School life always remained the same.
It was a monotonous cycle of classes, classes, classes, followed by exams, exams, exams, from the very beginning of the semester to its end, punctuated only by the long-awaited spring, summer, and winter breaks.
Yet, if one were to introduce a variable into this unchanging routine, it would undoubtedly be the annual cultural festival, a staple of every high school.
And these variables could become even more anticipated for some, particularly when…
“Sister, your class is having a maid café?!”
Hoshimori Shion could already see her younger sister’s eyes sparkling with excitement.
It would have been even better if her sister had bothered to wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Shion clutched her head, feeling as though her wide eyes hadn’t shrunk even a fraction since hearing the class vote for a maid café.
Her lips kept muttering, ‘This is the end, this is the absolute end…’
The scene of the class meeting’s vote earlier that day remained vivid in her memory.
****
“Well then, according to the voting results, our class will be doing a maid café.”
“I’ll be working with a few classmates on the schedule, and we’ll announce it together later.”
The Class Monitor declared this from the podium.
‘I must have been cursing internally, truly, non-stop…’
“Class Monitor! Shouldn’t we elect a Head Maid?!”
A sudden shout of playful teasing erupted from below.
‘It’s just a cultural festival event!’
‘Does it really need to be this formal?’
Shion grumbled inwardly.
The Class Monitor touched her hair, then nodded.
“I think that’s a good idea. Who do you all think would be best?”
In an instant, the class descended into a chaotic discussion about who should be the Head Maid.
Some suggested the Class Monitor herself, but she declined, citing the need to handle backend accounting and ingredient coordination, which seemed a fairly reasonable excuse.
“I nominate Hoshimori-san!”
Suddenly, a classmate from below shouted, “Hoshimori-san is beautiful, and she’s also the Miko of the town’s shrine! I think she’d be perfect!”
‘Who are you?!’
‘You detestable fiend, I’ll bash you with the hilt of Spirit Cutter, argh!’
‘You never come to the shrine to worship, but now you remember I’m a Miko, huh?!’
Shion wanted to turn around and see which inconsiderate person had made the suggestion, but she realized she couldn’t identify them by voice alone.
Even though it had been some time since school started, many in the class were still only at the “acquaintance” stage.
The Class Monitor, standing at the podium, pondered seriously for a few seconds before nodding.
“Hmm, I think… that’s quite good.”
‘Class Monitor, don’t you dare agree with them, argh!’
“Let’s select a few candidates and then hold a vote,” the Class Monitor decided.
And so, Hoshimori Shion, without contest, became the Head Maid for Class 1-A’s cultural festival maid café.
Congratulations, congratulations!
Though, for most of those who voted, their sentiment was simply, ‘As long as it’s not me, anyone will do…’
‘But wait, they didn’t ask for my opinion at all, did they?!’
Shion grumbled vehemently.
“So, does the Head Maid have any specific duties?”
Despite her million-fold reluctance, Shion approached the Class Monitor after the class meeting concluded and inquired.
The Class Monitor paused to think.
“There aren’t really any special tasks.”
“I’ll handle the ingredient coordination, scheduling, and accounting, so the Head Maid is just…”
“Just a concept,” the Class Monitor concluded.
Shion felt her mouth twitching, but she managed to hold it back.
‘A concept, huh, just a concept.’
****
“Sister, I specifically picked out a maid outfit for you.”
Ayane pulled out her phone, opened a shopping app, and held it before her sister.
The image displayed a black dress as the base, adorned with white lace trim, exuding a beautiful Lolita style.
While the skirt was short, it was considerably longer than the Miko attire Shion usually wore for exorcisms, at least capable of covering her knees.
The only issue was a heart-shaped cutout prominently displayed at the bust of the outfit.
To deliberately recommend this particular outfit, knowing full well Shion had little to boast about in that area, and to have it recommended by her own well-endowed younger sister—the offense wasn’t aggressive, but the insult was profound.
Shion looked up, met with Ayane’s mischievous grin.
“Ayane, you’re not getting dinner tonight.”
“I’d skip dinner today just to see you wear this, Sister!”
Gazing at her sister’s determined eyes, Shion suppressed the urge to deliver a swift chop to her head.
“The maid outfits were bought by the class collectively,” Shion stated, “and since there aren’t any particularly tall girls in our class, they’re all one-size-fits-all.”
With that single sentence, Shion shattered Ayane’s fantasy of seeing her sister in the heart-cutout maid dress.
“Then I’ll pay for it for you, Sister!”
Ayane remained unyielding, continuing her struggle.
Shion rolled her eyes at her.
“I’m managing all the household money right now, and didn’t your secret stash already go towards filling your stomach?”
Ayane awkwardly poked her fingers together.
“Ah, that’s true…”
“Then, Sister, why don’t you lend me the money, and I’ll buy it for you?”
Ayane continued to propose, shaking her sister’s arm cajolingly.
“A good idea, but the problem is, I’m not an idiot.”
****
A brief chat with a few people was enough to reveal what the other classes were preparing.
Kazama Nanami’s Class C boasted several musical talents, so their activity was straightforward: a concert held in the gymnasium.
Ayane’s Class E, on the other hand, was putting on a play, and Ayane herself had been invited to portray a Miko working at a shrine within the drama.
The reason Ayane was asked to play the Miko in the play was that many in Class E mistakenly believed Ayane was the actual Miko of the Hoshimori Shrine, thinking it would be a natural role for her.
However, this was far from the truth; Hoshimori Shion was the sole Miko of the Hoshimori Shrine.
As their conversation reached this point, Shion couldn’t help but inwardly grumble about her own classmates once more.
‘If only they had genuinely visited the Hoshimori Shrine to worship, they wouldn’t be so ignorant as to not know Ayane isn’t the Miko!’
“Ayane, tell everyone in your class to come visit the shrine and worship!”
“Let them see who the *real* Miko of the Hoshimori Shrine is!”
Shion declared, tapping her sister’s head on their way home from school.
“Sister! It’s not *my* fault they got the Miko wrong; if you want to hit someone, go hit *them*!”
Ayane crouched, shielding her head, dodging Shion’s relentless, almost vengeful taps.
“I think we should just keep talking about what kind of maid outfit you’re going to wear, Sister!”
“I think we can end that topic right here,” Shion huffed, “since I’m not the one preparing the outfit anyway, hmph!”
At that moment, the notification light on Shion’s phone suddenly blinked, signaling an incoming message.
It was a message from the Class Monitor.
[Hoshimori-san, the regular maid outfits at the town’s clothing store are out of stock. The store said they still have this one; would you like to see it?]
Attached was a picture of *that* very outfit: black with white trim, featuring a beautiful heart-shaped cutout in the center…
“Yes, yes, yes! That’s the exact one I was just looking at!”
Ayane exclaimed, pointing at the phone, her small leather shoes making cute tapping sounds as she bounced in surprise.
“C-can I still transfer schools now…?”