I changed into my butler uniform in the changing room.
The male waiters' uniforms were basically just tailcoats, and we were allowed to wear our regular uniform shirts underneath, which made changing quick and easy. On the other hand, the girls were dressed in full maid outfits, so it looked like they'd need more time than us.
After straightening my clothes, I made my way back to the classroom. Walking down the hallway felt a bit embarrassing, but when I looked around, most of the other students were wearing equally strange outfits too, so it wasn't like I really stood out. When I passed the rugby club captain, I saw that even he was in on it, as he was wielding a pink cane and wearing a frilly skirt.
What's his class doing? I mean, our school's pretty liberal, I guess.
By the time I got back to the classroom, it was time for us to go through the final check of the customer service manual. Even though only seven of the fifteen of us in the customer service team were on duty this morning, the whole group gathered for the briefing since explaining it once for every shift would be tedious.
Ayase-san, who'd already changed, listened intently to Class Rep's lecture from her place beside me.
She looks cute in that outfit.
But now wasn't the time to admire Ayase-san's outfit, so I did my best to avoid looking her way and focused on what Class Rep was saying.
"—That wraps it. Our school's cultural festival usually goes off without a hitch, but just in case anythin' happens, don't hesitate to voice your concern. Safety comes first, so prioritize yourselves. We have teachers patrolling too, so feel free to rely on them! And remember, this is a school event, not a job."
We all nodded silently. If this whole gig of ours really was real customer service, we'd still need to be polite even when dealing with difficult customers. But as she said, this was only just a school event, so we didn't need to hold back if we were to run into any troublemakers.
Yoshida nodded and asked Class Rep a question.
"But the people who'll be visiting our class are all from Suisei High, right? I don't think we'll have to deal with anyone that weird…"
"How naive!"
Class Rep planted her fists on her hips, standing firm.
"Naive?"
"As naive[1] as drizzling honey over Crimson Misuzu strawberries!"
[1: "甘い" (amai) means sweet but can also mean naive in contexts like this, which Class Rep uses to make a pun-like joke]
"The heck?"
"Amaou strawberries work too!"
"What are you on about?"
Both were strawberries rich in sugar.
"Our class has lots of cute boys and girls, so there's a decent chance some creep might act inappropriately!"
"Would anyone really make a fool of themselves just 'cause they think someone's cute?"
"Some people get swept up in the festival atmosphere!"
"Huh?"
"Alright, alright, calm down, you two. It's almost time to open the doors." I interjected, stepping between them while pointing to the clock in the classroom.
Class Rep was probably just protective of our classmates. I'm sure Yoshida understood that too.
"We're opening!" Ryo-chin—no, Satou-san—yelled from the back room.
But still… Getting caught up in the atmosphere and doing something inappropriate, huh?
No, no, what happened that night was different. It's been two weeks already, so why am I thinking about it now? I mean, since that night, we hadn't even found ourselves in an atmosphere that would've led us to something like that even once. But then again, considering we're still prepping for exams, it's probably a good thing that we've been focusing only on our studies…
"Asamura-kun."
"!"
I was so startled by Ayase-san calling my name that it felt like my heart was about to jump out of my mouth.
"W-what?"
"Look, customers are already coming in. We need to get ready."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Panicking, I moved to the side of the makeshift backroom with Ayase-san.
Our last high school cultural festival had already begun.
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
Our classroom was divided by a curtain, with the back half serving as the makeshift backroom. Naturally, this meant that our desks and chairs were stacked even further back.
Alright, let's get to work.
Standing in line at the edge of the curtain, Ayase-san and I watched as the customers started streaming into the classroom. Out of the seven of us on shift, five had already gone out to take orders, meaning the next round of new customers would be ours to serve.
I snuck a peek at Ayase-san, only to see she'd turned to look at me at the same time.
"What?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing…"
The only ones waiting by the stage were the two of us; there was no one else around.
Still, I lowered my voice and whispered, "It looks good on you."
While we're on the topic, our cafe's maid uniforms weren't standardized. If it had been a real café, the uniforms not matching would be out of the question. But since we had thrown together these maid and butler outfits from random pieces and patched them up, we just barely managed to make them work.
I mean, it's probably good enough for a high school cultural festival.
"Thanks. I'm not really into all the frills, though," Ayase-san said, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt. "You look pretty stylish yourself, Asamura-kun."
She was complimenting my butler outfit.
And she was probably right. Uniforms like this are designed to look good on anyone. I thought about saying that out loud, but Ayase-san would've probably responded, "I mean, isn't that the same for my maid outfit?" So, I held back. I didn't want to undermine my own compliment, and honestly, I really did think she looked great.
"Thanks," I replied simply.
I peeked out from behind the curtain toward the café area and noticed that we didn't have many customers yet.
The space we'd arranged for the actual café area featured a game table in the center, surrounded by smaller dining tables. Letting people play games at every table would hurt the turnover rate way too much, so we went with just one big table in the center which other customers could watch while they ate and drank—kinda like a show.
By the way, payments for festival attractions were not done with cash, but with tickets you'd purchase at the school entrance. You can think of it as a kind of currency that's only valid for the festival.
The upfront costs for each attraction were covered by students. Therefore, a portion of the money made from selling the tickets would be used to reimburse students who turned in receipts. This way, the students can only spend within a set limit, and they won't make excessive profits either.
Even the casino games we'd set up were just mini-games that used tickets as buy-ins; there obviously weren't any cash prizes. It was supposed to be light-hearted fun, but the idea of being watched by others while playing probably discouraged a lot of people from trying it.
And that was all part of the plan. The game table getting too crowded would only mean customers would stay in our class for too long.
It was actually my idea to separate the traffic flow to prevent chaos during customer transitions in the crowd. But of course, it was Yomiuri-senpai who gave me the tip.
"Saki, Asamura-kun. If you could."
Oops, we'd been called.
Ayase-san guided a couple that looked like they were in high school to their table, while I took charge of the family that came in behind them—a boy who seemed to be in elementary school and his mother.
"Welcome—"
Whoops, no, that's not right.
"Welcome home, madam, young master."
The boy looked at me with a puzzled expression. Damn, maybe it's a little too early for a kid this young to understand the whole butler-and-master act.
"Yes, thank you. Look, the nice onii-chan's going to show us to our table. You're hungry, aren't you?"
"Yeah!"
His mother, on the other hand, was unfazed. Maybe she's been to places like this before?
I handed them the menu once they were seated. It goes without saying, the range of food and drinks we could offer at a high school festival was pretty limited—we could only serve items that didn't need to be cooked with fire. But to the boy beaming with excitement, our café probably felt like any normal stall at a typical festival.
"Here is the menu. If you would like, you can also use your tickets to play games at that table over there."
After giving a quick explanation and receiving their orders, I took the menu back. Having input their orders into the tablet we were using (a piece of school equipment we also use in regular classes which we're using here to send orders to the cooking team via the cloud), I bowed politely and retreated to the backroom. Almost at the same time, Ayase-san returned too.
"Hey, sorry to ask right after you both just got back, but can you carry these!? Asamura-kun, yours is for table three, and Ayase-san, that order I just gave you is for table two."
"Roger."
"Yeah."
The tray I was handed had two banana crepes and cups of cola, with table three being near the door. Carrying the tray out of the back, I headed for the table where two girls, who looked like students from another school, sat facing each other.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, young ladies. Here are your banana crepes and cola."
I placed the dishes in front of them and bowed politely.
"Kyaa!"
"He called us young ladies!"
U-um, can I take a picture of you? Uh, I won't post it online or anything!"
Uhh… Right, this was covered in section six of the customer service manual.
"I deeply apologize, but we have a policy of not allowing photos of our staff to be taken here at our establishment."
"Oh really…? Too bad. Um, thanks anyway."
"Not at all. Please take your time and enjoy your meal."
I bowed again before leaving the table.
Well that really caught me off guard. I guess being dressed as a butler really is that unusual.
Is seeing someone in a butler outfit really that rare? I guess it is. Does that mean I'm like some kinda exotic creature?
Wiping away the cold sweat on my face, I waited by the curtain for my turn again.
Ayase-san returned too, and we both stood near the entrance, waiting as we both peeked around it.
"Wow, you two are really good at this!" Class Rep said as she came up to the curtain.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Like, we prioritized students with work experience when we formed the customer service team, but the two of you really stand out. Look."
She pointed inside the café from the curtain.
It looked like Yoshida was being hit on by a beautiful office lady in a business suit.
"Guess there's no helping it. Geez," Class Rep uttered as she raced off to rescue Yoshida.
For some reason, she was also dressed in a maid outfit; albeit with an armband that read "Head Maid." Her under-rim glasses flashed as she pulled the ear of the slacking waiter (who was probably pretending as part of the act) and dragged him back.
Once they were out of sight from the customers, Class Rep wasted no time scolding Yoshida.
"Yoshidaaa. Like I said, you've gotta handle it more smoothly."
"Yeah, but…"
"I told you already, didn't I? I'll tattle on you to Makihara! Whatcha doin' drooling over older women like that? Hmmm?"
"Ugh, scary…"
Class Rep, now in head maid mode, adjusted her glasses with a quick motion. That suits her way too well.
No wonder Yoshida was terrified. She carried an authority and presence well beyond her years.
"Ah, they're here."
I turned around after hearing Ayase-san speak.
From behind the curtains, I saw Yomiuri-senpai and Kozono-san just coming in through the entrance.
"Class Rep, I know those two over there. Can I go take care of them?"
"Hmm?"
Class Rep, who'd been grinding the customer service manual into Yoshida's head, turned around. The sharp look in her eyes softened into a gentle smile.
"Of course. Go ahead."
"Thanks."
With that, Ayase-san stepped out from behind the curtain to greet Yomiuri-senpai and Kozono-san.
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
"Alright, I'll deal the cards."
How did it come to this?
I couldn't help but wonder that as I stood at the edge of the game table, distributing the cards I'd just finished shuffling to the players.
As the name of our class's event suggests, it wasn't just a café—it was a casino too.
But well, technically speaking, the only game we had available was poker. We'd decided on it because most people had at least a basic understanding of the hands. And for those who didn't, we had prepared a guide listing all of them and their values.
Originally, the students in the customer service team that weren't taking orders were in charge of facilitating the games.
However, when we opened shop, something unexpected happened—there were far fewer customers interested in playing at the game table than we'd expected. With just one table set up in the middle of the room, it seemed like everyone was holding back, maybe worried about being the center of attention or drawing too many eyes. In the end, limiting the game to just one table to prevent overcrowding ended up backfiring.
"Hmmm… We really need some bolder customers," Class Rep mused aloud.
"Why not have some of your friends be shills?" I suggested.
Seeing others having fun might encourage more people to join it.
"That's a great idea. I'll take it!" Class Rep snapped her fingers with a satisfying click. "Alright, Asamura, I'm countin' on you."
"…Huh?"
Loose lips sink ships.
Before I even had a chance to process what had been asked of me, Class Rep swiftly entered the café and headed straight for Ayase-san's table—the one where Yomiuri-senpai and Kozono-san were sitting.
She skillfully convinced them to participate in a game, and just like that, I was called upon to act as the dealer, with Ayase-san being roped in to make up the numbers for the game of poker.
"You really do look good in that outfit, dontcha, Junior-kun~?"
"Photos are a no-go, right…? B-but, how 'bout sneaking one in the back later, Yuuta-senpai?"
"Why am I even here in the first place…"
I glanced sideways at the group, each reacting in their own way, while I dealt the cards starting with Yomiuri-senpai. The rules we were playing by were "Texas Hold'em," a popular variant played in actual casinos.
It's a little tricky for beginners, but it basically goes like this:
First, each player is dealt two cards. These cards are only for you to see (not to be shown to others).
Then, you gotta combine these two cards with the five community cards that the dealer reveals face-up in the center of the table. Your goal is to get the best possible hand from this combination.
If you think you have a good hand, you make a bet (using chips). If not, you're allowed to fold (you must forfeit the chips you've already bet).
That's the basic idea, but the community cards are revealed in three stages—three at first, then the remaining two are revealed one by one. This adds a layer of strategy to each round as players decide whether to stay in or fold.
Although all three participants said they were familiar with the rules, I walked them through the basics. After all, this game was also meant to be a demonstration for the other customers watching.
"Alright, let's begin."
The three of them glanced at the cards that I dealt to them with confident expressions, each with their own solid poker faces. It was clear right from the start—they were all quite strong players.
Ayase-san, who didn't seem like the type to enjoy gambling, made precise decisions about when to stay in and when to fold. And while she didn't win big, she also didn't suffer any major losses. On the other hand, Kozono-san relied heavily on bluffing and played aggressively, all the while Yomiuri-senpai seemed strangely lucky—or at least that's how it looked. In reality, it was definitely something more calculated; she's the type that preferred to be seen as "lucky" rather than "skilled," after all.
As the dealer button[2] made its way around the table, we approached the final game.
[2: The dealer button, typically a white disc, is used to distinguish which player has the position to act last (the most advantageous position)]
Ayase-san folded early, leaving Yomiuri-senpai and Kozono-san in a one-on-one showdown. The chips on the table totaled 2000, meaning whoever won this round would likely take victory.
"Alright then, I'll reveal the fifth card."
The fifth card on the table turned out to be the Ace of Heart. Since Aces were the highest-ranking cards, using it to form a hand would increase your chances of winning significantly. Now, what'll they do?
"Raise," Kozono-san confidently increased her bet.
Though she might be bluffing, it was also possible that the Ace had given her a pretty strong hand.
If Yomiuri-senpai wanted to stay in the game, she'd have to at least match the bet. A call would match Kozono-san's amount, while another raise would require at least double the current wager.
"Raise," Yomiuri-senpai responded, calmly increasing the stakes.
"Grr."
"Whatcha gonna do?"
If Kozono-san folded, Yomiuri-senpai would win by default.
"You're definitely bluffing. No doubt 'bout it," Kozono-san declared.
"Oho? And why d'you think that?" Yomiuri-senpai smiled slyly.
"Because you've only been making small raises up 'til now. That means you never had any favorable cards to start with, right?"
"Oooh~, you realized. Good, good."
"It's true that the Ace of Hearts might've given you a better hand, but… that's really unlikely. You aren't that lucky."
"So, young lady, what will you do?" I prompted, slipping back—albeit half-heartedly—into my butler persona for the sake of the casino theme.
"Call!"
"It's a showdown then."
One by one, they each revealed their hands. When Yomiuri-senpai revealed hers, Kozono-san's jaw nearly hit the table in disbelief.
"Two Aces… So with the Ace on the table, that makes…"
"Three of a kind. And you, Kozono-san?"
"A King and Queen—two pair…"[3]
[3: Putting it out here that she did say this: 「キングとクイーンのツーペア,です...」She did, in fact, not have a two pair. There needs to be another King and another Queen in the community cards for that, of which there isn't (the five community cards are revealed later in the epilogue). Mistake is on Ghost, not us]
Ah, so that explains her confidence. Two pairs can be a strong hand, but unfortunately it's not enough to beat a three of a kind.
"Yomiuri-senpai wins!"
A cheer rose from the onlookers around the table.
"Uuuu~, Yomiuri-senpai, your luck's way too strong!"
"I mean, I've got Junior-kun on my side," Yomiuri-senpai whispered quietly to Kozono-san.
Kozono-san quickly turned to look at me.
"Huuuh!? Really, Yuuta-senpai!?"
"No, I'm not. Don't believe her."
In the end, it was Yomiuri-senpai who walked away with all the chips on the table, claiming her victory. Ayase-san, who calmly folded, managed to keep her remaining chips and secured second place. Kozono-san, who lost in the final round, ended up in third.
The audience burst into applause once again.
"Well, luck's part of skill, ain't it?" Yomiuri-senpai said with a laugh, holding up her winning Three of a kind Aces.
As she was about to take a selfie with her victorious hand, Class Rep approached her.
"I'll take the picture for you. Alrighty, dear customers, could you two get a bit closer?"
At that, Yomiuri-senpai pulled on Kozono-san's arm.
Taking her phone, Class Rep snapped a picture of Yomiuri-senpai, proudly holding up her three Aces, and Kozono-san, who still looked a bit sulky.
After handing the phone back, Class Rep applauded Yomiuri-senpai before turning to the other customers in the café.
"Alright then, any other challengers? The table's open now!"
A hand hesitantly went up from one of the groups who'd been watching with keen interest. With that, Class Rep quickly handed out a reservation for the casino, allowing them to come back at the assigned time to play. It was a clever system we employed to prevent customers from lingering around the café while waiting for their turn.
The way she handles this stuff so efficiently really shows why she's Class Rep.
"Here's the cards back. It was fun, Junior-kun."
With a smile, Yomiuri-senpai handed me the three cards, including the Ace of Hearts.
"Thank you very much. You really are impressive."
"Just lucky, that's all."
"Yes… you are."
"Hm? Somethin' wrong? Just so y'know, I didn't cheat."
"Didn't doubt you for a second."
Though there was one thing that had been on my mind.
As I escorted Yomiuri-senpai and Kozono-san to the exit, I finally asked her."
"What's up~?"
"That last game… You started with two Aces, didn't you?"
"Yup, I did."
"I mean, even though it's only a pair, it's still the strongest one possible, right? But you didn't raise early on—was that on purpose?"
Yomiuri-senpai's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Ahhh. Yeah, you're correct. I mean, it was the final game, right~? If I'd gone all-in from the start, I wouldn't've taken Saki-chan's chips. Since she's the cautious type, she wouldn't have joined a big bet—" she glanced over at Kozono-san as she spoke. "If I wanted to win, I needed to get Erina-chan on board."
"Heh? Oh… so you made it look like you had a weak hand to make sure I wouldn't fold?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Sorry 'bout that." Yomiuri-senpai clasped her hands together in an apologetic gesture.
"I-I've been played…"
"Ahaha. Still, I woulda lost if that Ace hadn't come up in the end. I only had a pair 'til then. Guess I have a knack for seizing rare opportunities," Yomiuri-senpai added with a cheerful laugh.
But, under her breath, she quietly muttered something else.
"—though I'm also the kind who completely misses the most important ones…"
Her expression momentarily shifted to a more somber, serious one, but it vanished just as quickly.
"Uuu… How frustrating…"
"I'll treat you to somethin' later, Erina-chan. So forgive me, m'kay?"
"I mean, it's just a game. I'll gracefully take the loss this time. I'll still let you treat me, though."
I chuckled as I watched the two of them exchange their playful back and forth while they walked down the hallway.
I knew it wasn't just luck with Yomiuri-senpai…
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
The morning flew by as I kept serving and checking on the games, and soon it was almost noon. When it was about time for us to take our break, Melissa showed up with Ruka Akihiro-san by her side.
They really are close.
Ayase-san headed over to take their order while I watched from the sidelines.
"Welcome," Ayase-san greeted them with a smile in her maid outfit.
Melissa responded by widening her eyes dramatically and exclaiming, "Wow!"
"Lookin' cute, Saki!"
"Thank you very much."
After taking their order, she returned to the backroom, her expression relaxing as she let out a sigh.
"Haaah, that was kinda embarrassing…"
Well, it is a bit awkward cosplaying in front of acquaintances you don't know that well.
Their order was simple—just coffee—and I was in charge of serving it.
Ruka-san was sitting by the hallway and watched the students as they bustled about. Competition was apparently getting fierce, as each class tried their best to attract visitors to their booth.
"How nice—the youth and passion here. It's overflowing with all the things we've long forgotten," Ruka-san mused.
"'Passion' as in passion[4], right? If that's whatchu mean, don't you still have it?"
[4: She's repeating the word here but in English (by saying パッション , the katakana of "passion") to confirm if that's what Ruka meant]
"Look here…"
"You're way too dry, granny Ruka-chan!"
"Hey, who're you callin' a granny, huh? I act my age, you know? Meanwhile, you're still here acting like a wild child…"
They sipped their coffees black as she said that. Yeah, well, from my point of view, the both of them seemed like full-fledged adults.
As I watched them casually, I got the sense that Ruka-san didn't live as freely or openly as Melissa did. Her workplace—or rather, her performance stage—was in Japan, so she had to adapt to the customs of Japanese society to some extent.
"How would you two like to try a game, young ladies?" I asked after I finished serving them and made sure they didn't want to order anything else.
The game table was currently free.
"Can we?"
"There's no queue at the moment."
"I wanna play! Let's do it, Ruka!"
"Huh? What game are we playing?"
"Texas Hold'em. Are you familiar with it?"
"Of course," Melissa said with a nod.
Come to think of it, aren't there a few casinos in Singapore?
On the flip side, it looked like Ruka-san wasn't familiar with the game, but she did have the poker hands memorized.
Yoshida took over as the dealer, and we ended up having a six-person match, including a group of four friends from another high school.
Texas Hold'em is played with two or more people—generally up to ten, but since our table wasn't big enough, we'd decided on a limit of six.
Although Ayase-san and I were meant to handle the other customers, we got permission from Class Rep to take care of the two.
The game ended with Ruka-san coming in first, while Melissa finished in sixth.
Melissa, who talked big about having real-life practical experiences at a Singaporean casino, made a lot of big bets. But, she kept self-destructing and losing, eventually being forced to forfeit as she lost all her chips. And all that did was leave Ruka-san mildly annoyed.
I mean, obviously you can't win if you're always raising whenever the person before you raises while you don't have a good hand.
Maybe she was just trying to hype things up for the fun of it.
Ruka-san, on the other hand, won because she calmly read the flow of the game while carefully managing her chips.
Still, Melissa seemed to have enjoyed herself plenty, as she repeatedly told Ayase-san how much fun she had as they were leaving.
Watching the two walk away from the hallway, I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me.
I didn't even need to turn around to know who it was—my old man and Akiko-san.
"Mind if we come in?" Akiko-san asked.
I turned to the boy at the reception desk, a slender and petite guy named Kodama, and asked if we had any free tables. Checking the tablet in his hand, he maintained a gentle smile and replied with a, "Yep. There's a table free right now."
"Looks like we have an opening. Come in. Um… welcome."
"Don't get all shy just because they're family, okay~?" Kodama, who'd been listening from behind me, chimed in.
Ugh, no. But still… I could get away with calling it a joke with my old man, but with Akiko-san, who's a professional…?
Well, guess I have no choice.
"W-welcome back, Master, Madam."
"Ooooh? So that's the setup, hm?"
Quick to adapt as always, old man.
"How very interesting."
Please forget about this day…
I guided the two of them to an available table by the window. We probably caught Ayase-san's eye, as she quickly came over with a menu in hand.
Standing beside the table, she offered the menu—a simple printout sandwiched between plastic holders—with a composed look on her face.
"Welcome home, Master, Madam. Here's the course the chef has prepared for today."
She greeted them with a perfectly poised and collected expression.
She's incredible.
I couldn't tell when to walk away, so I just stood there beside them, back straight, quietly listening to their conversation.
Akiko-san eyed Ayase-san's maid outfit up and down, before turning to examine me as well. Being stared at that intently caused sweat to run down my back.
"You two…"
Did we do something wrong?
"…Are doing wonderfully well. I'd love to have you guys work at our place~"
"That's a bit much."
Ayase-san obviously couldn't help firing back a response. She took pride in the fact that Akiko-san was a professional bartender, after all. Believing that not just anyone can handle customer service in the hospitality industry, she probably thinks she's incapable of doing what her mother does.
Our parents both ordered coffee. My old man, however, asked for plenty of milk.
"My stomach's been a little upset lately…"
Thanks for all your hard work.
"Oh, by the way Taichi-san, does Yuuta-kun have a suit?" Akiko-san asked as she looked at me.
Maybe because the outfit I'm in reminds her of one?
"Oh, you mean formal wear? Hmm, does he?"
It's no use saying that while looking at me. Right now, I'm just the butler.
With no out, I reluctantly shook my head. I'd always gotten by with wearing just my school uniform to formal occasions and ceremonies.
"Looks like… he doesn't have one."
"Should we buy one for him?"
"Yeah, we should."
"Huh, why?" I asked without thinking.
"For your uni entrance ceremony, maybe?"
Ah, right. I can't exactly show up to that in my high school uniform.
I've been deliberately trying to avoid thinking about that though, since it all depends on getting accepted first.
"Let's go shopping for one soon. Or would you rather go with Saki?" Akiko-san asked.
"We can talk about that at home. It'd be rude to stay too long," my old man interjected.
Akiko-san nodded, and the two of them happily left together.
After seeing them off, I returned to the backroom separated. Just as I expected, Class Rep and Satou-san had surrounded Ayase-san.
"Hey, hey, hey! Was that your mama and new papa just now, Saki-cho!?"
Here she goes again—switching up how she refers to Ayase-san every time.
"She was very, very beautiful!" Satou-san commented.
Noticing I had returned, Ayase-san—clearly uncomfortable with their excitement—looked up at me. After receiving my nod of approval, relief washed over her expression.
"Yeah… they were."
"Wow!" Satou-san exclaimed, her face filled with envy.
"How nice. Your mother's such a beautiful woman."
"I think she's pretty normal."
"So that's 'normal' for the Ayase family, huh? So, Saki-ppe, was your mom like you back in high school?"
"Hooh?"
Ayase-san made a weird noise, clearly caught off guard by Class Rep's strange question. "Like me?"
"Yeah, was your mom like you back in high school?"
"I've… never asked."
"I'm sure she was. She must've been reeeeally beautiful."
"Hmm."
Ayase-san furrowed her brows, clearly trying her hardest to imagine it. Still, picturing what your mother looked like in high school's pretty hard, even for Ayase-san. Well, that's just how it is with family.
Speaking of which, Ayase-san once mentioned that her taste in music was influenced by her mother. J-pop from the nineties, wasn't it? So, her mother was a high schooler from that era.
"It's a li'l over twenty years ago, right? Saki's mom's JK[5] era." Class Rep asked as she tilted her head.
[5: JK is slang for/stands for 女子高生 (joshi kōsei), meaning female high school student]
It's awkward when you look at me while tilting your head like that… I mean, I didn't know anything about the trends from the early Heisei era. The only thing I knew was…
"I think I read in a book somewhere that loose socks were popular back then."
All three of them looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Loose socks and a mini-skirt while lookin' like that… Yup, I'm sensing the presence of a natural born beauty."
"Saki-san, do you have any family albums at home?"
"W-who knows? M-maybe? Ahaha…"
It was rare to see Ayase-san look so flustered to the point of almost breaking a sweat on her forehead. If she carelessly admitted that there was an album like that, they'd probably pester her to see it.
Anyway, it looks like Ayase-san had already managed to tell the both of them that we were step-siblings in advance. Luckily, it didn't seem to cause any awkwardness. I was happy for her, even though it wasn't directly my issue.
I should add that I'd also told Yoshida about it, but all I got was an "Oh really?" in response.
Yep, that was it. It felt a bit anticlimactic. Maybe we're lucky that our friends are so understanding, but that doesn't mean the same would go for the rest of our classmates.
Unsurprisingly, my old man and Akiko-san's PDA was garnering a lotta attention, which was exactly why Class Rep and Satou-san were so animated right now.
Though we've already decided to stop hiding things too much, my relationship with Ayase-san would probably only attract attention after the cultural festival was over.
"I got it, so that's why you and Asamura looked so close, Sakippon. Like, back in spring, you guys were so awkward around each other that you two wouldn't even make eye contact. I was suspicious," Class Rep said to Ayase-san.
"Huh? Suspicious?" Ayase-san said as she tilted her head.
"You know, like the kinda things that happen all the time in youth. Maybe one of you confessed but got rejected, and it made things awkward—somethin' like that?"
"T-that's not—!"
"I mean, it's no surprise if things get awkward when a pair of teenagers suddenly become siblings."
She's kinda right. But the scenario Class Rep's imagining was completely off. Besides, we didn't become siblings in spring.
Guess it makes sense—Ayase-san and I barely even saw each other at school last year.
"I-I also thought that Asanmura-san was the one you went to meet at Palawan Beach…" Satou-san said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Wait, how do you know about that?
"And, after that, I thought maybe… maybe you two broke up… but Maaya-san didn't say anything further."
"Huh? What's this? I need details!"
No, that was on me too.
"So, uh—"
"Yep, yep."
"Stop!"
Ayase-san quickly slapped her hands over their mouths, stopping them from saying anything else, before nervously glancing around.
Luckily, since the casino was in full swing, no one paid attention to us as we huddled in the corner of the back room.
"Uuuumpf."
"Mmff, mmff."
Both Class Rep and Satou-san's eyes went wide in surprise.
"Geez, what's with you guys getting so excited and ignoring the person right in front of you?"
"Phuaa! Come on, Saki, we were just gettin' to the good part."
"No, you weren't. We'll… we'll talk about it some other time, but not now! Look, the café's getting busy."
"Tsk. You're always rational at a time like this, you logic witch."
"That's because it's a time like this."
Class Rep sighed in resignation and deftly adjusted her glasses.
"Alright, let's focus on the cultural festival for now. We've got less than an hour left. Let's give it our all!"
With a small "Yeah!" Satou-san timidly raised her arm, joining Class Rep's rallying cry. Beside them, Ayase-san sighed in relief, placing her hand on her chest.
The first day of the cultural festival was about to come to an end.
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
I pulled the sign we'd placed outside the hallway back into the classroom. The auditorium speakers installed throughout the school rattled as they signaled the end of the day. The visitors had long since left the corridors.
As students from other classes passed by, they peeked curiously into our class before moving on. Some of them would probably even come tomorrow.
Just as I was about to close the door and block out the view from the hallway, someone called out to me.
"Asamura."
"Oh, Maru… Narasaka-san."
The two of them approached me together. It's kinda rare to see these two together—wait no, they're in the same class.
"We've just wrapped things up on our end."
"Ah, sorry. We just finished up ourselves."
"No worries. We just came to say hi."
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, is Saki around?"
As I turned around to look inside our class, Ayase-san peeked her head out from the back room at the same time, meeting my gaze. I motioned for her to come over, stepping aside to let her see who was waiting in the hallway. She quickly raced over to us.
"Maaya! Sorry, we've already closed up."
"All good, all good. I just came to see you in that outfit," Narasaka-san said as she alternated her gaze between my butler outfit and Ayase-san's maid costume. Then, she placed a hand on her chin, as if deep in thought.
"What're you all standin' around talking about here? Oh, if it ain't the beautiful Narasaka."
"Ah, Class Rep! Long time no see~"
I wonder why students from other classes call her Class Rep?
And Narasaka-san's unfazed from being called beautiful too. She's tough.
Class Rep, noticing that blocking the entrance meant we were in the way of others trying to clean up, kindly suggested we continue our conversation inside.
Together with Ayase-san, I guided Maru and Narasaka-san to the back room. I went back out and stuck a "Closed for the day" sign outside the door. Given that Ayase-san and I had been on customer service duty, this marked the end of our responsibilities for today. Class Rep was even kind enough to exempt us from cleanup duties, having declared us as the two MVPs of the customer service team. With that, I decided to go chat to Maru behind the curtain.
"Yo, Asamura. Good work today."
"How was your day, Maru?"
"Hmm, I spent it all in class. Given that I was the one who planned our event, I was worried about how smoothly it'd run."
Maru's class did an escape room that he'd organized. So he's been there monitoring things all day, huh?
As I thought about that, I noticed Narasaka-san nervously take out her phone, before turning toward Ayase-san.
"Um, you know, I know you don't like them, but… can I take a pic?"
Ayase-san grimaced for a second. But after a brief pause, her face relaxed.
"Sure."
"Yeah, figured it's a no-go—Huh, wait, really!?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
A thrilled Narasaka-san raised her phone in celebration.
"Yipee! Hey, Asamura-kun, stand next to Saki! Next to her!"
"Huh? Me too?"
"It's super duper rare for Saki to agree to a photo, it's like having New Year's and Obon at the same time! It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance you'll never get in another 76 years!"
She was practically treating it like the appearance of Halley's Comet or something.
"But, Ayase-san, you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm okay with it now. Actually, I kinda want to capture some memories going forward too," Ayase-san said with a nod.
If that's the case, I'll go along with it. Even though it's kinda embarrassing.
Narasaka-san looked overjoyed, her face lighting up with a beaming smile.
I guess leaving your high school years behind without even a single photo would be pretty sad. I'm sure she'd been holding back all this time since Ayase-san didn't like photos.
Snap—the shutter clicked. Wait no, we take pics with phones now, so it's just a simulated recording of a mechanical shutter.
"Why don't you take one with Ayase-san too, Narasaka-san? I'll take it for you," I suggested.
"Really? I wanna! Take one then! Please!"
She handed me her phone.
"All right, stand together over there."
"Come on, Tomo-kun, you too!"
"I-I'm fine. You and Ayase can—"
"Don't be shy. Or wait, maybe you don't wanna pic of us together, Tomo-kun~?"
"That's not…"
In the end, Narasaka-san's upturned puppy-dog eyes proved too destructive. Tugging on both their arms, she pulled Ayase-san to her right and Maru to her left, wrapping her arms around the both of them as she cheerfully said, "Take the pic!"
"Alright then, I'll take—"
Just as I was about to say I'd take it, someone snatched the phone out of my hand.
"Whatcha doing man? You're supposed to be over there too."
It was Yoshida. He shooed me away with a hand gesture and before I knew it, I was standing right beside Ayase-san.
Wait, I'm in this too? I'm totally gonna ruin this picture. But, since Ayase-san didn't say anything, I awkwardly stood next to her in my butler uniform.
Right at that moment, what Ayase-san said a while ago flashed through my mind.
"It feels like something incredible from the past is being preserved—almost as if time's just frozen and holding onto it."
That was what she said while talking about her love for old buildings.
"Aren't photographs also the same?"
Yeah, that's true.
Nothing lasts forever.
Still, it doesn't change the fact that the moments captured in pictures truly existed at one point.
I'll never forget spending my final high school cultural festival with these four. Not ever.
I thought that to myself as I heard the shutter click.
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
That night, when we got home, my old man and Akiko-san were waiting for us.
Over dinner, they complimented our outfits and talked about how great we looked. Ayase-san showed them the photos Narasaka-san had sent over LINE, sparking another round of excitement.
After dinner, Ayase-san went to take a bath first. As I was about to head back to my own room, Akiko-san called out to me.
She bowed her head, giving me a small fit of panic.
"I was really relieved to see her fitting in at school and having fun. Thank you."
"Ah, no. I didn't really do anything."
Akiko-san gently shook her head.
"I'm sure it's all thanks to you, Yuuta-kun," she told me. "Saki even said she's fine with taking photos from now on."
Akiko-san seemed truly happy as she shared how Ayase-san had told her she wanted to start capturing more memories in photos.
I realized, in that moment, that Ayase-san had overcome something significant.
Seeing Akiko-san's joyful expression as she added, "I'll be counting on you from now on too," I nodded in return as a wave of relief washed over me.
But along with that sense of relief, I couldn't help but reflect again on what Ayase-san and I were doing—something that could easily shatter this happiness.
I absolutely don't want that. That's why I'll need to think carefully about things from now on.
Tomorrow's the last day of the cultural festival, and Ayase-san and I will spend it as lovers.
I didn't want to have any regrets, hence why we'll be following through with that plan.
Still, I can't help but feel like I haven't "overcome" something. What exactly it was, I can't say, and that's part of the problem too.
Returning to my room, I flipped through my vocabulary book as I lost myself in my thoughts.
Would we have gone even further if my old man hadn't come home that day?
I stopped flipping through the book, my gaze falling on my desk, catching sight of Class Rep's carefully crafted customer service manual.
I've got a manual for customer service, but none for dating, huh?
Sure, there might be some guides out there, but they don't cover all the unexpected events that reality, an open-world game, tends to hurl at you.
It felt like I was a hero facing a dragon with only a wooden stick.
Even though I liked discovering new ways of thinking, when it came time for me to actually step into uncharted territory, I felt so unreliable.
And yet…
For a novice adventurer in love, I guess the only way to clear this "quest" is just to keep moving forward.