My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 96

It’s been about a week since summer vacation started.

As she promised, Yukina has been coming to my place every single day.

One day, I thought it must be a hassle for her to always come over, so I suggested that I could visit her room instead. But she refused, saying she preferred my room.

Even so, nothing particularly special happens. We just eat meals together, do homework, and laze around—living a pretty lazy life.

Until last year, I was the type who crammed all my homework into the last week of vacation. But according to Yukina, “You’ve got to do your homework little by little.” With Yukina in teacher mode sitting next to me, I started working on it steadily.

Thanks to that, I’ve already finished my homework, so now I can enjoy the rest of my break.

—

“Hey, Yukina.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you keep resting your head on my lap?”

“Hmm, maybe because Yuu-kun has been staring at his phone all day and isn’t paying attention to me?”

Ugh… Stop giving me that resentful look. It’s making me feel guilty.

Even though I feel her sharp gaze stabbing into me, I can’t take my eyes off my phone. After all, I’m playing this newly released mobile game, Rescuing Another World with Maids.

In this game, the protagonist gets transported to another world and saves it alongside various maids. The only companions are maids. Whether you pull in the gacha or recruit characters along the way, it’s always maids. It’s perfect.

Right now, since the game just launched, there are a few standout maids available. One of them is this black-haired maid, totally my type. She has sharp eyes and a strict way of speaking, but her occasional displays of kindness and vulnerability make her a really charming character.

Honestly, she kind of reminds me of someone… Yeah, Yukina, who’s resting on my lap, and this maid, Asana, are way too similar.

I want to pull this character and enjoy the game. Well, there are other reasons, too, but I really want Asana. But… but…

“Argh, damn it! Another failed pull!”

“Eek!”

I’ve been pulling and pulling, but I keep failing. Out of frustration, I accidentally kicked up my leg, almost knocking Yukina off balance. Sorry, please don’t glare at me like that.

“What have you been doing this whole time, Yuu-kun?”

Yukina, sitting upright on the couch, leans in close, peering at my phone. The smell of her perfume hits my nose, making my heart skip a beat. She’s so close.

“Who’s this girl?”

“Asana.”

She seems upset as she stares at the screen, where Asana is displayed in full view.

“I really want to get this character.”

“Hmm. And why’s that?”

“Well, it’s just…”

I simply think she looks cute because she resembles Yukina, but if I say that, who knows how she’ll react.

“She’s highly rated online. They say she’s strong and cute. With those two things combined, it’s a character you have to get, right?”

“Hmm…”

Stop looking at me like you don’t believe me. People really do say online that her snarky remarks deal heavy damage to enemies.

“You’re such a cheater, Yuu-kun. If you want a maid so badly, why not ask me? I’m right here, aren’t I?”

Saying that in a weak voice isn’t fair… Besides, I don’t want *a* maid… Ow, ow, ow! Stop pinching me!

“Say something…”

“I felt it… deeply… I mean, no, I don’t mix games with reality.”

A game is a game. Reality is reality. I need to keep them separate, or who knows what I might ask Yukina to do. Like, become my personal maid and do all sorts of things… I can’t say I have no such desires at all. But it’s wrong, so I restrain myself.

“I’m going to the convenience store to buy a prepaid card for the game.”

“Is that why you’ve been going to the convenience store so much lately?”

“Yeah… I don’t know how much more I’ll have to spend to get her.”

As I got off the couch to grab my wallet, Yukina grabbed my arm and gave me a puppy-dog look.

“Hey, Yuu-kun, don’t just spend all your money on her.”

“But it’s getting tough to keep playing without spending real money…”

“That’s not what I mean… It’d make me happy if you spent some of that money on me sometimes, too.”

She speaks in a sweet, pleading voice, like a cat.

“Um… You mean you want to go somewhere?”

Yukina nods. She looks up at me with teary eyes, probably feeling a bit shameless.

There’s a real-life Yukina, and a fictional Asana. It’s obvious which one I should prioritize.

“Yeah, let’s go somewhere.”

“Yay!”

Yukina’s face lights up as she smiles, and I sit back down next to her.

Now then… It’s the middle of the afternoon. We don’t have time for a long trip, but we should still find a nearby place that’s fun, yet not too expensive.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Hmm… Oh! A cafe. I want to go to a cafe.”

“A cafe? I don’t think there’s much fun to be had there, though…”

“That’s fine. It’s not about where we go, but who I’m with. As long as I’m with you, Yuu-kun, anywhere is fine.”

She says such embarrassing things so boldly… Though she’s blushing a bit herself.

“Well, okay, let’s go.”

Unable to bear it, I went to grab my wallet and we headed off to a cafe.

—

We ended up at a cafe not far from my apartment. It’s the kind of place you could find anywhere. Yukina and I sat in the farthest corner.

“Hey, Yuu-kun, look! They’ve got a special limited-time jumbo deluxe parfait!”

Yukina’s eyes sparkled like she had just found her favorite thing. She stared at the menu, clearly saying, “I want this.”

Let’s see… the price… Yeah, with a name like that, it’s predictably expensive. How many normal parfaits could you get for that price?

“Do you want that?”

“Yup!”

We called the waitress and ordered the parfait and a ham and cucumber sandwich. It’s snack time, so I figured we could eat this much and still be hungry for dinner.

While waiting for the food, I glanced around the cafe. I could spot a few couples here and there. Do people see us as a couple, too?

I noticed that most of the other customers were wearing stylish clothes, while Yukina and I were in tracksuits… We probably look more like shut-in siblings.

Eventually, the sandwich arrived. The parfait must take a while to make, given how fancy it is.

I took a bite of the sandwich. The crisp cucumber and the mayonnaise went really well together. Delicious.

“…Do you want some?”

“Yup!”

Yukina had been staring at me, so I asked, and she nodded enthusiastically. As usual, she eats a lot. I slid the plate toward her, but she shook her head.

Then, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth, waiting.

“…What are you doing?”

“Well… I want you to feed me.”

“Y-You can eat by yourself.”

“But you’re holding it, so I can’t eat.”

“Th-There’s untouched food right there…”

“I want to eat the one Yuu-kun is holding.”

Once again, she waited with her mouth open. Slowly, I brought the sandwich toward her.

“H-Here…”

She took a small bite from the sandwich I had been eating. I know what this is called. An indirect kiss.

“Mmm, it’s good.”

I wonder if she realizes what she’s doing… Probably. And now, I have to eat it again, which means I’ll be participating in the indirect kiss, too.

“H-Here, you can have it.”

“Why?”

Without answering, I pushed the plate toward her. Then, I grabbed the other sandwich. She looked a bit disappointed that her plan had failed, but I pretended not to notice.

If I focus on it too much, I’ll just end up overthinking everything.