As the school festival approached, most of our daily classes were devoted to preparing for the festival.
The butler and maid cafe that we were going to be working at this time needed to prepare not only the menu of food to be served to the customers but also the costumes.
If this were a normal school, we would have used commercially available cosplay goods, but since we had a large budget, we decided to prepare full-fledged maid and butler outfits.
However, I didn't really care about it because I just thought that I could just cook in the background…
"Yuuya-kun!"
"Yes?"
While I was thinking about the menu for the school festival with Kageno-kun and the others, I was approached by Kaede.
"I'm going to measure your size, so come here!"
"Eh!?"
When I was surprised by the unexpected words, Kaede and Rin hugged both sides of me.
"Come on, come on, hurry up!"
"W-wait a minute! Why did you take my size?"
"Eh? Because Yuuya-kun, you're going to be a butler too, right?"
"Is that so?"
I was surprised because I had no intention of doing so, and to my surprise, all my classmates in the classroom nodded their heads.
"E-eehh? I-I thought I'd just concentrate on cooking…"
"T-that's such a waste! Everyone wants to see Yuuya-kun as a butler, too, right?"
"Yeah."
"Everyone?"
They nodded in unison again, and I couldn't help but be appalled.
"Look, look, everyone else is saying this, too, so you should just be quiet and let us take the measurements."
"Uh-huh."
Rin and the others urged me on, and one after another, I was measured in the necessary areas.
"There you go! Oh, Yuuya-kun, you're going to be the butler, but I'm expecting you to cook too!"
"Oh, I'm going to be doing that too?"
I thought the cooking job was going away, but it seems not.
Well, as far as I'm concerned, I like cooking too, so it's not a problem for me.
＊＊＊
And so, little by little, preparations for the school festival progressed, the food menu was decided, and finally, the maid and butler outfits arrived.
"Well, the outfits have arrived! So, maids and butlers who are supposed to be in charge of the floor, try on the sleeves!"
Kaede urged us, and I picked up the butler's uniform that had been prepared for me as well.
O-oh… amazing. I can tell by holding it in my hand that it's not a flimsy fabric but a proper butler's uniform…
I was unintentionally impressed but moved to the changing room with the other boys and changed my clothes.
Ryo and Akira were among the members who were butlers like me.
"Amazing! I'm so excited to be dressed so well."
"Right."
"It's perfect for me, the [Noble Butler]!"
"…What is a noble butler?"
Akira was the same as usual.
Be that as it may, as each of us was changing, Kageno-kun, who was also dressed in a butler's uniform, appeared. I wondered when he had changed.
"Has everyone finished getting dressed?"
"O-oh…"
Our eyes widened when we saw Kageno-kun in his butler's uniform. He tilted his head at our reaction.
"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
"N-no, it's just that… it looks really good on you."
Kageno-kun had been transformed into a butler with perfectly groomed hair and glasses that fit him well.
He's kind of like… a butler chief or something like that…
When I unintentionally looked at him like that, he laughed a little shyly.
"I wonder if there's finally a scene where I can play an active role too…"
As for me, I think Kageno-kun has been very active in every event, but I don't think he was aware of it. …I think I'm going to express my gratitude in a way that's more… understandable.
After confirming that there were no problems with the clothes, we changed back into our uniforms and moved on to check on the food.
This time, our class was to prepare not only desserts such as pancakes and shortcakes but also light meals such as omelets and sandwiches.
In a normal school, it would be difficult to serve cakes and omelets, but since we had successfully rented a kitchen, we were able to cook a lot at once.
"T-this is Yuuya's cooking…!"
"This omelet is so fluffy!"
"It's no longer a standard quality dish…"
"Everything is delicious other than the omurice!"
"…I'd get fat if I ate everything on."
"That's a no-no!"
It was a relief to see that everyone was munching away on the tastings I had prepared.
Other than that, I also prepared afternoon tea, which I think is quite authentic.
And we have good tea and coffee for drinks. And so the preparations for the school festival were well underway.
＊＊＊
While Yuuya and the others were trying on butler uniforms, the girls also tried on the maid uniforms that had arrived.
"Wow… they are amazing after all."
The girls were especially impressed when Kaede, who suggested the coffee shop, saw the maid uniforms in their hands and exclaimed in admiration.
"It surely is a quality that can't be compared to the cheap maid uniforms that you can buy at the grocery store."
"…Agreed. The reason we are able to prepare such good costumes is because we were able to secure a budget."
"That's right… To be honest, I didn't really feel it when I was told that the budget for the school festival would be increased for the past events. Well, I'm glad we worked so hard!"
As each of them was checking the maid uniforms in their hands while putting on their sleeves, Kaede suddenly muttered to herself.
"But even so… I'm curious about Yuuya-kun's butler uniform…"
"Ah… Yuuya seems to look very good in it."
"…Kageno looks good in it too."
"Oh, indeed!"
The girls in the locker room were talking about their classmates, the boys.
"I never really paid much attention to it, but there are a lot of cool boys in our class!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"I mean, there are a lot of attractive boys in our class or in this school as a whole."
"Well, Yuuya stands out from the crowd."
"Akira, if he didn't talk, he'd be good-looking, too."
"…But the silent Akira is creepy too."
"No, Yukine, you are indeed that much… sorry, it's creepy."
As each of them was happily conversing, the door to the locker room suddenly opened.
"Ara? Everyone… what's going on?"
"Oh, Kaori-san!"
There was Kaori with a strange expression on her face. When Kaori noticed that Kaede and the others were dressed in maid's uniforms, her eyes widened.
"Those clothes are…"
"Oh, this? These are costumes for our class' performance at the school festival!"
"M-maids' uniforms?"
Kaori, who had never heard of a maid café, could not predict what kind of entertainment they would put on, and her eyes widened even more.
On the other hand, Kaede, who had changed into a maid outfit, was checking the size of the outfit.
"H-huh? It seems a little tight somehow…"
"Hmm? Tight, you say…? Have you gained weight?"
"No, not my stomach area, but my chest…"
"Did it get bigger again?"
"Kyaaaa! R-Rin-chan!?"
Rin is surprised by Kaede's words and grabs Kaede's chest. Then she noticed something and opened her eyes.
"Y-you're really getting bigger…"
"G-geez, Rin-chan! I'm going to get angry!"
"The gap between you and me is getting wider and wider… hah…"
"Eh, Ka-Kaori-san?"
Several girls, including Kaori, reacted to these words of Rin.
"Kaede, you already have great proportions, but you're a… horrible girl…!"
"…Unreasonable."
"T-the world is cruel, you know…"
Kaori and Yukine put their hands on their own chests, and their shoulders slumped.
Thus, Kaede and the others finished the costume fitting despite the chaos.
＊＊＊
──While Yuuya was preparing for the school festival.
In the other world, Usagi and the other two Holy were training to fight against the false gods.
"──Haah!"
(Hmph!)
Usagi's legs and Iris's sword clash violently with each other. Then, a tremendous mass of magical power flew between the two.
"!"
(It's still an insidious attack!)
"Hmph, call it what you will. This is how a magician fights."
Odis floats a mass of magical power around him, shoots them out precisely, and continues to attack while keeping his distance. But Iris and Usagi would not be silently beaten, and they repelled his attacks with their swords and legs.
The three continued their training in this way, but after a while, they took a break.
"Phew… Usagi, you are stronger than when we fought in the past, aren't you?"
(Well…)
"I was surprised too. It was the same when we fought the Dragonia aliens, but I didn't think you could handle magic that well…"
The "Magic Saint," Odis, was amazed that Usagi was continuing to fight while strengthening himself with magic.
"That's exactly what Iris said. You used to be bad at handling magic…"
(I learned it from Yuuya.)
"From Yuuya-dono? Oh, no… he was the successor of the sage, wasn't he? Is it any wonder then…?"
"…Yuuya-kun, he's growing at a tremendous rate…"
The expression on the face of Usagi, Yuuya's first master, was hard as Iris said so with a sly look on her face.
"? What's wrong, Usagi?"
(…I thought it would be a bad idea to keep going on like this.)
"Mm? About Yuuya-dono?"
(No, about us.)
Iris nodded to Usagi, who said it clearly, and Odis tilted his head.
"Well, as Usagi said, we, the Holy, are also training to become stronger than before…"
"Usagi, you mean to tell me that our current training isn't good enough?"
(Yeah. …Odis, do you remember that? The reason why we rushed to Yuuya's side.)
"Mm? It was because we felt a strong presence of Evil in the direction of Yuuya-dono's house…"
(Then who defeated it?)
"Oh…"
After being told that much, Odis realized.
Indeed, by the time Usagi and the others arrived, the sign of the Evil had disappeared cleanly, and Yuuya and the others were there.
(Otherwise, he would not be able to calm down. He's already experienced the threat of the Evil, too, after all.)
"But, although I thought that he was indeed a very powerful man in the battle in space, I didn't think that he was strong enough to take on the main body of the Evil that you guys talked about before."
"That's why I'm surprised."
(…Since he said that he had been transported to the past world… something must have happened there, but either way, Yuuya's experience in that world was the catalyst for him to enter the battle in the upper dimension. Because it was decided to do so, in order to win the battle against the false god, it is necessary to have the ability to be able to take on the completed form of Evil as Yuuya has done in the past.)
"I-is that so…?"
"…In that sense, our ability is still not enough, is it?"
(Yeah. It's not enough at all.)
"Well, you say so, but what are we going to do? It is impossible for a normal person to suddenly become as strong as he is, isn't it?"
As Odis said, the three who bear the title of Holy had already perfected their abilities.
Of course, if Zenovis were here, he would kick those words to the curb and then forcibly raise the three's abilities, but since he was not here, it was impossible.
However…
(No, there is a way.)
"What?"
Usagi's assurance took them both by surprise.
"What do you mean by… 'a way'?"
(The fact is that our training up to now has been to continue to hone our skills, so to speak. That's not wrong, and it has made us stronger. But that alone isn't good enough.)
"Well, I feel like I've hit the ceiling."
(There are three Holy gathered here. In other words, there are those who have mastered the three paths.)
"! You, no way…"
When Iris noticed something that startled her, Usagi smiled with a ferocity that one would not expect from a herbivore.
(──We will teach each other and absorb each other's skills.)
This was unthinkable from the perspective of the Holy until now.
The Holy were so confident in their own skills that they continued to master them and did not pay attention to any other paths.
However, Usagi, who had become stronger after learning magic from Yuuya, was keenly aware of the importance of adopting other techniques.
(There is no time to waste. From here on out, it's a matter of how far we can take you and your Holy techniques. Once that is decided, we will quickly resume our training. As a master, we can't let him see that we're not up to the task.)
"Yes."
"Y-yeah."
The two agreed to Usagi's proposal and began training to absorb each other's techniques in search of even more power.