Of course, it had to be them, like it's just my luck.

  There they were, four girls I barely survived lunch with now planted across an expensive leather couch like it was the cover of a rich-girl drama. Yuki was already glaring at me like she was calculating where to bury my body. Nao, bless her loud soul, leapt to her feet and practically screamed:

  “YAY! It’s Souta! This is the BEST!”

  Her voice echoed through the entire penthouse hallway. Like a fire alarm, but cuter, and something you would want to hear, unlike a fire alarm. Reina gave me a restrained smile. The kind that said “cool seeing you, but… Why are you in our house?”

  Arisa's face widened for a split second before it changed back to the same playful smirk that she gave in school. I could already hear her voice whispering in my ear:

  “Win over Yuki, and we can hang out more.”

  "Well, at least I have a shot of winning over Yuki…?" I thought, my eyes turning to the girl staring right back at me.

  Her eyes locked onto mine like twin death beams.

  “She's gonna kill me. This is it. Death by thigh-highs and parental disappointment.”

  The old man, completely unbothered, bowed politely and addressed the girls.

  “Ladies, this is your new personal assistant. Mr Kannazuki will be assisting you with household duties.”

  He just introduced me like I'm an anime transfer student. But before I could blink, he was gone, like a teleporting NPC in a visual novel. Now it was just me… And four girls who’d probably vote me off the island if this were a reality dating show.

  Stay cool, Souta. Channel your inner protagonist, think like your Shido Itsuka.

  I straightened my back and gave a nervous smile.

  “Uhhh, hey, everyone! From today onward, I’ll be your caretaker slash assistant… So, uhh, let’s get along!”

  Cue the world's most awkward laugh.

  Yuki stood up.

  Grabbed her phone.

  And dialled faster than a girl cancelling her Tinder date.

  “I’m calling Dad. He’s getting rid of you. Now.”

  Panic hit like a freight train.

  “W-Wait wait wait! Yuki, come on! That whole boob-incident thing was an accident! A total accident! I’m here to work, I swear, I’ll be the best damn maid you’ve ever seen! Just give me a chance!”

  “....”

  “Dad. There’s a pervert in our apartment.”

  SHE'S JUST IGNORED ME WITHOUT EVEN BATTING AN EYE!

  “No I’m not!” I replied with fear lingering in my voice.

  “He literally fell on my chest two days ago.”

  “Okay, technically true, BUT!”

  And then a warm, deep voice rang through the phone speaker.

  “Yuki, dear. Calm down. I actually know this boy’s late mother quite well.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Everyone froze.

  Even Yuki blinked in confusion.

  “She helped me during… A challenging time. So when I found out her son was looking for a job, I decided to hire him, call it returning a favour."

  “Wait, what?” I whispered.

  Since when did Mom have side quests? And just what did she do to make it come back full circle to her ever-so-amazing son…?

  The man's voice chuckled.

  "I mean, besides the whole pillow thing, he doesn't seem like a creep. Right?"

  Yuki: “YES!”

  Me: “NO!”

  We shouted in perfect unison.

  A pause.

  And then:

  “Hahahaha! Sounds like you two are getting along already.”

  “Thank you, sir! I mean-Dad! Uh, wait, no-not Dad-I meant, thank you… Sir!” I stammered, throwing a fist into the air in relief.

  Yuki hung up in pure rage, muttering:

  “PERVERT. STAY AWAY FROM MY ME!”

  I watched as she stomped upstairs, her footsteps like angry thunder, before she slammed her bedroom door.

  Nao waved at me cheerfully.

  “Welcome to the team, Souta! I vote you get the big apron~!”

  Reina offered a polite nod.

  Arisa crossed her legs, glasses catching the light just enough to make her smirk look villainous.

  “Looks like you're going to be spending a lot of time with us now, Mr Maid. Try not to mop yourself into a corner.”

  And just like that… I, Souta Kannazuki, have somehow survived Day Zero.

  Welcome to hell. A hell with perfect lighting, velvet cushions, and four girls who might ruin your life… Or change it forever, etc, but as long as I kept this job, I guess it’s just what I've got to deal with.

  “And this is… The laundry. Or was it the pantry? Anyway, you’ll figure it out!”

  Nao twirled around like she was giving a tour of Disneyland, except every room looked like it hadn’t been touched by a vacuum in years. If she weren’t this cute, I’d have rage-quit this tour five rooms ago, call me a weirdo or a creepy, I don't care! Beauty lets you get away with these types of things!

  After noticing some dust on the countertop, I actually looked around the penthouse again, gorgeous, sure. Luxurious? Yeah. But as I actually started seeing past the velvet cushions and crystal vases...

  It hit me.

  This place was a disaster.

  Not a mess. Not cluttered.

  An apocalypse.

  Clothes flung over furniture. Dishes stacked like towers. Lipsticks uncapped. A bra on the doorknob.

  A bra. On. The. Doorknob.

  I thought rich girls were clean. Guess I was wrong. I am the dumass who believed that. What a way to break a dream!

  “...Nao,” I said slowly, as my eyes were lifted from the veil of hot chicks.

  She turned with a cautious smile, already sensing where I was going.

  “Yeeees?”

  I folded my arms like an overworked dad on cleaning day.

  “Do none of you know how to pick up after yourselves?”

  "NGH!" She let out a small cry. Her head swivelled away, sheepishly avoiding my eyes.

  “I-I mean… I know how, but like… I've got other more important things to do, ya know?

  "HEY!"

  Sensing she wasn't really helping herself, Nao tried to flee the crime scene.

  “Stop right there,” I grabbed her hoodie collar like a dog on a leash. “No running until you answer.”

  She flailed like a noodle.

  “I’m SORRY! We’re just lazy, okay?!” She cried out, admitting to her faults.

  She yanked herself free with unexpected force, flinging me forward like a sack of shame. And that’s when it happened.

  She tried to catch me.

  Key word: she tried.

  Which, in hindsight, might’ve been worse.

  My hands landed on her shoulders. Her balance tipped. And the next thing I knew.

  Boom!

  We landed. I was on top.

  Not in a weird way.

  Except it was bizarre.

  Her face. Right under mine. Her eyes were wide. Her lips… Half an inch from mine. Breathing shallow. I smelled… Pizza. Definitely pepperoni.

  Time froze.

  For a split second, I felt it.

  Could she…? No. No way. Could she…?

  “AHHHHHH!” We both screamed and scrambled away like we’d just been caught in a sacred ritual.

  My heart was doing cartwheels. Hers, too, probably. I looked at her, ready to beg for forgiveness before she added my name to the “Yuki Kill List.”

  But then-

  “I’m calling the cops!” A Voice shouted.

  My eyes quickly turned to where the voice came from, and I saw her. For the love of god, why her?

  Yuki.

  Descending from upstairs like judgment day, phone in hand, fury in her eyes. “You beast! You PERVERT! YOU MONSTER! You tackled her and tried to kiss her, didn’t you!?”

  Someone call the Academy, this girl’s acting deserves an Oscar, and damn, three insults for one mistake, something isn't adding up?!

  “N-no! It was an accident!” I said, waving my hands like a malfunctioning robot.

  Nao stood up and calmly brushed herself off. She touched her lip gently, then smiled.

  “No! Yuki, it was my fault. He slipped. I tried to catch him… Kind of failed.”

  Yuki’s jaw dropped.

  “Don’t tell me you LET him fall on you!? With those pizza lips!? Are you insane!?”

  Yuki's shouting was so loud that it caught the attention of the others as Arisa and Reina appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down like they were watching one of those death matches in an Isekai colosseum. Arisa leaned on the railing, smirking, finding this whole thing amusing. Reina blinked. Said nothing. But her eyes lingered on me for just a second too long.

  And Yuki was sending me death beams.

  Oh god. Did she see the whole thing?

  Yuki stomped down and pointed like a judge handing out a life sentence.

  “This is strike two, creep. You don’t get a third one.”

  Please don’t let the third one be walking in on laundry day.

  I bowed instinctively, graciously accepting such kindness from the pricella wanna be.

  “Understood, ma’am. Won't happen again.”

  Nao giggled. Again… I would be annoyed, but the fact that she's cute and that she kind of stood up for me helped her cause. And just like that, Yuki stomped off after branding me a menace to society.

  “Whew! That was fun! Wanna finish the tour?” Nao smiled, like she hadn’t just started an international scandal.

  I might, just might survive this job. Barely. If I don’t die from embarrassment first. I stood there blinking, unable to respond to Nao's casual request.

  Arisa had already disappeared upstairs.

  But Reina… lingered.

  She descended the last few steps slowly, quietly. She walked past me, barely making a sound. I expected nothing. She never said much, anyway. Just a gentle breeze of a girl.

  But as she passed, she stopped for just a second, close enough that I could smell her shampoo. Cherry blossom or something expensive.

  She tilted her head slightly.

  Her eyes didn't meet mine.

  But her lips moved.

  “You’re such a rascal.”

  Soft. Barely audible.

  Then she kept walking, vanishing into the hallway like it didn’t happen.

  I stood frozen.

  Huh… Did she just…?

  My brain felt like it was about to explode.

  I looked back up at the top of the stairs where Arisa had popped out again, giving me a smirk before entering one of the rooms…

  DeadEndYuto!