Chapter 91: Beautiful Girl Visits Another School’s Culture Festival [Part-Time Senior Edition] (Part 2)

After the haunted house, we killed some time by checking out the various exhibits. The railway club’s model trains were especially fun to watch. No matter how long you stared at them, the way the electric trains sped through the diorama never got old. According to Ryoji, those models are surprisingly expensive. If you build an entire town, shape mountains out of styrofoam, and add all those tiny details, the costs rack up fast. They also take up a lot of space—definitely a hobby for people with money.

I wonder if my school has a railway club… If it does, I should look for them at our own festival.

"Isn’t it about time for your shift?"

Ryoji checked the time on his smartphone and turned to Yazaki-san. It had just passed noon. Her class was running a maid café, and food-related stalls were always busiest from lunchtime to teatime.

With how confidently she handled waitressing at her part-time job, she’d definitely be a major asset during peak hours.

"Twelve already, huh? You’re right, I should probably get ready. I need to change in the dressing room too."

Prompted by Ryoji, Yazaki-san glanced at her watch.

"Alright, let’s head to my class’s café."

Smiling brightly at me, she started down the hallway. Ryoji and I followed so we wouldn’t lose sight of her.

Her class had decorated the room in soft pinks and cream tones—an extremely cute, girlish color palette. But when we opened the door and stepped inside, we were greeted by… well, they had cute outfits, but the people wearing them were muscular boys dressed as maids.

There were girls too, of course, but in terms of overall impact, the male maids—if that’s the right term—completely dominated the atmosphere. The moment you walked in and heard a deep, booming "Welcome home, Master," your eyes were automatically drawn to them.

"Who is this even for…"

Ryoji looked up at the ceiling and covered his eyes with a hand.

Sure, it was obviously meant as a gag, but—was it really that shocking!?

"Oh, Rieko! I totally thought you were a customer and greeted you without thinking!"

Girls who seemed to be Yazaki-san’s classmates gathered around. By the way, her name is Rieko.

"I brought customers with me, so be grateful!"

She spun around and pointed at us. Her classmates noticed Ryoji and me and drifted over.

"Whoa, this kid is super cute! Where’d you pick her up!?"

"Wow, her hair is gorgeous! And her skin is so smooth! Seriously, where’d you pick her up, Rieko!?"

The maid girls gathered around me—or really, mostly around me. Since Yazaki-san is a year above me, everyone here was one year older. A year makes a big difference in high school, so they all looked more mature than me. …Or maybe I just look childish.

Being surrounded by older “big sister” types showering me with compliments made me so embarrassed that I instinctively looked down.

I mean, compliments make me happy, but when there are too many at once, I have no idea what kind of face I’m supposed to make. And the way they were doting on me felt more like how you fuss over a pet, which was… complicated.

I’m only one year younger than them…

"Aww, she’s blushing! So cute! Seriously, Rieko, where’d you pick her up?"

"I didn’t pick her up! What do you think I am!? She’s my part-time junior!"

For a moment, the maids around me froze.

"Part-time… junior?"

"Didn’t your workplace stop hiring?"

"You should’ve told us sooner. I’ll go buy a résumé."

No no no, even if they’re all way too eager… actually, the store is short-staffed, so the manager would probably welcome them. But personally, I feel like my life would be in danger—so I’d really prefer they didn’t.

"By the way, is that boy your boyfriend?"

Their attention finally shifted to Ryoji—the boy they had completely forgotten existed until now.

And—no, he is not my boyfriend. Just because a boy and a girl walk together doesn’t make it a date! I have to deny this properly!

"Haha, well, something like that."

Just as I opened my mouth to deny it, Ryoji answered smoothly.

Why are you saying that with such a calm, smug face!? And why are the maid-senpai going, "Ohh, I see"? And why are the male maids in the back gripping their aprons and grinding their teeth!? That expression doesn’t work on guys!!

"W-wait! That’s completely wrong!!"

I denied it frantically, but Ryoji just brushed it off.

"Come on, don’t get all shy."

Why would he tell such a pointless lie in front of strangers!?

"Um, really, that’s not—"

"Ryoji just lives near Sakura-chan’s house, right?"

Thanks to my desperate explanation and Yazaki-san’s quick follow-up, the misunderstanding was cleared.

I glared at Ryoji, who pretended to whistle and looked away.

Grrr… Why would he say something that benefits no one? Sure, we’ll probably never see these people again, but still! Does he want people to think we’re dating? No no no, even imagining that feels delusional.

He’s my friend, and I’m sure he sees me the same way… right? He wouldn’t think anything beyond that… right? But lately he’s been looking out for me more than usual, trying to stand closer to me, acting a bit different. Earlier he even said he wanted to hold hands. I still don’t know if he meant it or not.

It couldn’t be that he’s after my body… right? No, no, no—Ryoji might be a bit pervy, but he’s not that bad. And wow, thinking that about a friend is terrible of me.

So then what? Could he actually be expecting… something more?

No, no, no, that’s way too self-centered. Getting worked up over some fantasy about what someone might be thinking is ridiculous.

"Um, Sakura-chan? What’s wrong? You looked like you were thinking really hard."

Yazaki-san’s voice snapped me out of it. I was about to spiral into something weird.

When I lifted my head, everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.

"Ahaha… um…"

Being the center of attention meant I had to say something. But I didn’t want to blurt out anything weird and self-destruct, nor did I want to say something that would make them ask what I’d actually been thinking. I needed the kind of model answer that could deflect everything nicely…

"Um, I was just admiring how cute everyone’s outfits are."

Yes—when in doubt, praise their looks or their costumes. That’s the answer I settled on.

"Really? I'm glad you like them."

The seniors dressed as maids didn’t seem displeased by the compliment. Good. Looks like I managed to dodge that one cleanly.

"Then how about you try one on too?"

"Huh?"

I let out an embarrassingly dumb sound at the suggestion one of the maids made. Her words rippled through the group like a wave, and for some reason most of the reactions were positive—"Sounds good!" and "I wonder if we have her size?"

Why is everyone so enthusiastic!? Is running the café that boring!? Even Ryoji, of all people, was commenting on the maid outfit one of her classmates brought over, saying, "The skirt should be a little shorter for her—she’d look better that way." Couldn’t he at least TRY to oppose this!?

"Um, I’m not even part of your school… I feel like I’d just be getting in the way…"

"Oh, it's fine! It’s the second day of the festival, and everyone’s kind of sluggish. Something new would be refreshing!"

With the maid-seniors’ eyes shining like predatory animals, all I could say was, "O-okay…" They were still my seniors, even if they were from another school, and it was hard to refuse. Yazaki-san mouthed “Sorry” at me with a wry smile.

If you’re sorry, couldn’t you stop them…?

And so, I ended up heading to the changing room with Yazaki-san to put on a maid outfit. Seriously, why am I wearing cosplay at someone ELSE’S school festival?

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. My class is full of idiots."

Yazaki-san laughed cheerfully.

Hm. She definitely doesn’t sound sorry. Well, it’s not like she directly forced me. This whole mess started because of something stupid Ryoji said. I should make him treat me to something good later.

"Just pretend it’s our café’s uniform and humor them a bit. You get bored easily on the second day of a festival."

"Uu… It’s not like our café’s uniform at all…"

True, it’s similar… but not this similar. Our real work uniform doesn’t have this many frills, and it definitely doesn’t include a headband like this. No matter how you look at it, this is pure cosplay.

While I was flustered and fumbling, Yazaki-san finished changing in no time, fixing her hair and straightening her outfit with practiced ease. She looked completely relaxed—no embarrassment whatsoever. Her confidence almost made me feel like I was the strange one for getting self-conscious.

Well… it is a festival. Plenty of people are wearing silly outfits. Maybe nobody will care about a maid costume. Maybe acting normal actually helps you blend in, and getting embarrassed only makes you stand out more…

Steeling myself, I finally reached for the maid outfit.

And the moment I finished changing, all that resolve evaporated. Completely. What replaced it was a flood of mortification.

This is entirely Ryoji’s fault. Because he said the skirt should be shorter, mine ended up above the knee. Meanwhile, Yazaki-san’s goes all the way to her ankles…

I don’t want to go out there. I mean, sure, I wear miniskirts normally, and skirts this length aren’t unusual for me, but… because it’s a maid outfit, it suddenly feels way more embarrassing. I’m hyper-aware of how exposed I am.

A proper maid serving her master should be modest! A miniskirt like this is totally improper—scandalous!

"Hey, Sakura-chan. It’s about time to go."

Just as I was silently ranting, Yazaki-san called to me. W-well… I’m sure a maid outfit like this is no big deal. Nobody’s going to care, right?

"Excuse me—can I take a picture?"

"N-no, you can’t!"

Apparently, the idea that “nobody will care” was pure fantasy.

People kept asking if they could take my picture, and some even asked if they could take a picture with me.

"Sakura-chan, don’t be so cold. Let them take at least a picture or two."

"No, no, no, definitely not!"

"Really? I mean, if you charge around three hundred yen per photo, you'd make a killing, you know?"

A killing…

N-no! Why am I even tempted by that!? There’s no way anyone would pay money for a picture of me, so that logic doesn’t even hold! And if an outsider gets caught charging money at a school festival, that’s a whole different disaster waiting to happen!

"Um…"

A voice called from behind me. Again… I sighed internally as I turned around, ready to politely refuse.

But the person calling me wasn’t at the height I expected.

"Um!"

The tiny voice came again. Curious, I lowered my gaze—and there she was: a little girl.

"Uh, what’s wrong? Are you lost?"

She looked like she was in early elementary school… maybe even younger. And she was alone. Did she get separated from her parents? In that case—uhh, what am I supposed to do?

But when I asked if she was lost, she shook her head.

Then what is it? I tilted my head, and she broke into a giant smile.

"Can I take a picshur?"

"Uh…"

I froze. Completely.

Unlike the students earlier—especially the boys with their borderline suspicious glances—this girl’s gaze was pure and innocent, totally free of anything shady. I couldn’t just brush her off the same way.

"Why do you want to take a picture?"

"’Cause you’re super cute!"

Something in my chest squeezed painfully at her bright smile.

Is this what people mean when they say your heart goes kyun? Ahh, little kids really are adorable…

"Why're you patting my head?"

"Oh, sorry."

Before I realized it, I was patting her head. No no no, what am I doing?

…and then the realization hit me. Maybe when people always pat my head… maybe this is exactly how they feel toward me.

Hmm… So they’ve been treating me like a little kid this whole time, huh…? I mean, I knew that on the surface, but now that I understand it emotionally, it’s kind of depressing.

"Hey hey, picture~"

"Ah, yeah. Sure. Let’s take one together."

When I smiled at her, she lit up like she couldn’t be happier.

"Really? Thank you!"

"My my, Sakura-chan, you’re weak to little kids, aren’t you?"

Yazaki-san, who’d been watching the whole thing, nudged my side.

"But be careful. Once people think they can get a picture if a little kid’s with you, someone might start using a kid just to get one."

"Ahaha, no way anyone would—"

No one would sink that low… right? I thought that as I looked around.

Several people immediately averted their eyes.

After we finished taking the picture, her mother hurried over, frantic. Apparently she’d spotted me from afar, looked away for just a moment, and then her daughter had vanished.

Her mother apologized again and again, while the little girl waved at us with a happy smile. Once they left, we headed back to the classroom.

Thanks to all the commotion, I’d gotten a bit used to the maid outfit.

Alright. If it’s come to this, then I’ll give the customer service my all!

…Wait. Hold on. This isn’t even my cultural festival, is it…?