Chatting with the Enemy

Yumoko didn’t have much to do after school as she left the student council. She was given a bit of free time off in order to get acclimated to her new school life. Not that she felt she needed it, but it was useful for her to consider how she would approach her mission.

For starters, it seemed that trying to get anything from her compatriots would be a fruitless endeavor. They all viewed her with too much respect and it also seemed if she did have any secrets, they were unaware of them.

This meant she’d have to try and gather information through her own efforts and relationship with the girl. That much was easy. After all, Yumoko had always wanted to be a maid growing up, so she had spent a lot of time studying all the proper etiquette. Though her social skills were lacking as a result, something she had yet to realize would also be important for such a profession.

Thinking on it, she decided to head on to her usual forum to relax and learn a few more things. A forum built for those either working as or wanting to work as a servant for those in the Monta region of town. When she logged in, she noticed a new thread which caught her interest.

It was an introduction to a new account who claimed to be a young teenager wanting some advice as he had gotten a new job working as a servant. For a moment, she stopped and wondered if this could be a fraud account, which did happen from time to time. So she did what she did best.

““I’m also a young student working like you.” She wrote down her response in the forums. “Let’s chat privately.” To her surprise, she got a response from the new account rather quickly in her private messages.

“Great! I can’t believe how fast someone already replied to me.” Was the first message sent to her as she typed up another response.

“Okay, but first I want you to prove yourself to me.” She wrote. “Is there any proof that you are who you say you are?” Of course, she didn’t need any identifying information, as the anonymous nature of the site was important to all.

“Prove myself huh?” What Yumoko could never expect was that she was talking with an impostor. Someone she’d quickly root out if she knew the truth. Azutoyo took a moment to think of how he could convince this girl without giving himself up. Then it hit him. “Good thing I saved this pic we took.”

He sent over an edited photo that had him and Ryuo standing side-by-side during his first day on the job. Personally, he considered to be silly and it pained him greatly to have to fake a smile and share a picture with that Monta president. “Is this okay?”

“No way…” She typed back to him as in reality, she had her jaw dropped. “You’re the person working for the student council president?” She wrote it as if he still were, as she didn’t deem Jurie to be her proper president anyway.

“Um… Yeah?” To Azutoyo, it was no big deal. Of course that was because he didn’t hold Ryuo in high regard. But to many who wanted to work as a servant for any Monta, the Myoufuku was considered the pinnacle.

“You should take it more seriously!” She couldn’t believe the audacity from his lackadaisical response. “Now pay attention, I will provide you with all the advice you could ever need to succeed.” Knowing that this would be the one to service Ryuo, Yumoko took it upon herself to make this person as best as she could through their chat messages.

As she sent paragraph upon paragraph to Azutoyo, he read through each and every message carefully. This was the most attentive he had been in his life to learning information. The boy made a mental note to remember to grab a notebook and reread all this text later tonight.

“Thank you for all this, it’s very much appreciated.” He finally was able to reply to her long flurry of messages. There was a mischievous grin on his face as he reveled in the joy of knowing this Monta would one of the major contributing factors for the downfall of their beloved president. “Do you have anything that would make for a good impression though? Or at least, something that could make him like me early on?”

“That’s easy.” She told him to buy some fresh ingredients and make a personal meal for the boy. While he gagged at the thought of cooking for another guy, especially one he didn’t like, Azutoyo couldn’t deny that it sounded like a good idea. The girl then told him to head into the neutral zone, as there was a store that sold some of the finest ingredients that would work perfectly for him.

To him, that sounded easy enough. So he immediately set off for the store. Meanwhile for Yumoko realized in her discussion with this guy that she could use some of the advice she had given him. Such as that idea of cooking a personal meal. It also gave her the perfect excuse to head over to the neutral zone to the store she had told him about. That way, she’d be able to find him.

But then she looked down at her uniform, which clearly marked her as a Capa. While she wasn’t one at heart, that didn’t mean anything to someone like him. Though maybe she could use that to her advantage. By appearing as a Capa to someone like him, that would solidify her position as a maid for Jurie’s family.

“All right, it’s settled then. Let’s go see what this person is really made of. Because everyone knows Ryuo Myoufuku deserves only the best.” Since she didn’t bother changing out of her school uniform, Yumoko was able to make it to the suggested market quickly. She only hoped that boy took her advice and did so with utmost urgency as well.

When she arrived, she grabbed a basket and began taking care of her own shopping needs. It would do her no good to appear as if she were waiting for someone, especially considering her position. Plus it would likely lead her to the same endpoint either way. Which was running into him, or what she thought would likely be him.

Such a moment happened unexpectedly to her as she reached for one of the ingredients listed on the recipe she gave that boy. Someone else’s hand brushed against hers as she quickly responded to the incidental touch.

“I’m so sorry-”

“Sorry about that.” She was quickly cut off as the person who had ran into her also apologized. The pair paused for a moment as they looked each other in the eye. Standing there, she realized this had to be the boy she was talking to online. The new personal servant to Ryuo Myofuku.

Because he had censored his face in the photo sent to her, she didn’t know what exactly he looked like until now. He was much more handsome than he could’ve expected. Meanwhile Azutoyo also stood still as if frozen in time alongside her. One look at her uniform and he immediately knew she went to Capa academy, though he couldn’t say he recognized anyone who looked like her during his time there. “I didn’t realize-”

For a second, he nearly said something that could be construed as flirting with a pretty girl. However Azutoyo caught himself, remembering that in reality these two were supposed to be enemies. “I mean, I didn’t realize you Capas were so blind to your surroundings.” He turned his apology back into an insult.

“Huh?” For a second, she was taken aback by his harsh response. Then, upon looking down at their uniforms, also remembered the supposed truth about their feud. “Hmpf, I see that a Monta’s rudeness extends out to shopping too.” Yumoko gave her best impression on how she thought Capas would verbally fight. Though she had to admit the way this boy treated her was impressive. Truly fitting of someone of his status.

“Rudeness? I’ll have you know that I’m much above your filth.” He replied, acting in the snooty nature he felt Montas encapsulated. “As a personal servant, a peasant like you could never understand.”

“Shows how much you understand Capas.” She continued on the act, revealing a part of who she was. “As the professional and personal maid for the lovely Jurie Chikakui. I’m very much on your level, if not better.” While it pained her to have to referred to Jurie as ‘lovely’, Yumoko believed it to solidify her standing so that no one could question her loyalty.

“Hmpf, acting like serving them is any impressive feat.” He scoffed at the idea, but internally was quite happy to see this. Seeing someone like her caring for an elite like Jurie made him like this girl even more. “Whatever, I’m taking care of something for my master. So don’t get in my way.”

“Right, likewise.” They both turned their head up away from the other, but doing so only hid away the small smiles they had about seeing the other.