Volume 3 - CH 5

We’ve reached the first half of October. Tomorrow was the fateful day of Amakusa South High’s cultural festival, so even after classes ended, the majority of people stayed around at school. The greater number of people in class 1-7 also remained in the classroom, although we’ve finished most of our preparations beforehand. Both Nao and I, as well as the others, tasked with creating a billboard at the entrance of the classroom, finished it already, now carrying the garbage piled up to the garbage disposal.

“Lucky, nobody’s here~” Nao said, looking at the garbage spot.

When we’re busy with preparations for events, there tends to be a long line of people who come here to dispose of their garbage. However, the final day before the festival is probably out of the usual procedure, which is why the area was now empty.

“That’s a mountain and a half.”

I looked at the side of the disposal site, specifically at all the lumber. I feel bad for the guy who has to get rid of this stuff. We placed our garbage on top of the lumber.

“Oh yeah, Nanaya? During the afternoon at the amusement park, you and OguOgu were all lovey-dovey, right? The chief was fuming!”

“W-We weren’t lovey-dovey.”

At least I don’t think we were.

“Hmmm. I know OguOgu’s a cutie, but don’t let it get to your head.”

“Were you even listening to me?”

She loves to turn me into the bad guy at any given moment. We finished moving our garbage and returned to the classroom. Immediately after, the class rep pushed an A4-sized paper towards me.

“Here you go, Shimono, this is your shift for tomorrow. Take care of the kitchen.”

“Huh? I thought I did my part with the billboard, so I thought I didn’t have to work tomorrow?”

“The maid cafe of class 3 was a lot better than we initially assumed. We’re not gonna lose against them, which is why Nao will have to work as a maid tomorrow.”

“I’m totally fine with that~! It’s my usual job, anyway.”

Or so Nao said, but I’m not okay with this.

“I get you wanna reel in customers with Nao as a maid. She’s popular with the guys, after all.”

“Nyaha, you’re making me blush! Must be because of my boobs! Boys are so simple, nyahahaha.”

“Sure, yeah. But, what does that have to do with me?” I offered an objection to this unfair decision.

“What are you talking about? You’re telling me that Nao’s gotta work more than what we initially agreed, while you get to slack off?”

“But that’s not…”

“It’d be cruel, no?”

Well, yeah. If we worked on the billboard together, then we’d have to work tomorrow as well. I’d feel bad if I just fooled around somewhere else…

“No, wait a second. Nao has no reason to help, you’re just forcing it onto her. I don’t wanna hear anything about me being the bad guy.”

“So Shimono, you don’t mind if we lose against class 3? You don’t care about our class at all, huh?”

Seriously, she’s playing that card now? But before I could come up with a return, the class rep already closed in on me.

“Nao works hard for the sake of the class, for everyone, and yet you wanna chicken out, Shimono? Where’s your one-for-all mentality? Listen to this, everyone! Shimono doesn’t want to work tomorrow!”

“Okay, okay, I get it! I’ll work! Please let me work!”

“All right, I’m counting on you!” Class rep hummed to herself with a bright grin as she returned to her original work.

Why do I have to work my days off even now that I’ve returned to being a high school student? God damn it.

“No need to be so grumpy, Nanaya. You get to look at your favorite booby maids from up close.”

“The hell is a booby maid…”

The reason I offered to work on the heavy and pain of a billboard is that I wanted to have the original day of the festival open. This time, unlike eleven years ago, I really wanted to see the chief’s cosplay. Last time, I worked in the kitchen on the day of the festival, which overlapped my shift with the chief. I tried my best to avoid making the same mistake as last time, and yet it all repeated itself. It seems like my plans never work out despite having the knowledge of eleven years in the future.

*

It was getting close to 7 pm. Most of the other members of class 1-7 had finished their work, just relaxing in the classroom while talking. All of them seemed desperate to experience as much of this event as possible, as nobody attempted to head home. A chance like this rarely arises, after all. As the others were indulging in cheerful conversation, our homeroom teacher Hayashi-sensei showed up from the door to the hallway.

“Shimono…and Tadokoro. Come with me for a sec.”

Onikichi and I looked at each other, stepping out onto the hallway.

“Oi, oi, did you do anything to make him angry now?” Onikichi wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“He’s calling for you as well, you know?”

“Ahaha, your retorts really hit the spot!”

“You two couldn’t be any closer…” Hayashi-sensei said as he looked at us in disgust. “There’s just something I wanted your help for, so relax.” He said, taking us to the staff office.

We arrived at his desk, and he showed us two cardboard boxes next to his chair.

“This is it…”

“What exactly am I looking at?” I asked, taking a peek inside the cardboard box.

“Ah, this is…” Hayashi-sensei said at the exact same moment as a white body appeared.

“Woah! A-An arm?!

It was covered in junk, showing a large hand peeking out from the box, with only its elbow left.

“Nanacchi, what are you screaming about now? Woah, hello there.” Onikichi reached for the cardboard box, pulling up the white arm.

“Eeek!”

“Ahaha! You’re such a scaredy-cat, Nanacchi! Look!” He carried the arm towards me.

Turns out it was just a fake arm.

“J-Jesus, that gave me the spooks…”

Hayashi-sensei got a good laugh and explained.

“The class I was responsible for last year held a haunted house. These are tools we used, so I figured we could leave them for future years and haunted houses. As expected, class 2-2 is doing one and asked me to bring this over. Could you do me a favor and take care of that?”

“Oh, I see. But, couldn’t you have called over a student to do that for you?”

“Well, true, but…class 2-2 is Kamijou’s class, remember?”

Ah, I see. Now that he mentioned it.

“And what’s the problem with that?”

“After what happened during the first term, I have had this feeling that Kamijou can’t stand my guts. But you two are pretty close, right?”

So in short, he’s scared of the chief? I’d give him an earful about that, but I don’t exactly blame him either. Fine, we’ll do it.

“Understood.”

“Hey, hey, we gotta help each other in a time of need!”

“Ohhh, thank you, Shimono, Tadokoro! That’s a huge help!”

“You owe us a favor, Sensei.”

“Haha, I’ll treat you to some juice when the chance arises.”

Since we had a limited amount of pocket money as students, that sounds pretty great. Both Onikichi and I carried a box each, leaving the staff office. We walked down the hallway heading for class 2-2. Seeing so many students left behind at school even this late gave me an oddly nostalgic feeling, together with the familiar scent of youth. It’s different from when I was doing overtime at work.

“That reminds me, Nanacchi. How did your amusement park date with Touka go?”

We walked up the stairs to the second-year classrooms when Onikichi suddenly asked me that.

“Hm? Ah, well, we went in a group, so you can’t really call it a date.”

“Hey now, you’re not telling me that you didn’t go on the offensive? That was your ultimate chance.”

“Huh? Should have been aggressive despite that?”

“Of course? That would have shown that you are serious about your feelings, nah?”

Serious about my feelings…So since Oguri-chan tried to be alone with me despite the circumstances shows how serious she is?

“I guess so…”

What about me, then? Am I fine missing out on my chance once more?

“Can I still…make it in time, Onikichi?”

“There’s no early or late in love. Do or die, Nanacchi.”

“…Onikichi, could I ask you a favor?”

I stopped in front of the classroom of 2-2, turning towards him.

“That’ll be a can of juice later, aye?”

“Yeah, of course!”

I placed the cardboard box at my feet, rushing towards a certain location. Any regrets I had left are supposed to be resolved after traveling back in time, how could I forget that.

*

I think an hour passed after that. I stood on the empty rooftop, surrounded by darkness, as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

“Well, this should do it.”

I could see lights on inside the school building, together with the cheerful noises from the students. After I started working at the company, I’ve been doing some light DIY in my free time. The reason was that I wanted to make a bookshelf. Light novels, manga, western comics, blu-rays, I wanted a shelf that can hold all of that so I looked it up online, but I couldn’t find anything. I thought of making it myself, which is why I started this whole DIY thing.

I actually had a blast while doing it, working on smaller shelves, desks, and chairs to place in my own home, and that experience helped a lot when making the billboard. And to think I would use my hobby for another method like this. All that’s left…is to wait for her. Until that time arrived, I opted to watch the city lights. Thanks to my elevated position, I could thoroughly enjoy this night scenery. Makes sense why date spots are the better the higher up they are…Well, not like I ever went on such a mature date before. Well, some people are better with stuff than others.

KER-CHUNK, I heard the old iron door behind me open. I turned around.

“Good work today, Chief.”

“We’re not at the company, so don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry.” I scratched my head as I walked toward her.

“Onikichi-kun told me to come here, but what’s this about? You need to talk about something?” The chief seemed bewildered as she looked at me.

“About that…”

“Worried about your future? Wait, don’t tell me you found something else you wanted in life and are about to tell me that you won’t be applying for Geotam anymore?! Or that you’re knee-deep in debt and need my help?!”

“C-Calm down! How would a 16-year-old build up that much debt? And although it pains me to admit it, I still haven’t found my dream so I’M the same Shimono Nanaya as eleven years ago.”

“Well…you called me up here on the rooftop, so I figured it must be something severe…”

“Err, am I making that sort of expression?”

“Yeah.”

Well…I guess me being nervous must be visible to her.

“It’s fine, it’s nothing that dark. But you’re very kind for worrying about me.”

“H-Huuuh? Are you stupid? It’s my job to look after my subordinates. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Ahaha, as expected. Actually, there’s something I wanted to show you. Over here.” I beckoned her over, taking her to the back of the rooftop.

Upon arriving there, she spotted what I had been working on for the past hour.

“Woah, this is huge. What is that?!” The chief squinted with her eyes to see better in the darkness.

And then, she continued with a faint voice.

“Is that…a gondola?”

“Yes. You said you would have loved to ride on the Ferris Wheel, right?”

“Huh…? You made this?!”

“Well, I just made some low-budget seats with the lumber leftover at the garbage disposal.”

“Amazing! I never knew you had this kind of talent!”

The outline was made with lumber, the outer walls held together by plywood. Since it’s dark outside, it must look a lot more impressive than it actually is. Like a clean copy always looks better compared to the rough version. Maybe not to that extent, but I’m glad she’s happy.

“The seats I made with cardboard boxes and chairs inside, so you can actually sit on them. How about it, would you like to join me?”

“Why not, I’ll join a ride on this special Ferris wheel.”

I entered the robust structure, placing a handkerchief on the chief’s seat.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks. Hehe, this is a bit embarrassing.”

“You’re not wrong.”

The chief sat down before me. Since this is just a cheap copy of a gondola, we’re not covered by the breeze hitting the rooftop, but it’s helping to create the mood. That being said, we may be sitting a bit too close. I had to go off memory when building this, so it couldn’t be helped.

“How long did this take you to make?”

“One hour, I think. I didn’t bother with the size of the pillars and all that, just putting it together like a puzzle, so it wasn’t that long of a task.”

“Ah, so that’s what you had to prepare. You’re pretty skilled, unexpectedly.”

“That last part was unnecessary, Chief.”

“Ehehe.” The chief giggled while sticking out her tongue.

“Oh yeah, you’re doing a haunted house this year, yeah?”

“Yep. I’m one of the actors.”

She’s a witch, I know it. However, would anybody even be scared if she jumped at them? I’d probably die from the cuteness.

“Then I guess I should head over there. When will you be working?” I asked without any hesitation.

There’s a good chance that our shifts might not actually overlap.

“Whaaaaa? You’ll come visit? That’s so embarrassing.”

“Your personality goes against the entire idea of being embarrassed.”

“Huh? You say something?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

That face is a lot more like a witch’s, you know?

“I have from noon until 3 pm.”

Yeah, as I thought. Our shifts overlapped. If anything, I’m working 30 minutes longer. It’s all over now.

“I really wanted to see you dressed up as a witch.”

“Huh?!”

“Ah, forget I said anything!”

“How do you know that I’m playing the witch?”

Oh crap. If I said that I remembered from eleven years ago, it’d make me sound like a crazy stalker. I need to find an excuse.

“Th-The birds told me.”

“…Oh really?”

I feel like she’s a bit suspicious of me, but she’s got no way of knowing just how I found out about it either.

“Either way, I’m working during that time myself, so I sadly can’t come over.”

“Really now.” She looked away like she was sulking.

All she does is so adorable, I swear.

“Well, I’m sick and tired of haunted houses, to be honest.”

“You were spooked to death when we went to the amusement park, after all.”

“You were just far too calm.”

“I-I was scared, okay!”

Yeah, no. You don’t need to lie about it now, Kamijou-san.

“Still, this really feels like we’re on a Ferris wheel, I’m impressed.”

“So if a man were to invite you out, it’d have to be in a high-class restaurant with a great view, after all?”

“Hmmm…I actually went there before after the contact from a customer invited me…”

“Huh?!”

Oh man, I really didn’t want to hear that! I dug my own grave!

“But, I didn’t have that much fun. I had to always be mindful of my attitude considering the person I was with, I didn’t have much time to even look at the scenery, and I had never eaten any high-class French dinner so I couldn’t tell if it was even good or not. Eating ramen with everyone else was a lot more enjoyable.”

“R-Right! Ramen after the shift is the best!”

Phew…thank god. So it was just related to her job and not a date. Hopefully, that is.

“Not to mention, watching the scenery like this…is a lot more fun.” The chief said as she dropped her gaze.

She looked at her knees that were bumping into mine. The only two things separating us were her black tights and my gray jeans.

“I’m happy you feel that way. It seems like there was worth in building this.”

“…Were you that concerned about me saying that I wanted to try out the Ferris wheel?”

“Well…Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“Y-You’re welcome.”

Since the rooftop was as dark as it could get, I had trouble identifying the chief’s current expression. However, the way her glittering eyes were directed at me was breathtaking.

“Um, Nanaya-kun. Do you know why I said I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel?”

“Err…that’s…”

That’s…because she was jealous of me and Oguri-chan riding the Ferris wheel as just the two of us? Because she’s interested in me? I found myself getting my hopes up that this may have been her reason.

“Ah, sorry, that was a strange thing to ask. I must have sounded like some stubborn superior, huh? Haha.” She put her hair over her ear as she panicked a bit. “When I was a child, I always loved riding on Ferris wheels. I was just grumbling about that back then, but you were nice enough to prepare this surprise for me, right? You’re such a caring subordinate, hehe.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

“I prepared this for a different reason. I regretted that I couldn’t ride the Ferris wheel with you back at the amusement park, which is why I wanted to undo my mistake.”

“…W-Why would you want to ride on a Ferris wheel with me?”

“Well, that’s because I—”

BZZZZT, my phone vibrated in my pocket. That sound alone made me almost jump, so I panicked and picked up the call.

‘Nanaya? Where are you right now? Hayashi-sensei said he’d be treating everyone to juice, so get back to the classroom!’

It was Nao.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’ll be right there.”

‘Aye. Also, we gotta go home after we’re done drinking the juice.’

“Gotcha, will do.” I hung up the call when I immediately got another email.

‘Soz ‘bout this, Nanacchi! You must have been in a good mood with Touka, but I couldn’t stop Nao!’

He really doesn’t have to apologize for that. Also, is Hayashi-sensei going to treat all of us to juice? Well, I pushed half the work on Onikichi, so I shouldn’t be complaining.

“Are you going back to your classroom?”

“Ah, yes! I’m sorry, Chief!”

“It’s okay, I should head back to my own classroom or I’ll get a scolding.”

“Right. I’ll be removing this gondola tomorrow morning, so let’s head back.” I said and stood up, when the chief suddenly grabbed my right hand with hers.

“W-Wait.”

“Yes…?”

“Let’s take a picture together while we’re here. It’d be a waste to let you destroy this tomorrow with no memory of it.”

“Oh, right. I might as well take one myself, then.”

“Yep, let’s do that!”

I sat back down again, opening up my flip phone.

“You got it easy with that smartphone of yours, Chief. Could you maybe take one for me and send it later?”

“Sure. You should just change to a newer model, you know?”

“I’m more into Android, so I’ll wait a bit longer for them to bring out some significant changes. The types in this day and age are a bit too heavy-handed for me.”

“Ah, makes sense. Anyway, time for the picture. Come a bit closer, will you.”

“Yes.”

I moved closer toward the chief, reaching a distance where her hair tickled my cheek.

“Here we go. Say cheese.”

CLICK, the sound of the shutter filled the otherwise void air around us.

“Ahaha, Chief, isn’t cheese a bit old?”

“Huh? Then what else would you say?!”

“Hmm…Something simple like ‘Smile for the likes’, maybe?”

“Please don’t ever say that again. It makes you sound like an old man trying to get hip with the youngsters. Also, there’s no way children of today would take pictures like that.”

“So cold! Also, we’ve traveled back to the past, so that kind of stuff is plenty popular nowadays!”

“You think so?”

“I do think so!”

Our usual superior-subordinate banter again. Despite everything, I really enjoy this kind of time.

“So, Nanaya-kun. There’s something I’d like to give you.” The chief said.

“What is it?”

Amidst the surrounding darkness, the chief stuffed her hand in her skirt pocket.

“…This.” She offered me a small key chain.

“Ah, that’s Yamade-kun.”

“I went ahead and bought one after Ushiki-san took you with her. Would you take it?”

“Chief…Actually, I also bought one.” I pushed my hand into the pocket of my blazer, taking out another Yamade-kun keychain.

“Wait, Nanaya-kun?! This is…”

“Yes. After my ride on the Ferris wheel was over, I told Oguri-chan I wanted to buy something and went back to the souvenir shop. I didn’t have the time to give it to you before this, so I wanted to take this chance now.”

“Haha…Ahaha, the heck is this. Always so considerate and caring.”

“Right back at you, Chief. Hehe.”

We handed each other the respective key chains we bought.

“Also, we chose the exact same pose?”

“Oh, you’re right!”

Both our Yamade-kuns showed a polite bow. It’s a choice befitting a company employee.

“Ahhh, this is great. Anyway, let’s head back, shall we?” Chief got off the gondola.

She crossed her arms behind her back, skipping away as she turned towards me.

“Thanks a lot, Nanaya-kun.”

Her smile, illuminated by the moonlight, shone brighter than any stars in the sky and looked more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. That smile gave me the strength to clear up my feelings. Tomorrow, during the cultural festival, I will be bringing an end to this. I’ll properly deal with Oguri-chan, as well as the chief. And then I’ll face my own problems properly. With this newfound answer, I’ll tell each of them how I feel. That’s what I’ve decided. Tomorrow’s festival will be the day I, Shimono Nanaya, bring about my conclusion.

*

The following Saturday morning I got up a lot earlier than usual and put on my sneakers in order to head for school, when Kofuyu showed up as she trotted down the stairs, still wearing her pajamas. Naturally, her middle school didn’t have any classes today.

“Good morning, Onii-chan.”

“Morning.”

“Kofuyu will head over to your cultural festival later. Together with Master.”

Who the heck is this master? No idea. Don’t use nicknames when talking to people that have no idea what they mean, it’ll just ruin every proper conversation. If I warned her about this, however, she’d come to hate me, so I stayed quiet.

“Aye. Just don’t go broke, okay?” I said and left the house.

It’s hard being a caring brother. The closer I got to the school, the more people I encountered. I rushed up to the rooftop to clean up the gondola I had left behind since last night. But before that, I placed my belongings in my classroom. In doing so, I ran into several other girls, who were panicking about something. One of the girls turned out to be Nao.

“Ah, Nanaya’s here!”

“What’s up?”

Another girl answered my question.

“Shimono! When I put the case with the costumes into the classroom, I bumped into it, and…” She said, guiding my gaze towards the center.

I took a closer look, seeing a part of the billboard broken apart like it had been scraped by a car.

“Sorry!” The girl lowered her head, which made me panic.

“Relax, it’s not that big of a deal. This is an easy fix.”

“Really?!”

“Yep. Nao, where was the tools box again?”

“I’ll go grab it!” Nao stormed inside the classroom.

The girl still seemed a bit awkward, but I wasn’t trying to cheer her up or anything like that, it was a simple fact that it wouldn’t need much repair to fix that. Well, that’ll leave me with less time to go up to the rooftop to clean up the gondola, but I doubt anybody would lose their way up there anyway. I can just clean it up once the entrance ceremony is done.

After a brief silence, Nao came over to hand me the toolbox, and I immediately started working on the repairs. This entire cultural festival feels like some giant DIY at this point. Ironically enough, the innocent me from that time had no idea what awaited me as I later headed to the entrance ceremony.

*

The ceremony ended, with the various classes and sports clubs beginning their regular work. I split through the crowd of people and headed up the stairs to the rooftop. The higher I got, the greater a certain sense of discomfort filled me. There’s…a lot of people here. The higher floors of the main building only have the library room, the audiovisual room, and other stuff you wouldn’t exactly frequent.

There are some clubs using the rooms up here, the main places are split between the first and third floor. Usually, the higher you get the fewer people you should encounter, and yet…it feels like they’re growing in number? I just rushed up the stairs further, opening the door…

“Ack, what the heck is this?”

A large crowd of people had gathered on the rooftop. Apart from students from here, I spotted quite a few visitors. Lots of them seemed like couples, too. And from the crowd, I heard conversations such as…

“They say that couples who sit in the gondola and take a picture together will end up getting married!”

“What’s up with that? Let’s take a picture ourselves.”

Excuse me?! I ran around the entrance to the building and looked at the backside of the rooftop. A long line had built up near the gondola I had built yesterday. Some were couples, others were just pairs of women. This generation has yet to see the birth of Instagram, but this already turned into a dang hotspot for selfies.

Not to mention that the previous rumor related to love and marriage had now moved towards this gondola. There’s no way I could clean that up now…No, there’s no real need to clean it up now, I guess? It turned into as good an attraction as the other classes offered, and with this much popularity, I’d be a killjoy to remove it. I’ll make sure to clean it up properly once the festival’s over, but I can surely leave it on hold for now. Still, if you take a picture together…so the one we took yesterday also…?

“Ah, Onii-chan. What are you grinning for?”

“Woah?! Who?! Why?! Kofuyu?!”

Kofuyu in her casual clothes appeared in front of me out of nowhere. Oh yeah, she said she’d come during the day. But…why is she here? She shouldn’t have anybody to take a picture with…right? Right?

“Kofuyu wanted to check out the Ferris wheel.”

She does?!

“W-Who is it?! I didn’t hear about you having somebody like that!”

“It’s Master.”

There it is! So this master guy is her boyfriend?! Also, who is that?!

“Heeey, Master!” Kofuyu said, pulling on the person who had been hiding around the corner.

“H-Hey, Kofuyu-chan, could you stop calling me Master already?”

Hmmm?

“Oguri-chan?!”

Another girl appeared, roughly about the same height as Kofuyu. She wore a navy blue one-piece together with a white hunting cap, which looked great on her.

“G-Good day, Shimono-senpai.”

“Why are you here?!”

“I told you I’d be coming to your cultural festival, no? You even responded to me.”

I mean, I know, but that’s not what I meant. Last year, she should have come roughly before 5pm and confessed to me. Meaning only after it turned to dusk. I don’t remember her coming this early. Not to mention…

“Oguri-chan, you and Kofuyu are friends?”

“R-Rather than friends…”

Kofuyu interrupted Oguri-chan mid-sentence.

“Master and Kofuyu aren’t friends, she’s Kofuyu’s master!”

You were talking about Oguri-chan?!

“Hehehe! Master and Kofuyu are going to ride the Ferris wheel! And then we’ll take a picture together!”

I’ve only seen Kofuyu as the aggressive sadistic type, and yet now she’s leaning against Oguri-chan with a molten smile. She’s being spoiled like crazy. Well, in the history I knew of, she was always like this. I’m getting a bit emotional, even.

“Kofuyu-chan, that’s something only couples are supposed to ride.”

“But Master and Kofuyu are like a couple!”

“Ehrm…” Oguri-chan clearly doesn’t feel the same way.

“After taking those pictures, Master and Kofuyu are going to get married!”

Holy smokes, Kofuyu got the absolute hots for Oguri-chan!

“Let’s go, Master! And we’ll check out your class later, Onii-chan! Kofuyu will give you harsh punishment if you get too close to those pigs!”

And she’s back to normal Kofuyu! She pulled on Oguri-chan’s arm and dragged her towards the gondola. If I remember correctly, these two should be from different middle schools, as well as different years. Why are they friends? How did this meeting even happen?

I sent those two off and since I had nothing else to do up on the rooftop, I entered the building and descended the stairs. However, since Oguri-chan’s here already, I have to really mentally prepare myself.

*

“Welcome back, dear master!”

The afternoon arrived and the festival was in full bloom. Class 1-7 was the same in that regard, with a single girl at its center.

“Yes, yes, stop staring at my boobs, you guys! It’s totally obvious~!”

To nobody’s surprise, it was Nakatsugawa Nao.

“Hey, hey, Nao’s racking in that popularity!”

Onikichi and I looked through the curtains separating the kitchen and cafe, checking in on the others.

“As you’d expected from a booby maid.”

She’s using her disposal to the best of its ability.

“But class 1-3 was doing pretty well when I checked during the morning.” Onikichi commented.

“Yeah. The handsome guys were doing butler work. It’s important that boys and girls get to enjoy a cafe.”

Well, I don’t really care who comes out on top in this sales competition, really. But some people in my class are very obsessed with that.

“Gaaaah! We’re going to lose against class 3 at this rate!”

Talk about the devil.

“Class rep, why are you so desperate not to lose against them?”

Does she have some rival in that class or something?

“If I’m not first in everything, I won’t be able to sleep peacefully at night!”

So she just hates losing?!

“Aiming for the top is a necessity for all humanity, here we!”

“Exactly, Tadokoro! You’re a man that gets it!”

“Not as much, yeah!”

Why are those two in perfect synchrony? What’s that yeah about? Another vocabulary? And if that wasn’t enough, now Nao showed her face from the curtains.

“Nanaya~! Kofuyu-chan’s here. And OguOgu.”

“Yup, but I got my work here.”

“No worries, I’ll handle things here, Nanacchi.”

“Really? Thanks a bunch,” I said and stepped away from the kitchen.

“Ah, Onii-chan! Kofuyu wants orange juice!” Kofuyu pulled Oguri-chan’s hand, dragging her to an open seat.

“The maids are going to take your order, so calm down there, Cowboy. Do you understand the idea of a maid cafe?”

“But there’s only grannies around here! Is it mandatory to have grannies around?”

All the maids in the classroom glared at Kofuyu. Sorry about this, everyone. My little sister is a bit of a queen as of late.

“K-Kofuyu-chan, you shouldn’t call them that…”

“Isn’t it the truth, Master? A young and healthy maiden like you is a far better catch for a maid!” Kofuyu said, rubbing her cheek against Oguri-chan’s arm.

How much does she like her, seriously? I’m actually a bit scared of Oguri-chan, considering she managed to tame Kofuyu of all people.

“That’s iiit!” The class rep suddenly screamed.

What is it now?

“I knew we were missing something, but that’s it! I found the one way to win against class 3! Namely, lolis!”

Let me say that again. What the hell is it now?

“You middle school girls! Won’t you work here as maids?!”

“Huuuh?!” Oguri-chan let out a shocked voice I had never heard from her.

“So you will?! Awesome! Big help! I got some maid clothes in the back, so come with me!”

“No no no, wait! Kofuyu never agreed to this!”

“I-I’m not really sure about this either!”

Naturally, Oguri-chan voiced her discomfort.

“Yep, yep! You’ll start to like it eventually! Over here!”

Class rep is amazing! She’s not letting anybody discourage her! However, all the customers around us were the same.

“Ohhh…”

They all started clapping. And instead of it calming down, it only grew stronger. Since the other maids were still pissed at being called grannies, they completely ignored what the class rep was doing. So what, I’m the one who has to stop her?

“Class rep, letting outsiders work isn’t the best idea…”

“She’s your little sister, right?”

“She indeed is, but…”

“Then it’s no problem!”

“It very much is! Where did you get the greenlight from?!”

I tried to protest myself, when Nao tapped me on the shoulder.

“This is for the sake of the class, Nanaya. Sacrifices are necessary to win the battle.” She said with a calm voice.

“Even you…Wait, you just want to see them dressed up as maids, right?!”

“Not at all~”

“You’re drooling!”

“Am not! I just wanna see them in a maid dress, slurp.”

“You just said ‘slurp’! You said it in proper words! Wait, where did those two go?!”

As I was dealing with Nao, the class rep even disappeared.

“Crap!”

I ran towards the small space in the black of the classroom meant for changing, trying to force my way through the curtains, but…

“Hey now, Nanaya, peeking in on two middle school girls changing? Are you already tired of your childhood friend’s boobs?”

“I never got to enjoy them either, so zip it!”

I could hear shrieks from beyond the curtains. It seems like the girls had already begun changing.

“And I’m the one getting all the blame from Kofuyu later…”

The class rep poked her head out from the curtains a few moments later.

“Hehehe, you guys, you better prepare tissues! We’ve just secured our victory against class 3!”

Seriously, how did a girl like her become the class rep? It’s beyond me.

“Tada!” The class rep opened up the curtains, revealing Oguri-chan and Kofuyu in their maid outfits, fidgeting awkwardly.

Kofuyu had her hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing white tights. Oguri-chan kept her bob cut with knee socks that made her thighs shine even more brightly.

“T-This is quite the sight…” I felt severe pain in my chest.

The other guys present equally screamed in excitement.

“Woooooo! Soooo cuuute!”

What popularity they got. All of you lolicon bastards! I get how you feel, though! The class rep gently tapped the two girls on their shoulders.

“Come on you two, do as I told you.”

She’s sounding like an evil producer from the entertainment industry! Kofuyu and Oguri-chan looked at each other while blushing and opened their mouths.

““W-Welcome back, dear master~””

“Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”

“I’m so glad I was born!”

“This is the beeest!”

Passion and screams reached even out onto the hallway.

“Hey, Grandma, you better buy us that brand shirt you promised!”

“Of course, Kofuyu-chan.”

She bribed them?!

“I’ll buy you anything you want, Oguri-chan, so just tell me the price, we’ll use sales money for that.”

She’s so evil! Like the Joker! And don’t use the money we earned for your bribes!

“I-I’m fine without.”

And Oguri-chan is so pure! Nao seemed satisfied at the sight of that, nodding to herself. She’s like a different type of producer. A lot of other students came up to watch the loli combo. Right as the ruckus felt like it ended, more boys started talking outside the classroom.

“Hey, what the hell is going on here?”

“My brain cells are being melted.”

My eyes focused on a single person. A girl arrived at the reception, asking to enter.

“One adult…Wait no, one student.” The boy at the reception even fumbled over his own words, entranced by the visitor.

“Ah, Chief! Welcome!”

The first one to react was Nao, greeting the new customer.

“Hey there, Nao-chan.”

“What are you wearing? That’s so adorable!”

“It’s the costume for my class’ attraction. I couldn’t be bothered to change.”

It’s a witch. The most beautiful witch I have ever seen! The Great Witch Kamijou Touka has arrived at our maid cafe! I somehow managed to keep my composure and called out to the chief.

“Welcome.”

“Ah, Nanaya-kun. Hello there.”

“Um, Chief, your clothes are quite the surprise.” I told her, to which she blushed ever so slightly and whispered into my ear.

“Yesterday you said you wanted to see me wearing this so…J-Just for today, okay?”

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Lord in the heavens above, I humbly thank you! This is why I wanted to travel back in time! She wore a triangular hat with a navy blue robe. Rather than a witch, she looked more like a witch apprentice at a witch school, but that was cute in itself. Since her head is a bit smaller than the average person’s, the triangular hat was a bit too large for her, which was just as cute! And now, she clung to my arm to the point it hurt. She’s like a vengeful ghost out to kill me.

“Hey, Nanaya-kun, that’s K-Kofuyu-chan, right?!”

“Yes, yes, she’s helping us here…C-Chief, you’re hurting me.”

“Cute! So cute! Hey, buy her some cake and juice!”

This ain’t no host club! We don’t have this kind of service here.

“What about pictures?! We can take pictures, right?!”

That is a typical service at a maid cafe, but we don’t do that either. Kofuyu finally caught on to the chief’s arrival and looked over at us.

“Shut up! You’re the same usual grandma! Uh…the one everyone calls Chief!”

“Nanaya-kun! Did you hear that?! She called me Chief! Chief!”

When did she get so absorbed with Kofuyu? Well, I’ve seen the change starting last summer.

“What a gross Grandma you are! Get away from Onii-chan, you disgusting pig!”

“Awaaaaah!”

She’s starting to sound like Kofuyu’s friends, no?

“Go tell her, Master!”

“Kofuyu-chan, you can’t be so disrespectful towards people older than you…” Oguri-chan was visibly feeling awkward at this whole situation.

Also, there’s no way Oguri-chan would act like a sadistic Queen. She probably doesn’t even know that kind of genre.

“As expected of Master. So compassionate.”

What kind of machine translation did she go through to reach the word compassionate?

“Oh my, if it isn’t Ushiki-san.”

The chief apparently only now realized that Oguri-chan was with us.

“Good day to you, Kamijou-senpai.”

“Hey there. Hm…You’re not half bad.”

The chief inspected Oguri-chan, who pulled down her skirt while fidgeting, and grinned to herself. Well, a flustered Oguri-chan is cute, indeed.

“Hey, you perverted pig chief! Don’t you dare touch Master with your filthy hands! Kofuyu’s feet are enough for you! Lick them, you pervert!” Kofuyu pushed her toes towards the chief.

“Drop it already, Kofuyu!”

“It’s okay, Nanaya-kun. This is her charm.”

“Chief, your character is slowly breaking apart.”

“It seems like it…I guess I’m weak when it comes to younger girls. Probably a counter-reaction after everything.”

“Don’t analyze your own character, please.”

“More importantly, we can take pictures, right?”

“So persistent!”

However, she apparently wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

“I wanna take a picture, too!”

“Sounds great.”

“A maid cafe like yours must have this kind of service, no?”

The boys all chimed in. I have the vague feeling that we’ll have to provide this service. I glanced over at the class rep.

“Hehehe.”

Not quite, we’ll put a price tag on it, for sure.

“Great idea! Let’s do it!”

I’m way too on-point today…and always when I want to be off.

“Class rep, we don’t have a camera ready for that.”

“Ah, now that you mention it.”

“You’re an idiot at the weirdest times, Class rep.”

“Who’s an idiot, Shimono?! We can just use our phone cameras for that, no?!”

“That won’t…actually, I guess it does work.”

I heard that some idol meetings offer bonuses to take pictures or videos with the talents, so I guess she’s not an idiot, she has a business mind.

“Okay, okay, okay! Please tell us who of you want to take a picture, with what, and how many! One picture costs a thousand yen!”

A thousand?! That’s getting close to a scam!

“That’s pretty cheap!”

“I can totally do that.”

“I’m definitely taking one.”

They’re out and about?! Seriously? I don’t understand this market.

“Since this loli middle school student combi is an ultra rare chance, one will cost you 1500 yen! If you want two people with you, it’ll be a steal for 2000!”

This time it’s a scam for sure! Right, everyone?!”

“So cheap!”

“I’ll go with the premium version!”

“Another thousand and I can take a picture with both of them?! Oh, what should I do…”

Are you kidding me?! This is some easy business, all right! I’m starting to feel like a maid cafe in the middle of Akihabara! I held my head in despair, when the chief looked through her wallet. Don’t tell me…

“Chief, are you seriously going to take a picture with Kofuyu? That’s 1500 yen. You can buy several bowls of gyudon with that.”

“You’re right, let me see how much I have on me…”

“She’s not listening at all!”

“Ah, good. I have a 10,000 yen bill with me. So, a picture with Kofuyu-chan, a picture with Ushiki-san, a picture with both of them, and one with Nao-chan…6000 yen? Good, I have enough.”

“Don’t give me that! You’re wasting your money!”

“Ah, there’s already a line building! Catch you later, Nanaya-kun.”

Go wild, girl. She sprinted off to the end of the line like there was no tomorrow. A witch is lining up to take pictures with maids…What even? But that allows me to enjoy her appearance a lot longer, so I’m not complaining. But before that…the chief temporarily returned to me.

“Nanaya-kun…do you have time after this?”

“Meaning?”

“There’s something I wanted to talk about with you…Can you come to the tree at the front entrance at close to 5 pm later?”

“…Sure can.”

With that, the chief walked away without ever looking into my eyes. 5 pm…to the tree at the front entrance…Don’t tell me? I was thinking about it for a moment, but that didn’t last long since somebody else came to take over my shift.

*

I sat on the stone stairs leading to the courtyard, watching the people from the soccer club try their luck at the target sharpshooting. The one challenging it right now was a tall and sporty second-year. I think he was the ace of the basketball club. There was also a second-year manager of the basketball club, cheering him on. Are those two going out? With every success, they shared a high-five. I looked at the two and remembered Oguri-chan’s face—

Wait, why did I first think of Oguri-chan instead of the chief? Oh, yeah. It’s because the manager of the club is also a first-year like me. In the eyes of that second year, she’s a junior. That’s why I probably saw her as Oguri-chan. Eleven years ago, she confessed to me under the maidenhair tree. That history probably won’t change. But even so, I decided not to run away from my feelings. I need to properly face them. And the same goes for the chief…

“Ah.”

I forgot. This is like a double booking. I don’t know what the chief is going to tell me, but we’re still meeting up at 5 pm. Oguri-chan also invited me there, at the exact same time. Strictly speaking, Oguri-chan hasn’t invited me yet, and the rumor of the tree somehow moved away from the tree to the gondola I built. If that’s the case, I wonder how Oguri-chan is going to act? I’m feeling anxious because of this unfamiliar future.

“Sup, Nanacchi!”

I picked up the distinct scent of sauce from behind me, when Onikichi appeared.

“Yo, is your shift over?”

“Yessir! Want a bite?” Onikichi sat down while offering me a pack of takoyaki.

“Oh, thanks a bunch.”

“No biggie at all! Eat lots and grow big, my boy!”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

I grabbed one round ball of takoyaki out of the eight, stuffing it into my cheeks. Yep, delicious.

“Why’re you loitering around all alone? Did something happen? Anything troublesome coming up?”

“I was just busy getting my feelings under control.”

“Oh right, you’re gonna confess to Touka with the power of the cultural festival at your side, right? Not bad, here we!”

“Hm, I think I’m at the step before that. There’s something else that’s bugging me before I can get to my feelings about the chief.”

“Ohh? You sound so determined…Usually, you’d be a lot more…Tsunderecchi?”

That has to be one of the most cursed nicknames I’ve ever heard.

“Well, you’re not wrong. I was planning on dropping that act once and for all. I still don’t think I’m a guy worthy of being with the chief, but I should at least tell her my feelings.”

“Here we go! Max heart catcher, Nanacchi!”

Come again? Did he just recite some Precure spell?

“However, as much as it pains me to admit it, the situation I’m in doesn’t allow me to go all out and confess my feelings to her.”

In order to do that, I have to clear up my regrets and complicated feelings in regards to Oguri-chan. Why am I so hung up on her? I know why, of course. It’s because she’s the first person who has ever confessed her feelings to me. And when I heard how serious she was back during our Ferris wheel ride, I felt my determination shaken. There’s no way I can tell the chief I love her while feeling this conflicted?

“Did you find someone else you’re interested in?” Onikichi asked.

Sometimes he’s a bit too sharp for my tastes.

“Not exactly. I still have only feelings for the chief. But there’s someone else who likes me, and if I hadn’t run into the chief first, I may very well have gotten together with her. That’s why, by properly evaluating and dealing with that other person, I want to see if my feelings for the chief are genuine or not.”

“Hey now, that’s the first time I heard about that! Oni-chan’s sad that you’re living a double life without me knowing!” Onikichi acted like he was crying, although I saw that there were absolutely no tears.

“It all just blew up recently, so I didn’t have any time to rationalize it myself.”

“So Nanacchi, you’re considering going out with that girl if things come down to it?”

“Hey, were you even listening to me?”

“That’s what I think it means to confirm your feelings for Touka. You at least see her as charming enough to question yourself, no?”

“Wait, really? I mean…I do think she’s a charming person, but I think that’s mostly because she confessed her feelings to me. It’s like a natural reaction that I’d be interested in her. But isn’t that just rude to keep the other person on hold in case I want her after all?”

Onikichi placed his hand on my shoulder, while waving his other index finger at me.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Nanatsk.”

“What kind of game is this supposed to be?!”

“So tell me, Nanacchi. What’s so bad about being interested in someone after they confess to you? I see that as something completely normal for a human being. There’s countless couples in this world who began from one-sided feelings. Are you saying that their love isn’t legit?”

“That…is true.”

Why does Onikichi sound so convincing? I always find myself agreeing.

“Hehe, I got you now. Because you’re interested in that girl, you can’t pick either.”

“Can’t pick either?”

“It’s not that you can’t come to like that girl because you got feelings for Touka, but you instead feel like a bad guy at the possibility of accepting the girl simply because she likes you. And if that’s the case, I don’t think you’ll ever get that 100% conviction with your feelings for Touka. After all, she’ll always stay in the back of your mind.” He stuffed some takoyaki in his mouth and gulped it down. “For starters, forget about Touka. And then, disregard the idea that being interested in the person who confessed to you is a bad thing. Additionally, accept her feelings. Listen carefully, Nanacchi. Think about this girl, and then think about your feelings for her. Nothing more, nothing less. If you’re happy that she likes you, then you like her back. That’s all this is. You’re being restrained because you keep chasing Touka. But you have to first look at the girl chasing after you. If you choose that girl in the end, nobody will blame you.” Onikichi looked at me with a serious expression.

Do I like Oguri-chan? The Oguri-chan who likes me? Just think about it in the simplest terms…

“Onikichi. I think I had the wrong idea about things. If I put a conclusion on things the way I had planned, I would have carried this regret with me.”

“You have the habit of thinking about everything far too complicated than it has to be. You’re oddly mature about that.”

“Ahaha, I guess so. To me, you look a lot more mature, Onikichi.”

“Guess we feel the same way, then. In the end, we’re both high school students, so sometimes we have to be childish.”

“Amen.”

A breeze blew past us. Following that, the scent of fragrant olive drifted towards us. At the same time, the ace from the basketball club succeeded on the kicking test, to which his manager smiled with a bright grin.

“But if you still love Touka after that, then that’s your answer. It might be a rough road ahead to chase after her, but there’s still something you can gain from that. Just be serious about both of them. Then they’ll treat you seriously.”

“So it’s something I’ve decided on…Onikichi, you sound like the chief for some reason.”

“I’m like Touka? Then let’s go out, Nanacchi. I’ll make you happy, here we!”

“Hey, stop snuggling up to me!”

“Shimono-senpai!”

As we two guys shared some quality time together, I could hear a girl’s voice calling out my name.

“…Oguri-chan. How’s it going with the maid cafe?”

“Erm…I would say fine, but I just waited for an opening to change and run away.”

“I figured as much. Well…sorry about all of that.”

“It’s fine, I know it’s not your fault, Shimono-senpai.”

Onikichi looked at Oguri-chan and stood up.

“Oh, it’s Ogucchi! Yay, yay, been a hay!”

“Urk…Not Tadokoro-senpai!”

Now hold on, these two also know each other?

“Onikichi, you know her?”

“She was my junior in middle school! We were besties, right Ogucchi?”

“Not in the slightest. You reek of perfume, Tadokoro-senpai. Please go away.”

Oh yeah, he’s from the same middle school as her. Though it seems like Onikichi really is being hated.

“So that middle school student who was with Kofuyu-chan was you? I couldn’t clearly tell because of how cramped it was. So, how did you get to know Ogucchi? You’re from different middle schools, right?”

“Err…yeah.” I didn’t know how to respond when Onikichi gave me a good look.

“Ahh, I see. That’s what’s going on here.”

He apparently figured out everything. Although this was right after our conversation, I still have to admire his sharp wits.

“Anyway, I’m off to taste the yakisoba of class 5, so catch you two folks later, here we!” He said, giving me a wink.

Following that, he only moved his lips and walked towards the school building. Left behind, Oguri-chan and I didn’t dare look at each other, just staying silent for a while. Finally, after a faint breath left her lips, Oguri-chan opened her mouth.

“Shimono-senpai, I’d like to talk with you about something.”

So it’s finally time, huh?

*

Nobody stood on the stairs of the passage between the courtyard and the school building besides Oguri-chan and me. The ambient noise to the left and right felt so distant. It’s like we were in a space between reality and hallucination. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It’s currently half past 4 pm. History changed, and it must have been because of the Ferris wheel replica I built. Or maybe the very idea of the chief and I traveling back in time switched things up. I have no way of knowing, but it doesn’t matter. Crucial right now isn’t the ‘when’ and ‘where’, but ‘who’ and ‘why’. That in itself hasn’t changed. A long time ago, I told Tatsu something when he confessed to Nao.

‘It’s because you are serious about her!’

Even if history repeats itself, cracks start to show. His feelings for Nao were even stronger, but he simply hadn’t realized it. That’s why I had to tell him. And yet here I am, not even understanding just how serious Oguri-chan was. I just ran away from properly looking at it. Reflect on your mistakes and improve upon them. You have to properly listen to her feelings…the feelings that hadn’t changed even after traveling back in time. So that I find my own answer. Adult and child don’t matter, I have to be a man.

“Shimono-senpai.”

“Yes.”

The clouds in the sky floated along with the blue up in the air, as Oguri-chan stared into my eyes. Eleven years ago, she had her eyes always directed towards the ground, and yet she now showed determination as she called out my name.

“I was very happy when you first called out to me in-game.”

“Yep.”

“You treated me with nothing but kindness, and I’ve always wanted to meet you since then.”

“I see.”

“Meeting you in person, I once again realized how charming of a person you are. Very kind, admirable, a bit clumsy at times, but very cute.”

“Mhm.”

“These feelings of mine won’t lose against anybody. I swear it.”

“Mmm.”

“I’ve always…always…”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve always loved you! Please go out with me!”

I’ve never felt this way. Eleven years ago, I didn’t understand any of this. What it means to be liked by someone. Being met with such passionate feelings. That you could be this happy because of it. I think I’ve only realized this after graduating from high school, finding a full-time job, and engaging with countless other people. There were many people who treated me nicely at my job, as well as those I couldn’t stand. Life isn’t always easy, after all.

That is why her genuine and honest feelings hurt a lot more. And right now, my heart was once again swaying, even to the point I was shocked. It felt like I could finally accept Ushiki Oguri’s confession…after eleven years. I see, so this is my answer…and my honest feelings.

“Thank you, Oguri-chan. I—”