Rentarou introduces Mai to the rest of the family, but Mai is still skeptical about them. After all, haven't they just been treating Mei like a maid despite her not actually working for them? Perhaps they should try being maids so that they can appreciate just how hard Mei works for them.
Hahari has just the solution: Have the family act as maids for Rentarou! Mai doesn't want Mei, Hakari, or Hahari to do so, but the latter two insist. Mei also ends up fanning Rentarou despite Mai's initial protests.
First, Mai has them start with a greeting. Meme is too quiet and Yamame's accent gets in the way.
The second part of being a maid is working quickly but elegantly. Karane's boots are too loud and Naddy's walk is more like a Noh performance.
Third is the smile. Nano and Momiji can't really pull it off alone, but they each manage to lift the corners of each other's mouth with their fingers. Mimimi says that they should simply leave the smiling to her, but she doesn't give a very modest smile.
Next, Mai has them carry a dish tray: Shizuka nervously carries only a small dish on the tray, while Iku piles far too many on hers. Kusuri has the right amount, but trips and falls.
Mai has them prepare chamomile tea. Yaku doesn't know what that is and Ahko just prepares a large cake in the cup. Kurumi pours the tea, but Mai recognizes the hungry look in her eyes and warns her that it's not for her to no avail.
The next step is having them clean up a carpet. Uto argues semantics while Kishika argues that she wouldn't serve a master who would make such a mess in the first place. Chiyo, meanwhile, simply groans at the mess.
Karane angrily sweeps hard enough to break the broom. Mei kindly shows the others how to do things properly. The warm smile on her face makes Mai jealous and she angrily says she'll never approve of the family as Mei's friends.
She runs off in frustration while remembering how much she'd always wanted to be a maid. She'd grown up admiring her grandmother and had always seen Mei as her ideal. She spent years studying her in order to be like her, but out of nowhere Mei suddenly had Rentarou and his family. The distance between Mai and Mei has become even more clear to her.
Sitting by one of the flowerbeds, Mai is approached by Kurumi and Chiyo, who want her to give everyone another chance. Sure, everyone's stupid, but they're not bad people. Mai remains wary and asks why she should listen to them. Kurumi explains that she was similarly skeptical about the others while Chiyo decided everyone was in disarray and tried to make them conform to her own values. Both of them regret that now.
They ask what they need to do to get Mai to accept them as Mei's friends. Mai confesses that she was also very incompetent as a maid when she first started out, and Mei would often scold her. This surprises Kurumi and Chiyo, who say that Mei has never scolded them despite the fact that they're pretty sure they've caused her plenty of trouble. Chiyo says that Mai must be very close to Mei if she can let her guard down like that.
This praise cheers Mai up, and she admits that she can tell that Mei loves being around the others. Kurumi and Chiyo extend their hands to her, saying that Mai is part of the family now, too. Mai shyly accepts and returns to the roof.
Before she can properly apologize, however, Mei begins spanking her insisting that she apologize to the others rather than her. Kishika points out that she was about to do that while Naddy says that there's no hard feelings.
Iku, meanwhile, is simply feeling betrayed that Mei has been hiding such power from her the whole time.
Tropes:
- Beware the Nice Ones: Mei isn't too pleased with Mai's efforts to force the other girls into maid lessons.
- Call-Back: The Hanazonos mention that they hadn't worn maid outfits since Mei first joined the harem.
- Finger-Forced Smile: Nano and Momiji push each other's lips into smiles due to being unable to smile on their own.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Kurumi and Chiyo explain to Mai that they had similar difficulties getting acclimated to Rentarou's other girlfriends, with the former initially refusing to get along with the other girls and the latter trying to shoehorn her beliefs into the harem.
- Rage Quit: Mai gives up in exasperation due to the girls' poor progress in their maid lessons.
