of being hosted by hot spring inn landladies. So she gave the instruction to Yukino Chitose.
"Don't be too nervous in front of the Master. As long as you don't say anything disrespectful, feel free to speak your mind."
"If you really feel uncomfortable with certain things, you can ask to switch with someone else. No need to force yourselves."
"Yes, understood! How should I address you?"
Yukino Chitose, who'd also never done this kind of "hosting," had been hesitant at first. But hearing Hayasaka's words, her anxieties immediately settled. She quickly stood up and followed Hayasaka Ai along with Matsumae Ohana.
She didn't doubt the truth of Hayasaka's words. This whole "hostess serving" thing was probably just being a waitress, but with extra attentive service.
If the Master really wanted to be served by pretty girls, any of those girls from earlier would have done. Just the blonde maid in the black-and-white uniform in front of them was beautiful enough.
Still, even if the Master didn't ask for it, as hostesses of their respective inns, they had to give their best performance in front of their hidden master.
Kijou Group's young lady, Kijou Suzuka, had already said that from now on, all these hot spring inns would serve only female guests, with just one single male guest whom they had to devote themselves entirely to serving.
"I'm just one of the Master's personal maids, Hayasaka Ai. You can call me Hayasaka."
Hayasaka Ai looked at Yukino Chitose, who was clearly much more composed than Matsumae Ohana, and nodded. She turned and continued walking ahead, quietly mulling over today's changes to the Service Club.
These hot spring inns were just a place for Service Club members to eat and soak in hot springs. They weren't a business, so there was no need to overthink the hostesses. The real focus was still the Service Club.
She'd followed her master's orders and gone back to rest at Kaguya-sama's place, only to find that the Service Club hadn't slowed down at all while she was away.
Not only had so many new members joined in broad daylight, but the Hot Spring Comic Market event had also started limiting the number of provisional members. Kaguya-sama's earlier plan to unify the class and work together for mutual progress was scrapped before it even began.
Looks like she couldn't just leave her post casually, even if the Master didn't need her standing by at all times...
The three of them walked up to the third floor together, arriving at a room in the middle of the hallway.
Inside the room with its door wide open, two maids were already attending to Hachiman.
All the hot spring inns the Kijou Group had acquired were legitimate ones, without any professional maids. But the Rurikawa family already had quite a reserve of maids, Sayo and Akira, two maids who'd served under Shion for a long time, had witnessed plenty of things without being "devoured." They were just right for coming to the hot spring inn to serve Hachiman.
"Wash my face with... with THAT?"
The moment she stepped in, Matsumae Ohana saw two beautifully curvaceous girls washing Hachiman's face together at the low table. Her fair cheeks instantly flushed a light pink, and she covered her eyes in shock.
She'd never seen anyone wash a face that way.
If even washing his face was like that, then when they served drinks later...