Bokja Sulks
The long night finally passed, and morning arrived.
The moon began its descent, and far off on the horizon the sun started to lift its face.
Calling it morning was a stretch—it was only five a.m.—but for someone who normally rose between one and two, it already felt late.
Had fatigue piled up without my noticing? Or had I simply drifted off in the warmth of Miss holding me?
Since there was no need for the usual morning cleaning, I still had time even after sleeping in. Still, a Super☆Perfect Maid like me could not afford to lounge about any longer. It was time to get up.
"Mmm…"
I tried to sit up, only to find my body strangely uncooperative. Something was pinning me down.
Glancing down, I discovered Miss had gone beyond a simple hug—she was sprawled fully on top of me, still sound asleep.
I remembered her falling asleep while embracing me, but how had we ended up like this? Was this even a normal sleeping position?
I worried her neck might be strained from the awkward angle, but luckily she was using my chest as a pillow, so it looked fine. I had never been particularly fond of these things—usually found them more nuisance than asset—yet here they were proving useful…
Whew. Thank goodness they're big.
They had never been of much use before, and probably never would be again, but if they could help Miss even a little, I felt proud of them!
Yes! Bigger is always better!
"Hehe, Blaaang…"
"Mmm, this is rather troublesome…"
Escaping Miss came first. I tried moving my legs, but her right leg was wedged firmly between mine, locking me in place. When I attempted to free my arms, I found she had laced her fingers through mine, completely sealing them off…!
Miss, what kind of sleeping habits do you even have…
And she was soaked in sweat like this… You'll catch a cold at this rate…
This was serious. Moving carelessly or touching her could disturb her precious sleep.
I could slip into the shadows with Bokja's help and free myself that way, but if the person underneath her suddenly vanished, she might wake.
Mmm… mmmmmm…
What to do? Think carefully. There had to be a way to leave the bed without waking Miss…!
"Ah!"
"Jjuuuung…. Jjuuuung…."
Hmm-hmm~♫
Perfect. I was free of the bed and safely changed into my morning maid uniform!
For field training, uniforms were required only on the first day of gathering at school; from the second day onward, casual clothes were allowed. That meant starting today I could walk around outside in my maid outfit instead of the school uniform!
Ahhh! How wonderful it would be if every day were field training!
A day when I could wear a maid uniform instead of a school uniform in the morning—what beauty!
Ah, wait… thinking about it, every day being field training would bring its own problems!
I wouldn't be able to clean the vast basement of the dormitory, nor pass on maid knowledge to Miss Mist or Miss Deed!
Mmm, quite the dilemma.
A life of endless field training where I could never clean the dorm basement, versus a life of wearing a school uniform by day but freely scrubbing Haas's basement whenever I pleased.
Which life was more beautiful, more worthwhile?
No matter how I turned it over, the pros and cons were so evenly matched that no answer appeared.
No— I am a maid, after all…
In the end I must follow whatever path Miss chooses. So first I should simply ask her which life she finds more beautiful, and then…
"Jjuuuung…."
"Bokja, please be quiet. You'll wake Miss."
Bokja, still pinned beneath Miss, let out a miserable little groan. She thrashed about trying to escape Miss's embrace, only to spot the cucumber in my hand and instantly give up.
"Fufu…"
As expected, I am a genius.
By leaving the bed I could resume my maid duties, and thanks to Bokja, the disaster of Miss waking never occurred. Thus a world where no one is hurt was complete!
"Jjuuung…."
"Fufu, Bokja, you did so well."
Our Bokja really is a good child.
Yes—serving Miss like that is what makes a true maid.
A maid must be ready to discard something as trivial as her own body for her mistress at any time. If she thinks of it as a trial on the path to becoming a true maid, Bokja will surely accept this situation!
"Hmm-hmm~♫"
I'll leave this to Bokja for now and go prepare breakfast—
"Huh?"
What? Why won't my body move?
Every time I approached the door to leave the room, something yanked me back so my hand couldn't reach the knob!
"Who on earth…!"
Faced with the incomprehensible, I spun around in a panic.
Who was pulling me?!
"Jjwing…."
Yet no one stood behind me. Only Bokja was staring at me with a look of profound pity and exasperation.
"Bokja? Why are you looking at me like that… Ah…!"
Right.
I'm linked to Bokja, so I can't go far from her…?
So soft.
Blanc in my arms was extraordinarily, impossibly soft.
So I hugged her a little tighter.
"Uuu…"
A voice from Blanc I had never heard before tickled my ear.
Fufu, what's this, Blanc?
You can make sounds like that too…?
I wanted to hear more.
"Uuung…!"
I pressed my chest even closer against her body and buried my face in her neck.
She kept twitching as if embarrassed by my actions—utterly adorable.
And this cool, refreshing sensation coming from Blanc…
Hm? Cool? Refreshing…?
"Jjwing…."
"Eh-heh?!"
W-wait?!
Why is Bokja under me…?
And why am I sleeping in this position in the first place?!
"Good morning, Miss."
While I was still utterly failing to grasp the situation, Blanc—already neatly dressed—offered her morning greeting.
What in the world is going on?!
"Blanc…? How long has Bokja been under me…?"
"Approximately three hours, Miss."
"Jjuung…."
Uh… so that means I spent three hours hugging Bokja in my sleep?
Hugging Bokja itself wasn't a problem. Plenty of people sleep cuddling dogs or cats, after all. Bokja was basically a puppy, so holding her while sleeping wasn't particularly strange. And that cool sensation felt nice in the summer heat.
The problem was that I hadn't merely been hugging her!
The skinship I performed half-asleep just now was absolutely not the sort of thing one does to a puppy!
And why was Bokja under me to begin with?
"B-Bokja…?"
"Jjuung…"
As a shadow, Bokja's form was never fixed. She usually took the shape of a dog, but could become daggers, shields, and all sorts of other things.
Right now she was in human form.
Hair blacker than pure darkness, smooth violet skin, and golden eyes.
She resembled Blanc so closely that calling her Black Blanc—or Reverse Blanc—would not have been an exaggeration.
I had seen this form a few times before, but after so long the craftsmanship seemed far more refined than in the past.
And that Reverse-Blanc-shaped Bokja was staring at me with teary eyes.
Golden tears spilling from those eyes made it painfully clear that Bokja was not okay.
What on earth did I do to Bokja…!
"I'm sorry!"
"Jjiiiiing!"
The moment I scrambled off her, Reverse Blanc—no, Bokja—let out a pitiful wail and bolted straight to Blanc.
In an instant she was in Blanc's arms. She nuzzled her face against Blanc's body, then vanished into the shadows.
"Bokja! I'm sorry!"
"Jjong!"
"Bokja. What sort of rude attitude is that toward Miss?"
"Jjung!"
Ah, this is bad. Bokja is seriously sulking.
No matter how much Blanc and I called, the Bokja hidden in the shadows only puffed out her cheeks and turned her head away.
"Bokja, if you don't come out this instant, the cucumber will—"
"Blanc! Y-you can't do that! You have to coax her, not threaten her…"
"My apologies, Miss. Bokja? If you come out right now, I shall give you the belly rubs you love so much."
"Jjooooong!"
I-I can't believe it.
That Bokja just refused Blanc's belly rubs.
Bokja adored human touch—especially mine and Blanc's. Above all she loved Blanc's belly rubs. No matter how angry she got, one round of Blanc's belly rubs always melted her temper!
"Bokja…?"
Even Blanc seemed not to have expected this reaction; she looked visibly flustered. She hurriedly reached into the shadow, only for Bokja's hand to swat hers away.
"Mmm…"
Bokja is sulking!
"Haa… why are there so few inns in the royal capital?"
The second day had dawned.
Willie, freshly awake, trudged toward the hotel where Group A was staying.
Because he had booked Group A and Group B into separate hotels, Willie—who had to look after both—had been forced to take a room right in the middle. The greater distance between the two lodgings expanded the area he had to cover and multiplied the work he had to do.
All of it was Willie's own fault for making the reservations so late, yet he conveniently decided to blame the capital's shortage of hotels instead.
"Hey, Group A. Everyone here?"
It was already 9:30—a full thirty minutes past the original assembly time.
Yawning, Willie stepped into the hotel and—
"Bokja, play with me already?"
"Bokjaaa! I'll give you something tasty!"
"Hey, Shadow. Come out. I'll show you the magnificent sights of the capital."
—was greeted by the deranged spectacle of all five Group A students pressing their faces against Blanc's shadow and clapping their hands.
"Did you all get high together at the hotel? Why are you throwing a group tantrum?"