Rowing the Boat

An instant embrace from the most wonderful goddess in FCO5 shocked every eating customer, most omelets fell from their mouth. Even the maid’s eyes bulged, unable to blink. Yeah, right! It should be too much for Sera to hug an average Otaku like me. The moment we lost our grip, I scolded her with a breathless voice.

“I told you… not to part ways with me! Look how much hassle you did.”

Sera scanned my clothes, noticing the dirt attached from my fall earlier. “I’m sorry, Kou-nii. I saw my fellow elves and I thought…”

“...That they’ll guide you home?” I followed up, completing her sentence. “I’m not angry or anything, but before you make a move, tell me first. I’m far the most reliable person in Akiba that you can ask, since I got keen eyes on fake elves. Moreover, who re-did your makeup?”

“Oh, I met a new friend. Her name is Arisa. She taught me how maids serve their masters! If you meet her, you may be friends with her. Like you, I can also see her enthusiasm in her work. Look, there she… is?”

Arisa did open the door, but she brought the boys in blue with him. What’s bad, it’s the problematic policeman I tried to ask earlier. I didn’t expect that our escape here wouldn’t be easy. We’re already losing too much time!

“That’s the man who caused the ruckus outside, Officer! He tried to push me and the other masters in line so that he could skip! He’s destroying the image of the cafe! This offense is unforgivable!” Arisa shouted, her soft cute image vanished.

“You again, unmannered boy!? You don’t learn, do you?” The policeman threatened to approach me while pulling out handcuffs.

Though the world is against me, I learned that I still need to fight. I’m not the usual boy now who let the river take my boat to an unplanned destination. I need to take action… I need to row the boat… Towards my destined end.

“You sure like to abuse power,” I smirked, showing my phone that records the whole conversation. “Everything you say is documented in my memory. Now that my 5 terabyte Drive storage is now useful, you wouldn’t want to protect those kidnappers, would you?”

“K–Kidnappers, you say!?” Arisa shouted, shaking her head and backing away. “We don’t know we did such v–violation! You don’t have proof!”

“Really?” I replied with composure, “But I believe in Karma. My sister doesn't have a work permit here. She doesn’t even know how to sign in Japanese. You tried to poison my sister’s mind in working here and make profits beyond comparison, and that’s far beyond a major offense. We are currently joining an important contest nearby, but due to the inconvenience you’ve caused, we only have little time to follow up.”

“D–Don’t be hard on Arisa, Kou-nii… It’s all my fault. If I only followed you, this wouldn’t have happened. I’m so sorry… I don’t want you all to fight…”

I tapped Sera’s head and muttered in a comforting tone, “You’re a kind person. However, it disgusts me when I see a person taking advantage of someone like you.” I glared at Arisa and asked, “It isn’t worth talking to someone who isn’t a manager.”

Soon, the door opened. A tall woman in a formal suit entered, and asked, “Ara? I thought the place was lined-up with customers. What’s all with this chaos? And why is the police here?” She had the confidence to talk amidst the chaos, noting that she wasn’t a customer. Maybe she was their manager? What timing!

“Yuriko-sama! We have a huge problem. That man tried to soil our business! He brushed me and the other masters off so that he could skip lines. I already told him that we don’t have priority lanes– AW!”

Miss Yuriko lightly hit Arisa’s head, like a martial artist chopping wood with a vertical palm. She pushed Arisa’s head, matching the pace with her bow of sincerity, uttering, “We apologize for the inconvenience this caused. I’m not sure how this issue became big, but we handle the responsibility for the huge part of it, especially my staff’s decision. If you have a request, we can always talk about this in good terms. Arisa, you apologize too.”

Arisa fell quiet, groaning while biting her lip. Only the strong grip of Miss Yuriko’s hand on her head made her utter, “I APOLOGIZE! It’s my fault! I’m sorry if I’m being selfish, but I only want this room to feel lively. I did all my best to be kind, to be cute, but… but there’s no one coming for us… Even if I did my all into this, there’s no one coming for me. We just needed… help…”

“Argh! All I heard was pure desperation. So, I believe you’re the manager, Miss Yuriko. You may raise your heads. Since you’re offering a negotiation to talk things out, we need a helping hand on something.”

When Miss Yuriko pulled her back straight, she replied with a smile of pure confidence, “I’m pretty flexible in that regard.”

The air calmed down the place, resulting in the gloomy behavior cowering the atmosphere. The maids only focused on cleaning the dropped omelets and creams on the floor. Due to the ongoing heat, Miss Yuriko closed the cafe temporarily and advised the witnesses to take confidentiality of the matter. The useless policeman left with a glare against me. If I only had the time, I already went to the police station to report him.

Sera was currently being dressed by Arisa and the other maids inside the dressing room. Only Miss Yuriko and I occupied a table for two to talk about negotiations.

Smirking, she complimented, “You’re still young, Sugiyama-kun, but you already possess the mind of a mature person. You even have the courage to speak before an entrepreneur and a man of authority. It seems you know your rights well.”

Avoiding eye contact, I responded, “I’m already involved with the police and interrogations many times… as a victim by the way. Moving on, when will they finish? We’re in a rush”

“Only I can see your impatience lingering around your fidgeting fingers. You can rest easy and leave the assembly of the costume to my subordinates. With how quick and accurate they dress everyday, fixing an imitation from an image is a piece of cake. What’s far concerning is how you walk earlier. With the strain you're enduring, how will you walk back in the park with her?”

“You’re far observative, Ma’am. I think this is your responsibility as well.”

She chuckled and smirked, “Leave everything to me. I always think two steps ahead.”

Narrowing my eyes, I gazed at her, leaned forward, and asked, “Thinking back, you’re not even in the room earlier. How did you know the whole conversation?”

“Anything that’s too good to be true is also far too suspicious. When the policeman came in, I’m already behind the door, listening.”

“Too good? Everyone wants to see their business bloom except you. You’re too convenient for a character.”

She pulled out a car key and circled it on her finger. Smiling, she uttered, “Two steps ahead.”

“Will you drive it towards the park?”

She shook her head and replied, “I assure you, you'll be on time. Moreover, there she is.”

What a wonderful being I’ve seen again! The door from the staff room opened. The comely goddess took her first step in her original outfit, her skin sparkling clean and shiny like a young maiden in painting. The fabrics and accessories were perfectly assembled according to the image. Though her face hasn't lost its own gorgeousness, her makeup vanished. Sera was accompanied by Arisa and the other two staff.

““Kou-nii…” Sera stood before our table. My mouth hung open like it was the first time I saw her cosplay.

“What a pretty being. Those ears sure look attractive, even to the eyes of NASA,” Miss Yuriko said, smiling at her with the face of a winner.

“Don’t jinx a bit of conspiracy before me,” I exclaimed. “By the way, Sera. How do you feel?”

“By now, these clothes felt lighter and comfortable. I can move my shoulders with ease!” Sera exclaimed.

Did I measure her clothes wrong? Or she just gained weight in a span of time? “Just don’t move too much with it. That costume is only a one-time courtesy.” Yeah, just like my dream, they’re all free-trials.

“… Actually, Arisa did her best to dress me. If I did this, I’m afraid the clothes might tear. She also applied something on my face, just like Mom did. So Kou-nii… Don’t be angry at her. She’s just trying to help Miss Yuriko.”

“See? Making friends was easy. You’re not different from us, Sera. We’re all here to enjoy the culture and get along.” I hope that she’ll continue to be friends with Sera despite what happened. She seemed to enjoy being with her. “Arisa, I’m not angry at you. I’m glad the things were all cleared out. By the way, about the makeup…”

Pouting away, Arisa muttered, “... She was a crybaby.”