Chapter 227

"But..." Yukina paused, "I exchanged that letter with someone else..."

Because they encountered a stranger who had also lost in the lottery, and coincidentally, Yukina and Yukina happened to be holding the same prize they wanted, they naturally swapped them.

"Hmm," surprisingly, Shinomiyami Nami seemed to know about this, "So have you ever wondered why 'that person' just happened to appear in front of you, and why they just happened to take a liking to what you were holding?"

This was already a clear indication, and Yukina, not being slow to understand, immediately grasped it.

"Could it be... that person was also arranged by Naoko...?"

"After all, if we're too direct, we'll definitely be suspected," Shinomiyami Nami explained seriously. "After all, we're the 'official' organization that treats all fans equally (laughs)."

Shinomiyami Nami herself didn't believe what she said.

"So that's how it is..."

That makes sense.

"So, were you pleasantly surprised after hearing all this?"

"I... I'm very happy..."

Yukina pursed her lips, a complex mix of emotions swirling in her chest, a mixture of wanting to laugh and feeling inexplicably bittersweet.

"Right?" Shinomiyami Nami laughed, "Isn't this a special kind of gift too? A 'surprise' can exist in this way—as long as it makes her happy and lets her know your feelings, I think she'll like any form of 'gift'."

"I think I understand..."

A gift can be an object or a unique sentiment; the key lies in the person giving the gift.

"Well, don't tell your sister about this, okay? She doesn't seem too keen on bringing it up."

After all, it's this kind of thing.

If Yoshino hadn't Siyejian, Yukina might never have known, because Naoko was unusually dishonest about such matters.

"In short, thank you so much Yukina, for the invitation. I will definitely be there..."

Shinomiyami Nami gave an affirmative answer.

"Um, Siyejian, please keep this a secret from my sister."

"Of course, I'll cover for you, so don't worry, I'm really looking forward to it too!"

Siyejian and Yukina exchanged a few more words before hanging up—she had a lot of work to do and was a very busy person.

"Naoko has that side to her too..."

Yukina kept Shinomiyami Nami's words in mind, "As expected of someone who has spent so much time with Naoko, Ms. Siyejian understands Naoko very well..."

As she muttered to herself, Yukina suddenly felt a pang of envy.

"I wish I were the one who stayed by Naoko's side all the time."

But Yukina didn't have that opportunity.

If Yukina hadn't stepped into Naoko's world that day, perhaps the misunderstandings and estrangement between Yukina and Efnir would have continued indefinitely.

That would be so tragic.

"How are you?" Kanade Kotone leaned closer, somewhat puzzled. "Why do you have that expression?"

"It's nothing, I just feel that I don't understand Naoko well enough."

Yukina sighed.

Whether it's Canary or Shinomiyami Nami, the Naoko they see is probably different from the Naoko they see themselves. Everyone's Naoko is different, but that's precisely why we can portray her completely.

Yukina gently bit the straw, the cool, sweet juice melting in her mouth. She pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "... Kanade, what kind of person is my sister in your eyes?"

"Huh?" Kanade Kotone put down her phone. "Why are you asking me?"

"What's wrong?" Yukina teased with a smile. "You said you'd come to the birthday party, right? In that case, what gift will you choose?"

"Hmm..." Kanade Kotone raised her eyebrows seriously, rolled her eyes at Yukina, "Shiomi- san, you must be sending me your troubles, right?"

Yukina smiled without saying a word.

144. Maid Cafe

"--Is it your birthday, senpai?" Furan's voice was always soft and gentle, just like the impression she gave off. "I think you could try thinking about what you like, Shiomi- san. Whether it's catering to someone's tastes or sharing what you like, it's all a choice..."

This is also a feasible suggestion. Since we can't find anything that Naoko would like, why not give her something that she herself likes?

For example... fun...

Yukina rubbed her cheeks, immediately sweeping the filthy thoughts out of her mind.

"--She'd be pleasantly surprised by something..." Fushihara Ayaka hesitated for a moment before saying uncertainly, "I wonder if she'd be happy to receive Masaki Hina's blessing. To be honest, I haven't seen her for a while, and suddenly she doesn't seem so annoying after all."

Masaki Hina... Former Commander, there's really nothing Yukina can do about this... After all, she doesn't have Masaki Hina's contact information, nor does she have sufficient authority to borrow intercity communication equipment.

"--Dessert," Elincia remained silent as always, "Fruit."

These are all Naoko loves to eat, and Yukina knows that too.

"--As for me..." Anilas only been in Xijing City for a little over a month, and her understanding of Efnir was limited, so she couldn't offer any advice and wasn't entirely sure. "A shared accommodation might be a good idea."

However, there is no suitable place in Xijing City.

Time quickly passed to 3:30 PM.

"Shiomi- san, let's go check out the coffee shop," said Kanade Kotone, glancing at the time. "Senpai should be arriving soon too."

The coffee shop was located on a commercial street near the school. They hailed a taxi and headed towards the school.

"Shiomi- san, did you get any advice from your sister's friend?"

"Yes, some."

Yukina recalled the memory, then shook her head.

In short, Yukina had contacted most of the people she could think of, except for Shadow and the other agents who were staying in the Maesakagawa, as well as some agents stationed on other borders and in Garrison District —those people were responsible for their respective areas and did not usually return to headquarters, so Yukina had not seen them at headquarters.

"Have you contacted most of them?"

"Yes, more or less."

Kanade Kotone thought for a moment, "Then we'll be moving on to the next step soon."

"What's next?"

"Of course it's you."

"I?"

Yukina was taken aback, while Kanade Kotone laughed, "Think about it, since this is such an important occasion for both you and your sister, you should first make sure you look your best, right? Besides the absolutely winning clothes and shoes, makeup is a must, and perfume is an essential weapon for girls on dates!"

"But... I don't have any experience..." Yukina was at a loss.

Let alone perfume, Yukina also has only a superficial understanding of makeup.

She was, after all, just a high school student, and her understanding of makeup was limited to lipstick, mascara, and a little bit of whitening cream—she knew nothing about what makeup styles were currently popular, what kind of makeup suited her temperament, or how to use makeup to modify her face shape.

However, this was clearly no challenge for Kanade Kotone.

"It's alright, I can handle this."

Kanade Kotone patted her chest and gave her assurance, "And there's also Miss Siyejian, she's really good at this."

Shinomiyami Nami's usual style and her work style are two extremes. She is also Efnir's manager and part-time makeup artist, and she certainly has a trustworthy skill in these areas.

"Next, it's time to set up the scene."

Setting up the scene at home also takes a considerable amount of time, and this is a crucial step.

Kanade Kotone said, "But before that, let's go to the coffee shop. After all, the ring is the most important thing."

The "senpai" that Kanade Kotone mentioned is actually the manager of the maid café where Kanade Kotone often works, and she is a third-year student at the Youcheng Girls' Academy High School.

The two took a taxi to their destination—a maid café. Because the café was not located on the main street of the shopping district, it was not very eye-catching. Yukina and Kotone got out of the taxi at the entrance of the shopping district and walked for a while with the map before finding their destination.

This is it.

Kanade Kotone excitedly pointed it out to Yukina, by which time there were already quite a few people in the store.

A maid café is, without a doubt, a café that incorporates the popular subculture of "maids" as a gimmick, and the "maid" element is naturally the most eye-catching feature.

As Yukina looked into the distance, her gaze was immediately drawn to the maids in the shop, dressed in maid uniforms and Kanade Kotone teacups and trays. Most of those uniforms were similar in style to the ones Hanako had lent Yukina before, and Yukina recognized them at a glance. However, the shopkeeper and the barista who was in charge of making coffee wore maid uniforms of a different style.

The café's decor is very elegant; it doesn't seem like a place that uses "maids" as a gimmick to attract attention. Instead, it cleverly blends "maids" and "coffee" in a perfect way, creating a unique style.

And just as Kanade Kotone had said before, there were only girls in the café—this shop was only open to women, which made Yukina feel much more relaxed.

--Unlike what I had imagined, the popularity here was unexpected. The store was quiet, but all I could see were women of all ages, from energetic girls in junior high school uniforms carrying juice to mature women whose clothes and demeanor exuded the charm of their age. Some wore half-rimmed glasses and looked like composed and intellectual teachers or doctors, while others had elegant postures like models who had stepped out of a poster... Yukina couldn't even find anything in common among these people.

"Ah, it's Xiaoqinyin~ Good afternoon."

Kanade Kotone clearly knew the other shop assistants, and even a customer walking towards her—a woman dressed in mature professional attire—greeted Kanade Kotone.

She was a regular here, so she knew Kanade Kotone.

"Good afternoon, Riko."

"It's been a long time since I've seen you. Is it because you've been busy with school affairs?"

"The school is holding a festival recently... so..."

Kanade Kotone.

After all, the staff and even the manager here are students from the Youcheng Girls' Academy. When the school is busy, they will naturally put aside their part-time jobs here temporarily.

"Oh! I do seem to have heard about that."

Kanade Kotone smiled awkwardly, but the other party didn't suspect anything and simply chuckled, "It's a pity we don't have more time to spend with Kotone today. I hope we can meet again next week after all this time."

After saying goodbye to the working woman known as "Miss Riko," a girl dressed as a maid approached with a sweet smile, "The manager is waiting for you upstairs, please come with me?"

145. Coffee and chocolate

The air is filled with the rich aroma of coffee and the delicate fragrance of milk, while soothing music drifts in and out.

The coffee shop has a very comfortable feel.

"The prices here don't seem as expensive as I expected..." Yukina looked around in confusion and asked, "Is it because it's not in the center of the shopping district?"

This is Yukina's second impression of the coffee shop.

First, coffee was a relatively expensive product in this era, much like poultry, beef, mutton, alcohol, cars, and some rare fruits—especially for Xijing City that is not a coffee-producing region.

Therefore, the price of coffee is naturally quite high. Ordinary people in Xijing City do not have the habit of drinking coffee; it is a hobby that only a minority of people would indulge in.

Coffee is actually quite popular in some markets. This commodity, which is difficult to obtain due to trade restrictions, is itself a favorite gift for some people. Coffee that is expensive in Xijing City is less than 10% of the price in coffee-producing Xijing City. It is this huge price difference that has created this phenomenon.

Secondly, cafes that offer "maid" services as an added value should generally be more expensive. Although Yukina has never been to such places, she has been a regular member of the Efnir fan group for many years and has learned a lot of "not very useful" but "can be heard" knowledge from others.

Some restaurants also use "maids" as a selling point, deliberately having their staff dress up as maids to attract customers. These types of restaurants are usually more expensive because it is not easy to recruit staff who can play the role of maids appropriately, thus increasing costs in various aspects. In order to increase sales, the restaurant manager will also use this to extract money from customers who come specifically for the maid element.

Similarly, a café that features maids as a major element should be more expensive.

Considering both factors, a maid café would certainly not be cheap—but the prices here are quite ordinary, or rather, they're so cheap that it doesn't seem like a café located in a commercial street.

"Actually, it's not that bad. Other coffee shops have the same price."

There aren't many coffee shops, but this isn't the only one. Coffee is hard to come by, but it's not an essential commodity, so there's naturally a market for it.

"It's hard to call that the same thing..."

Indeed, most cafes in other places would have similar prices, but rents in commercial streets are more expensive, so generalizations cannot be made, especially since this is a "maid cafe".

"Actually, there's no need to think so much," Kanade Kotone smiled. "If the price is too high, wouldn't that be tantamount to excluding some people?"

"... I always felt that was something only an idealist would say."

"You're right, that's exactly the kind of person she is—well, you'll see when you meet her. Besides, she's a genuine heiress, so she probably doesn't care much about the shop's income."