The Culture Festival Begins!

The event Yuta had dreaded for so long had finally arrived–the culture festival.

Booths filled the schoolyard. Most of them offered food, but there were a few other things mingled in. A large banner unfurled from the rooftop, draping over the building. The banner listed important events during the festival, such as the student council’s game show and a couple plays, as well as when they would be held.

The hallways were lined with decorations and advertisements. Yuta didn’t mind culture festivals, but he never explored them, preferring instead to study for the exams that were rapidly approaching.

What Yuta was worried about was his class’s exhibition. Thanks to Hitomura, his class decided to host a maid and butler cafe. He held a bag of clothes at his side, silently wishing he would be able to back out at the last second.

Unfortunately, Honda, the girl that created the menu and was now acting as the manager, grabbed his attention the moment he walked in. “Ichikawa, I heard your family runs a restaurant. I’ll need you to show the boys how to wait on customers. Thanks a lot!”

She bounded off before Yuta could utter a response. He sighed and looked around for Shiori. She was nowhere to be seen.

Yuta found an empty place to change into his suit and made his way back to the classroom. This time, he was greeted by Hitomura, who was also dressed in a fancy suit.

“Hey, Yuta!” Hitomura pat Yuta on his shoulder. “You’re looking pretty sharp there. Ready to serve some cute girls?”

He brushed Hitomura’s hand away. “For your information, I don’t want to be here.”

“Oh right, you’d rather be alone with Ozaki. I get it.”

“Actually, I’d rather be alone. Studying. Like usual.”

“Speaking of, I saw Ozaki just a few minutes ago.” He scanned the room but didn’t find a trace of her. “Where did she go…?”

“K-Kurosawa… Are you s-sure I can do this?” Shiori’s voice sounded from behind them.

Yuta turned around and stopped upon seeing Shiori in the doorway. She wore a black-and-white maid outfit. While Kurosawa was tightening her corset, she awkwardly adjusted her headpiece.

Though Yuta didn’t get the appeal or maids or care about them, the outfit seemed to amplify Shiori’s cuteness. He stared at her, frozen by her charm.

“You’ll be fine. A lot of people like shy girls, so there’s nothing to worry about. If you stutter, the boys will think it’s cute.” Kurosawa pulled Shiori’s corset tight and took a step away from her.

“I-If you say so…”

Some of the guys whispered amongst themselves, fawning over the sight of Kurosawa in a maid outfit. A couple of them even pulled out their phones to take pictures.

One death glare from Kurosawa, and they all turned around, whistling to themselves.

Hitomura adjusted his glasses. “I told you Ozaki would look splendid in a maid outfit.”

Shiori’s eyes met Yuta’s, and she timidly approached him. “H-Hello, Yuta… Do I… look okay?”

“You look… stunning.”

Hearing this, Shiori blushed and looked away. “T-Thanks… S-So do you…”

Hitomura chuckled. “Looks like the lovebirds–” a kick to the groin interrupted him.

Kurosawa dusted off her apron. “That’s enough out of you.” She turned to Yuta and Shiori. “The culture festival is about to start. Honda has asked everyone to get in position.”

“And my day is officially ruined…” Yuta let out a resigned sigh and helped Hitomura stand.

The first customers were a couple of girls. As soon as the door opened, all the waiters–that is, the maids and butlers–bowed. “Welcome, mistresses.”

Ken Saito and Shiro Uchida, the two most attractive guys in the class, stepped forward and bowed to the customers, introducing themselves and taking them to a table in the back of the room.

The time came for Yuta’s worst nightmare to be realized. It was his turn to wait on a customer. Yuta stepped forward and bowed to the girl that had just entered. “Welcome mistress–” he raised his head and froze. The girl in front of him wasn’t a random girl. In fact, it was the very girl he didn’t want to be here today. Kaguya Nakano.

Her cheeks turned a pink hue. “O-Oh, Ichikawa… I didn’t know this was your classroom.”

A nervous laughter escaped his lips. “Yeah, it is. Unfortunately. Now, follow me to your table.” Yuta escorted her to an empty table in the corner of the room. There were only a couple tables still available.

Once Nakano was situated, Yuta placed a menu in front of her. “Would you like some tea?”

“Y-Yes, please…”

Yuta nodded. “I’ll be right back with your tea… mistress.” He added that last part begrudgingly. He entered the kitchen and grabbed a full teapot and a single teacup. ‘Of all people, why do I have to serve Nakano!? It was a terrible experience waiting on Ichinose and her friends… but this time I have to act like a butler.’

At least Nakano was her shy self. He’d much rather deal with Ichinose than the other version of Nakano.

He returned and filled the teacup in front of her. “Have you decided what you want to order?”

“I think I’ll take the strawberry shortcake and the raspberry parfait…”

Yuta wrote her order on a notepad. “Anything else, milady?”

Her cheeks flushed. “U-Um… maybe… you could eat with me?”

‘There’s the question… Luckily Honda taught us how to deal with this properly.’  He cleared his throat. “Apologies, milady, but I couldn’t possibly. It would be unfitting for a servant such as myself to dine with a princess like you.”

Nakano’s face turned deep red. She held the menu in front of her to hide herself from Yuta.

“Milady? Are you alright?”

“Y-Y-Yes… I-I’m fine…”

“I’ll be back with your food once it’s ready.”

…

Once Honda put the closed sign on the door, Yuta let out a deep breath. “Finally… It’s over…”

In the time that he wasn’t waiting on a customer, he watched Shiori. She was a nervous wreck, but the guys she served seemed to think it was cute.

Just as he was about to leave to change his clothes, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Shiori. She shifted uncomfortably. “Shiori? What’s the matter?”

“D-Do you want to… explore the festival with me?”