CH 23

Chapter 23 – What She Wants to Ask

The period of time I’ve been involved with maid costumes coincides with the period of time I’ve been involved with Kotone-chan.

Thanks to her, I’ve developed a liking for maids. I’m so poisoned that I regularly go to maid cafes. I might not be able to live without seeing Kotone-chan in her maid costume.

I’m sorry, that might be a bit much.

“First of all, look at this.”

What Fujisaki-san showed me was a maid’s uniform sealed in a bag.

The moment I realized that it was a maid’s uniform, I realized that it’s the one that Kotone-chan used at my house.

“What’s this?”

I can’t let my feelings be known. I fixed my facial expression and asked.

“This is a maid’s uniform.”

Yeah, I know that.

What I want to know is why you showed it to me.

It’s not that I don’t have an idea. I mean, if it has to do with Kotone-chan, it could only be that she found out that Kotone-chan was working part-time or that I threatened Kotone-chan and forced her to be my girlfriend.

Information that must not be known anyway. First, I have to find out what Fujisaki-san knows. Then, I’ll decide my attitude.

“……”

How do I ask that, though? You can’t expect a shady person to know how to negotiate. I learned that myself.

The gentle background music of the cafe turned the silent moment into a gentle one. Please change it!

“Erm…It’s very, very hard to know where to start…”

Fujisaki-san was wondering how to start the conversation.

I’d only ever seen her in a dignified manner at school. It’s a bit of a relief to see a side of her that seems out of character.

“What would you like to order?”

Just then, an old man who seemed to be the owner of the place came to take our order.

“I’ll have an iced coffee, please. What about you, Aida-kun? I invited you, so it’s my treat.”

“Eh, no, I don’t need to be treated or anything… Hmm… I’ll have the same iced coffee.”

“Certainly.”

The owner retreated to the back. I was in a hurry even though I wasn’t being rushed. If I were in a maid cafe, I would have been able to choose the menu with ease.

I never thought I’d see the day when a girl would offer to treat me to a drink. I thought it was normal for girls to think that they deserve a treat. I was prejudiced.

Or is it because she’s Fujisaki-san? Kotone-chan doesn’t seem to want to be treated too much either, maybe it’s something the sisters have in common.

“I think this belongs to Kotone.”

Fujisaki-san indicated the maid outfit with her eyes.

“Why do you think that?”

We returned to the topic at hand. I listened with a sense of calmness.

“…I saw that Kotone was putting them in the laundry.”

“Did she do it secretly?”

“She did it normally.”

Kotone-chan, you’re not being careful enough…

Anyway, Fujisaki-san is holding the maid uniform that she brought. She knows it’s Kotone’s. That’s all I know.

If that’s the case, then I guess I’m safe.

“Aida-kun is good friends with Kotone, isn’t he?”

“Eh? Um, erm, well…”

“Because I heard that you two often have lunch together.”

It’s not like we’re hiding. It’s not surprising that something like that is known.

“W-Well, yes. I guess Kotone-chan wants to improve her cooking skills? She often prepares lunch boxes for me.”

“Kotone-chan…”

Fujisaki-san became silent. She seemed to have muttered something, but her voice was too low for me to hear.

“Maybe it’s since she got involved with Aida-kun, I think Kotone has changed a little.”

“Heh?”

“It’s the same with the lunch boxes. She never tried to make her own lunch. You said it was a thank you for lending her the umbrella, but it’s still going on…”

Fujisaki-san is getting more and more heated up. This flow is somehow bad…

“Aida-kun is the same. He’s always been so passive, never really looking people in the eye. Now he looks me in the eye and doesn’t look away.”

“When you talk to people, you look them in the eye…isn’t that normal?”

“Aida-kun couldn’t even do that normal thing.”

Isn’t that awful? No, but it does strike a chord with me… I really wasn’t able to do that?

Fujisaki-san’s eyes become stern. And yet, the beautiful girl is not shadowed. On the contrary, her scary face is cute. Even I, a man, think it’s not fair that she can only gain benefits from anything she does…

“Aida-kun, you…”

With a bang, she pounded the table and stood up.

“You’re dating Kotone!”

Now I’ve finally understood.

The reason Fujisaki-san went to the trouble of being alone with me was to question me.

“Thank you for waiting. Please enjoy the ice coffee.”

And I felt grateful to the shop owner’s who didn’t read the atmosphere.