5.3
Less than two hours into the festival, the maid café was maintaining its customer base as planned.
The important thing was how well they could handle the goods we stocked. Especially since the film we stocked cost about 70 points per roll.
So far our stock seemed to be holding out well, and I, the instant camera and photographer, had been busy flying around the classroom. The instant camera, which cost nearly 9,000 points, was not a cheap photographic equipment to have invested in, and I had to buy another one in case my current one broke down.
“I got one shot~!”
The maids' voices echo through the store, and I move out of the waiting room, camera in hand.
It seems that this time they wanted a photo shoot with Mii-chan, and Ichihashi, who was in charge of the bill, promptly received the points on her cell phone and completed the payment.
“Yes, cheese!”
After taking a two-shot of the laughing Mi-chan and the customer, I checked the film that popped out of the instant camera.
“Of course...”
I knew it was suspicious at the moment I took the shot, but I had released the shutter just as Mii-chan's eyes closed.
“Ugh, sorry Ayanokōji-kun……”
“Never mind. I'll take another picture.”
It was a souvenir shot, and while I didn't mind if the guest's expression was a little problematic, I couldn't give him one with a mistake in the maid's expression. This was not only a consideration for the guests, but also for the maids, such as Mii-chan. As a girl, there was no way she would accept a badly taken photo.
That was why, even though each picture could be taken for 800 points, two, or in some cases three, sheets of film were needed.
The second shoot went well, so I handed over the photos that were ready to be developed. After the shooting was over, I quickly went back to the waiting room. Well, I have been repeating this kind of thing endlessly since this morning. But still… this festival, with so many people connected to politics, was the perfect opportunity for that man.
I knew that he would try some kind of trick to set me up, no matter how many people were around. This must have been the same for Chairman Sakayanagi. However, as noon approached, there was no sign of any change.
I was reminded of the conversation between Tsukishiro and the mysterious student who had visited me during the athletic festival.
“But no matter how good you are, you are still just a child. You should understand that that person has already factored in that strength of yours and sent me to you.”
“After eliminating Tsukishiro, all we have to do is eliminate the white room students and peace will return. I came here to advise you because I think you are making such a mistake.”
If we were to tie these matters together somewhat forcefully, it would be natural to think of capturing me by force with adults who are not students through the cultural festival.
In fact, they decided to use Tsukishiro to forcefully hold the festival, so it should be so. Would they miss this great opportunity by letting me evade them?
“Missing an opportunity…”
Of course, the festival was not over yet. But what if they had not made any moves at this point?
That would not be mere negligence, but….
“Ayanokōji-kun, what should I do, I seem to have run out of Darjeeling!”
Seeing Mii-chan rushing in with a panicked look on her face, I interrupted my thoughts.
Let's focus on the problem at hand for now.
We had prepared several kinds of tea, but the Darjeeling, which used high-end tea leaves, sold out immediately. We had discussed and narrowed down our stock to the minimum number, but the sales were unexpectedly high. On the other hand, inexpensive tea bags sold poorly. Since it was impossible to buy more on the day of the show, we could not restore our inventory now.
“Put a sell-out sticker on all the menu boards right away. I'll write corrections on the signs that are posted outside.”
“Uh-huh.”
I grabbed a pen and immediately corrected the sign with the menu at the entrance of the restaurant. Both were cheap props from the bargain bin, but they would work.
“There we go.”
I wrote the words “Sold Out due to popular demand” next to the Darjeeling. Although this is an unexpected sellout, it was a way to showcase the popularity of the maid cafe.
Immediately after, an arm reached out from the left side behind me. What came into view was not a school uniform, but the fabric of a suit.
“Take this without turning around.”
A white paper, folded in half, swayed in the slight breeze coming in through the window. There may not be any contact, or so I thought, and just when I thought so, this happened. It would be easy to ignore the order not to turn around, but I silently accepted it.
The person who approached me at such a short distance without giving me any sign of him was not an ordinary person.
“May I ask your name?”
“That's needless prying.”
As soon as I grab the paper, his left arm disappears from my sight. I held that position for a while, and then I sensed another presence approaching.
“What's wrong, Kiyotaka-kun?”
Yousuke seems to have come out of the classroom, concerned that I didn't come back right away.
“Sorry, I was approached by a guest who got a little lost and had to be dealt with. Any trouble?”
“Orders are starting to not turn out well. The stalls seem to be doing better than expected.”
“I see, the turnover is getting out of control. I'll be right there.”
After confirming that Yōsuke had left, I unfolded the paper I had been holding in my right hand.
[I'm here to pick you up. Decide for yourself what to do. I'll wait for you at the front gate.]
He even politely included his phone number.
I decide what to do? If they are really giving me a choice, did they really think I would choose to leave?
It was unclear how much significance the note had. All I could say for sure was that the person who handed this to me was connected to the White Room.
Have they decided that they can't use direct force and will leave it to my judgement?
But the fact that no other action has been taken so far may have something to do with that sentence. Either way, there was no point in worrying about it. I rolled up the small piece of paper, put it in my mouth, and swallowed it.
Paper originally comes from a plant, and its main ingredient is cellulose. It has no enzymes to break it down, so it cannot be digested and gets ejected as it is. It is not a problem if a third party picks up this note, but it can be a disadvantage to have it in my possession. If it was a festival where you were stuck in a bad situation, it was better to do this quickly and easily because there were no further issues.
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