“So… are you going to forgive me for being late now?”
The reason for explaining the situation so extensively was probably to make Mariel feel better and try to excuse myself as much as possible.
Thanks to my last comment, Mariel only showed a hesitant expression, her lips moving without any further signs of anger.
Honestly, I thought my last comment was impressive too.
“Saint?”
Since there was a prolonged silence, I called out to Mariel, who seemed lost in thought.
“Uh? Yeah? What, what did you say?”
“I was just asking if you’re willing to forgive me now. You’re not angry anymore, right?”
“No, I wasn’t really mad in the first place….”
“Your Americano has arrived!”
“Oh, thank you.”
The girl who had come to take our order earlier set the coffee down in front of me and sat next to Mariel at the table across from me.
The café was packed with people, and I wondered if it was okay to slack off like this, but since the other maid-clad student sisters passing by didn’t say anything, it seemed there was no problem.
“I didn’t add syrup since you didn’t mention it. Do you need any?”
“No, it’s fine. If I wanted something sweet, I’d rather order a different menu item.”
“Oh? That’s a relief.”
I actually had intended to order something sweet, but since I was being treated, I was forced to drink Americano instead.
However, since it was a drink someone else was buying me, I could enjoy the Americano sweetly. Free things are always sweet.
“Hmm….”
As I sipped my coffee through a straw, the girl sitting across from me was staring at me intently.
Just as I began to feel a bit uncomfortable under her curious gaze, she finally spoke up.
“Hey, um… can you stand up for a second?”
It was a sudden request, but it wasn’t difficult enough for me to complain about being treated to coffee, so I stood up.
However, she didn’t seem satisfied with just me getting up, gesturing for me to step outside the table.
“Hmm… I was wondering….”
Looking me up and down, the girl circled around me slowly before finally getting to the point.
“Would you be interested in a part-time job?”
“Excuse me? A part-time job?”
I was startled by her unexpected comment and responded in confusion.
“You don’t necessarily have to serve, just showing your face to the people is enough. I think that would be promotional enough.”
“No, I don’t really need money… sorry.”
“Oh come on, don’t say that. You’d look amazing in a maid outfit since you’re already so good-looking. Why not wear it just for fun? Huh? Huh?”
“But that’s a bit….”
No matter how accustomed I had become to women’s clothing, I wasn’t going to wear it just for fun.
Of course, if there was a compelling reason or justification for wearing it, I would certainly wear it, like for the school uniform I had to wear for academy life.
Therefore, without any hesitation, I immediately declined her suggestion once again.
But the girl didn’t seem willing to give up on my refusal, and she started to coax Mariel, who was sitting next to her.
“How about you, Mariel? Don’t you think it would look amazing? Right?”
“Um? The hero in a maid outfit? …I might want to see that?”
“Saint, we decided to enjoy the festival today. There’s no time for a part-time job.”
Feeling like if I stayed quiet I really would have to wear the maid outfit, I quickly shifted the conversation.
However, despite my efforts, our saint seemed still quite interested in the maid outfit and didn’t seem to be listening to me.
“Well, that’s true, but if it’s just for a moment… Ah! Hero? You asked me if I could forgive you earlier, right?”
“…I did?”
“I’ll forgive you if you wear the maid outfit just once and serve! I’ll be the customer, and you’ll be the clerk!”
In fact, Mariel presented a reason that I couldn’t refuse, demanding that I wear the maid outfit.
…Damn it.
“Ugh… this feels so uncomfortable….”
“You’ll get used to it quickly, so don’t worry too much. You look beautiful enough, so have some confidence.”
The girl named Rosaria, who bought me coffee, dragged me to the staff changing room and made me put on the maid outfit.
Even though it was a maid outfit, it looked slightly different from the ones I had seen on maids in the palace or my friends’ houses.
Unlike the plain, simple maid outfits, this one had cute frills here and there, and the skirt was a bit short, among other differences.
I awkwardly stepped out of the changing room, heading towards the table where Mariel was seated.
“I’m wearing it… now?”
However, when I arrived at Mariel’s seat, I was met with unexpected faces.
“El, you’re here too. What are the chances of this… it’s quite a coincidence.”
“Hahaha… I was just walking with friends, and I got thirsty, so I came in and found the saint here. There weren’t any seats, and I thought Selian might know some people, so I asked if we could share a table.”
From the fact that they came to the shrine because they were thirsty, it seemed my friends already knew about the café operating during the festival period.
I turned to Mariel, who nodded in affirmation that it was indeed correct that they shared a table.
“…Just remember the promise not to disturb us.”
“I’m not a part of the agreement, but since you’ve provided an unexpected harvest, I’ll keep my promise.”
Indeed, it seemed they were quite close, as Selian and Mariel were whispering something to each other.
“Okay, okay. We have to take orders quickly, right?”
I had put on the maid outfit, but seeing me standing there vacantly, Rosaria pushed me from behind, insisting I take orders.
In a maid outfit, even though it was just a temporary part-time job, I felt extremely embarrassed taking orders from my friends.
Of course, I had shown them even more embarrassing sides, but that didn’t lessen the embarrassment I felt right now.
I tried to conceal my embarrassment as much as possible and began taking their orders.
“What would you like to order?”
“I want a chocolate parfait!”
Anne shouted, hand raised before I could even ask. It was, as expected, a menu item filled with sugar.
I chuckled silently at Anne’s cheerful demeanor and began taking orders one by one. As I started to head to the counter with the paper listing the orders, Rosaria suddenly snatched the paper from my hands.
“You don’t really have to work, so I’ll take this and place the order. You can talk with your friends here. Or you can just walk around the café, showing your face to the customers.”
“…I think I’ll just sit here.”
Rosaria, sounding a bit disappointed, quickly headed to the counter.
“I’ll just go to the restroom. You guys keep chatting.”
As soon as I sat in the empty spot, Selian, who seemed to have been waiting for me to take the seat, stood up quickly and rushed towards the restroom.
“Oh, Selian! That’s the staff changing room! The restroom is over there!”
However, since Selian was going in the wrong direction, I hurriedly pointed out the location of the restroom.
Of course, I had no intention of shaming her by loudly stating that she was going to the restroom in front of others, so I gave a vague hint instead.
I’m quite the considerate guy, after all.
“Ah… yeah… thank you….”
Even though I had purposefully used a roundabout way of speaking, Selian seemed a bit shy, her voice quieted down.
“By the way, I don’t see many students from the Department of Theology? More specifically, the male students.”
“Ah, they’re probably working at the shrine inside the academy. This side is the maid café, that side is the butler café!”
“Seems like they’re aiming at different targets, focusing their efforts accordingly.”
“Exactly! Why? Are you disappointed?”
“Not at all.”
What good would it do for me to see the male students serving, especially at a maid café where it’s much better?
Of course, I had never expected to be wearing a maid outfit myself.
“Oh! Speaking of which, there should be a butler outfit on this side too. Just once….”
“I’ll decline.”
Since I could already anticipate what the follow-up would entail, I quickly rejected the offer before hearing it all.
Of course, the butler outfit would be much more comfortable and wouldn’t feel awkward at all compared to the maid outfit.
But knowing that I’d be an obvious sight, what would be the point of changing into it? I’d rather just exchange back into my original clothes and stroll around the festival streets with Mariel.
“That’s too bad… while I would have loved to see El in a maid outfit, I was looking forward to seeing El in butler attire even more….”
“…Even if you say that, I still won’t wear it. Moreover, if I wore it here, I’d definitely stand out.”
A girl wearing a butler outfit while everyone else is dressed as maids… It would be obvious that people would take glances at me.
“Then… you’re saying it’s okay as long as it’s not here? Um, Saint… could I possibly borrow the remaining butler outfit?”
“I don’t mind, but… just don’t wear it roughly? Of course, I don’t mind that kind of ‘play’, but it’s not my clothing.”
“Uh?”
However, perhaps I didn’t convey my intentions clearly, as Yuli quickly went ahead and asked Mariel to lend her the outfit, and Mariel obliged without hesitation.
Sigh… Well, I suppose wearing it in front of friends wouldn’t be too bad.
“Shall we get going then? The hero and I have a date to get to!”
“Ugh… Since we made a promise… I guess it can’t be helped. But please stick to the rules I mentioned earlier.”
“You know, unlike you guys, I’m not in that kind of relationship with the hero yet, you know?”
“Yet…?”
“Hot!”
It seemed that the conversation we had while I was changing into the maid outfit was somehow continuing, leading to some confusing words being exchanged between them.
Since the topic was unfamiliar to me, it was hard to jump in, so I decided to clean up the empty cups and get up.
“I’ll help you!”
However, seeing me carry several cups on a tray seemed unsteady, so surprisingly, Anne stood up to help me.
“Really? That would be great!”
“Uh, yeah! Then I’ll carry this and this!”
Anne said, taking my cup as well as hers from the tray. Though it was just two cups, it made a big difference in helping me carry the tray with the rest of the cups.
“If you throw the straws away separately… Ah, you already took care of that.”
As I placed the cups on the counter, I intended to remind Anne that disposable straws needed to be thrown away in the trash, but it seemed she had already realized that and disposed of them, as only empty cups were in front of me.
“I-I know that much, you know?”
Feeling slightly offended as if I was disregarding her knowledge, Anne sulked a little and quickly walked back to where her friends were, so I hurried to follow her.
“Is there something exciting happening? You look so cheerful!”
“Uh? Ah, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”
I was glad she didn’t seem angry.
