We ate dinner, and her cooking was wonderful; everyone loved it. I gave her the ice cream I had bought for her. She seemed genuinely happy as she ate it, and she thanked me with a warm smile.
After that, the real conversation began. "First, what is your name?" I asked. The mysterious girl replied, "My name is Yuki." Todo exclaimed, "What a wonderful name!" I immediately snapped at him, "Stop it, Todo. You sound like a creep." Glacia stared at me suspiciously. "Estival, did you do something with her?" she probed.
"No, I didn't do anything!" I retorted. "Why are you all acting so suspicious toward me?" Glacia sighed, "Fine, I will believe you then." Sakura then turned to Yuki and asked, "Where are you from, and how did you end up unconscious on the side of the street?" Yuki looked down and replied, "I am an orphan. I used to live in an orphanage, but I ran away from there about a year ago."
because I wanted freedom. I wanted to live my life on my own, and I didn't want to go back there," Yuki explained, her voice trembling. "When I first ran away, I did a lot of work that I didn't want to do. About ten days ago, I was living with someone, but he kicked me out. After that, I walked the streets alone, sleeping at bus stops or wherever I could find shelter."
"I tried to find a job, but I didn't get one. After seven days, all my money was gone, and I was completely broke. I asked people for food and help, but I received nothing. Eventually, I fainted on the street from starvation. At that moment, I thought I was going to die—that kindness had vanished from this world. But then you came and saved me from the brink of death. I wanted to say thank you once again for saving me."
I felt from her words that She wasn't lying completely, but it felt as though she was carefully choosing her words, almost as if she was editing them in her mind. Every word was chosen with extreme caution. Everyone was moved by her story, their eyes filled with tears.
"If you need any help with her, just let me know," Glacia offered. "Me too," Sakura added quickly. "Count me in," Todo chimed in. I looked at her and said, "I will help you in whatever way possible."
Yuki looked at me and said, "Thank you for your concern. But Master... I want one specific favor from you. If you give me permission, I want to stay here and handle all the household chores."
The room fell silent as everyone stared at me. "I'm sorry," I stammered, "but you can't stay here with me. You are a girl; it wouldn't be right." Yuki looked me in the eye and replied, "If you were a bad person or had ulterior motives, you had every chance to take advantage of me last night "You didn't do anything to me, and that's the reason I'm asking for your help," Yuki said. I asked her directly, "But if I were to change, what would you do?"
"Then I will kill you with my own hands!" Todo exclaimed, half-joking. "I'm a little jealous that such a beautiful girl wants to stay with you, but I do want you to help her."
Sakura turned to Yuki and offered, "If you want, you can stay with me instead."
"I have the same offer for you," Glacia added. Hearing them, I felt relieved and suggested, "Yes, you can stay with one of them."
But Yuki declined. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I appreciate your offer, but I will stay with Master."
"But why?" everyone asked.
"Because when I found myself here, I made a promise to myself," Yuki explained. "I promised that I would serve the person who saved my life. I cannot break my promise because a teacher in the orphanage taught me this. I loved her dearly, and when she died, I was completely broken."
"There is no need for you to serve me or do anything of the sort," I said, trying to stay firm. But Yuki remained stubborn. "I had already made up my mind, Master," she replied. I sighed in frustration. "No... first of all, stop calling me 'Master.' I have a name; it's Estival."
Yuki smiled slightly. "Okay then, Estival. Does that mean you agreed to let me stay here?"
"No, I did not!" I snapped.
Glacia interjected, looking at me seriously. "Look, Estival, I'm telling you—just let her stay."
Sakura nodded in agreement but added a sharp warning, "I agree too, but if you try to do anything weird with her, you will regret it." Todo muttered, looking a bit envious, "I'm kind of jealous, but okay, let her stay."
I tried to reason with them one last time. "But I can't just live with a girl. Please, try to understand my situation!" Everyone responded in unison, "You have no other option."
Defeated, I finally relented. "Fine. I will let her stay."
"Thanks, Master!" Yuki exclaimed happily.
"Stop calling me Master!" I shouted.
"I apologize, Estival," she whispered.
After talking for a while, everyone left. Now, I had to ask her for the truth. Once everyone was gone, she started washing the dishes. I offered to help her with the cleaning, but she declined. I then went to my bedroom and napped for a few hours. When I woke up, I saw it was 8 PM. I went to check on Yuki and found her cooking dinner.
"Oh, Estival, you're awake," Yuki said.
"Yeah," I replied. "But there's really no need to do all this."
"I am your servant; it is important," Yuki insisted. "Besides, if I didn't cook, what would we eat?"
"Instant noodles," I suggested.
"Instant noodles don't provide the nutrition that our bodies require," she countered.
"But ever since I shifted here, I had always eaten instant noodles at night," I explained. Yuki teased me, saying, "I think you were just being incredibly lazy. But that's not a problem anymore; I will be cooking from now on, so no more objections." I sighed, "Fine, you win."
We then ate dinner and washed the dishes together. I offered to help her with the chores, but she declined once again. Eventually, we went to my room to sleep. I slept on the bed, while she slept on the floor.