Even though their primary profession was that of agents, and wearing maid outfits was merely a disguise, the members of C＆C were, when it came to household chores, largely no different from truly outstanding maids.
They first carried out a swift and flawless deep cleaning of all of Schale, then helped me deal with the backlog of administrative work from the past few days.
As for tonight's dinner at Schale, it was basically prepared through their joint efforts:
Akane's cooking skills were nothing short of superb, Karin's desserts were commendable;
Asuna was good at boosting everyone's morale, and Neru, after being kicked out of the kitchen, did her best to restrain her emotions.
All in all, with help from several other girls as well, the final result left everyone who was scheduled to stay overnight at Schale extremely satisfied.
Except for a certain someone who was disliked by her juniors for being in the way when she entered the kitchen, then got completely crushed by the Game Development Department in games after leaving the kitchen. She was distracted throughout the meal, and the moment she put down her bowl and chopsticks, she impatiently dragged along Momoi, who had just finished wolfing down her food, to go play games again.
As for Momoi, she initially felt more or less some awe toward Neru, but after playing a few matches together and witnessing Neru's refusal to admit defeat and her great potential for improvement in games, the sense of distance between them vanished instantly.
Of course, only the carefree Momoi was like this. When the other members of the Game Development Department played with Neru, they still showed some fear.
Mainly because Neru's reactions after losing were, indeed, a bit frightening.
Even so, the relationships between the girls had grown much closer, which made me feel greatly relieved and unable to help but look forward to the future.
The more harmonious the harem, the more blissful the days, and the more I enjoy them.
So…
A certain factor that might bring disaster stood out as all the more irritating in my eyes.
Heaven knows why androids in Kivotos needed to eat, and could even taste flavor and texture, eating with such obvious relish.
Patiently waiting until she finished her meal and was about to go play with her clubmates, I called out to her.
"Arisu, can you come with me for a bit?"
"Eh?"
Though her face showed confusion, Arisu still stopped her steps toward the living room and obediently came before me.
"Sensei, is there a task you want to entrust to Arisu?"
I shook my head and smiled, speaking in a mysteriously playful tone. "Actually, I prepared a reward for Arisu, who seriously completed today's tasks."
While I was working together with the lovely maids, Arisu had indeed been helping out as well.
Immediately, Arisu's eyes sparkled. "A reward? What is it?"
"Well… that's a secret for now. Just come with me and you'll find out."
"W-wow~!" Arisu opened her mouth wide, even more delighted, and happily said, "Arisu wants Sensei's mysterious reward!"
…To be clear, I was not thinking anything strange at all.
However, several sharp gazes, some shocked, some doubtful, some playful, were directed at me.
Obviously, something about what Arisu said had caused certain less pure-minded people to form strange associations.
Vulgar.
As an upright gentleman, I ignored them all. After exchanging a glance with Hoshino and Wakamo, I led Arisu, who kept muttering "reward" nonstop, looking completely consumed by excitement and harboring no suspicion at all, toward the hangar.
After arriving at the hangar, Arisu looked around at the surroundings. Then, as if she had thought of something, her excitement faded, and she showed an expression like she was about to cry.
"S-Sensei, Arisu does not eat gasoline! And Arisu already ate her fill at the dining table just now, so please do not feed Arisu gasoline or engine oil as a reward…"
…What is she even talking about.
If it were "Arisu" saying this, I would surely just think she was incredibly cute, my heart blooming with joy, and pull her into my arms to dote on her.
But once I considered that this might also just be the acting of "AL-1S," of "Kei,"
I could not help but feel a chill run down my spine.
Forcing down these complicated feelings, I maintained a businessman smile.
"Don't worry, it's not that kind of thing. Come with me."
With that, I quickened my pace and walked straight toward the corner of the hangar, toward a tall, upright rectangular object covered with cloth.
Arisu was first curious, then found it quite familiar. After thinking for a moment, an even stronger anticipation suddenly rose in her eyes.
At this moment, I had already arrived before the tampered Sword of Light. Grabbing the burlap cloth covering it, I took a deep breath.
It's fine, it's fine.
Arona is right beside me. Once Hoshino and Wakamo receive my signal, they will rush over at the fastest speed and notify the others.
Even though this time, once again, I am using myself as bait…
I will definitely survive.
As my hand gradually stopped its barely perceptible trembling, I deeply inhaled the air tinged with the smell of machine oil, then pulled hard downward. The Sword of Light was revealed before Arisu's eyes.
Even though she had clearly expected it, the moment she saw the real thing, Arisu still let out a "Wow," then rushed to the weapon she had not seen for almost an entire day, excitedly stroking the gun body.
I watched her warily, nerves taut, my heart hanging at its highest point, fully focused on guarding against any abnormal movement.
She… no.
Would it, in the next moment, pick up the Sword of Light, aim it at me, and pull the trigger?
I swallowed with difficulty, yet a thought that filled me with fear arose—
If it really did turn out that way, perhaps I would finally be freed from this abyss of suspicion I was trapped in.
But the thing I both deeply feared and shamefully hoped for did not happen.
Arisu turned back, staring at my face with azure eyes that gave an impression of pure innocence.
"Sensei! Sensei!" she called out to me affectionately, then asked in confusion, "Wasn't the Sword of Light sent to the forge for durability restoration work? Why is it here?"
"Didn't you notice that Utaha, Kotori, and Hibiki all came to Schale?"
I smiled and asked in return, then said, "It's because I thought you looked like you really missed the Sword of Light, so I specially asked them to bring it to Schale for maintenance…"
"Wow~!"
Arisu directly threw herself into my arms, which I had no time to avoid, and sweetly said, "Thank you, Sensei~ Arisu likes you the most~"
"…It's okay."
I carefully reached out, trying to pat her head as usual, and said in a low voice, "As long as you're happy."
When Arisu reluctantly left my embrace and tried to sling the Sword of Light back onto her body, she noticed a problem.
"Sensei, where is the shoulder strap of the Sword of Light?"
"Because the maintenance work isn't finished yet," I said.
"I see… Arisu will work hard to endure it!"
Saying that, until she left, she did not display any abnormality at all.