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“So… are you going to forgive me for being late now?”

The reason I explained the situation in such detail was to try and justify myself and lift Mariel’s mood.

Thanks to my final remark, Mariel seemed to hesitate and pucker her lips but didn’t show any further anger.

Honestly, even I thought my last comment was impressive.

“Saint?”

Despite that, Mariel continued to stare blankly without responding for a while, so I called out to her.

“Huh? What? What did you say?”

“I was just asking if you’ve decided to forgive me. You’re feeling a bit better now, right?”

“No, I wasn’t really that mad to begin with…”

“Your Americano has arrived!”

“Ah, thank you.”

The girl who had come to take our order earlier set the coffee in front of me and then sat down next to Mariel.

The café was filled with people, and I wondered if it was okay to be slacking off like this, but seeing the other maid-like theology students pass by without saying anything seemed to indicate it was fine.

“I didn’t add syrup since you didn’t mention it. Do you need any?”

“No, it’s fine. If I want something sweet, I’d prefer to order a different menu item.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Actually, I had intended to order a sweet drink, but given the situation, I was forced to drink Americano.

However, since it was a drink given for free, I could enjoy the Americano sweetly. Free is always sweet, after all.

“Hmm…”

As I sipped the coffee through my straw, the girl sitting across from me was staring intently at me.

Just as I began to feel a bit burdened by her mysterious interest, she finally spoke up.

“Hey, um… could you stand up for a second?”

It was an unexpected request, but it wasn’t hard enough for me in this situation to complain about it, so I got up.

However, she didn’t seem satisfied with just me standing; she gestured for me to step outside the table.

“Hmm… could it be…?”

As she looked me up and down, circling around me, the girl slowly got to the point.

“Would you be interested in a part-time job?”

“Huh? A part-time job?”

I asked her in surprise, my voice a bit flustered due to her sudden suggestion.

“You don’t have to do any direct service. Just showing your face to people will be enough. I think that alone would have a great promotional effect.”

“No, I don’t really need the money. Sorry.”

“Oh, come on. With your looks, you’d look amazing in a maid outfit. How about wearing it just as a memento? Huh? Huh?”

“Well, that’s a bit…”

Even though I had become somewhat used to wearing women’s clothes, I wasn’t about to put one on just for the sake of a commemorative moment.

Of course, if there were a valid reason or justification for wearing it, I’d definitely do it, like having to wear a school uniform for academy life.

So, without any hesitation, I quickly declined her suggestion again.

But the girl seemed to cling to my refusal and started to entice Mariel, who was sitting next to her.

“What do you think? Mariel agrees, right? Don’t you think it would suit him wonderfully?”

“Uh? A hero in a maid outfit? …I might want to see that?”

“Saint, we agreed to go watch the festival today. How can we have time for a part-time job?”

I felt like I’d really have to wear a maid outfit if I stayed quiet, so I quickly changed the subject.

However, our Saint still seemed to be interested in the maid outfit, pretending not to hear me.

“Well, that’s true, but just for a moment… Ah! Hero? You asked me earlier if I could forgive you, right?”

“…Did I?”

“I’ll forgive you, so how about wearing the maid outfit just once and serving? I’ll be the customer, and you can be the staff!”

Ironically, Mariel was now demanding that I wear the maid outfit by offering a reason I couldn’t refuse.

…Damn it.

“Ugh… this is really uncomfortable…”

“You’ll get used to it quickly, so don’t worry too much. You’re cute enough, so have confidence.”

The girl named Rozaria, who bought me coffee, dragged me to the staff changing room and made me wear the maid outfit.

However, even though it was a maid outfit, it looked a bit different from the ones I had seen on the maids in the imperial palace or my friends’ mansions.

Unlike the usual plain maid uniform, this one had cute frills here and there and a slightly shorter skirt, making several differences.

Feeling awkward, I hesitated and stepped outside the changing room, heading toward the table where Mariel was sitting.

“I-I’m back… um?”

But when I arrived at Mariel’s table, I unexpectedly spotted some familiar faces.

“Yuli, you’re here too! What a coincidence to run into you here…”

“Ahaha! We were just walking and got thirsty, and I found myself here with the Saint. There were no seats available, and it seemed like I knew Selian, so I asked to share.”

Since Yuli came to the temple because she was thirsty, it seemed like my friends already knew about the café operating during the festival.

Looking at Mariel, she nodded in acknowledgment, confirming it was okay to share seats.

“Just don’t forget the promise to not disturb us.”

“I’m not a member of the alliance, but since you’ve unexpectedly provided me with bounty, I’d uphold the promise.”

It seemed they were close, as Selian and Mariel were whispering something to each other.

“Alright, let’s get those orders in!”

Even though I had come out in a maid outfit, Rozaria, seeing me standing there blankly, shoved me toward taking orders.

In a maid outfit, even if it was a temporary part-time job, it was embarrassing to take orders from my friends.

Of course, I had shown more embarrassing sides to them before, but that didn’t make the embarrassment I felt any less.

Trying not to reveal my bashfulness, I started taking orders from them.

“What will you be ordering?”

“I want a chocolate parfait!”

As soon as I asked, Anne shot her hand up and shouted. Of course, it was a menu full of sugar.

I chuckled a bit at Anne’s lively response and took the orders one by one. As I headed to the counter with the paper listing the orders, Rozaria snatched it from my hand.

“You really don’t have to work at all. I’ll take this and place the order. You can just sit here and chat with your friends. Or… you could just stroll around the café and show your face to the customers.”

“…I’ll just sit here.”

Rozaria clicked her tongue slightly in disappointment and wasted no time heading to the counter.

“I’m going to the bathroom for a bit. You guys keep talking.”

As soon as I sat in the empty seat, Selian stood up as if she’d been waiting and went straight to find the bathroom.

“Ah, Selian! That’s the staff changing room! The bathroom is over there!”

However, as Selian was headed the wrong way and couldn’t find the bathroom, I hurriedly directed her towards it.

Of course, I had no intention of embarrassing her by loudly announcing she was going to the bathroom in front of everyone, so I worded it cleverly.

I can be such a considerate guy like that.

“Ah… yeah… thank you…”

Despite me being vague about it, Selian seemed a bit embarrassed, her voice coming out softly.

“By the way, I don’t see any other theology students around? More specifically, the male ones.”

“Ah! They’re probably working at the temple inside the academy. This side is the maid café, while that side is the butler café!”

“So, you mean they’re focusing on different targets.”

“Exactly! Why? Are you disappointed?”

“Not at all.”

What would I gain from seeing the guys serving? Especially when they could go to the much better maid café.

Of course, I never imagined I would be wearing a maid outfit either.

“Oh! Speaking of which, there should be a butler outfit around here, which I could try on…”

“I’ll refuse.”

Knowing what she would say next, I cut her off before she could finish.

Of course, the butler outfit would be much more comfortable than the maid outfit, and I wouldn’t feel awkward wearing it.

But why would I change into something I knew would attract attention to myself? I’d just rather change back into my usual clothes and walk around the festival with Mariel.

“That’s too bad… but while I’m looking forward to seeing you in a maid outfit, I’m even more excited to see you in a butler outfit…”

“…Even if you say that, I still won’t wear it. If I wore it here while everyone else is in maid outfits, I’d stand out like a sore thumb.”

It’s obvious that a girl wearing a butler outfit while everyone else is dressed as maids would be a sight to behold… people would sneak glances no matter what.

“So, you mean… if it’s not here, you’d be willing? Hey, Saint… if it’s okay with you, could I borrow one of the leftover butler outfits?”

“I don’t mind… but don’t mess it up, okay? Of course, I can understand those kinds of playful situations… but it’s not my clothes.”

“Huh?”

However, whether my intent was lost on her or not, Yuli immediately requested Mariel to lend her an outfit, and Mariel simply obliged.

Sigh… well, wearing it in front of friends isn’t anything too serious.

“Shall we get going? The hero and I have a date to go on!”

“Ugh… I promised, so I guess I have to. But remember to follow the rules we talked about before.”

“Unlike you guys, I’m not in that kind of relationship with the hero yet!”

“Yet…?”

“Augh!”

It seemed the confusion continued along the lines of the conversations we had while I was putting on the maid outfit, filled with words that made no sense to me.

Since I couldn’t quite insert myself into the conversation, I decided to wrap things up and started gathering the empty glasses.

“I’ll help!”

However, seeing me carefully balancing several cups on a tray, surprisingly, Anne jumped up to help.

“Really? That would be great!”

“Uh, yeah! I’ll carry this one and this one!”

Anne said this while taking two of the cups from my tray. They may only be two, but it made a huge difference in making it easier for me to carry the tray loaded with glasses.

“I just need to throw the straws away over here… Ah, you already took care of that.”

As I placed the plates at the counter, I was about to tell Anne that disposable straws need to be thrown in the trash separately, but she had already figured it out and discarded them.

“I know that much!”

Thinking I had dismissed her, Anne murmured softly and headed back to where our friends were, so I hurriedly followed her.

“Hey, what’s up? You seem really cheerful.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

At least, she didn’t seem angry, so that’s a relief.

 

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