Chapter 119: Maid Café!
Kawasaki Saki walked away without another glance at the defeated Hiratsuka Shizuka, whose head hung low, eyes moist, and spirit utterly broken.
Yui and Totsuka Saika exchanged uncertain looks, unsure what they were supposed to do.
The group slowly approached.
"Do you notice anything different about Sensei?"
Luke asked.
"…Not really? She just looks more depressed than usual."
Yui examined Shizuka from head to toe.
"How can you say nothing changed? She just got completely humiliated."
"N-nonsense!"
Shizuka hurriedly shouted in protest.
As a teacher, she refused to reveal weakness before her students. Using the last scraps of energy within her body, she forced herself to rise.
"It's far too early to declare my defeat!"
It seemed Saki had walked away too soon.
The countdown had not even finished, yet she had assumed Hiratsuka-sensei was already knocked out.
Still, Shizuka managing to stand after Annihilation Second was rather unexpected.
It seemed Hiratsuka-sensei had also grown through Luke's efforts.
Mm.
It was all thanks to him.
"I clearly made a breakthrough! I achieved meaningful, gradual progress!"
Shizuka stubbornly insisted.
"Sigh, Sensei… I already told you to only ask Kawasaki-san why she stays out all night."
Luke looked at her helplessly.
"I-I haven't failed yet. Leave this to your teacher…"
Shizuka tried to move forward.
"Sigh."
She had already lost all combat ability. Allowing her to continue would only mean feeding soldiers into battle one at a time and increasing the casualties.
Luke sighed and continued.
"Sensei, didn't I give you a matchmaking charm blessed at a shrine?"
"Have you met anyone you like recently? Gone on any dates? Or—"
"Gah—!"
Shizuka clutched her stomach in agony.
Her already unsteady legs instantly gave out, and her black hair flew upward before falling with gravity.
Saki had failed to deliver the final killing blow.
Luke would do it for her.
This time—
Hiratsuka Shizuka was truly unable to continue.
She crouched weakly on the ground with tears in her eyes, muttering phrases like "overtime," "that damned department head," and "no time" over and over.
The kindhearted Saika worriedly reached toward her.
"Um… S-Sensei?"
"…Sob… I'm going home for today…"
Hiratsuka-sensei painfully raised her face, revealing an extraordinarily fragile expression.
She wiped the corner of her eye and staggered rigidly toward the parking lot like a zombie.
The gentle sunset fell across her shoulders and stretched her shadow, filling it with the exhaustion of adulthood.
"I'm going home today… to die for a while."
"Th-thank you for your hard work, Sensei."
"Please remember to rest properly."
Yui and Saika bid her farewell.
"Remember not to actually die, Hiratsuka-sensei!"
Luke did not forget to warn her.
"I'll try…"
Shizuka disappeared beneath the sunset, transforming into a ray of light.
"Will she really be all right?"
Even Yukino looked worried and nudged Luke.
"It probably isn't anything serious."
Hiratsuka-sensei had already been single for so many years. A little longer would not make much difference.
The remaining problem was the completely uncooperative Kawasaki Saki.
After hearing Luke's unreliable assurance, Yukino murmured, "Our plan to use a third party to solve Kawasaki-san's problem failed."
"Does that mean we can only capture the leader directly now?"
"Probably. Doing all this behind Kawasaki-san's back doesn't feel right anyway. We might as well ask her directly."
Luke agreed.
"Let's first search for businesses in Chiba related to [Angel] that remain open at night."
Yukino took out her phone.
None of them had Saki's contact information. Searching for the shop might actually be faster than finding her personally.
Using their increasingly all-powerful phones, they quickly completed the search and prepared to leave.
By 6:30 p.m., nightlife was beginning, and the streets gradually grew livelier.
"Is this one of them?"
Yukino looked curiously at the sign before them.
[Maid Café—Angels Inside]
Beside it stood a maid wearing a cat-ear headband, repeatedly calling "Nyan, nyan" while recruiting unsuspecting fools—
Recruiting customers.
For Yukino, this strange new sight probably existed completely outside her understanding of the world.
She examined everything with a puzzled gaze.
"I don't know much about places like this…"
Saika studied the explanation on the sign, yet still could not understand it despite being a boy.
"What kind of establishment is a maid café?"
Luke looked at the sparkling maid beside the sign and released a regretful sigh for the shop.
Its methods were already falling behind the times.
Modern customers might prefer cold, arrogant maids over soft, cute ones.
Using cuteness alone to attract customers had probably become outdated.
If Luke trained the maids, he would update their approach.
For example, they could display expressions like, [Showing You with a Disgusted Look].
This expertise naturally came from his maid, Annie Leonhart.
Although Annie had never bought cat ears, her naturally lifeless eyes and vivid expressions could make hearts race far more effectively than ordinary cuteness.
"Are you thinking about something inappropriate?"
Yui suddenly tugged his sleeve while he was lost in thought.
Luke looked at her suspicious face and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Thanks to his maids' training, he could now think about such matters without allowing anything to show on his face.
That was an essential skill.
"Hmm?"
Yui examined him from head to toe like a detective.
'Are you a police dog, Yuigahama-san?'
Luke pushed her head away and spoke.
"Standing here won't accomplish anything. Let's go inside and check."
"Wait…"
Yui grabbed his clothes.
"What now?"
Luke turned and saw her puffing out her cheeks.
"A place like this is meant for boys, right? What are we girls supposed to do?"
"Then wait outside. I only need to go in and ask a question."
Yui looked unwilling to accept that.
As usual, she turned toward Yukino with a pleading gaze.
Yukino sighed helplessly and quickly stopped the restless Yui.
"It already says so here."
[Female customers are also welcome! You can even experience being a maid!]
…
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