My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

"This could cause trouble for others. You're a high school student, after all. You might get sent to the police station for counseling, and then your parents and I will also be called in by the police."

Kawasaki, upon hearing this, simply continued to stare blankly at her teacher. Hiratsuka-sensei, perhaps unable to bear her expression any longer, grabbed her arm.

"Didn't you think about how your parents feel?"

Ms. Hiratsuka's expression was quite serious, showing no intention of letting go of the other person. Her hand must have been quite warm at that moment; one wonders if that warmth could reach Kawasaki's cold heart.

"teacher……"

Kawasaki spoke softly, reaching out to touch the teacher's hand, looking directly at her, and then said:

"How my parents feel is none of my business. But you, teacher, haven't been a mother, so you probably wouldn't understand, right? Please wait until you're married and become a mother before discussing this."

“Hmm!”

She slapped Hiratsuka-sensei's hand away, and the teacher, as if struck by a right straight punch, staggered and lost his balance. It seemed Kawasaki hadn't received her enthusiasm.

"Teacher, instead of worrying about my future, you should worry about your own future first, such as getting married soon."

Kawasaki continued his assault, and Hiratsuka-sensei, who had been leaning back, lurched forward, her knees trembling. It seemed her legs had been attacked... The trembling then spread upwards to her waist and shoulders, eventually even affecting her voice.

"...Mmm..."

The teacher's eyes welled up with tears, and she was completely unable to retaliate.

Kawasaki callously abandoned the teacher and walked straight to where the bicycles were parked. We looked at each other, completely at a loss for words. Yuigahama and Komachi stared awkwardly at the ground, while Totsuka muttered, "Poor teacher..."

At that moment, Yukino pushed me from behind, probably wanting me to think of a solution.

What? Why me?! Although that's what I was thinking, seeing how pitiful the teacher looked, I felt I should go over and comfort her. This feeling... could it be "sympathy"?

"Um... teacher?"

As I pondered how to comfort her, I spoke to Hiratsuka-sensei, who slowly turned around like a zombie.

"...Waaah...I'll go back now..."

She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her thumb and said weakly.

Then, without waiting for my response, she staggered unsteadily toward the parking lot.

"Thank you for your hard work, teacher."

Watching her walk alone in the sunset, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

Someone please go and keep her company, I mean it.

× × ×

Hiratsuka-sensei disappeared into the sunset, becoming a twinkling star in the night sky.

An hour later, our group arrived at Chiba Station.

I'll have Komachi take Yuki home first. Chiba is still too dangerous for a middle school girl. She'd be better off going with a few friends to the food court at "Yokado" along Route 14 for roasted potatoes. But why do middle schoolers love going to Yokado so much? Every time I go shopping there with my mom, I get so annoyed seeing them. I'd rather go to "Mama Ranch" (Note 31: "Yokado" is a chain of department stores in Japan, while "Mama Ranch" is a ranch-themed amusement park in Chiba Prefecture).

It's almost 7:30 in the evening, and the streets are about to come alive.

"Among the restaurants in Chiba City, there seem to be only two that have the word 'angel' in their names and are open until dawn."

"Is this one of them?"

Yukinoshita looked at a brightly lit sign with a suspicious gaze that read "Maid Cafe, Angels Inside." The sign was decorated with flashing neon lights, and next to it stood another sign depicting a girl wearing animal ears, waving and beckoning customers while saying, "Meow! Welcome back, woof~." From Yukinoshita's expression alone, I could clearly tell she was wondering, "What's this?"

I'm equally puzzled. What's going on? It's both meowing and barking—is it a cat or a dog? And although the store is called "Angels Inside," it doesn't evoke any sense of angels at all.

"So Chiba has a maid cafe too..."

Yuihama said, as if she found it very strange.

"Yuihama, you're so naive. Chiba has everything, and they're masters at misunderstanding what's popular elsewhere and importing it. Look at this shop, it's terribly disappointing, exactly what they call 'Chiba quality'."

Indeed, Chiba can be described as a prefecture embodying all the regrets. From the new Tokyo International Airport, the Tokyo Game Show, and Tokyo German Village, to Kashiwa City, known as "Chiba Shibuya," everything seems to aspire to be like Tokyo. Yet, the people of Chiba also like to preserve the unique flavor of Chiba in peculiar places, adding their own variations—that's Chiba. Just think of that upscale residential area, jokingly referred to as "Chiba Beverly"—that kind of persistence is practically a declaration of war against the world.

Then, near Chiba Chuo Station on the Keisei Electric Railway, Amélie and Toranoana became hubs for subcultures in Chiba. In other words, this was a battleground between Chiba and Akihabara. Therefore, it's only natural that maid cafes would appear here.

"I don't know much about places like this... What kind of place is a maid café?"

Totsuka read the words on the notice board several times, but he still couldn't understand them. Even something that said, "Would you like to spend some cute maid time with us?" was still completely baffling. Wait a minute, what does "maid time" mean? Does it mean we have to be maids?

"I've never been to a maid café before, so I'm not sure... but I found someone who's very familiar with these kinds of places."

"Ahem~ Was that you calling me? Hachiman?"

Speak of the devil, and he appears. Yoshiteru Zaimokuza came to meet us through the ticket gates of Chiba Chuo Station. It was early summer, yet he was wearing a coat, panting heavily and frantically wiping away sweat; salt crystals had formed on the collar of his coat. Hey, do you know that in ancient China, secretly producing salt was a punishable offense?

"Oh my god..."

Yuihama showed a slight expression of discomfort, but I felt bad blaming her because I was even more uncomfortable than she was.

"...You're the one who asked me to come, so why are you making that face?"

"We're helpless too. The thought of dealing with you is just too much trouble."

"Alas! That's right. Our strengths are evenly matched, so I can't show mercy. I understand this feeling of disgust towards my opponent very well."

"That's right, that's exactly what makes it troublesome."

"Hahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Timber Stand immediately erupted in an unpleasant, maniacal laugh. Get out of here!

Actually, I really didn't want to ask him, but among the people I know, only he and Hiratsuka-sensei are knowledgeable in this area. However, Hiratsuka-sensei's interest lies in shonen manga, so this is the only option left.

I first emailed him to let him know what had happened, including Kawasaki's return time, the name of the shop where she worked, which might have the word "angel" in it, and her personality. From this information, Zaimokuza deduced a possible location, namely this "Angel Inside" maid café.

"Is this really the shop, 'Caimuzuo'?"

"Yes, it can't be wrong."

He was manipulating his smartphone, showing us information he'd found on Google. While this is certainly convenient, these smartphones are so user-friendly that they put a lot of strain on our fingers. The internet society, I suppose, refers to a society where people spend so much time online that it causes finger problems.

"As you can see, there are two possible locations in Chiba City. But my soul whispers to me that the person named Kawasaki Saki will definitely choose this place."

"How do you know?"

Seeing the woodworker's extraordinary confidence, I couldn't help but swallow hard. Could it be that this guy possessed some information we didn't know about?

When I asked him that, Cai Muzuo let out a laugh from deep in his throat... Ah, actually he didn't have any such thing as "confidence" at all; what he possessed was called "certainty".

"No need to ask any more questions, just come with me... those maids will take good care of you..."

After he finished speaking, he turned the hem of his coat, and I could almost see a gust of wind swirling around him.

This guy……

Since this guy said it like that, of course we have to go with him! To that agreed-upon place, the golden land overflowing with honey, the sacred pink kingdom!

My heart pounded with excitement as I eagerly anticipated the services the maids would provide, and I took my first step forward. It was one small step for mankind, but one giant leap for me!

Just then, someone tugged at the hem of my coat. When I turned around, I saw Yuihama puffing out her cheeks, looking rather unhappy.

"..."

"……What's the matter?"

"It's nothing~ It's just that the thought of an autistic man going to those kinds of shops... makes me feel a little uncomfortable."

She kept rubbing my coat with her fingertips; she seemed to be throwing a tantrum. Stop it! It'll pill!

"...I don't understand what you're saying. Please clarify the subject, predicate, and object."

"I mean, aren't these kinds of stores for men? What are we girls supposed to do?"

Hmm? Oh dear, now that she mentions it, it seems girls don't go to maid cafes.

I glanced at the lumber master, asking for his help. Our reliable master then crossed his arms and, from a slightly elevated position, said to us:

"Woman, don't worry."

"Who is the melon...?" (Note 32: The original text here uses "lady," which sounds similar to "melon" in Japanese.)

No, I also think you are a cantaloupe, but I won't tell you why.

"I had already prepared a maid outfit to deal with this kind of undercover investigation."

The woman pulled out a maid outfit from behind her back, still wrapped in a laundry bag, in its cleanest condition. Wait, wasn't that a metal rod or frying pan or something?

"Ahem, well then, Mr. Totsuka, come on..."

Oh, so you're looking for Totsuka! Well done!

"Huh? W-why me...?"

Zaimokuza approached Totsuka step by step, while Totsuka retreated step by step. Was this some kind of horror movie? Normally, if this happened, I'd play the hero, willing to punch Zaimokuza in the stomach to save Totsuka. But at this moment, my body was paralyzed.

I really want to see it...

Before they knew it, Totsuka had been forced against the wall. Because the base was backlit, it really did look like a monster.

"Come on, Totsuka... Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!"

Seeing a colossal figure holding a maid outfit, Totsuka shook his head repeatedly, tears welling in his eyes.

"No...no...I don't want to..."

He knew perfectly well that it was a futile resistance, but he still forced his tear-filled eyes shut, thus escaping reality.

At this moment--

"I want to wear it! I want to try it on! It looks so cute!"

Yuihama snatched the maid outfit from Zaimokuza's hand.

"...Yo!"

Zaimokuza spat, an action that seemed to greatly displease Yuihama, who then glared at Zaimokuza with an expression that said, "This virgin is disgusting."

"What kind of attitude is that? It's really unpleasant."

Normally, Zaimokuza would cough a series of times to cover it up, but right now he's so caught up in the idea of ​​"Totsuka wearing a maid outfit" that he's been acting strangely assertive since just now.

"Hmph, that doesn't qualify you as a maid. The maids you're talking about are just dressed up; they have no soul."

"I don't understand what you're saying at all..."

Yuihama looked at me with pleading eyes, but only at times like this would I refuse to help, no matter what. Because—I understand what the "zaimokuza" means.

"I understand. How should I put it... you look terrible in a maid outfit. You just look like a college student who goes crazy in a maid outfit during the school festival and annoys everyone."

Honestly, some people normally look down on otaku and maids who frequent these kinds of places, but then they elevate maid outfits to a very high and sacred level during special events. What does that even mean? It's really annoying.

"If you're going to cosplay, you need to really think about what's going on in your mind! Go watch the anime *Sherry* first! Someone like you would probably dress up as Hatsune Miku at Comiket and brazenly smoke in the smoking area!"

Zaimokuza spoke with great emotion, causing Yuihama to involuntarily take three steps back. She let out a soft moan of resentment, looked around for help, and finally hid behind Yukinoshita.

Yukino, who was being used as a shield, sighed slightly and then pointed to the coffee shop's signboard.

"It seems like female customers are welcome here too."

There was indeed a line of text written where Yukinoshita was pointing.

—Female customers are also welcome! You can experience being a maid!

Hey, the signboard can't lie, right? So, is it really going to become Maid Time?

× × ×

In short, there were five of us, men and women, who entered the store.

"Master, young lady, welcome back!"

With this customary greeting, we were led to our seats at the dining table.

Yuihama and Yukino went to experience being maids, so only Totsuka, Zaimokuza, and I were seated.

"Master, please feel free to give any instructions."

A middle-aged woman with cat ears and red-rimmed glasses presented the menu, filled with handwritten names like "Chew~ Delicious Omelette Rice," "White Curry☆," and "Cute Cake♪," all brimming with girly charm. Besides the regular menu, there were also optional extras such as "Cute Rock-Paper-Scissors," "Photo Opportunities," and "Soubu Line Games." But why do you have to pay to play rock-paper-scissors with a maid? Is this still in the bubble economy era?

Forget it, let the woodworker decide on these things that are hard to figure out.

I glanced at Murakiza beside me. He kept looking around, curled up in a ball, and frequently drank water. So, he hadn't said a word since he stepped into the shop.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Hmm... I really like this kind of shop, but I get so nervous when I come in... I can't talk to the maid properly."

"oh."