After that, Yutsuki and Kurumi didn't attempt to infiltrate DEM Industries again.
Their previous infiltration had undoubtedly alerted the enemy. By now, DEM was definitely on high alert. Even Yutsuki had no confidence in safely escaping after a second intrusion into the enemy's headquarters.
Moreover, back then, Yutsuki had infiltrated with complete preparations. She was certain she hadn't triggered any alarms. The date of the infiltration was also decided at random the day before. Kurumi definitely wouldn't have leaked this to the enemy, and she herself hadn't ntioned it to anyone.
However, Ellen Mathers seed to have anticipated the arrival of Yutsuki and Kurumi. She had lain in ambush silently in the shadows, launching a fatal sneak attack from Kurumi's blind spot.
It was as if she knew in advance that Yutsuki and the others would infiltrate to search for the Spirit.
And the only person capable of ordering that arrogant Wizard to execute a sneak attack, in Yutsuki's mory, was one man.
Isaac Westcott.
(Could he, like , have retained mories of the previous world...? No, that's not it.)
Yutsuki quickly dismissed this speculation.
Putting aside whether he had the ans to retain mories. Even if he did, in the previous world, Yutsuki and Kurumi infiltrated DEM while Miku was causing chaos there; Westcott shouldn't have known about it. And the ti Yutsuki and Kurumi infiltrated was also on a different date than in the previous world.
Then, there were only two possibilities left.
One: The Westcott of this world deduced Yutsuki's actions through special ans she couldn't comprehend. Two: Having Ellen lie in ambush there was rely a sudden whim of that man.
Regardless of which one it was, in Yutsuki's eyes, that man nad Westcott was a hundred tis more dangerous than Ellen.
(Now I can sowhat understand... why my past self in the previous world chose a passive defense.)
Infiltrating DEM rashly without knowing their depths was no different from a moth flying into a fla.
After escaping DEM, Kurumi also showed no intention of attempting another infiltration. After all, if they didn't find the imprisoned Spirit in that hidden laboratory, it was highly likely that the Spirit wasn't even in Tengu City at all.
Ti flowed on as usual, and before they knew it, it was ti for the Tenou Festival.
"Well then, where should I go?"
Wearing a unisex sumr outfit, her hair tied into a ponytail, a baseball cap, and oversized sunglasses resting on her nose—after completing her disguise, Yutsuki strolled through the venues of the Tenou Festival, browsing the tourist guide with interest.
In the previous world, because of Miku, Yutsuki spent the whole day busy cooking in her class's stall, and then ran off to the gymnasium to perform a concert. After that, due to Miku breaking her promise and DEM causing trouble, she naturally never got to properly enjoy the Tenou Festival.
Consider it making up for the regrets of her past self in the previous world, and also as a way to adjust her mood after the failed infiltration, Yutsuki decided to properly enjoy the Tenou Festival before any commotion broke out.
Hm? What about the singing competition between the Itsuka harem and Izayoi Miku? Whether they win or lose, isn't the outco the sa? Furthermore, if you don't consider the special circumstances and just look at the competition itself—Yutsuki actually preferred Izayoi Miku to win.
"Munch, munch... Hmm—should I go to the haunted house next?"
After swallowing the takoyaki, Yutsuki thought thoughtfully. Although she wasn't particularly afraid of ghosts and monsters, entering a haunted house and pretending to be a real "ghost" to scare people—especially couples—might be surprisingly fun.
Thinking of this, Yutsuki turned and prepared to walk towards Building 3, where the haunted house was located.
"Ah—"
However, while passing by Building 2, due to the dense crowd at the ti, Yutsuki felt she bumped into soone and knocked them over.
Yutsuki looked down and saw a high school girl wearing a maid outfit, holding a stack of flyers.
"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?"
"Haha—It's fine. I was accidentally zoning out just now, sorry."
Yutsuki reached out her hand sowhat worriedly. The girl smiled bitterly, shook her head, took Yutsuki's hand, clambered up from the ground sowhat awkwardly, and patted the dust off her maid skirt.
However, the mont the other party raised her head. Yutsuki completely froze.
Long, clear blue hair reminiscent of the sky, a fair face that seed androgynous yet exquisitely touching, and large eyes beneath long eyelashes that blinked as if imbued with a lively spirit.
A long dress with a color between lavender and black, and a pure white apron with thick ruffles—unlike the trendy maid outfits of today, her attire appeared relatively conservative. But considering her tall stature among won and the delicate vulnerability revealed in her eyes, it gave off an irresistible gap moe (charm from contradiction).
Honestly, speaking purely of looks, while she was beautiful, there was still a considerable gap compared to Kurumi and the Yamai sisters. Even if Yutsuki compared herself to her, most people would probably consider Yutsuki's appearance more outstanding.
However, Yutsuki's sunglasses seed to inexplicably possess a beautifying filter function. The girl before her looked so breathtakingly beautiful to Yutsuki that she couldn't look away.
Yet, Yutsuki's reason was telling her that she knew this person. This high school girl who looked like a beauty wasn't female, but the harem protagonist she had been trying to avoid—Itsuka Shido.
(Holy crap, this is cheatinggggggggggggggg!)
Yutsuki frantically flipped tables and roared internally.
"Um... is sothing wrong?"
Shido looked in confusion at Yutsuki, who had suddenly fallen silent.
"N-Nothing."
Thump! —Thump!
(Calm down—! Calm down!!!!)
Taking a long, deep breath to barely suppress her wildly beating heart, Yutsuki constantly warned herself.
She had already disguised herself. Even if Yuzuru and Kaguya were nearby, she didn't need to worry about being discovered. Moreover, the current Itsuka Shido had never seen her before and couldn't possibly imagine that the girl before him was a Spirit.
"U-Um—this is our café's flyer. If you're interested, would you like to co take a look?"
Seemingly suddenly rembering his job, Shido hurriedly pulled out a flyer and showed a stiff smile.
(So cute. But—he's a guy!)
"A café?"
Yutsuki subconsciously took the flyer and looked. It advertised a maid café nad "Maid Café ☆ RAIZEN". Looking towards the location given by the address, Yutsuki soon saw a storefront that stood out from the other food stalls. Yuzuru, Kaguya, and Yatogami Tohka were wearing the sa maid outfits as Shido, standing at the entrance greeting custors.
(I let my guard down...)
Yutsuki thought in frustration. Although she knew Shido was running a maid café at this ti, a year had passed, and her mory was sowhat vague. So Yutsuki didn't imdiately recall the exact location of the café. Plus, she had gotten a bit carried away having fun and hadn't noticed it at all.
(Let's get out of here quickly.)
Yutsuki thought silently in her heart. After all, the Yamai sisters looked fine too. If possible, she wanted to stay as far away as possible from a harem protagonist like Itsuka Shido.
Even though Yutsuki's reason constantly advised her so, however—
"Sure. With a recomndation from such a cute lady, how could I refuse?"
(No, wait, what am I sayinggggggggggggggggggggg!)
"Uh, u-um... thank you for the complint..."
Hearing Yutsuki's teasing, Shido seed unable to handle it. His cheeks flushed, and he lowered his head, muttering softly. She had to admit, that bashful, timid posture was explosively cute.
(But—he's a guy!)
Subsequently, her body acted on its own against its master's wishes. Led by Shido, Yutsuki walked into the maid café.
Seeing Yutsuki's figure, Yuzuru and Kaguya couldn't help but look at her with interest.
"Hmm—My other half. Don't you feel like that custor gives off an inexplicable sense of déjà vu..." "Agreent. It feels like I've seen her sowhere before..."
Noticing the Yamai sisters looking her way, Yutsuki paused for a mont. She turned her head, pulled out her phone, and cheered exaggeratedly:
"Oh! What a cute maid lady. May I take a picture?"
"Uh, her way of speaking is even weirder than mine." "Disappointnt. Looks like we mistook her for soone else."
Hearing Yutsuki's bizarre way of speaking, Yuzuru and Kaguya backed away uncomfortably and didn't suspect her further, continuing to hand out flyers on the street. Yutsuki secretly sighed in relief.
"Hello, what would the master like to order?"
Just then, Mai, wearing a maid outfit, ca to Yutsuki's table.
Yutsuki clasped her hands together, resting her chin on them. After a mont of silence, she pointed at Shido outside the café and said in a deep voice:
"...I want that girl to serve ."
"Um, sorry about that. She's only responsible for handing out flyers outside, not for serving custors inside."
Seeing the custor specifically request Shiori, Mai couldn't help but look troubled.
Smack—! A stack of 10,000-yen bills was placed on the table. Yutsuki looked at Mai with a "You get it?" expression.
"No problem~ Please wait a mont, Master, I'll call Shiori to serve you right away~"
_________________
"U-Um, here is the Moe Moe Heart Omurice you ordered. Please enjoy—"
Placing the omurice in front of the custor, Shido held the tray across his chest. The muscles on his face twitched slightly, revealing a very stiff smile.
Honestly, at this mont, he was having a ntal breakdown. For a normal guy, crossdressing and being forced to wear a maid outfit to hand out flyers was already an incredibly embarrassing thing. But who would have thought that his classmate would suddenly pull him into the café and, without explanation, demand he serve a custor, giving him no room to negotiate.
"Then, I'll be going now..."
"Wait."
Suddenly, the brown haired woman wearing sunglasses behind him stopped Shido.
"I-Is there sothing else?"
"You haven't cast magic on this omurice yet, have you?"
"Ma-Magic?"
Hearing such an unimaginably bizarre word, Shido was completely at a loss.
Looking around blankly, he saw Ai, not far away, handing a plate of omurice to a custor. She lightly drew a few shapes in the air with her fingers, ford a "heart" shape with her hands towards the custor, and said in a sugary-sweet voice:
"Bestowing upon you~ the power of magic—beco delicious! ?(?o?o)???(o?o?)?"
...It seed "magic" referred to that.
(How could I possibly do thatttttt!!!!!!!!!!)
"What's wrong? At a maid café, this is a very normal thing. I did pay for it, you know."
The brown haired girl said with a smile. Whether it was just his imagination or not, Shido felt the other party was deliberately making things difficult for him.
(I-It can't be helped—)
The maid café run by their class this ti wasn't just a simple class activity for Shido. It was a competition to decide the winner between him and Miku. Since the chances of winning against Miku in a singing competition were extrely slim, he had to try his best to secure advantages in other areas. Otherwise, he, Tohka, and the others would beco Miku's toys.
Gritting his teeth tightly, after a long while, Shido finally overca the sha in his heart. Mimicking Ai's earlier actions, he ford a heart with his hands, blushing furiously, and squeezed a trembling voice out of his mouth.
"Bestowing... upon you... the power of... magic... be-beco delicious..."
At this mont, both the boy and the girl felt they had lost sothing important.
Quietly taking out her phone, as if she had done it countless tis before, Yutsuki smoothly pressed the shutter button from a blind spot Shido couldn't
notice.
"...What is your na?"
"Itsuka Shi—Shiori. Then, I should be leaving now."
"What are you saying, Shiori-chan? The Moe Moe Heart Omurice includes a service where the 'cute maid feeds the master,' doesn't it?"
(What?!)
Shido looked at the nu in shock, and indeed—there was such a service.
(Is it really necessary to go this far?)
Turning his head to look behind him, seeing Mii silently giving him a thumbs-up as if to cheer him on, Shido truly wanted to cry but had no tears.
"U-Um, custor... I'm a bit shy about this kind of thing... Could we change—"
"No. And also, call '—Mas—ter!'."
The girl ordered in a firm, unquestionable tone.
"Guh—"
Seemingly enduring a massive humiliation, Shido—no, let's call him Shiori here—tears of frustration welled up in the corners of Shiori's eyes. Gripping her skirt tightly, after a complex internal struggle, she sat across from Yutsuki and said weakly:
"M-Master... Say~ Ah—"
"...Ah~"
At this mont, Yutsuki felt that gender didn't matter anymore.
"By the way, I didn't just order the omurice, you know. Make sure to serve properly—Shiori-chan."
Saying that, Yutsuki showed a touching smile. Spirits don't need to eat. Conversely, they can eat as much as they want without any problems.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeh?!!!!!!!!!"
From inside the maid café, Shiori's despairing scream rang out.
As an aside, regarding the competition between Shido and Miku, due to the maid café's sales going through the roof, Itsuka Shido won without any surprises.
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