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Part 2
“U-um, is there really a Debipachi-san here?”
On the third floor of a certain building in the city center.
Kaori raised a confused voice in front of the cute sign.
Next to her, Noah, who had finally joined them, yawned loudly.
Sumimaru, who had been imitating a keychain, replied with a rough sniff and flapped his gills.
“There’s definitely a sign of Debipachi in this place-maru! My sensors are tingling-maru!”
“I-I see…”
Kaori looked at the sign again.
It said, in a cute font, “Maid Cafe Lovely House Cafe♡.”
“A-a Maid Cafe…?
It was a holiday, and the shop seemed to be doing well, with happy voices coming from inside the door.
“Looks like the commotion hasn’t started yet-maru! Ufufufu, I’m looking forward to meeting the cute maids-maru~!”
“No, are you sure this is the right place? Aren’t you making a mistake?”
Sumimaru puffed out her cheeks at Noah’s doubtful look.
“Of course not-maru! There’s no doubt that Debipachi is hiding in this maid’s cafe-maru!”
“It’s suspicious; there’s definitely something about it that appeals to Sumimaru.”
“There’s nothing in it for me-maru! If things continue like this, the cute maids will be attacked, and it’ll be a disaster-maru! I can’t allow that-maru!”
“So you know about maid cafes, Sumimaru-san.”
Sumimaru puffed out his chest in answer to Kaori’s question.
“Actually, I really love anime, games, and manga from this world-maru!”
“Is that so?!”
“That’s right-maru! In order to do some research before I came to this world, I bought a lot of manga and games, and signed up for all kinds of subscriptions-maru! With Noah’s money!”
“Wait a minute! I thought my money was going down, but was that Sumimaru’s doing?”
“Don’t be so stingy-maru. This is a necessary expense for Input-maru!”
“Gnununu…! But it’s true that anime and manga are unique teaching materials…!”
“Noah-san, are you also familiar with anime and manga?”
Noah nodded vigorously in response to Kaori’s question.
“Yes! I may not be as knowledgeable as Sumimaru, but I have also learned about the culture of this world through anime and manga! I fall asleep when I read difficult documents, but anime and manga are easy to understand and interesting!”
“I see. It’s a very good method, but the knowledge you gain seems a little one-sided…”
“Come on, the cute maids are waiting-maru! Hurry up and go in-maru!”
“Y-yes!”
Kaori grabbed her staff and took a deep breath.
“So my work as a magical girl is finally starting… Ugh, I’m so nervous, I wonder if I’ll be able to do it well… Besides, this is the first time I’ve been to a maid cafe. I wonder what it’s like…”
“Then let’s go in! You can count on me!”
“No-Noah-san!”
Noah entered without hesitation, and Kaori followed in a panic.
As soon as they opened the door, the waitresses in their maid outfits greeted them with bright smiles.
“””Welcome back, my lady!”””
Kaori’s eyes widened at the sudden sight of the glamorous scene unfolding before her.
“I-is this a maid cafe…?”
“Wow, it’s just as cute as it looked in the anime!”
“Wow, there are so many cute maids here-maru! It’s like heaven-maru!”
The interior of the shop was decorated in a cute style, and pop music was playing.
Even though it was crowded with customers, the atmosphere was friendly.
Kaori looked around and muttered.
“From what I can see, there doesn’t seem to be anything strange…”
“There’s definitely a Debipachi hiding somewhere-maru! We can’t let our guard down-maru!”
Sumimaru, who had disguised himself as a key ring, said in a tense voice, but his eyes followed the cute maids.
“For now, pretend to be a customer and see what happens!”
“That’s right!”
At that moment, a voice she recognized called out to her.
“Hmm. Kaori.”
“Huh?”
She turned around when she was unexpectedly called by name.
There stood a girl with short hair.
She had short hair with blue streaks and small eyes.
Her well-proportioned face and cool appearance gave her a cool impression.
She was a student at Ousei Academy, a classmate of Yuuya’s, and a girl who was also acquainted with Kaori─Yukine Hyoudou.
Kaori was surprised by this unexpected encounter, but her face broke into a smile.
“Yukine-san! Oh, ara? That outfit is──”
She suddenly tilted her head to look at Yukine’s clothes.
Yukine was wearing a maid’s outfit.
Noah let out a squeal of delight at the appearance of the cool maid.
“Wow, she’s a really cute maid! Do you know her, Kaori-san?”
“Y-yes, that’s right, but… Yukine-san, are you working here part-time by any chance?”
“Yes. I need money to buy the items I need to summon devils.”
“Y-You’re summoning devils?”
Next to the frightened Noah, Kaori clapped her hands.
“Speaking of which, Yukine-san, you belong to the Occult Club, don’t you?”
“Yes. I found a new ritual in an old document I bought in a second-hand bookstore the other day. As soon as I get the things together, I’ll try it out at the Occult Club.”
Yukine replied matter-of-factly, and Noah shuddered.
“Ah, devils are horrible things that wrap the world in the fires of hell and cause its destruction, right? A school club that performs rituals to summon such things? Oh no, this is bad! We must do something about this person before the devil appears!”
“Don’t worry, Noah-san. We can’t really summon them… probably.”
Meanwhile, Sumimaru was flying around Yukine excitedly.
“Ufufufu, you are such a wonderful maid-maru! I can’t get enough of your cool expression-maru! It’s nice to have a maid who smiles and serves you, but I want to be mercilessly trampled by a maid like this-maru!”
“Wait, Sumimaru-san? When did you become a fairy?”
“You have to really pretend to be a keychain!”
“Huh? Yukine-chan is so cute I couldn’t help but turn back-maru~!
It was already too late to panic, and Yukine’s gaze was fixed on Sumimaru.
“What is that squid? It’s talking and floating.”
“Mukyu!
Yukine grabbed Sumimaru’s neck.
She observed it with her narrow eyes and then turned it around, squeezed it, and stretched it.
“It’s strange. I’ve never seen a squid like this before.”
“Ufufufu, no way, I’ll be embarrassed if you stare at every little detail like that-maru! Yukine-chan, you’re bolder than you look-maru! Ufufufu.”
“It could be a new species of UMA. It’s very interesting. Let me observe every detail.”
“Of course you can, please do-maru. I suggest you look at the underside of the flipper-maru.”
“This is amazing. I’ve never seen a creature like this. I want to see what’s inside. Let me dissect it.”
“Ufufufufu, I’d like to-maru~ Eh, nooooo! You’ll tear me apart-maru~! This little sweetie says some terrible things-maru! I was almost pickled in salted fish-maru~!”
Sumimaru struggles to escape, but Noah slashes him in two with a single blow and looks on in disbelief.
“You got what you deserved. You should have been dismembered.”
“Noah, you heartless person-maru! Kaori, help meeeee-maru!”
“Oh, um, this is an AI-equipped octopus-shaped robot! It can swim and talk and has lots of the latest features!”
“Hmm. Robots are not occult.”
Yukine seemed to have lost interest and immediately released Sumimaru.
“That girl is scary-maru…! Brrrrrrrr…!”
Yukine looked from Sumimaru, who was hiding behind Kaori, to Noah.
“By the way, who is that girl?”
“Oh, um, her name is Noah-san. She’s my sister’s friend, and she’s from overseas, but she’s still not used to things here, so I’m showing her around.”
Kaori introduces Noah as they had discussed before.
Noah greets her cheerfully.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Noah! My favorite phrase is ‘getting rich quick,’ and my least favorite phrase is ‘all pain and no gain’! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
“Sure, it’s nice to meet you.”
Kaori suddenly looked down again.
“By the way, Yukine-san, are you sure you don’t have to go back to work? Everyone seems busy…”
The maids were busy working on the floor.
Even though they were all smiling, it was clear that there was a shortage of staff as orders pile up and used dishes were not cleared away.
“That’s right. We’re short-staffed today, so it’s a bit of a mess.”
“I’m sorry, I got carried away talking…”
“Please don’t worry about Noah and the others, and get back to work!”
Kaori and Noah hurriedly urged Yukine.
Yukine looked at Kaori and Noah like that but then suddenly opened her mouth.
“I have a favor to ask you both.”
“? What is it?”
“If you don’t mind, I would like you to work with us.”
“E-eeeehhhhhh!?”
“What do you mean?!”
Yukine told them, her expression unchanged as they were taken aback by her sudden request.
“As I said before, we’re short-staffed and in trouble today. The manager will be happy if you work for us.”
“But that’s so sudden! Besides, we’re here for an important errand today─no, we’re here for a very important errand…”
Sumimaru interrupted Kaori, who was about to say no.
“Wait, Kaori-maru! This is a godsend-maru─you can become a maid and work undercover-maru!”
“B-but isn’t it enough to just go in as a customer…?”
“No, no, no-maru!”
“What?!”
Sumimaru emphasizes with bloodshot eyes.
“As a customer, you can’t examine the inside of the place-maru! Do you think a magical girl can do her job with such a half-hearted attitude-maru? You will work as a maid to conduct a thorough undercover investigation-maru!”
“Awawa, he’s really angry…!”
“I think Sumimaru just wants to see Kaori-san dressed as a maid…?”
“That’s not true at all- maru! I don’t think it would be good at all if the skirt was a little shorter or the maid’s top was a little more revealing-maru!”
“No, you definitely think that.”
Noah looked at Sumimaru with half-closed eyes, but then he suddenly looked up as if he had noticed something.
“Wait a minute! Working in a maid cafe… could that mean I get paid?”
“Of course, you’ll get paid. And if you get a lot of orders or the number of customers increases, your salary will go up.”
Noah jumped up immediately.
“Hurray! I’ve suddenly got a lot more motivation! Good things come to those who wait, so let’s go greet the manager, Kaori-san!”
“W-wait a minute, Noah-san~!”
And so, before they knew it, they were both working as maids.
Yukine talked to the manager, who gave them a big welcome and quickly prepared their uniforms.
Yukine led them to the changing room.
“Change here.”
“Oh well, I guess I’ll have to go in with them-maru. There might be a Debipachi in there-maru~.”
“Perverts are not allowed in the locker room.”
“Sumimaru-san, please wait with Yukine-san.”
“Ueee, no-maru, no-maru! I feel unsafe when I’m alone with Yukine-chan, and I feel like I’m going to be dissected and made into salted fish-maru.”
“I’m not interested in robots.”
She shuts out the noisy Sumimaru and enters the changing room.
“Oh, this is the famous maid’s outfit! I never thought I’d get to wear one; I’m so excited!”
“It’s really cute, but the skirt is a little short for a maid, don’t you think?”
The dress, which is mostly black, has a white material on the chest.
When they put on the white apron and white knee socks, they looked like the perfect maids.
“Woooo, my spirits are soaring!”
“It’s my first time wearing one, so it feels fresh. I’m a little embarrassed…”
“Wow, Kaori-san, it really suits you!”
“Fufu, thank you. Noah-san looks great, too. Shall we go?”
They change and leave the dressing room.
“H-how do I look…?
“Aaaaahhh, you’re so cute-maru~~~!”
Sumimaru, who had been waiting, starts wiggling his legs.
“Ufufufufu, you both look great-maru! It’s a blessing for my eyes to see you like this-maru!”
“Fufufu, of course!”
“Yes, it’s perfect.”
Yukine nodded in satisfaction as well.
Kaori let out a sigh of relief, but her eyebrows were still lowered.
“Um, I don’t really know much about maid cafes, so will I be okay…?
“There are certainly services that are unique to maid cafes, but for now, as long as you can get customers to their seats and take their orders, you’ll be fine. Besides, all the customers in this shop are very friendly, so don’t worry. I’ll teach you the other things after you get used to it.”
“Y-yes, please! I’ll do my best!”
“I understand!”
After being taught the basic tasks, the two of them were sent out onto the ground at once.
“Well then, I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me!”
“I’ll do my best!
Kaori stepped onto the floor with a nervous but determined expression.
As soon as they appeared, the shop was buzzing.
“Hey, are those the new recruits? What’s with the maids? They’re too cute!”
“I’ve never seen a cuter girl!”
“No way, they’re like idols!”
“Their skin is like porcelain, and their hair is so silky! I want to know what they do to look like that!”
Not only the male customers but also the female customers and even the staff are spellbound.
“Ugh, I just got off the floor, but I’m getting so much attention? Is there something unnatural about me?”
“Kaori-san, if you let them get to you, it’s all over. You have to stand tall and proud!”
“Yes, that’s right, and while we’re working hard as maids, we have to find Debipachi-san…”
“Let’s go and make lots of money!”
“Noah-san, aren’t you forgetting your original mission?!”
Yukine introduces them to the customers.
“These girls are the new maids who joined us today. Please take good care of them.”
Applause erupts from the floor, and the customers immediately raise their hands.
“Excuse me, may I take an order?”
“Can I have one too?”
“Yes, I’ll be right with you!”
“Leave it to Noah!”
Kaori and Noah start serving customers, holding the order slips as Yukine taught them.
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