九条璃雨

"Wow! You're so cute!"
The girl who rushed up to her and started pinching and hugging her at their first meeting is Riu Kujou. Although she was brought here by Chiori's mother, she was no different from Chiori's neighbors who hadn't seen much of the world. It wasn't long before she began to admire the gorgeous decorations of her home while visiting, and when she saw the number of plushies Chiori had, she made the same shocked and envious expression as her neighbors...
Hmph, it won't be long before her parents will take her away just like the other neighbors' children, and she'll never come again!
"Chiori, from now on, Riu will be your best friend. She'll take care of your daily life, so I hope you get along with her."
As if her mom saw through her reluctance, she reaches out and strokes Chiori's cheek like she doesn't want to leave her. As Chiori's mother is a surgeon who uses a scalpel often, her fingers are not as soft as the other children's mothers. They have a thin layer of calluses, which hurts slightly when scraped against Chiori's face.
However, Chiori Mikami is sentimentally attached to these rare moments of intimacy. Her tenseness gradually abates, and before she knew it, her mother had taken her tightly clenched fists and placed her now-open hands on Riu Kujou's hands.
Her first reaction when she realizes what has happened is to pull back her hands immediately, but the similar rough feeling of Riu Kujou's palms makes her hesitate.
Although she is still young, Chiori Mikami vaguely understands how important her mother is as a doctor. The feeling of her palm is where a child gets a sense of security from her mother most intuitively.
Does that mean Riu Kujou, who also has hands like her mother, is a reliable person?
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Chiori. I'll be serving you exclusively from now on!" Riu Kujou says firmly as she grasps Chiori's hands tightly without any regard for her hesitation.
After seeing the two children officially make friends with each other, Chiori's mother leaves quickly as many patients are waiting for her at the hospital.
"My mother is an incredible person," Chiori Mikami says to Riu Kujou with teary eyes as she watches her mother leave. "Everyone says that my mom has saved many people like a goddess."
"I wonder what gods are like."
"You're not getting it. Everyone says my mom is like a goddess, so that means they are like my mom!"
"Yes, Miss Chiori!" Riu Kujou pulls the hem of her skirt and curtsies like a maid in a television show, but the gesture looks kind of ridiculous when performed unfamiliarly by a little girl.
"Hahahahaha! How can someone as dense as you do a good job as my maid."
"Eh? Am I not good enough?"
"Of course! My maid must be an amazing person just like me!"
"What... is an amazing person like?"
"Hmph! An amazing maid..." Chiori Mikami recalls a movie she has seen. "For starters, they know how to make tea."
"Oh! I know how to do that. Please wait a moment." Riu Kujou runs away like a gust of wind right after she finishes speaking.
"W-What? How can she be so rash and inelegant? Hmph!"
To Chiori Mikami's surprise, Riu Kujou makes delicious black tea and even added her favorite milk to it.
"It's just making tea! T-There's nothing special about that, and it can't prove your excellence. Hmph!"
"I'll do my best to learn anything as long as that's what you want, Miss Chiori!"
"It's pointless to try to get on my good side. I've heard that thousands, no, tens of thousands of times already."
"I'm not trying to get on your good side. I like you the most, Miss Chiori."
The girl in the maid outfit smiles purely and sincerely, completely unlike all the other people who have approached her with ulterior motives.
What's more, did she just say that she liked her the most?!
"Hmph! It's natural for you to like me since I'm so cute! There's no helping it then. I'll make an exception and allow you to stay by my side and take care of me."
The little blond girl holds her head high stubbornly with reddened eyes. She doesn't want to admit it, but she was moved by a maid whom she had just met not too long ago, even if only by a little bit.
Yes, just a little bit. After all, she is just reluctantly agreeing to take on this maid for the sake of her mother. They aren't good friends at all, unless...
Unless she can always stay by her side from now on.
That year, Chiori Mikami was five years old, and Riu Kujou was ten years old.