Cultural Festival (Part 3)

The next morning, Mizuha arrived at the school entrance. The area was filled with students already starting to promote their class events.

She looked at the surrounding area with amazement.

So, it's already begun… everyone is doing their best for their class, huh!? Then I have to give my best for my class today too.

Mizuha then arrived at her classroom. As she arrived, she noticed that almost all her female classmates who had arrived had already changed into their maid uniforms.

Eri greeted her. "Ah, Mizuha-chan, good morning!"

"Good morning, Eri-chan! Wow, you look really great and cute in that uniform."

"Really…? Thanks, Mizuha-chan."

"Where is Shimizu? She's already here, right?"

"Ah, Shimizu-chan is changing her clothes right now."

"I think she should have already finished changing, right? I wonder why she hasn't come out yet. Wait a moment. I will bring her out now."

"Wait, Eri. Don’t pull me—this is so embarrassing!"

"Here you are. What were you doing, taking so much time in the changing room?"

"Oh, you've already arrived, huh, Mizuha."

Mizuha looked at Shimizu, who had already changed into her maid uniform, and grinned at her. "Heh…"

"What’s with that look, Mizuha? Ah, you’re going to laugh, right? I know this doesn’t suit me at all!"

"No, you look great in the maid uniform."

"Hey, is that a compliment or are you mocking me…?"

Then Mizuha froze and thought for a moment, looking at Shimizu.
Eri looked confused. "What's wrong, Mizuha-chan?"

"Umm, everything is fine—but something's off…"

"Something's off? What is it?"

"Eri-chan, do you have a comb…"

"Yes, here it is…"

Mizuha walked up behind Shimizu.

Shimizu was confused by this. "Hey, what are you going to do to me?"

Mizuha undid Shimizu's ponytail, let her hair flow freely, and combed it gently.

"It’s done. Now you look like a real maid."

"Yes, you're right—her loose hair really suits this maid uniform," Eri said, agreeing with Mizuha.

Female classmates approached her.
"Shimizu-san, you look so cute like this!"

"Ah, stop saying that, you guys—this is more embarrassing than before, you know. I can’t do this."
Her hand moved to tie her hair back into a ponytail.

Mizuha quickly grabbed Shimizu’s hands and gave her a scary smile.
"No—let it stay like that for the whole day, okay…?"

Erk, there she is again—the scary-looking Mizuha…

"Okay, okay—I’ll keep it for the whole day. Are you happy now?"

"Yup, I'm glad you understand…"

A female classmate then handed Mizuha another maid uniform. "Here, Yuki-san—your maid uniform."

"Ah, thank you. I can't wait to wear this."

"Well, I’d better change now too."

Mizuha had finished changing her uniform and left the changing room.

Classmates surrounded her and complimented her. "Wow, Yuki-san, you look really great in that!"

Mizuha smiled. "Thank you, guys."

Shimizu grinned, trying to tease Mizuha. "Hoho, I wonder how Hikaru would feel if he saw you in this cute maid uniform."

"Stop it, Shimizu. You’re really going to tease me right now? Geez."

"Haha, just kidding, just kidding…"

As the final preparations were complete and the girls had already changed into their maid uniforms, the classmates gathered together, with Shimizu standing in front of the teacher’s podium and Zul beside her.

"Zul, anything you want to say?"

"Nope, just proceed with it, leader."

Shimizu chuckled. "What’s that word for…?"

Then suddenly a student council member announced through the loudspeaker across the school.

"And now, the MA High cultural festival is beginning…!!"

"Alright, that is it, you guys. Let's give our best for this festival and show people what Class 1F can do!" Shimizu said loudly, giving motivation to her classmates.

"Oh!!" "Yeah!" They replied with great enthusiasm.

Then, as the festival began, their class's "Maid Café" finally opened for business.

"Please come to our café!" Some classmates began promoting their class café by handing out pamphlets around the school grounds to attract more customers.

"What is this maid café?"

"Oh, it looks interesting—shall we give it a visit?"

"You heard that? Class 1F has a maid café."

"Yeah, let’s go—maybe there are some good-looking maids there."

At the same time, Akemi noticed Mizuha's classmates promoting their café near her classroom.

Oh, Class 1F has already begun promoting their café. We must do our best for our class planetarium too.

A large crowd started gathering to visit their class café.

"Welcome back, my master," the female classmate greeted the guests as they arrived.

"Woah, these maids look so cute," someone in the crowd said.

"Oh, table for two? Okay, please follow me, master," another female classmate said, taking a customer to their table.

"Here's our menu—please tell me what you'd like to order, okay?" Mizuha said, bringing drinking water to the table while taking an order from her customer.

Meanwhile, from the kitchen, Zul called out, "The order for table two is ready—please bring it to the table."

"Understood. I'm coming," Shimizu said as she went to get the prepared food.

"Three omurice plates—got it. Please wait a moment, master," Mizuha said.

"Eri-chan, three omurice, please."

"Yes...!" Eri replied, then began preparing the food in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Shimizu, who was carrying the order from the kitchen, headed to the table where two male students were sitting.

Wow, she looks so cute in the maid dress, they thought.

"Here is your order from earlier, masters—two omurice. Please enjoy yourselves."

As she was about to leave the table, her customers called out, "Wait, maid-san, you forgot something."

"Yes, master, what is it?"

They pointed at another female classmate who was doing a 'moe moe kyun' pose at the table beside them.

Shimizu looked over and was shocked. Wait, what was that girl doing?

"There—why aren’t you doing something like that? We want that too, please!"

The other one protested. "Yeah, we won't have any appetite to eat if we don't get that."

Wait—I don't remember agreeing to do something like that, Shimizu was confused by her customers' request.

A few female classmates nearby noticed it and thought, Wait, what are those guys thinking? They're going to make Shimizu-san upset by that.

Shimizu gripped her fist and thought, Control your anger, Shimizu. Calm down. Do this for your class.

With her face bright red, Shimizu did as they requested. "Moe moe kyuun."

The classmates nearby were shocked that Shimizu actually did that pose.

Seriously, Shimizu-san did it…?

So cute…, those two guys thought. The crowd watching couldn't help but agree.

Ah, everyone is watching—this is so embarrassing, damn it.

"Are you happy now? Please eat your food before it gets cold," Shimizu said, her face still bright red from embarrassment.

Then she noticed Kurumi behind her, trying to hold back laughter.

Wait, Kurumi—you want to laugh at me, huh?

As Shimizu was about to leave the table, the same customers called her back with another request.

"Wait, maid-san, we have another request…"

Inside, Shimizu snapped. Tch, these guys—what do they want this time?!

She turned back to them and gave them a fake smile. "Yes, master—is there another request…?"

"Can you write something with ketchup on our omurice? Something like your feelings right now."

Tch, another nonsense request…!!

She then grinned. Fine, if that's what you want, I'll give it to you.

"Yes, master, please wait a moment. I'll do it for you right now."

Giving them another fake smile, Shimizu wrote it on their omurice as requested.

She wrote 'ANNOYING!!!' on one plate and 'GET LOST!!!' on the other.

"You're so cold, maid-san…" they said, laughing while looking at their omurice, thinking Shimizu was joking with them.

She then gave them a scary glare and spoke in a cold tone. "What is it—do you have any problem with that?"

Erk!!! What’s up with those glares? So scary… they thought.

"It's nothing… Bon appétit," they said and began to eat their food with scared expressions.

"So, please enjoy your food, master—but leave right after you finish, okay?"

Those two guys, scared by her scary smile, quickly finished their meals and left immediately.

"See you, master. Thanks for coming here…" Shimizu said, waving her arm at them after they left.

Take that—that's what happens when you mess with me…

Shimizu walked back to the kitchen, sighed, and thought,

What was up with those guys earlier? Damn, they're really annoying. How dare they make me humiliate myself earlier!! I'll beat them up if we meet again.

Arriving at the kitchen, she found Mizuha and Zul waiting for her, along with some classmates who were smiling.

"Good job on that," Zul said, giving a thumbs-up.

"What is it, you guys? Why are you smiling at me like that? Are you trying to laugh at me for earlier?" Shimizu asked, clearly confused.

"Not at all. We are proud of you, Shimizu. You did not resort to violence against them. Good job."

Shimizu walked over, buried her face in Mizuha's chest, and said,

"It's so embarrassing, you know. Damn those two from earlier—if it weren't for our class and everyone watching, I would've already punched them in the face."

"Damn, this is so frustrating!"

Zul laughed. "Haha, I knew you'd say that." A few other classmates nearby laughed as well.

"Geez, don’t laugh at me—you guys are so mean! Mizuha, look at them…" Shimizu whined.

"Here, here—please calm down, okay." Mizuha said, patting Shimizu's head.

Then another classmate came over. "You guys, the number of customers is increasing, and we're short-staffed at the front—please come help us."

"Understood—we’re coming now," Mizuha replied.

"Okay, Shimizu, you go rest for a bit. Come help us when you've calmed down. I'm going now," Mizuha said before taking a step.

"Yeah…"

Then Eri came closer and handed her a bottle of water.

"Here, Shimizu-chan, drink this—cool down first, okay?"

Shimizu drank it. "Oh, it's so good. Thanks, Eri—you're a lifesaver."

"Now, open your mouth—ahh…" Eri held chopsticks and fed Shimizu the tamagoyaki she had just finished cooking.

"Mmm, delicious—oh, your usual tamagoyaki… Or is it? It tastes a little different, though."

"I altered the recipe a bit today… Is it okay? Does it taste bad to you…?"

"Absolutely not—this is even more delicious than your usual one, you know."

Eri chuckled. "Really? I’m glad to hear that…"

"Okay, now my energy is back—time to help the others too," Shimizu said, feeling motivated.

"That’s the spirit, Shimizu-chan…"

After that, Shimizu left the kitchen and went to the front to help Mizuha and the others.

Zul sighed. "That girl really switches moods quickly, huh? Just eating something made her get motivated again after what happened earlier."

Eri chuckled. "Haha, that’s just how Shimizu-chan is, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, you’re right… that’s how she is…"

"Oh, more customers are coming—let’s do our best here too, Eri."

"Yes… let's do it…"

After that, they continued serving their customers as the festival day carried on. About fifteen minutes later, Hikaru entered their classroom to visit.

Oh, there’s already such a large crowd here—looks like they’ve done a great job attracting people.

Kurumi, who was standing beside Shimizu and watching the crowd together on one side of the classroom, noticed Hikaru’s presence and whispered to her, "Hey, leader—Hikaru-kun is here already…"

"Really!? Where is he?" Shimizu asked, trying to find Hikaru.

Kurumi pointed to him. "He’s over there—he just entered the classroom."

"Hoho, he’s here already, huh? This is interesting—time to act…"

"Hey, what are you planning to do…?"

"Don’t worry—just leave it to me… hehe," Shimizu said before slowly approaching Mizuha.

"Mizuha, come with me…"

"Huh, what is it…?"

Shimizu took her hand and dragged her.

"Wait, Shimizu, what are you doing…?"

As they came close to Hikaru, Shimizu stopped and held Mizuha's shoulder, slowly pushing her toward Hikaru.

"Here—your beloved master has already arrived. Go greet him now."

Hikaru turned to them and said, "Ah, it's you two…"

Mizuha looked confused. "Wait, Hikaru? You’re here already?"

"Yes, Mizuha—as I promised, I came to visit you guys…"

"So, what do you think, Hikaru—how does Mizuha look in her maid costume? She’s cute, isn’t she?"

"Wait, Shimizu—what did you say? Stop it!"

"Oh, go ahead and give her a compliment—she’s waiting for your answer…"

Hikaru felt flustered and thought, Ah, shut up, Shimizu—what are you planning with this…?

His face turned red. "Mizuha, you really look good—and cute—in that maid outfit…"

Mizuha became flustered, and her face turned bright red. "Umm… thank you…"

"Okay, Mizuha—take your beloved master to an empty table and give him the best service. Just leave the other customers to the rest of us, okay?"

Shimizu then left them together, waving as she walked back.

Mizuha sighed. "Wait, Shimizu… geez."

"That girl really can’t stop teasing both of us, even at a time like this."

"Yeah, as you can see right now… haha…"

"Okay, Hikaru—I mean, master—please follow me. I’ll bring you to the table…"

"Umm… understood… Thank you…"

Mizuha led Hikaru to an empty table near the window. Her face was still red.

"Please sit here, master."

Hikaru sat down. "Thanks, Mizuha."

Both of them were silent for a moment. To break the silence, Hikaru started the conversation.

"Right now, watching so many maids surrounding me, I feel like I'm back at my own house. Haha."

"Oh yeah, you're right. Your house is also like this, isn't it?"

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah, exactly. Just like you saw before…"

"Are you the only one who came? Did Akemi-chan and Takeru not come with you?"

"Well, it's their shift to manage the class. So, they cannot leave right now."

"I see… too bad. I hope they can come visit here soon too."

He looked around the classroom again. "Looks like your class already has so many customers."

"Yeah, it seems so. There have been this many since we opened."

"But it seems you guys managed to handle it smoothly."

"Well, everyone is working hard today, so we don’t have any problems."

"How about your class? What is your planetarium event like?"

"We also have many visitors, but it's not as crowded as your class."

Mizuha smiled. "That’s good. You guys did well too. I can’t wait to see your class exhibition soon."

"Well, I’ll bring you there when you’re free."

"Oh, I forgot—here’s the menu for our class," Mizuha said, handing the meal menu to Hikaru.

"Oh, thanks. Looks like our conversation earlier took some time. Okay, let's see what we have here? Everything looks nice—I can't choose. Can you recommend the best item?"

"Well, to me, everything is the best—but I can recommend this omurice set. It’s been a bestseller since we opened."

"Then I’ll take one, please."

"Understood—one omurice set. Please wait a moment, master—your meal will be ready soon. Excuse me," Mizuha said, taking Hikaru's order and leaving his table to return to the kitchen.

"You guys, one omurice set, please…"

"Understood, please wait a moment—we’re preparing it right now…"

While waiting for the food to be ready, Mizuha stood beside Shimizu, watching the customers.

Shimizu grinned at Mizuha regarding her conversation earlier.

"What's with that grin?"

"It's nothing… I just watched an interesting moment earlier…"

I'm sure she's going to tease me.

"Oh, by the way, where did Eri-chan go? I didn't see her in the kitchen when I came back from taking Hikaru's order earlier."

Shimizu smiled and pointed at the crowd where Eri seemed to be bringing food to a customer.

"She is over there, bringing the food order to them."

"Wait, why did Eri-chan do that? Wasn't she supposed to handle the kitchen only today? Shimizu, you're not forcing her to do that, are you?"

"No, of course not. Eri told me earlier that she wanted to try doing what the others were doing too—helping out front and bringing food. So, I let her do that too…"

"I see, so Eri-chan volunteered…"

Mizuha continued, "Even though she looked flustered, embarrassed, and shy, she looked like she was trying her best too."

"Yeah, you're right…! She did try her best." Shimizu nodded in agreement with Mizuha.

Zul smiled, looking at Eri doing her best and thought, Eri… I'm proud of you…

Then another classmate called Mizuha from the kitchen, "Yuki-san, your food order is ready. You can take it now."

"Yes… I'm taking it now…" She took the food and brought it to Hikaru.

She then served it to Hikaru. "Thanks for waiting, here is your omurice set ready, master."

"Oh, it's finally here! I can't wait to eat it. Let's dig in…"

"Bon Appétit…" Hikaru then started eating the omurice.

"So, how does it taste?"

"Umm, this omurice is really delicious, Mizuha… the egg is fluffy, the fried rice inside is perfect too with this ketchup."

"Really!?… I'm glad to hear that. Anyway, it was thanks to Eri-chan—she taught the kitchen staff how to cook it properly."

"I see, that's why it tastes delicious, like Eri's usual cooking. As expected from her."

"Then I'll take my leave now. Please enjoy your food, master…"

Mizuha then left Hikaru's table to continue doing her job.

Suddenly, something bad happened. Eri's arm was grabbed by one of the male students. He seemed to be an upperclassman and was a customer in their café too.

"Hey, you look so cute in that maid uniform. How about hanging out with us after this?"

Eri went silent, hesitated, then said, "No, please, customer, let go of my hand."

His friend continued, "Oh, come on, cutie, don't be shy. We'll give you what you want, okay? Hehe."

Mizuha noticed it and thought, Wait, what are those guys doing to Eri-chan!?

But the guy didn't want to let his hand go.

Eri tried to pull her arm free and managed to get away, but she fell backward.

The glass of water she was carrying flew up and splashed onto Hikaru, who was sitting nearby. The glass shattered on the floor.

Shimizu and Zul, who had just come out from the kitchen after hearing the sound, said, "Hey, what was that breaking sound earlier?"

A classmate nearby said, "Ah, Shimizu-san, Zul, someone interrupted Sakamoto-san and made her fall earlier."

"Wait, what…?" Zul said.

Everyone's attention was now focused on Eri.

This made her feel awkward and nervous, and she thought,

Everyone is looking at me now. Why? Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? Why am I always a nuisance to everyone? What is wrong with me, Onee-chan?

Eri started shaking and dropped a single tear, but her thoughts were interrupted by Mizuha quickly approaching her and calling out, "Eri-chan…!"

"Eri-chan, are you okay?"

Seeing her tears, Mizuha hugged her and whispered, "Don't worry, everything is going to be okay…"

"Mizuha-chan…!?" Eri nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Nothing serious happened."

Mizuha felt relieved and helped Eri stand up.

"Ah, see, that's what happens when you try to reject our request. Hahaha." They laughed, mocking Eri.

Mizuha became upset inside, approached them, and spoke, "What were you guys doing to my friend earlier? Why did you interrupt her work? Apologize now…"

The guy got angry at Mizuha and stood up. "What's up with you, huh!? How dare you speak to us in such a loud voice!!! We are 3rd-year students and your senpai. Know your place, first-years!!!"

He then grabbed Mizuha's arm and said, "Oh, you've got some nerve, huh!? That's interesting. I like a brave girl like you. How about you take her place hanging out with us instead? Maybe we can forgive you, haha!?"

"Hey, what are you doing!? Let go of me!"

Shimizu saw that and became upset. "Those guys... after what they did to Eri, now they're messing with Mizuha too. This cannot happen. In this case…" She started cracking her knuckles, but Zul stopped her and said, "Shimizu, you stay here. Let me handle it."

Hikaru suddenly stood up from his table, turned to them, and said, "Mizuha, you didn't hear what they said."

He then pulled Mizuha's hand from those guys and at the same time pushed the guy backward.

"Don't touch her with your filthy hands…"

"Hey, what are you doing? Who are you? How dare you push me back?" The senior became upset.

"Oh, sorry, my hand slipped… I'm sorry, senpai…" Hikaru mocked him before turning to Mizuha, ignoring the angry senior.

"Mizuha, are you okay…? Sorry I pulled your hand like that…"

"I'm fine, it's okay, it doesn't hurt at all…"

"Really… Good grief…" Hikaru said, feeling relieved and checking her.

"How dare you mock and ignore me… Take this…!!!" The senior began to attack Hikaru with a punch.

"Hikaru, look out…!!" Mizuha called out.

As Hikaru was ready to fight back, suddenly Zul appeared in front of him and stopped the punch from the senior by grabbing his hand.

"Okay, stop it right there…"

"Tch, what now!!!" the senior yelled.

"Customer, you're going too far already…" Zul acted calmly like a café manager while continuing to grab his hand strongly.

"Hey, it hurts…. let go of my hand…"

"Umm, okay, if that's what you want…"

Zul immediately released his hand, pushed him backward, and made him fall on the floor.

He then gave him a fake smile. "Sorry about that, but you shouldn't commit violence in our café, you know. You interrupted our business, you know…"

The senior stood up with help from his friends. "You!!! How dare you do that to me, you first-years…!!! This is unacceptable. Bring whoever's in charge here."

Zul continued smiling. "Yes? What business do you have with me?" he said, revealing himself as the class festival representative.

The senior was shocked and said, "Wait, you were the class representative!?"

Zul smiled, then gave a scary glare. "So yeah, I'm the one in charge here. Do you want to say anything to my face…? Got any problem?" His tone changed from polite to angry.

"Third-years!? So, what is that about…? You think because you're older than us, you can do what you want? Don't make me laugh, senpai…"

He then came closer to the senior and suddenly grabbed his shirt collar. "Listen, I don't care if you're a senior, a customer, or what. But if you mess with my friends and interrupt our class business today, I won't forgive you."

"Do you not think how hard my classmates prepared for today…? Don't ruin their hard work. Understood…!!?"

"You also made our maids and customers terrified. Besides, you harassed the person I really care about earlier and made her cry. How are you going to pay for all this?"

What's up with this guy…? He looks so scary… Looks like we messed with the wrong person today…

Zul then released him, pushed him backward, and punched his own palm.

"You guys had better leave here immediately—before I take care of you…"

"Hey, we had better leave here. I think we don't stand a chance against him."

"Yes, I think so, let's go…"

They then stood and immediately ran out of the classroom, shouting, “You’ll pay for this!”—before one of them suddenly fell, tripped by someone.

They got upset and shouted, "Hey, who dared to do that?" It turned out to be Shimizu, standing at the class entrance, glaring at them while holding a food tray. She was standing there as if she was going to hit them with the tray.

"Huh? Do you have a problem with me?"

"Erk! What's wrong with this class? Everyone here is scary!"

They then left the classroom immediately.

After those two had left, Zul sighed, "Another conflict for today. Damn, why can't everyone let our class festival run smoothly?! Something must have gone wrong suddenly. Please give me a break."

"Haha, it looks like it can't be avoided. People like them are found everywhere," Hikaru chuckled while slowly standing beside him.

Zul put his hands on Hikaru's shoulder before yelling at him,

"What were you thinking earlier!? You wanted to land your fist on him too, is that it!?"

"Oh, you caught me! Sorry about that."

"Geez, if you make a scene, the teachers will show up and my class café will get a bad reputation, you know."

Shimizu joined their conversation, "I see, that's why you stopped me from charging at them earlier."

"Sorry about that, Zul, haha."

Zul gave both of them a scary glare. Both of them became scared.

"We are really sorry…" said both Hikaru and Shimizu.

Zul sighed, "Geez, you two are really similar..."

"Anyway, Hikaru, go check on Mizuha and Eri first. And Shimizu, come with me; we're going to our customers…"

"Understood…"

“Mizuha, Eri—are both of you okay?”

Mizuha said she was okay—they just pushed her backward. Eri said she was okay too, thanks to Mizuha defending her earlier.

Thank goodness, Hikaru felt relieved.

Eri said, “I’m sorry. This is my fault. If I hadn’t gone to the front earlier, this wouldn’t have happened to us. Sorry, everyone…”

“Sakamoto-san, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all those two’s fault.”

“Yeah, we don’t blame you at all. Please cheer up, okay?”

"But… our café's reputation is going to suffer."

Mizuha touched her shoulder and said, “Eri-chan, don’t worry—this will be okay.”

Meanwhile, Shimizu stood alongside Zul in front of the customers and apologized for the nuisance and misunderstanding earlier.

The customers then applauded them for how they handled the conflict earlier. The classmates were confused by it.

The classmates were complimenting Zul on how he handled those people earlier.

"Wow, you're so cool, Zul. You've got some nerve saying things like that to those seniors…"

"They made me so upset, that's why I…"

At the same time, Mizuha turned to Eri and said, "See? As I said earlier, this will be okay… Don't worry. Smile, smile."

"Yes, thanks, Mizuha-chan, you protected me earlier."

"No problem. After all, you are my precious friend. Of course, I will protect you too…"

Zul approached them, "Eri, are you okay? Didn't you get hurt, right? Sorry I didn't pay attention to you earlier…"

"It's okay, Zul, I'm fine. This is all thanks to Mizuha-chan standing up for me earlier…"

"Eri-chan was right, Zul. You're not wrong at all; it was those guys earlier. It's not your fault."

"Thanks, Mizuha…"

Zul then turned back to Eri, "Eri, I think it's better if you go back to doing your work in the kitchen with me. No need to do serving jobs after this."

"Zul is right. Just leave it to me and the others… you already did your best earlier…"

"Understood. Since both of you say that, I'll go back to doing kitchen work after this…"

Shimizu then gathered everyone nearby and asked them to clean the mess of broken glass and to continue business again.

"This isn't the time to fall apart—this is just the beginning." The classmates agreed and continued doing their jobs like before.

Mizuha then turned to Hikaru, "Thanks, Hikaru, for helping me earlier…"

"Don't worry—it's not a big deal. I'm glad you and Eri weren't hurt earlier."

"By the way, your clothes got wet and dirty."

"Ah, this is all because of those guys earlier…"

Then Shimizu approached them with a paper bag and gave it to Hikaru.

"Here, take this…"

"What is this, Shimizu…?" Hikaru asked, confused.

"Extra clothes. You're not going to wear those dirty and wet clothes all day, are you…?"

"Go to the back of the kitchen, to a covered area, and change your clothes there. We changed ours there earlier too."

“Oh, thanks, Shimizu. You’re lifesavers.”

As Hikaru took the bag from Shimizu, Shimizu's face turned smug and Zul noticed it and thought, Wait… Don't tell me…

Mizuha and the others waited in the kitchen while Hikaru changed. Then they heard Hikaru suddenly shout, "Wh… What are these clothes…?"

Mizuha, confused, turned to the covered space—and Shimizu pulled open the curtains.

"Hikaru, what's wrong…?"

It turned out Hikaru was wearing the extra maid uniform Shimizu had given him earlier.

They all laughed at him. "What was that, Hikaru… wearing that maid uniform suddenly?"

"As I expected, it really suits you…" Shimizu said, nodding.

"Damn it, Shimizu, you planned this, didn't you?"

"Ah, shut up. This is the only uniform we have right now, so bear with it."

"And the final touch…" Shimizu put on a wig that she borrowed from a classmate who was in the drama club.

"It's done… you look like a real maid now."

Zul nodded. "Yes, I agree with that. It really fits you."

"Wow, he really looks cute, right, Eri-chan."

"Yeah, I can't believe this was Takamiya-kun..."

What, are these guys ganging up to harass me…? Damn it…

Suddenly Eri approached Hikaru, "Umm, Takamiya-kun, can I take a photo of you?"

"Wait, what?" Hikaru looked confused by Eri's sudden request.

"Yeah, me too, me too…" Mizuha joined in.

"Wait, not you too, Mizuha. You guys, what are you doing? Stop it already…"

Wait, as I remember, those two have a fetish for this, don't they…? thought Shimizu.

Oh, I got an idea…

Shimizu slowly approached Zul while holding a glass of water. As she came close to him, she intentionally fell and tried to make the water splash onto Zul.

"Ah, sorry, Zul, my hand slipped…!!"

But it did not work as she planned, since Zul quickly avoided it.

Tch, almost got him, thought Shimizu.

"What are you doing, Shimizu…? Suddenly falling like that…"

"Wait, don't tell me, you want to get my clothes soaked and dirty too… and force me to wear that outfit too, is it…?" Zul glared at her.

"Haha, you got me… tee hee…"

Zul then landed a slow punch on Shimizu's shoulder.

"Geez, Hikaru is already wearing that. Why don't you try wearing it too?"

"You still haven't given up on that yet!? How many times have I said I will never wear that…" Zul yelled at her.

"Tch, you're so boring, Zul…" Shimizu muttered with disappointment.

"Yes, this is unfair, Zul… you should wear this too…" Hikaru suddenly spoke up.

"Wait, why do you agree with her too…?" Zul looked confused.

"Ah, this didn't work; he is so stubborn. Then, Hikaru, since you are already wearing that, why don't you help us too?"

"Wait, what did you say…?"

"Oh, nice idea, Shimizu… Let's work together, Hikaru. This is going to be fun…"

"I'm counting on you, Hikaru-chan…!!!" Shimizu said before laughing.

"Geez, give me a break, you guys…!!"

After that, Hikaru joined them to continue their class activities on the festival day, becoming one of their maid waitresses as the day reached the afternoon and more customers came to their café.

To be continued Part 4…