"This person is...?" Asakura looked toward the blonde young girl behind Shinomiya Kaguya.
"She is my..." Shinomiya Kaguya paused at this point, seemingly not knowing how to answer.
If she were facing normal members of high society, she could directly say this was her personal maid; if she were facing some ordinary people and didn't want to attract attention, she could naturally use a term like "friend" to muddle through.
But when she realized she was currently communicating with Asakura, the young lady was unexpectedly somewhat unsure.
After all, in her first dozen or so years of life, she had never experienced a situation like 'communicating with a magician who has mastered supernatural powers,' so she naturally didn't know what kind of attitude to use for comparison.
Should she uphold the pride of the Shinomiya family and use a neither-humble-nor-haughty tone to communicate? But wouldn't that really be misunderstood by the other party as an arrogant provocation?
Or should she lower her status and talk in a more approachable way? But what if this Mr. Asakura felt her attitude was too flippant and didn't show the formal sense of respect due to his status?
"I am Smithee A. Herthaka..." at this time, the blonde maid girl, who seemed to have seen through her eldest young lady's predicament, took the initiative to speak. She lifted the hem of her skirt and performed a very elegant salute to Asakura, introducing herself: "I am a servant of the Shinomiya family."
At the same time, Hayasaka Ai's heart was also full of curiosity toward this boy before her, who looked about the same age as Shinomiya Kaguya——after all, she had never seen Shinomiya Kaguya reveal such a tense and cautious expression when facing a peer. In short, it was the feeling of being braced for a major enemy.
"I see."
To Shinomiya Kaguya's surprise, Asakura quickly retracted his gaze, appearing completely uninterested in Hayasaka Ai's identity.
This made the Young Lady Shinomiya feel a bit deflated, feeling like she had been fighting a battle of wits with the air by thinking so much.
"Although I don't really mind, do you mean it's fine for her to stay here?" Asakura followed up with a question.
"It's fine, Hayasaka is someone I can trust." Shinomiya Kaguya said vowedly.
A flicker of guilt passed through Hayasaka Ai's eyes.
She and Kaguya had practically grown up together, and their bond was naturally much better than that of an ordinary master and servant; she had also always treated Kaguya as a younger sister.
But there was only one point: she could not tell Kaguya the secret that she was also a monitor planted by the main family by Kaguya's side, and she had to report Kaguya's every move to the main family every day.
Even if she chose to selectively report some trivial matters as much as possible, if she helped the other party hide things too obviously, even she herself would be suspected in turn.
Thinking of this, Hayasaka Ai quietly glanced at the boy in front of her again.
She hoped no trouble would arise, so that she wouldn't be forced to report this matter; otherwise, once the information that the Young Lady Shinomiya was actually out meeting a boy reached the main family, this boy would surely be investigated thoroughly immediately.
"This is what Fujiwara entrusted me to give to you."
While Hayasaka Ai was still conflicted in her heart, Shinomiya Kaguya had already handed a black envelope to Asakura.
The blonde maid girl immediately focused her mind, trying to see any clues from the envelope, but unfortunately it was pitch black, with not a single word on it, making it completely impossible to see any information.
However, it could be seen that the paper quality of the envelope was very good, certainly not something cheap; it was clearly not an envelope used for truly mailing things.
In Hayasaka Ai's impression, this type of envelope was generally used to hold invitations or VIP cards; judging from the size of the envelope in Kaguya's hand, the former seemed more likely.
"Where is she?" Asakura asked with curiosity as he took the envelope.
"She was discovered by Uncle Fujiwara while looking for this, and now she's been grounded at home. Even this was quietly handed to me by her at school." Shinomiya Kaguya said, "At the time, she was still weeping and asked me to apologize to you on her behalf, saying she has no way to go with you."
Indeed, it seems the thing in that envelope is indeed an invitation. Hayasaka Ai confirmed her deduction in her heart.
"That's truly unlucky."
Asakura shook his head and said without much emotion.
After all, Fujiwara Chika had originally wanted to tag along shamelessly, and for Asakura, it didn't really matter whether he had this "dead weight" or not.
"Although it doesn't count as compensation, do you need me to go with you?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked suddenly.
"Ah?" Asakura was stunned.
And Hayasaka Ai's face was even more shocked: "Young Lady?!"
"It's just a joke, my situation isn't much better than Fujiwara's." Shinomiya Kaguya sat down opposite Asakura, "Compared to that, as the host, are you not even going to give the guest a cup of tea?"
"It's not that I won't serve tea, I'm just worried you won't like it." Asakura said while casually tucking the envelope into his coat.
"Whether it's black tea, green tea, flower tea, or milk tea, I don't mind. Just bring it up." The girl seemed very happy about easily seizing the initiative in the conversation and spoke briskly: "This is basic hospitality, right?"
"I didn't mean the type of tea... forget it, since you've said so." Asakura sighed, then raised his right hand and shouted toward the bar area: "Manager-san, a cup of black tea for my guest."
Thus, the Manager-san, who had been idly wiping glasses at the bar, showed a surprised smile (it could be seen that no one had ordered her drinks for a while). She threw the glass onto the shelf with a gorgeous and handsome motion and turned into the back kitchen——it could be seen that as a guitar player, her fingers were tempered to be quite flexible.
A moment later, the Manager-san came to the booth where Asakura was with her proud work and placed it in front of Shinomiya Kaguya.
"Please enjoy. Sugar and milk are here; you can add them yourself according to your needs." Under the gaze of the blonde maid, Kitagawa Marin performed with rare ladylike poise.
"Thank you."
Shinomiya Kaguya had a very good impression of this Manager-san.
She picked up the cup and took a light sniff, but unlike usual, she didn't smell the aroma of tea.
It's probably because the tea leaf variety is different from what's used at home or Shuchiin. The young girl thought so.
"It's still not too late to stop now." Asakura suddenly said a sentence that seemed to the girl to have no beginning or end.
"What?" While Shinomiya Kaguya was asking, she subconsciously took a light sip.
"I said, black tea."
"Oh, this tea isn't bad. The flavor has almost no tea soup yet is so thick it feels a bit greasy at the root of the tongue. There's no sweetness at all, only a bitter and astringent taste... ugh, cough, cough, cough..."
"Kaguya-sama——!!"
Seeing Shinomiya Kaguya spitting out a rainbow, Hayasaka Ai had a face full of shock: "The Young Lady wouldn't be poisoned, would she?!"
But Asakura, as if he had expected it long ago, drew a cross in front of his chest.
"Amen."