The Beautiful Girl Who Asked Me to Pretend to Be Her Boyfriend Didn’t Want to Break up With Me for Some Reason - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: We Should Practice

— Let’s go to a maid café.

Last night, Shirafuji suddenly said this, and since today was a holiday, we ended up going to a maid café.

When I asked why she wanted to go, she answered, “Since we’re doing it, I thought we should see the real thing.”

For a maid café, I guess this is the real thing.

This kind of determination is very typical of Shirafuji.

She was probably unsatisfied with the trial run we did the other day.

Not with the overall quality, but with her own behavior.

So, she decided to go to an actual maid café to closely observe and learn proper customer service.

As a way to solidify her image of it, her reasoning made sense.

“Here, right?”

Following Shirafuji’s lead, we arrived at a maid café inside a multi-tenant building, just slightly off the main road near the station.

Since it was in a backstreet, there were fewer people around.

If we went further in, there would be some sketchy shops, but this one was a proper, legitimate establishment.

Regardless of the location, being inside a building made it feel less intimidating to enter.

Shirafuji had probably done her research, so the place was likely safe.

Besides, the fact that the café was still running meant it had enough customers to stay in business.

Standing in front of the overly colorful door, I suddenly felt a strange sense of nervousness.

Was it because this was my first time visiting a maid café?

Still, I couldn’t just stand here forever.

I gathered my resolve, reached for the doorknob, and pulled it open.

A clear, pleasant bell chime rang out.

Mixed with the gentle background music, I heard a cheerful female voice say, “Thank you for waiting! Here’s your special omelet rice!”

The one saying that in a lively tone was a staff member dressed in a maid outfit—a mini-skirt style similar to the ones we were using for the school festival.

So, this place wasn’t about experiencing an authentic maid café but rather a cosplay-style maid café where customers were served by maids in costume.

…For some reason, instead of a white prim headband, she was wearing cat ears.

As I was taking in the unfamiliar scenery—

“Welcome home, Master! Milady!”

A staff member… or rather, a maid, quickly approached us to greet us.

She had a bright smile and was also wearing what seemed to be fox ears on her headband.

At this point, even I understood.

This wasn’t just a normal maid café.

It was a kemonomimi (animal-eared) maid café.

…Did Shirafuji know about this?

She wouldn’t have overlooked something like that, so maybe it wasn’t an important factor in her evaluation.

We were guided to our seats, and after bowing, the maid left.

So far, aside from addressing customers as “Master” and “Milady” and the maid uniforms, it seemed like a regular restaurant.

Not that I wanted any weird services, of course.

“Hakuto.”

“What?”

“I didn’t expect being called ‘Master’ or ‘Milady’ to feel this ticklish.”

“I get what you mean. But it’s probably just something you get used to. A maid café is a place where this kind of behavior is expected, after all.”

“That’s true. That said, I can understand why some people get hooked on this. Maybe this isn’t the best way to put it, but it has a weirdly addictive quality to it…”

Shirafuji looked around the café, seeming a little restless.

It was probably because she would be serving as a maid at the school festival herself.

That aside, I had a suspicion that Shirafuji might actually like maids.

She even owned her own maid outfit, after all.

“For now, let’s check the menu.”

“Yeah.”

Opening the menu, I found that most of the items were fairly standard.

As a maid café—or rather, as a café—there were the expected choices like coffee, tea, and cake, along with dishes like the omelet rice and Napolitan pasta I had heard when we entered.

Each item had a peculiar phrase attached to it, like “Made with lots of love from the maids♡” or “Prepared just for you, Master!”

Well, I guess they just meant “made with care”… probably.

As someone who also cooks, I could accept that much.

Though, whether that actually affects the taste is another matter.

“What do you think we should order?”

“The signature menu items seem like a safe choice.”

“That would be the omelet rice and Napolitan… If we each order something different, we can try both. I’ll go with the Napolitan.”

“Then I’ll take the omelet rice. Looking forward to it. I don’t eat out that often.”

“Same here. I’m also curious to see how it compares to homemade food.”

With our choices decided, we rang the bell and placed our order.

Shirafuji watched the interaction intently, making sure not to miss anything.

During the actual event, she would probably be even more in character.

I was glad she was enthusiastic about the school festival, but I also wondered if she was pushing herself too hard.

However, judging by her expression, my worries seemed unnecessary.

“More than the maid aspect, customer service itself is difficult.”

“If you could master it in a day or two, no one would struggle with it.”

“So, until the festival, it’s all about practice.”

“…Meaning?”

“What I learn should be put into practice. So, when we get home, we’ll be doing that.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll help you as much as you need.”

It would probably be easier for her to have a practice partner anyway.

Days like this weren’t so bad.