Why Is the Prettiest Girl in School Trying to Talk to a Loner Like Me during Lunch Break?

Chapter 44: Cute

“Andou-kun, look! They have so many light novels!”

“Yeah, the 9th floor was recently renovated and the whole floor became a Hi no Kuni Bookstore. They actually have a pretty good light novel selection.”

“I had no idea the 9th floor of this department store had become such a wonderful bookstore!”

(I’m glad Asakura-san is having fun. It’s been over two hours since we entered this department store after eating… We’ve looked around from the lower floors and she’s still not tired…)

Flashback

2nd Floor – Shoe Department

“Andou-kun, look, look! Aren’t these shoes cute?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

(…Cute? They just look like plain white shoes to me?)

4th Floor – Women’s Clothing

“Andou-kun, look, look! Isn’t this outfit cute?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

(…Cute? They just look like plain black clothes to me?)

5th Floor – Women’s Clothing

“Andou-kun, look, look! Isn’t this outfit cute too?”

“Y-yeah… I guess so.”

(…Cute? What’s different from the last one? And why are there TWO floors of women’s clothing?)

“Phew… I think we’ve seen everything.”

“Yeah.”

(Oh! Is Asakura-san finally satisfied? If we stay in women’s clothing any longer, my HP won’t last. Now, on to the next floor—)

“Then let’s go around the 4th floor again.”

“Again?!”

7th Floor – Tableware

“Andou-kun, look, look! Isn’t this tea set cute?”

“Yeah, sure.”

(Asakura-san… I’m tired of looking at those dishes… You know the pattern won’t change no matter how many times we look, right?)

8th Floor – Furniture

“Andou-kun, look, look! Isn’t this sofa cute?”

“Kawaii, sugoi.”

(Cute… What does ‘cute’ even mean anymore?)

(—And that’s how Asakura-san dragged me around, asking for my opinions on what furniture to buy if we bought a house together…)

(Ufufu♪ What a perfect date, shopping with Andou-kun today! Asking him various things while imagining references for clothes for our next date… or if we were to… um, live together, what kind of furniture we’d have in our room… just kidding! Thanks to Andou-kun being here, I had so much fun imagining various things! And now we get to come to such a big bookstore!)

“Andou-kun, look, look! This shelf has a ‘Narou’ published works corner!”

“Whoa, really! They even have the new volume of ‘Unemployed? That Can’t Be Right!'”

“You read ‘Unemployed? That Can’t Be Right!’ too, Andou-kun?”

“Yeah, I read most of the top-ranked works. It’s good, right? ‘Unemployed.'”

“Yes! It’s so good! It’s my favorite novel on ‘Narou’!”

(Ahh… Just a while ago I couldn’t talk about ‘Narou’ with Andou-kun like this… but now when I talk to him, Andou-kun properly responds! Ugh… this is the kind of conversation I wanted to have! Sigh, I want to keep being close to Andou-kun…)

(Come to think of it… my sister’s memo said to find a present for Asakura-san at this department store, but what should I get? Clothes would feel like sexual harassment, and furniture is too expensive… Maybe a light novel would work?)

“Ah! Andou-kun, look, look! Isn’t this cute?”

(Here it comes! Asakura-san’s cute attack!)

“Wait… is this a bookmark?”

“Yes! It’s a metal bookmark with a cute owl mascot character!”

“Huh~ A mascot character—wait!”

(—What is this, gross! An owl?! Is this supposed to be an owl?! Why… why does this owl have arms and legs…? And it’s walking on two legs?)

“Y-yeah… I guess so. It’s cute.”

“Right! This mascot character is really popular among girls lately~”

“I-I see… So this is what’s popular with girls now…”

(G-girls’ taste is beyond me… Oh, I know!)

“Asakura-san, if it’s okay… could I give you this bookmark as your reward present?”

“Eh! Andou-kun… is that okay?”

“Of course, after all, today we went around specifically to buy Asakura-san’s ‘reward,’ right? Besides, I think this bookmark is cute too.”

“Andou-kun… Yes! I want this bookmark!”

(Yes! Present decided! Honestly, I don’t understand even a bit of this mascot’s cuteness, but if Asakura-san likes it, that’s fine! Plus, a bookmark shouldn’t be that expensive—WHAT?! 800 yen for one bookmark?! No way! I could buy two used light novels with this one bookmark!)

“Thank you for today, Andou-kun!”

“Y-yeah…”

(Well, I guess it can’t be helped… If this makes Asakura-san happy—)

(Oh, I just had a good idea!)

“I know! I’ll buy this bookmark and give it to you as a present too, Andou-kun!”

“Eh, why?!”

“Because you got 100 on your math test too, right? I’d feel bad being the only one getting a ‘reward’… Plus today was really fun, so this is also my thanks for that… okay?”

“Asakura-san…”

(I honestly don’t want that bookmark. But there’s no way I can say that in this atmosphere…)

“…Then I’ll accept it.”

“Great!”

(Sigh, now I have to use this bookmark…)

(Ufufu, now Andou-kun and I have matching bookmarks!)

“”Excuse me, we’d like these please.””

“Yes, thank you for your purchase!”

(I hope we can go on another date like this…)

“…………”

(Hm? Is that person over there our classmate—)

[Bonus SS] “Maid”

‘Now, we’re going to cover the maid café that’s the talk of Akihabara!’ ← TV

“Hmmm… Onii-chan~”

“What is it, sister? Your brother is in the middle of washing dishes after dinner.” scrub scrub

“They’re doing a maid café special on TV, aren’t you going to watch~?”

“…Sister, let me ask – why are you asking ME that?”

“Eh, don’t otaku people like you love ‘maids’?”

“That’s wrong! You know, not all otaku nationwide love maids, okay?!”

“Oh~ really~”

“…S-sister. Never, EVER say that to anyone else… You’re lucky you said it to me, but if you said that to someone else, it could start a war, you know?”

“Hmm~ Got it~”

“…………”

(Does she really get it?)

(Hmm, that’s strange? I’m sure Onii-chan has lots of ‘maid stuff’ on the bottom shelf of his bookcase~)

“So, Onii-chan, aren’t you going to watch the maid special?”

“…Well, the dishes are at a good stopping point, so maybe I’ll watch during my break…”

“See, you do like them after all.”

“No, that’s not it…”

(I-I’m really just watching during my break… I definitely have no interest in maids!)

“…………” stare

‘Now, here’s today’s featured maid café, Its name is— “Meido Muumin”!’

“THAT’S SO WRONG!”

“Whoa! You scared me… Onii-chan, what’s wrong?”

“N-no… sorry. A maid café with an incredibly problematic name just appeared… Is this name okay? Won’t they get sued?”

“You’re being weird, Onii-chan.”

‘Now let’s order the popular menu at this maid café “Meido Muumin”! What kind of menu does Akihabara’s most popular maid café have?’

“Onii-chan, it’s their most popular menu! I wonder what they’ll serve?”

“Eh~ It’s probably just omurice or something~”

‘Here it is! Meido Muumin’s most popular menu item… “Soupless Tempura Bits Soba”!’

“”Why?!””

‘The price is… 1000 yen per bowl!’

“”And it’s expensive?!””

(No way?! Why is ‘soba’ the most popular menu at a maid café?! And it’s ‘kake soba’ but ‘soupless’?! That’s just soba with tempura bits sprinkled on top!)

“O-Onii-chan… is THAT what’s trendy in Akihabara now…?”

“No way… It must be just a one-time joke menu? There’s no way plain ‘soba’ could be the popular menu—”

‘Amazingly, this maid café “Meido Muumin” is celebrating its 50th anniversary! Moreover, this is their only menu item! They’ve continued for 50 years focusing solely on soba with tempura bits!’

“”Seriously?!””

‘Now let’s ask the head maid “Funasukin-san (manager)” about their dedication to “Soupless Tempura Bits Soba”! What’s the secret to continuing for 50 years with just “Soupless Tempura Bits Soba”?’

‘Well, it’s because the cost is low and the profit margin is high, nya~’

‘I see! It’s because of your love for the customers!’

“”She clearly said ‘cost’!””

‘Plus, when you order “Soupless Tempura Bits Soba,” the maids will draw a heart with shichimi pepper for free!’

“”So unnecessary!””

‘You can also choose yuzu pepper, nya!’

“”That’s not the issue!””

‘By the way, how much do the maids practice to make this soba?’

‘Hmm, let’s see, nya~’

“Come on… there’s no practice needed for that terrible menu.”

“Yeah, I’m confident I could make it too…”

‘Well, it takes about 10 years of training, nya!’

“”That’s surprisingly long?!””

‘First, newcomers spend 5 years just making soba, nya!’

“”They’re craftsmen?!””

‘Even after that, it takes 5 years to learn proper kneading, nya!’

“”They ARE craftsmen!””

‘But if we taught them properly, they could learn in about a year, nya!’

“”Then teach them properly!””

‘I see… so the maids’ craftsman skills developed through training are what have supported “Meido Muumin” all this time!’

“”They wrapped it up nicely?!””

‘But that’s not the only secret of this maid café… They hold “Public Guerrilla Foot-Stomping Live” shows where you can watch maids stomping on stage!’

“”‘Public Guerrilla Foot-Stomping Live’?!””

‘Let’s watch that moment!’

“O-Onii-chan… foot-stomping means stepping on dough to give it texture, right…”

“Yeah, that’s right… But wait, that’s for ‘udon,’ not ‘soba’—”

‘Public Guerrilla Foot-Stomping Live, nya~♪’ stomp stomp

‘Ohhh… thank you! Thank you! Ohhh!’

“”—They’re stomping on CUSTOMERS, not soba?!””

‘And that was the rumored maid café “Meido Muumin”~♪’

‘We’ll be waiting for master’s return, nyan!’

“That was… something else, Onii-chan…”

“Yeah… that might have been the biggest shock of this century…”

“…Hey, Onii-chan.”