CHAPTER 2
All nerds dream of doing a chi blast.
“Now, where would you like to go first?”
Masachika, who had changed back into his apprentice wizard costume, replied:
“Anywhere with food would be fine by me. I still haven’t had lunch… Same with you, right, Alya?”
“Huh? Oh, right…”
It was already past two thirty PM, but neither Masachika nor Alisa had eaten lunch yet, since they had been busy with school festival duties before the trivia show. It didn’t help that all the excitement and anxiety from the competition had suppressed their appetite, either.
“I only had something light after the trivia show, so I am feeling peckish as well. Shall we find a booth serving food, then?”
“How about that place over there? Seems to have a bit of a line, though.”
Where Masachika was looking, there was a joint project between the freshman students of Class D and Class F. It was a maid café, and its presence was overwhelming, spanning three entire classrooms. Class F’s classroom was being used as a dressing room and a kitchen, while the other two rooms were the café itself. Incidentally, Class E had set up a booth in the schoolyard, so they didn’t need to use their classroom. There were rumors that a selfish, stuck-up girl whined about not being able to do a maid café unless a certain “Saya” did it with her, so Class E ended up giving in to the pressure and were forced out of their own classroom. Nevertheless, Class E never filed a complaint, so there was no telling what really happened.
“What a wonderful idea. I was actually interested in checking out the café myself.”
“I don’t mind eating there, either.”
After receiving their approval, Masachika got in line, and thankfully they didn’t have to wait long, perhaps due to it being past the lunch hour already.
“Welcome home, Master and Princesses.”
“H-hey.”
A rather cute maid, who was working as the greeter, reverently bowed, catching Masachika off guard by how surprisingly authentic this was.
“Masachika, I see you are smiling from ear to ear.”
“No, I’m not.”
“<Pig…>”
The fact that I can’t argue with that makes it even more frustrating. Oink, oink…
The unprompted verbal abuse from both sides started to worry Masachika, so he swiftly covered his mouth, which made the maid giggle.
Oh, no…
He could feel his lips reflexively curl into a smile under his palm.
What is this…? Don’t tell me that… Do I have a weakness for maids?!
The young wizard figured he was used to maids, thanks to living with a real one, Ayano, for a decent portion of his life…but it appeared he was quite wrong.
Th-this is bad… If I’m getting this giddy at the entrance, then I’m probably going to turn into a sweaty, blushing nerd once I step inside, and to make matters worse, I’m with these two!
Yuki would probably never let him hear the end of it, and Alisa would most certainly stare at him with contempt. At any rate, the maid, who had finally suppressed her laughter, shepherded them into the classroom. Masachika’s heart raced, as if being in the café unexpectedly put him in danger.
“Follow me, please. By the way, we charge two hundred yen per seat if you wish to dine at the neighboring classroom.”
“Oh.”
The scummy surcharge the cute maid announced wiped the smile right off Masachika’s face. When he glanced at the two classrooms’ windows, he realized that they had been completely blacked out, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. In other words, there was no telling what kind of maids were inside, so if the classroom you were taken to didn’t have the maid you were looking for, then you would have to pay a fee to be moved to the neighboring classroom. Sketchy stuff.
All right, I’m not smiling anymore. I’m ready to go.
After rebooting his mind, Masachika stood in front of the sliding door, knowing that he was not going to drool over himself no matter what maid stood inside, so he confidently grabbed the handle and slid the door open.
“Master ♡, Princesses ♡, welcome home!”
You could almost hear a crystalline sparkling sound as the beautiful young maid flawlessly welcomed them inside. Covering her firm rear was a frilly miniskirt that hung over her long, smooth, snow-white legs, and her somewhat childlike wavy pigtails only complemented her innocent smile. You would be hard-pressed to find a maid this attractive even at an actual maid café.
Masachika didn’t see the appeal, though.
“Blech.”
Instead, he felt sick. It was Nonoa, after all.
“…? Is everything okay, Master? ♡”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
His facial muscles twitched. She was acting like a completely different person, so he was taken aback.
“Oh my! ♡ What a beautiful little elf you brought along with you, too. ♡ You look so cute. ♡”
“Oh, uh… Thanks?”
Even Alisa appeared weirded out. Her eyes were wide in astonishment.
“Thank you for welcoming us to your café, Nonoa. You look lovely.”
Meanwhile, Yuki, who acted like a gentlewoman while at school, did not even bat an eye in front of the maids. Her graceful smile didn’t budge as she smoothly complimented Nonoa, making Nonoa clasp her hands together, place them against her chin, and bashfully swing her hips from side to side.
“Whaaat? For real? You have no idea how happy you made me. ♡”
…All she was missing was a calculating giggle sound effect in the background.
“Bff! Mmp.”
The ominous sight was too much for Masachika’s stomach to take as it twisted and turned with nausea.
“…”
Meanwhile, Alisa’s brain had shut off. Nevertheless, Nonoa didn’t seem bothered by her bandmates’ reactions (because she probably wasn’t), and she cheerfully winked before taking them to their table.
“E-excuse me! May I order, please?!”
“Oh! Be right there! ♡”
Right as they got seated, Nonoa immediately headed over to another table to wait on other customers. It was almost as if Masachika, Alisa, and Yuki were the only ones who found her behavior bizarre, because every other guy in the café seemed to be in love with her already. Even while she was taking the other table’s order, there were countless not-so-subtle gazes ogling her slim waist and white thighs peeking out from under the hem of her skirt. There was no way Nonoa didn’t notice, but she seemed totally composed. Perhaps she was used to being stared at, thanks to modeling. If anything…
“Oh my gosh! ♡ My eyes are up here, you know?”
“Oh, uh…! S-sorry…”
She even had the confidence to mischievously tease the patrons to get them to stop. The fact that she made it obvious that she wasn’t really mad at them only made the boys bashfully blush and smile even more.
“Oof.”
Masachika started to feel nauseated again but then another more traditionally dressed maid—at least compared to an Akihabara-style maid like Nonoa—approached them.
“May I take your order?”
One look at her was all it took for Masachika to instinctively mutter:
“Oooh! Th-the head maid…”
“…? Yes?” She pushed up her glasses and raised an eyebrow, as if she weren’t the least bit fazed by their costumes. It was Sayaka, but unlike the other maids, she was taking business seriously and wasn’t being the least bit flirty. She wore a maid uniform with a long, plain skirt, and her spectacles, which were reflecting a chilling light, drew a distinct line between her and the average maid. “May I take your order?”
“Uh… I’ll have the ‘spaghetti and meatballs made with tons of love.’”
“Today’s special is curry.”
“What?”
“Today’s special is curry.”
The head maid casually refused to take his order, so although he was mildly annoyed, he decided to go with the day’s special. That is, until—
“Wait a second. You just don’t want to boil the pasta because it’s a pain in the ass.”
“Oh, was it that obvious?”
“Of course it was. Who do you think checked all the food-related projects for the festival?”
All food being served at the festival had to be approved and inspected by the public health center, so the entire cooking process had to be monitored in advance, to make sure there weren’t any glaring issues. Furthermore, Masachika was involved in the setup, so he knew that the curry was instant, which meant all they had to do was microwave a box of curry, then dump it onto a bowl of rice, which would take only minutes. On the other hand, they would have to boil pasta for the spaghetti and meatballs, which would take some time. Plus, the profit margins for the curry were far higher, to boot.
“Actually…the curry is pretty expensive. Even if this were homemade, a thousand yen for curry at a school festival is kind of outrageous.”
No matter how wealthy some of the students’ families were, asking four digits for a single dish wasn’t typical. Maybe if it came as a set with some extremely high-quality coffee, then it would be excusable, but even with the value added by claiming the curry was “home-maid-made,” it was still just ordinary curry. The price seemed far too pushy. Nevertheless, there was no way this head maid would set the price so high without good reason.
“Have a look at the fine print. Everyone who orders the curry will be automatically entered in a drawing to win the chance to have their picture taken with a maid.”
“A picture with a maid…?”
Although Masachika had never personally been to a maid café before, he had heard that some shops allowed customers to take pictures with the maids as long as they collected enough points. Winning a chance through ordering curry, however, reminded him of how certain idols did their raffles for meet-and-greets.
“What are our odds of winning, by the way?”
“That would be a secret for maids’ ears only, Master.”
“Oh, so you’ll at least call me ‘Master,’” unconsciously grunted Masachika, as if that had surprised him most of all. This prompted Sayaka to lower her gaze while quietly pushing up her glasses.
“…There is nothing to worry about. The raffle isn’t rigged. Far from it, in fact.”
“All right. I mean, I wasn’t really worried that—”
“Excuse me! Could I get another order of ‘lucky curry’ over here? Hold the curry, please!”
“Me too!”
“Here are your raffle tickets. ♡”
“Uh… Sorry, but did I just hear an extremely shady transaction take place?”
“You must be hearing things.”
“Then how do you explain that?! Look at their eyes! Those are the eyes of people who have become completely addicted to gambling!”
“We are not forcing them to do anything. All we wish to do is please our masters.”
“…! Y-you know, it’s really hard to argue with you when you put it that way, even though it’s still wrong…”
Then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the debate queen could make an argument for any situation. If anything, Masachika was impressed that she could shamelessly make excuses like this with a straight face. Even Yuki nodded to herself, as if she were struck with admiration.
“Interesting. It appears you make up for your café’s poor customer traffic with higher average spending per customer.”
“Wow… You really know how to ruin the mood with your analyses. This is a maid café—a place where people come to dream.”
“Master, perhaps you need to wake up. It’s only a maid café, after all.”
“Can I get a new head maid over here?!”
After yelling at the head maid, who had ruthlessly crushed his dreams and ruined the mood, Masachika ordered the curry, even though he wasn’t really interested in winning. Both Yuki and Alisa did the same, so they ended up ordering drinks and curry for three.
“As you wish. I shall be back shortly with your meals.”
Once Sayaka left, Masachika surveyed the café. What surprised him, however, was the fact that each female maid was wearing a different type of maid uniform.
“The uniforms alone must have been stupid expensive…which is probably where most of the money went, seeing how simply they decorated the place.”
“I don’t know who hooked them up, but apparently, a student used one of their connections to rent all of these maid outfits for next to nothing.”
“Seriously? I guess you would know, being the student council accountant and all.”
But when Masachika faced forward to make eye contact with Alisa, he was met with a chilling glare.
“So… That’s what you’re into, huh?”
“What? Oh, no. It’s not like I have a thing for maids or anything… I mean, I guess I think their outfits are cute? In a nerdy kind of way?”
“Oh?”
“But when we were at the entrance talking to…Ms. Mizoguchi, was it? You were grinning from ear to ear,” Yuki said.
“What? No, I wasn’t—”
“It sure looked like you were,” Alisa cut in, immediately shutting Masachika up. He personally didn’t believe he felt anything for the maid, but he needed to explain himself, so he desperately racked his brain for the right words…when Yuki suddenly began to giggle.
“I am joking. I was only teasing you, Masachika. After all, you never really are that interested in people when you first meet them, right?”
“I feel like you could have phrased that a little better, but…yeah, I guess,” Masachika admitted bitterly, since Yuki’s statement was more or less accurate. Masachika actually never found himself drawn to people he had no social interaction with. Meeting new people like the maid from earlier was no different from seeing a pop star or an actress on TV to him. Although he might have thought they were cute, or beautiful, or had a nice body, that was where it ended, and he wasn’t interested in befriending them. Now, if he did start interacting with them for some reason or another, then perhaps he would start to find himself attracted to them. In fact, when he first met Alisa, he thought, Whoa. She’s really good-looking, but he wasn’t really interested in getting to know her any more than that. The only exception was Maria—“Mah,” technically.
And I guess that would mean…it was love at first sight.
While Masachika was deep in thought, Yuki, who was sitting across from him, leaned toward Alisa and whispered into her ear:
“Alya, Masachika is thinking about another woman while completely ignoring us.”
“Right? I was actually about to say the same thing.”
“Hey, can someone explain to me, scientifically, how a woman’s intuition works?”
Masachika glared warily at the mind-reading duo, but Alisa ignored the question and coldly pressed him for an answer instead.
“So? Who were you thinking about?”
“…Ayano. You know, since she’s a maid and all.”
“Oh? She really is cute, isn’t she?”
“…You’d look really cute dressed as a maid, too, Alya,” Masachika said.
Although he meant it, he also wanted to please her, to smooth things over. After another second went by, however, he suddenly tilted his head with bewilderment.
“Wait. Why do I get the feeling that I’ve seen you dressed as a maid before?”
“…It’s just your imagination. You’re probably thinking about something else.”
“Really…? Oh… Well, if you say so,” he agreed, albeit begrudgingly, which made Yuki’s lips curl mischievously.
“Wow. You really do love maid uniforms, Masachika. Maybe I should start dressing like a maid, too?”
“Whatever makes you happy.”
“…Masachika, why do I feel you have been treating me rather poorly lately?”
“What? Why would I care if you put on a cute costume? Right?”
Despite Alisa’s fairly reproachful gaze narrowing at her frowning partner, a sense of superiority made her sneer. However…
“I’d admire you for a second, then take a picture, but that’s about it.”
“Oh my. How bold! ♪”
“I’m joking. Alya. It was just a joke, okay?” reassured Masachika after seeing the flash of pure chaos in her eyes. Of course, he wasn’t really joking, because if Yuki actually were to dress up in a cute maid outfit, then he would take tons of pictures and admire her all day. But obviously, admitting that would only cause trouble, so he decided to claim he was joking instead.
Regardless, Alisa seemed convinced, even though she swiftly looked away with her nose in the air.
“What’s that about? Ha-ha,” he joked with a forced smile, because although Alisa looked slightly annoyed, there was no denying how she felt for him.
Then again, you could interpret it as her just being envious of her friend.
“<You never say anything like that to me.>”
…Or not. Yep. She definitely wants to be seen as a woman, not a friend.
And the fact that Alisa herself didn’t realize this bewildered Masachika.
Maybe in her mind, she thinks she just wants her partner, me, to always view her as a cut above the rest? She loves to win, after all…
But the head maid returned with their curry and drinks before he could come to any sort of conclusion.
“I apologize for the wait. ‘Home-maid-made lucky curry.’ Enjoy.”
“Oh, thanks.”
After serving the food and drinks, Sayaka placed a box on the table with a hole in the top.
“These are the raffle tickets.”
“Oh, so this is what’s causing those agonizing cries of pain in the background.”
“How rude. That master over there simply ran out of luck. That’s all.”
“I wonder if luck is really to blame.”
Although Masachika didn’t mention it, he was pretty sure that big bills were being spent, because when he strained his ears, he could hear dispirited voices saying, “I’ll get it next time for sure,” and “I can’t spend any more than this.” He could even hear Nonoa sweetly asking customers if they wanted another drink as well. But the instant these guys were seated, it was already over for them. They were going to be drained of every last cent they had. So sketchy.
Just saying these guys had bad luck makes me feel even worse for them…
That was the first thought that crossed Masachika’s mind as he reached into the box, pulled out a piece of paper, and unfolded it…only to reveal the word “Winner” written inside.
“Huh?”
“See? It’s all just luck,” said Sayaka before loudly announcing to the room, “Congratulations! We have our first winner!”
The announcement seemed to have persuaded the other customers to give up, but right as they were about to get out of their seats, Nonoa immediately swooped in like a vulture.
“Would you like another drink?”
“…Yes, please. And one more lucky curry, please!”
“Mmm… Me too!”
“Sigh… Those pathetic fools have given in to the thrill of gambling once again…”
If they actually cooled off first and thought about it, then they would realize that they had an even lower chance of winning, since one of the winning tickets was now gone, but they probably weren’t able to make rational decisions anymore. Though it wasn’t truly a competition, there were probably more than a few people who didn’t want to lose to someone who just came in and won on his first try.
Wait a second. Was it really a coincidence that I won? It can’t be, he thought. There’s no way… Masachika’s win had actually rekindled the thrill of the game for these gamblers. Once the seed of doubt was planted in his head, he realized that the other pieces of paper were tightly folded shut while his seemed rather loose and easy to grab…
“Oh, mine says, ‘Try Again.’”
“Me too…”
Yuki and Alisa placed their losing tickets onto the table while Masachika stared hard into Sayaka’s eyes, but she wore her soft smile like a mask, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“Now, Master, it is time for you to choose the maid you wish to take a picture with.”
“Huh? Oh, uh…”
“Nonoa is our most popular maid, by the way.”
“Nah, anyone but—”
“Yes, I figured you would choose her. Nonoa! Our master here wishes to take a picture with you!”
“Are you even listening to me?!” Masachika yelled.
“Be right there! ♡ …You called for me, Master? ♡”
“…”
Nonoa was still acting overly cute, which seemed to warrant a genuinely cold glare from Masachika, but she gracefully ignored his aggravation.
“Come on, Master. ♡ Let’s go take a picture together over there. ♡”
Nonoa headed over to the blackboard, where hearts, flowers, and even ribbons were drawn all over it in every color of the rainbow, creating the perfect spot for a social-media-worthy picture.
“Oh… That’s where we’re going to take the picture?”
Masachika honestly didn’t want to take a picture with this ominous creature, but asking for another girl would probably create even more issues and misunderstandings, so he decided to keep his mouth shut and stand.
“This can’t be happening…”
“My Nonoa…”
He could hear the pitiful cries of brain-deprived boys coming from every corner of the room.
“I feel your pain. GG (good game), boys…,” Yuki mumbled.
“‘GG’?”
Masachika listened to Yuki’s and Alisa’s exchange while he stepped in front of the blackboard where Nonoa almost immediately held out a piece of chalk to him.
“This is for you, Master. Could you please write your name right here for me?”
“My name?”
“Yes. I want to have our names written together before we take the picture. ☆”
After taking a closer look at the board, he noticed something resembling an umbrella or cross drawn in the middle, with Nonoa’s name on the left side of the line.
Oof. Just when I thought this couldn’t get more embarrassing.
Even though this was supposed to be an extraordinarily wonderful experience for customers at maid cafés, it felt like a public execution to Masachika. The glares were like daggers in his back, and the grudges forming against him were palpable.
“Master?”
Hesitantly, he gave in to Nonoa’s pressure and wrote his name on the board, but he didn’t stop there. Underneath their names, he added: “Fly High! We Are the Next Student Council!” Unsurprisingly, Nonoa’s face went blank for a few moments before her lips curled like a cunning cat’s.
“Giggle. You’re so funny. ☆”
But after her soft whisper, she smiled angelically.
“All right! We’re ready over here!” she declared while turning to face Sayaka. Only then was Masachika able to sigh in relief, because at the end of the day, he honestly didn’t have a humiliation fetish. All he wanted to do was emphasize that Team Kujou and Kuze were working together with Team Taniyama and Miyamae, and when you thought about it that way, it wasn’t that embarrassing—
“Now, make a heart with your hands in front of your chest, okay? I’ll count down, like, ‘Three, two, one, and love beam!’ Then we’ll take the picture,” the head maid instructed heartlessly.
Masachika died a little inside that day.
“The curry was really good, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it had a lot of meat and vegetables in it, too. It actually ended up being a lot more worthwhile than I was expecting.”
Masachika, Alisa, and Yuki got out of their seats, satisfied with the finely cooked curry that had exceeded their expectations.
“I’m not gonna give up yet! It’s time to limit-break!” someone roared.
“No backing out now!” another cried out.
The trio headed over to the register to pay for their food while pretending not to notice the shouting victims who were far past the point of no return.
“Here is your picture from earlier. Congratulations.”
“Wow, thanks…”
He honestly didn’t want it. If anything, it would surely become an embarrassing reminder of today, so he wanted to throw it right in the trash, but he wasn’t comfortable tossing it in front of so many people.
I guess I could just wait until I got home to throw it away…
Without even glancing at the picture, Masachika immediately tucked it away in his breast pocket, and after they left the café, they decided to follow the plans they’d made while they ate and head over to the schoolyard.
“Excuse me. ☆”
“Whoa.”
Nonoa passed right by them, seemingly heading over to grab more food from Class F’s classroom while every student in the hallway pursued her with their eyes. Regardless, the three didn’t even have to peek inside the classroom to know what was happening, for when they were passing by—
“I know you have all been very busy, but I know you can do it! I’m counting on you. ♡”
“You can count on us! Men, let’s do this!”
“““Yeah!!”””
Masachika stared off into space while listening to the voices of perfectly trained soldiers in the background. Alisa, on the other hand, glanced at the classroom with a twinge of surprise but soon nodded as if it all made sense to her.
“I was wondering why I didn’t see any male students working at the café. It looks like they were all sent to the kitchen to work.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing it had to be a guy who came up with the idea to do a maid café…but something about this seems off. It’s like they created a world where men are at the bottom of the social ladder.”
Maids were draining money from their male patrons while their male classmates did all the physical labor. Perhaps Sayaka’s leadership skills were enhanced by Nonoa’s devilish magic, because it almost seemed like brainwashing.
“Chef! We have trouble! We don’t have enough pots to prepare all the food!”
“Tsk. Then go buy one, ya numbskull!”
“Wait. You want me to go buy another stockpot…?”
“What’s the problem? The ladies out there are working hard to take care of our customers, so it’s time for you to start taking your job seriously, too!”
“…! Yes, sir!”
The boys’ exchange went beyond the average conversation between meatheads and sounded more like something one might hear in the military.
“…There’s a lot of shady stuff going on at that café, now that I think about it.”
“I know it is a little too late to be saying this, but I am starting to feel like Sayaka and Nonoa may have been real MVPs as student council president and vice-president in middle school, if we hadn’t beaten them.”
“It doesn’t sound like they’re forcing their classmates, either… Hell, if you wanted to put a positive spin on it, I guess you could say that they did a good job uniting these guys to work together?”
The three conversed with awkward, uncomfortable expressions while they retreated from the area. They went around checking the other classes’ attractions and booths for the next thirty minutes until Yuki suddenly checked the clock and suggested:
“Oh, it appears I only have twenty more minutes until I have to return to my duties for the school festival committee, so I was wondering if we could go see my class’s attraction.”
After the other two agreed, they stopped by the freshmen’s Class A room, which had been decorated like a traditional Japanese festival, with paper lanterns decorating the walls, yo-yo fishing, target shooting, and even a ring toss.
“Welcome to— A-Alisa Kujou?! Whoa…”
A boy near the entrance was wide-eyed with his mouth agape, rendered speechless by the sight of Alisa. The other students were no different when they looked in the direction of the astonished voice, only to be taken aback and tongue-tied as well. Even though this neighboring class was relatively used to seeing Alisa around, seeing her dressed as an elf seemed to be far too shocking.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I will be showing these two around, so please do not mind us,” announced Yuki to her mentally numb classmates, snapping them back to reality. Time resumed, but even though everyone went back to work, they couldn’t help but glance at Alisa every so often, despite being busy with other customers. Fortunately, the customers seemed to be having a hard time keeping their eyes off Alisa as well.
“So, Alya, is there anything you would like to try out?”
“Oh, uh… Well, I would like to try the yo-yo fishing, since I wasn’t able to catch a single balloon at the last festival we went to.”
The instant those words left Alisa’s lips, the customer at the yo-yo fishing booth immediately moved out of the way, which, unsurprisingly, startled her.
“C-come! Try your luck yo-yo fishing, young lady!” stuttered the male student at the yo-yo fishing stall with clear delight and a sense of superiority in his voice while gesturing a welcome. However, before Alisa could timidly make her way over to the stall, Masachika took off his robe and handed it to her.
“…? What?”
“Tie it around your waist. Remember how soaked your legs got last time?”
“Oh…”
Unlike Masachika’s robe, which was some cheap mass-produced piece of fabric, Alisa’s costume was of exceptionally high quality and handmade, to boot, so getting it wet would be a shame. At least, that was the excuse Masachika was going with, since in actuality, all he wanted to do was make sure nobody could see her underwear when she squatted in front of the booth. After Alisa looked back at him sharply yet a little bashfully, as if she realized his true intentions, she thanked him softly while accepting the robe. Masachika then followed her to the yo-yo fishing booth, but it was only a matter of seconds before a crowd had formed around her. Masachika smiled wryly.
“Seriously? What about the other booths?”
Witnessing her classmates in charge of other booths abandoning their duties seemed to make Yuki scowl.
“Well, I suppose it is not that big of a deal, since all the customers have gathered around to watch… It would seem Alya’s presence alone is bad for business.”
“Yeah… By the way, should I crack a joke about the ‘air’ that has been following us around yet?”
“Please continue to pretend you don’t see her. It seems to be a touchy subject for maids such as her.”
“All right.”
“At any rate, is there anything here that piques your interest? You are my guest today. Unfortunately, we cannot give you any prizes, though.”
“No prizes?”
“Of course not. You would win every last prize and leave us with nothing if we allowed that, right?”
“Good point.”
They spoke a little more casually with each other, since there was no one else around.
“Oh… But now that I think about it, I do believe that even you would have trouble winning that.”
Yuki pointed toward the middle of the top shelf at the target-shooting booth where a stuffed bear was placed. Unlike the other prizes, it sat firmly on the shelf, making it clear that it was going to take more than a few weak shots to knock it off.
“…I feel almost intimidated by it.”
“That teddy bear is apparently one of a kind and was handmade by a famous craftsman for a very well-known brand in England, so you can imagine how highly coveted a prize like that would be among enthusiasts.”
“Then why are you using it as a prize at a school festival?”
“Because this is Seirei Academy.”
“Tsk. Good point,” muttered Masachika while he headed toward the target-shooting booth, since above all, it was his duty as the older brother to never back down when challenged.
“It will be three hundred yen for five shots,” Yuki said.
“You’re gonna make me pay?”
“In return, I promise you can have that teddy bear if you knock it down,” she vowed with a serious, calm expression. However, a devilish grin almost immediately appeared, revealing her true self, while she added in a whisper, “How about giving it to Alya, my dear brother? That way, she’ll always have something to remind her of today.”
After glancing over his shoulder seriously at Alisa at the yo-yo fishing booth, Masachika quietly took out his wallet.
“I’ll take five corks.”
“Here you are.”
Once Yuki handed him the ammunition, he loaded the rifle as if it were second nature. Then he focused on the front sight to make sure it was aimed right at the teddy bear, and silently pulled the trigger, hitting the teddy bear directly on the head…
…only for the cork to bounce right off of it.
“What kind of peashooter is this? You couldn’t make this thing any weaker.”
“I told you that it was impossible.”
“Sure, but even crane games are set where the arms are strong enough to make you think you have a chance of winning.”
The beautiful shot to the forehead just barely made its head wiggle as it remained proudly perched on the shelf.
“…Hey, Yuki. How many rifles do you have?” asked Masachika, while observing how ever so slightly the teddy bear leaned forward.
“…? Four in total.”
“Get them out.”
Once Yuki lined up the four rifles on the table, Masachika took his remaining corks and loaded one into each gun.
“…Do you plan on firing all these rifles in a row? I highly doubt that is going to work.”
“Yuki…” He muttered her name as if he were scolding her for hastily jumping to conclusions, then shifted his gaze back to the teddy bear. “I’ve actually been practicing my chi blasts lately.”
“Yo, seriously? You’re a real-life superhero.”
Masachika snorted at his sister’s inner nerd seeping out, then slowly lifted his chin while he got into position with the rifle.
“Watch and learn. It’s all about how you channel your inner chi,” Masachika claimed audaciously as he pulled the trigger. The cork flew right under the teddy bear, bounced off the blackboard behind it, then directly hit the prize on the back of the head. Without even checking to make sure he’d hit it, Masachika immediately switched guns and accurately hit the same spot again and again, slowly pushing the teddy bear forward until it fell onto the shelf below and knocked down those prizes along with it.
“Cha-ching.”
“What do you mean ‘cha-ching’? I didn’t see any chi blast.”
“That’s because chi’s invisible.”
“Oh, shut up,” said Yuki, sighing and rolling her eyes while she picked up the teddy bear.
“Sigh… I still can’t believe you pulled it off. I was hoping to keep it around so it could be tomorrow’s big prize, but well, a promise is a promise. Here.”
Masachika glanced over at Alisa with a sharp grin while Yuki handed him the stuffed animal.
“Heh. Go on. It’s time for you to both embarrass her and make her happy at the very same time ♪,” jeered Yuki. However, Masachika handed the teddy bear right back to her.
“Hmm…?”
“It’s yours.”
“Huh?”
Yuki seemed genuinely baffled.
“You’re allowed to have teddy bears now, right?” pointed out Masachika with sweet yet rather sorrowful eyes. Yuki used to have terrible asthma when they lived together as children, so she hadn’t been allowed to have any stuffed animals or anything else that easily collected dust and germs. Even the stuffed animal she used to carry around as a baby was taken away, and she had to stay in an extremely simple, hospital-like bedroom where cleanliness was prioritized above all. That was why Masachika was never able to give her any of the stuffed animals he used to win at the arcade, and it was that regret that moved him to give her the prize.
“…”
Yuki squeezed the teddy bear tightly and lowered her gaze. Her shoulders trembled for a few seconds, as if she was trying to hold back her emotions, but she eventually lifted her chin and had a calm, composed expression on her face.
“Phew… That was a close one. I’m glad I caught myself before doing something dangerous in broad daylight. In my own classroom, to boot.”
“What were you going to do?”
“Sigh. What are you doing, trying to raise my affinity even more? My affinity’s already at max level.”
“Just trying to maintain what I have.”
“Tsk. How can my brother be this lovable?” muttered Yuki, burying her mouth in the teddy bear while bashfully swaying side to side.
“Giggle… Oh, come on… My dear brother, why are you my older brother?”
“Because I was born before you.”
“That’s it? Guess I don’t need to respect you, then,” replied Yuki with a surprisingly straight face.
“Where did that come from?” But after thinking about it for a moment, he came to a sudden realization and shot his sister a reproachful glare. “Actually, I can’t even think of a single moment where you’ve actually shown me any respect.”
“…You know what? Me neither.”
“I rest my case.”
“If you want respect, then you’re going to have to show me that you deserve it.”
“If you want me to be an older brother who you can respect, then you’re going to have to show me that you deserve it.”
“Do you have an issue with having the cutest little sister in the world?”
“Well, I do have an issue with her sudden mood swings.”
“I felt someone watching me, so I had to switch back to ‘lady mode.’”
“What kind of superpower is that?”
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“Pretty weird if you ask me.”
But after tittering elegantly, Yuki slipped and cracked another goofy smile.
“Thank you, Masachika.”
“You’re welcome.”
He almost reached out to rub her head, but immediately caught himself and nodded instead. Nevertheless, Yuki gently smiled as if not even a movement as subtly aborted as that could get by her. Sibling love was in the air…until a cold gust of wind blew by, making both of them flinch.
They immediately looked for the source and found Alisa glaring right at them through the crowd. The surrounding students backed away, intimidated by her ominous aura as she stood like a ghostly revenant. Parting the crowd like Moses in the story of the Red Sea, she approached and smiled at Masachika with dead, joyless eyes.
“You look like you’re having fun.”
“Y-yeah, you too. I heard everyone cheering.”
“Yes… It wasn’t easy, but I finally caught a balloon.”
“Really? That’s awe—!”
“So? What were you two doing while I was struggling all by myself?”
She tilted her head and grinned mirthlessly, making it obvious that she would kill him if he even joked that they were flirting, so he decided to stick to the truth instead.
“…I was shooting targets,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“And?”
“Yuki said I couldn’t get the grand prize…so I decided to prove her wrong.”
“Oh? Then?”
“I won the grand prize…but, well…I didn’t really want the teddy bear for myself…so I gave it to her.”
“Is that so?” said Alisa.
At that moment, the other students in Class A seemed to realize the development as well.
“What the…?! Hold up! Did he knock the teddy bear off the shelf?!”
“No way! I can’t believe I missed it!”
“Nah, man. There’s no way he could have done that. Was nobody watching?”
However, Yuki turned to a corner of the classroom and asked:
“He won fair and square. Right, Ayano?”
Ayano, who had been indistinguishable from air the entire time, took a step forward.
“That is correct,” she agreed with a blank expression, blowing the minds of every student there. Cries of agony immediately filled the air. Some were voices of disappointment, while others were panicking about the rest of the festival, since they didn’t have a grand prize anymore. The room was swallowed by utter chaos until Ayano, as if rather proud and full of profound emotion, suddenly announced:
“It was truly an incredible display of superhuman skill. To be able to see his chi blast—”
“Wait, wait, wait!” shouted Masachika in a panic…while the room instantly fell silent. Everyone appeared stunned as they stared hard at Ayano and Masachika.
“His ‘chi’ what?”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“Cringe.”
“Guys, wait! It was just a joke!”
But despite his desperate attempts to explain himself, neither their disgust nor the awkwardness ever went away.
“Masachika…”
“Y-yes, Alya?”
“…I know this is our school festival, and I know you like to play, but don’t go overboard, okay?”
“Stop looking at me like you feel sorry for me!”
Masachika’s yowl echoed throughout Class A’s classroom…and then there was silence.
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