The line for the Class 2-C maid cafe stretched all the way to the neighboring classroom, a clear sign of its massive success.
(Let’s see, where’s Kuroki… Ah, there she is.)
Rui was still about five people from the end of the queue, tucked away toward the back.
As usual, she drew gazes from everyone around her, yet she acted as if she didn't notice a thing, focused on a paperback book while she waited. Perhaps because she was so engrossed in her reading, no students dared to call out to her; they were content to simply stare from a distance.
"Kuroki, you got a second?"
The moment I spoke, she snapped the book shut.
"Oh? Ryouta-kun? You took quite a while… Were you busy fooling around with Yuria?"
"We weren't fooling around! Geez, you really have a sharp tongue when it’s just the two of us."
"Coming from you, Ryouta-kun, aren't you the one playing with girls a bit too much lately?"
"I… I am not! I'm not playing around with anyone."
"I'm joking, Ryouta-kun. Don't look so angry, okay? Hehe."
Rui laughed as she said it, but I broke into a cold sweat because I honestly couldn't tell if she was actually kidding. In reality, even if I wasn't exactly "playing around," there were far too many incidents today that hit close to home—like almost touching Airi’s massive breasts or being kissed by Yuria.
"Anyway, did you run into Airi on your way here?"
"Ah, yeah. I saw Miyama in front of Class A just a bit ago. She went to the Class 2-A in-class fair with Ichinose."
"You should have gone with them, Ryouta-kun."
"I-I’m fine skipping the festival stuff. More importantly, you should go join those two at the fair, Rui. I’ll LIME you when it’s our turn."
"…Honestly, you're so kind, Ryouta-kun."
Rui muttered the words quietly, a distant look in her eyes.
"I appreciate the offer, but… I don't really like noisy places much either. Why don't we wait here together?"
"I… I guess that’s fine."
And so, the two of us ended up waiting in line side-by-side.
Just being alone with Rui was enough to make the glares from the surrounding students feel like physical stabs. I thought I had grown accustomed to jealous looks thanks to Airi and Yuria, but with Rui, the atmosphere felt different.
"That's the guy from the Snow White play, isn't it?"
"He was with Umiyama-san and Ichinose-san earlier, too."
"I can't forgive this… I'll take that guy down no matter what."
It felt less like jealousy and more like pure murderous intent.
"Sorry, Ryouta-kun. Being with me… it’s a bit bothersome for you, isn't it?"
"You mean the way people are staring?"
"Yes. Even though I have no desire to be popular, it just happens."
Coming from an unpopular loner like me, that would usually sound like a humblebrag, but with Rui, I knew it was her genuine, frustrated truth. Rui Kuroki showed zero interest in men. She was a Perfect Superhuman who stoically pushed herself to achieve the perfection she demanded of herself.
Did even someone like her have weaknesses? Like something she couldn't master?
"Hey, Rui. Have you ever… had something you couldn't do perfectly?"
"…Hehe."
"What are you laughing at?"
"It’s just, I couldn't help but smile, thinking that you've finally taken an interest in me, Ryouta-kun."
"Huh?"
Seriously, I never had a clue what was going on in her head.
"Of course, even I can't do everything perfectly. But…"
"But?"
"Whenever I'm in trouble, a Hero always appears before my eyes."
"A… Hero?"
I was stunned to hear such a dramatic word like "Hero" come out of her mouth.
"Hey, what kind of hero is—"
"Heeey! Ryouta! Rui-chan!"
As we were talking, Airi and Yuria came walking over from the direction of Class A.
"Weren't you two going to the Class A fair…?"
"Well, we felt bad about being the only ones having fun. If Ryouta and Rui are waiting in line, we figured we'd join you."
"Yeah! Plus, that fair had so much good stuff like takoyaki and yakisoba that I wanted to eat everything. But since we have the play this afternoon, it was too much temptation for the eyes, so we came back!"
If a dwarf who was already so well-endowed ended up with a food baby, it would probably be a problem in more ways than one, so that was a wise decision—though part of me secretly wanted to see it.
"Anyway, looks like we're about to get in."
"I wonder if Kanade-chan is working hard?"
In Tanaka’s case, while she was a loner at heart, she was the type who actually followed through once she was given a task, so she was likely doing fine.
"Next group, please come this way~"
Finally, we were ushered into the classroom.
"""Welcome home!"""
The moment we stepped inside, the girls of Class C, all decked out in maid uniforms, greeted us with bright smiles. Perhaps they had spent too much of their budget on the outfits, because the decorations were fairly sparse for a maid cafe, but business was clearly booming anyway—likely because the girls were generally high-tier.
(Our class has the school’s top three beauties, but it’s often said among the guys that Class C has the highest overall average of cute girls.)
The three exceptional beauties of Class B versus the overall power of Class C… it was a tough call.
(Well, except Class C also has a loner like Tanaka…)
Noticing our arrival, Tanaka, who had been wiping down a table, immediately scurried over to us.
"Welcome home, Master! Welcome home, Miladies! I’ll show you to your seats right now!"
The loli-glasses maid Tanaka was serving customers with surprising energy and skill. She wore a white brim headpiece, a black dress, and a frilly white apron. Since Tanaka was tiny, her maid outfit was a small size, but it suited her so perfectly it would probably cause a riot in the loli-maid community.
She was actually quite cute. It was hard to believe she was the same person who usually spent her time alone on the school rooftop.
"I'm so happy you all came! The Class B play was really wonderful!"
"Hehe, thank you, Tanaka-san."
I had the impression Rui had disliked Tanaka when she came over to my house the other day, but she was being unusually polite today. Technically, these two were first and second in the entire grade on exams, so they were rivals in a sense.
We were led to a table for four; Airi and I sat side-by-side, with Rui and Yuria sitting across from us.
"Um, here is the menu."
Tanaka placed the menu on the table. Let’s see… wait.
"Love-filled Omurice, Love-filled Tamagoyaki, Love-filled Omelet, Love-filled Chanpuru, Love-filled Quiche… Hey, Tanaka. What is this menu?"
"Our maid cafe specializes solely in egg dishes."
"What?"
She made it sound like a high-end specialty shop, but they were obviously just trying to save on ingredients. And every dish was seven hundred yen. Even in this economy, that was steep for a school festival.
"Airi wants the omurice!"
"Then I'll take the omelet."
"I'll have the quiche. What about you, Ryouta-kun?"
"I-I'll have…"
I had another performance later, so I didn't want anything too heavy. That left the quiche or the chanpuru.
"I’ll take the chanpuru."
"Certainly! The omelet, omurice, and quiche come with a 'Magic Spell' service. Would you like to include that?"
Wait, the spell was optional?
""No thanks.""
Rui and Yuria declined in perfect, flat unison. Well, I expected as much from them.
"You two are no fun at all."
"No, it's just… it's a bit embarrassing to watch someone you know do that stuff."
"Eh! Airi wants you to do it!"
"Th-Then, let's do it together, just for Airi-tan!"
"Yeah!"
Airi seemed like she’d love this kind of thing. Tanaka gave a quick bow and went to relay the order to the kitchen.
"By the way, Ryouta-kun, you go to maid cafes pretty often, right?"
"Wait, is that true, Ryouta?"
"A maid cafe? I don't really—"
"Hehe…"
As I tried to deny it, Rui flashed a wicked smile.
"Oh? That's strange. When I saw you at the station last Sunday, didn't you tell me you were heading to your favorite maid cafe in the next town?"
The moment she said that, the memories of That Day came rushing back. Ah, crap… Come to think of it, on the day I went out with Yuria, I had lied to Rui and told her I was going to a maid cafe.
"Sunday…?"
Yuria muttered softly, her eyebrows twitching as she realized something. She looked over at me. As expected of my number one Understander, she had immediately grasped the situation.
"L-Let’s worry about that later! Shouldn't we decide where we're going after the play is over?"
"…I suppose so. Setting aside what Ryouta-kun was actually doing for now."
Rui said that with a gentle smile directed right at me. God, she was terrifying.
"I want to check out the Class 1-C haunted house. What about you, Airi?"
"Airi wants to go to the haunted house too! Oh, but I also want to eat lots of takoyaki and yakisoba after the play!"
So she was going to eat the festival food after all. Well, I wanted to see her with a full belly, so I had no complaints.
"Do you have anywhere you want to go, Ryouta-kun?"
"Wh-Why ask me? This is your plan for the three of you, right?"
"Ryouta, you're coming with us!"
"Ugh, fine…"
If I walked around with these three, the other guys were going to lose their minds with envy.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
While we were discussing our plans, Tanaka returned with the food.
"Here is the Love-filled Omelet, the Love-filled Omurice, the Love-filled Quiche, and the Love-filled Chanpuru."
Tanaka set the dishes down, repeating "Love-filled" so many times it started to feel repetitive.
"Now then, Airi-tan! Please make a heart with your hands and join me!"
"Okay!"
"Make it delicious, make it delicious, Moe Moe Kyun!"
"Wow… th-that's quite something, Tanaka-chan."
Although Airi had joined in with a heart shape at first, she looked slightly weirded out seeing Tanaka go full-throttle with the "Moe Moe Kyun" (and for some reason, she had switched from calling her Kanade-chan to Tanaka-chan).
Honestly, even for an otaku like me, I really didn't want to hear my best friend doing the ritual.
"Come on, Ryouta-kun, you should do it too!"
"I am not doing it!"