章 71: An Otaku’s Romance
"So, where shall we go first?"
After returning to cosplay as a wizard, Masachika responded to
Yuki's words.
"I want to go somewhere to eat. I haven't had lunch yet... Alya too,
right?"
"Eh? Yes…..."
The time was already past 14:30, but Masachika and Alisa had not
yet eaten lunch. Before the quiz showdown, the executive committee was
busy with work, and after the quiz showdown, the afterglow of excitement
and tension remained, so they didn't have much of an appetite.
"I see. After the quiz showdown, I only had a light meal, so let's go to
a restaurant where we can eat well, shall we?"
"Then... How about there? There's a line."
What Masachika looked at was a joint project between Class D and
F, which had an incredible presence. Surprisingly, it was a maid cafe that
used the three classes from Class D to F. Class F's classroom was used as
a changing and cooking room, while Class D and E's classrooms were used
as halls. By the way, if you're asking where Class E went, they had a stall
project in the school yard. As a result of some queen's selfishness, saying,
"If you want to have a maid cafe, you have to listen to Sayachii~," there was
a rumor that Class E gave in to the pressure of the queen of the school and
the debating queen and were kicked out~. In particular, there had been no
complaints from Class E, so it was just a rumor.
"Sounds good. I'm a little curious, too."
"I don't mind."
With their agreement, Masachika got in line to wait for their turn.
Perhaps it was fortunate that it was past lunchtime, but they didn't have to
wait long for our turn.
"Welcome back, master, miss."
"Ah, oh."
A rather cute maid, who was also in charge of line management,
bowed reverently to him, and Masachika was a little taken aback by the
unexpected authenticity of the event.
"Masachika-kun, your face is looking a little loose, isn't it?"
"No, that's not the case."
[Careless...]
(Stop the irrefutable name-calling.)
Immediately, both of them pointed it out, and Masachika felt a little
uneasy and pressed his mouth with his hand. Then the maid in front of him
chuckled.
(Oh, shit.)
Under his hands, he found himself making a genuine smile with his
mouth.
(Huh? What's this? Maybe...I have a greater weakness for maids
than I thought!?)
Masachika thought he was used to being with a maid, as he was
usually in the presence of a maid in his own right, Ayano... But apparently,
he was mistaken.
(Well, it's not good... If this is the case from the entrance, I might
get all freaked out when I go inside. That's too much in front of these two!)
Yuki would tease him for the rest of his life, and Alisa would look at
him with the utmost contempt. As Masachika was struck by a sense of
unexpected danger, the maid, with a smile tucked away, gestured with her
hand to the Class D classroom.
"Please come this way. By the way, when you move to the next
classroom, you have to pay 200 yen for your seat."
"Oh, okay."
Masachika smiled unconsciously at the pretty maid's remarkable
business practices.
If you look at it, the windows on the corridor side of the two
classrooms were completely covered with dark curtains, so you couldn't see
what's going on inside. In other words, you had no idea what kind of maids
were inside. If you didn't find the maid you were looking for in the classroom
that you were guided to, you would pay to go to the next classroom. Harsh.
(Yeah, alright. Retract my smile, yup, yikes.)
Masachika managed to regain his composure and stood in front of
the sliding door. He adjusted his mind as he opened... the sliding door, so
that no matter what kind of maid came to the door, he wouldn't look
disheveled.
"Welcome home~♡ Master♡ Miss♡."
A beautiful maid, who seemed to have a sound effect of "sharara la la la la
♪"[1] gave a perfect welcome. She had
a fluffy miniskirt that wrapped around her hips in a high position. Her long,
slender white legs stretched from there. Her childish twin-tail hairstyle with
loose waves went well with her innocent smile. It was an incredibly beautiful
maid that you won't see often in real maid cafes. At this, even the
quintessential Masachika couldn't help but think,
"Ooooh!"
He didn't know what to do. Because the maid was Nonoa. That was
all.
"? What's the matter? Master♡."
Masachika's cheeks twitched at Nonoa's appearance, who was
behaving far from her usual character.
"Oh my~, even a lovely elf lady. It really suits you♡"
"Oh, yeah, thanks?"
Even Alisa was slightly taken back, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Thank you for welcoming us. Nonoa-san, it suits you very well,
doesn't it?"
On the other hand, Yuki, who was in her ojou-sama mode, was
unfazed by all this. She praised Nonoa without hesitation, without losing a
trace of her elegant smile. Then Nonoa intertwined the fingers of both her
hands and placed them on her chin, wriggling and shying away.
"Oh~, really~? I'm so happy♡."
...and with a tone that made a "haha♡" sound effect.
"Oh, boo."
"......"
Masachika got a heartburn from what he thought was a creepy sight.
Alisa stopped thinking because of the gap Nonoa had with her normal
attitude. However, Nonoa didn't seem to mind such a reaction from her
bandmates (in fact, she probably didn't care), and led the three to their
seats with a beautiful wink.
"Oh, uh, can we order?"
"Oh, yes♡."
Then, as soon as Masachika and the others were seated, she was
called to another table, and Nonoa headed that way. Apparently, Masachika
and the others who felt nothing but discomfort with Nonoa's character were
in the minority, and that every other male customer in the classroom
seemed to be captivated by Nonoa. In the middle of receiving the order, you
could see that their eyes were glued to Nonoa's thin waist and white thighs
peeping through the hem of her skirt.
Of course, Nonoa was aware of this, as she worked as a model to a
certain extent. She seemed completely comfortable and unconcerned about
being seen. On the contrary,
"Mou~, Master? Where are you looking?"
"Oh, no, no, nowhere...."
She even made room for a mischievous "meh." The boys at the table
were embarrassed, but their mouths were relaxed.
"She's scaring me."
Masachika objected again. Then, a female student dressed in a
classical maid's outfit approached them, a complete change from Nonoa's
Akiba-like[2] maid's outfit.
"Are you ready to order?"
Looking at her, Masachika's mouth involuntarily gaped and a phrase
came out of his mouth.
"Whoa, the c-chief maid…..."
"? I'm the chief maid, but what about it?"
Sayaka, who didn't seem to mind the three cosplayers, lifted the
temples of her glasses while raising one eyebrow a little. Unlike the maids
around her, her customer service attitude lacked any flirtatious charm. Her
maid's uniform had a long skirt with few decorations, and she wore glasses
that shone with a cool-headed light, carrying a dignity that set her apart from
ordinary maids.
"May I take your order?"
"Let's see. Then, the 'maid's loving meat sauce.'"
"Our recommendation is curry rice!"
"Ha?"
"I recommend the curry rice."
The chief maid refused the order in a gentle manner. With her cheeks
twitching, he had no choice but to follow the recommendation.
"...it's because pasta is a pain to cook, right?"
"Oh, you're spot on."
"Of course I'll know. Who do you think checks the food system?"
Because of the health department's regulations regarding the
provision of food at school festivals, everything was checked in advance to
ensure that there were no problems with the cooking process. Masachika
knew this because he was involved in the checking process, as while curry
rice can be simply served on lentil rice, pasta was a bit more timeconsuming because you had to boil dried noodles. And well, simply...
Curry rice had a lower cost ratio. I mean, to put it bluntly,
"No... The curry is expensive, isn't it? Even if it's homemade, it's
still 1,000 yen at a school festival."
No matter how many rich students attend the school festival at Seirei
Gakuen, it was hard to see four-figure prices for a single item. He didn't care
if it was a super expensive coffee or something, curry was still curry, no
matter how much "handmade" value it may have added. As for pricing, it
could only be said that it was too aggressive. But there was no way that this
chief maid could have set this price without thinking.
"Take a closer look. There will be a drawing for a chance to win a
photograph with the maids."
"A photograph? Oh…..."
Masachika himself had never been to a maid cafe, but he had heard
that some stores offered to take a photograph of you with a maid if you
collected enough points. The fact that the curry rice came with a lottery was
rather reminiscent of a handshake ticket for some idol...
"By the way, what is the probability of winning?"
"Master, that's a maid's secret."
"Oh, you called me master, I was wondering if you'd do that......"
That was rather surprising. At Masachika's unintentional outburst,
Sayaka lowered her gaze and silently lifted her glasses before continuing.
"...don't worry. It's the proper way to address you."
"Oh, yes. Well, don't worry too much about that──"
"Sorry! One more Lucky Curry over here! Without curry and rice!"
"For me too!"
"Okay~, here is the raffle ticket for the drawing~."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I think I just heard a very dark exchange."
"It must be your imagination."
"It's not just my imagination! Look! Look at the eyes of the boys
around there! They're all addicted to gambling!!"
"We are not forcing anything on them. We simply do as our masters
wish."
"Damn, what an irrefutable excuse......"
As expected, she was the former queen of debates afterall.
Masachika was impressed by Sayaka's cool, composed attitude. Then Yuki
nodded in admiration.
"I see... They compensate for the low turnover rate of in-store
eating and drinking by raising the price per customer in this way."
"That's just you and your nasty analysis... It's a maid cafe, but not
like the ones from my dreams."
"Master, aren't you dreaming too much about maid cafes?"
"I don't like this maid!"
Screaming at the chief maid who was mercilessly crushing his
dreams, Masachika ordered curry, since he didn't care if he didn't win the
lottery that came with it. Yuki and Alisa followed suit and ordered curry rice
and drinks for three.
"Then, please wait a moment."
After Sayaka bowed her head and left, Masachika looked around the
restaurant again. What was surprising was that all the female staff in the
store wore maid uniforms, all of which were of a different design.
"It seems like it cost a lot of money just to pay for the costumes...
That's why the interior is so simple."
"I don't know who I heard it from, but apparently the maid uniforms
were rented through a student's friend. It was a pretty cheap rental rate."
"Oh, as expected of their treasurer."
When Alisa's complement brought his gaze back, she looked back at
Masachika with cold eyes.
"But still... Masachika, do you like that kind of thing?"
"What? Oh, no, I mean, It's not like I like maids... I just think their
uniforms are cute. Like an otaku?"
"Hmmm~?"
"In that case, at the entrance with, was it... Mizoguchi-san? You
seemed to be grinning a lot, weren't you?"
"No, I didn't mean to grin…..."
"That's how it looked to me too."
Masachika was at a loss for words when even Alisa chimed in. In all
honesty, Masachika didn't have such a guilty feeling... but when he was
worrying about how to justify it, Yuki chuckled...
"I'm just kidding. I was just teasing you a little. Masachika-kun, you
don't take much interest in people you don't know, do you?"
"That's a misleading way of saying it, but... Well, I guess so."
At Yuki's words, Masachika nodded with a slight chuckle.
In fact, Masachika did not have much interest in members of the
opposite sex that he did not usually interact with. It was the same feeling as
watching idols and actresses on TV. He would have impressions such as
"cute," "pretty," and "good-looking," but he wouldn't really want to get close
to or touch them. Although such feelings may arise as a result of some form
of interaction with them. In fact, when he first met Alisa, he just thought,
"What a beautiful girl!" and didn't really plan on getting along with her. The
only exception was Maria... no, Maa-chan.
(Now that I think about it... Maybe it was what you would call love at
first sight.)
While thinking about that, Yuki whispered to Alisa in front of him,
"Alya-san, Masachika-kun is thinking of another woman in front of
us."
"I knew it. Somehow I thought so too."
"Hey, what's with that woman's intuition, really?"
Masachika turned his tired eyes on the two girls who were reading
his mind somewhat breathlessly. However, Alisa pursued a question in a
cold voice without answering him.
"So? Who were you thinking of?"
"...Ayano. Because she's a maid"
"Hmm~. Well, Kimishima-san is pretty cute, isn't she?"
"...I think Alya would be absolutely adorable in maid clothes."
After saying this to put her in a good mood, Masachika suddenly
tilted his head.
"Huh? Alya…... Have you ever had a chance to wear maid clothes
before?"
"...You must be imagining things. Aren't you mistaken for
something?"
"What~...? I see, I must be mistaken......"
When Masachika nodded his head, feeling a little unaccountable,
Yuki laughed a little mischievously.
"So Masachika-kun likes a maid's uniform. I'll try it on next time, too."
"Oh~, why don't you just do whatever you want?"
"...Masachika-kun, haven't you been treating me a little too roughly
lately?"
"No, because when you dress cute…... huh?"
Seeing Masachika say so with a slight furrow of his brow, Alisa
looked at him a little reproachfully, but with a slight hint of superiority in her
expression. However,
"I'd love it, and I even would take pictures."
"No, I can't believe Masachika loves you that much... That's bold."
"No, I'm kidding? Alya? I'm just kidding, okay?"
Masachika tried convincing Alisa, whose eyes became as cold as a
hundred tundras in an instant. Of course, he was not kidding. On days Yuki
wore cute maid clothes, Masachika would always take a lot of pictures and
loved it very much. If he admitted that here though, it would only be
problematic, so he'll just call it a joke.
Then Alisa turned away with a slightly dissatisfied look while saying,
"I wonder if that's the case", perhaps convinced. Masachika laughed at this
behavior, which no longer hid her fondness for him at all.
(Well, this much can be interpreted as jealousy of a friend's partner.)
[You never even look at me like that.]
(I can't do that... She wants me to see her as a girl to the fullest,
doesn't she?)
What does it really mean if the person herself was not aware of this?
(I wonder... Does she mean, "I want my partner to always see me
first!" Is that the idea? But I already like Alya the best......)
While he was thinking, the chief maid brought curry rice and drinks
for three people.
"Here you go, 'Made by hand, Lucky Curry.'"
"Oh, thank you."
After serving the food and drinks at the table, Sayaka brought a box
with a hole at the top.
"And here's the lottery."
"Yeah, it was creating a lot of ruckus moments ago......"
"Excuse me. The masters over there just happened to be out of luck."
"I wonder if it's really a matter of luck."
He didn't bother to count, but Masachika was sure that five or six
people had given up on their responsibilities. If you listened carefully, you
could hear anguished voices saying, "Next time......" or "But no
more.......", followed by Nonoa's sweet voice, "Master, would you like
another drink?" As long as they were sitting down, they were enticed into
spending more money even when they were worried. It was resilient.
(It was also sad to be declined with a "bad luck" after that......)
With that in mind, Masachika drew the lottery. When he opened the
folded paper, he found the word "winner" on it.
"What?"
"See, it was a matter of luck, wasn't it?"
Smiling out of the corner of her mouth, Sayaka raised her voice so
that it echoed throughout the classroom.
"Congratulations! He's won the photograph prize!"
At these words, the boys who were about to get up and say, "I think
I'll give up after all......" turned around with a grimace. Then Nonoa
immediately called out to them.
"Would you like a refill~?"
"I'll have one. Oh, and one more Lucky Curry!"
"Ugh~... Me too!"
"Ah, the poor bastards are back in the gambling swamp…..."
If you think about it rationally, the fact that one winning lottery ticket
had just been won means that the odds of winning were less than they were
a few minutes ago. Surely they were no longer capable of making such
rational decisions. Or perhaps they are also very unforgiving of the fact that
a random guy had just won.
(Hmm? Wait a minute. Now that I think about it... Is it really a
coincidence that I won the lottery?)
Masachika did not think so. He thought... that him hitting the
jackpot here and now could not have been a better situation to rekindle the
other customer's buying interest. He suspected so, as the other lottery
tickets were tightly folded, but the one Masachika took was folded in a lax
way and was easy to grab...
"Oh, I lost."
"Me too…..."
Masachika stared intently into Sayaka's face as Yuki and Alisa
placed their blank lottery tickets on the table. However, Sayaka asked
Masachika with a quiet smile that did not reveal any inner feelings.
"Then, master, which girl would you like to have your picture taken
with?"
"Huh? Oh, come on."
"By the way, the most popular is Nonoa."
"No, she──"
"I knew it. Nonoa! It's your choice!"
"You're not listening to me, chief maid!"
"Yes♡. Would you like to appoint me? Master♡"
"......"
Masachika turned a cold eye on Nonoa, who was still squealing as
usual. However, Nonoa would have noticed it of course, but she went
through it brilliantly.
"Then, Master, please come this way♡"
Then, Nonoa stood in front of the blackboard behind the classroom.
There were hearts, flowers, ribbons, and other brightly colored chalk
drawings, making it a sort of reflection spot.
"Oh, I see... You're going to take the photograph there."
Frankly, Masachika didn't want a photograph with Nonoa, who only
gave him a creepy feeling. However, it seemed strange to nominate another
female student here, so Masachika left without saying anything.
"Oh, well…..."
"My Nonoa-chan is…..."
Then he heard the pitiful voices of the brain-destroyed bastards all
around him.
"I see, so this is a 'But I liked her first' situation......"
"BSS?"[3]
With Yuki and Alisa's exchange in the background, Masachika stood
in front of the blackboard. Then Nonoa offered him a piece of chalk.
"Yes, master, please write your name here."
"My name?"
"So we can write Nonoa's and Master's name here~ Then we'll take
the picture☆"
If you look at it, there was something like a flashy cross-like design in
the middle. On the left side of it, Nonoa wrote her name in hiragana.[4]
(Ugh! So embarrassing!)
This may be a nice service from the maid cafe event perspective, but
from Masachika's perspective, it was tantamount to a public execution. Also,
the gaze from behind hurt. Icicles were mixed in with grudges from the other
boys.
"Master?"
After being urged by Nonoa to write his name, Masachika wrote his
own name after some hesitation. However, he did not stop there, and
added, "Aiming for the next student council!" under their names.
For a moment, Nonoa suddenly became serious, but then put on a
joyful smile.
"Hmmm, you are an interesting one, Master☆."
After whispering so much, Nonoa smiled innocently again.
"Yes~, we're ready~"
Masachika gently patted down his chest as Nonoa turned to Sayaka
while saying this. Yes, doing this made it not look embarrassing, but rather
instead a way to showcase the cooperative relationship between the
Kujou/Kuze pair and the Taniyama/Miyamae pair. If you think of it that way,
it was nothing to be ashamed of──
"Please make a heart sign with your hand in front of your chest. I'm
going to take the photograph with a 'One, two~, three, Love Kyuu[5]~'"
Masachika's face turned serious at the unsympathetic words of the
chief maid.
◇
"It was delicious, the curry."
"Right, there were a lot of ingredients. It was more authentic than I
thought it would be."
Satisfied with the curry, which was better prepared than expected,
Masachika and the others sat down.
"Not yet! If this happens, I'm going to push it to the limit!"
"I've come this far and I'm not going to back down!"
Pretending not to notice the boys who had gone to the point of no
return, Masachika headed for the checkout.
"Yes, this is the photograph I mentioned earlier."
"Oh, thank you…..."
Masachika honestly didn't want it and would rather throw it away now
as it was just black history to him. However, he was also hesitant to throw it
away in public.
(Well, I'll throw it away when I get home......)
With that in mind, Masachika shoved the photograph he received into
his chest pocket without even looking at it. Then he went out and followed
the plan he had discussed during their meal and headed for the schoolyard.
And,
"Oh, I'm sorry~!"
"Oops"
Nonoa, who seemed to be heading to pick up ordered food, overtook
him from behind. While attracting the attention of students passing through
the corridor, Nonoa entered Class F's classroom, which was used as a
changing room and cooking room.
She didn't even look at them as she passed by.
"Everyone must be busy, but do your best♡."
"Leave it to me! Hey, you guys, get into it!"
"""Uoooh!!!"""
Masachika became distant as he heard the voices of the impeccably
trained boys coming from inside. Alisa also looked a little surprised, looking
toward the classroom and muttering approvingly.
"I thought I didn't see any boys out front, but... they are working
completely behind the scenes."
"Oh. I guess regarding the project of maid cafes, I thought it was the
boys who came up with the idea, but I wonder if that was... the case. This
whole thing feels like the social status of the boys was low."
The group of maids were squeezing money out of their male clients
while using their male classmates as labor for their own good. Was this
what happened when the leadership of Sayaka, one of the best
commanders on campus, was enhanced by Nonoa's charm? Masachika
even felt a kind of brainwashing.
"It's hard, chef! We don't have enough pots and pans to make
leftovers!"
"H-Hah? Dumbass! Go buy more now!"
"What, how about this small pot......"
"So what? The girls put in a lot of effort to serve the customers! You
should put some burden on yourself too!!"
"! Yes!!"
...Even the interactions between the boys reassembled that of
military men in training.
"...That maid cafe has a lot of dark sides."
"After all this time, I'm starting to think that we are actually the MVPs
for preventing Sayaka and her group from becoming the junior high school
student body president."
"Well, but no one seems to be forcing them to do anything...
Considering the unity of the group......"
All three of them exchanged such comments with subtle expressions
on their faces, and Masachika and the others left the area. The three of
them spent the next 30 minutes going from one exhibit to the next, capturing
the attention of everyone around them. Checking her watch, Yuki
exclaimed,
"I have to go back to work at my class in about 20 minutes... One
last thing, if you would like to come and see our show, would you be willing
to come and see what we have to offer?"
Taking up the offer, the three visited Class 1A's classroom. There,
they found festival-style lantern decorations here and there, with a yo-yo
fishing game, a target practice game, ring tossing, and other activities lined
up in a corner.
"Welcome, Kujou-san! Amazing......"
The boys near the entrance gasped at the sight of Alisa and then
exclaimed. The other students were the same way, suddenly startled by the
surprise, and then turned around to look at the members who had entered
the room, and immediately afterwards were speechless at the sight of Alisa.
Even the students in the next class, who should be relatively familiar with
Alisa, were shocked to see her in elf form.
"Thank you all for your hard work. I will attend to these two, so please
stay where you are."
Yuki called out to the students and the students of Class A, who had
been dazed, began to move slowly. However, they were still concerned,
glancing at Alisa while dealing with the customers in front of them. But that
went for the guests as well.
"So, Alya, would you like to participate in any of these?"
"Let's see, well... I'd like to try yo-yo fishing. I didn't catch a single
one at the last festival, so I want to avenge that loss."
The moment Alisa said that, the students who were playing yo-yo
fishing quickly vacated their places. Alisa was a little startled by their quick
response.
"P-Please~ come~ on in, Kujou-san! Over here!"
The boy who was in charge of the yo-yo fishing store, indicating the
vacant spot with his hand, shouted with a sense of superiority and joy. As
Alisa turned to him, Masachika took off his robe and handed it to her.
"Eh?"
"Here, wrap this around your leg. The water might splash around like
it did the other day."
"Ah......"
Unlike Masachika's robe, which was a cheap commercial item,
Alisa's costume was a first-class handmade item. He couldn't bear to get it
wet...but in reality, the main purpose was to prevent her panties from
being visible as she squatted. Alisa seemed to have noticed this as well,
and after a bit of embarrassment in her eyes, she uttered a small "thank
you."
Then, as he tried to follow Alisa, who was holding his robe and
quickly heading toward the yo-yo fishing stall ... a crowd quickly formed
around her, and Masachika laughed.
"Oi, come on... What are you going to do with the other exhibits?"
Even the students who were in charge of other areas abandoned
their posts, and even Yuki had to laugh at this.
"Well, all the other guests have gone to see her too... It's like her very
existence is now an obstruction to our business."
"I guess…... By the way, should I comment on her~ who has been
blending into the air for a while now?"
"Please don't touch her right now. As a maid, she has mixed feelings
about it."
"I see."
"So, Masachika-kun, would you like to try any of these? Like I said, I'll
take care of the customer service, okay? I won't give any prizes, though."
"You're not?"
"Because if I do, Masachika will win everything."
"That's right."
Since there was no one around, the two of them talked a little more
frankly than they did earlier.
"Yes, that's right... But I don't think even the mighty Masachika-san
can win that."
Yuki pointed to a stuffed bear that was placed in the center of the
upper level of the target shooting table. Unlike the other prizes, it was sitting
firmly on the table, and didn't seem to be scared by the slightest bit of
movement.
"...such dignity."
"They say it's a teddy bear of a famous British brand. It seemed to be
a one-of-a-kind item handcrafted by artisans and coveted by fans."
"Why is such a thing at a target practice game?"
"Because it's Seirei Gakuen."
"Damn, how convincing."
Saying this, Masachika headed for the firing range. When
challenged, it was his duty to respond.
"Okay, five shots for 300 yen."
"No, you're not taking my money."
"In return, if you can tip over that stuffed animal, we'll make sure to
give it to you."
After saying this with a smug look on her face, Yuki smiled and
whispered with a plain expression on her face.
"(Why don't you give Alya a gift to remember the school festival? My
brother.)"
At Yuki's words, Masachika looked over his shoulder at Alisa, who
was yo-yo fishing with a serious expression on her face, then silently took
out his wallet.
"Five rounds for now."
"Yes~"
Masachika received five cork bullets from Yuki, loaded them into the
gun with a familiar motion, and then precisely aimed them at the stuffed
animal. And when he quietly pulled the trigger, the cork ball was sucked into
the stuffed animal's head without missing its target... and bounced off!
"No, isn't this too hard?"
"I told you you wouldn't get it."
"Even so. It's set to be a little harder, even compared with the crane
game."
Masachika hit it cleanly on the forehead and it just shook its head a
little. The stuffed animal was still sitting on the table, looking as fluffy as
ever. Staring at its slightly bent-over position, Masachika asked Yuki.
"...Yuki, how many guns do you have?"
"? There are four in total."
"Get out the rest."
Asking Yuki to line up the four guns, Masachika put the remaining
balls into them one by one.
"...are you going to do a series of shots? I don't think that's enough to
drop it."
"Yuki…..."
At his sister's prediction, Masachika called her name as if to
condemn her for her hasty decision. Then he said quietly, staring at the
stuffed animal.
"I've been practicing my fusion skills lately, you know?"
"Seriously, everyone likes that kind of thing."
Masachika laughed at his sister's unintentional outburst of naivete,
and held up his gun as if looking up from below.
"I'll tell you... What's important is how you convey power."
Saying this gruffly, Masachika pulled the trigger.
The released cork bullet passes directly under the stuffed animal,
bounces off the blackboard behind it, and hits the back of the stuffed animal
in the head. Without seeing the result, Masachika continued to switch guns
and continued to shoot precisely at the same spot.
As a result, the stuffed animal, which had been sitting slightly bent
forward, plunged forward and fell to the floor, including the other prizes that
were on it, and fell to the floor.
"Alright."
"No, not alright. What's with such high difficulty?"
"Yes, so you had to use the secret technique 'release internal power'"
"Shut up."
When Masachika tsukkomi'd with a straight face, Yuki let out a sigh
of exasperation and picked up the stuffed animal.
"Oh~, I didn't think you would really win it... It was going to be the
highlight of tomorrow's giveaway. Well, a promise is a promise."
Yuki, who grinned and turned his attention to Alisa, then handed the
stuffed animal to Masachika.
"Fu-fun~, then, here you go? I'm so happy to give you such a
present~♪"
Masachika handed the stuffed animal he received from Yuki back to
her.
"Oh...?"
"Take it."
"What?"
Masachika looked at Yuki, who was just plain dumbfounded. With
gentle, slightly sad eyes he said, "I'm sorry."
"You can have a stuffed animal now, right?"
It was when Masachika was still in the Suou family. At that time, Yuki,
who had severe asthma as a child, was unable to hold stuffed toys, which
were prone to dust. The stuffed animals she used to carry around with her
when she was little were put away, and she spent most of her time in a
simple, sickroom-like room where cleanliness was a top priority.
Masachika couldn't give Yuki the stuffed bear he got at the arcade
that time. That sense of regret, which remained deep in his heart, was now
driving Masachika.
"......"
At Masachika's words, Yuki held the stuffed animal tightly and looked
down. Then, after shaking her shoulders for a few seconds as if she was
holding something back, she looked up with a calm expression on her face.
"Oh shit... you're flattering me in broad daylight in the classroom!"
"What?"
"Well, you didn't need to raise your favorability with me, you know?
It's already maxed."
"I'm the type of guy who feeds the fish I catch."[6]
"Oh, my dear, dear onii-chan."
Yuki then buried her mouth in the stuffed animal and shook her body
in embarrassment.
"Mmmmmm~, mmmmmm....... Onii-chan....why are you my big
brother?"
"Because I was born before you."
"Oh, that's it? Then I don't need to respect you."
"Why all of a sudden?"
Suddenly, Yuki's expression turned blank, and Masachika picked up
on it with a straight face. Then, after thinking about it for a moment, he
clicked his tongue further with a jittery look.
"...I mean, I don't even remember being respected by you."
"...Huh? I don't either."
"So you aren't respecting me."
"If you want to be respected, I think there's a certain attitude that
goes with that."
"Well if you want me to be a respectful older brother, I think you need
to change your attitude."
"What's wrong with me, the cutest little sister in the world?"
"Like the way you've been changing your facial expressions since a
while ago."
"That's because every time I feel her eyes on me, I go back into ojousama mode."[7]
"I'm impressed with your super-sensitivity."
"I'm good at it, aren't I?"
"It's strange though."
After smiling elegantly at her brother in an ojou-sama manner, Yuki
broke into a grin.
"Thank you, onii-chan."
"Hmm."
Masachika almost patted her head without thinking, and only nodded
a little. Yuki laughed as if she understood even that, and the air between the
two siblings was relaxed—they both bounced their shoulders together at the
peaceful feeling that came rushing in.
When Masachika turned around, he saw Alisa staring at him from
behind a crowd with a yo-yo in her hand. Alisa stood up like a ghost and
retreated into the crowd. Then she smiled faintly with eyes that were not
smiling at all.
"It was fun"
"Oh, my... Alya was kind of excited, wasn't she?"
"Well... I finally got one after a lot of hard work."
"Oh, good..."
"And? What were you two doing while I was struggling so hard?"
As Alisa tilted her head with a smile on her face, Masachika couldn't
say, "we were flirting," and only stated the facts.
"...I was shooting."
"And?"
"Yuki said I wouldn't be able to win this... so I was determined to
get it."
"Yeah, so?"
"... Well, I don't need a stuffed animal…... I was thinking of giving it
to Yuki."
"Hmm~"
While Alisa's voice was full of emotions, the students of Class A, who
seemed to have finally noticed the situation, began to panic.
"Oh, wait a minute, they won the stuffed animal!"
"You're kidding me! I didn't see it at all!!"
"No, I didn't either. What, didn't anyone see it?"
Yuki called out to the corner of the classroom to her classmates, who
still couldn't believe it.
"He really shot them down without any irregularities at all, didn't he?
Hey, Ayano."
In response to Yuki's call, Ayano, who was blended into the air for a
while, quietly spoke up.
"Yes, indeed."
When Ayano nodded expressionlessly, the students of Class A held
their heads together. Ayano continued, somewhat proudly and with deep
emotion, in front of a crowd of students who were screaming "No way!"
"It was a truly wonderful divine act... Masachika-sama's secret
technique that is."
"No, wai─."
As soon as Masachika raised a panicked voice, the clamor stopped.
They all hold their heads up and look seriously at Ayano and Masachika
with straight faces.
"A secret technique…... What?"
"Didn't she say it herself?"
"Well."
"No, she was just kidding!"
All at once, they looked at Masachika with donned eyes, and
although he hurriedly made excuses, the atmosphere remained the same.
"Masachika-kun…..."
"Ah, Alya?"
"...don't get too excited at school festivals."
"Don't look at me pitifully!"
Masachika's plaintive cry echoed through the Class A classroom.
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