Chapter 89 Volume 4 Chapter 22: Maid Café (Part I)
“—The 25th Tengū City High School Joint Cultural Festival, Ten’ō-sai, officially begins!”
As the announcement from the loudspeakers echoed across the grounds—the voice of the Executive Committee Chair—cheers erupted from the crowd below.
Saturday, September 23rd. The much-anticipated Ten’ō-sai, eagerly awaited by every high school student in Tengū City, had finally commenced.
Near the main entrance, buildings No. 1 and No. 2 housed primarily food stalls. Deeper inside, buildings No. 3 and No. 4 featured various research presentations, haunted houses, and other simple amusement attractions.
Shido stood in Building No. 2, at a crucial stronghold that would determine whether Raizen High School emerged victorious or not: their food booth.
After all, the Ten’ō-sai competition wasn’t decided solely by stage performances. Given that their school lacked appeal compared to Izayoi Miku’s elite Rindōji Girls’ Academy, they had to resort to “unconventional methods” to even the odds.
Shido had already attempted a stage performance earlier, and the results had been... surprisingly satisfactory.
However, at this very moment, Shido—the boy now known as Shiori—was kneeling on the ground, hands propped against the floor, emanating an aura of utter gloom.
The reason was simple.
He turned his head back and expressionlessly read the words on the signboard towering behind him:
”Maid Café ☆ RAIZEN.”
His eyes then drifted downward—
“Ooh! So fluffy!”
Tohka, cheerfully grasping the hem of her frilly, ruffled apron and swaying it back and forth with a beaming smile.
And then—
“Pu~shi shi... Shido... you look absolutely adorable dressed up like a little girl!”
“Oops. Couldn’t hold it in—started laughing.”
Yoshino and Yuzuru, wearing identical outfits to Tohka, burst into laughter at the sight of Shiori’s attire.
Shiori’s eyes were completely devoid of light now, his gaze sinking lower and lower.
—The very same dress worn by Tohka and the Yamai twins.
A standard maid uniform.
“Why... how did things end up like this...”
Shiori had never felt his life so bleak.
Wearing this maid outfit—something he’d barely even seen before—felt as if he’d sacrificed his very dignity to a demon.
Though admittedly cute, it filled him with unbearable shame.
Just then, the “Sock-Washing Trio”—Aya, Mai, and Mii—approached from behind and patted Shiori on the shoulder.
“How’s our café’s star attraction doing? Come on now, customers will be arriving soon—get up and stand properly!”
Aya gave him a thumbs-up.
“U-um... about this maid café...”
“Ahh, isn’t it brilliant? It’s our only chance to beat Rindōji!”
“No, I meant—I mean, never mind.”
Rather than questioning how such a borderline suggestive proposal had even been approved, Shiori was far more concerned about the state of his dignity.
Sensing his embarrassment, the trio burst into laughter again.
“Actually, we originally wanted the skirt to be even shorter.”
As she spoke, Mii traced a line along Shiori’s thigh through the fabric of his skirt.
Shiori turned deathly pale and instinctively clutched at his skirt like a modest maiden protecting her virtue.
Seeing his reaction, Aya, Mai, and Mii laughed even harder.
“Anyway, Shiori, you and the rest of the stage performers will stand by the entrance to attract customers. We’ve already trained the indoor servers thoroughly on how to handle guests, so you just focus on drawing people in.”
“Yeah! Make it as lively as possible! Aim for lines so long they wrap around the block!”
“Mmhmm. We’ve got an innocent, ethereal beauty; a pair of contrasting twins; and a tall, soft-spoken girl. Only a mature-woman enthusiast or a homosexual could possibly resist this lineup.”
“…”
Somehow, he’d been silently categorized as the “soft-spoken” type.
Shiori couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
What even was this situation?
Just then, the sound of numerous footsteps approached from the main entrance. The guests—or rather, the “Masters” and “Young Ladies”—had arrived.
“I-I feel so embarrassed...”
“Alright then, we’re counting on you!”
“We’ll let you know when your shift ends!”
“Everyone, Shiori’s in charge here now—do exactly as she says!”
With that, Aya, Mai, and Mii vanished inside the café.
“W-wait a second—“
But it was too late. Shiori could only sigh in resignation, taking on the duty and arranging the maid staff to greet incoming guests.
Thus, the decisive battle began. Crowds of attendees, guidebooks in hand, poured into the venue.
The clientele was diverse: parents of students, unemployed youths, nearby college students clearly there to flirt with high school girls, and middle schoolers using the event to decide which high school to attend.
Among them were also figures wearing jackets emblazoned on the back with the words: “Izayoi Miku’s Personal Guard.” They’d likely come specifically upon hearing rumors of the legendary idol’s upcoming stage performance.
“Ohoho... quite lively indeed.”
Arriving slightly late due to unforeseen circumstances, Tenkyū Sanraku—dressed in Rindōji’s uniform—glanced around and promptly locked onto Shido’s maid café.
After her recent confrontation with Izayoi Miku and Shido, she’d felt herself on the verge of “Lost,” so she’d hastily excused herself and left.
Admittedly, Tokisaki Kurumi’s tactics were impressively effective. Within just a day or two, Sanraku had already harnessed her willpower to successfully re-manifest in Tengū City once more.
She didn’t understand how someone who looked barely older than a teenager could have devised so many applications of Spirit powers—but it wasn’t her concern. Besides being strategic allies, she and Kurumi shared no personal connection. There was no need to pry.
“Hmm? What in the world is this?”
Sanraku tilted her head, staring at the sign. Even with the Spirit-granted universal translation, she remained utterly bewildered as she slowly read aloud:
”Maid Café ☆ RAIZEN...? What does this even mean?”
She’d heard of cafés in her previous life—supposedly establishments where people drank something called “coffee.”
“Maid”... a female servant?
Those parts made sense. But what on earth were the asterisk and “RAIZEN” supposed to signify?
“City life is too complicated. I should just go back to the countryside.”
Sanraku, whose intellect ranked an astonishing 254, mentally translated and re-translated the phrase several times—but the mysterious suffixes remained incomprehensible.
Still, one thing was certain: this was Shido’s doing.
If that was the case, why waste energy puzzling it out herself? She could just ask him directly.
With that thought—and partly just wanting to mess with Shido—Sanraku weaved through the dense crowd with the nimbleness of a fish slipping into the ocean. Despite the massive throng gathered in front of the maid café, she swiftly reached its entrance.
There, she also noticed those jacket-clad “Personal Guard” members.
“’Personal Guard’... So even without using her Spirit powers, Izayoi Miku has this many devoted fans? She must be incredibly talented... or perhaps suffered some deep trauma in the past?”
The term sparked a bold idea in Sanraku’s mind.
But it wasn’t time to act on it yet—and besides, her own reputation was far too notorious to make such plans feasible immediately.
She’d shelve the idea for now. There was always tomorrow.
“...”
“Ohhh... business is booming, isn’t it?”
Compared to neighboring stalls, this was an exceptionally strong start.
From Shido’s vantage point, no other nearby booth came close to matching the crowd flocking to the maid café.
Then—
“Welcome, Young Lady~”
As Shido bowed toward a newly arrived customer, he suddenly felt a hand cup under his chest, forcibly straightening his bent posture.
“Stand up straight. No slouching.”
“Eh...?”
What a strange customer.
...Though, she’d just touched his chest—hopefully she hadn’t noticed the padding underneath...
“The texture’s amazing—feels completely real.”
“!!!”
The teasing, all-too-familiar voice sent a jolt through him.
He snapped his head up—and locked eyes with—
“Right, Shiori?”
Tenkyū Sanraku smiled sweetly at him.
In that instant, Shido felt a chill run down his spine.
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