My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 59

Yukina had never visited here before. Considering our past relationship, that was natural, but even so, her sudden visit seemed impossible.

I stood up and rushed over, wondering if something was wrong.

—

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I don’t have any particular reason to be here. I was just bored, so I thought I’d come to take a look.”

Her tone was somewhat guarded, with a hint of aloofness. I thought it might be because Tadokoro was here, but for now, I invited her inside.

“Well, anyway, why don’t you come in? Tadokoro, is that alright?”

“O-Of course!”

Yukina entered, and Tadokoro and I sat down again, feeling an inexplicable tension.

“You can sit wherever you like, Yukina.”

“Alright.”

Yukina quietly sat down… and that would have been fine, but—

“Um, Yukina?”

“What is it?”

“Well, aren’t you sitting a bit close?”

Surprisingly, Yukina sat right next to me. There were three chairs lined up in a row. Moreover, there were two empty chairs next to Tadokoro. Despite that, Yukina didn’t leave any space and sat directly beside me.

“It’s not that close. Right, Kouhai?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s not close at all.”

“See?”

Tadokoro looked unusually flustered. His face looked like that of a frog being stared down by a snake. Was Yukina really that scary?

When they first met in the cafeteria, Yukina had been quite harsh with Tadokoro. Was that why he was so nervous?

Although Yukina claimed she was here to observe, she wasn’t doing anything in particular. Tadokoro remained restless, fidgeting and glancing around. At this rate, it was hard to tell who was the one really observing.

Alright, I need to do something to help them get along!

“Uh… how about you two introduce yourselves?”

At that moment, both of them glared at me. Their sharp gazes were intimidating.

Tadokoro pulled out his phone and started typing. A moment later, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Tadokoro.

*Senpai, are you a demon!?*
*Your childhood friend is beautiful and cute, but she’s kind of scary!*
*She just glared at me earlier!*
*How am I supposed to introduce myself to someone like that!?*

Feeling troubled as I read the message, I glanced at Tadokoro. He looked like a cat with its fur standing on end.

I had a feeling he might hiss at any moment, so I turned my gaze to Yukina. She was staring at me without blinking, almost pleadingly.

Yukina had always been bad at introducing herself. Even in new classes, she would only say her name and leave it at that.

As she grew older, people started seeing that as cool, but in reality, her heart would be pounding like crazy.

Yukina and Tadokoro… who should go first?

“Alright, Tadokoro, you go first.”

“Wh-Why me!?”

Tadokoro stood up with a start.

“It’s a command from your senpai. And besides, this is a club activity, right? Yukina is a guest, and you’re a member.”

“…Senpai, aren’t you showing favoritism just because she’s your childhood friend?”

“No way! I’m a firm believer in equality.”

But honestly, I was thinking of it as payback for all the times he’d teased me. Sometimes, he needs to face the music. Heh, heh, heh.

Then, Yukina lightly tugged at the sleeve of my uniform.

“Aren’t you going to show me some favoritism?”

Yukina asked, looking up at me with pleading eyes.

Needless to say, she looked adorable.

“I-I am! I’m treating you as a special guest!”

In truth, it was because she was Yukina, but if I said that, Tadokoro would definitely get upset.

“Hmm, a guest, huh… Well, that’s fine. Go ahead, Kouhai.”

“Oh, come on… After seeing that, you’re really going to make me go first? You childhood friends are so cruel…”

Tadokoro suddenly flinched and energetically replied, “I’ll do it!”

What just happened?

“My name is Sakuya Tadokoro. I’ve been getting along well with Senpai.”

“Hey, who said we were getting along—”

“Oh… you’ve been getting along, huh?”

Yukina didn’t lose her smile. But beneath it, I thought I saw something—like flames quietly burning… It’s best not to push it further.

“Now it’s my turn. I’m Yukina Himemiya. I’ve been Yusuke’s childhood friend, always by his side since we were little.”

Yukina’s self-introduction had leveled up… But was that something she needed to say out loud?

“By the way, Yusuke and I have been really close since we were kids.”

Yukina boasted triumphantly.

I couldn’t help but think, what kind of competition is this? And wasn’t it only recently that we were barely speaking to each other?

“Well, anyone can see it. You two are obviously a couple!”

Hearing that, I knew Yukina would get angry, so I hurried to step in and defuse the situation.

“Hey, that was a joke, apologize—”

“Yusuke, be quiet.”

Yukina cut me off sharply. She seemed calm, but maybe she was actually angry… See? I’m not helping you anymore. I sat there in silence, waiting for Yukina to unleash her fury on Tadokoro.

But what Yukina said next struck me like a blow.

“If that’s how you see it, maybe you’re right.”

Coughing in shock, I stared at Yukina. She calmly looked at Tadokoro, showing no signs of guilt.

“W-Wait, are you two really dating? You said before you were just teasing Senpai!”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Yusuke gets shy easily. He’s probably just too embarrassed to admit it. So, that’s how close you two are, huh?”

Stop it, Yukina. Stop making statements that only lead to more misunderstandings.

I wanted to cover Yukina’s mouth right then and there, but doing that would be the real mistake. If Tadokoro saw me do that, he would definitely take it seriously.

So, how do I stop Yukina’s reckless comments… I couldn’t come up with anything.

“W-Wait, did you come here today to scope out this place as your love nest!?”

“Hehe, that might not be a bad idea.”

Yukina said it playfully, but I didn’t think it was funny at all. Tadokoro suddenly stood up from his seat.

“I-I’m totally getting in the way, so I’m going to step out for a bit!”

With that, he swung the door open and left the classroom.

“Wha…?”

Far from being a nuisance, I actually wanted him to stay, but now he was gone. I couldn’t help thinking it was my fault for suggesting introductions in the first place. I glanced to my side.

Yukina was puffing out her chest proudly, her expression triumphant. She looked like a little devil I had seen somewhere before.