Hoshino Kasumi lets out a gasp of excitement.
True to the reputation that every gacha machine in Japan is housed here, the interior of the store is filled not just with otaku gacha machines but also absurd ones like cat dolls and even Buddha statues.
The fee is 100 yen.
About a thousand won in Korean money.
Why is it so expensive?
The adorable beautiful girl character plastered on the gacha machine makes my head spin.
To be honest, it’s not that I’m not interested, but I don’t want to spend this money to play gacha in real life.
It feels like a waste of money.
I’ve had enough of that in the mobile games I played in my past life.
“Junior, look! It’s just you and me here!”
Kasumi stands in front of the gacha machine.
Wait, it’s just me and Kasumi here?
I shift my gaze.
What she’s standing in front of is a gacha machine called ’Shuo Academy Student Keyring Grab.’
As the name suggests, the tube containing the capsules features famous students from Shuo Academy, including Aris and Eri.
And in that corner? There’s my photo and Kasumi’s too.
Wait, does this really exist?
According to the setting, the students of Shuo Academy are as popular as idols.
Of course, Eri, the top-ranking beautiful girl and the school idol, has her own fan club, along with Olivia, Rin, Aris, and even Ishihara being incredibly popular as well.
It wasn’t exactly a tangible setting within the academy.
But now that it’s too realistically approaching in a place like this, my head feels a little dizzy.
Furthermore, I am tiny in the corner, and Ishihara is center-stage with her big face, which doesn’t sit well with me.
Who made this? Did they even get permission for portrait rights?
I suddenly feel the urge to smash the gacha machine.
“I want my keychain with Junior! Can you just pull one for me? Junior…”
Kasumi blushes and timidly asks me with a small voice.
I see her sparkling eyes.
Does she really want it that badly?
Honestly, it’s embarrassing, but I can’t deny her.
I take out my coin wallet, put in a 100 yen coin, and turn the gacha.
The capsule drops.
Clunk.
I open the capsule.
It’s an Eri keyring.
I think I can even hear someone say “Eri ring” echoing in my head, making me dizzy.
“Ah, that’s disappointing. I really wanted it…”
Kasumi pouts her cheeks.
Is it okay to try again once more?
I put in another 100 yen and spin it again. This time, it’s an Olivia keyring.
Any moment now, I feel like seafood insults will ring in my ears.
As nothing else appears, a stubborn determination starts brewing.
Fine, it’s lucky number three… let’s go for a third time…
Clunk.
This time, an Aris keyring pops out.
…I kind of like this one.
[Partner, you have no luck. How about we wrap it up?]
No luck, huh? You want me to stop?
Who do you think you are?
I’m starting to get really annoyed.
“Junior, you don’t have to pull one for me…”
“Sure, go ahead…”
“No, I’ll get it for you. Please wait.”
After getting frustrated, I finally managed to pull the keychain of me and Hoshino Kasumi after 20 more tries.
The remaining keychains that became troublesome were all stuffed into my crossbag.
“…Here it is, Senpai.”
I took out the two keychains I finally got after a struggle.
Honestly, I shouldn’t have bothered with this gacha game.
Hoshino Kasumi’s eyes widen as she receives the keychain.
She hugs the keychain tightly and says, “Thank you, Junior… I will treasure this keychain, thinking of you! Really, thank you.”
There’s no need for her to think of me.
“This, you should keep it, thinking of me… Treat it preciously…”
Kasumi Senpai, blushing, hands over her keychain.
A heroine giving away her own goods. What a sight I’d never even seen in the original work.
But hey, I bought it with my own money, so whatever.
I thought that as I silently accepted the keychain she handed me.
After blowing a bunch of money at the gacha hall, I headed with Kasumi Senpai to the next date location she decided on.
It was none other than…
“Junior, this time it’s a maid café!”
The infamous maid café of Akihabara.
A maid café in a light novel world, how could I even complain anymore?
Dragged in by her hand like a cow led to slaughter, I stepped into the maid café.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
“Welcome, Master!”
The employees in maid outfits stopped what they were doing and greeted us with deep bows.
The shiny decor, the café packed with otaku customers, and the anime songs flowing through the café—it couldn’t be a more ridiculous sight.
My limbs felt like they were being crushed, and my stomach churned.
I need some stomach medicine, seriously.
Sitting down with the guidance of a maid along with Kasumi Senpai, I thought that I really disliked the pink decor.
Then…
“Masters! Nice to meet you!☆ I’m Maid Mayuri, here to serve you!☆”
A familiar voice rang in my ears.
It sounded like someone I knew well.
I turned my head.
There she was.
“Ma-Miss Mayuzumi?!”
With her pink hair in a ponytail and wearing a maid outfit, the busty beauty was none other than Mayuzumi Mayu, holding a menu.
Wait, why is the teacher here?
Moe Moe Kyun!
Cold sweat runs down Mayuzumi Sensei’s forehead as she makes eye contact with us.
Her pink eyes are trembling.
“F-Fuhnyan?! M-Master, you must be mistaken! Mayuri is not the teacher!★”
She stutters, desperately denying her identity.
Seeing her like that reminded me of the content from the limited edition drama CD that came with volume 6.5.
In summer break, the protagonist and the heroines went to a maid café and it turned out Mayuzumi Sensei was working part-time there under the name Mayuri.
There wasn’t much to the bonus drama CD, but I vaguely remembered that the maid illustration of Mayuzumi Sensei on the CD package was quite popular.
It’s a total cliché in Japanese subculture for one to encounter someone they know secretly working as a maid at a maid café, but I never thought it would happen here.
With all the maid cafés in Akihabara, it was impossible to memorize the names of all of them, even for someone like me who’s read countless light novels, so I only realized it after entering.
“I think it really is Sensei…”
Kasumi Senpai muttered, tilting her head in confusion.
The reason Mayuzumi Sensei is working part-time at a maid café is that her uncle is the manager.
The reason for the part-time job is that my uncle is the manager.
Mayuzumi-sensei, who is too nice to refuse requests from her uncle, temporarily agreed to help him and unexpectedly found it suited her, so she ended up working as a maid part-time. It was that kind of story.
As is typical in light novels, it seems she’s referred to as ‘Legendary Maid Mayu-Ling☆’ in Akihabara.
Ugh, just thinking about that nickname makes me cringe.
And this isn’t even in a light novel world; it’s the same in real-life Japanese maid cafés too, right?
Indeed, being a super nerd isn’t great.
“Ah, no!”
Mayuzumi-sensei strikes a pose while sweating buckets.
Should I act like I know her or pretend I don’t?
In the drama CD, the protagonist clumsily acts like he knows her, gets denied, and just before leaving the maid café, Mayuzumi-sensei whispers, “The part-time job is a secret.”
What to do?
I’m falling into ridiculous thoughts.
Who would have thought I’d seriously contemplate such disastrous matters during a daily event?
This is absurd.
[Partner. It’s better to keep a lady’s secrets.]
The Black Prince advises me in my head.
“Ah, yes. She resembles someone I know a lot, but let’s just say she doesn’t, Mayu-Ling.”
Without a concrete argument, I’ve decided to just agree.
By the way, it’s shocking that none of the students figured out that Mayuzumi-sensei is working here just because she’s wearing a ponytail and a maid outfit.
It’s like how Superman and Clark can’t be recognized due to glasses, while a magical pressure band flattens her assets as expected in a light novel world.
“Mayu-Ling was always Mayu-Ling! Master!”
Nyaa.
Mayuzumi-sensei, now 25, wearing a cat ear headband and jingling a bell, is something else entirely.
It’s not just dizzying; it’s almost pitiful.
“I-I don’t think it’s you after all. Ahahaha…”
Hoshino Kasumi awkwardly trails off with a laugh.
A brief awkward silence hangs over the table.
“It seems it’s your first time visiting a maid café, so Mayu-Ling will kindly explain it to you!”
Mayuzumi-sensei regains her composure and speaks like a pro maid.
The menu includes omelet rice, a must-have in maid cafés, along with coffee and drink items, and services like taking polaroid pictures with maids.
“The basic is one hour of fun with you, Masters! After that, extra fees apply!”
And the food is 1500 yen, plus another 1000 yen for a commemorative photo with the maid.
It seems they put up signs prohibiting photos inside the shop for this reason.
What a complete rip-off.
Mayuzumi-sensei explains while nyaa-ing, and honestly, it’s awkward.
Do we really have to do this?
I wish we could just leave.
“Wow, this sounds fun! Sensei, I mean, Mayu-Ling!”
Clap.
Kasumi’s purple eyes sparkle as she speaks.
I can’t suggest leaving with her like that.
It sounds a bit cheesy, but I owe Kasumi a debt of the heart.
I find myself getting all soft.
In the end, I ordered omelet rice and two soft drinks.
“Please tell me what message you want to write!”
As I order the omelet rice, Mayuzumi-sensei hands us a card.
By message, she means that thing you write in ketchup, right?
“Junior, do you have any message in mind?”
Kasumi cautiously asks me.
“Not really.”
I respond honestly.
Just hearing ‘Master’ from Eri is sufficient.
If it were before I pulled away from the fandom, I would have asked for something cheesy like ‘Aris-chan, the best!’ but now I have no desire to do that.
“Then… is it okay if I decide?”
“Can I decide this too?”
Hoshino Kasumi, her face flushed, asks cautiously.
“Do as you like.”
It’s not a big deal.
Since she clearly wants to do it, I said go ahead.
Scritch scratch.
Hoshino Kasumi writes something on a card with a pen.
“Thank you for the order! I’ll prepare it quickly☆”
Mayuzumi Mayu takes the card that Kasumi wrote on.
Maintaining her nauseatingly cute tone until the end, Mayuzumi backs away.
“What did you write? Senpai?”
I ask Kasumi.
“That’s a secret. Junior. I don’t want to tell a bad guy like you!”
Kasumi replies.
More talk about bad guys, huh?
It’s ridiculous.
At least it’s better than being on the street, surrounded by otakus in a maid cafe.
Before long, the omurice arrives.
Soft, fluffy, yellow egg over steam and a ketchup bottle nearby.
“Nya, nya, nya, nya~♪ Get delicious, get delicious. Yapp!”
Mayuzumi hums a tune while squeezing ketchup.
Such a shameless poker face in front of her student.
At this point, it’s moved from disgust to a new level of respect.
Squirt.
Red ketchup is drizzled over the yellow egg.
She looks like a clumsy ditzy maid character, but surprisingly creates delicate ketchup designs.
“Done! Mayu did her best! Please praise me, Master♡”
Mayuzumi smiles as she presents the omurice.
The message on the omurice that Kasumi called a secret is…
Next to a heart-shaped arrow umbrella symbol are the words “Deok-Sung” in katakana and “Kasumi” in kanji.
In Japan, it’s called aaigasa (相合傘) and translated to “Deok-Sung♡ Kasumi” in a Korean style.
A symbol often seen in melodramatic Japanese films or youth stories.
Usually, it appears on a chalkboard, often leading to the heroine or protagonist blushing and erasing it while exclaiming, “What is this!” or the heroine secretly drawing it in her notebook, only to be caught and blush.
But it’s not some karaoke wall graffiti.
What is this?
I’m about to lose it, seriously.
“Heeheehee…”
Kasumi’s face flushes as she laughs.
As our eyes meet, she quickly shrinks back.
“I-I’m sorry! Junior! You’re a bad guy, but the one who stole my heart! So… um, I… I like you, Junior…”
Kasumi stammers, her face red.
It’s all good, but why do it in a maid cafe with an anime song playing?
This isn’t some rain-soaked young romance film by the riverbank.
I’m really going crazy.
“Let’s just eat.”
As I sighed inwardly and picked up my spoon, suddenly…
“Master! You can’t eat it like this!”
Thud.
Mayuzumi blocks my spoon.
Ah, no way.
Don’t tell me.
A sense of dread starts creeping up again.
“You have to chant a spell to make this omurice delicious before you eat it!”
Mayuzumi places her hand on her chest.
Oh no.
I guess ‘don’t assume’ really gets you in trouble.
Now my head is starting to spin again.
“What spell?!”
Kasumi asks, surprised.
Mayuzumi forms a heart with her hands and winks.
“Get delicious, get delicious, moemoe~kyun♥!”
Wow.
I can’t believe I’m hearing that in person.
I expected to brace myself for this maid cafe experience, but I can’t take it anymore.
I truly feel unwell now.
