"As expected of a coser who often takes private commissions… well, that's professionalism."
Kitahara Makoto expressed his satisfaction.
After a careful appreciation, he simply paid the remaining balance.
There were too many cosers on Twitter, and the industry was fiercely competitive, so the price for private shoots wasn't high. Plus, Kitahara Makoto's requests were simple, so the quote was naturally even lower.
After the final payment was transferred, the coser on the other side profusely thanked him and said she was available 24 hours a day and could be contacted anytime if needed.
Kitahara Makoto casually agreed, as it was very likely he might need her again.
"Done."
He would send the photos to Shiina Maki later, and then all that was left was to wait for her to fall into the trap tomorrow night.
"Stare—"
Kitahara Makoto suddenly felt several gazes from behind him.
Immediately after, Mutsumi's curious voice sounded:
"Makoto-kun likes this style of maid outfit?"
"…"
Kitahara Makoto silently turned his head to look back and saw that the girls who had just gone to the bathroom together had quietly appeared behind him at some point.
"You secretly found someone to take these kinds of photos? Are we, so many of us, not enough to satisfy Kitahara-kun?"
Chihaya Anon's cheeks puffed out.
Soyo gently bit her lower lip:
"Kitahara-kun is truly insatiable."
Sakiko crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at him with a disdainful look:
"Lousy."
"…"
"First, answer Mutsumi's question."
Kitahara Makoto said without a trace of panic:
"As a mentally and physically normal male, it's perfectly normal for me to like cute girls wearing maid outfits, isn't it?"
Hiring a coser for a shoot was a legitimate matter, with absolutely nothing to hide, so he felt no guilt at all.
"Huh?!"
All the girls were shocked.
After being caught red-handed, not only did he not feel guilty and apologize, but he was also so self-righteous?
Too much!
Absolutely too much!
Seeing the girls' anger meters rapidly rising, and even Tomori, who was usually so easygoing, puffed out her cheeks, Kitahara Makoto simply extended his right hand:
"Wait a moment, I have a legitimate reason."
Chihaya Anon put her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffed out, like a small squirrel with its mouth full of chestnuts:
"No matter the reason, you shouldn't hide it from everyone and find another coser to take those kinds of photos! Kitahara-kun is taking private photos with someone today, and tomorrow he'll be cheating!"
It's just a maid outfit, if you say nice things to make me happy, I can take photos too, right?
Kitahara Makoto said calmly:
"Then let's make a bet. If I can give a legitimate reason, you all must wear maid outfits and serve me. How about it?"
"No problem!"
Chihaya Anon readily agreed.
Mutsumi: "Okay."
Tomori was the first to calm down: "I believe Makoto-kun."
Soyo blinked: "Since everyone else is willing, then I don't mind either."
Sakiko crossed her arms over her chest and exhaled lightly, saying:
"A maid outfit is fine... provided Kitahara-kun can give a convincing and legitimate reason."
Finding a coser for a private photoshoot, and such revealing and awful photos at that, although I know there must be a reason, I still can't help but feel unhappy.
"It's a long story. This morning, I went to Taki's house to help activate the sanctuary and encountered something..."
Kitahara Makoto did not hide anything, telling the truth exactly as it happened.
Taki didn't say not to tell anyone, and besides, encountering a perverted stalker wasn't Shiina Maki's fault, so there was nothing unspeakable about it.
Riddler?
Drag him out and beat him to death!
I don't want to be the scapegoat!
"This is why I found a coser for a photoshoot." Kitahara Makoto's expression was calm, his voice clear, and his gaze unwavering. "You can ask Taki for confirmation right now. If there's even half a lie, I'll commit seppuku in minutes."
Hearing such shocking news, the girls were all filled with righteous indignation.
"Eh, Taki's sister encountered a perverted stalker?"
"No wonder Taki didn't come today..."
"To actually threaten Taki's sister to do such things, how disgusting!"
"..."
The girls didn't doubt Kitahara Makoto's explanation.
Kitahara Makoto certainly wouldn't lie about something that could be confirmed with just one question.
Kitahara Makoto clasped his hands together, his expression serious, and said:
"That perverted stalker got Maki-nee's photos, and it's very possible he'll do some disgusting things with those photos... Do you think we should give him the photos?"
"Of course not." Chihaya Anon put her hands on her hips and retorted, "If we really gave him the photos, it would definitely be disgusting for a lifetime."
Kitahara Makoto nodded and continued:
"We can't give him the photos, and we can't catch the perverted stalker anytime soon... So I found a coser to help, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"No problem." Tomori nodded in agreement, "Makoto-kun isn't wrong at all."
Chihaya Anon put her hands on her hips and said:
"Why not call the police?"
"We can't call the police." Sakiko shook her head gently, "Kitahara-kun just said that the other party is an 'invincible person'. Calling the police would at most detain him for a few days, but after he gets out, who knows what crazy revenge he might take... However, we should be able to ask the answer book to directly determine his identity, right?"
"We can, yes." Kitahara Makoto had naturally considered this point. "But we still have an exorcism tonight, so the number of questions should be used wisely. After all, compared to unknown kaidan, a perverted stalker is not worth mentioning."
"...That makes sense."
Chihaya Anon blinked, finding no words to refute.
"Since everyone thinks it makes sense, then..." Kitahara Makoto smiled, "Shouldn't you honor your bet and serve me in maid outfits?"
"..."
Mutsumi spoke first, expressionlessly saying:
"I can."
The emotionless girl never cared about shame.
With someone taking the lead, the rest was naturally easy to discuss.
Tomori's small face was slightly red: "If Makoto-kun likes maid outfits, then no problem."
Chihaya Anon snorted lightly, hands on her hips, and said:
"It's just a maid outfit, it's not like I haven't worn one before."
"Sakiko, what do you say?"
Soyo turned her head, asking Sakiko for her opinion.
Sakiko's pretty face was slightly flushed, and she said softly:
"...A bet is a bet."
"Very good, no one is backing out." Kitahara Makoto smiled, "I'll prepare the maid outfits when we get back. Now, let's go do the commission."
"..."
Seven o'clock in the evening.
Night fell.
The city lights began to twinkle.
Kitahara Makoto and the girls arrived at Togawa on time.
Looking at the magnificent villa estate before her, a complex expression flashed across Sakiko's pretty face.
After leaving Togawa with her father, she never expected to have this day where she could openly return...
"Young Miss, welcome back."
An old butler in a suit, with a head of white hair, stood at the entrance of the villa, bowing.
Sakiko raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, shaking her head gently:
"From now on, just call me by my name."
"Please follow me, ladies and gentlemen."
The old butler bowed slightly and led the group into the villa, which was, in short, extremely luxurious.
Upon reaching the main hall, a beautiful woman greeted them with a smile. Strangely, despite it being summer, the woman was wearing a large windbreaker, covering her entire body completely.
Kitahara Makoto walked up to her and subconsciously sniffed, clearly detecting a strong perfume scent on the woman.
But besides the perfume, there was also a faint, lingering foul odor.
"Sakiko, welcome home."
Seeing the woman in front of her, Sakiko paused slightly, a look of surprise flashing across her face, and greeted her politely but distantly:
"Aunt Yuko, good evening."
There was no need to say more; it was naturally time for meaningless pleasantries.
Mainly, Sakiko spoke with the other party, while the others listened quietly, not interjecting rashly.
"Poke poke—"
A slender, jade-like finger reached for Kitahara Makoto's waist and gently poked him.
Kitahara Makoto turned to look, seeing Chihaya Anon quietly lean in, whispering:
"Scumbag-kun~ Why did Togawa-chan leave Togawa?"
Kitahara Makoto shook his head:
"I don't know."
"Eh?" Chihaya Anon widened her eyes, "Aren't you even a little curious?"
Kitahara Makoto said truthfully: "Actually, I'm very curious."
"Then why don't you ask?"
Chihaya Anon was puzzled.
"Because..." Kitahara Makoto's tone was wistful, "I'm worried I'll be backstabbed later."
"What does 'backstabbed' mean, meow!"
"..."
While Kitahara Makoto and Anon were whispering, the conversation on the other side quietly ended.
"Everyone, follow me." Sakiko stood up and said, "We'll go to Aunt Yuko's room first."
"Okay."
The girls all stepped forward to follow.
With Sakiko, the former owner, there, there was no need for servants to lead the way.
On the way upstairs, Kitahara Makoto asked softly:
"Why did Sakiko look so surprised just now?"
"I noticed that too." Soyo said softly, "Did Sakiko discover something?"
Chihaya Anon crossed her left arm over her chest, rested her right hand on her chin, and mused:
"Speaking of strange... it is quite strange for the other person to be wearing a windbreaker in summer."
Sakiko exhaled lightly, lowering her voice:
"How old do you think Aunt Yuko is?"
"Hmm..." Soyo blinked, guessing, "She looks very young, probably in her twenties?"
Tomori said softly:
"Sakiko just called her 'Auntie'."
Chihaya Anon tilted her head:
"'Auntie' is a term of address for seniority in the family, it has nothing to do with age, right?"
"No, it does." Kitahara Makoto shook his head, denying it, and said softly, "Calling someone 'Auntie' makes them seem old. Generally speaking, no young woman wants to be called 'Auntie'."
"Kitahara-kun makes a good point..." Soyo nodded in agreement, then looked at Mutsumi beside her and asked softly, "Mutsumi, how old is Aunt Yuko?"
Mutsumi was not Sakiko's biological sister, but they did have a very close family relationship, so she most likely knew the age of the woman in the windbreaker.
Mutsumi clasped her hands over her lower abdomen, walking with a very demure posture, and upon hearing the question, said expressionlessly:
"Aunt Yuko is already fifty-one this year."
"Eh?!"
"No way, she doesn't look like she's in her fifties at all!"
"Mutsumi couldn't have remembered wrong, could she?"
"..."
Upon hearing Mutsumi's answer, all the girls were stunned.
The woman in the windbreaker just now couldn't have been over thirty; fifty years old is too exaggerated.
At this moment, Sakiko softly said, "Mutsumi didn't remember wrong. Aunt Yuko is indeed fifty years old, which is why I was so surprised when we met just now."
"Could she have god-tier makeup skills?" Chihaya Anon's imagination ran wild as she couldn't help but retort, "I saw a news report once about a grandma in her seventies who said she felt very young and wanted to play a maiden role."
"No matter how amazing makeup skills are, it couldn't be that exaggerated." Soyo gently shook her head and asked curiously, "Does Mutsumi know what happened?"
The saying that time never defeats beauty is not realistic.
Once a person reaches a certain age, they naturally age. This is a law of nature, and no one can escape it, nor can anyone reverse aging.
A fifty-year-old woman with a twenty-something-year-old face... one can only say it's quite eerie.
"I don't know."
Mutsumi replied calmly.
"Eh?" Anon tilted her head and looked over, "Mutsumi doesn't usually contact relatives, does she?"
Mutsumi was unassailable: "No contact."
"Alright... we should know soon enough."
"..."
As they spoke, everyone arrived at the door of a room on the second floor.
"We're here."
Sakiko grasped the doorknob, pushed the door open, and entered the room. All that was left was to wait quietly.
Half an hour later.
The door quietly opened, and Aunt Yuko, who had been there before, pushed it open and walked in. She had changed into a new windbreaker, but her body was still completely covered.
"I'm sorry, I just took a shower and made everyone wait." Aunt Yuko walked closer, apologized, and then said, "What's going to happen next is a bit incredible, I hope everyone won't be scared."
Kitahara Makoto subtly sniffed his nose.
His sense of smell was now quite keen, and he could detect that, besides the fresh scent of shower gel, there was still a faint, lingering odor on the woman in front of him.
Even though she had just showered, there was still a strange smell on her... it was indeed very unusual.
Sakiko softly said, "Aunt Yuko, you can tell us what's going on now."
"Okay."
Aunt Yuko nodded gently, reached for her waist, and then unbuttoned her windbreaker, opening her clothes.
"Eh eh eh?"
"Why is she taking off her clothes?"
"There's a boy in the room!"
"..."
Facing Aunt Yuko's sudden 'attack,' the girls were instantly shocked. Chihaya Anon even raised her right hand, preparing to cover Kitahara Makoto's eyes.
However, the next second.
Chihaya Anon's right hand stopped mid-air, her eyes wide, as she let out a cry of disbelief: "Ah—!"
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly: "So that's it... no wonder there was a strange smell."
As Aunt Yuko opened her windbreaker, the odor in the air instantly intensified. What appeared before everyone was not a graceful, alluring figure, but a terrifying body covered in numerous black spots.
These black spots varied in size; the smaller ones were about the size of a coin, while the larger ones were as big as an adult's fist, and were subtly oozing a yellowish liquid, looking particularly unsettling.
"Aunt Yuko, what's wrong with your body?"
Sakiko quickly recovered and couldn't help but ask with concern.
Aunt Yuko sighed softly, looking at the black spots on her body, and slowly began, "This is... the price of my youth."
Kitahara Makoto and the girls held their breath, listening in silence.
"The older you get, the earlier you wake up." Aunt Yuko seemed lost in thought, "Every morning when I wake up, the sky outside the window hasn't even brightened yet. Getting up and going to the bathroom, looking at my old self in the mirror with sagging skin and sallow complexion, I feel an immense fear."
"So... I wanted to become young again."
"At a friend's recommendation, I found a mysterious person. They sold me a fruit, saying that if I ate it, I could regain my youth."
"At first, I was naturally skeptical, but I tried it out of curiosity and found that it actually worked. The wrinkles on my face disappeared, my skin became firm and smooth, and even my mental state improved significantly."
"But I was only happy for a while before aging returned to me again."
"There was no choice but to buy the fruit from the mysterious person again."
"After eating it, I regained my youth once more."
"To maintain my youthful and vibrant state, I had to occasionally buy the mysterious fruit, but as time went on, these black marks gradually appeared on my body..."
Aunt Yuko's face showed an expression mixed with pain and terror:
"These black spots don't feel anything; they don't hurt or itch. That mysterious person said not to worry, but that was a lie, they were deceiving me!"
At this point, Aunt Yuko's emotions clearly became agitated:
"The lady who recommended I buy the mysterious fruit, I saw with my own eyes her black spots erupt, and then her entire body turned into a pool of black water..."
"This is not a blessing, it's a curse! A terrifying curse!"
"..."
"Aunt Yuko, calm down." Sakiko quickly spoke to comfort her, "Why did you ask us to come here?"
"Phew..."
Aunt Yuko closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and regained her composure. Then she put her windbreaker back on:
"I have only one request, and that is to cure the curse on me."
Compared to life, youth and beauty suddenly seemed less important.
"Understood." Sakiko softly said, "Aunt Yuko, please go rest for a bit. We'll think of a solution and give you an answer soon."
Aunt Yuko nodded gently and turned to leave the room: "I'll go take another shower."
Bang.
The door closed.
Chihaya Anon immediately let out a sigh of relief and quickly raised her hand to cover her nose: "No wonder her perfume was so strong... Those black spots are so scary. If it were me, I'd rather grow old than have my body covered in that stuff."
Soyo nodded in agreement: "Such a return to youth is indeed undesirable."
Tomori hugged her arms, her small face slightly pale: "Terrifying."
Kitahara Makoto shook his head and said, "You can't evaluate a person's actions from your own perspective. When you reach fifty, your thoughts might be completely different."
High school is inherently the most beautiful period in one's life, as vibrant and energetic as flowers. Naturally, they cannot experience the longing and impulse for youth that the elderly and frail feel.
Simply put, the more one possesses something, the less they care about it.
For example, someone who says 'I'm not interested in money' is because they have so much money they can't spend it all.
And those who reminisce about youth are always those whose youth has passed.
"I'm more concerned about what Aunt Yuko said about the mysterious person and the fruit." Sakiko clasped her hands across her chest, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. "Anomalies don't require money, so that mysterious person is clearly human... Do they have abilities similar to Kitahara-kun's?"