My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 99

Although I said I would change into my swimsuit, once I was alone and thought about it calmly, I realized how odd this situation was.

I did put on the swimsuit. I also wore a hoodie and brought along a water gun for fun. Now, all that was left was to head back to Yukina.

…But my feet wouldn’t move.

No, no, wait. Think about it calmly. It might feel a bit strange because it’s a bath, but right now, it’s just a pool. A pool. This isn’t a bath; it’s a pool. And I’m wearing a swimsuit, so there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not some shady place. No one’s watching, so it’s not like I’m committing a crime.

“…Alright!”

I slapped my cheeks twice to pump myself up and made up my mind to head to the bath.

“Ah, Yuu-kun, you’re late. I’m already in.”

When I got to the bath, Yukina was already soaking in the tub, looking quite satisfied.

…Once before, she had taken a shower without asking. But now, I was staring at my childhood friend sitting in the bath where I usually soak myself. What kind of situation is this?

“Yuu-kun, come on in. It’s warm.”

“Y-yeah…”

I responded, but I couldn’t bring myself to move forward. I closed the door to keep the water from splashing out. But I couldn’t bring myself to get into the tub.

As I hesitated, she splashed me with water.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Hehehe~ It’s an attack~ An attack~”

She started making mock water gun sounds with her hands, pretending to shoot water at me. Not to be outdone, I filled up my real water gun and shot back at Yukina.

“The continuous fire of this one is stronger!”

“Kya! Wait, wait!”

We splashed each other so much that we both got soaked. But at some point, I stopped feeling so uneasy.

This was actually fun.

“…Hey, Yukina. Can I come over there too?”

“Of course. I mean, this is your house, so you don’t need to hold back.”

I knew that.

But, just in case, I needed to prepare myself—mentally.

I took off my hoodie and slid into the tub, keeping a little distance from Yukina.

“…It kinda feels like a heated pool.”

“To me, it feels more like a hot spring.”

“There’s not much difference.”

“Yeah~”

With a shared sigh, Yukina and I both relaxed.

This felt just like our usual lazy time together, only we were in a bathtub. Nothing else had changed, so I felt at ease.

“…Hey, Yukina. Did you really want to go to the pool that badly?”

“What makes you ask?”

“The whole idea of turning a bath into a pool is something only a kid would think of.”

I remember when we were kids, we used to pretend the bath was a pool and play around. But of course, we stopped doing that as we grew older. You don’t even think of such things as you get older.

“Well, I was probably looking forward to the pool. But more than that, I think it’s because I wanted Yuu-kun to see.”

She quietly slid closer to me and whispered those words. I couldn’t help but stare at Yukina.

“I mean, I bought it, so I wanted you to see it as soon as possible.”

She looked up at me with big eyes as she said that.

The combination of her swimsuit, the water, and our occasional skin contact made my heart race.

“It…it looks good on you.”

I tried my best not to do anything inappropriate, slightly averting my gaze. I felt like she was teasing me, and I didn’t know how to handle it.

“I wanted to hear that. Thanks.”

“…!”

She pressed her head gently against my arm.

The warmth from my right side gradually increased.

“…Yuu-kun, is your heart racing?”

“O-of course it is…”

“I see…”

After that, Yukina didn’t say anything more.

She lightly leaned her weight against me, eyes closed.

I wondered if her heart was racing too. When I placed my hand on my chest, my heart was beating so loud that I worried she could hear it.

I had woken up earlier than usual today because I was excited. Maybe that’s why, despite knowing it wasn’t a good idea, I started feeling drowsy.

As I closed my eyes, I could feel my consciousness slowly drifting away.

After a while, I was startled awake by the sound of water dripping. It seemed I had fallen asleep.

I looked over at Yukina, and I could hear her soft breathing—she had fallen asleep too.

“Yukina. Yukina.”

I gently shook her, and she slowly opened her sleepy eyes. Still a bit dazed, she swayed.

“We should get out now. It’s dangerous to stay in too long.”

“…Yeah.”

Since we couldn’t change together, I got out first. I dried off with a towel and, knowing I wasn’t going anywhere, I put on some comfy track pants.

“I’m done changing. You can come out now.”

After I called out, Yukina emerged.

I handed her a fresh towel and was about to leave when she stopped me.

“Sorry, Yuu-kun. Could you get my backpack? I forgot to bring it.”

“Got it.”

I went to the living room to grab her backpack and brought it back. When I returned, she was carefully drying her hair. I don’t usually see her like this, and I couldn’t help but stare.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“N-nothing. Here’s your backpack.”

“Thanks.”

I handed her the backpack, trying to hide my red ears, and quickly left the room.

Back in the living room, I sat down on the sofa to calm down.

Then—

“It’s gone!”

I heard her shout from the bathroom.

What’s gone? The question popped into my head.

A little while later, Yukina came back. Her face was unusually red, and she seemed a bit fidgety.

“What’s wrong?”

When I asked, she jumped in surprise.

“Well, um, Yuu-kun…No, never mind!”

She kept shifting her legs and glancing down at her chest. At that moment, a thought came to me.

Yukina had been wearing her swimsuit underneath her clothes from the start. Then, she shouted, “It’s gone!” earlier. From that, there’s only one possible conclusion.

“…Yukina. Did you, like a little kid, forget to bring your underwear?”

I smiled as I asked, hoping it wasn’t true.

“Hahaha…”

“Hahaha…”

An awkward laugh filled the air as Yukina turned away.

And then—

“T-today, I’ll head home. I had fun, Yuu-kun. Thanks. See you tomorrow!”

She rushed out of the house so fast I didn’t even have time to see her off.

I’m not sure what the conclusion was, but I’m pretty sure my guess was right.

In the end, it was probably for the best that the typhoon canceled our pool plans. If we had gone, Yukina might’ve been in real trouble.