To be honest, I was never fully satisfied when I started my life at Kisaragi Manor a few days ago, but being nonconformist is already a habit for me.
Still, I am aware of how much I owe Rikka and the other members of her family for taking me and my sister in, and not only that, giving us training, education and in my case, a job.
I would do anything they ask of me and put up with any kind of treatment they give me just to show my immense gratitude.
"¡¡¡¡But this whole bathing around naked men posing and talking about their lives as if nothing is happening is just too disgusting in my view!!!!"
The last few days I have spent working at the Kisaragi mansion have consisted of a not very challenging routine, but because of "certain factors" it has become very tiring for me.
When the first rays of sunlight hit my window I walk to the common workers' bathroom with my uniform in my hand, brush my teeth, wash my face and then take a hot bath.
I try to get out of the bathroom as quickly as possible so as not to run into Uemi and the others since, as you may know, I find group conversations a bit uncomfortable because of the kind of situation that takes place in the bathroom.
But somehow or other, those bastards manage to intercept me just as I'm about to leave the bathroom.
By the time I finish doing my business in the bathroom, my mental health is totally deteriorated and my eyesight has been damaged by the unpleasant sight seen earlier.
But even though I never half thought about it at first, the conversations Uemi gives with Fujimoto and the others are actually very helpful and instructive.
They don't just pose and do exaggerated things, they also have these "gentlemanly chats" where they share really useful information. News about things that will be coming to the mansion in the next few weeks, like resources and bivouacs, etc.
They also share information about what is going on among the mansion staff, gossip about supposed love affairs among the staff, arguments and disagreements they have had with each other and how to fix these and also, lots of information about how to train to stay strong and healthy.
There was only one maxim in this kind of meetings: Never talk about the masters of this mansion. Whatever it was, we couldn't even say that someone from the Kisaragis had blinked.
Because of this, despite having trust to spare with many of the group members, I couldn't talk to any of them about my insecurities about the things Rikka had done.
The mystery still remained and I was so far away from understanding it that my hopes slowly declined.
Speaking of the demon, one of the other things I found completely exhausting was trying to understand Rikka at all.
Her actions were becoming more and more random.
One minute, things were going on as usual, we were having long conversations and the flow of conversation was steady and pleasant. But I would zone out for 2 minutes and Rikka would be angry.
There were also times when she was really clingy, others where she would even pay attention to me.
"But what's going on!"
I don't understand anything Why is she behaving like this? Whatever it is, no one seems to want to tell me anything about it either, and it seems like I'm breaking my head over everything and sometimes nothing, it seems like a big torment that keeps repeating itself, over and over again.
So, adding these things to my duties as a butler, the whole chore itself was now understandably exhausting.
The only times I could relax were when I was helping Mr. Kawashima water the plants. He was also the only person I could talk to about anything.
-So..." said Mr. Kawashima with a long pause in between.
I looked at him with some curiosity.
-So what?
-Nothing, I'm just trying to find out how your butler job is going, you seem very stressed lately, young man.
I let out a long sigh in between and tilted my watering can towards the camellias to start watering them, then, after finishing the task, I turned my gaze back to Mr. Kawashima.
-It's nothing, it's just... Rikka.
-Is Miss Rikka being weird again?
-In short... Yes, but I think it's more than that. She's... different.
-Different? -In what way?
-You know, I've already told you. -She gets angry, then she's happy. She gets angry, then she's happy, then she gets angry, then she's unfriendly, and sometimes she doesn't listen to what I tell her....
I lowered my gaze to the floor so I could avoid looking into Mr. Kawashima's eyes at that moment.
-I wonder if I did something wrong?
Mr. Kawashima arched an eyebrow and then gave me a long, analytical look.
-I don't think you should worry, young Takanashi, it's the things of life, surely Miss Rikka has "it".
-That?
Mr. Kawashima grabbed his chin and remained silent for a moment before he could speak to me again.
-I'm sorry, I won't be able to give you any more details on that subject, to do so I think would only disrespect Miss Rikka. If she hasn't told you about it herself, I shouldn't have to either.
"Here we go again."
It's always the same, even Mr. Kawashima cut me off out of the blue, worst of all, he seemed to have an answer about it.
Again, I'll have to find the answers myself.
-By the way, have you seen my daughter Tsubaki yet?
I gave Mr. Kawashima another confused look, but this time I did speak up.
-He told me he had a daughter, but does she work here?
-Yes, since she was 16.
That's strange, someone working so young. Who am I to judge, though? I'm literally doing the same thing.
-And what's she like?
-She's... Let's see... How should I put it?
Mr. Kawashima shuffled a few letters for a few moments trying to find the exact word or description.
"It's strange that the father can't find words to describe his own daughter."
-Well, yes, she is strange. You'll see her around, she attracts attention even among the maids at the mansion.
"Well, now I'm intrigued."
-And what's she like? I mean, the way she looks and stuff?
-Well, what she stands out the most is her hair, jet black, and very spiky, extremely spiky.
-Okay, I'll keep that in mind.
Quickly, I looked to my left wrist, a bracelet of what looked like black rubber was clinging, I shook my arm a little and a holographic screen came out of it, in the middle of it, one number, marking the time.
It was already late, I looked at Mr. Kawashima as he picked up the watering can he had left on the floor.
-What's wrong? Do you have to go?
-Yes, it's time to take Rikka her snack since she is studying.
-All right, thanks for taking some time out of your schedule to help this old man.
-Don't worry, Mr. Kawashima, anyway, taking care of the flowers is the rest I need to regain my strength and go back to my work.
I gave him a soft smile and then I turned my back to him to go back inside the mansion.
-Young man...
I turned around for a moment so I could look at Mr. Kawashima.
-Good luck with Miss Rikka.
The middle-aged man was giving me a mischievous smile while he was giving me a thumbs up, although I didn't understand that gesture, I proceeded to imitate him and now I walked into the mansion.
And for several weeks, I continued with the same routine. In the morning I would bathe and introduce myself to Rikka, in the afternoon I would help Mr. Kawashima take care of the plants near the mansion, all the remaining time I would dedicate to Rikka until it was dark.
There were days when Rikka didn't need my services, so I would take the opportunity to clean the mansion. In general, I always tried to keep something in my hands, things that were useful.
In my time at the mansion I met more than half of the mansion's staff, but I never got to see Kawashima's daughter.
This intrigued me a lot. As Mr. Kawashima described her, she seems to be someone who attracts a lot of attention at first sight, but I have been all these days touring the mansion without stopping and I have not even seen any maid with those characteristics.
Although that was not the main doubt that filled my mind, it was something that, in itself, kept me interested. Already in itself, Mr. Kawashima was someone exceptional, so inside my head the same question was always bouncing around.
"What would his daughter be like?"
Would he be someone as exceptional as him?
In fact, there was no room in my head to be so engrossed in that, with Rikka, that was enough for me.
So, I went on again with my usual routine. Until one day...
*Ding Dong
It was 5:48 in the morning, when the mansion's doorbell rang and bounced through all the corridors of the mansion reaching my ears.
I was already awake by then, but it was weird anyway, the first vestiges of the sun were still rising in the east.
The early morning light was as faint as that of a match in the dark, and considering that the Kisaragi mansion was on the outskirts of Tokyo 3, this visit was something very peculiar.
Someone had had to leave at 3 o'clock in the morning in order to get here by car.
*DIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGG DOOOOONNNNG*
Another ring bounced in my ears, longer and louder than the previous one.
My ears screeched and whistled at the great sound wave.
"But what the fuck, who could it be at this hour?"
Whoever it was, he was squeezing the most out of the mansion's doorbell.
*DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG*.
The doorbell rang, louder than ever, this time, I had time to cover my ears, otherwise I had gone deaf, but it didn't take away from the fact that just the same, the noise sounded powerful.
"Damn it!"
Quickly, I put on the bottom part of the butler's uniform, without worrying about the shirt or the formal vest and left as agile and celeré of my room.
Once in the hallway, I ran with a furious pace towards the stairs, in the middle of the way, another person came out of his room with the same anger or more than I had, that was Rikka.
Rikka had not even taken the time to put on something decent, she was still in half underwear. She was wearing her trademark black top and her pajama pants. Her hair was so disheveled it made her look wilder than ever.
"I don't know who the visitor is, but I pity her, she just woke the beast."
Rikka turned her gaze to me.
-Come on Riochiro. Let's finish the bastard off....
Rikka's tone was hoarse and dry, he sounded slightly frustrated and his voice reminded me for some reason of water when it boiled.
"Poor insurance salesman."
Once we reached the door, I quickly opened it with a wild scowl on my face, while Rikka stood behind me charging electricity to give a big electric shock to whoever was behind the door.
But my anger ceased when I heard the main doors of the mansion slam against the wall and noticed a young girl in front of me with a letter in her hands.
The girl had white hair, the same color as mine, and wore small rectangular glasses that barely covered her large eyes of such a deep, piercing black. The girl was small and slender in build, but somehow, somehow, something in her whole being managed to assert itself.
I stopped Rikka at the next shelf. She stopped charging the electric attack and peeked out from behind me, to finally see the same person I was looking at.
The albino girl was silent for a moment, exalted by our aggressive reception. She opened and closed her mouth for a few moments and then began to look me up and down.
-Young boy, trained body, white hair and red eyes," she exclaimed and then continued, "Well then you must be Takanashi Riochiro.
He held up the letter in his hands and gave me a warm smile.
-My name is Yui Kitsu, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm a good friend of your sister.
"Friend of who?"
Before I could even address a word to her, my eyes dilated from surprise and by reflex I looked down at the letter that was in her hands to me in its envelope it said:
"To: Takanashi Riochiro. Letter of admission to Hinen High School for 3rd year."