"Otherwise, you might end up causing trouble for other people. You're a high school student, after all. You could be taken to the police station for guidance, and then your parents and I would be called in by the police too."
Hearing that, Kawasaki merely continued staring blankly at the teacher. Hiratsuka-sensei had probably had enough of that look and grabbed her arm.
"Have you never thought about how your parents feel?"
Hiratsuka-sensei looked utterly serious, with no intention of letting go. Her hand was surely warm at that moment. Whether that passion could reach Kawasaki's cold heart was another matter.
"Sensei..."
Kawasaki spoke quietly, reaching out to touch the teacher's hand. She looked straight at her and said:
"What my parents feel has nothing to do with me. Besides, you've never been a mother, so you probably wouldn't understand, would you? You can say things like that after you get married and become a mother."
"Urgh!"
She flung Hiratsuka-sensei's hand away. The teacher staggered as though she had taken a straight right to the face, losing her balance from the massive blow. Apparently, Kawasaki's passion had not reached her.
"Sensei, rather than worrying about my future, you should worry about your own. Like getting married soon."
Kawasaki pressed her assault. Hiratsuka-sensei, who had been leaning backward, suddenly pitched forward, her knees trembling repeatedly. So the attack had hit her legs... Then the trembling spread upward to her waist, her shoulders, and finally even her voice.
"...Urgh..."
Tears welled in the teacher's eyes, and she was completely unable to counterattack.
Kawasaki mercilessly left the teacher behind and headed for the bicycle parking area. The rest of us looked at one another, not knowing what to say. Yuihama and Komachi awkwardly stared at the ground, while Totsuka murmured, "I feel sorry for Sensei..."
At that moment, Yukino pushed me from behind, probably wanting me to do something.
What? Why me? That was what I thought, but seeing Sensei looking so miserable, I felt I should go comfort her. This feeling... could it be "sympathy"?
"Um... S-Sensei?"
As I tried to think of something comforting to say, I called out to Hiratsuka-sensei. She slowly turned around like a zombie.
"...Sob... I'll head home for today..."
She wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with her thumb and muttered weakly.
Then, without waiting for my response, she staggered unsteadily toward the parking lot.
"S-Sensei, take care."
Watching her lonely figure walk beneath the setting sun, I felt as though the sunlight might draw tears from my eyes.
Someone go keep her company already. I'm serious.
× × ×
Hiratsuka-sensei vanished into the sunset, becoming a twinkling star in the night sky.
An hour later, our group arrived at Chiba Station.
I had Komachi take Koyuki home first. Chiba was still too dangerous for a middle school girl. She was better suited to eating baked potatoes at the food court in Youkadou beside Route 14 with a few friends. But why did middle schoolers love going to Youkadou so much? Whenever I went shopping there with Mom, seeing them always annoyed the hell out of me. Go to Mother Farm already!
It was nearly seven thirty in the evening, and the nighttime streets were just starting to come alive.
"Among the restaurants in Chiba City, there seem to be only two with 'Angel' in their names that stay open until dawn."
"Is this one of them?"
Yukino looked suspiciously at a glowing sign that read, "Maid Cafe, Angels Within." The sign was decorated with flashing neon lights, and beside it stood another board with a drawing of a girl in animal ears waving customers over while saying, "Meow! Welcome home, woof~" From Yukino's expression alone, I could clearly tell what she was wondering: What is this?
I was equally confused. What was this supposed to be? Meowing and woofing—was it a cat or a dog? And despite the name "Angels Within," there was not the slightest angelic feeling about the place.
"So Chiba has maid cafes too..."
Yuihama said it as though she found it novel.
"Yuihama, you're too naïve. Chiba has everything. This place specializes in misunderstanding what is popular elsewhere and importing it. Look at how pathetically disappointing this shop is. That's what they call 'Chiba quality.'"
That was right. Chiba was a prefecture that embodied every possible disappointment. From New Tokyo International Airport and the Tokyo Game Show to Kashiwa City, known as "Chiba Shibuya," everything wanted to measure itself against Tokyo. But Chiba people also loved preserving Chiba's flavor in strange places and adding their own twists. That was Chiba. Just think of that upscale residential area everyone mocked as "Chiba Beverly." That kind of stubbornness was practically a declaration of war on the world.
Then, near Chiba-Chuo Station on the Keisei Electric Railway line, Animate and Toranoana had gathered together, making it something of Chiba's subculture hub. In other words, this was Chiba's war against Akihabara. Naturally, a maid cafe would appear here too.
"I don't really know much about places like this... What kind of place is a maid cafe?"
Totsuka read the words on the sign several times, but he could not understand them no matter what. It could not be helped. Even the phrase, "Would you like to spend a moe moe maid time with us?" made no sense. No, wait. What did "maid time" even mean? Were they going to make us become maids?
"I've never been to a maid cafe either, so I don't know much... But I called someone who knows places like this well."
"Ahem~ Did you summon me, Hachiman?"
Speak of the devil. Yoshiteru Zaimokuza came through the ticket gate at Chiba-Chuo Station to join us. Though it was early summer, he wore a coat, panting constantly and wiping sweat from his face. Salt crystals had even formed around his collar. Hey, did you know that making salt privately in ancient China got you executed?
"Oh God..."
Yuihama looked slightly uncomfortable, but I could not blame her, because I felt even more uncomfortable than she did.
"...You called me here. Why are you making that face?"
"We can't help it. Just thinking about having to deal with you is a pain."
"Fuhaha! Indeed. Our strength is evenly matched, so I cannot afford to hold back either. I understand this feeling of disgust toward one's opponent very well."
"Right, right. That's exactly why you're such a pain."
"Gahahahaha!"
The moment I said that, Zaimokuza burst into an unpleasant fit of wild laughter. Get lost already!
Honestly, I had not wanted to call him. But among the people I knew, only he and Hiratsuka-sensei were knowledgeable about this sort of thing. Hiratsuka-sensei's interests lay in shonen manga, though, so he was the only option left.
I had first emailed him the details: Kawasaki's time of return, the possibility that the store where she worked had "Angel" in its name, and what kind of person she was. From that information, Zaimokuza had deduced one possible location: this maid cafe, "Angels Within."
"Zaimokuza, is it really this place?"
"Yes. There is no mistake."
He worked his smartphone and showed us the information he had found through the almighty Google. It was convenient, sure, but smartphones were so useful that they made your fingers suffer. Maybe an internet society was a society where people spent too much time online and developed finger problems.
"As you can see, there are two possible locations in Chiba City. But my soul whispers to me that the one called Saki Kawasaki would surely choose this place."
"How do you know that?"
Seeing how confident Zaimokuza was, I could not help swallowing. Did this guy know something we did not?
When Zaimokuza heard my question, he let out a laugh from deep in his throat... Ah, actually, he did not possess something called "confidence." What he had was called "conviction."
"Ask no questions. Just follow me... The maids will shower you with affection..."
After saying that, he flicked the hem of his coat, and I could almost see a gust of wind rising around him.
This guy...
Since he put it like that, of course I had to follow him! To that promised land, that golden land overflowing with honey, that sacred pink kingdom!
My heart pounded with excitement as I wondered what services the maids would provide and stepped forward. It was one small step for humanity, but one enormous step of profound meaning for me!
At that moment, someone tugged on the hem of my jacket. When I turned around, Yuihama was puffing out her cheeks in displeasure.
"..."
"...What is it?"
"Nothing~ I was just thinking that a loner guy going into a place like that... somehow doesn't sit right with me."
She kept rubbing the fabric of my jacket between her fingertips. She was apparently sulking. Stop it, it'll pill!
"...I don't understand what you're saying. State the subject, predicate, and object clearly."
"I'm saying, aren't places like this for men? What are us girls supposed to do?"
Hm? Oh, now that she mentioned it, girls probably did not go to maid cafes.
I glanced at Master Zaimokuza for an explanation. Our reliable master crossed his arms and spoke down to us from his slightly elevated position.
"Women, do not worry."
"Who are you calling a melon..."
No, I also thought you were a melon, but I would not tell you why.
"I have already prepared maid outfits for precisely this kind of undercover investigation."
Zaimokuza pulled a maid outfit from behind his back. It was even covered in a dry-cleaning bag, in its cleanest possible state. Huh? So it was not some kind of metal rod or frying pan?
"Ahem, then, Mr. Totsuka, come..."
Ohhh, he was looking for Totsuka! Well done!
"Huh? W-Why me...?"
Zaimokuza advanced on Totsuka step by step, while Totsuka retreated step by step. Was this some kind of horror movie? Under normal circumstances, I would play the hero and save Totsuka, even if it meant punching Zaimokuza in the stomach. But at this particular moment, my body could not move.
I-I want to see it...
Before I knew it, Totsuka had been backed against the wall. With Zaimokuza standing against the light, he really did look like a monster.
"Come now, Mr. Totsuka... Come! Come! Come! Come!"
Faced with a huge creature holding a maid outfit, Totsuka shook his head over and over with tears in his eyes.
"N-No... I don't want to..."
He knew it was futile resistance, yet he tightly shut his tear-filled eyes and escaped reality.
Then—
"I'll wear it, I'll wear it~ I want to try it on! It looks so cute!"
Yuihama snatched the maid outfit from Zaimokuza's hands.
"...Tch!"
Zaimokuza spat. That behavior seemed to deeply offend Yuihama, and she gave him a look that said, This virgin is disgusting, glaring fiercely at him.
"What's with that attitude? That's really unpleasant."
Normally, Zaimokuza would have covered it up with a series of coughs, but now the thought of "Totsuka in a maid outfit" had gone to his head, and for some reason he had been unusually forceful since earlier.
"Hmph. That cannot be called a maid at all. The maid you speak of is merely dressed that way. There is no soul."
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about..."
Yuihama looked to me for help, but at a time like this, there was no way I would help. Because—I understood what Zaimokuza meant.
"I get it. How should I put this... You wearing a maid outfit would look awful. You'd just look like a college student fooling around in a maid costume at a school festival, the kind that irritates everyone who sees them."
Honestly, some people normally looked down on Otaku and maids who frequented places like this, but then treated maid outfits as something lofty and sacred at special events. What the hell was that supposed to mean? It was seriously irritating.
"If you're going to Cosplay, then properly understand the heart of the role too! Go watch Shirley from beginning to end before coming back! Someone at your level would definitely dress up as Hatsune at Comiket and openly smoke in the smoking area!"
Zaimokuza grew incredibly worked up, and Yuihama could not help taking three steps back. She let out an unwilling groan, looked around for help, and finally hid behind Yukino.
Used as a shield, Yukino gave a small sigh and pointed to the cafe's sign.
"It seems female customers are welcome here as well."
There really was a line saying exactly that where Yukino pointed.
—Female customers are welcome too! You can experience being a maid!
Hey, signs would not lie, right? So it really was going to be maid time?
× × ×
Anyway, the five of us, men and women alike, entered the shop.
"Welcome home, Masters and Princesses!"
With that customary greeting, we were led to a table.
Yuihama and Yukino went off to try the maid experience, so only Totsuka, Zaimokuza, and I remained at the table.
"Master, please feel free to give any orders."
An older girl wearing cat ears and red-framed glasses brought over the menu. It was packed with handwritten dishes sporting heavy girlish flair, such as "Nom Nom~ Tasty Omurice," "White Curry☆," and "Cute Cake♪." Aside from the regular menu, there were extra services like "Moe Moe Rock-Paper-Scissors," "Photo Together," and the "Sobu Line Game." But why did playing rock-paper-scissors with a maid cost money? Was this place still living in the bubble economy?
Whatever. I would leave these incomprehensible things to Zaimokuza.
I looked at Murakiza beside me and saw him constantly glancing around, hunching himself up, and drinking water repeatedly. Come to think of it, he had not said a single word since entering the shop.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
"Well... I-I like places like this, but once I actually come inside, I get nervous... I can't talk properly to the maids."
"Oh."
Before you continue