In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 30

Chapter 30: The End of Summer Vacation

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“Good morning.”

“Long time no see! You got pretty tanned. Where did you go?”

“Here, I brought you a souvenir!”

Conversations like that were buzzing behind me.

“Good morning, Takeda. What’s up? You look spaced out.”

“Morning, Yuuki. I guess I’m still in summer vacation mode or something.”

“Haha! That’s so like you, but snap out of it. The second semester is packed with events, so it’s going to be busy.”

“Events? What’s coming up again?”

“See? Saitou, explain it to him.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the most knowledgeable about this stuff, and you explain things well.”

And just like that, Yuuki passed the conversation to Saitou, who started explaining how busy the second semester would be. The main event was the cultural festival at the beginning of November.

First, each class had to plan a booth. Since everything had to be done within a limited budget, we had to estimate costs and profits in advance. Once we got our approval, the preparations would begin. Of course, the guys had to participate too. By mid-September, we’d have to finalize our plan, and once October rolled around, preparations would be in full swing. This school’s cultural festival apparently had a decent budget, so the event was supposed to be quite elaborate.

Then, in December, there was the graduation trip.

Wait, what!? A graduation trip when we’re only in our second year? That sounds weird.

But there was a reason for it. This school was a hardcore prep school. Every girl here planned to take university entrance exams and advance to higher education. By next fall, we’d all be in full-on exam mode. So, the graduation trip was moved up to the second year. It was a two-night, three-day trip to a famous theme park.

I had been wondering whether I should keep up with club activities this semester, but if the whole class was going to be involved in the cultural festival, there probably wouldn’t be time for that.

“Hearing it all laid out like that, it really does sound busy.”

“Right? Especially before the cultural festival, it gets insanely hectic and in December, there’s the class placement test too.”

“What do we actually do for the cultural festival?”

“That depends on the girls, honestly. But mixed-gender classes tend to do food stalls.”

“Why?”

“Because if we guys handle customer service, we get more customers. In other words, we sell more tickets.”

“Haunted houses can draw a decent crowd too, but guys don’t like doing them.”

“Guys don’t like them? Why?”

A haunted house sounds like it’d be a lot of fun though?

“At a past cultural festival, some girls clung to guys in the dark and caused a commotion. Ever since then, mixed-gender classes haven’t done haunted houses.”

Yeah, that makes sense. That could definitely cause problems.

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Through the classroom window, the sky was a perfect blue. What a nice season. I would’ve liked to just stare outside, but that wasn’t an option. Inside, the class was in the middle of a heated discussion about the cultural festival.

“Based on the survey results we collected the other day, the overwhelming majority voted for a Cosplay Café! Today, we’ll decide what food and drinks to serve.”

On the blackboard, a list of shortlisted menu options from the survey was written out.

[Food]

-Yakisoba, Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Frankfurters

-Oden, Tonjiru

-Hot dogs, Sandwiches, French toast, Tacos

-Pizza, Quiche, Cheese soufflé

-Curry, Cream stew, Clam chowder, Minestrone, Pasta

-Nikuman, Corn dogs, Yakitori, Karaage, French fries, Meat-wrapped rice balls

[Desserts]

-Crepes, Waffles, Chocolate bananas, Popcorn

-Donuts, Churros, Cookies, Cakes, Pudding

-Anmitsu, Shiruko

[Drinks]

-Tapioca drinks (Milk tea, Strawberry milk)

-Coffee (Cold & Hot)

-Tea (Cold & Hot)

-Green tea (Cold & Hot)

-Juice

“Any opinions?”

“Yes! Since it’s a Cosplay Café, we should serve stylish and cute desserts, along with easy-to-eat light meals.”

“Agreed! So, should we include tapioca drinks?”

“Popcorn, churros, and chocolate bananas already have stalls every year, so let’s drop those.”

“Oden and tonjiru don’t really fit a café vibe either.”

The girls exchanged their opinions excitedly.  Apparently, if our sales were high, the school would recognize our effort and if our activities stood out, it could even slightly boost our grades. No wonder everyone was so serious about this.

November, huh? It’s going to be pretty cold by then. Definitely time for winter uniforms.

But… A café, huh? Tonjiru… Sounds great to me, but it didn’t fit the theme. Clam chowder or minestrone felt more café-like. French toast would be nice too, dusted with powdered sugar. Cheese soufflé would be amazing, but it collapses quickly and serving it hot would be tricky. Might be easy to burn yourself. I wished we could have warm pudding. Not crème brûlée, just regular custard pudding. The kind that was still soft before it fully set in the fridge. Freshly made pudding? That sounded amazing. Someone should make it!

I had become a full-blown pudding fan at this point. My pudding cravings were getting out of control.

“Any suggestions from the guys? Takeda, you look like you’re deep in thought—tell us what you want to eat!”

“Huh!? Me? What I want to eat? Well… Warm pudding, I guess?”

“Warm pudding? Takeda-kun, do you like pudding?”

“Yeah. I love it.”

For some reason, the room buzzed with murmurs. Liking pudding was pretty normal, right?

“J-just as a reference, what kind of pudding are you talking about?”

“Just regular custard pudding.”

“Custard pudding? And warm?”

“I mean, cold is fine too, but since November is chilly, I thought warm pudding would be nice. Just a random thought.”

“Actually, during the festival, they turn the heating up a lot, so surprisingly, cold food and drinks sell well.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. It’s my first cultural festival here.”

“But pudding could be a good idea. It’s easy to decorate and could look really colorful.”

“I love the idea of pudding! I’m in favor!”

“Me too!”

One after another, the girls agreed and with that, pudding was officially on the menu. Did they choose it because I said I liked it? Everyone was so nice. Were they just being considerate of me? But if we decorated it, it would be like pudding à la mode. Or maybe a pudding parfait? This could be really fun. I wondered if I could help with the pudding?

“Takeda, you seriously love pudding, huh? I can practically see a flower field blooming around your face right now.”

A flower field? What’s that even mean?

“Well, pudding is delicious. Saitou, do you not like sweets? You can’t eat pudding?”

“I can eat it, but I don’t go out of my way for it.”

“Then what do you usually snack on?”

“Snacks? Hmm… Senbei? Or chips? But honestly, I don’t snack much. I prefer big meals.”

Meanwhile, I loved both snacks and big meals. As we chatted, the menu was finalized. The Cosplay Café would serve:

[Food]

Croissant sandwiches, Maple French toast

[Desserts]

Decorated pudding, Crepes

[Drinks]

Tapioca drinks, Coffee, Tea

Everything sounded delicious. As for the cosplay? The girls would wear maid outfits, and the guys would be dressed as butlers. Butler? I imagined an old man, but apparently, it was more like a normal suit. That was fine with me.

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