Chapter 390: Maid Café

"You… you used the tea I made to rinse your cup!?"

Kaguya's temper flared the moment she saw what Rinji did.

She had put in serious effort to brew that cup—adjusting the temperature, measuring the tea leaves, even choosing the right tools. Not to mention, the tea leaves themselves were of top-tier quality.

And this masterpiece of tea got treated as rinse water.

"Ah, just an old habit from back home."

"You… never mind. At least take one sip. I did put effort into it." Resisting the urge to punch him, Kaguya's eyebrow twitched violently, but she forced a smile.

"Fair enough."

Rinji poured the tea back into the now-rinsed cup and downed it in one go.

"Ton-ton-ton~"

'Tea is meant to be sipped, not chugged like a gorilla guzzling water,' she thought.

Despite his crude behavior, Kaguya smiled and asked, "So? How was it?"

"Not strong enough."

"You think this is liquor!?"

Kaguya facepalmed.

"Forget it. I'll go get Hayasaka. If I stay here, you'll probably make me pass out from frustration."

She figured the only one who could handle Rinji now was Hayasaka.

"Take care."

After she left, Rinji began scanning the menu.

Since Shuchiin Academy was an elite school, all the ingredients used during the Hoshin Festival were of high quality. That also meant prices were high.

The tea Rinji just drank? 800 yen per cup. Two cups meant 1600 yen, even if one was used for rinsing.

Even though school activities weren't meant for profit, they weren't cheap either. For most people, visiting the school during the festival was a financial blow.

While Rinji browsed the menu, a figure quietly approached.

"Master, is there anything you wish to order?"

"I think you could use a more normal greeting, Hayasaka."

"That's the theme of this café."

Wearing her maid uniform, Hayasaka sat down across from Rinji without hesitation.

"Or would you prefer something else? I could call you 'onii-chan' if you'd like."

"You're a year older than me."

"Please don't casually bring up a lady's age."

"You're only seventeen. Still too young to be worrying about that," Rinji chuckled.

He glanced at her outfit and noticed it was the exact same maid uniform she wore at home.

"You're wearing the same thing here too?"

"Yes. If you don't like it, I can change into a more revealing version with a mini skirt and sleeveless top."

"Please don't. I think this look suits you just fine."

"Mmhm, can I take that to mean you don't want other guys seeing me dressed provocatively?"

"...My possessiveness isn't that bad."

Rinji turned his blushing face away.

Seeing his cute reaction, Hayasaka smiled warmly.

She really enjoyed these moments—chatting and occasionally teasing Rinji.

"Anything you want to eat?"

"Hmm… do you have vodka?"

"This is a high school-run café. Of course we don't serve alcohol."

"Then what do you recommend?"

"How about the 'Omelet Rice Filled With Love'?" Hayasaka pointed to the menu, where it was priced at 3000 yen.

It looked like regular omurice. No clue why it was so expensive.

Officially, pricing was regulated. But clearly, the maid café skirted around that by charging for service rather than the food itself.

"I'll go with that, then."

"Got it. Please wait a moment."

Hayasaka took the menu and headed to the kitchen. Rinji waited at his seat.

About ten minutes later, she returned with a steaming hot plate of omurice.

"Here you go."

"You made this?"

"Yup."

"Aren't you just a server? Why are you cooking too?"

"Since we've got more customers, the kitchen needed help, so I stepped in."

In truth, though the café was busy, the kitchen wasn't overwhelmed. Hayasaka had asked if she could cook, and the others simply let her.

"I see. I'll dig in, then."

Rinji picked up his spoon.

But just as he was about to eat, Hayasaka suddenly held his hand down.

"Wait."

"What?"

"It's 'omurice filled with love,' remember? There's still one step left." Hayasaka picked up a bottle of ketchup and drew a huge heart on top of the omurice.

Then, taking the spoon from Rinji, she scooped up a bite and held it out to his mouth.

"Say ah~"

"You guys offer feeding service too?"

"We do! That's part of the maid experience."

That was a lie.

Shuchiin's maid café offered no such service.

Take the table next to Rinji's, for example. Two young guys had been watching Hayasaka feed him and excitedly asked another maid:

"Hey, do you guys really offer that service?"

"Nope!" the maid answered with a smile.

"But she just—"

"Oh, if a maid chooses to, we won't stop her," the girl smiled again. "But it's very rare. I certainly wouldn't do it, Master~"

"Damn it!"

A group of students stared at Rinji and Hayasaka with envious and bitter expressions.

Not only did this maid café not offer a feeding service, even the usual maid duties were limited to taking orders and serving plates. At most, they might chat briefly while pouring tea. A case like Hayasaka, who ignored all other customers and stayed by Rinji's side, was absolutely unheard of.

Rinji stared at the spoonful of food in front of his mouth for a moment before finally closing his eyes in resignation and biting it.

As he chewed, Hayasaka gently wiped the sauce off the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.

Rinji assumed this was just part of the café's service.

But the surrounding customers were practically burning with jealousy.

"How's it taste?"

"Overall, not bad."

That was Rinji's evaluation of the omurice Hayasaka had made herself.

It was hard for him to come up with more praise—he cooked himself and was quite picky about flavor.

After being fed two spoonfuls, Rinji took the spoon back and quickly finished the plate.

While he was eating, Hayasaka stood beside him with a bag of coffee beans and a kettle, carefully brewing a pot of coffee and pouring it into a cup before handing it to him.

Worth noting: on the surface of the coffee floated a latte art heart made with milk.

The classmates around them were all slightly surprised. Everyone knew what it meant to serve something with a heart design during the Hoshin Festival.

"Hoo~"

Rinji took a sip of the coffee and smiled.

"This coffee tastes really good."

"If you like it, I can brew it for you every day," Hayasaka said with a soft smile.

That one gentle line made the foreheads of nearby customers pop with veins—they really wanted to rush over and beat the crap out of Rinji.

"Thanks. If you could brew one for me on Friday to Sunday mornings, that'd be enough."

After setting down his cup, Rinji stood up.

He paid at the counter, and as he left the maid café operated by Class 2-A, Hayasaka followed behind him.

Her shift had ended.

"So, where should we go next?"

"Let's walk around the school building. There's a lot to see and do there."

"Our class set up a haunted house. Want to check it out together?"

"Sure."

Now back in her regular uniform, Hayasaka smiled.

Rinji would be spending the entire afternoon with her today.

---

"Just place it there, Ishigami."

"Okay."

Ishigami, still helping out the festival committee, wiped the sweat from his forehead after moving the last box.

He hadn't exercised in years and lacked muscle. Even moving boxes was exhausting.

"Thanks for the hard work."

Taking a short break, Ishigami's eyes wandered to Tsubame Koyasu, who was directing some students.

'How should I invite her…?'

The day before, Rinji had given him all kinds of plans—like checking out the haunted house together, or getting crepes.

There were plenty of ideas, but Ishigami froze at the most important step.

He just didn't have the courage to invite Koyasu directly.

'Asking her out is too hard… She's so popular at school. If she turns me down, it'll crush me… If only I had half of Rinji's boldness.'

He envied Rinji's fearless personality.

Hiding behind the school building, Ishigami watched Tsubame, shaking his head as he thought things over.

'No, this isn't the time to hesitate. The Hoshin Festival is my last chance. If I miss this, I'll never get another.'

He slapped his cheeks and mustered his courage, walking toward her.

"Um, Koyasu-senpai."

Scratching the back of his head, he couldn't even look her in the eye.

"If it's okay… I'd like to…"

"Ah, Yuu-kun, I was just about to come find you!" Tsubame smiled brightly. "Want to walk around the festival together?"

"Eh? Really?"

He hadn't even asked yet, and she already invited him.

"Of course."

Her smile was infectious—and devastating to Ishigami.

Now that she had taken the initiative, he wasn't as nervous anymore.

"Our class did a haunted house. Rinji handled the sets and costumes—it's really impressive. I heard you like horror. Want to go?"

"Sure!"

'Yes!!!'

---

"How rare. Fancy meeting you here, dear aunt."

"Maki-senpai."

Kaguya and Maki ran into each other.

Due to internal disputes in the Shinomiya family years ago, the main family (Shinomiya) and the branch family (Shijo) had always been at odds. That animosity continued into the next generation.

Though Kaguya and Maki were blood relatives, their relationship was strained—collateral damage from the previous generation's feud.

Kaguya was still wearing her Taisho-era maid uniform from the café. After her shift ended, she'd rushed out to look for Shirogane and hadn't had time to change.

Then she was dragged into Class 1-B's haunted house—by none other than her family's rival, Maki Shijo.

"What's your purpose dragging me here?"

"Nothing. I just missed you, Auntie," Maki said with a shrug and a smile.

"Really? I don't recall giving you anything worth missing."

Their conversations were always like this—not openly hostile, but clearly cold.

"I saw this haunted house and thought we could go in together."

"Stop calling me aunt at school, Maki-senpai. And why do I have to go in?"

"Because you look like you're alone."

"..."

"And so am I."

As she said this, Maki's eyes dimmed a bit. Just earlier, Tsubasa Tanuma and Nagisa Kashiwagi had entered the haunted house together. Since the space was limited, only pairs were allowed in.

Maki, being the odd one out, wasn't allowed to join them.

She didn't dare go in alone. Then she saw Kaguya walking by and shamelessly pulled her along.

"I really am alone, but…"

"Then come with me!" Maki flipped her twin tail. "Or are you scared?"

"Ridiculous. Why would I be—"

"There you are, Shinomiya."

Shirogane's voice called out behind her.

Kaguya turned quickly, delighted.

"President?"

"My class just finished up. Haunted house, huh? Want to check it out together?"

"...Sure."

Maki: QAQ