Can't We Skip Dating?

After returning from the grocery store, Hayasak Ai fell into silence.

She hadn't expected that she would have to cook under such "harsh" conditions.

Akira also fell silent.

He had forgotten that his kitchen had been renovated more than two years ago when he bought the house. 

Since he only ever made simple dishes, he had bought only the most basic pots, bowls, and seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. 

After that, he had practically never stepped into the kitchen—especially in the last two years.

If it weren't for a housekeeper coming weekly to clean, this place would probably be covered in dust.

He opened the cabinet where he kept seasonings and pulled out an unopened bag of salt and a sealed bottle of oil. 

After confirming the expiration dates, he confidently handed them to Hayasak Ai.

"Alright! Let's use these!"

Hayasak Ai glanced at the lobster in the shopping bag and felt like this task was even more unreasonable than the whims of her silly young lady.

"If you're not in a hurry, may I make another trip to the supermarket?"

"No, no need for that much trouble."

Akira took the shopping bag and rummaged through it, pulling out a cabbage, two slices of beef, and two potatoes. 

Then he stuffed the rest into the fridge.

"Someone else will cook the rest of the ingredients. Just make these today. I'm tired of restaurant food—I just want something simple, homemade. 

Like the stuff they teach in school cooking classes."

This reminded Hayasak Ai of her young lady's intense curiosity about commoner food.

The difference was, the young lady was simply curious, whereas Akira was genuinely fed up—he probably just wanted something light.

Hayasak Ai opened the cabinet and inspected the remaining usable seasonings, then reluctantly nodded.

"…Understood. I'll do my best, but I'm not a professional chef, so the taste might be rather ordinary."

Akira's eyes lit up. "Yes! That's exactly what I want—something ordinary!"

Hayasak Ai no longer understood the tastes of rich people.

Even though she was originally supposed to be a rich young lady herself and still had considerable savings—technically putting her in the wealthy class—she couldn't understand these bizarre desires and anxieties of the rich.

"Lastly, the staple food…"

"Oh, rice, right. I remember I put it over here."

Akira pulled out an unopened bag of rice from the cabinet. When he opened it, he froze.

Hayasak Ai leaned in to look, picked out a few grains with her fingers, and along with them, two tiny, black rice weevils.

"Do you enjoy high-protein ingredients like this, Mr. Ogiwara?"

"…Not particularly."

"Then please allow me to make another trip to the supermarket."

"…Alright."

…

That night, Hayasak Ai received a call from her young lady.

"Hayasak! Having fun hanging out with your classmates?"

Tilting her head slightly and enjoying the pleasant night breeze, she replied, "Mm, not bad."

"Spending time with classmates is really important! From now on, if a classmate invites you out after school, you don't need to formally request it—just send me an email."

"No, today was just difficult to turn down. Normally, my priority will always be the young lady."

"Ehhh—don't be so serious! We have a chauffeur, so it's not like you can't get home. By the way, Hayasak, when are you coming back…"

Hearing the slightly lonely voice through the phone, Hayasak Ai sighed silently.

"Very soon. I'm wrapping up now. I'll be heading back in a bit. Did something go wrong again today, young lady?"

"Uwaah, Hayasak, listen to me! The president… the president, he…"

With a helpless, almost disdainful expression, Hayasak Ai listened to her young lady's teary complaints, gaining yet another layer of understanding of what it meant to feel secondhand embarrassment.

She wasn't always this much of an idiot—falling in love really does make people dumber.

Just how long are these two going to keep dragging things out?

"Ugh… Hayasak, what should I do?"

Even through the phone, Hayasak Ai could picture her young lady lying face-down on the bed, clutching a pillow, looking completely deflated yet radiating springtime vibes.

"We'll talk when I get back, young lady. They're calling me now."

"Okay~ No need to rush back, Hayasak… but don't be too late either. It's not safe."

"Yes, yes, I understand. Don't worry, young lady."

"Mm! Bye-bye~"

After hanging up, Hayasak Ai lifted her gaze toward the brightly lit, antique courtyard in front of her.

This was the old residence of the Shinomiya family. Now that she had formally left Akira's house, the next step was naturally to report back.

Composing her expression and restoring her posture, Hayasak Ai stepped into what she considered a chilling place—so cold that even that strange, voiceless maze with no exit paled in comparison.

Walking through corridor after corridor, she arrived in front of a room with its lights on.

"Master, I've returned."

A moment later, an aged, heavy voice responded from inside, "Come in."

A servant opened the door. Hayasak Ai stepped into the room and faced the man sitting behind a desk—his hair already gray.

Shinomiya Gan'an. Head of the Shinomiya family. 

Also the master of the Shinomiya conglomerate, valued at over 200 trillion yen. One of the most powerful men in all of Japan.

"Why didn't you stay overnight?"

The first question made Hayasak Ai feel disgusted.

She answered calmly, "Mr. Ogiwara doesn't seem to be interested in high school girls, contrary to the rumors. He had no interest in me."

"Is it that he wasn't interested, or that you failed to spark his interest?"

"He wasn't interested."

Having prepared herself mentally, Hayasak Ai uncharacteristically stood her ground.

This uncharacteristic assertiveness didn't escape Shinomiya Gan'an. He lifted his head to size her up.

With just one glance, the oppressive authority and aura built up over years of wielding immense power made Hayasak Ai instinctively want to lower her head. 

But the resentment in her heart and her resolve kept her neck stiff—she didn't lower her gaze.

Shinomiya Gan'an gave a seemingly ordinary chuckle—but his face and eyes showed no sign of a smile.

"Since you failed to carry out my orders, why are you still standing here not asking for punishment? Or rather—what have you been doing from the end of school until now?"

"At Mr. Ogiwara's request, I went to buy ingredients and cooked him dinner."

"Oh?"

That response made Shinomiya Gan'an narrow his eyes slightly.

"Interesting… very interesting. Mr. Ogiwara certainly is an interesting man…"

He paused, then asked again, "Who lives in Mr. Ogiwara's house?"

A valuable question. Every piece of intel gave him more leverage. 

But aside from reports of Akira dining at nearby restaurants, the rest of his personal life was a mystery.

It wasn't that other families hadn't tried to investigate—some had sent people to follow him. 

But Akira had casually patted them on the shoulder and told them to go home—and that same night, the families faced strange misfortunes. 

Though the losses were minor, they were terrifying.

Even those who bought houses nearby were visited by Akira the next day and politely asked to leave. 

He even had the head of the household publicly recount the incident.

Anyone with a brain recognized this as a warning. From then on, no one dared dig further.

This was also why Shinomiya Gan'an hadn't ordered anyone to tail Hayasak Ai while she was at Akira's house. 

No matter what, surveillance was always offensive—and even though it wasn't directly on Akira, no one knew how he could spot spies so easily.

Whether out of distaste or caution, Hayasak Ai didn't want to reveal much. But she couldn't stay silent either.

So she said, "There were no other shoes at the entrance, but I didn't open the shoe cabinet, so I can't confirm. 

Mr. Ogiwara only had me cook; I only saw the kitchen and living room, and couldn't confirm whether anyone lived on the second floor."

Which amounted to saying nothing at all.

Shinomiya Gan'an frowned, clearly displeased with such a vague answer. But he couldn't be sure whether it was Akira's doing, or Hayasak Ai being evasive. 

He hadn't assigned her to gather intel, after all—so he let it go.

"If he needed you to cook, it seems there's no one around him to handle daily life," Gan'an said blandly. 

"In that case, starting tomorrow, you'll serve as Mr. Ogiwara's attendant."

Hayasak Ai's heart skipped a beat.

Seeing her frozen in place, Shinomiya Gan'an's voice darkened slightly. "Well? Answer me."

"Mr. Ogiwara said…"

Hayasak Ai, inwardly grateful, pulled an envelope from her coat.

"Mr. Ogiwara said that if you intended to do so, I should give you this letter."

Shinomiya Gan'an's expression visibly darkened for the first time.

No superior likes having their intentions predicted. 

Given how little they knew about Akira and how mysterious he was, it didn't just feel like being guessed—but more like Akira knew precisely what he was planning.

Gan'an opened the letter. Inside was a single line:

[I haven't fallen so far as to steal a maid from a little girl.]

The letter was visibly creased from the strength of his grip.

Hayasak Ai lowered her head as if frightened—but in reality, it was to hide the smile threatening to break out.

She had watched Akira write that letter in front of her. By this point, she could only respect his foresight.

But more than that, she was thinking about what Akira said when he gave her the letter.

"If you use this letter, you'll owe me a favor. I'll ask you to repay it someday—not something difficult, but probably annoying. Still, it won't put you in trouble."

Now she was wondering—what could she do to repay that favor?

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