《 Act IV: The Maid Café Date 》

The next day, Saturday.

A little after 10:00 AM, under a clear blue sky, Nanami and I arrived at Hazakura Station.

Since I’d been given date money, I was covering all the expenses for the day. I bought two tickets to our destination and handed one to Nanami. After a brief exchange of “thanks” and “you’re welcome,” we headed to the platform and boarded the train.

“The heat is on,” Nanami remarked.

“It’s chilly today.”

“Well, it’s almost November.”

“Oh, there are some open seats.”

“Lucky us.”

We made small talk as we settled into a two-person seat. It was an hour and a half ride one-way to the station nearest the maid café. I wanted to relax, so I was relieved to get a seat right away.

Just as I let out a breath, the train began to move slowly. I glanced out the window past Nanami and saw a group of girls hugging their arms against the cold.

“If you’re cold, we can take a taxi when we get to the station. What do you think?”

“No, I’m fine. I dressed warmly.”

Nanami was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt under a thick cardigan, with a long skirt. A fluffy handbag rested on her lap. Pants would have been warmer, but the skirt definitely looked more stylish.

“Did Ikeda-san pick that outfit out for you, too?”

“Nope. Hanazawa-san picked out both the top and bottom for me last fall. Do you remember her?”

“Hanazawa-san?” I tried to recall. “Did I know Hanazawa-san?”

“You did. We were in the same class in third and fourth grade.”

A classmate from six years ago… A few faces came to mind, but I couldn’t be sure if any of them belonged to a Hanazawa-san.

“I barely talked to any of the girls, except you.”

“That’s because you only ever talked to me, Haru-kun.”

“We were in the same class from first to fifth grade, after all. Oh, right. Speaking of girls in our class, I remember hanging out with Nakano and Miyamoto.”

At the mention of other girls’ names, Nanami blinked in surprise.

“Huh? When?”

“When you were sick with a cold. Those two were friendly with the guys, right? I’d go over to a friend’s house, and they’d often be there, too. We’d play video games or go to the park.”

“Oh, really? …Was it fun?”

“It was fun, I guess, but after we were done playing, I always thought the same thing—I wish I could hang out with Nanami. I hope she gets better soon.”

“I always thought the same thing when you were sick, too!”

There was a lilt in Nanami’s voice. The way she said it made me feel happy.

“Now that we live together, we can still hang out even if one of us gets sick.”

“If that happens, I’m forcing you to stay in bed.”

As we were enjoying our conversation, an announcement echoed through the car, and the scenery outside began to slow.

Time really flies when I’m talking to Nanami. It wouldn’t be bad to just keep talking all the way to our destination, but…

“Aren’t you getting the urge to read your manga yet?”

Nanami giggled.

“You really want to read the new volume that badly, Haru-kun?”

“Of course I do. I’ve been waiting forever for it. And I can’t read it until you do.”

Before, when we lived apart, we’d both buy the same manga, but now that we were living together, only one of us needed to buy it so we could share.

The thing was, I was a physical-copy purist, but Nanami had recently switched over to digital. She had bragged at breakfast that she’d bought today’s new release the second the date changed.

“I’ll read it now,” she said.

She took her phone out of her handbag and started reading her e-book. Beside her, I pulled a paperback out of my own bag.

“…”

A few stations passed. I felt a gaze on me and looked up to see a group of guys standing near the doors, looking over here. Their eyes were clearly fixed on Nanami.

They were trying to keep their voices down, but they were excited, and I could hear their conversation.

“That girl’s on another level, isn’t she?”

“Seriously cute. Wonder what high school she goes to.”

“Definitely not ours. If a girl like that went to our school, I’d transfer in a heartbeat.”

“I know, right? I’d be happy just to be in the same space as her.”

“You think the guy next to her is her boyfriend?”

“No way. He just got lucky and sat next to her.”

From an outsider’s perspective, it seemed the gap in our appearances was so vast that we didn’t even look like we’d be friends, let alone a couple.

I already knew that. At Hazakura High, we were accepted as a good-looking couple, but that was only because Nanami had been praising me in her romance talks for ages. Thanks to that, my reputation within the school was high, but this was the objective assessment.

Still, there’s a difference between thinking it yourself and hearing other people say it. Just like how the truth can hurt, their judgment stung, and a sigh escaped my lips.

“I’m done reading.”

We arrived at a station, and just as the train started moving again, Nanami looked up, satisfied. The moment she saw me, her expression shifted to one of concern.

“Is your stomach upset?”

“No.”

“But you look pale.”

“That’s because…”

I glanced up. The guys from before were gone, whether they’d found seats or gotten off.

“Don’t push yourself, okay? We can go to the maid café anytime.”

Nanami was subtly suggesting we go home. If I insisted on continuing, she’d just spend the whole time worrying and wouldn’t be able to enjoy the maid café. I had to tell her what happened and put her mind at ease.

“A minute ago, some guys were staring at you.”

“Oh, yeah. I thought I felt someone looking,” she said.

“You noticed?”

“I’m pretty sensitive to that kind of thing. When I was commuting to school alone, it wasn’t uncommon for guys to try to talk to me, and when I sat in seats like this, some would sit way too close.”

“Isn’t that, like, groping?”

“I don’t know if it was or not, but I didn’t like it. So I started standing on the train. That’s partly why I switched to e-books, so I could turn the pages with one hand. Though it was hard to concentrate when guys from other schools would try to talk to me.”

“But,” Nanami said, a smile gracing her lips.

“Today, I was able to focus completely on my book. That’s because the most dependable person in the world is right next to me. I feel safe and happy when you’re here, Haru-kun… We only have five months left, but until then, stay by my side every day, okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Of course.”

Her sweet words made my heart skip a beat, much to my chagrin. I ducked my head, embarrassed to let her see my flushed face.

I’m not handsome. I’m not tall. I’m not particularly smart or athletic.

But Nanami wanted me by her side.

My one and only best friend held me in high regard. Who cared what a bunch of strangers thought?

My composure returned, and when I looked up, Nanami was smiling, relieved.

“Good. You look better.”

“Thanks to you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Still smiling, Nanami then said, “By the way,” as if just remembering. “What was the rest of the story about the guys staring at me?”

I had made a full recovery, but it seemed Nanami was still curious. But now that my anxiety was gone, it was embarrassing to rehash the story of how I’d gotten my feelings hurt.

“…The guys were looking at you, so I looked at you, too, and accidentally saw a spoiler for the manga.”

“Oh, that’s a shocker.”

My vague excuse seemed to satisfy her.

In reality, if I had been spoiled on the manga, I probably would have been just as shocked.

“But I forgot what the spoiler was while we were talking.”

“Well, that’s good. Do you want to read the manga now?”

“Yes, please.”

Nanami handed me her phone, and I launched the e-book app. A flicker of anxiety crossed my mind—what if…—but I was relieved to see she had returned to the first page after finishing.

The moment I started reading, Nanami leaned against me. Her silky black hair brushed against my shoulder, and the familiar scent of her shampoo filled the air.

“What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d read along with you.”

“You just finished it.”

“It’s boring to just sit here by myself. Or… does it bother you if I watch?”

“Not at all.”

Just as she had said, I didn’t mind her being close to me.

Back when we first started living together, it would have made my heart race, but thanks to our Cuddle Time practice, I could now maintain my composure in situations like this.

“Alright, let’s read it together.”

“Okay! Let’s!”

And so, feeling the warmth of Nanami beside me, I began to read the new volume I had been waiting six months for.

◆

Around noon.

After arriving at the station nearest the maid café, Nanami and I followed the navigation on my phone and found ourselves in a shopping district bustling with shoppers.

It had been a little chilly before, but we had warmed up from walking. More than that, the excitement of my first-ever maid café experience blew away any feeling of cold.

“There it is. Right there.”

We spotted our destination on a street corner. It had a black and white exterior, and the sign read Maid Café Meow Meow Meow~ in a pop font. If there weren't any cat-eared maids inside, it would be false advertising.

There had been other potential maid cafés, but this was the only one where we were guaranteed to see cat-eared maids. I had been drawn to a place that offered cheki photos, but Nanami was insistent on seeing cat-eared maids, so we had decided on this one.

“This is it,” I said.

“This is it,” she echoed.

Our hearts swelling with anticipation for our first maid café experience, we entered.

“Welcome home, Master and Princess-nya!”

The moment we opened the door, we were greeted by a cat-eared maid. She had black hair in twin tails.

Nanami let out a squeal of delight at the sight of a real-life cat-eared maid, something she’d only ever seen in manga and anime. I was excited, too, but I had to keep my cool until we were seated.

“I have a reservation under Hayakawa.”

“Huh? You made a reservation, Haru-kun?”

“Just in case.”

It had been after business hours when we decided on the place yesterday, so I had called around nine this morning.

The maid smiled brightly.

“Hayakawa-sama, right this way-nya!”

A chorus of “nya, nya, nya, nya” erupted from the other maids. The sign certainly hadn't lied. I was already satisfied enough to give them five stars, but the real maid café experience was just beginning.

“I’ve never been called ‘Princess’ before~”

After being led to a table and watching the maid swish her tail as she walked away, Nanami said excitedly.

“That alone made coming to a maid café worth it.”

“I’m already satisfied enough to give it five stars.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing.”

Agreeing with her, I handed her a menu.

“Order whatever you want.”

“Thanks!” Nanami’s eyes sparkled as she looked over the menu. It was hard to read upside down, but I tried to look at it with her. She tilted it towards me.

We looked over the menu together.

“I think… I’ll have the omurice.”

“Omurice is the quintessential maid café food, after all. Look, it says it comes with ketchup art service.”

“Just what I was hoping for. I’ve always wanted to have a maid draw a picture for me in ketchup just once~ What should I get to drink… It’s pretty expensive.”

“Don’t hold back.”

“Thanks. Then… it’s twelve hundred yen, but I think I’ll get the original cocktail.”

“Oh… comes with a mixing service from the maid. I think I’ll get the same. Dessert… can we decide on that later?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

Nanami nodded, and I picked up the bell. I rang it, and a different maid from before came running over.

“Thank you for waiting-nya. Have you decided on your order-nya?”

The maid tilted her head, and I felt a goofy grin spread across my face as I gave her our order. “Right away-nya!” she said, and as I watched her ponytail and tail swish as she walked away, Nanami asked, “Do you like that maid?”

“She’s my number one so far. You know how I told you I like ponytails, right?”

“Huh? You never told me that.”

“I didn’t? …Oh, right. I must have told Natsukawa that.”

Nanami’s eyes narrowed.

Her intense gaze sent a shiver down my spine.

“Wh-What’s with that look?”

“You know, Haru-kun… if we were a real couple, this would be a major fight right now.”

I had mistaken my girlfriend for a female friend. She was right, if we were a real couple, this might have turned into a huge argument.

“Sorry, my mistake. But there’s no reason to get mad, is there?”

“I’m not mad. I’m just a little jealous, that’s all.”

“Jealous? Of Natsukawa? Why?”

If we were a real couple, I wouldn’t have asked such a stupid question.

But we weren’t dating, nor did we have romantic feelings for each other. I didn’t understand why she would be jealous of Natsukawa.

“Because you seem so close with that Natsukawa-san girl. I like you the most, so I want you to like me the most, too.”

Nanami pouted, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I didn’t realize you were the jealous type.”

“Apparently so. But I’m not really mad, okay?”

“I know. In fact, I’m happy you’re jealous.”

“Why?”

“Because being jealous means you’re enjoying your time with me that much. And besides, since you’re not good with guys, I’d never imagined it, but if you were talking happily with another guy, I think I’d get jealous, too. I’d be like, ‘Hey, don’t take my Nanami.’”

“I-I see… Your Nanami, huh…”

Nanami blushed shyly. Her reaction made me feel a little shy, too. I said something embarrassing… I thought with a hint of regret, but then Nanami smiled happily.

“You’re my only guy friend, so you can have me all to yourself from now on. Nanami is Haru-kun’s Nanami only.”

“I-I see… Haru-kun’s Nanami, huh…”

My heart started to pound, and I found it embarrassing to look her directly in the face. Then, as if suddenly overcome with shyness herself, Nanami looked down.

“Thank you for waiting-nya!”

“Here are your cocktails-nya!”

A maid came rushing over, full of energy, and the awkwardness dissipated. She brought over two purplish cocktails. A thin slice of lemon was perched on the rim of each glass.

The two maids each held a stirrer.

“Nya-nya! This cocktail looks like it’s going to taste weird-nya!”

“Nya-nya! We can’t let our precious Master and Princess drink a weird cocktail-nya!”

“Alright! In that case, let’s cast a magic spell to make it delicious-nya!”

“Let’s do it-nya!”

At the sudden skit, Nanami’s eyes lit up as if to say, This is what I’ve been waiting for! I probably had the same look on my face. This was the true maid café experience.

“Ready, set! Make it yummy, make it yummy, meow meow meow~”

“Make it yummy, make it yummy, meow meow meow~ Master and Princess, join us! Meow meow meow~!”

““Meow meow meow~!””

As the maids stirred the cocktails, they somehow turned pink.

“Wow, that’s amazing! The color changed!”

“It’s like real magic!”

“Now it’s delicious-nya~!”

“Well then, enjoy your time-nya~!”

The maids walked away, swishing their tails.

“Well, cheers to our first maid café!”

“Cheers!”

We clinked our glasses together and quenched the thirst in our parched throats. It was a slightly sour, orange-flavored juice.

When we were about a third of the way through our cocktails, the same maids brought over our omurice.

“What’s your name-nya?”

“What’s your favorite animal-nya?”

“Haruki. And cats, of course.”

“Nanami. And of course I like cats.”

“Nya-nya~ That makes me so happy-nya~”

“Well then, let the art begin-nya~”

On our respective plates, they wrote ‘Haru-Haru’ and ‘Nanamin’ in ketchup and drew cute cat illustrations on the omurice.

After the maids left, we took a commemorative photo of our omurice and then picked up our spoons.

“The illustration is so cute, it feels like a waste to eat it.”

“I know, right? I don’t think I could draw this well.”

Come to think of it, one of the reasons we came to a maid café was for customer service research.

I couldn’t imagine Nanami saying “nya-nya” in the classroom, so it didn’t seem like it would be very helpful in terms of customer service, but being able to watch the maids do their ketchup art up close was a good experience.

“Well, shall we start practicing today?”

“Can you make pancakes, Haru-kun?”

“I could probably follow a recipe, but it’d be a pain to do it every day. How about we practice at home with toast? We can draw pictures with chocolate syrup and have that for breakfast.”

“That’s a great idea, Haru-kun. It saves time, too. Kills two birds with one stone.”

With our plan decided, we said our thanks for the food and dug in. After we finished the ketchup-heavy omurice, a maid came to clear our plates.

“I’ll take these for you-nya.”

“Thank you. Also, for Hayakawa, I’d like to request that.”

“Right away-nya.”

The maid left, and Nanami looked at me quizzically.

“‘That’?”

“You’ll see.”

Soon after, a maid came over with a plate. “Thank you for waiting-nya.” On it was a small strawberry whole cake, and in the empty space on the plate, a message was written in chocolate sauce: Let’s be best friends for life, even after I move.

After reading the surprise message from me, Nanami’s head shot up.

“Oh, right. Today’s our reconciliation anniversary…”

“What, you forgot?”

“Well, it’s been five years since we last celebrated it… I’m surprised you remembered, Haru-kun.”

“How could I forget? It’s the anniversary of when you and I made up.”

On a certain day in October of our third year of elementary school, Nanami and I had a huge fight.

It all started with a ‘tickle endurance contest.’ I tickled Nanami, she tickled me back, and she ended up laughing so hard she wet herself.

Since she’d just had a similar accident two months prior when we failed to find the summer festival grounds, I teased her, “You wet your pants again?” Nanami’s face turned bright red, and she yelled, “It’s your fault, Haru-kun!”

We started blaming each other—“I told you to stop, why didn’t you stop?!” “The time limit was one minute!” “When I say stop, you stop!”—until finally, Nanami burst into tears and cried, “I hate you, Haru-kun!”

In the heat of the moment, I shot back, “I hate you, too!” which only made her cry harder. It escalated to, “I don’t want to play with you anymore!” “I don’t want to play with you, either!” “Then don’t come over to my house anymore!” “You stay away from mine!” until we finally broke off our friendship.

We had been together every day, but from that day on, I started walking to school alone… We wouldn’t even make eye contact at school, and we wouldn’t play together when we got home…

The first day, my anger hadn’t subsided—“It’s not my fault. It’s Nanami’s fault.” The second day, I thought, “If Nanami apologizes, I’ll forgive her.” The third day, I started to weaken—“Maybe I was partly to blame.” The fourth day, “Maybe it was about half my fault.” The fifth day, “It was almost entirely my fault.” The sixth day, I was overcome with guilt—“I did something terrible to Nanami.” And by the seventh day, I was terrified—“What if my friendship with Nanami is over for good?”

I want to play with Nanami again.

Once I had that thought, things moved quickly.

I grabbed my allowance, bought the most expensive cake at the convenience store, and rushed over to Nanami’s house. Just as I arrived, she was coming out of her house.

In her hands was a container of cookies. She had been on her way to apologize to me.

We both apologized, and it was awkward at first, but… by the time we finished the cake and cookies, we were best friends again.

I hadn’t originally intended to make it an anniversary, but it all started when my mom said, “You know, it’s been exactly one year since you two made up,” and I decided to surprise her.

We hadn’t been able to celebrate since I moved in the spring of our sixth-grade year, and since we hadn’t had a single fight since then, I thought maybe we didn’t need the reconciliation anniversary anymore. But since today happened to be the day, I decided to set up a surprise after all this time.

“Were you surprised?”

“I was. You really love surprises, don’t you, Haru-kun?”

“I just like seeing the surprised look on your face. But you like that mischievous side of me, too, don’t you?”

Nanami giggled.

“You’re not being mischievous at all. This just makes me purely happy. Thank you for the wonderful surprise. Let’s stay close even after you move.”

“Yeah, of course. Even after five months pass, and our fake relationship ends, and we can’t see each other like this anymore, let’s talk on video chat every day.”

“Yes! That’s a great idea. It’s so much more fun to talk while seeing each other’s faces than just a regular call!”

It seemed Nanami was thinking the same thing I was. She was right, it was way more fun to talk face-to-face.

I was glad we had something to look forward to after I moved.

…Though, of course, it’s more fun to hang out in the same space like this, and if I could, I wouldn’t want to be separated… but I’m in high school now. In five months, I should be able to prepare myself, and unlike when I was in elementary school, I should be able to say goodbye to Nanami with a smile.

I told myself that to suppress the loneliness and cut the cake in half.

And when I gave her the slightly bigger piece, she smiled happily.

◆

Six days after our reconciliation anniversary, on a Friday after school.

“Haaaah…”

The moment we got back to the apartment, Nanami let out a deep sigh. She kicked off her sneakers at the entrance, staggered into the living room, and collapsed onto the sofa.

I sat on the arm of the sofa and spoke to the groaning girl.

“Cheer up.”

“I can’t…”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“I have to think about it…”

“Why not just empty your mind on the day of?”

“I can’t do that…”

“Aren’t you being a little too shy?”

Nanami, who had been face down on the sofa, lifted her head slightly. She looked at me with teary eyes.

“Then you try wearing this, Haru-kun. If you wear this, you’ll understand how I feel.”

“My shoulders are too broad, it won’t fit me. But it fits you, right?”

“It was a perfect fit…”

“And when you tried it on, everyone was saying how good it looked on you, right?”

“The changing room was buzzing… But it’s not about whether it looks good on me or not. Just look at this.”

Nanami sat up and pulled a monochrome outfit out of a paper bag. It was a black one-piece dress with a white apron—the maid uniform for the culture festival.

The one who chose it was Matsui, the guy who had proposed the maid café. He had been tasked with procuring five maid outfits with a limited budget of ten thousand yen, and on top of that, he had been given a list of requests: ‘a design that won’t shock parents,’ ‘a design that can be worn even by those not confident in their figures,’ and ‘a design that combines cuteness and modesty.’ But Matsui had confidently declared, “I’ll figure something out.”

And just before homeroom this morning, he had proudly shown us this.

The guys loved it.

Some of the girls commented that it was “a little embarrassing with all the frills,” but for the most part, it was well-received: “It has a modest feel to it despite the cuteness,” “It looks like it would be slimming at the waist,” and “For two thousand yen, this is excellent quality.”

Except for one person: Nanami.

Nanami was the type to read the room, so she didn’t voice her complaints. Without so much as a grimace, she disappeared into the girls’ changing room at lunchtime to try it on.

“The frills aren’t the problem. The problem is the length of the skirt. It’s short. It’s going to be a disaster if the wind blows.”

Her frustration had finally boiled over. Though, ‘boiling over’ for her just meant sitting on the sofa with her knees drawn to her chest, muttering to herself.

“The maid uniforms are for indoors only, and we’ll be closing the classroom windows, so you don’t have to worry about the wind. Besides, most of the girls in our class wear their skirts above the knee, right? You’re pretty much the only one who wears it at knee-length, so it’s no surprise no one pointed out the length.”

Most of the girls in our class roll up their skirts, making them just as short as this maid uniform. I felt bad for Nanami, but to my eyes, it didn’t look particularly short either.

“But… I’ll be too embarrassed to serve customers in this.”

Still in her seated position, Nanami buried her face in her knees. She was wearing black tights, but I thought sitting like that in a skirt was far more embarrassing…

At any rate, we weren’t going to get anywhere just talking about it.

“How about you get used to the maid uniform now so you can serve customers with confidence on the day of?”

When I proposed a solution, Nanami looked up and said uncertainly, “But… it’s not mine. Is it okay for me to wear it at home without permission?”

“As long as you don’t get it dirty, it should be fine. What do you want to do?”

“…I’ll do what you say, Haru-kun.”

It seemed Nanami didn’t want to leave her weakness as it was. She got up from the sofa and disappeared into the bedroom with the maid uniform in hand.

After about five minutes, she came out.

“I tried it on…”

Nanami, her semi-long black hair tied up in a ponytail with a scrunchie, looked at me with a mix of anticipation and anxiety, her eyes downcast.

“…”

She was so cute that I couldn’t help but stare. The cheapness of the costume somehow only served to highlight how special Nanami was.

The outfit itself looked like it was worth two thousand yen, but on Nanami, with her amazing figure, it suddenly looked much more impressive.

“Wh-Why are you so quiet? …Does the maid uniform not look good on me?”

Seeing her crestfallen face, I snapped back to reality and shook my head.

“N-No, that’s not it. It looks amazing on you.”

“Thanks. But… it’s still short.”

Nanami shyly rubbed her thighs together.

When I saw it before, I thought, Is it really that short? But maybe because Nanami’s legs were so long, it looked shorter than when I had seen the outfit by itself.

“It is a little short, but is it still embarrassing even with tights on?”

They would probably be thinner in the summer, but maybe because it was getting colder by the day, Nanami’s black tights were thick. With them being that opaque, wasn’t it practically the same as wearing pants?

“It’s embarrassing even with tights… And actually, there was a suggestion that since we’re all wearing matching maid uniforms, we should all go bare-legged to create a sense of unity… So I don’t even know if I’ll be able to wear tights on the day of the festival…”

So that was another reason she was so down about the skirt’s length.

“In that case, why don’t you just show off your bare legs right here, right now?”

“Why would you say that?!”

“To build up a tolerance.”

“It’s not even decided that we’ll be bare-legged yet…”

“Even so, by getting used to the bare-legged maid uniform, you’ll be able to handle the black-tights version with no problem.”

“That’s true…”

I thought she would be hesitant, but surprisingly, Nanami seemed to understand.

“If you say so, Haru-kun, I’ll do my best to show my bare legs.”

“That’s the spirit. Well, if you really find it too difficult to serve customers, I can ask them to put you on flyer duty or back-of-house work instead—”

The sight before me made me stop mid-sentence.

Even though I was right in front of her, Nanami had started taking off her tights. She reached under her short skirt, stuck her butt out slightly, and slid the tights down as if she were taking off her underwear.

“S-So, how do they look, my bare legs… They’re not weird, are they?”

Nanami asked, holding the freshly removed black tights in her hand, her slender thighs fidgeting.

“They’re not weird, but do you normally take them off in front of people?!”

“Wh-Why are you getting mad? I was just doing my best because you told me to go bare-legged right here, right now!”

“Don’t take what I say so literally! Use some common sense! There’s no way I’d tell a girl to take off her tights on the spot!”

“D-Don’t tell me that after I’ve already taken them off!”

It seemed the embarrassment had finally caught up to her.

Dressed in a cute maid uniform, her slender, bare legs exposed from under the short skirt, Nanami’s face was flushed with shame…

…And the bewitching sight made my heart pound once again.

“…So, what do you think?”

“Huh?”

“My bare legs… And my hairstyle… Do you think they look good?”

“I don’t think there’s a single girl out there who doesn’t look good with bare legs… And the ponytail is cute. It suits you.”

I praised her, despite my own embarrassment, and a faint blush colored Nanami’s cheeks as she smiled.

“It makes me happy to hear you say that.”

“By the way, did you really need to change your hairstyle, too?”

“Of course. When we went to the maid café the other day, you said you liked ponytails, right? Right now, I’m a maid, so I tried to style my hair to my Master’s liking. It’s just for now, though, since it’ll mess up my hair.”

It seemed she remembered me saying I liked ponytails at the maid café the other day. …Yeah. Ponytails were definitely good. Especially the low ponytail she was wearing now—it was exactly my style.

“By the way, Haru-kun, are you hungry?”

“A little…”

“If you don’t mind, would you help me practice my customer service? If you order some toast, I’ll draw a picture on it with chocolate syrup.”

“Of course. Let’s do a practice run, just like the real thing. Starting from when I enter.”

With that, I stepped out of the room for a moment.

After a short pause, I opened the door, and Nanami approached from the sofa.

“Welcome home, Master. How many in your party?”

“Just one.”

“A table for one, then. Right this way, please.”

Nanami led me to the sofa, and I sat down.

“May I order?”

“Whatever you wish, Master.”

“I’ll have milk and toast, please.”

“Right away. Please wait a moment, Master.”

She took some milk from the fridge, poured it into a glass, and brought it over. Then she went to the kitchen, put a slice of bread on a plate, and brought it over with the chocolate syrup.

She placed the plate on the coffee table.

“Do you have any requests for the illustration?”

“Hmm… let me see. I can’t think of anything. Can I leave it up to you, miss maid?”

“Yes. Leave it to me, Master.”

Nanami picked up the chocolate syrup, knelt on the floor, and began to draw with a serious expression on her face. …Because she was bending over in a short skirt, her underwear was about to be exposed.

I fixed my gaze on the bread, which felt like it was pulling me in… She had drawn a cat’s face. When she first started practicing, her lines were shaky and the chocolate syrup would drip, but recently, she had gotten much better at drawing clean lines exactly where she wanted them.

“It’s ready. I hope it is to your liking, Master…”

“I love it.”

“Thank you very much. Well then, please enjoy your meal.”

She gave a small bow and walked away towards the kitchen. Then, without a moment’s delay, she came running back.

“S-So, how was I as a maid?”

“Perfect. So perfect it surprised me.”

“R-Really?!”

“Really. You had the modest maid vibe down perfectly, and I thought your calm and collected service would be very soothing for the customers.”

“Y-You think so? You think so? Don’t you think you’re praising me a little too much?”

My unrestrained praise made Nanami’s face light up with joy. Confidence spread across her features.

“By the way, you didn’t seem embarrassed. Are you used to being bare-legged now?”

“No, I was just focused on serving you… Now that I’m thinking about what I’m wearing again, I’m starting to get embarrassed.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to focus on serving customers during the real thing?”

“Hmm, that might still be tough… I was able to focus on practicing because it was with you, but with regular customers, I think the embarrassment would get the better of me. So… would you hate it if I wore my maid uniform at home every day, Haru-kun?”

“Huh? Every day?”

“Yeah. If I spend every day in this outfit, I might be able to overcome my shyness by the time the festival comes around.”

“I see. I don’t mind at all, but… it would be bad if you got it dirty. Why don’t we just buy you a maid uniform?”

“But… isn’t it a waste of money to buy one just for that?”

“I have some date money left over, and you’re trying so hard. I want to support you. And you’d be able to relax more if it was your own maid uniform, right?”

“Yeah! Thanks, Haru-kun!”

Alright, if we were going to do this, we had to hurry. I immediately got on my phone and searched for the same maid uniform on a major online shopping site.

“…Found it. This is it, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Oh, it says if I order now, it’ll arrive tomorrow.”

“Then we’d better hurry.”

I confirmed the order, and Nanami beamed. “Thanks for buying it for me.”

…A belated thought crossed my mind: Couldn’t we have just bought a maid uniform with a longer skirt and had her wear that for the festival? But that would ruin the unified look. I didn’t want to rain on Nanami’s parade, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.