My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 1-2

Chapter 1: Meeting My Childhood Friend at the Maid Cafe (1)

“Welcome home, Master—”

That’s when her words were cut off. She must have noticed me before she could finish her sentence. Her eyes widened as much as possible, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish.

And as for me, I did the same—eyes wide open and mouth gaping. I felt like this was the very definition of “couldn’t close my mouth.”

A cold atmosphere enveloped us both.

“Wh-why are you—”

She pointed a trembling finger at me, probably trying to ask why I was here. But before she could say it, she was interrupted.

“What are you doing, Yukina-chan? Stop spacing out and show the Master to his seat.”

A senior with striking pink hair said this to her—Himemiya Yukina. Her body stiffened at the command.

Then, looking extremely frustrated… deeply annoyed, she forced a smile at me.

“Welcome home… Welcome home, Master!”

Damn her…!

Her smile was so cute that I almost fell for it, but her words were telling me to disappear as quickly as possible.

“Hey, that’s rude to the Master!”

“Ouch!”

But then the senior lightly tapped Yukina on the head and quickly turned to me with a genuine smile.

“I apologize, Master. Please, let me show you to your seat. Yukina-chan, go prepare some water for the Master.”

With an unwilling expression, Yukina disappeared into the back, and I was guided to my seat while watching her go.

This place is the maid cafe “Poplar”. It’s a perfect ordinary maid cafe where you can enjoy chatting with maids dressed in black and white frilly maid uniforms.

“Master, I apologize for earlier. That girl doesn’t usually act like that, but today…”

Glancing at Yukina, I saw that she was making an extremely displeased face. She walked over briskly and placed a glass of water in front of me with a sulky expression.

“Here you go, Master. It’s just water. Drink it quickly and then please leave.”

“Hey, Yukina-chan!”

“Hmph!”

Yukina… she’s really mad.

Even after being scolded, Yukina showed no sign of reflecting, her cheeks puffed out in a pout.

Well, I guess it’s understandable, since she was seen in her maid outfit by someone like me.

“I’m sorry, Master. I’m sure this puts you in a bad mood… Today, I’ll make sure to give you plenty of special service… Have you decided on your order?”

“Oh, then I’ll have the ‘Delicious Omurice.'”

“The ‘Delicious Omurice,’ understood. I’ll make sure it’s full of extra toppings. Please wait a moment. Oh, and I’m sorry, but the only person who can serve you right now is this girl. I know it’s not ideal, but please bear with her.”

“…Uh, wait, hold on, Aoi-senpai. I really don’t want to do this. Why do I have to—”

“Have to what?”

“Eek!”

“Don’t say ‘have to’… it’s ‘Master,’ right?”

“But, I…”

“No buts! If you don’t serve the Master, you’re fired as of today!”

“Ugh… F-fine. I’ll… serve the Master. I’ll do it.”

Yukina muttered softly, looking down. She must have been really scared of the maid called Aoi-senpai. Though I couldn’t see her face, it was just a guess.

“Well then, Master. Please wait a moment.”

Aoi-san bowed her head to me and headed toward the kitchen.

I was left alone with Yukina.

I felt like the cold atmosphere enveloped us once again.

It’s really cold…

—

Chapter 2: Meeting My Childhood Friend at the Maid Cafe (2)

Ah, this is so awkward…

Since Aoi-san left, Yukina and I hadn’t said a word. Yukina kept glaring at me as if she wanted to say, “This is all your fault!” and I didn’t know what to say.

Looking around, I saw other customers happily chatting with the maids. But why was I…?

“Hey, Himemiya, why don’t you sit down?”

“Why?”

“It must be tiring to stand all the time, right?”

“…I guess. Fine, I’ll sit down.”

After thinking for a moment, Yukina reached for a chair.

It was uncomfortable to be glared at from above, so maybe now she’d just glare at me from beside—
Just as I was thinking that, I heard a loud clatter as Yukina sat down next to me.

“Hey, why are you sitting next to me…?”

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious? If we don’t look like we’re getting along, I’ll get fired.”

“But still…”

I was sitting at a table for two, and since I was alone, the seat across from me was empty. But Yukina, to avoid getting fired, chose to move that chair and sit right beside me.

“What? Do you not want me sitting next to you?”

“…It’s not that.”

It’s not that I dislike it. It’s just that sitting next to a beautiful girl like Yukina makes me nervous.

Yukina has a perfectly well-formed face that anyone would call beautiful… though her eyes might be a bit sharp. Her long black hair contrasts with her fair, slender arms and legs. She definitely fits the definition of a beautiful girl.

“So, why did you come here in the first place?”

Why…?

As I was thinking about Yukina, she narrowed her eyes and asked me in a low voice.

“I just came to have dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah.”

I have a routine.

Every Friday, I come here for dinner. Ever since I first came here, I’ve been hooked on the taste of the omurice I just ordered.

“Hmm… but why here? You could have dinner at a family restaurant or a ramen shop.”

“The omurice here is delicious. And besides, it’s nice to spend time with the cute maids here.”

This is a maid cafe, after all. It’s a place where you can have fun chatting with cute and charming maids… usually.

But today is different. It’s more like I’m being interrogated by Yukina, and it’s honestly suffocating.

I stared at Yukina.

No matter how much I look, she’s still cute… just like always.

Noticing my gaze, Yukina glared back at me as if she were looking at something disgusting.

“What are you staring at? I’m not here to have a good time with you. In fact, I have no intention of letting you enjoy yourself.”

Yeah, yeah, I get it…

I didn’t bother responding, and just then, Aoi-san brought out my order.

“Thank you for waiting, Master. Here’s your ‘Delicious Omurice.'”

The omurice she brought was simple, a ketchup rice wrapped in an omelet with nothing drawn on it yet. But the portion was much larger than usual. It seemed like it was twice the normal size.

Aoi-san did say she’d give me extra service… I guess I should be thankful, despite Yukina’s attitude.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me. Yukina-chan, go ahead and cast the magic words on the Master’s omurice.”

“I know, I know.”

The magic words—”Delicious, delicious”—are what she’s supposed to say.

But there was no way Yukina would actually do it… or so I thought, but she agreed without hesitation. I had a bad feeling about this.

“Alright then, Master.”

Yukina put on the brightest smile and began pouring an absurd amount of ketchup on the omurice while saying, “Gross, gross!”

I was speechless as I looked at the transformed omurice—no, it was now just a mess of ketchup.

“Hey, enough is enough…”

I was about to complain to Yukina, but before I could, she stood up with a loud clatter.

“My job ends here. Eat that and go home. Though, I’m not sure if you can even eat it.”

With a mischievous smile, Yukina walked away to greet a new customer. I was left in stunned silence.

“So spicy!”

The once-omurice, now just spicy ketchup, burned my mouth as I reluctantly ate it. Watching Yukina smile at the other customers, a smile she hadn’t shown me, I thought to myself.

Today was a terrible day. I’ve never had such an unfun time at a maid cafe before!

I somehow managed to finish the ruined omurice and left the cafe.