NOVEL NEXT Chapter 50
[Shiodome High School Cultural Festival, it’s starting again today!]
I’m busy.
So busy that I don’t even know what I’m thinking right now.
“Ah, hey, um, we’re out of, uh, coffee beans….”
Yesterday was like a tutorial; customers kept coming in endlessly.
Miyauchi said it would be even busier today since it’s Friday, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.
Thanks to that, my body is in terrible condition.
I was already mentally drained from having to talk to customers constantly, and now the workload doubled the burden.
The time is still 11:48.
My shift change is at 1, so I still have almost another hour of work left.
“Kayanoh! Please go to table 3!”
At someone’s request, I staggered over to table 3.
The average time spent at a table is about 20 minutes.
I have to serve three more tables after this.
Is this hell?
The next customer was a woman wearing a hat.
Please let her be a quiet, shy customer.
I fervently wished as I opened my mouth.
“I-I can help you with your order, young lady….”
“Hmm. Coffee, black tea, a brownie, and a macaron. One of each, please.”
“Oh, got it.”
…Seems like a big eater.
I thought that as I quietly wrote down the order on the receipt.
“And I also want to borrow the cute maid in front of me.”
“…Huh?”
The customer suddenly grabbed my hand and made such a request.
Startled, I looked to the side and noticed pink-blond hair.
“Is that okay?”
And it was a voice I’ve heard somewhere recently.
“Um, A-Akasaki?”
“You guessed it right this time.”
Saying that with a smile, Akabane took off her hat and looked at me with a grin.
I was now sitting face to face with Akabane.
Normally, I should still be working at this time, but Akabane already asked Miyauchi at the entrance and got permission for me to sit down.
…Honestly, it would be a lie to say I didn’t feel sorry for everyone else, but I was also happy to get a break.
“Y-You came early.”
“I wanted to try being served by Kayanoh once. So I came a bit earlier.”
…Isn’t this not really service?
I had that question in mind but didn’t say it out loud.
After all, Akabane came to see me, and as long as she was satisfied with the situation, that was enough for me.
“Well, it’s better than I expected. I thought I’d enjoy the atmosphere of the cultural festival rather than the taste since I heard students prepared this.”
Akabane said this after tasting the coffee and brownie.
Well, the brownie and macaron were made by Miyauchi, who dreams of becoming a patissier, and the coffee and black tea were helped by a classmate whose parents run a cafe.
“So, do you have any plans for today?”
At Akabane’s question, I quietly swallowed.
I had seen the pamphlet yesterday, but I hadn’t decided exactly what to do.
If I were to look, maybe going to see the band club performance could work.
Someone could say I lack responsibility if they heard this, but it’s not like I’m in the wrong.
How could someone who has never wandered around with friends create a plan to walk around with anyone?
Honestly, I would never have thought of going to a band club performance without anime or light novels.
“You haven’t really decided on anything, huh?”
“Um, s-sorry.”
“It’s okay. I figured you wouldn’t have anything planned.”
Saying that, Akabane spread the pamphlet out on the table.
…But what kind of image do I have that she can make such a declaration?
Who knows?
Maybe I came prepared with a fantastic plan for the festival.
…But thinking about it made that idea sound completely unconvincing.
Akabane might be some kind of genius…
“First, we should have a simple lunch, right? I found out that the ramen from class 2-C and the okonomiyaki from the culinary research club are highly rated. Let’s choose one and eat, then next we go to the board game club for…”
Akabane explained her plans for today without a hitch.
In front of her, I could only nod along.
After all, everyone has their strengths, and I’m not so bad…
★
Until my break time at 1, I ended up continuing my conversation with Akabane.
I tried to help whenever I got a bit busy, but Miyauchi stopped me, saying she was fine, so I just ended up observing.
…Did she decide that I wasn’t much help?
Well, that’s true. I doubt someone who can’t even hold a decent conversation would be any good in the service industry.
Probably, since Miyauchi is so kind, she didn’t say anything, but I’m sure a lot of complaints have come in.
In that case, it was probably more convenient to keep me close to someone I know.
“Good job today, Kayanoh.”
“Th-thank you.”
I don’t know if I deserved to be told I did a good job today.
Of course, I worked hard until Akabane came, but afterward, I was just relaxing.
“Let’s go, Kayanoh.”
“Y-yes….”
I could hear my reputation in the class continuing to decline…
“That was really delicious, wasn’t it?”
“Y-yes, I-I ate well….”
We strolled down the hallway after having okonomiyaki, which we talked about earlier.
As if it were natural, we held hands.
“So shall we go play darts as mentioned in the board game club?”
“I’m fine with whatever.”
But I’m not getting flustered by this anymore.
Thanks to meeting Tateyama during summer vacation, I knew that a little skinship between girls is normal.
So this way, I can legally enjoy this soft sensation.
Jealous?
“Hehe….”
“Huh? Did you call for me?”
“No, it was nothing.”
Of course, in the past, I would have been sick with nerves and unable to enjoy the situation at all.
But now…
After Natsune’s live performance, I’ve grown!
When I’m not making eye contact, I can probably hold it down with one person like this.
Hehe. Akabane, you made a mistake.
Your soft hand is mine to cherish…
“Is something wrong, Kayanoh?”
“N-no, not at all!”
“Your hand keeps fidgeting. I thought you might want to go to the bathroom.”
“…N-nothing’s wrong.”
I should just stay still…
★
Before I knew it, the time was nearing 5, the end of the cultural festival.
I had spent a full four hours wandering around with Akabane, and therefore…
“Good job today….”
“Ah, it was fun! I really feel like I went back to my high school days!”
I’m exhausted.
In contrast to me, Akabane still seemed full of energy.
She must be older than me, so how could she manage that?
“Well, it’s nearly time for outsiders to leave, so I should get going.”
“Um, Akasaki-san…”
“Yeah?”
“C-could we wait and have dinner together…?”
To be honest, after the festival, I wanted to dash home and collapse onto my bed, but there was a reason I was saying this.
The reason Akabane came to our cultural festival today was for a penalty promised from a previous collaboration.
So, naturally, I planned to cover all the expenses while wandering around today, but for some reason, Akabane insisted on covering everything herself.
And I felt guilty for that, which led me to this decision…
But Akabane waved her hand and refused.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. From the beginning, I intended to cover everything, and it’s enough for me to relive my high school memories.”
“Still, I’m s-so sorry….”
“Besides, if you want to have dinner with me, you’d have to skip the campfire happening later, right? No need for that.”
If Akabane left, I wasn’t planning on staying for the campfire either.
The final campfire of the cultural festival was free to join.
Moreover, since the campfire starts at 7, even if cleaning up takes an hour, I wouldn’t want to stay here for another hour.
Thinking about it, heading home to rest would be better…
“Well, I figured you’d want to go home and rest, but I want you to stay for the campfire. High school memories of cultural festivals last a long time, you know?”
Having heard similar words from Koga yesterday, I replied just as she had.
“Ah, well, there are two more chances left….”
But unlike Koga, Akabane smiled brightly and said.
“Even if you see the same scene, every feeling is different. You get what I mean?”
“…That’s a line from ‘Old Man’ isn’t it?”
“Hehe. See? Kayanoh and I have similar tastes.”
With that, Akabane ruffled my hair playfully.
“If you really feel sorry for me, I want you to watch the campfire and send me your impressions! Let’s make that your penalty for the last bet.”
“That seems too arbitrary….”
How many times is she going to change the penalty?
For my complaint, Akabane said.
“Well, who cares? You can let it slide since we’re friends.”
She said that.
“F-Friends?”
Friends?
Me and Akabane, friends?
“Ah, are you the type to think carefully about the word friend? Then let’s just say I’m offering you the friend candidate status….”
“N-no! I-I am friends with Akabane-san…!”
“…But you’re supposed to call me Akasaki outside, right?”
“S-sorry! I’m just so happy…. Hehe….”
I couldn’t help but smile.
It made me happy that someone would call me their friend first, and the ridiculous grin just kept creeping onto my face.
“…This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“What?”
“Nothing. So? You’re going to watch the campfire, right?”
“Ah, got it.”
Honestly, I still wanted to go home, but since Akabane said this much, I couldn’t say I’d skip it.
“Well, there’s no need to stay until the end. Honestly, it’s hard to stick around school for two more hours. You can just watch for a bit and then leave.”
“Yes….”
Then I’ll just watch for about five minutes and head out.
That should be considered a fair compromise on my part.
“Okay. It’s about time to really leave. Let’s contact each other later.”
“Goodbye then.”
“Okay, see you later.”
As I greeted her, Akabane ruffled my hair once more and turned away.
‘At least when saying goodbye to a friend, you should look them in the eyes! Got it?’
And that phrase came back to my mind.
“Ah, Akabane-san!”
“You know I’m Akasaki outside… So why?”
When I called her, Akabane turned back with a smile.
Already exhausted, meeting her gaze made my body tremble uncontrollably, and my stomach churned, craving to collapse into bed at home.
But I fixed my gaze on Akabane’s brown eyes and shouted as loudly as I could.
“Th-thank you for today!”
“…Yeah!”
And the campfire I ended up watching alone until the end at school was…
“…Tiring.”
Quite beautiful.