Beep! Beep! Beep! went the alarm clock next to my head. Half-awake, I reached out and groped for the button.
The end-of-term ceremony was over, and today was the first day of vacation at last. With no class to go to, I could have slept in, but I didn’t want to rest on my laurels. Himeko had a meeting in the morning, so I was thinking of seeing her off, then heading to the Sky Salon to do a deeper clean than was usually possible.
All in all, I had to get up. I couldn’t let myself fall back to sleep.
Next to me, Himeko was still sleeping soundly. Careful not to wake her, I slipped out of bed. We’d slept in the same bed plenty of times by now on weekends and so on, but from today, it wouldn’t be the kind of isolated event it had been so far. During the vacation, not only would Kirara be gone, but so would my other two roommates, who were both going home to see their families. Until they got back, I’d be sleeping over in Himeko’s dorm every night.
I’d be here from “good morning” all the way to “good night.” Was that the full-fledged maid lifestyle? Or maybe that was more like a cohabiting couple? It wasn’t much different from my current situation, yet it made me feel closer to Himeko and her life somehow.
Her sleeping face had a hint of a smile on her lips, as if she was having a good dream. I know she’s got a lot on her mind lately because of Lady Shion, but at least her dreams are Shion-free.
I quickly changed into my maid uniform and got myself cleaned up. Since we were on vacation, it would have been fine to wear my own clothes, but having a preset outfit to wear saved me the time it would take to choose. Plus, at this school, walking around in a maid uniform was the normal option.
Even with no classes, some of the restaurants on campus would stay open throughout, so eating breakfast at one of those was an option. However, Himeko tended not to like going out if she didn’t have to, so often I would make her sandwiches and things with ingredients I’d bought beforehand.
Speaking of which, I should make Himeko some sandwiches before she wakes up.
I fried some eggs, opened a can of tuna, and prepared a potato salad with ham. It’s mostly premade, but isn’t that the whole point of sandwiches? And hey, even if it’s not obvious from this particular meal, I am learning to cook, slowly but surely.
I neatly laid out the sandwiches on a plate and brewed some tea, then I was done. After washing my hands, I cheerfully went back into the bedroom to wake up my mistress.
Gently whispering in her ear, I said, “Himeko, I’ve made you breakfast. Time to get up.”
No response. This was typical, though. On school days she got up relatively easily, but as soon as it was a day off, it got much harder. It was like a switch turning on and off.
“Himeko, you have a meeting today, remember? You don’t want to be late.”
Still nothing. Looking at the sleeping princess’s lovely profile, I thought about poking her cheek to see if that helped, but it felt a little too disrespectful.
She really does look beautiful when she’s asleep, though. Naturally, she looked beautiful when she was awake too, but then I couldn’t spend too long staring at her face, since the awkwardness always got to me first. That made this a special treat.
Still, I couldn’t stare at her all day. We had things to do. Just as I was considering how much force might be okay, her arm suddenly stirred, reaching out from under the covers. With a yelp, I was dragged into bed with her.
“Can’t we lie here a little longer?” she murmured sleepily, embracing me from behind. “It’s our vacation, and the meeting’s not until nine so we have an hour more than we normally would. Take it easy, Misaki.”
It didn’t feel like she would be letting me go anytime soon. She pressed her cheek against mine and hugged me like I was a body pillow.
“Fine. Only fifteen minutes, though. I already made breakfast.”
“All right, I understand.”
I wasn’t sure if she really had understood, but her measured breathing told me she’d fallen asleep again, so for now all I could do was wait.