Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late!

https://ko-fi.com/senna2003

Chapter 47: Thank You for the Meal, I Appreciate It

On the day of the cultural festival. After the exhausting task of remaking the sign the day before, we managed to welcome the festival in good shape.

The cultural festival lasts for two days, on Saturday and Sunday.

On the first day, we were assigned to the maid café as the group responsible for menu planning.

The boys wore class T-shirts, while the girls donned maid costumes.

Just minutes before the festival started, Saya wanted to show me her maid outfit, so I waited at the stairs away from the changing room.

As I waited, my heart racing, someone whispered in my ear from behind.

“Hinata.”

“!”

Startled by the sudden voice, I turned around. There stood Saya in her maid outfit.

I had heard that maid costumes couldn’t be very expensive, but this one was of surprisingly high quality.

Even if she had never been to a maid café, with someone this cute, she would definitely be popular.

“Thank you for the meal, I appreciate it.”

“Why the formal language? Hehe, but I’m glad you liked it. Just so you know, you’re not allowed to look at any other maids besides me, okay?”

“Don’t worry; I’ll only be looking at you. Oh, can I take a photo? Just the two of us…”

Since it was a special cultural festival, I wanted to capture at least one memorable photo.

“Of course, that’s fine… Come stand next to me, Hinata.”

“Okay.”

When I stood next to Saya, feeling a bit distant, she hugged my arm tightly and pulled me closer.

“I’m going to take the photo now!”

After taking the picture, Saya held my hand tightly.

“It’s already obvious, so it’s fine, right?”

“Um, yeah…”

Holding hands at school felt strangely surreal. It was as if we were doing something we shouldn’t.

“On the second day, we don’t have anything planned, so let’s explore together. A cultural festival date, okay?”

“Yeah.”

As her boyfriend, I felt a little uneasy, but many customers came to our class’s maid café specifically to see Saya and Shiina.

(I knew she was popular since the first year, but…)

The boys stayed behind the scenes, preparing the items ordered by the girls. I occasionally worried about whether Saya was getting harassed by any strange guys and checked from time to time.

(As soon as I see someone pointing a camera, I’ll go into protective mode.)

As I made that resolve, Shiina came into the back and made a request.

“Hinata, can I have a chocolate cream puff, please?”

“Chocolate… Here you go.”

“Thanks, Hinata!”

After handing the chocolate cream puff to Shiina, Maruyama came over.

“Hinata, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Maruyama? What’s up?”

I wasn’t sure what she needed, but she wanted me to follow her, so I quickly told one of the boys nearby that I was stepping out of the classroom for a bit and went out into the hallway with Maruyama.

When we got outside, Saya was there too, showing me something on her smartphone.

“I have a friend from middle school who’s here today, and I just got this message from her.”

As I read the message Saya received, I noticed Maruyama crossing her arms and letting out a big sigh beside me.

“This is just stalking. Hōshō is definitely here to see you, Saya.”

“Why would Hōshō come to see me when he hates me…?”

The message mentioned that Hōshō had been seen at the school.

“Just ignore him if he talks to you, okay? Saya, you know he gets out of control quickly.”

“Out of control? I haven’t done anything…”

“Well, anyway, Hinata, you have to protect her, okay?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

“I’d be fine even if you didn’t protect me. I’m not weak…”

Saya said that and put her smartphone back in her pocket before heading back to the classroom.

“Hōshō shouldn’t know about your high school…”

“…Maybe he figured it out because of the uniform? We met once on the way home from school.”

“Oh, I see. But that’s definitely stalker behavior. Recognizing the uniform and coming to school just for that is pretty messed up. Anyway, Hinata, take care of it!”

With a wave, Maruyama also headed back into the classroom, so I returned to my post.

What exactly did Hōshō want? If he disliked Saya, why would he come to bother her…? But if he disliked her, why would he come to school?

Realizing the contradictions, I started to think about why Hōshō came.

It wasn’t necessarily decided that he came to see Saya. It’s also possible he had a friend at this school and came to see that person.

“Hinata… Hey, Hinata.”

Lost in thought, I was jolted back to reality by someone calling my name, and I found Maizakura standing in front of me.

“Maizakura?”

“You seemed a bit out of it; are you okay?”

“I’m fine. What’s up?”

“It seems Kimura’s team will be able to cover for you in the afternoon, so you can take a break from your duties. I’ve already told Kubo and Takasaka.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

I thought she would leave after delivering the message, but Maizakura lingered, so I decided to ask her.

“Maizakura, is something wrong?”

“…I heard they’re doing shooting games at the third-year area.”

“Shooting games?”

“Yeah… If you have some time, I’d like to have a match with you after such a long time. Is that okay?”

When we were kids, I had competed with Maizakura in various games at summer festivals.

Tomorrow, I had plans to explore with Saya, but my duties were cleared for the afternoon, so I had time.

Just as I was about to respond, someone hugged me from behind.

“No way. If you’re going, I’m going too.”

“古賀さん… If it’s three of us, would that be alright?”

“If that’s the case…”