“...Really? Do you really mean that?”
“I do! I swear I do! As a matter of fact, I didn’t even remember that cafe existed until we saw it just now!” he exclaimed passionately. “I mean, I’ve got a real maid who’s been with me for years! What use do I have with a place like that? I have no interest in seeing what’s inside. We’re only going in because it just happened to be the one place that’s not full. Otherwise, I’d be fine going anywhere else.”
“...Okay already. If you really meant what you said, then it’s fine.” Melia looked away. “It’s still nice of you to make it clear though, so... thanks.”
A hint of a smile appeared on her face. Seeing that Hurricane Melia had dissipated, Sain quietly breathed out in relief.
“Nice one, Sain. Looks like you’re starting to figure out the female psyche.”
“A-Am I? I’m not really sure, to be honest, but if you say so, then I guess I am.”
Alicia and Marni criticized him on an almost daily basis about how he didn’t understand how girls think. He wasn’t aware that he’d improved in any way but, apparently, he was getting better at it. Figuring it must be some sort of subconscious thing, he set the matter aside in his mind and followed the girls into the cafe. As they stepped through the entrance, they were greeted by two maids, one on each side.
“Welcome home, Master!”
An alien world stretched out before them. Almost everything, from the wallpaper to the couches, was some shade of pink. At each table, waitresses in maid uniforms served the customers in much closer proximity than Sain was used to seeing in such establishments, and they conversed with a sense of intimacy.
“Wh-Whoa...”
The novel sight drew from him a breath of awe.
“This way to your seats please. By the way, Master, if you happen to have one of the flyers our maids were handing out this morning, you can receive a discount on your drinks,” said the waitress as she showed them to their table.
“Huh. Flyers. I do remember seeing one of those,” Alicia said, scratching her head.
“...But didn’t we throw it away already?” asked Marni.
“You mean this?” said Sain, casually reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a flyer.
“Wow! You have one! Thank you so much for holding on to our flyer, Master!”
“Yeah, I figured it might come in handy like this, so I was keeping it safe— Eep!”
Feeling a sudden sense of mortal danger behind him, Sain spun around.
“You were what? ”
He found Melia glaring at him, her eyes wide with outrage.
“Uh, wait, I mean—”
“Keeping it safe, huh? Were you now, Master Sain? I guess you must have really wanted to come to this cafe. I see, I see. So that’s how it is.”
“Wait, listen to me, Maid! This is a complete coincidence. The thing looked sort of fancy, so I just held on to it. That’s it. I know what this looks like, but it’s definitely not what I was trying to do! This is not about me secretly wanting to check out the waitresses here! I swear!”
His desperate pleading fell on deaf ears.
“Seeing as you like this place so much, here’s a little riddle for you,” she said with venom in her voice. “What starts with ‘m’ and ends with ‘aid’? And is something you’re going to need very very soon?”
“E-Erm...” he stammered. “I-It’s not ‘maid’, is it?”
“Medical aid .”
“Eeep!”
Sain recoiled in terror. He’d done it. The flyer had been the last straw. He’d made Melia snap. Granted, he was technically telling the truth. It was an eye-catching flyer and he’d never seen anything like it before, so he’d reflexively stuffed it in his pocket. Of course, even he had to admit some part of him definitely wanted to go take a look. After all, “having zero interest in a cafe” and “carefully stowing away its flyer in his coat pocket and carrying it around all day” were fundamentally at odds with one another.
Alicia leaned over and whispered in his ear as they were led to their seats.
“By the way, I take back what I said about you and the female psyche. You didn’t learn a thing.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” he muttered.
“Also, you really need to start figuring this out. Before you end up in a coffin.”
“A coffin?!”
He paled at the word, its ring far more ominous than any of his theatrics could ever muster.
After sitting down, Sain and his companions looked through the menu and ordered some drinks. A few minutes later, a maid came back with them.
“Your order is here, Master. Here are your lattes, and here’s your apple tea,” she said, setting the former down in front of Marni and Melia, and the latter in front of Alicia. “Please enjoy.”
She gave them a friendly smile before leaving.
“Huuuuh...”
Sain’s gaze lingered on the girl as she walked away.
“Stop ogling.”
“S-Sorry.”
Melia’s curt command caused him to hastily look back down at the table. To be fair, he wasn’t actually mesmerized by the girl; he was taking in the air of the cafe itself and enjoying its exotic allure. This was unfortunately not apparent to an observer, who did not have access to the inner workings of his mind, resulting in rather unfavorable interpretations of his behavior. Melia, for example, had been quietly fuming ever since they’d sat down.
“Mmm, this is really good,” remarked Alicia as she took a sip of her apple tea.
“...The service is surprisingly mediocre. I expected more,” said Marni, evidently less impressed by the establishment.