After bringing Chihaya Tetsuya to Sakurakouji Luna, Togawa Sakiko first had Wakaba Mutsumi greet Luna, then took her to another room, planning to have a private chat.
Once the two had left, Luna immediately and eagerly began to take credit.
"How was it? The moment I saw the sample, I knew that maid outfit would be perfect for Togawa."
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"You can thank me. I was the one who convinced Togawa to wear it!"
"My lady, please don't make the uniform that someone worked so hard to design sound like something strange."
Yamabuki Yachiyo said with a helpless expression.
"It's precisely to avoid any strange misunderstandings that I specifically designed the skirt to be below the knee."
"That's exactly the right length, Yachiyo."
Luna shook her head, then said with feigned seriousness:
"If it were too short, it would lose the modesty and elegance a maid should have. For a girl like Togawa, this feeling that's right in between glamorous and pure is what's best! Thanks to her, I drew a whole bunch of design sketches in one go after that!"
"My lady..."
Yachiyo felt utterly helpless in the face of her master's difficult personality.
However, just as she was about to turn and apologize, Tetsuya suddenly spoke.
"Speaking of which, when you designed this maid outfit, Miss Yamabuki, you must have intentionally distinguished it from a standard maid uniform, correct?"
Now that he had calmed down and was recalling the outfit Sakiko was wearing, beyond its stunning appearance, Tetsuya also noticed its many design features that were ill-suited for chores.
"...Yes."
In response to his question, Yachiyo nodded and admitted frankly.
"In order to distinguish her from the other servants at the Sakura Residence, I added many design elements to the original base. For example, the frills that particularly emphasize decoration, and the bow at the back that serves as both a waist-cincher and a counterweight."
In a sense, this maid outfit was destined from its inception not to be a work uniform suitable for chores. In terms of its application and aesthetic, it was more like a "high-class uniform" meant to emphasize a special status.
"Miss Togawa is, at the end of the day, a guest collaborating with my lady. I have no intention of truly treating her as a 'servant'."
"Mhm, I thought as much."
Tetsuya nodded, then said to Yachiyo with immense gratitude:
"Thank you, Miss Yamabuki."
He knew very well that the reason she had used such an unconventional design was to minimize the contrast between the maid identity and Sakiko's original status, thereby protecting her pride.
However, after listening to their conversation, Luna couldn't help but mutter under her breath:
"You know, she herself might actually prefer it if Chihaya Tetsuya treated her like a real maid."
"...That would be Miss Togawa's own business."
Recalling the expression on Sakiko's face just now, Yachiyo remained noncommittal.
"In any case, with this uniform, even when Miss Togawa enters [Filia], she will absolutely not be looked down upon by the other young ladies. This is a small token of my sincerity. I genuinely hope that you and Miss Togawa can build a good relationship with my lady, Chihaya-san."
"The support you have provided me with so far is more than enough for me to feel your sincerity."
Tetsuya replied.
"Next, it's my turn to perform at the [TGC]."
"Speaking of which, the design sketch Togawa brought over last time was super interesting! Before the live show starts, could you give me a rough idea of the concept behind it?"
Getting back on the topic of fashion, Luna was immediately reminded of the design sketch Sakiko had brought and eagerly questioned Tetsuya. He had no intention of hiding anything from his financial backer and frankly explained his research and design process...
...
Meanwhile, in the other room, the topic of conversation between Sakiko and Mutsumi was not so simple—
"I see, so that's what Soyo is like at your place, Tetsuya-kun..."
After listening to Mutsumi's general description, Sakiko nodded thoughtfully.
"Correcting his bad habits while taking care of him... That really is something only Soyo can do. And doing so will make Tetsuya-kun more and more unable to leave her..."
At this, Sakiko couldn't help but shake her head.
"Even if I wear this outfit, I can't easily replace her in that position."
Whether it was her housekeeping skills or the courage to take a lecturing tone with him, she did not currently possess either.
So, although it was very enviable, for the time being, no one could take Nagasaki Soyo's place.
"...Anyway, it's not like Chihaya-san would ever really treat Sakiko like a servant."
Meanwhile, Mutsumi, who had seen real maids, shook her head lightly.
"Compared to a servant, the way Sakiko looks is more like she's cosplaying with Chihaya-san."
"That's not it at all!"
Sakiko's face flushed as she refuted Mutsumi's statement.
"I have been properly learning maid etiquette from the head maid, Yamabuki! Even if I really were to become Tetsuya-kun's maid, I'm confident I could take care of him impeccably!"
"..."
Mutsumi looked Sakiko up and down, her gaze finally settling on her lower half before she nodded lightly.
"Mhm, that's true."
"Why are you staring down there while saying that?"
"It's nothing."
Mutsumi averted her gaze.
"More importantly... you must have brought me here to talk about something else, right, Sakiko?"
"Ah, right. That's true."
Sakiko, whose mind had been completely occupied by the maid outfit, hurriedly shook her head, tossing aside the lewd fantasies that had crept into her mind.
"For [Ave Mujica], besides the two of us, Uika has also confirmed she's joining."
"...Guitarist and vocalist?"
"That's right. What do you think?"
"Very reliable."
Mutsumi, who had witnessed her stage presence and fundamental skills up close at [RiNG], gave her high praise without reservation. With the third member of [Ave Mujica] now decided, an unprecedented sense of excitement... and a strange anxiety... began to well up inside Mutsumi.
If Sakiko's goal is to create a "harem" where all the members have a close relationship with Chihaya Tetsuya, then... I should probably do something proactive too.
"That just leaves the drummer and bassist..."
Mutsumi muttered to herself.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
...
"Ugh... should I reply to them or not?"
A woman with short purple hair stared at the [Work Request] on her phone, her expression quite hesitant.
"I only followed this band called [MyGO!!!!!] because I happened to see a recording of them."
"I can't believe they want to talk to me about a collaboration directly..."
It's strange, come to think of it. I hadn't even uploaded my drumming videos back then, so why did they suddenly contact me?
"Well, whatever. I'll just leave it for now. I'll reply when they push me for an answer."
It was a big deal that concerned the future of her channel. Unless she saw the prospect of sufficient hype and exposure, she would absolutely not collaborate with someone so easily.
"After all, my channel isn't that cheap, kids~"
With that, she closed her email app again and, following the trending list on her social media, clicked on the topic ranked number one—
"Speaking of which, isn't that [Summer Zodiac] live show today?"
Although she wasn't that interested in idols and the like, it was still the hottest topic recently. As a video blogger, she felt she should at least take a look.
And so, with a casual attitude, the purple-haired woman began scrolling through the posts with that tag:
"[There will be thunderstorms in the Yokohama Port area tonight, fans are advised to be careful when traveling], [NozAK! claims their design team was mainly responsible for the live show costumes], [Watanabe Productions issues a clarification, stating the two idols' costumes were handled by other designers]... What's all this? It's pretty lively!"
She muttered to herself as she scrolled.
"It must be nice, having so many people paying attention to everything you do."
I wonder when I'll ever become that famous...
"Alright, time to record a new video!"
So I don't miss that opportunity, whenever it may come, I'd better start working hard now!
Putting her phone aside, the purple-haired woman first stretched, then picked up the drumsticks she had carelessly tossed aside and began recording her new video...