I'm back!

　Kanade shouted loudly, smiling.

　Now that the Iris case was over, he returned to Horizon....
　I'm back at home.

　I've been away from home for about a month...
　Physically, I feel like I've been gone longer.
　That's how many things must have happened.

Nya Fuu, first in line...
Hey, hey, hey!　Don't wait.

　Kanade entered the house in good spirits, followed by Tania.

'Everyone is in good spirits,'
'Don't sound like an old man. Even Rain is still young, isn't he?
Now Lane is like a grandfather watching over his grandson.

　Sora and Luna give me such a tweak.
　Seriously?
　Now I'm like an old man...?

Okay, okay.

　Nina pats me on the head, sensing that I'm depressed.
　It's a little soothing.

'Look, let's go into the house. Sir.
Yeah.

　We followed Kanade and Tania into the house.

'Phew.'

　The kettle on top of Nina's head made a buzzing sound as she entered the house.
　From there, Tina appears in a maid's outfit.
　She must have been able to go outside now that she was inside the house.

''Finally, I'm able to go outside! It's weird being in the kettle all the time.''
What's it like to be...
Are we really a kettle of fish?　Something like that?
Hmm... hmm?

　Nina tilted her head slightly, as if she didn't understand.
　After laughing at Nina like that, Tina floats up in a fluffy way.
　And then........her eyes open wide.

''Ah!
What's up, Tina?
My God my home is covered in dust!

　Tina was right, there was dust all over the house.
　Well, it couldn't be helped.
　That's what happens when you've been out of the house for a month and haven't done anything.

'I've been wanting to take it easy, but it looks like you've got to clean up first.
I'll do my best.

　Nina was willing to do it, but...

No. You two stay put.

　For some reason, Tina stops me.

'Cleaning is our job. Rain's husband and Nina must be tired from the trip, right?　I'll clean up the living room in a flash, and you can rest there.
'No, it doesn't work that way, does it?　He said we can't push it on Tina alone.
It's okay. I'm not tired, so there's no problem.
But you know...
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, they're sitting down.

　Tina magically maneuvered the broom and quickly cleaned the chair with.......
　Then he made me and Nina sit there.

'Then let's get started!'

　Before we can intervene, Tina begins to clean up on her own.
　Using her magic power, she operates multiple flaps at the same time.
　Flapping the dust off the shelves and other surfaces........
　Then I sweep the floor with a broom.
　Then wipe the floor with a rag...

Yeah. So this is the living room.

　Amazing.
　In the blink of an eye, I've made the living room shine.
　We were never going to get out of there.

"Tina that's great, you know. Splash.

　Nina was also impressed.

I'd like to clean up everyone's rooms, but it looks like everyone is resting now.... Next we'll do the kitchen, the bathroom and, if there's time, the garden. I'm burning up!

　Is it the nature of the maid's time?
　Tina was motivated and cleaned up with great enthusiasm.



----------



　Has it been about two hours since Tina started cleaning?
　We'll see about your room later, but...
　The rest of the house seemed to be done, and the whole house was shining.

'Good night,'
Hey, Mr. Lane.

　We finished cleaning up and welcomed Tina, who was settled in.
　Nina, by the way, started to pedal groggily on the way over, so we let her sleep in her room.
　I guess she was tired after all.

Thank you, Nina. Thank you, Tina, you've made me feel so beautiful.
'Haha, I'm a little embarrassed when you say that,'
And I'm sorry. I ended up pushing Tina alone and...
Don't mind him. We used to be maids, you know.

　Tina folds her cheeks a bit and scowls.
　While staring at me, she talks about the thoughts in her heart.

"Rain's husband accepted us in spite of the fact that he was a ghost and treated us as if we were his own family. That made you really happy, didn't it?　And besides, he avenged my grudge and I owe him more than I can count. That's why I always felt that I wanted to do something for Rain's husband, so don't worry about it.
I'm sorry to say, but...

　Tina says so, but....
　But we can't force everything on her.
　Tina isn't our maid, she's our friend.

　Seemingly reading my hesitation, Tina opens her mouth after thinking about it for a bit.

Well........then, can you help me make dinner?　It's been a long time since we've been home, so I'm thinking of making it a little more luxurious today. But it's a bit difficult to do it alone, so...
Yeah, okay. I'd be happy to do that.
Pfft.

　This is how I got to cook with Tina.
　We stand side by side in the kitchen.

　I'm not bad at cooking, but that doesn't mean I'm good at it.
　Men's cooking can be a bit sketchy, so it's not quite........
　So it's Tina who takes the lead.
　I decided to be the assistant.

"Oh, can you pass the salt over there?
Here you go.
Great.
'Tina, how much do I have to stir this?'
Mmm, is it a little thicker?　Just drop it in with chopsticks and pull the strings.
Yes, sir.

　I followed Tina's instructions and proceeded to cook.

''Hmmm~''

　I somehow looked next to him and saw Tina humming in a good mood.

　What can I say....
　This makes us feel like newlyweds.
　But I can't really talk about something so embarrassing.
　Also, Tina might not like it.

"Oh, you know what?
Yeah?

　Suddenly, Tina looked at me.
　Her cheeks were tinged with a hint of pink.

''What can I say, well, it doesn't mean much, but.......''
What's going on?
Well, well... when we do this, don't you feel like a newlywed?
What?
'Oh!　No, no, no, no, no, no, no!　Anything!　Not that one!　Pretend you didn't hear me!

　Tina turned bright red.
　She held her head as she spilled out an unfamiliar voice, "Oh, oh, oh, oh.

''Ugh, what a momentum we had, what a thing to do... Ugh, ha, how embarrassing...''
'Well you don't have to be so shy.
'Cause!　I'm pretty sure I said some pretty crazy things!　And Rain's husband is dumbfounded...
'That's not true. I'm surprised but that's because I'm surprised that Tina was thinking the same thing.
'What?　That's....
'I've been thinking something similar. It's only natural to think that way when you're doing this sort of thing.
'Oh, yeah ... and Lane's husband ...'

　Tina grinned at me and...
　Next, he turned his gaze away from us.

'What's up?'
Oh, I don't like it........my family is making a weird face right now, so don't look at me.
'You can't say that...'
Well, it'll be fine in a minute so don't worry about it. I'll get it back. I'll get it back somehow...

　When Tina said that, there was a different atmosphere, and it was strangely fresh.

　It's been a long time since I've had a peaceful time.
　Although the air was a bit strange....
　I thought to myself, what a good thing this is.