Chapter 12: The Bonds Blessed upon the Angel
“Oh my, Mahiru-chan, that’s a very cute outfit you’re wearing.”
Amane’s parents arrived early into their shift, Amane, along with Mahiru, greeted them as they entered. Amane forced his stiff cheeks into a smile. Seeing Mahiru’s maid outfit, Shihoko’s eyes were shining clear as day and was enthusiastically eyeing up her attire, even touching it for good measure.
Mahiru smiled wryly as if she was already used to it, but as far as the rules were concerned, it was something they had to reject. Even if they knew each other, once you set a precedent in public, others will get the wrong idea and start doing it too. That’s what they had to avoid. Mahiru was lost in her rhythm and let Shihoko touch as she pleased, so Amane sighed and held his arm out to stop her.
“Dear customer, please refrain from touching our maid.”
“Oh my. So you’re Amane’s personal maid.”
“If you think about it normally, that’s what a maid is!”
Amane’s cheeks tightened even more as she asserted Mahiru as his ‘personal maid,’ but Shihoko didn’t seem to mind. Amane, also realizing that there was no point in trying to smooth things over, decided to handle the situation with honesty.
“Oh my, what a sharp-tongued waiter… By the way, by saying I can’t touch her are you trying to keep her to yourself?”
“No, it’s the rules here. Touching is strictly forbidden. We don’t give that kind of service. I can’t set an example for the other customers, so please don’t.”
“Even if I’m her mother?”
“No. Also, you’re not her mother yet.”
Likely, Shihoko already saw herself as Mahiru’s mother. Rather, she seemed more like a mother than Mahiru’s own parents did, and if she wanted, she could be doted on more than even Amane, Shihoko’s own son, but even so, her relation now was still that of her son’s girlfriend.
As far as Amane was concerned, he wanted to show his parents to their seats as soon as possible rather than play along with their teasing, especially since several groups of people have been glancing at him for a while now. Even his classmates looked his way and it clearly made him embarrassed.
“What’s the big deal? Either way, the result is the same.”
“So… that’s enough. Let me show you the way.”
“Yeah, there are still customers here. Maybe you should show me the way. Nice to meet you, waiter.”
The corners of Shihoko’s mouth twitched as she smiled, but the silent Shuuto apologized with his gaze, so Amane secretly sighed and switched his expression to one aimed toward customers.
“My apologies. I shall guide you to your seat.”
Holding back her laughter, Shihoko tried to smooth things over with Amane, but he ignored her and brought them over to some empty seats. Mahiru had returned to serving customers and was taking orders from other tables. Nearly sighing in embarrassment, he wondered why he had to show this side of him to his parents, but he held back and handed the menu over to them.
“Please take a look at our menu. You can only order items as part of sets; I hope you understand.”
“Oh, I see. What will you choose, Shuuto-san?”
“Let’s see… What do you recommend, waiter?”
“If you would like coffee, I recommend you choose the A-set. If you would like to try the black tea, I recommend the C-set.”
Shuuto didn’t tease him as Shihoko did, but it was still a little flustering for Amane to see him smiling at him. He was fine serving his classmates, but he found it embarrassing to serve his family. As for Shihoko, she was already grinning, so she was much more bothersome.
“Hey, waiter.” Shihoko spoke playfully. “Could I take a maid-to-go, please?”
“We do not offer such services at our establishment,” Amane answered.
“But you’re taking her home with you, Amane.”
“I do not understand what you’re saying. What would you like to order?”
Smiling, Shihoko pursed her lips in disappointment at Amane’s firm refusal to continue the conversation. He wasn’t sure how to feel about seeing such a childish gesture from Shihoko at her age, but in a way, it was amazing that she could make it look so playful, showing no hint of pain or discomfort even though she was his mother.
“Yeah, I suppose I’ll have one A and one C-set each, then. Is that okay, Shihoko-san?”
“Yes. Now we can enjoy both. As expected of Shuuto-san.”
“Your tastes haven’t changed since then, Shihoko-san.”
“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”
Amane took their order and quickly left them. Either way, Amane knew perfectly well that they would soon start flirting anyway. Sure enough, he could hear their friendly conversation from behind him, so with a soft sigh, he went to relay their order to the team in the back, only to find his classmates staring at him from behind.
“One A and one C-set each… What?”
“Eh? Fujimiya’s parents?” One of his classmates caught sight of the situation.
“…Unfortunately,” Amane commented.
“What do you mean, unfortunately? …Well, you and your mom really do seem to have different personalities.”
Amane’s classmates must have seen Shihoko’s cheerfulness, too. Comparing that to Amane, there was no way they were similar. His classmates glanced over at his parents who were chatting happily and exchanging smiles, and then looked back at Amane.
“…Ahh, I see how it is now.”
“What’s with that ‘ahh?’”
“Nothing much. Just thinking that you’re similar to your father.”
“Really? Well, I think I look more like my dad than my mom…”
“Yeah, yeah, of course. Exactly what I meant.”
His eyes narrowed as he nodded as if he had something else to say, but before Amane could ask what it was, his classmate hurriedly left while saying, “I have something to do!” Amane returned to his post, wondering what was going on with him.
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