“Uh… Sister, about that… is that thing in your hands our dinner tonight?”
“That’s right. Kazama-san and I went to gather ingredients for the Autumn Festival today. She gave me this fish as a gift.”
Seeing the fish cradled in Shion’s arms, Ayane’s face twitched several times.
“It’s not that I don’t trust the fish Kazama-san caught. It’s just… Sister, in all the years you’ve been cooking, I’ve never seen you make fish before… Can you even cook it?” A hint of unease crept into Ayane’s voice. “I once asked you why you never made fish, and you said you didn’t like dealing with the bones.”
‘Hiss…’ Shion gasped, drawing a sharp breath. ‘Oh, right. When I brought the fish home, it seems I completely forgot that I don’t know how to cook this thing.’
Ayane extended a hand, measuring the fish’s size. “And it probably won’t be enough for three people…” she remarked.
“Three people?”
“Shion-san~” A small head popped up from behind the living room sofa. Kujou Sakuya, holding her notebook, waved it high towards Shion.
“Eh? Kujou-san? What are you doing here?” Shion asked, a touch of surprise in her voice.
Sakuya swung her school bag, revealing remnants of paper scraps and cardboard inside. “I ran into Ayane-san this evening,” she explained. “We discussed and decorated our booth a bit.”
Then, she opened her notebook, revealing a drawing of her booth layout. “The left side is reserved for Kazama-san, decorated with a fish theme, symbolizing abundance year after year. The right half is shrine-themed, with torii and ema decorations, and also…”
“Also what?” Shion asked, noticing Sakuya’s hesitant expression.
“Also, Kujou-san brought over the Cultural Festival sign and changed a few words on it.”
‘Cultural Festival…’ Certain unbearable memories immediately flooded Shion’s mind. Memories of forming a heart shape with her hands and forcing out a smile that screamed social suicide while chanting: “Oishiku na~re! Moe Moe Kyun♪”
“No, no, no! I’m supposed to be performing the Kagura dance then! I’m a Miko, entrusted with sacred duties. How can I possibly wear such an undignified outfit?” Shion quickly retreated several steps, holding up the fish. She pointed the frozen fish’s head at the two of them, as if bullets might shoot from its mouth at any moment.
Ayane coughed twice, then pulled out her phone. For some reason, a familiar voice emanated from it, seemingly chanting some socially awkward phrase while making a heart shape with hands.
“Ayane!!!! You—you hand over that phone! Now!” Shion no longer cared that Sakuya was present. She lunged forward, trying to snatch the phone from Ayane’s grasp. The two girls immediately tumbled onto the sofa, their long white hair tangling together, obscuring their faces.
“You two!”
****
As expected, Shion was still terrible at handling fish. She tucked the fish into the freezer, planning to have Nanami deal with it on the day of the Autumn Festival. For tonight, they would stick to their usual meal, though Shion had prepared a little extra since Sakuya was visiting.
Sakuya gazed at the pork chops and small cakes on the table, deeply moved by Shion’s thoughtful preparations. Tears inadvertently streamed from the corners of her mouth.
“Hehe, I get to freeload off Shion-san’s cooking again. I was half-dead from exhaustion climbing up to the shrine today.” Sakuya picked up a piece of pork chop and placed it in her bowl.
Ayane was not to be outdone, quickly reaching out. “I’ll grab a pork chop first too, or Kujou-san will probably eat them all. Even though I was the one who dragged Kujou-san up here today.”
Shion’s mouth twitched. ‘I’m the one who cooked, yet it feels like I won’t get to eat anything…’
“Oh, right! Today, besides the decorations, I also prepared a promotional plan for Shion-san at the Autumn Festival~”
“Wow~” Despite a looming sense of dread, Shion still offered a verbal compliment.
Shion’s ominous premonition intensified when Ayane, sitting beside her, suddenly began shoveling rice into her mouth at an alarming speed. It seemed Ayane intended to quickly finish all the good food and make her escape before Sakuya could launch into her full promotional plan.
Consequently, Shion grabbed Ayane’s school uniform skirt, trying to pin her to her seat.
“Alright, then I’ll begin.” Sakuya cleared her throat. The handwriting in her notebook was quite elegant. “For this Autumn Festival, as Shion-san mentioned, we need to maintain Shion-san’s Miko demeanor and grace, and also generate a significant amount of popularity. Therefore, based on Ayane-san’s suggestion, we still plan to leverage the reputation Shion-san already established at the Cultural Festival.”
Shion shot Ayane a look that clearly conveyed, ‘You’re not getting dinner tomorrow.’ Ayane quickly turned her head away, pretending that if she didn’t hear her sister’s words, they simply wouldn’t exist.
“So, we plan to customize a Miko-style maid outfit for Shion-san. We’re aiming for an excellent maid outfit that combines Western maid aesthetics with the elegance of a Yamato Nadeshiko. To that end, we’ve ordered the clothes, and we’ll also promote it online, focusing on our school’s social circles.” Sakuya recited her plan unhurriedly, as if she had returned to her quiet, graceful literary girl persona.
These words, however, were rapidly pushing Shion, who was standing nearby, to her breaking point.
“Why do I have to be the maid *again*…?” Shion weakly raised her hand in protest. “Seriously, and we have to invest so much upfront to buy new clothes?”
“Ordering clothes in town is very affordable, don’t worry. As for the costs, even though my math isn’t great, Ayane-san has already calculated everything for you.” Sakuya winked, making an ‘okay’ gesture. “Besides, Ayane-san and I really want to see Shion-san wear a beautiful maid outfit again, especially since these are new clothes.”
“And the online promotion?”
“Uh… it’s a poster of Shion-san in her new outfit. We modified the previous Cultural Festival poster, adjusted the coloring and everything.” Sakuya explained, then pulled out the mock-up to show Shion.
Undeniably, the poster was exquisitely crafted. The girl in the image wore a snow-white and red intertwined dress, its cherry blossom blizzard hues hinting at a Miko’s solemnity. Yet, the voluminous layered skirt and a small heart-shaped opening at the chest boldly showcased a maid’s allure. Moreover, the skirt of this outfit wasn’t particularly long, only slightly longer than a traditional Miko attire.
The poster was truly captivating, *if only* the girl’s face in the picture wasn’t her own, or *if only* her chest were a little larger…
“This poster just screams social suicide…” Shion covered her face. “At least, *at least* make the skirt longer! It needs to cover my knees!”
“Eh? But…”
“But what?”
Sakuya looked at Ayane, who playfully stuck out her tongue. Sakuya then opened the school’s forum page.
Topping the school forum’s hot topic list was a post titled: “Class 1-A’s Maid Chief Will Debut a Super High-Quality New Outfit at the Autumn Festival!” It featured the promotional poster and was crushing the entire forum in popularity!
The poster: Hoshimori Ayane…
‘The girl’s wavering murderous intent.jpg’