I'm Home

The day changed, and at last my discharge had arrived.

Chiaki-sensei's final examination was finished, and all that remained was to head home with Mom.

"Kudou-sensei, Nakano-san, Houzawa-san. Thank you so very much for everything you've done for my son."

Mom bowed deeply to the three who had come to see us off, offering her thanks. I bowed alongside her.

"No, no, Kaori-san. To us, the days we spent with Shouya-san were irreplaceable… please, you don't need to be so formal."

"Thank you so much…"

Mom voiced her gratitude to Chiaki-sensei one more time. For me too, of course, those had been irreplaceable days.

"Shouya-san, I'm really looking forward to our outing!"

The one who threw her arms around me, her voice trembling a little, was Akari-san. I gently rubbed her back with my fully healed right hand.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it too."

After a while, Akari-san seemed to settle and stepped away. We were already at the rotary by the back entrance, and the moment her warmth left me, the cold set in.

"Shouya-san, next time I'd love for us to take a bath together. ♡"

The one hugging me this time was Shiori-san. I felt like the distance between us had shrunk since that incident in the bath.

"Y-yes. Of course…"

The two soft shapes of Shiori-san's chest pressing against me brought that earlier mishap back all the more vividly.

Eventually she seemed satisfied and pulled away, trading places with Chiaki-sensei.

"Shouya-san, when it's time for milking again, please be sure to call for me. I'll be happy to make you feel good again. ♡"

Chiaki-sensei whispered in my ear at a volume the people around us absolutely couldn't hear.

Akari-san's had been a perfectly wholesome sort of talk, but weren't the other two basically sexual harassment? Well, I was happy about it, so I supposed it was fine…

At the end I exchanged contact info with Shiori-san and Chiaki-sensei, then got into the car.

In the driver's seat was Sakamoto-san, my Protection Officer. The car was huge, easily big enough to seat seven or eight. With the seats rearranged, it could pass for a mobile reception room. A vehicle of that caliber.

"It looks really expensive… Mom."

"Mhm, it is, isn't it… It's something the government gave us, since it's necessary for Taku-chan's protection. They even gifted us the car."

So we hadn't bought it ourselves after all. It was a present from the government. Now that I thought about it, even with the whole family riding together it really did seem too big…

"It's a top-grade armored vehicle. It's an honor for me to be able to drive a car like this."

Well, if Sakamoto-san, the one actually driving it, was having fun with it, then I guessed it was fine…

When I fastened my seatbelt, the car set off. Sakamoto-san rolled down the driver's-side window for me, and I waved at the three of them as we pulled away.

 

*

 

"We'll be there soon."

That's what Mom said, but did we really have a house out here? We'd drifted a little past the residential district, and the houses were thinning out. The size of each individual house, on the other hand, was growing ridiculous to compensate.

As I peered out the window, one particularly massive building came into view.

"M-Mom, you don't mean that one, do you?"

"Yes. That's our home."

The car came to a stop in front of something out of a house-builder's pamphlet… no, something far, far larger… a castle. That was the only word for it.

The car was rolling up to the kind of mansion an overseas celebrity might live in. The garden was vast, and it even came with a pool.

The garage was huge too. Three cars were already parked inside, and yet there still seemed to be plenty of room to spare.

"Th-they gave us a house like this? For us?"

"They did～ ♡ Even after we split off rooms for the maids and the Protection Officers, there's still space left over. Amazing, isn't it～ ♡"

Mom seemed to already be past her initial shock and well used to it by now.

Chatting with Mom as we walked, we arrived in front of the entrance. The entryway door was huge too, and it certainly didn't fall short as the face of a mansion like this.

"Now then, Taku-chan, let's say 'I'm home' to everyone, shall we?"

Right. It was a house I was entering for the first time, but this was where I belonged. The place I was meant to come home to. So it wasn't "Excuse the intrusion," it was "I'm home."

I let out a big breath, then put my hand to the entryway door. The large door was lighter than it looked, and swung smoothly. Were even the hinges top-of-the-line? When the door opened, inside were my sisters, the maids, Kuroda-san, and even Ichijou-san.

"Um, I'm home."

""Welcome home, Shouya.""

"Welcome home, Tak-kun."

"Welcome home, Onii-chan!"

""""Welcome home, Goshujin-sama.""""

""Welcome home, Shouya-sama.""

Each of them gave me their own version of "welcome home."

When I stood there frozen, Sakura, just as she'd promised yesterday, hugged me.

"Welcome home, Onii-chan…"

Sakura murmured it in a quiet voice.

"Then I'll be your tour guide! ♡"

Sakura took my hand and started showing me around the house.

"First, this is the living room!"

The living room had a big sofa, plenty of chairs, and a TV so large you'd be hard-pressed to find its like even at an electronics store. Then again, given how many people were going to be here, the furniture made sense…

The big windows let in the clear blue winter sky, and even with the lights off it was incredibly bright.

Next, Sakura tugged my hand toward the kitchen.

It was an island kitchen, with a huge oven built into the wall. The rice cooker and the fridge were enormous too, giving off the feel of a kitchen tinkered into monstrous proportions for a big family.

And the smell in there was wonderful. They must have been working on the meal until just a little while ago.

"This is the kitchen! The maids' cooking is so good! ♡ Onii-chan, look forward to it! ♡"

The maids' cooking, huh… It might sound conceited, but these were the maids recommended for a Special A-rank male. They had to be incredibly capable.

"Next… let's go to the bath! ♡"

Sakura forged ahead, tugging me along by the hand.

We arrived at the dressing room, and the first thing that surprised me was the two sinks. Then, when I stepped into the bathroom, an enormous tub caught my eye. I tried it out with Sakura, but it was still half-empty. Five or six people could probably get in at once.

"Onii-chan! ♡ Let's take a bath together sometime! ♡ Since it's this big! ♡"

"T-together?"

Taking a bath with a little sister only one year apart in age… my reason might not survive that…

"You don't want to…?"

When she gazed up at me with those big, round eyes, all I could do was nod.

"Sa～ku～ra～!"

I turned toward the voice. Kaede and the Onee-chans were standing there with their arms crossed.

"Hogging a bath alone with Tak-kun isn't fair!"

"That's right! Karen has a point. It's this big, so let's all get in together. ♡"

At Masami-onee-chan's suggestion, Kaede and Karen-onee-chan nodded in furious agreement.

"Mmh, fine, I guess. Today let's all get in together, Onii-chan. ♡"

The conversation went back and forth, and in the end it was decided I'd be taking a bath with everyone.

After the bath tour was over, I was shown where everyone's rooms were, and finally we arrived at mine.

"This is Onii-chan's room. I'll wait out in the hallway."

So even though she was the guide, she wasn't going to come inside the room itself. My little sister was nothing if not considerate.

When I opened the door, there was a TV that, while it lost to the one in the living room, was still on the order of we bought the biggest one at the electronics store!

The sofa and the table were huge too. The adjoining dining space was spacious, and the kitchen was big.

There was a door at the back. Was the bedroom that way?

For some reason the hallway was long, with lots of doors.

The first. A toilet. So I had my own private toilet in my room. That was nice.

The second. A bath… hadn't Sakura and I just explored a tub already? And this one was big too. Easily large enough for four.

The third. Finally, the bedroom. And an unbelievably enormous bed. King? Queen?

The fourth. A study desk and a big walk-in closet. This was the part that finally felt like my actual room.

I went back to ask Sakura why my room was so extravagant, like a house within a house, but Sakura didn't know either.

I went back to the living room and decided to ask Ichijou-san of the Male Ministry, who had introduced this mansion to us.

"Originally, this house was built so that a male and his fiancée could live together. That's why every part of the layout is designed for many people. And the reason your room is arranged the way it is, Shouya-sama, is that the previous owner had it designed so that when he wanted to be alone, he could spend his time without having to meet women whenever possible."

So even a man who'd live together with his fiancée had moments when he got fed up with women. That was why my room alone had been built to feel like a one-person apartment.

"Shouya, are you going to shut yourself away in your room too?"

Kaede seemed to have grown uneasy hearing Ichijou-san's explanation. The others were watching me too.

"I-I'm fine! I'm the type who isn't scared of women!"

I said it brightly so as not to worry her, and hugged Kaede in front of me.

"Shouya… right… a shut-in couldn't do something like this. ♡"

Kaede nuzzled against me, looking relieved.

"But don't push yourself too hard, okay, Taku-chan? Mom is happy you've grown into such a wonderful young man, Taku-chan, but if you get tired of being around women and need to rest, no one's going to say a word. I won't let them."

Mom said it as she stroked my head.

Mom always cared about me so much I could never possibly repay her. Mothers really were strong.

While I was exploring the house, it became time for dinner. But the exploration was nowhere near done. There were still plenty of empty rooms and empty grounds. A game of hide-and-seek would never end, so that was out.

While I was waiting in my seat, the maids brought out dish after dish.

I tried to help at first, but Hiyama-san got so flustered that I would probably just have been in the way, so I decided to wait quietly instead.

"Shouya-sama, is something the matter?"

While I'd been watching the bustling Usami-san, she'd noticed.

"Ah, no… it's just…"

"Shouya-sama, if there's anything at all, please don't hesitate to tell me! I'm a maid, after all!"

Worn down by Usami-san's big, round orange eyes, I decided to say what was on my mind.

"Um… since you're called maids, I'd been wondering if you'd wear maid outfits."

"Fufu. ♡ I'd love to wear a maid outfit if I could. ♡ Normally we work in regular clothes, you see."

I wondered if they would wear maid outfits if I asked… Imagining myself surrounded by maid-uniformed onee-sans put me in a good mood. If I asked a tailor, would they make some for us?

"Maid outfits are nice! ♡ Hey, Tak-kun. ♡ If you leave it to Onee-chan, I'll make you some super cute ones? ♡"

Hearing "outfits," fashion-loving Karen-onee-chan reacted in an instant. As soon as she'd spoken, Usami-san reacted just as quickly.

"Shouya-sama… it's been my dream to wear a maid outfit and serve a man!"

Apparently Usami-san had a real longing for maid outfits. I wanted to honor her feelings, but I had no idea what the other two would say…

"As long as the other two don't object to the maid outfits…"

"Understood! I'll go convince them!"

With that, Usami-san dashed over to Hiyama-san and Ushijima-san and began talking, bowing her head along the way. Hiyama-san was in denim, and Ushijima-san in a long skirt, both in their usual clothes. Maybe the trouble of actually putting on a maid outfit was just too much hassle… but as I was thinking that, Usami-san came running back over with a beaming smile.

"Shouya-sama! ♡ The other two are in favor of the maid outfits too! ♡"

"Then, Tak-kun, on the next day off let's take everyone out to get maid outfits made! ♡"

Before I could even say "Okay," a Maid Outfit Alliance seemed to have formed between Karen-onee-chan and Usami-san. But honestly I was looking forward to it too, so I figured it was fine.

"Well then, let's get started. Taku-chan, would you do the honors? ♡"

"Um, cheers."

""""""Cheeeers! ♡""""""

Today was a celebration of my discharge, so it was a lavish meal. The adults were drinking, too.

"D-delicious…"

Every dish the maids had made was a masterpiece. I felt like I'd polish it all off without sparing a thought for leaving any behind. The hospital food hadn't been bad, but it paled in comparison.

"Th-thank you so much… ♡"

The karaage I'd been eating turned out to be Hiyama-san's dish, and when I said it was delicious she went bright red with joy. The breading was crispy, the inside moist and juicy, perfectly cooked.

The breading clung to the skin in one seamless piece, with great texture, and not a hint of that rubbery skin-feel. The sinew and cartilage had clearly been carefully removed as well. Nothing was tough, nothing was hard to bite through.

Even though it was a star-quality piece in its own right, I could sense a thoughtfulness in how it left room for the other dishes to shine.

"Shouya-sama, this dish is one I made. Would you try it? ♡"

Usami-san waited for my reaction with sparkling eyes. What Usami-san held out was the king of home cooking, nikujaga.

The clear broth shone golden, as if to prove that the potatoes hadn't fallen apart at all. The meat, onions, carrots, potatoes, and other ingredients all coexisted at a high level without getting in each other's way.

The occasional bite of ginger was a good accent, making it a flavor I wouldn't tire of.

"Mhm… this is delicious too!"

"I'm so glad! ♡ Shouya-sama, from here on let's find lots and lots of things you like! ♡"

Since I'd lost my memories, I had no idea at all what I liked. So when Usami-san and the others had asked me ahead of time what kinds of food I liked, I hadn't been able to answer, and had ended up troubling them.

"I like this one too."

What I'd lifted to my mouth as I said that was soft, melt-in-your-mouth braised pork belly. It crumbled at the touch of chopsticks, so I brought the small dish up as close as possible. Just pressing it with my tongue made the meat fall apart into tender strands, a delicacy that didn't even need teeth. The sweet-and-savory seasoning made the rice go down easily, and the daikon braised alongside it released that pork-flavored broth into my mouth with every bite.

"Oh! ♡ That one was made by me～ ♡ I'm so glad my cooking pleases you, Goshujin-sama～ ♡"

The one who answered in her airy way was Ushijima-san.

"Come to think of it, Hiyama-san, Ushijima-san, are the maid outfits really okay with you? You don't have to force yourselves to wear them…"

Honestly, I thought that if only Usami-san wanted to wear one, just she could, so I decided to check with the other two. Of course, on my end I wanted to see all three together in maid outfits.

"No, we've always wanted to wear maid outfits too… ♡"

"That's right～ ♡ It's the dream of every maid to wear a maid outfit and serve a man～ ♡"

"Got it. Then I'll look forward to seeing all three of you in your maid outfits!"

When I said that, the two of them nodded happily.

The enjoyable meal carried on, and the night deepened.