Chapter 1 – The Transfer Student Meets the Maid

“I’d heard about your previous high school. It was an incredibly competitive prep school, right? Why come here?”

Private Komenuka High School. Why they decided to slap “Komenuka” on the name is an eternal mystery to me, but whatever. The female teacher asking with that gossip-loving lilt in her voice eyed me like she was testing me.

“A school a reasonable distance away with pretty similar academic standards, so this place seemed like the way to go.”

Komenuka Private High School is a prep school located in Yanagihara Ward, one of Tokyo’s twenty-five districts. Its deviation value isn’t quite as high as my old school’s, but it still keeps a solid ranking. Students aiming for famous universities get shoved into the honors classes and study like crazy. As for me, with no grand future blueprint, I was in the regular class. It’s not like I’m dumb or anything, but putting that kind of pressure on myself isn’t really my style.

“I heard your transfer exam scores were outstanding. Sure you didn’t want to join the honors class?”

“Studying works anywhere. I don’t do the kind of schoolwork that changes based on the classroom.”

To the teacher who was asking with obvious fascination, I answered in the most bored tone I could manage—and I really was bored.

“Fushimi-san seems pretty put-together.”

If I were that put-together, I wouldn’t have a reason to transfer in May of my second year… is what I thought, but saying it out loud wouldn’t help, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Anyway, this is the classroom. I’m the homeroom teacher… I already mentioned that, didn’t I? From today on, you’re part of Class 2-2. When I call you, come on in.”

Then the kind-looking female teacher stepped into the classroom to start homeroom. I slipped my school tablet into its dedicated bag and waited.

“All right, today we’re introducing a transfer student.”

The classroom buzzed at those words. Of course I felt some pressure as the transfer student myself, so my expression turned a little awkward.

“By the way, sorry boys, but the transfer student is a guy.”

“Ehh—”

“Boring.”

“It should’ve been a cute girl transfer student.”

I get what they’re saying. I can’t exactly rebuild my body at this point, so I’ll just enter as a dude.

“Okay, Fushimi-san. Come on in.”

“Yo.”

I stepped inside as told and stood right at the teacher’s podium.

“So this is Fushimi Nevada-san. Everyone, get along with him.”

“Nice to meetcha~ Love letters from the beautiful girls. Cash registered mail from everyone else. I’m always recruiting, so feel free to apply anytime.”

I waved my hand with a flutter, skipped any real self-introduction, and headed straight to my seat. The hastily prepared desk was at the very back by the window. It felt exactly like the protagonist seat in a rom-com, but I decided not to comment on that on purpose.

“…………”

More importantly, there was this huge, glaring sense of wrongness right next to me. A maid. Not the classical European kind, but the cute cosplay type you’d see in a maid café. The pink-and-white check pattern was almost painfully bright, yet actually adorable. Frilly lace. Short skirt. Her breasts were so huge they looked ready to spill out any second. The wide-open collar didn’t even try to support their weight, letting them jiggle plumply and provocatively stirring my desires.

Just looking at her felt off. What was it? How to put it… The girl wearing that frilly, girly maid outfit had hair color that was also abnormal. It was white. Pure white. Her facial features were on a whole other level. No, “pretty high level” doesn’t cut it. She was cute to the point it was abnormal. Like, even idols couldn’t compete. Peerless beauty, or rather, city-toppling beauty. Probably, not just the school—if you counted all of Japan, she’d be in the top tier of cuteness. Long eyelashes framing her red eyes. Lips like cherry blossom petals. Her skin was on a superhuman level.

“Uh…”

This delicate, adorable girl was wearing a maid outfit. Unless my vision had gone haywire, it was a cute girl’s maid outfit. Of course, Komenuka High School has a uniform policy. Meaning students are supposed to wear the regular school uniform.

“Something the matter?”

“No, nothing…”

It had to be some kind of penalty game. Wearing a maid outfit in class, of all places. I couldn’t say anything about it, so I went with the reliable and safe option: ignore it. And so the morning homeroom ended.

“Fushimi-kun, where’d you transfer from?”

“Parents’ job?”

“Won’t you give me your contact info?”

Right away, several students latched onto me. As for me, what I really wanted to ask was what the maid sitting in the seat next to me was thinking by being there.

“Ah…”

So I mumbled through a half-hearted self-introduction and explained what I’d done for the transfer. Then it was lunch break. No particularly close friends had formed or anything. While I was wondering what to do by myself…

“Excuse me?”

Of all people, the maid called out to me.

“Yeah?”

“Um… well… want to eat lunch together?”

“I don’t mind… but your name? I’m Fushimi Nevada.”

“I’m Eri Sabakutani.”

Her collar was opened so wide her breasts looked ready to spill out. Those thick, bouncy, enormous mounds formed a deep, seductive valley. Honestly, I wanted to get buried right between them. Here was this super cute albino girl wearing a maid outfit. As a guy, I figured I should be staring with eyes like dinner plates, but apparently I was the only one thinking that.

“Why the maid outfit?”

“Ah, so you do notice?”

Of course I do. An albino beauty in a maid outfit.

“Anyway, let’s head to the cafeteria.”

They have a cafeteria? That’s welcome news.

“So what’s your story, Fushimi-kun?”

“Just your average student.”

“But you can see me…?”

“You’re not gonna say I’m like some transparent person, right?”

While slurping udon in the cafeteria, I asked that question. Sabakutani-san fiddled with her white hair and replied with a slightly troubled look.

“Yeah. Transparent person, huh. Not entirely wrong, I guess.”

“Not wrong?”

“See, look.”

Then she lightly tugged at her own frilly headpiece.

“No one’s commented on my maid outfit, right?”

If there was a maid like this who makes you want her to serve you, I’d be staring my eyes out.

“Is it okay to ask why?”

“It’s not a complicated story. Um. I’ve been cursed.”

“Cursed…”

“The curse binds me so that I become an incredibly cute girl on the condition that no one recognizes me.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

The maid-outfit Sabakutani-san wasn’t getting any comments from anyone, huh.

“Rather, why can you see me, Fushimi-kun?”

“My eyesight’s just better than most people’s.”

“Enough to repel the curse’s interference too?”

“So it would seem.”

Slurping the cafeteria udon with a loud zzzzooooop, I nodded firmly. And with that, I’d come to accept it myself. A curse, huh. Becoming a super cute big-breasted beauty on the condition that everyone ignores you. Usually, curse conditions work to cancel out the benefits you gain, but to think there was one like this. But to me, she was nothing more than a girl. In that sense, she was a heroine.