“Hey Natsuki, is it true that Cyberia is becoming something interesting?”

It’s here.

Finally here.

From above, I hear the voice of Souta, who knows I’m pretending to be asleep. I figured it would be discovered sooner or later, but I didn’t think it would take only three days.

“I heard from Shirataki yesterday while we were at Ruin. Natsuki, you’re wearing a maid outfit, right?”

The words “maid outfit” made my body twitch. Reluctantly, I sit up, and Souta slides into the seat in front of me.

“Is it true?”

“…It’s like a joke, right?”

When I nodded, Souta laughed out loud.

“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but that manager is a bit strange, right? She piles on too many fries.”

“It’s not just a little, though.”

At Christmas, she suddenly brought a Santa costume, and on Valentine’s Day, she tried putting chocolate sauce on every dish. The manager’s actions are extravagant and unpredictable. At first glance, she seems like a crazy person, but for some reason, everything always works out remarkably well. The Santa costume and the chocolate hamburger both received positive feedback in surveys, and they’re set to be done again this year.

“Shirataki said Natsuki’s maid outfit was cute. It seems like it’s become a topic at Suzakura too.”

Souta operates his smartphone and shows me the screen of Ruin. The person he’s chatting with has a selfie icon with cat ears and goes by the name “Shirataki.” By the way, it seems they’re not dating yet.

“What’s this…”

Looking at the chat, I can see Shirataki saying just that. Souta is replying with an excited tone, using a cute bunny stamp. What’s with that stamp? It doesn’t suit Souta at all.

“Souta, you’re totally going for it, huh? You never use stamps with me.”

“Shut up, it’s not a big deal. We’re taking it slow and steady, like the little cherry tomatoes I grew when I was in elementary school.”

“But you’re not dating, so you’re not really ‘growing love,’ right?”

Souta probably likes Shirataki, but what about Shirataki? Personally, I hope things work out, but in Ruin, there’s often talk about Tachibana-san, and I don’t feel any romantic interest from her toward Souta. As long as their conversations keep going, though, it’s not like there’s no chance.

“By the way, what about you? How are things with Tachibana-san?”

“No, Tachibana-san and I aren’t like that.”

I immediately deny it—though, I had completely forgotten.

“…Oh?”

Right now, on the back of my phone is a purikura sticker I took with Tachibana-san. She made me put it on that day. She stuck the “Friends?” sticker on my phone, and the “Friends!” sticker on her own, and happily whispered, “Now we’re matching.” I said, “Yeah,” and tried to act calm, but it’s needless to say that I was a little happy inside.

“Seems like you’re pretty close, though. You’re both doing the peace sign and everything.”

Souta grabs my phone as if he’s won, and starts staring at the purikura. I had been trying to keep it secret, but I completely let my guard down. All of this is because of the maid outfit.

“To think it’s turned into this kind of relationship… I’m happy about it.”

Souta smirks. It seems like his mind is full of sadistic thoughts about what to do with the traitor from Class 2-1, bonded by blood. It might sound exaggerated, but in Aotaka right now, having a girlfriend holds that much weight.

“Well, uh, it’s really not like that, okay?”

“Then what’s the deal with the ‘Friends?’ sticker?”

“Actually, I don’t really get it either. I think it means ‘less than friends.’”

Upon hearing this, Souta dramatically spreads his arms and sighs.

“You don’t get it, do you, Natsuki… This means she really wants to write ‘girlfriend’ but can’t, that’s what it means.”

“…Huh?”

I cock my head at this unexpected interpretation.

“Look at Tachibana-san’s face. She’s totally in love with you, right?”

“I really don’t think that’s what it looks like…”

Souta’s not seriously saying this, though. When guys in high school find out there’s a girl they’re close with, they immediately start teasing, saying, “You’ve got a chance!”

“This calls for going to check it out. I want to see you and Tachibana-san in those maid outfits too.”

“Fine, but don’t say weird things. It’s really not like that.”

“I get it. Besides, I don’t even have the courage to talk to Tachibana-san.”

Souta stands up and starts recruiting people to go to Cyberia after school. At first, everyone seemed reluctant, but when they heard that they could see me and Tachibana-san in maid outfits, their eyes lit up, and they started joining in.

Do they really want to see me in a maid outfit that badly…?