My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 12-13

Chapter 12: Meeting the Maid Who Invited Me to the Maid Cafe (3)

“How’s your studying going, Yusuke? It must be tough now that you’re a third-year student with exams coming up.”

“Yes… It’s way too difficult for me to keep up. Plus, I’m so tired from my part-time job that I end up sleeping through most of my classes…”

Well, the main reason is that I find it boring and don’t feel like paying attention, so I just sleep.

“It must be tough working and studying. You work at a restaurant, right?”

“Yes, a popular burger shop.”

“I’ve been there with my friends before, and it’s always so busy. It must be hard on the staff too.”

“Yeah. There’s nothing in particular that’s really tough, but it’s always busy, no matter the day, so it’s exhausting.”

“I see. You’re doing great, though.”

Miyuki pats my head with a gentle “Good job.” It’s a bit embarrassing, but it feels nice… It gives me a strange feeling.

“S-stop it… I’m not a kid.”

“Haha, sorry, sorry. You just remind me of my little brother, Yusuke. He’s much younger than you, though.”

Little brother… huh. I like Miyuki… No, not in that way. Of course, I like her as a person and as a maid, but not as a romantic interest. Besides, she treats me like a little brother…

But still, it’s true that I feel something for Miyuki. Being called her little brother made me feel a bit… something.

“Aren’t you going back home?”

“I usually go home during long breaks, but I’m too busy to go home on weekends… That’s why I’m happy when I pat your head; it makes me feel like I’m with my brother.”

“I see…”

“I used to help my brother with his studies, so I wish I could help you too, but… I’m not that smart.”

“Huh, but you helped your brother study, right?”

“Yeah. You know, they say even an idiot can teach another idiot, right?”

Do they? Wouldn’t that just make both of them even dumber?

“I’m not the right person to teach you, Yusuke. The smartest one here would be… Yukina-chan.”

I’ve known for years that Yukina is smart. She doesn’t seem to study much, but somehow she’s always among the top students in school. She’s one of those genius types.

I used to ask her for help with my studies, but that’s not the case anymore. And even if I asked now, she’d probably say no. Yukina doesn’t care if I fail a test.

“You’re in the same class as Yukina-chan, so why not ask her to help you study?”

“No way. I couldn’t do that. Besides, if I tried, I’d be too nervous to concentrate.”

“Hm? So, are you saying you don’t get nervous around me?”

Miyuki teases me with a mischievous smile.

S-she’s so cute…!

“N-no, it’s just that… with you, it feels like having an older sister…”

“Oh, so to you, I’m like an older sister, huh?”

Miyuki pouts a little, looking a bit sulky. Even that gesture is so cute, it’s no wonder she’s the most popular maid here.

“Of course, I get nervous around you too. You’re so cute, Miyuki-san, that I’m always nervous…”

“W-what!? Oh, come on, Yusuke-kun, you say such bold things with such a cute face…”

Miyuki laughs loudly, trying to brush off her embarrassment. I can see her cheeks are slightly red.

“…But thanks, that makes me happy.”

That smile is totally unfair.

“Oh, right. Here’s some advice from your cute big sister for saying such flirtatious things.”

“W-what’s with the sudden advice?”

“It’s about Yukina-chan. Just because you know she works at a maid café, don’t try to make her do anything… inappropriate, okay?”

“I-I wouldn’t do that!”

“I know, Yusuke-kun, I know you wouldn’t. But if your desires get out of control and you end up hurting Yukina-chan, you’d be banned from the café. And if that happened, we wouldn’t be able to talk anymore. I don’t want that to happen, so please, don’t do anything like that.”

“Got it. I don’t want to be banned from seeing you and the omurice, so I’ll behave.”

“Good. I think your omurice should be ready soon, so I’ll go get it.”

As I watch Miyuki walk away, I think to myself.

Don’t worry, Miyuki-san. I won’t be involved with Yukina anymore. Even though it feels like we’ve been talking a lot lately, it’s all in my head. I’m sure it was just an illusion. So from now on, it’ll just be you and me—

Miyuki comes back with the omurice, drawing a cute heart on it with ketchup while chanting, “Delicious, delicious, please be delicious.”

Naturally, the omurice tastes even better than last week, and I finish it quickly.

“Yusuke-kun…”

Miyuki whispers softly into my ear, her voice full of allure.

My body shivers in response to the ticklish sensation.

W-what is she doing all of a sudden…?

“Yukina-chan isn’t on shift on Fridays, so feel free to come next week. Let’s talk again.”

“Yes…!”

Her sweet voice makes me feel like I’m being taken somewhere far away. Nervously, I respond, my heart pounding from the strange allure.

And then, I leave the café and head home.

—

Chapter 13: Lunch With My Childhood Friend (1)

It’s lunchtime.

Today, Haru is eating lunch with his girlfriend, so I came to the cafeteria alone.

Eating with a girlfriend… That’s what youth is all about.

Thinking about this, I pondered what to order.

The cafeteria prices are cheap for students. That’s why it’s important to figure out how much I can eat and get the most value for the price.

…Yeah, curry it is.

“One curry rice, please.”

I ordered curry from the cafeteria lady and received my dish.

Now, where’s an open seat…?

The cafeteria is located away from the school building, making it a great spot to gather with old classmates or clubmates. Because of that, if you’re even a little late, it becomes difficult to find a seat.

Oh, there’s an empty spot over there.

I spotted a place with no one around and headed there. I placed my tray down with a clatter, and a girl sitting diagonally across from me, eating alone, looked up.

Ugh…!

It was Yukina. I couldn’t see her face because she was slurping ramen, so I didn’t realize it was her. She looked a bit uncomfortable as she quickly grabbed her chopsticks, almost dropping them.

Alright, let’s pretend I didn’t see her and find another spot.

I picked up my tray again, acting like I hadn’t noticed her, and started to leave.

“W-wait…!”

Yukina called out to me. Internally, I was annoyed, but I forced a smile while still holding the tray.

“What is it?”

I need to get away quickly…

A few eyes were already on me, and I could feel their stares piercing into me. Around me, I could hear things like, “He’s being way too reckless,” and “It’s so obvious he’s trying to eat with her by pretending it’s a coincidence,” for some reason, I was being blamed.

In situations like this, I’m always the one who gets blamed.

I haven’t done anything, I don’t even have any thoughts like that… Even though Yukina is the one who called out to me, somehow I end up being treated like a reckless hero.

It doesn’t make any sense!

“W-where are you planning to go?”

“Well, uh… to another empty seat.”

“Well then, you can sit here. There are plenty of open seats.”

“But, still…”

Why is she saying it like she wants to eat together? Yukina would definitely hate eating with me.

“And after you already decided to sit here… changing your mind just because I’m here…”

She has a point; that’s pretty rude of me.

It’s like I’m showing I don’t want to be around her at all. That might have hurt her feelings.

But if we eat together and rumors start about us, that would make me even more uncomfortable.

So, no matter what Yukina thinks, I should just leave… That’s what I was thinking.

Why does she look so sad…?

Yukina’s expression seemed a bit down, and she looked lonely. I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

“…Alright.”

In the end, I couldn’t walk away, so I put my tray down and sat. To protect myself, I made sure not to sit directly across from Yukina.

If we don’t talk, maybe I can get through this with minimal damage… Hopefully.

A quick glance around showed a few male students glaring at me with murderous looks, but I pretended not to notice.

Damn it, if this ruins my school life, I’m going to hold a grudge…!

However, Yukina didn’t seem to care about my discomfort and appeared somewhat happy.

“H-hmph… You should’ve just sat down from the start. Letting me eat ramen alone… that’s just unacceptable.”

I don’t know about that…

I thought it was an unreasonable complaint and ignored it.

Watching Yukina slurp her ramen didn’t make me feel anything. But I could understand why some students with unrealistic expectations might feel uneasy.

If you knew that, you shouldn’t have asked me in the first place.

“Why are you ignoring me?”

“…Then, why did you even order ramen?”

I replied quietly, just loud enough for Yukina to hear.

“Why shouldn’t I order what I want to eat?”

Sigh… She’s really annoying.

I’d love to reveal Yukina’s true nature to those guys who are glaring at me. Not that anyone would believe me.

It’s good to be a pretty girl…

“Hey, why can’t I—”

“Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. Please, do as you like.”

“That’s right. That’s how it should be.”

Satisfied, Yukina began slurping her ramen again, while I scooped up some curry with my spoon and put it in my mouth. Even though I’ve eaten this curry many times before, today it tasted particularly bitter.