Anyway, whatever the case, he was a maid now. There was no denying that.
Shiori looked around with a somewhat weary gaze and seemed to notice something.
"Huh? Where did Lingmeng go? Wasn't she supposed to be with us?"
Indeed, he couldn't see Lingmeng among the staff at the stall.
"Hmm? I think Lingmeng was getting changed."
Tohka answered rather cutely.
"Oh, really?"
Shiori nodded gently, then muttered under his breath.
"If Lingmeng's changing into a uniform, it'll be a maid outfit too... right?"
There was no question that a Maid Café's uniform would be a maid outfit. Just like the one he was wearing after throwing away his dignity as a man.
If this meant he got to see Lingmeng looking cute in a maid outfit, maybe it wasn't such a bad deal...?
Just as Shiori was thinking that—
"Ah, it looks like Lingmeng's here."
Tohka suddenly pointed behind Shiori as she spoke.
Before Shiori could react, he felt something soft press against his back in a hug.
"Sorry for the wait~ Shiori~"
The voice beside his ear was unmistakably Lingmeng's.
He swallowed lightly, then nervously turned his head.
By now, he was already looking forward to seeing just how cute Lingmeng would look.
But—
"Huh—"
When he saw Lingmeng's outfit, Shiori let out a bewildered sound.
That was only natural, though, because Lingmeng wasn't wearing the maid outfit he had imagined.
Instead, she wore a predominantly white chef outfit, complete with an apron and a tall white hat.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Seemingly noticing Shiori's expression, Lingmeng tilted her head in confusion, released her arms from around him, and took a few steps back.
"Ah..."
Coming back to his senses, Shiori hurriedly composed himself and shook his head as he spoke.
"No... it's nothing..."
Then he scratched his cheek