NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49
Shinoma Tetsuya and his girlfriend Ichino Miyu visited their alma mater after a long time.
It had already been five years since they were together.
Shiodome Private High School, where their relationship began, was naturally filled with numerous memories, and the day they visited happened to be the Cultural Festival, proudly decorating a page of those memories.
“Where should we go?”
“Hmm, definitely Class 1-A, right?”
The surroundings were bustling with stalls from various clubs, but Miyu smiled brightly as if she wanted to reminisce about the place where they first met.
“Class 1-A… The pamphlet says it’s a cosplay cafe.”
“A cosplay cafe? We were supposed to do that in our senior year.”
“Well, ultimately, the haunted house got more votes and we failed.”
At Tetsuya’s words, Miyu chuckled.
“The boys got too excited to really see anything. All the girls went into the haunted house. The boys split between the cosplay cafe and the haunted house and had no chance of winning.”
“…I wasn’t excited.”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
As Miyu hummed a little tune and moved forward, Tetsuya felt inexplicably defeated.
But he considered that a part of the fun of their date and took out his phone to scan the barcode for ‘Class 1-A Cosplay Cafe’ from the pamphlet.
Suddenly, a cafe flyer appeared.
“Oh…”
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Look at this.”
There were a total of five flyers.
And each of those five boasted such excellent quality that it made one wonder if they were commissioned from outside.
“They’re incredibly well made.”
“True.”
Overall, the vibe was sophisticated, but what caught their eyes the most were the illustrations of the butler and maid.
Their illustration explaining the cosplay cafe was impressive enough for even Tetsuya and Miyu, who weren’t particularly interested in art, to notice.
“I can’t wait.”
With that, Tetsuya took Miyu’s hand and moved forward.
Somehow, he had a feeling they would have a good experience today.
The 1-A class cosplay cafe was thriving, with a line of customers waiting.
After a wait of about 10 minutes, Tetsuya and Miyu entered the classroom and looked around.
“Wow.”
“It’s nicer and cleaner than I expected~.”
Of course, it wasn’t without its flaws.
But the gently wafting aroma of coffee and the tidy tables, along with the cute decorations, reflected the efforts of the underclassmen, making the imperfections feel even more charming to Tetsuya and Miyu.
“Should I go with coffee and brownies?”
“Then I’ll go with coffee and macarons.”
Both Tetsuya and Miyu preferred coffee over tea, so they decided to order different desserts to share.
“I’ll take the order.”
“…Yes.”
A junior approached at Tetsuya’s call, wearing a butler outfit with a name tag that read ‘Kayanoh Mina.’
However, with her petite stature and long hair, along with the undeniable curves that couldn’t be hidden by the butler outfit, it was easy to tell she was a female student.
Though the stiff-looking butler outfit was highlighted by her glossy light brown hair and soft gaze, her mysterious blue eyes and chilly vibe brought out its unique charm as well.
Her extraordinary appearance managed to showcase both contrasting appeals without overshadowing either.
It was inevitable for both Tetsuya and Miyu to be captivated by her.
“Um… I’ll help with your order, young master, young lady…”
“Ah, yes. I’ll have coffee with brownies.”
“I’ll have coffee with macarons, please…”
Tetsuya was slightly nervous, while Miyu stammered out her order in a daze.
“…Understood. Please wait a moment.”
The girl nodded slightly and stepped back to prepare the order.
“Wasn’t that amazing?”
“Yeah. The macarons and brownies were delicious, and the coffee smelled great.”
Tetsuya and Miyu strolled through the hallway, chatting about how unexpectedly satisfying the 1-A class cosplay cafe had been.
“And that girl was unbelievably cool…”
Tetsuya didn’t need an explanation to know who Miyu was talking about.
It was Kayanoh, the girl in the butler outfit serving them.
“She was cool, but didn’t she have a cuter vibe?”
“…I thought she had more of a cool impression!”
And over a trivial reason, their conversation began heating up.
“The dark butler outfit matched her cold vibe. It’s natural to feel she’s cool with those piercing cold eyes, right?”
“That’s true, but I think her petite stature and contrasting gaze added to the cute vibe!”
“But when she spoke, she deliberately broke her cold demeanor with pauses. Didn’t you find that gave her a cool impression?”
“Hmm, maybe? I found her awkwardness in serving kind of cute.”
Tetsuya’s and Miyu’s opinions didn’t narrow down no matter how much they talked.
And it was Miyu who first changed the subject.
“So, you enjoyed talking to such a cute girl?”
“…Huh? That wasn’t the point.”
“Hmph. Here you are on a date with your girlfriend, and you’re so starry-eyed about a younger, cuter high school girl… how cruel!”
Tetsuya felt a lump in his throat.
Wasn’t it Miyu who first brought the subject up?
Why was he the one being criticized?
“W-well, if we’re going that way, you were saying how cool that girl was, right in front of me.”
“What? She and I are the same gender. It’s different!”
Tetsuya was about to dig further into that, but Miyu had already erected her defenses.
The way she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her slightly protruding lips…
It was clear that she was extremely unhappy, without needing anyone to tell him.
“I want to walk alone for a bit. Let’s talk later.”
“M-Miyu?!”
Miyu released their clasped hands and quickly walked ahead.
Tetsuya, flustered, called her name, but she didn’t even think of turning back for a while.
Kayanoh’s cosplay had turned into a chaotic mess for this couple’s relationship.
★
[Let’s all do our best tomorrow!]
With that broadcast, the first day of the Cultural Festival came to an end.
“Everyone did well.”
Miyauchi’s words of encouragement were not a lie.
Their class’s cosplay cafe was more popular than anything they could have imagined.
Even the afternoon session was busier than the morning when I had worked, resulting in all of the prepared food running out.
…I’m very glad I worked the morning shift.
If I had worked the afternoon, I would probably be collapsed in the nurse’s office by now.
The one fortunate thing for me was that most customers were more interested in cosplay than conversations.
So no one got mad when I stumbled over my words or made mistakes while taking orders.
I wasn’t nitpicked for shaking while serving food or drinks, and thankfully, no complaints came after chatting with them.
“Sigh…”
Still, my communication stamina is totally depleted, so let’s skip the broadcast today…
★
[So how was the first day of the Cultural Festival? Did you have fun?]
Suzuha Koga asked as I recalled today’s events.
After working hard in the morning?, I had a simple snack and spent some time in the (former) science room before heading home.
Luckily, nothing happened in between.
…Well, I was on my phone during class time, so I guess it’d be fair to say it was fun?
“It was pretty f-fun.”
[I figured you just went to a classroom no one used and wasted time.]
“…”
[Oh, really? You didn’t check out any of the other class exhibits?]
“Yeah…”
Koga’s words, which suggested she never thought so, pierced into my heart like a dagger.
W-well, I had my reasons.
After all, I planned to walk around with Akabane tomorrow, so there was no need for me to do that today.
I wasn’t just being lazy or anything by staying in the (former) science room.
Maybe…
[I knew Izumi was introverted, but wouldn’t it be better to enjoy the festival a little? High school memories last a lifetime.]
“Ah, I still have two more chances left…”
[I didn’t mean it like that.]
Koga chuckled.
I was relieved.
Just yesterday, she seemed to be in a bad mood during our call.
I hope whatever personal issues she had were resolved.
[Anyway, it must have been tiring serving customers. So take it easy today. I’ll start preparing for my broadcast. Let’s talk again tomorrow.]
“Ah, yeah. G-good luck….”
[Yeah, see you.]
With a ding, Koga exited the Miss Code call.
“Ugh…”
I stretched lightly and threw myself onto the bed.
If I could, I’d want to watch Koga’s broadcast, but today’s serving turns out to have been more tiring than expected, and my eyes kept fluttering shut.
…Now that I think about it, what should I do when Akabane comes tomorrow?
I have to serve customers in the morning too.
By the time Akabane comes, my communication stamina will probably be depleted.
Can I manage to walk around well?
Not to mention, Akabane will be a customer.
Can I properly guide her…?
Honestly, I don’t know anything about the exhibits from other classes.
This is a big deal…
★
[【Chit-Chat】Servant Demons, gather before me! #YukariAkabane#StarsFlow]
[Akakats! Tomorrow I have a promise, so I need to end early today.]
– A promise? Who are you meeting?
At the servant demon’s inquiry, Yukari smiled slightly.
[It’s a secret. Servants shouldn’t pry into their master’s secrets.]
Even if she said she was meeting Izumi, it wouldn’t really matter, but it was obvious that it could become a hassle.
The moment she brought this up, it would surely reach the ears of a certain short angel.
Then she’d undoubtedly end up being grilled with DMs or calls until dawn.
For the sake of teasing her later, Yukari vowed to keep it a secret.
[But don’t worry; I’ll tell you this story later. Now, this broadcast ends here! Goodbye!]
– The world is heading toward fate…
– The world is heading toward fate…
[Yukino Izumi: You should come to the Shiodome Private High School main gate after 1 PM.]
[Yukari Akabane: Got it. See you on Friday. ヾ(‘▽’)]
After ending the broadcast, Yukari looked at the DM with the appointment schedule.
“…This looks fun.”
And really, she smiled quietly, as if it brought her joy.