Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e - Volume 18 - Chapter 6.2

6.2

When we took Akito to the food stall, the boys accepted him without hesitation, even though they were teasing him. Akito's eyes turned a little red as he thanked them for such a warm welcome.

It was probably due largely to the fact that he was not the central figure in a particularly contentious situation. Unfortunately, Keisei, formerly of the Ayanokōji group, was not in sight as he had just gone on a break. Returning to the maid cafe in the special wing, the line was as long as ever.

Kushida was walking around handing out new cookies while serving customers with a smile. Both the old and young were all gazing at Kushida. They seemed to be enjoying her company. I felt bad for Azuma, who was working hard together with Kushida, and her contribution was more than what any of us expected.

“Welcome back!”

Satō shouted and led us to the entrance. Two female customers left the classroom, waving to the maids. Then the next customer busily entered and was ushered to an empty seat. The seats and chairs originally provided in this classroom were thinned out for the sake of the scenery, but now they have been brought in and reshaped in between to increase the number of customers. The seats were originally intended to be more spacious and relaxing, but now they have no choice because they had to make it to the end of the remaining hours of the day.

“It looks like they're here.” Kushida's words were heard from the corridor, and I waited for her to come to work.

“Ha, ha, ha! It's difficult to run!”

Haruka had arrived, out of breath, shoulders shifting up and down violently. The maids were momentarily distracted by Haruka's presence, but that wasn’t the point now. They immediately shifted their minds to what they had to do. No one asked why she was here. 

“Hasebe-san, where did you change your clothes?”

“The women's restroom... It was hard.”

“Of course.”

Kushida, in angel mode because she was in front of so many people, greeted Haruka with a wry smile.

“What's the... situation?”

“Ask Horikita-san about that. I've got my hands full with the lineup.” Horikita, dressed in a maid's outfit, called out to Haruka and entered the waiting room.

“Welcome.”

First of all, she said a few words of welcome and then gently patted Haruka's stiff-looking back.

“I thought you wouldn't show your face today, but you've made up your mind, haven't you?”

Haruka nodded and replied as she calmed her breathing, though not fully recovered.

“You aren’t playing the role of a maid right. You haven't even practiced; I don't expect you to be as agile as Satō-san and the others, but... right now I'm in a tough situation.”

It was inevitable that they would suddenly be thrown into the toughest of battles, a real war.

“You’re here to contribute to the festival. Can I trust in that?”

“Don't worry. I won't do anything to ruin everyone's hard work. I know you won't believe-”

“No, I believe you.”

Without hesitation, Horikita expressed her trust in Haruka's words.

“Why?”

“I can tell by the look in your eyes, Ayanokōji-kun must have talked you into it, didn't he?”

“Hey.”

“And Kushida-san. I didn't expect her to come to me dressed as a maid.”

“Kushida-san? I wonder when she left her post.”

Horikita seemed to be unaware of her absence, perhaps because she was busy in the hall.

“Anyway, I'm going to make you forget your grudge against me until after the festival, even if you don't want to.”

“I know.”

“Then fine. You'll be in charge of pouring for the customers who have run out of cold water, and if requested, you'll be in charge of taking pictures. Is that okay?”

“I'll see what I can do.”

Now that she had come this far, Haruka was a carp on the chopping block. She was not allowed to make such naive statements as, “I want to do it,” or, “I don't want to do it.

“I have to take a mandatory break at 3:00, so I'll leave everything after that to Ayanokōji-kun. Take care of her.”

“The best I can do is to take good pictures.”

I've already taken dozens of pictures today. I'm getting the hang of it.

Haruka nodded, looked at me once, and took a deep breath. Then, with a pitcher of water and a slice of lemon, she left the waiting room and began to walk around the store. She politely bowed her head as she introduced herself to each of the customers.

Of course, it wasn’t smooth, and she was clearly out of practice compared to the other maids. But on the contrary, she was warmly looked at by the adults. Furthermore, Haruka had an attractive side as a woman, and even if they couldn’t see her inner self, they subconsciously developed a liking for her.

“Before we think about winning or losing, I guess we, as a class, can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

“Yes.”

“Ayanokōji-kun, Hasebe-san, take three pictures of us! Thank you very much!”

Satō’s voice reached the waiting room, and I quickly got my camera ready. Horikita must be ready to make one last spurt with the remaining time before the break.

“See you later.”

After Horikita left the waiting room, I looked at the board in the room.

The board was designed to show at a glance who had been nominated for the most photos, and Kushida was the one who had taken the most photos during our absence, with 56. Satō, in second place, is a commanding leader by a whopping 24 pictures. As for Horikita, she took only 11 pictures, perhaps because she was not very sociable.

If we were only talking about appearance, Horikita would not lose to Kushida, but in this competition, there are more important factors. First is being cute and flirty... second is also being cute and flirty.

It's firstly charm, and secondly looks.

“Even if Haruka tries to catch up from here, I don't think she'll be able to surpass this record.”

While standing in front of Haruka with my camera, I heard from the hallway that another order had come for a photo with Kushida.

“Okay Haruka, let's get a shot.”

“Yeah.”

Haruka's expression was stiff, perhaps because she was still reluctant to face me. I looked through the lens for a chance to take a picture, but she wouldn’t give me one.

“Shall I switch with Yōsuke?”

“Wait. It's okay.” Haruka raised her hand.

It wasn’t a full smile, but it was a good enough expression for a picture, so I released the shutter. One was taken alone. The other two were two-shot photos with the guests.