Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━
Well, regardless of the method, when I woke up the next day, I was moving in Sara’s body.
“You’ve returned.”
As I sat up and blankly stared at the rising sun outside the window, someone whispered in a soft voice.
When I turned my gaze, it was Ha-neul.
“…Did you know?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t fail to recognize you.”
…How, exactly?
To be honest, I knew it was something touching, but after seeing Sara like that in the dream, I was a bit scared.
…No, it can’t be.
No matter what, there’s no way I’d be popular with any girl other than Sara.
I don’t think it’s because of my personality or Sara’s appearance.
Well, if I had to pinpoint, it could be because of something derived from ‘appearance,’ right?
Of course, Sara was a girl after all.
In the original story, Ha-neul dated both men and women without any issue, and even Ye Sara was confidently part of Ha-neul’s route…
But at least the current Ha-neul didn’t seem to be on anyone’s route.
Maybe the future changed because of me.
If I had to say, it’d be more like a ‘friendship route.’
I don’t think there was such a route in the original, though.
But this world is different from the original.
Because I’m here.
So, it’s possible that the people here could reach a happy ending without facing too many major problems.
In fact, since I brought everyone here, I might as well say it’s my responsibility to create a proper ending.
‘Idiot.’
…Wait, why?
*
Perhaps because of the conversation I had with Sara yesterday, Yang Hye-in’s expression was much softer than usual.
Could it be that her usual blank expression was just because she was walking around tense all the time?
Since I couldn’t fully understand Yang Hye-in’s mindset yet, I could only think, ‘Maybe that’s it.’
“Grandma, you don’t have to give me so much.”
Seeing Hye-in’s grandmother take out various items from the storage to put into the car trunk, as if she were sending off a child going home for the holidays, Hye-in said that.
“There’s plenty to eat over there.”
…That was true.
At the very least, a mansion that big wouldn’t run out of food.
And there’s no way Hye-in would slack off on her job.
“No, I won’t eat it anyway, so just take it. It’s all good stuff.”
That was true as well.
Her food was all delicious.
Without any special tricks or fancy ingredients, the home-cooked taste was simply wonderful.
It was a taste I hadn’t had much of since coming here.
“…”
Even though they were going back and forth urging and refusing, at least they seemed much more comfortable than when I first saw them.
No matter what, you can’t hide blood ties.
…
I watched them for a while, then took a deep breath.
I walked over to Hye-in and patted her back.
“…Sister.”
At my call, I could feel Hye-in’s body stiffen.
Was the word “sister” that shocking?
Well, we did agree to call each other that for a while, but we hadn’t really used it much.
“Uh, y-yeah.”
Hye-in, uncharacteristically, stammered as she turned around.
Her face was visibly flustered.
Even though she looked embarrassed, her naturally beautiful face, fitting for a maid in a dating sim, made that expression pretty, too.
‘…Even the maid?’
…What on earth does “even the maid” mean?
I set aside Sara’s strange dissatisfaction for now and said to Hye-in,
“Let’s just take it. Your grandma wants to give it to us.”
“That’s right, Sara said it well.”
Her grandma quickly supported my words.
“Just take it~ You’ll find a use for it all eventually.”
“…Okay.”
In the end, it seemed Hye-in decided to follow my advice.
Well, whether she used formal or informal speech, Hye-in was still Sara’s maid.
Since she wanted that, we just had to go along with it.
*
In the car on the way back.
I hadn’t thought about it on the way here, but come to think of it, I had fired the chauffeur.
Naturally, Hye-in had to drive the car we were in.
She’s the only one here with a driver’s license.
Wasn’t she still underage?
Or was she?
I wasn’t sure.
The age I got my license was way past the point where I could call myself an adult, so I didn’t really know.
Well, if I had to, I could drive.
Though, since I barely used my license, I’d likely cause an accident.
“Should we hire more servants?”
Thinking they’d eventually follow us when we moved, I asked just in case.
“No.”
Hye-in answered immediately.
So sharp, it felt like if there had been a radish nearby, it would’ve been sliced in half.
“I’ll handle the work at the mansion myself.”
“Okay…”
The problem was, despite her sharp reply, Hye-in’s expression reflected in the rearview mirror was incredibly relaxed.
…Somehow, that made it scarier.
It felt like everything related to me had to be done by her, or rather, it was only natural for her to do it.
Did Sara’s words yesterday have that much of an effect?
“…”
In the back seat, Ha-neul, Soo-ah, and So-hee, who was sitting in the passenger seat, were all silent.
Of course, the reason the others were quiet was different from mine.
I felt something unsettling from Hye-in’s expression, while the others were likely surprised at how rare it was to see Hye-in look so relaxed.
…Come on.
After all, a maid is still a maid.
A maid’s duties are clear, yes.
No matter what, everything will be the same as before.
A maid is a maid.
Ah, I was so nervous I repeated myself.
*
And then,
of course,
as always,
my prediction was completely off.
After driving for a while, we stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs.
As I was sitting on a bench, someone held a churro in front of my mouth, and without thinking, I took a bite.
When I looked up, it was Hye-in.
“…”
I stared at her with wide eyes, unable to even finish biting off the churro.
Well.
It’s not like Hye-in hadn’t fed me before.
When I had just woken up and wasn’t fully recovered, she had fed me porridge because there was no one else to help me at the time.
But that was because I was genuinely sick… and besides, Hye-in had been worried she might get fired, so she was probably being cautious not to hurt me further.
But now, bringing food to my mouth while I was just sitting at a rest area…
Hmm.
I bit off the churro I was holding in my mouth.
I decided not to ask why.
Because I had too many suspicions.
…Now what?
‘What do you mean?’
In response to my question, Sara answered.
I mean, you made her like this. Can’t you do something about it?
‘…No.’
She’s scared too, it seems.
“T-Thank you… it’s good.”
When I said that, Hye-in smiled.
No, why does her smiling face look so terrifying?
When I glanced around, I noticed Ha-neul, So-hee, and Soo-ah also seemed to sense something strange coming from Hye-in.
“…”
However, it didn’t seem like anyone would step in right now.
After all, Hye-in hadn’t done anything wrong.
“That’s a relief.”
Hye-in said, then brought the churro back to my mouth.
What is this?
I felt like a baby bird being fed.
No, more like…
It’s something, something about… something.
I didn’t know what I was trying to say, but that’s how I felt.
An indescribable kind of confusion.
…Ah.
…Ah!
And then, I finally realized the reason for my confusion.
…Why am I only noticing this now?
A person capable of changing my life, and Sara’s life, had a face that seemed to shine.
And that light could either vanish or appear.
It wasn’t so bright that it blinded me, but it wasn’t physical light.
It didn’t cast shadows or brighten dark spaces.
I could only see it when I focused exactly on where their face was.
So, it made sense that I couldn’t see Hye-in’s face shining in the rearview mirror earlier.
Actually, since I didn’t notice before getting into the car, maybe this action was the trigger.
…I’ve known Hye-in the longest, and yet I’m only now seeing her face shine.
It’s ironic, and at the same time, I guess it’s just how it is.
And also, it’s a bit scary.
What’s with that gaze…?
Hye-in, who almost never smiled before, now had a beaming smile that seemed dangerous for various reasons.
I couldn’t tell why just yet.
“H-ha… ha ha ha…”
In the end, not knowing what to say, all I could do was awkwardly laugh.