Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 3 - Chapter 3.4

  CAT HAIR

“……… Shogi, huh ……”

Sitting in a chair in front of a fan in the empty lobby, I stare at the floor with a towel draped over my head like a defeated boxer.

Asuka ran away immediately after that. She was probably embarrassed. Heck, I was embarrassed, too.

I would’ve given an arm and a leg to shrivel up into a pile of white ash right then and there …… Then … 

“Master? Did something happen?”

My apprentice’s voice comes down from above like she’s leaning in over me. Whoa!!

“A-Ai?! It-It’s nothing?! Really, nothing happened?!”

“Uwhh? Nothing what?”

Ai curiously stares at me as I nearly jump out of my chair. This girl seems to have a sixth sense that tells her when I’m lying or trying to hide something, but since there really is nothing at all this time, that sense doesn’t seem to be working. Not sure if I should be happy or sad about it …… 

“So …… Is everyone done?”

“Just me. I got out early just so I could play Shogi with you, Master!”

Her face is still pink from the bath; Ai probably felt like drying her hair would be a waste of time and starts carrying a Shogi board over to me. We always play a match after one of the grade schooler practice sessions. Seeing me play Shogi with other people makes her want to play against me even more. Adorable.

“…… Sure, a desire to play Shogi is important.”

“Hee-hee♡”

“But you’ve got to make sure your hair is dry. You might catch a cold … and dripping water onto your opponent is disrespectful.”

“Ah …… Y-Yes. I’m sorry ……”

“Hold on a second.”

I go grab a brush and hairdryer from beneath the attendant’s counter and put a chair down in front of where I was sitting. Patting the seat, I say, “Sit down. I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“Wha?! You’ll blow-dry my hair, M-Master?”

“Just something special for today. This is our secret, okay?”

If the other girls found out, they’d be saying Me too!! all afternoon. Mio’s hair is short, but everyone else’s would take a long, long time.

“I-I …… I’m not worthy of such an honor, but please go ahead!”

Saying something I never thought I’d hear a kid say, Ai sits down with her back toward me.

First, I get some of the water out with a towel, then turn on the hairdryer and set to work.

“Uwahh …… That feels nice♡”

“Ohh …… I see now. You’ve got fine hair that lays flat by itself. Just like a cat.”

“I’ve got kitty hair, meow♪”

My happily content apprentice swings her legs back and forth, meowing. 

“Meow, meow, meow♡”

Ah …… So cute.

My apprentice is seriously adorable. It’s scary how cute she is.

“Master, you’re really good with a dryer.”

“I am?”

“You could open your own hair-drying salon!”

“Well, maybe I’ll open one when I retire from Shogi ……”

This pointless banter is doing wonders for my wounded heart, still hurting from the unluckiest misunderstanding ever.

“So, tell me, young lady, is your scalp itchy at all?”

“Not at all, meow! You’re amazing with a hair dryer, Master! Perfect!!”

“Really? I wouldn’t know myself, but I guess it’s because I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“…… For a long time?”

“Since I was a live-in apprentice. Drying Big Sis’s hair was my job.”

“…… Uh-huh.”

“She was a lot like you, saying things like If I have less time to dry my hair, I would like to play Shogi! and stuff like that. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of an immune system and would catch a cold right away if her hair was wet. Which is why Keika made it my job to dry it for her.”

“…… Uhh.”

“Wow, that takes me back …… Big Sis has cat-like hair too. And that color, yeah? It was the strangest thing to me back then. I asked her Are your nose hairs that color too? and she smacked me upside the head …… Big Sis used to go to Keika for anything and everything, but for some reason I was the one who had to dry her hair. Bet she thought it was a job fit for a slave.”

“…… Ah-huh.”

“Big Sis used to treat me so bad that Keika offered to dry my hair …… But I hated the idea. Looking back on it, I can’t believe I wasted such a great opportunity. Boys that age, see, they don’t like women having hands all over them. It’s embarrassing, yeah? I bet there are boys who pick on girls in your class, right Ai? That actually means they like them.”

“……”

“Still, I was just a kid back then. She was like an older sister, but too bright and dazzling ……”

“……”

“At the same time, Big Sis clung to Keika from the start. She had this magnetic Shogi set that she carried around with her and followed Keika wherever she went.”

I kept talking, running my fingers through my apprentice’s hair as sepia-filtered memories came flooding back.

“But, Keika–––.”