After chatting, the four of us went out for a little while. We went to the cafe near the school, karaoke, shooting range and other places.
Though I was spending my time with friends, after knowing so many things in such a short time, I couldn't help but feel indifferent on the inside.
Tatsuya stretched his arms.
"Gah! That was fun!"
"Sure was!"
"Yes, definitely!"
The other two chimed in.
"Not had fun like this in a while!"
I said, not to seem out of place.
Emika and Tatsuya smiled while Kuro glared at me. I ignored her gaze and continued to walk beside Tatsuya.
I looked up at Tatsuya's watch. It displayed '17:23.'
We spent our precious time out enjoying the day. If only the future wasn't looking bleak.
I heard the girl yawn.
"I think I'll go hit the deck."
Kuro said, teary-eyed.
"E-eh? But you're never the type to sleep before 10 pm. What happened?"
I asked.
"Maybe it's because of Golden Week, who knows? You might as well join me since you have nothing to do."
She said.
I noticed Emika looked slightly off. She twiddled her fingers while constantly looking away. Tatsuya whispered something into her ear; she looked more determined.
"U-uh, Shoya, would you like to..."
Her cheeks flushed red as her gaze ceaselessly switched from me to the ground.
"Go and get a bite to eat?"
"Oh, sure."
As much as I wanted to accept Kuro's offer, I suddenly felt hungry after that 'confession.'
--
And so, we went to the nearest restaurant and got a place to sit down.
"Uhmm..."
Emika was sitting opposite me. We had a window seat.
"May I ask..."
It was going to be a nice dinner between the two of us. I already knew that we would have nice chats and laughs together. Or so I thought.
"What are you doing here, Kuroha?"
The cat girl also tagged along. She brought herself in by saying, 'It's not a date, is it?'
"I wanted to tag along. I thought coming here would quell myself of a slight stomach ache I have."
That doesn't even make sense. Out of every excuse she could come up with, Kuro came up with that?
"Hmm, so you don't feel like sleeping anymore?"
"Nope. Something about this 'arrangement' made me sleepless. Since Tatsuya went, I thought I should also come here."
Kuro and I began arguing for a few seconds until the maid came to our table.
She passed the menu onto the table and spoke.
"Please would you select your food quickly, Master and Mistresses. I need to-. Ah, shit."
We all stared in shock as we saw the face of the maid. Her face became red and she looked away with a conflicted look. The girl tried to hide her face behind her notebook.
I wouldn't even need to look at her face to know who she was. The purple hair was a dead giveaway.
"I thought you were the Master."
I said, jokingly.
"Shut up. This is just a part-time job I'm doing to get credits. You should probably get one too."
"Yeah, maybe."
I should consider getting a part-time as Anastasia says. I mean, everywhere I've gone, I haven't spent a single credit on anything.
The school gives you 100,000 CRD for free.
(1 credit = 1 yen)
Lunch at school is free but they still need the student ID for something about verification.
Anastasia told us to choose our choices faster. Emika started first. She then turned her attention to me.
"You okay? Heard you were comatose for a short time."
Anastasia softly spoke. I could sense a hint of concern in her voice.
"Yeah. I woke up hours ago and I've been done since then. That reminds me, I still haven't-"
"It's fine. Don't mind the one day left you had as my servant. I'd be irresponsible if I demanded that day back."
"Don't you mean, 'It's alright, as long as you're fine?'"
As I teased her, she blew a fuse.
"Oh, shut up! I wouldn't care for you at all! Hurry up and choose your food!"
Emika gave the menu to Kuro.
Anastasia readied her notebook and pen.
"Well?"
"I'd like to have the beef stew with miso."
Kuro continued searching for what she wanted while Anastasia and I stared at Emika blankly. She looked clueless.
"What?"
"Nothing. So, beef stew with miso..."
She wrote the words according to what she said.
"Okay, what about you, Kuro?"
"Can I have a Strawberry-Chocolate parfait?"
I stayed silent. Anastasia tried to act natural. She broke into a cold sweat.
"K-K-Kuroha... That's on our dessert menu. Desserts are for AFTER you eat your dinner. Not before."
Kuro gave her an ignorant look.
"That's fine. The parfait is my dinner."
"Right..."
Her voice faded away as she wrote down Kuro's food.
I slammed my head onto the table.
I never thought a rich girl would eat beef stew for dinner. What's more, the cat girl, who's never been to a restaurant before, is eating a parfait for dinner...
Kuro passed the menu on to me.
I don't even know what to pick at this point. Oh, found something.
"Could I have tonkatsu?"
Anastasia silently cheered by pumping her fist.
"Yes. Any toppings, Master?"
"Can I have some cabbage and extra rice?"
"Anything for you, Master."
The girl sighed.
"I'll tell them your orders and chill."
"Chill?"
"I haven't had my break yet. I'm sure Faith-senpai would let me have one. Especially with my friends."
Oh, that's Anastasia for you. She already knows a senpai. Meanwhile, I haven't even communicated with the older years.
She started walking away.
"You may have to wait a little while. I'll be back with your food."
And Anastasia disappeared into the kitchen.
We waited for 15 minutes and our food came, but it wasn't Anastasia who served us.
"Umm, where's Anastasia?"
I asked the maid, as she set down our food.
"She'll be here, she's just changing. I just wanted to see Stasia-chan's friends and what they're like."
Stasis? I think that's the first time I've heard someone refer to Anastasia using a nickname.
The maid looked tough. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail and was coloured a yellowish-green. Her eyes were orange and she had fangs for teeth. Overall though, she seemed kind.
"You are?"
"Ah, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Faith, the lead maid and manager here at Alter Restaurant. I'm also one of the maids who serve Weissmann. I'm sure you know what I mean, Shoya Sasaki."
She smirked and looked at me.
So, Ophelia isn't the only maid who serves Weissmann.